Corona Virus and Me

Well from the looks of it we are all going through a health crisis now.  How does this affect me differently then you?  I really don't know other than I am being forced by people around me to be overly cautious.  I am working from home and not spending much time out of the house right now (this is against my will).  Feels like I am a prisoner in my own home, can we consider this kidnapping?  Obviously I am just kidding, trying to be funny.  I really think that we should be doing everything we possibly can to prevent the spread of this virus.  I believe this is more about the people around us than it is about ourselves.  Remember, just because you don't feel like you have it you might really have it.  That is what is scary about this disease and infecting someone who is older or has an immune system that is compromised could be deadly for them.  Now I get a chance to pray for everyone's health and hope for the best there as we work through this virus.

I spoke to Huntsman this morning and they started cancelling some procedures that are nonessential.  My treatment as of right now is considered essential and has not been cancelled.  The last time I posted they hadn't received authorization from the insurance company but now they have and we are proceeding forward with the treatment.  I have a mapping on March 25th with the Y90 treatment on March 31st.  March 25th recovery shouldn't be too bad but the 31st I will be out of it for at least a week and a full recovery will take a couple of weeks. 

Last weekend we were able to spend some time down in St. George.  It was supposed to be for a baseball tournament but it got cancelled on Friday because of rain.  We were fortunate to be staying with some friends (thanks Mark and Kristi for letting us come and visit) at their beautiful home.  It was great to be down there and just sit back, relax and catch up with old friends.  Usually when we go down to St. George we are able to get out and about but the kids just wanted to hang out at the pool, so that is what we did.

Hope you are all well!

#cancersucks
#fightlikehell

Follow up Scans from Y90 Treatment

Okay, so today I had a CT scan and a meeting with Dr. Cizman (interventional radiologist).  This was probably the first time that I have received any piece of good news since my diagnosis over 2 years ago.  Basically what he said was that the tumors we have treated on the right side of the liver have shrunk and are now less dense then before.  You will remember that I have heard this before to only have it turn out that it was wrong.  The difference this time is that we are looking at images from a CT scan which are the only images most oncologists rely on.  So this is good news. 

What about the tumors on the left side of the liver they haven't treated.  Well, these tumors continue to grow.  Since we have seen success on the right side of the liver, the doc believes that we should do this treatment on the left side of the liver.  There is some concern on whether or not the insurance company will pay for a second round of Y90.  The doc said he was going to write up a huge long explanation trying to get them to agree to do it again.  This is not a cheap treatment as you can imagine.  If they don't approve it, he has a plan B which his words were to "embolize the crap out of those tumors". 

Y90 is not a cure but is a a way to extend my life which will allow for other curative measures as they become available in the future.  While they don't say how long it can prolong it the information page says that it could be from months to years depending on the case.  So let's hope for years. 

All in all this is the first progression/regression I have seen so that gives us some hope of what the future holds.  But now I have to dread the next 2 Y90 treatments because that recovery is pretty awful.  If it helps though, I am ready for it and will take it head on. 

#cancersucks
#fightlikehell