On Thursday, November 18, 2010, Carl got his chemotherapy with the main chemotherapy drugs Irinotecan and Vincristine. I say main drugs, because there are other drugs that they give along side of the chemotherapy drugs. They got blood drawback from his port (after a time) without the use of TPA. Carl got oral doses of 8mg Zolfran (also known as Ondancetron), and 10 mg Dexamethasone. Through the IV they gave him 0.2 mg of atropine. These first 3 drugs are given to prevent side effects from the main chemo drugs. The main chemo drugs follow - Carl was given 241 mg of Irinotecan in saline through the IV over 60 minutes, followed by 2 mg vincristine in saline over 15 minutes. We spent the time watching the parts of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 1.
I hope these drugs are effective and that Carl can continue getting them for quite some time. At the end of the month the Doctors will check to see if the drugs are holding back the tumor.
Thank you again for all the encouragement and prayers.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
November Chemotherapy
On Thursday, November 11, 2010, Carl started a course of chemotherapy that featured the drugs Irinotecan and Vinchristine. The 'protocol' for this chemotherapy is a dose on Day 1 and Day 8. On Day 21, the patient can start the course again. The Day 1 and Day 8 doses are delivered through IVs into his port. He gets these doses at the outpatient Froedtert Cancer Center Day Hospital.
Under this protocol, Day 8 is tomorrow, Thursday, November 18, 2010. So tomorrow we will once again trek down to the Cancer Center. Carl will be connected to the IV for around 3 hours, making this one of the shorter chemotherapy sessions, although with the registration and waiting, we will end up being at the Cancer center more then 1/2 of the day.
Carl 'completed' one course of chemotherapy with the drug Irinotecan before, getting the drugs on Monday, October 18, 2010 and Monday, October 25, 2010. He tolerated the Irinotecan well, so the Doctor added the Vincristine to this course.
I hope these drugs are effective and that Carl can continue getting them for quite some time. At the end of the month the Doctors will check to see if the drugs are holding back the tumor.
Thank you again for all the encouragement and prayers.
So, isn't this kind of a boring post? I hope the photos from one of our trips to the pumpkin farm make it more cheery.
This last photo shows one of the side effects of the Adriomycin chemotherapy. (photo taken October 17, 2010.) Carl didn't loose all of his eyebrow or eyelash hair like some people do, but wow, did it thin out. Already his hair (and eyebrows, and eye lashes) are growing back in. Another reason I hope that Carl can use these drugs for quite some time.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Feeling tired
Carl said to me today - 'I just don't know why I feel so tired right now.'
Hmmm... let me think? Maybe a large dose of Irinotecan and Vincristine on Thursday has something to do with it?
Or possibly surviving a weekend with four active children.
Whatever.
Hmmm... let me think? Maybe a large dose of Irinotecan and Vincristine on Thursday has something to do with it?
Or possibly surviving a weekend with four active children.
Whatever.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Diet changes due to Cancer
Carl goes through the cancer treatments with a good spirit, and follows the Doctor's advice. What else are we doing to battle the cancer? Actually there ARE some dietary things we are doing which we hope will help crush the cancer cells.
My sister-in-law sent me the book titled "Anti cancer A New Way of Life", written by research Doctor, David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD. The information on the dietary changes
we are trying come mostly from this book. We told our Oncologist about the book, and he encouraged us with a anecdotal tale of one of his patients. There is a quote in the book - "All great truth goes through three phases. First it is ridiculed, then violently attacked, and finally accepted as self-evident." It might take medicine 20 years to accept some of the data in this book regarding diet, but Carl can't wait that long.
The scientific data points to the conclusion : People who want to protect themselves from cancer should seriously reduce their consumption of processed sugar and bleached flour.
(Fruit without sugar or syrup can be unlimited, fructose and glucose are different). There are many more dietary pointers.
There is an epidemic of cancer in industrialized countries and particularly Western countries. The epidemic is real, and the difference between "East and West" is shown to be not due to genetics. Cancer is a disease of "rich people".
