Rough Week

Hi there. If I had a tail it would be between my legs as I apologize for not updating sooner. I am taking flack from everyone and so here I find myself sitting in my office and trying to figure out what I will say to all of you.

So, Gary had chemo last week. Dr. Barth has switched his chemo to one that he thought Gary could "better tolerate". Well, I am no oncologist but I would venture to say that Gary has not tolerated this chemo any better than the last chemo.

Gary is a mess. It is super hard for him because he looks so incredibly good. If you saw him you would remark on how great he looks and how well he seems to be doing. Gary does not want any of you feeling sorry for him so he tries not to let anyone around him see what he goes through in our house every day. He has an amazing capacity for acting and does a great job covering up the intense amount of pain he has right now.

He does not read this blog so I will share a little bit with you. Here is the problem he is facing right now. This is so medical but i will try to simplify things for you the best I know how.

Gary has extensive spreading of his cancer to his pelvic region. He does not have bone cancer or any cancer in his blood, marrow or organs. It is basically in the tissue surrounding everything in his pelvis.

He received radiation (26 doses) that ended in March. Here is where things get a bit complicated.

The radiation keeps working and attacks the cancer for a 4 month period of time after the very last dose. So, even though he is not currently receiving radiation it is still having an affect on his body. This is good but it is also bad.

Due to the extensive nature of the cancer the Radiation Oncologist had to radiate his ENTIRE pelvic region. Normally, they pinpoint tumors, map them out through high-tech scans, and then blast the tumor with targeted radiation. They could not due this with Gary because of the number of tumors he has.

So, there has been excessive damage to Gary's intestinal track. If the lining of your bowels (intestinal track) is supposed to be thick like a bounty paper towel that holds even the thickest of spaghetti sauces Gary's is as thin as the cheap 1-ply toilet paper you can buy at Big Lots! His bowels are extremely irritated and I bet if you tried hard enough you could imagine the complications and problems that arise from bowels that are riddled with 2nd degree burns and are capable of tearing very easily! I refuse to embarrass Gary by giving you all the sad details but I will tell you that even I have a very hard time watching him go throug what he is enduring right now. He is absolutely miserable and spends almost every night awake ALL NIGHT LONG because of these problems. I guess that means I am running on an empty gas tank as well because once he is up I am awake as well!

So, the chemo causes what doctors call Radiation Recall which in essence "recalls" the injury to the bowels that was done by the radiation. Do you understand?

I guess we are at an impass. The chemo causes Radiation Recall and the new molecular therapy can potentially cause a hole to be blown through Gary's bowel system as its only side effect. What to do next?

I am unsure but I do know that his red cells fell to 8.6 today and he is scheduled for transfusions tomorrow. He has been in the outpatient office every day this week receiving high doses of steroids to hopefully calm his intestinal track down. He has also been receiving hydration and I told him I would love him even if he blows up and looks like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from all the roids!

Wow. Lots of info. I hope you can understand it. It seems so difficult to explain sometimes. I am sorry if I lost you. I tried.
Please pray for Gary's endurance and patience. Pray also that he heals and we can move forward.

Thanks for letting me bend your ear. I am tired and want to watch Grey's!

Love and Hugs,
L