Gary and I just got back from Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis this evening about 6:00. He had tests today that started this morning about 7:00. He had a CT Scan, Blood Tests, and an Endoscopic Ultrasound. We met with Dr. Faris Murad, the oncologist, and Dr Chris Anderson, a pancreatic specialist. We were very impressed with both of them and have the utmost confidence in their skills.
Although we did not like what they told us, we have accepted it and are moving forward with our thoughts and plans of action. Here is what they told us:
1) The tumor is cancerous
2) It surrounds the artery, not just touching it
3) Surgery is out of the question for now unless the tumor can be shrunk away from the artery
4) Chemo and radiation are the only ways to shrink the tumor and the chances of that happening are slim (about 20%), however 20% is better than none.
5) There is a possibility that Gary could qualify as a participant in a clinical trial if he wants to, which we would want to if it came to that choice.
6) Gary will probably never gain his lost weight back because the pancreas is not functioning properly. So far he has lost about 60 pounds.
7) He can eat anything he wants to, even a little sugar. It justs needs to be a healthy diet full of calories, carbs, and protein.
Gary will start a regular routine of chemo and radiation on Monday, January 3rd. Dr Anderson in St Louis will confer with Dr. Woodall in Springfield and Dr. Leo in Bolivar about the treatment going forward. We are both handling the situation very well, thanks to Gary's mental acceptance of the facts. The best medicine he can get at this time is all the support from family and friends (and we thank all of you very much for that) and ballgames, ballgames, ballgames!!!
Jannis
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Medical Journey From July to December 2010
Gary had been having stomach pain for a few weeks in June. In July he had x-rays taken that showed nothing. He then had a Cat Scan that also showed nothing. Meanwhile, he was experiencing constipation, continued stomach pain and starting to lose weight. In September and October, he had (1) Ultrasound (2) Angiogram (3) Nuclear Stomach Test (4) Upper and Lower GI and (5) another Cat Scan. All these tests showed he had an ulcer and sluggish intestinal movement. They treated him for the ulcer for about four weeks until we insisted that there had to be another problem, because he was still no better and continuing to lose weight. On December 3rd, Gary went to see his doctor who did another x-ray and found that his intestines were totally packed and not moving very much at all. Gary also got sick to his stomach in the doctor's office which was probably the best thing to have happened so the doctor could see that something serious was wrong. Another test was scheduled for Monday, December 6th, to specifically target the gall bladder. It showed the gall bladder not responding at all, and also other levels in his system were starting to show some abnormalities. They determined that he had some kind of blockage next to the gall bladder. Gary was also showing signs of Jaundice. His two doctors in Bolivar ( our family doctor and the gastrointestinal specialist) felt that he needed to be referred to another specialist in Springfield for further testing.
On December 7th, he was admitted to Cox South in Springfield and the doctor was Dr. Charles Woodall. Tests were run, and one special test showed that the blockage was a possible cancerous tumor in the pancreas. If it was, it was small, caught early, and treatable according to Dr. Woodall. He put a stint in the bile duct which allowed flow into the gall bladder. This immediately cured the Jaundice and helped with the constipation. It did nothing for the stomach pain. Dr Woodall scheduled another test to take a different look at the pancreas to make sure it was a tumor. Dr Woodall let Gary go home on Friday, but wanted to see him back in his office on Monday, December 13th. That visit confirmed the cancer but did not reveal how far it had spread. Another test (outpatient this time) was scheduled for Wednesday, December 15th that would show how far the cancer had spread, hoping that it had not spread to an artery. Dr. Woodall planned to do surgery right after Christmas to remove the tumor and follow up with chemo.
An appointment was set for Monday, December 20th, to meet with Dr Leo Shunyakov in Bolivar (a cancer specialist) to set up the chemo treatments. However, the test that was done on December 15th showed that the cancer was touching the artery, which meant they could not do surgery due to the extreme risk of cutting the artery. Dr Leo said that they would have to do chemo and radiation first to try to shrink the tumor away from the artery so that surgery could be done. The chances of the tumor shrinking are only about 20%, but that is better than 0%.
He also recommended that we get a second opinion which we readily agreed to. We wanted to go to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis because it is a highly respected hospital and it has a lot more experience with pancreatic cancer. Dr Leo got Gary an appointment with a Dr. Chris Anderson on Thursday, December 29th. Dr Leo went ahead and gave Gary a chemo treatment on December 22nd and will give him another one Wednesday, December 28th. The idea was to try to stop any further growth of the tumor. Radiation is set to start right after the first of the year if Dr. Anderson doesn't have any different treatments that he wants to do.
Gary had a Pet Scan done today. Hopefully, that will come back not showing any cancer anywhere else.
Needless to say, these past few months have been a real strain on our physical and emotional stamina, especially on Gary. He has dealt with this situation much better than I would have anticipated, even though it has shaken him in his shoes. He hasn't joked nearly as much as he used to.
The support from family and friends has been overwhelming. We sincerely appreciate everyone's prayers and support during this time. It has been a saving grace to both of us, and to our children also.
On December 7th, he was admitted to Cox South in Springfield and the doctor was Dr. Charles Woodall. Tests were run, and one special test showed that the blockage was a possible cancerous tumor in the pancreas. If it was, it was small, caught early, and treatable according to Dr. Woodall. He put a stint in the bile duct which allowed flow into the gall bladder. This immediately cured the Jaundice and helped with the constipation. It did nothing for the stomach pain. Dr Woodall scheduled another test to take a different look at the pancreas to make sure it was a tumor. Dr Woodall let Gary go home on Friday, but wanted to see him back in his office on Monday, December 13th. That visit confirmed the cancer but did not reveal how far it had spread. Another test (outpatient this time) was scheduled for Wednesday, December 15th that would show how far the cancer had spread, hoping that it had not spread to an artery. Dr. Woodall planned to do surgery right after Christmas to remove the tumor and follow up with chemo.
An appointment was set for Monday, December 20th, to meet with Dr Leo Shunyakov in Bolivar (a cancer specialist) to set up the chemo treatments. However, the test that was done on December 15th showed that the cancer was touching the artery, which meant they could not do surgery due to the extreme risk of cutting the artery. Dr Leo said that they would have to do chemo and radiation first to try to shrink the tumor away from the artery so that surgery could be done. The chances of the tumor shrinking are only about 20%, but that is better than 0%.
He also recommended that we get a second opinion which we readily agreed to. We wanted to go to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis because it is a highly respected hospital and it has a lot more experience with pancreatic cancer. Dr Leo got Gary an appointment with a Dr. Chris Anderson on Thursday, December 29th. Dr Leo went ahead and gave Gary a chemo treatment on December 22nd and will give him another one Wednesday, December 28th. The idea was to try to stop any further growth of the tumor. Radiation is set to start right after the first of the year if Dr. Anderson doesn't have any different treatments that he wants to do.
Gary had a Pet Scan done today. Hopefully, that will come back not showing any cancer anywhere else.
Needless to say, these past few months have been a real strain on our physical and emotional stamina, especially on Gary. He has dealt with this situation much better than I would have anticipated, even though it has shaken him in his shoes. He hasn't joked nearly as much as he used to.
The support from family and friends has been overwhelming. We sincerely appreciate everyone's prayers and support during this time. It has been a saving grace to both of us, and to our children also.
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