Understanding what has changed to create this epidemic of cancer is important. Three major factors are identified.
Over hundreds of thousands of years, our bodies genetically became accustomed to a diet of fruit and vegetables, with occasional meat or eggs. The essential fatty acids of Omega 6 and Omega 3 were balanced, there was very little sugar, and no flour or cereals. Our ancestors sugar consumption averaged about 4 pounds (of honey) a year.
Today, 56 percent of the 'Western diet' calories come from three foods sources NON-EXISTENT to our ancestors: refined sugars, bleached flour, and vegetable oils.
Today the 'Western diet' contains over 10 times more Omega 6 then Omega 3.
Today Western human sugar consumption is between 50 to 150 pounds a year. The high fructose corn syrup "new ingredient" makes things worse.
Cancer is out of control cell growth. Sugar nourishes cell growth. Cancer is largely dependent on glucose, the form of digested sugar in the body. White flour also contributes to glucose.
Some specific anti cancer dietary changes we are trying:
Carl tries to be a very low sugar diet. Basically sugar is evil for Carl. He tries to use Agave nectar instead of sugar to sweeten tea, or lemonade. I encourage him to not drink sodas.
I encourage Carl to take a daily green Tea supplement, turmeric supplement (with pepper to increase absorption 2000%), and Omega 3 flax seed oil (as pills - Carl refuses to take the liquid form).
We are eating berries (raspberries and blue berries and strawberries) often. Summer was great this year, we would on some days buy and eat $7.00 of raspberries and strawberries when they were in season. We also eat a lot more veggies (asparagus, etc.), but this tapers on and off.
We try to use only Omega 3 eggs, which cost 3-4 times as much as normal eggs. Paying $3.00 for one dozen Omega 3 eggs doesn't seem to make sense, so I find myself hoping the words 'Omega 3' are more then ink on the label.
In the past, our family is are good at short spurts of well intentioned plans that fade eventually. We will see were this one goes. All of these dietary changes aren't cheap. But I hope they will be effective.
My sister-in-law sent me the book titled "Anti cancer A New Way of Life", written by research Doctor, David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD. The information on the dietary changes
we are trying come mostly from this book. We told our Oncologist about the book, and he encouraged us with a anecdotal tale of one of his patients. There is a quote in the book - "All great truth goes through three phases. First it is ridiculed, then violently attacked, and finally accepted as self-evident." It might take medicine 20 years to accept some of the data in this book regarding diet, but Carl can't wait that long.The scientific data points to the conclusion : People who want to protect themselves from cancer should seriously reduce their consumption of processed sugar and bleached flour.
(Fruit without sugar or syrup can be unlimited, fructose and glucose are different). There are many more dietary pointers.
There is an epidemic of cancer in industrialized countries and particularly Western countries. The epidemic is real, and the difference between "East and West" is shown to be not due to genetics. Cancer is a disease of "rich people".
Understanding what has changed to create this epidemic of cancer is important. Three major factors are identified.
- The addition of large quantities of highly refined sugar.
- Changes in our food due to changes in farming and animal raising
- Exposure to a large number of chemical products.
Over hundreds of thousands of years, our bodies genetically became accustomed to a diet of fruit and vegetables, with occasional meat or eggs. The essential fatty acids of Omega 6 and Omega 3 were balanced, there was very little sugar, and no flour or cereals. Our ancestors sugar consumption averaged about 4 pounds (of honey) a year.
Today, 56 percent of the 'Western diet' calories come from three foods sources NON-EXISTENT to our ancestors: refined sugars, bleached flour, and vegetable oils.
Today the 'Western diet' contains over 10 times more Omega 6 then Omega 3.
Today Western human sugar consumption is between 50 to 150 pounds a year. The high fructose corn syrup "new ingredient" makes things worse.
Cancer is out of control cell growth. Sugar nourishes cell growth. Cancer is largely dependent on glucose, the form of digested sugar in the body. White flour also contributes to glucose.
Some specific anti cancer dietary changes we are trying:
Carl tries to be a very low sugar diet. Basically sugar is evil for Carl. He tries to use Agave nectar instead of sugar to sweeten tea, or lemonade. I encourage him to not drink sodas.
