A Mixed Bag

Well, the Doc didn't ask if we wanted the good or the bad news first. He led out exactly the way he should have, and told us that the CT results didn't look good. My tumors have been incredibly aggressive and have spread like wildfire throughout my liver.  He showed us the pictures and golly gee whiz...they really don't look good at all. It's like one of those small parties that gets blasted out on Facebook and 10,000 people show up and trash the house...that's my liver right now. That's the bad news. 

The GOOD news is that he is sure that we have the right drug combination now. Not only was the other drug killing my liver, it wasn't doing a damn thing for my tumors. It's like it was trying to kill me twice as fast. Glad I'm off that one!  :)  We know that the new drug is better because all of my liver numbers are going in the right direction now. My enzymes and bilirubin are all coming back down to normal levels.  This means that we can start some pretty aggressive treatments on my liver soon. I will hopefully be going into radiation sometime in March, and our options don't stop there. So...exciting!

The other good news is that it hasn't spread anywhere else in my body. I still have the primary tumor, as well as the party in my liver. And I still have a couple suspect lymph nodes down around the primary site, but (and this is important for me) my lungs are nice and clear. This cancer likes to go from liver to lungs, so this was a big concern for me, especially considering the aggressiveness of it. 

He asked how I was handling the new drug and I told him it has been an incredible difference over the last one. You are all familiar with my feelings on my new drug vs. the old drug, but there is another benefit as well.  Between each treatment on the old drug I would lose between 5 and 8 pounds. I weighed in today just one pound lighter than I was two weeks ago. That is HUGE!!  I can't tell you how happy I am with that result. I've been eating more and have been feeling better. 

So yes...this morning was down and up. But the Doc was smiling and saying encouraging things, which is helpful because he's not one to sugar coat stuff.  That made it better on us. I'm writing this with my infusions starting. Pretty soon it will be nap time (one of my drugs knocks me out).

Social media can be a dangerous thing kids.  Periodically review your privacy settings and see who can view your posts and events. You might just end up with 10,000 people at your small, intimate gathering. That would ruin any party. 

Jake