So THAT'S What It Is!

Well, turns out that WBBS/LI Mom was scheduled for was not a spinal tap of some sort after all. It was a BODY SCAN. Makes perfect sense now! WBBS - Whole Body Bone Scan. And the "LI" was not the L-1 vertebrae either. It was actually "LI" for "Lake Imaging". I feel better now that I know. Mom's chemo teaching went well as can be expected, I guess. Kathy went with her. They watched a video and learned all about nutrition, diet, nausea, vomiting, etc. Kathy showed me the folder with all the literature. The number one thing the doc said was that MOM NEEDS TO STOP SMOKING. She said she will. I don't think she will. Seems like the more determined she is to stop, the more she smokes. Hopefully, she will keep her word and stop this week. Kathy seemed disappointed by the fact that after the chemo class, Mom made Kathy stop so she could buy some cigarettes. I don't blame Kathy. I mean, here we are re-arranging our lives and schedules to take care of Mom, and she does not appear to be putting any effort into stopping. At least that's how it appears to me. But, I don't know what battles are going on inside Mom. Because of the rain last week, Mom rescheduled her MRI of the brain. Because of that, the chemo has been pushed to Wednesday (5/20) instead of Tuesday the 20th. Debbie is still coming on the 20th. Then, she will have her appt. with Dr. Billings. He will know more about how to proceed on the chemo once he reviews all the results of Mom's diagnostic tests. My boss told me that once Deb gets all settled, and Mom's routine is running more smoothly, I should have tests done to check for cancer. I will need to get the adenoma of my thyroid checked. I suggested to Kathy she do the same thing. Hopefully, she will. Well, faithful readers and fellow bloggers, I will log off for now. Thanks for stopping by. Keep praying! Love to all ~ Jeaux

Day 2 (or is it 3?)

Okay. Day 2 is when Mom is scheduled for her medi-port implant. Dr. Olinde's office called her and scheduled for Tuesday, May 13. Mom said they told her Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center (which is located at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital). I thought that was odd, thinking it would be at St. Mary's Tower where she had the bronchoscopy done. At any rate, we park at MBPCC, go in, and were told we were at the wrong place. Mom was told to be there for 11, and we got there about 10:45. I suggested Mom let me drop her off then park, but she insisted on walking. By the time we get inside and it's our turn at the Help Desk, it's 10:55. So, I go get the car, pick her up, and off to the parking garage we go. She said for me to drop her at the tunnel entrance and she would wait, because "we have plenty time". I told her not to wait on me, that I'd park and catch up to her because it was 5 mintues to 11. So, off she and I go, to accomplish our goals. I park, get to the tunnel, and notice she is not at the check in spot at St. Mary's. I did see her half way down a hall way that leads back to MBPCC. I caught up to her and asked where she was going. She said they told her it was this way. I ask if she wants a wheel chair, but she wanted to walk. So we go about 30 feet (Mom walks slow) and I noticed she was getting slower and slower, and more winded. I also had a feeling we were going the wrong way. I convinced her to wait where she was so I could at least get a wheel chair. Lucky me, I noticed an orderly coming down the hall with one. She let me use the wheel chair and I caught up to Mom who did not wait as instructed. So, off we go in the general direction of no where in particular. I parked her at MBPCC and waited for a very chatty patient to finish up with the clerk so I could ask if we were in the right spot. Surprise, we were not where we were supposed to be. Turns out, that feeling I had of being in the wrong place was correct. So, long story short (or short story way too long), we check in at 11:30. We waited for about 10-15 minutes before they brought us to the "bay" area. Got her dressed in her pretty hospital-issue gown, accessorized by her hospital bracelet and an IV. And, waited. It was 2:00 before they came for her (grrrrr). We finally left around 3:30. Dr. Olinde said she did fine during the procedure and the usual "call us if she has any problems" (but he won't be there - he's going out of town!). Oh, and remember that test that no one had heard of (not even the place where it was to be performed)? Well the nurse who took Mom's medical history found out it was some sort of lumbar puncture - I guess checking to see if there is cancer in her spine? She said it is to be in her Lumbar spine (the appointment print out page said "WBBS/LI"). I thought it was L-I, not L-1. All her diagnostic tests had that on there, like, MRI/LI and MM/LI (mammogram). They did not do an MRI of her L-1, nor was the mammogram for her L-1 spine. Turns out, that was a full body scan.... OY. And the LI stands for LAKE IMAGING, not Lumbar-1 vertebrae. This is all confusing to me, so I can imagine it being a whirl wind of confusion to Mom. I was fortunate that Kathy was able to take Wednesday thru Friday off because I had alot of catch-up work to do at the office. Remember the MRI of her brain that had to be rescheduled because she is claustrophobic? Well that was scheduled for today, but it was raining, so she rescheduled it for next week. That's a pretty minor thing, so she won't need a chaparone. Naturally, we won't know the results of any of this until she sees Dr. Billings again on 5/20 at 9:25 am. After we see him, I go the the Baton Rouge Airport and pick up Debbie. Then bring her to Lake Imaging and I will go in to work for a couple of hours. Gotta get things finalized for a 2 day conference coming up. Gotta finalize the menus, put packets together, yada yada blah blah. NEXT is the CHEMO TEACHING which will be tomorrow. Kathy did well in school, so I am sure she will take good notes for me. Well, that's it for now. Thanks for keeping updated with me. Keep praying. Love to all. Jeaux