I encourage Carl to take a daily green Tea supplement, turmeric supplement (with pepper to increase absorption 2000%), and Omega 3 flax seed oil (as pills - Carl refuses to take the liquid form).
We are eating berries (raspberries and blue berries and strawberries) often. Summer was great this year, we would on some days buy and eat $7.00 of raspberries and strawberries when they were in season. We also eat a lot more veggies (asparagus, etc.), but this tapers on and off.
We try to use only Omega 3 eggs, which cost 3-4 times as much as normal eggs. Paying $3.00 for one dozen Omega 3 eggs doesn't seem to make sense, so I find myself hoping the words 'Omega 3' are more then ink on the label.
In the past, our family is are good at short spurts of well intentioned plans that fade eventually. We will see were this one goes. All of these dietary changes aren't cheap. But I hope they will be effective.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween Fun and cooking
Halloween - Carl says it is his favorite holiday. (Huh? I mean, of all the holidays...)
So... Carl carved pumpkins. He made pumpkin seeds. (A very weird thing to eat, if you ask me. But whatever.)Friday he made fudge. Saturday he made omelettes, hamburgers, and deep fat fried french fries.
Sunday he made caramel apples. The caramel was from scratch - you know, starting with sugar, corn syrup, condensed milk, vanilla and salt. For dinner he made a gourmet shrimp stir fry with asparagus and peppers. Busy weekend! :)
Sunday's stir fry with shrimp, peppers and asparagus.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN !
Friday, October 22, 2010
October Update - Chemo Course 12
photo taken October 17, 2010
Fall colors, falling leaves, pumpkin farms, and yard work - October is more then 1/2 over, and we have been trying to enjoy autumn. The children are busy in school, and Anthony is busier then ever - being in the Homestead High School Play 'The Odyssey' means he can be gone from 6:30 AM to 9:00 PM at school, especially in this last week before the three performances on October 22-24, 2010. Carl had a brief break from Chemotherapy. Carl had inpatient chemotherapy at the beginning and end of September, three weeks apart, which resulted in him having no chemotherapy in the first half of October.
Visits to Froedtert continued, though. On Monday, October 4, 2010 Carl had some testing (a pet scan and a CT scan) to see what is happening to the tumor. The scan results showed that the tumor is not expanding, and is less active then before. Good News.
Carl has now completed six courses of chemotherapy with the effective and powerful drug Adriomycin (also known as Doxorubicin). The doctors won't be giving him any more. The patient that might have about a 2% chance of cardiac arrest after six doses of Adriomycin would possibly jump to a 18% chance with the 7th dose. Carl has now reached his maximum lifetime dosage.
On Monday, October 18, 2010 Carl had a course of chemotherapy with the drug Irinotecan, a new drug for him. It is the fastest chemotherapy session he has had, arriving at 9:00 AM and out by about 2:00 PM. On Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Carl felt well enough to go to work. Wow. Stay at home, relax, and recover; or distract yourself with a job you love? I understand that relaxing isn't so great when you are feeling under the weather, and I understand how distracting yourself from 'things' can work so well.
Carl will get a second dose of Irinotecan on Monday, October 25, 2010.
But before the 2nd dose, Carl and our family will watching Anthony in 'The Odyssey' - in fact, some of us will probably see every performance. Our whole family is looking forward to the weekend...
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Writing a blog can be hard.
I've been writing blog posts for this blog for over 9 months now. Perhaps writing blog posts should be getting easier, but in some ways writing and publishing the blog is getting harder.
My posts are perhaps less frequent, and less funny. Cancer really isn't that much fun, and so when all is well I prefer to ignore it (yes, I am ignoring the cancer as much as I can.) Some of the posts feel like reruns, and while I am trying to think of some new way to write about it, the delay builds. When Carl is doing well, we try to live it up and celebrate life, and when Carl is dragging or tired we try to have a higher quality, more relaxed home life. Both of these circumstances distract from writing a blog.
