Last One (Promise)

Greetings Loyal Readers,

You can exhale now (you have been holding you breath this whole time, haven't you?) Mom is doing well in recovery. She has to lie flat for two hours and YFC is proud to report that she's got just one more hour to go...yay Mom!

Mom's posse has dwindled some, only her two children 1 and 1.5 remain. It's a little quieter this way and that's not an entirely bad thing (don't even ask about the 17-minute discussion of lemon drops over lunch). Nurse Pam claimed that our family reminded her of her own, the poor girl. But overall, Nurse Pam has been a doll. She helped comfort Mom by bringing her blankets, snacks, etc. and was just as caring as can be. In fact, they even conducted a trade, whereby Nurse Pam (note: YFC is not going to stoop so low as to anagram her name into Purse Man...it's beneath him) gave Mom her e-mail address and Mom swapped her the address to The Chemo Chronicle. We know who made out the better of that trade don't we Loyal Readers?

(just to be clear, Nurse Pam made out better...but you knew that already, didn't you?)

Dr. Stork also visited us. They will do another CT scan in a month. It's possible that Mom will have to repeat this procedure (this seems to be the norm), but if they do so, they might go in from the other side of the liver. But overall the Stork said that things went well, so mad props to him.

Well, Your Faithful Correspondent is pretty beat, accordingly this is the last update of the day and what better way to end things then on a happy note knowing that Mom will be home soon.

My very best to you and you and you...

Faithfully,
Corey

Procedure Done!

Nurse Pam just came out...Mom is done with the procedure, but Doctor Stork needs to take some pictures for approximately 1/2 hour, then its onto recovery. Apparently the Stork doesn't realize that YFC has already taken pics of Mom, but who can blame him for wanting some for his personal collection?

Later kiddies...

Corey

45 Minutes To Go

Greetings Loyal Readers,

Just got an update from Nurse Pam, Mom's procedure should last for approximately 45 more minutes (figure she'll be done around 1730 hours). Will update you after Mom gets out of recovery. But until then, a little picture of Bubbles and Mom to tide you over.

(by the way Melvin has arrived...she's the one looking over my shoulder now...she wanted me to write that she's the cute one, but I told her that I would never lie to my Loyal Readers)

More soon (but you knew that already)...

Faithfully,
Corey

Halfway Through???

Quick update...

At 1630 hours YFC spoke with the nurse, who in turn talked with the Cotton Stork...Mom is supposedly halfway through (it almost doesn't seem right because Mom should be out by now). Will update you as soon as more information becomes available...

A TheraSpeherific Update Part 2

Greetings Loyal Readers,

Your Faithful Correspondent is missing part of his finger (and you thought YFC was kidding when he informed you that hungry relatives are not to be trifled with). Luckily, we're here at the hospital, so it should be good as new. All the same, it does make typing a bit of a chore, ao we'll keep this short and sweet.

Just wanted to afford my Loyal Readers a couple pictures of our Favorite Patient bravely awaiting her procedure. She looks pretty good for someone who's about to go under the knife, no?

Note: during the writing of this posting, Auntie Berba was staring over the shoulder of Yours Truly. Why is this being mentioned? Just remember that when you annoy the blogger, you do so at your own risk.

More soon...

Faithfully,

Corey

A TheraSpeherific Update

Greetings Loyal Readers,

Your Favorite Correspondent is here with a quick update. Mom was wheeled to her procedure at approximately 1430 hours. Prior to that, she was visited by the Cotton Stork, who assured her that all would be copacetic.

It looks like Mom is still scheduled to be leaving the hospital around 1800 hours. The procedure is only about 1.5 hours, the rest is recovery time. There probably won't be any news to report for a while, but when we do, you'll read it here first.

Note: Bubbles, Uncle A and Berba are all waiting for me to finish this post and they seem to have funny gleam in their eyes...apparently some people are kinda hungry.

Must run...

Faithfully,
Corey

A TheraSpeherific Day

Greetings Loyal Readers,

Your Faithful Correspondent is coming to you live from the bowels of Northwestern Memorial Hospital (technically we're on the 4th floor - interventional radiology, but that's bowely enough for YFC). It's a bit intimidating to follow in the footsteps of The Mom -- her last post was a beaut, dontcha think? Well, YFC isn't going to try to compete with her, we'll leave that to her siblings (kidding...mostly. YFC is going to get in trouble for that one), instead he'll provide you with the latest and greatest of the goings on from our base camp location...

Well, mere moments ago (1300 hours CST, in case you're scoring at home) Mom was taken back for some prep work. The actual procedure will commence at approximately 1400 hours (also CST dontcha know) and should take approximately 4 hours. Mom was in good spirits as the nurse led her away. When asked for some parting words, she was heard to say "Corey is my favorite."

Certainly unsurprising news there. Most importantly, it shows that Mom is completely lucid and in good spirits.