DAY 1 OF "THE PROCESS"

Well, day one was a long one (and it's only the beginning!) Her MUGA test took longer than expected, although it was quite interesting. They take out some blood, put some radioactive tracers/tags in it, and put it back in. They then put you in this MRI looking machine and check to see how your arteries are working. This test usually takes about 20 minutes. HOWEVER, Mom's heart rate was all over the place (78, 95, 120, 67, 83, 60, well, you get the picture). Because it was not stable, it took a while for the tech to get a good read. So, all in all, the 20 minute test took almost an hour. Needless to say, Mom started getting VERY uncomfortable because she was flat on her back (luckily I talked her into putting the triangle shaped pillow under her knees at the beginning of the test). I started counting her down (she kept asking "how much longer?") at about the 3 minute mark. She was hooked up to EKG type leads, and it was noted she had an arhythmia of her heart - that's a fancy word for "your heart isn't beating right". NEXT came the MRI. They told her it was an open MRI. But, the machine covered her face - big no no if you are claustrophobic. They were kind enough to give her the Doctor's orders, and I drove to the Imaging center that did my MRI. You sit down, they lean you back, pull you into the machine and you lie there and watch TV - although you can't hear the TV because the machine makes so much noise (I felt like I was on a ride at Disney. I even asked the tech if I should raise my arms and yell "WooooHooo!" but she didn't get it. She said I had to stay very still). I was lucky enough to get her scheduled for Thursday morning at 9:30. I filled out the paper work for Mom, so all she has to do is go to the place, sign in and wait. NEXT was her appt with Dr. Olinde - the vascular surgeon who did the abdominal by pass surgery on her about 3 years ago. Because he is going out of town Wednesday through Monday or Tuesday, he scheduled her for this morning. He explained where he'd put the medi-port, and stated that a patient CAN go straight from there to chemo (although I don't see how - it takes 8 hours!) but he would rather the patient wait a day or 2 - give the area a little time to heal. So this works out perfect. Kathy is going to try to take off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; although I think Friday is the only day. Of course, Mom is scheduled for CHEMO TEACHING, and I would really like for someone to be there with her - this stuff is confusing to her. I asked Dr. Olinde if he knew what WBBS stood for. Uh, negatory on that. So I called the place where the appt is scheduled - nope, they had no idea too. ? So, I will continue my quest for medical terminology and acronyms. Wish me luck! I will post more today (or maybe tomorrow) on how the medi-port insertion went. Keep praying, people!!! Love to All! Jeaux :-)

