Just Peachy

Round one of chemo is in the bag!  Whooo hoo!  I'm not really this excited, it just seemed like I should cheer.  Have I lost my mind?  A bit.  The chemo embolization treatment was applied to the right side of my liver, targeting about 6 tumors.  They will treat the left side when I go back for round two in six weeks, .

It's been about a week and I feel like I was hit by a MACK Truck.  I've gone on and on about how my "special" chemo will have "minimal" side effects... talk about speaking too soon.  I'm getting my ass kicked here.  BUT, this isn't a pity party so put your tiny violins away.  Let's just put it this way:  I've never been so tired in my life and yes, there are side effects.  My treasured friend, Melissa, put it best, "It's a good thing you feel like you're getting your a** kicked.  That means the chemo is working it's magic."  If that is the case, then indeed it is.

With that being said, I'm off to the Grand Canyon.  How have I gone this long in life without seeing it?  Time to remedy that!  What started out as a road trip with my sister, Tiff, is now flanked with two flights.  Mom would not have her freshly-chemoed daughter cruising through hundreds of miles of desert, sleeping in the car when needed.  Hahaha.  I'm okay with this.  My only hope is I can hang long enough to enjoy some hiking.  After the GC we're off to the coast for some beach time.  This trip is short and sweet, one last hurrah before summer ends and it's back to school!  And round two of chemo and then surgery.... eek!

Hug someone you love.  Give a person in need a hand.  Be happy.  Smile....  I am.


Passion Fruit

To date or not to date.... that is the question.

Poor Will Shakespeare.  He writes an amazing line and yahoos like myself continually adapt it to meet our needs.  He's rolled over so many times in his grave he's probably burrowed a hole to China by now.

After my most recent debacle (short version: an icky person made a swift exit from my life following the news.... in hindsight, I dodged a bullet), I decided that dating while having cancer isn't a good idea.  It just doesn't seem fair to the other person.

Imagine this scenario (close your eyes... but keep reading):

I meet a fella.  We begin dating.  Everything is running smoothly.  This fella and I are spending a lot of quality time together.  He's tall, incredibly good-looking, and has a great job but isn't married to his work.  He texts me all day long and calls "just to say hi."  We hike when we're not at yoga or throwing a frisbee in the park.  He always pays for dinner when he isn't home-cooking meals with fresh, organic ingredients.  Enough yet?   He loves to give massages, shoe shop, and thinks I'm the most gorgeous creature to ever walk this planet.  Enough now.

One day a conversation transpires:

The Fella:  Lins, I really like you, we get along great and things are so fun!
Lindsey:  I know!  Me too!
The Fella:  Should we make things official?
Lindsey:  That would be wonderful!
The Fella:  Great.
Lindsey:  Great.  Ummm... just one tinsey thing.... I have the Big C....
The Fella:  ......     (sound of air blowing in my face as he runs the opposite direction)

With all that said, I have a date on Saturday.  Haha!  I just can't help myself.  This chick has a lot of love to give that special someone.  He just has to show up.


Ripe for the Pickin'

This Colorado-residing Nebraska girl just laughed hysterically with another 'former' Nebraska girl about trying to explain detasseling corn.  Oh, how I love being from the Midwest.  Now that we're nearing the end of summer, harvest is approaching and my tumors are no exception.  Over the summer they have nearly doubled in size and are ready to be plucked from their comfy little nests and sent packing.

My first chemo treatment will be at the end of July.  The procedure is called chemoembolization or TACE (transarterial chemoembolization).  First they will treat the tumors on the right side of my liver and after about 5 weeks they will repeat the procedure on the left side.  Following this I will have surgery to remove the tumor in my pancreas.  I know what you're all thinking..... you're jealous I get to have all the fun!  Worry not, friends, I'll try not to rub it in too much.  

My super special chemo minimally effects the healthy tissue in my liver.  It's delivered through a catheter in my leg directly to the tumors in the liver, shutting off their blood supply.  This should cause the tumors to shrink.  There are low side effects for this type of chemo.  My interventional radiologist (fancy name for a cancer/chemo doc) said I'll feel like I have the flu for a few days and be tired.  I think I can handle that.  It's rare for a person to lose their hair during this treatment so I will retain my right to say dumb things and respond with, "I'm just a blonde!"  