Patiently waiting/supporting Mom today are Bubbles the Clown, Uncle A, Aunt Berba and of course, Yours Truly. Despite the fact that we have been stuck in a small waiting area for almost 45 minutes, no injuries have been reported (give it time Gentle Reader, give it time). My darling Sister Melvin will be joining us shortly. She was flying in from Newark to be here (and boy are her arms tired!...sorry, you didn't deserve that) and we are all anxiously awaiting her arrival (especially YFC...can't wait to tell her about Mom's earlier comments).

So, really the news is all preliminary at this point. When there's more to know, you'll read it here first, so keep watching this space for frequent updates.

Arrivederci, my Loyal Readers...

Faithfully,
Corey

here's the skinny, and I don't mean me (skinny that is)

Dear Loved ones,

My dear sweet correspondent was unable to accompany me to chemo today, so although the prose may not be as elegant as his, I will do my best to keep your interest and fill you in on the upcoming procedures.

Chemo today was uneventful, in and out. I was disappointed that Honey Joy was unable to make it (a lot of traffic coming in from Naperville) but we have made plans to see each other on Saturday. It is always a joy to see Honey Joy. (Love the girl, love the name.)

It has been confirmed that the Thera Spheres (radiation with minute glass seeds put into the tumor) will take place next Tuesday February 26tth. I will show up at 12:30pm and hope that Dr Sato (the Stork) is running on schedule which would mean that he starts about 2:00pm. According to the nurse Sharon (no anagrams for such a lovely name) it will take about four hours. Again a twilight sleep although last time I woke up and kept jabbering. Dr Sato asked me to please be quiet, he was kind but not in a talkative mood.

I will meet back at Dr. Sato's office in a month where lab work and imaging will determine whether or not I need another dose of the radiation or if we will wait for 90 days to see if more is needed. . I sure hope he gets it right the first time!!

So what does this all mean. It means that I am grateful to each and everyone of you who has made this journey a little easier by offering me your love, encouragement, prayers, humor, and company. And because you have been so outstanding in doing your part, I promise to continue to do mine. I remain strong (warrior woman), determined, and focused.

I thank everyone who has cheered me on with all my heart, but especially my children Corey and Michelle who have been my cheerleaders and advocates throughout this learning process (Cancer for Dummies)

I end with love and light to you,
Sharon

P.S. And if you would, please say a little prayer for Dr Sato and me next Tuesday. Thanks again.,

So Much To Do, So Little Time

Greetings Loyal Readers,

So sorry to say but our time together is going to be exceptionally short today. Your Faithful Correspondent is heading out of town to handle a case in our state's capital (there's no need to remind my Loyal Readers that the capital is Springfield, right).

Mom is going to chemo tomorrow. Her friend Honey will be inaugurated as a Chemo Buddy. Ah that Honey is really living up to her name. Incidentally, her middle name is Joy as in Honey Joy...think that he parents were happy to have her?

Mom's appointment to have the TheraSphere radiation is tentatively set for Tuesday. The hospital will call later today or tomorrow to confirm the date.

Well, YFC wasn't kidding when he said he was keeping this short Think of it this way, you'll want to savor the next edition of The Chemo Chronicle all the more.

Till next week, same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.

Faithfully,
Corey

Quick Update

Greetings Loyal Readers,

A quick update on Mom's procedure because you care about Mom and YFC cares about you...

Today Mom went in for stage one of her radiation treatment. She didn't go there for radiation per se, rather the doctors performed a trial run of sorts. They needed to see whether the radioactive seeds would embed themselves in the right place (the liver) and not the wrong place (the lungs). So, Mom had some tracers inserted that will let the doctors know whether or not they can do the procedure (not to worry Loyal Readers, the nurse said 90% of people can have the radiation and as we all know, Mom's not going to accept "no" for an answer). Tomorrow we expect to receive the good news that radiation is a "go." Assuming everything goes according to plan, Mom will have the radiation the week after next; however the actual date won't be scheduled until Tuesday.

Wow, all the news you need to know in one quick paragraph. If you didn't know better, you'd think that YFC was slacking off (but of course you know that's just not in his make-up).

More news as soon as it becomes available...

Faithfully,
Corey

Never Fear, TheraSphere is Here

Cheerio* Loyal Readers,

(* - meaning hello in the UK, not to be confused with the General Mills cereal)

Sorry about any potential confusion...Your Faithful Correspondent has just returned from a quick trip across the pond (of course, as ponds go, it's one of the bigger ones). YFC went for a long weekend to watch some footy (YFC understands that some of his Loyal Readers might know the game as "soccer") with his mates. It was a fantastic experience.