UPCOMING APPOINTMENTS

Hello faithful / curious readers! Mom had her consult with Dr. Billings (the Oncologist) and he has scheduled the following appointments for her: 5/12/08 - 7:45 she will arrive for her MUGA scan (Multigated Acquisition Scan which is a nuclear scan that evaluates the pumping function of the ventricles), an MRI, and finally a consult with Dr. Olinde at 11am or there abouts. 5/14/08 - she will have her first injection (WBBS - what ever that is) at 12, Mammo at 12:30 and another WBBS at 3pm. 5/16/08 - she will have "chemo teaching" at 1pm. This appointment looks like it will last for about 2 hours. 520/08 - beginning at 8:45 she will have lab work - and a follow up appt with the doctor (not sure if it will be Dr. Olinde or Dr. Billings) and beginning at 9:30 am she will have an 8 hour chemo visit. Eight hours? Yep - eight hours.... That will be a long day. I will post again Monday to describe how that day went. I know she is trying to quit smoking. She says she smokes more when she is anxious. Apparently, she has been very anxious, since she is smoking 2 packs a day. She had tried that new miracle drug CHANTIX to help her quit, but I think she came in with the wrong attitude. She thought it would just take away her cravings. I explained that it is only a tool to help her quit. She would have to set a date to stop totally, and then in-between now and that date, she will have to cut down more and more each day, or week, until finally, she is needing a cigarette less and less, to not at all. I just need to help her come up with something to do when she is anxious other than smoking. Her pulmonologist, Dr. Vincent (he did the bronchoscopy and diagnosed the cancer) told her the chemo and radiation treatment would not CURE the cancer, only treat it. I explained to her that it's like her back problems. Her doctor can't cure it, only manage it. When Mom saw Dr. Billings (the oncologist) this past Tuesday, she did not let me go with her. She is worried about me taking off too much work and possibly losing my job, even though my boss is very understanding and has told me to not worry about anything. Mom told me Dr. Billings said "it's treatable" like it's curable. I am thinking she does not realize there is a difference. I'm not sure I want to explain that to her. Maybe ignorance is bliss. I went on line to this website "TLC" and researched wigs and what she will need when she starts losing her hair. I've learned alot. I will be talking to her about her options - I even printed out pictures of wigs with styles similar to what she has now. Keep mom in your prayers, please and check back in from time to time.

The Beginning

Hello to all who have come to this site for updates. I'd like to start off by giving a history. We all know Mom was born in the "late" 30's and married our dad, Frank, in 1950. She married early and raised 5 kids, of which I happen to be the youngest. She has 4 grandsons, 5 granddaughters. She also has 4 great-grandsons. In 2007, Mom was hospitalized 2 times (May and September) for pneumonia. She was hospitalized again in April for pneumonia. This was where they performed extensive tests and determined she most likely had lung cancer (with lymph node involvement). Subsequent testing (bronchoscopy) confirmed the preliminary diagnosis of Small Cell Carcinoma of the Left Upper Lung. Small cell carcinoma (SCC) is categorized differently from the other cancers in that it is not "Staged". It is either aggressive or non-aggressive. Because there is lymph node involvement, hers is considered aggressive. To give a little perspective, if her cancer would be staged, she would be at Stage 3b (stage 4 being the worst). She saw her oncologist, Dr. Billings, on Tuesday May 6. According to Mom, he said her cancer is treatable. She goes Monday, May 12, to have her "port" inserted so they can deliver her chemotherapy through that, rather than having to go through a vein each time. That could be tough on the veins. Then she will be going two other times, I am not quite sure of the dates. The reason I created this blog is so each and every one of you can visit to check Mom's status. If you would like to make comments, you are very welcome to do so (encouraged even). Well, I will sign off for now, and keep updating as they become available. Love to all - to the moon and back! Jeaux