I have lots of ideas, that I get late at night or while driving in the car or waiting somewhere. I have multiple posts (some even funny) written in a draft mode, waiting for the final edits. But the final edits are getting harder. I defined goals to myself for this blog, and the audience I was writing for. Trying to keep up a level of writing, and improving it, gets harder. A blog is not a book, carefully planned start to finish. Sometimes I am not sure how much I want to say. This blog does not reflect my every feeling along the way.
Sometimes a post started in between chemotherapy treatments gets pushed aside because of the next treatment, and then the chronological nature of the blog makes returning to the started post seem awkward.
My photography was meant to be a large part of this blog, but the extra steps the photography requires has prevented some of that.
And then there is the real life that intrudes. What do I do about that? This is a blog about a journey my family is on. An unfortunate cancer journey. So what do I do with unexpected side trips?
My 89 year old father passed away Oct 4, 2010. This side trip is too major to be ignored, and also too big to be included. My thoughts and feelings about my father's death are obviously on my mind as I think about cancer and it's possible outcomes, about the blessings of a long life fully lived, or even a shorter life well lived and full of blessings. My thoughts and feelings about my father's death are on my mind when I think of my dad's multi-year medical decline, and my husband's far shorter medical struggle and my hope and prayers for it's multi step conclusion - first control of the tumor, then remission, then "cancer free".
In any case, I am not able to process how I should handle my father's death in this blog. So I guess, other then mentioning it here, I will leave it out of the blog for now. My next post after this one is already written. I'll try to post it a day or two after this one. But I felt I could not post my next, already written blog post today without mentioning what I mentioned here in this post.
I should wait before I publish this blog post, edit it one more time and try to make it a compact coherent piece, rethink it, redo it... but I don't think I know how to edit this any more to make it more coherent. So I won't wait, anymore, for now.
My posts are perhaps less frequent, and less funny. Cancer really isn't that much fun, and so when all is well I prefer to ignore it (yes, I am ignoring the cancer as much as I can.) Some of the posts feel like reruns, and while I am trying to think of some new way to write about it, the delay builds. When Carl is doing well, we try to live it up and celebrate life, and when Carl is dragging or tired we try to have a higher quality, more relaxed home life. Both of these circumstances distract from writing a blog.
I have lots of ideas, that I get late at night or while driving in the car or waiting somewhere. I have multiple posts (some even funny) written in a draft mode, waiting for the final edits. But the final edits are getting harder. I defined goals to myself for this blog, and the audience I was writing for. Trying to keep up a level of writing, and improving it, gets harder. A blog is not a book, carefully planned start to finish. Sometimes I am not sure how much I want to say. This blog does not reflect my every feeling along the way.
Sometimes a post started in between chemotherapy treatments gets pushed aside because of the next treatment, and then the chronological nature of the blog makes returning to the started post seem awkward.
My photography was meant to be a large part of this blog, but the extra steps the photography requires has prevented some of that.
And then there is the real life that intrudes. What do I do about that? This is a blog about a journey my family is on. An unfortunate cancer journey. So what do I do with unexpected side trips?
My 89 year old father passed away Oct 4, 2010. This side trip is too major to be ignored, and also too big to be included. My thoughts and feelings about my father's death are obviously on my mind as I think about cancer and it's possible outcomes, about the blessings of a long life fully lived, or even a shorter life well lived and full of blessings. My thoughts and feelings about my father's death are on my mind when I think of my dad's multi-year medical decline, and my husband's far shorter medical struggle and my hope and prayers for it's multi step conclusion - first control of the tumor, then remission, then "cancer free".
In any case, I am not able to process how I should handle my father's death in this blog. So I guess, other then mentioning it here, I will leave it out of the blog for now. My next post after this one is already written. I'll try to post it a day or two after this one. But I felt I could not post my next, already written blog post today without mentioning what I mentioned here in this post.
I should wait before I publish this blog post, edit it one more time and try to make it a compact coherent piece, rethink it, redo it... but I don't think I know how to edit this any more to make it more coherent. So I won't wait, anymore, for now.
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