Dr. Johnson, the above-mentioned interventional radiologist, is a drummer in a band!  So rad.  I'm loving my doctors.  They are fun to joke with... probably because they don't expect it.  Come on, guys, cancer is funny!   They are doing an amazing job working with me and my (humorous) cancer.  Dr. Weinfeld, my surgeon who will perform the procedure on my pancreas down the road, came to my appointment with Dr. Johnson.  Clearly he didn't need to do this and I'm sure he's a busy man.  It just shows a deep level of caring I acknowledge considerably.  They are working together on finding the best treatment options and progression.  The doctors frequently mention they are checking with the University of Colorado and other experts while sending my charts out for them to review.  I'm just so popular these days!



Aloe Again


Doctors appointments are fun but not.   You learn so much in such a small amount of time it's not in any way overwhelming.  My latest appointment with the surgeon yielded these new results what did he say again. 

The rare type of malignant gastrinomas I have are neuroendocrine.  I have a disease called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.  The gastrinoma tumors in my pancreas and liver caused this condition.  Okay, big words aside, what the H#@% does all this mean?  Neuorendrocrine tumors secrete hormones.   Gastrinomas secrete the hormone gastrin.  Because gastrin causes excess stomach acid, I have stomach and duodenal ulcers in addition to the tumors in my pancreas and liver, shesh.   Gastrinoma tumors typically are slow growing.  

Treatment options right now are as follows:  chemo and surgery with the possibility of a liver transplant.   What order and when is to be determined and there are doctors working on this as we go to press.  In fact, one of the experts my surgeon is consulting is Dr. Ellison, the son of Dr. Ellison, of Zollinger-Ellison.  Fancy.

The chemo treatments I'll receive are called Chemoembolization.  Chemoembolization delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to the tumors, while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues.  This delivery method minimizes side effects, like nausea and vomiting, and maximizes the cancer-killing properties of the drugs.  During chemoembolization, chemotherapy is injected through a catheter (inserted into the vein in my thigh) directly to the tumors using image guidance.  The chemotherapy drugs are mixed with particles, called microspheres, which block the flow of blood to the tumor.  Without a blood supply, the tumors no longer have the oxygen and nutrients they need to grow.  Chemoembolization allows high doses of chemotherapy drugs to be targeted directly to the cancerous tissue for a longer period of time, without exposing the entire body to the effect of the drugs.

Information taken from http://www.cancercenter.com/liver-cancer/chemoembolization/

The surgery is called a Whipple procedure.  The goal of the Whipple procedure (pancreatoduodenectomy) is to remove the head of the pancreas, where the tumor resides.  Because the pancreas is so integrated with other organs, the surgeon must also remove the first part of the small intestine (duodenum), the gallbladder, the end of the common bile duct and sometimes a portion of the stomach.  This is done during the first four hours of surgery.  In the reconstruction phase of the operation (the second four hours of the operation), the intestine, bile duct and remaining portion of the pancreas are reconnected.  The Whipple procedure is a difficult and demanding operation for the person undergoing surgery and the surgeon. 

Information taken from http://www.mayoclinic.org/whipple-procedure/about.html

Treatments Dr. Lindsey has implemented:  Organic, elimination diet.  No gluten or diary.  Limited sugar.  (Ha! I cave on this one quite often.  I have a candy addiction- intervention anyone?).  Out of habit I’m still mostly vegetarian.  I eat seafood sometimes because it’s just so darn good.  I have NEVER been more aware of what I’m putting in my body.  I do not eat anything processed.  My toothpaste and deodorant are all natural now.  My lip-gloss is organic.  It’s quite interesting what you find when you go looking.   Most products commonly found in American stores contain insanely harmful things.   A lot of "food" is full of chemicals and preservatives.  These substances are not meant for humans.  We do not possess the capabilities to process them.  I’m getting off my soapbox right after I say:  be knowledgeable about your body, what you do with it and put in it.  You only have one and it has to last you….  Okay, stepping down.  

My latest obsession is Yoga.  To all who told me for years how great it is, I finally get it!  And I couldn’t agree more.  My daily consumption of water probably equals that of Lake Superior.  Treatments my other doctors have implemented:  Betsy bought me a Nutribullet so I blend greens, berries, nuts and seeds into delicious meals.  Jos sent me Brazilian Aloe Arborescens I take three times a day.  Lisa and I laugh ridiculous amounts, which I know is shrinking those little suckers.  Tiff and I planned a road trip that will take us through the mountains, a canyon (the big one), and end at the ocean.     

I'm definitely in good hands.