Particularly amusing were the terrace chants which, broadly defined, are songs sung by fans who attend football games. YFC's favourite chant of the weekend (perhaps you noticed the extra "u" in favourite...well, just to be clear, it's not a mistake, it's an affectation) was sung by the Birmingham (away) supporters to a particularly robust West Ham United (home) supporter:

(try to picture 1,500 people singing this to the tune of "She'll be Coming Round the Mountain")

Have you ever seen a salad in your life?
Have you ever seen a salad in your life?
Have you ever seen a salad,
Ever seen a salad,
Ever seen a salad in your life?

It was all very good fun and a much needed vacation. But enough about YFC, it's time to talk about Mom. So take out your FoMmie notebooks and start jotting down some notes...

Tomorrow at 7:00 a.m., YFC will be accompanying Mom to Northwestern for the first phase in her TheraSpehere treatment. As you recall, ThereSphere is the name of the treatment whereby radioactive beads are inserted to kill off the liver tumor. Here's the explanation from the ThereSphere website:

To direct TheraSphere® treatment at tumors in the liver, a physician first makes a small incision in the patient's leg and places a long, flexible plastic tube called a catheter, into the femoral artery, which is the major blood vessel in the leg. Guided by fluoroscopy (an X-ray imaging technique that projects views of the inside of the body onto a screen) the physician then moves the catheter up through the blood vessels to the hepatic artery, which is one of two blood vessels that feeds the liver. The physician guides the catheter into the branch of the hepatic artery that feeds the cancerous tumor in the liver and infuses the TheraSphere® beads through the catheter into the blood that supplies the tumor. This is usually performed in a hospital's radiology suite and patients remain conscious throughout the procedure.

Remember how YFC told you to take notes? Well, hopefully you listened 'cause there's gonna be a quiz. And if you didn't listen...well, maybe you'll realize that when YFC tells you to do something it's really not a suggestion, it's an order (for your own good of course, after all YFC may be a dictator, but he's a benevolent dictator).

Right. Moving on, so tomorrow is not the actual procedure, it's more of a training run. So, Mom won't actually get the radioactive beads, the doctors do a test to make sure they know how everything flows so that they get it right (after all, you don't want any surprises when dealing with radioactive material). Anyhow, it's sort of a long day for Mom -- about 8 hours or so, most of which will be spent in "twilight" -- so keep her in your thoughts and prayers, k?

(Ok, you how how YFC just told you that when he tells you things, it's not a suggestion, it's for your own good? Well trust him...a little prayer is good for the soul)

Loyal Readers will get a full report of tomorrow's events so be on the lookout.

Wishing you all a Tu-rrific Tuesday.

Faithfully,
Corey

An Interactive Posting

Greetings Loyal Readers,

Once again, Your Faithful Correspondent is coming to you live from chemo. As you recall, Mom had a CT scan last week. Well, the results are in...there's been a slight change. The tumor in the liver has gotten a little bit bigger in the liver (it's now 4.8 x 2.8 -- approximately 1 cm longer), but there is still no sign of the tumor in the pancreas. Doctor Troll recommended that Mom should proceed with the liver-directed therapy a/k/a TheraSpheres (where the radioactive "seeds" are implanted to target the tumor in the liver).

Of course this news is a bit disappointing. Mom hoped that the tumor would be gone entirely. That's where the the interactive portion of this posting comes in (check out the title in case you missed it). Remember when you (and just to be clear, YFC is talking directly to YOU) told Mom "if there's anything I can do, let me know..."? Well, YFC is letting you know that you can do something. Your prayers and good thoughts would be most appreciated.

Well, while Mom was in with the Troll she nipped out for a sec and called the Stork. It looks like it's going to be Theraspheres for Mom after all. Mom will have an appointment with the Stork next week (the actual date hasn't been scheduled yet) and when we get further news, you'll read it here first.

Mom had chemo today (actually she's having chemo as we speak). Per the Troll, Mom's platelets are "perfect" (318), and her numbers for hemoglobin (11.1) and white blood cells (4,000 -- normal range is 3,000 - 8,000) were also good.

In other news, we christened (erm, maybe not the best choice of words) a new Chemo Buddy today. Cousin Andee accompanied Mom to chemo (that's Cousin Andee to the right of Mom, but you probably figured that out already). When asked to give a comment to my Loyal Readers, CA quipped "no comment."

Ah how very droll. Makes you want to join the Chemo Buddy program too, doesn't it?

Mom and Cousin Andee are now discussing plans for lunch. It might be Grand Lux Cafe or maybe Coco Pazzo Cafe (methinks the former is more likely than the latter). That's right boys and girls, if you sign up to be a Chemo Buddy, you too can lunch with Mom and if you're exceptionally nice (and YOU are always nice, aren't you?), YFC might also make a special guest appearance.

Well, Your Faithful Correspondent managed to forget his laptop battery so we're going to cut this a bit short. Do remember your part of the bargain -- the praying, good thoughts and whatnot -- and we'll get together again soon, k?

Positive thoughts...

Faithfully,
Corey