Down Some Pills, Up Some Hope

Penny and I saw the pain doctor yesterday in clinic and got a real plan together on how to manage my pain. As a result today is my first pain-free day in weeks. I am a little zonked though but that didn't stop me from volunteering in Carly's class today and running some errands. My next pain medication which we are phasing into over the next few weeks is, believe it or not, methadone! Billed as having all the pain control of other morphine based pain killers with none (or much less) of the getting high feeling. It will be a bit of trial-and-error over the next few weeks as we phase in the methadone and phase out the fentanyl/percoset. The end result should be good pain control with no snowed over, sleepy, high feeling. Can't wait!

Westjet Christmas Cheer

You should check out this years Westjet Christmas video. Pretty cool.

I'm having radiation on my shoulder and back this afternoon. Then I'm back to get another fraction on my back again next Monday. No chemo until after that at least. yay!

The Latest CT and Bone Scan Results

Penny and I saw my oncologist on Monday to review my latest bone scan and CT scan results. Overall the results were disappointing but I'm feeling good so our spirits are high.

The bone scan showed 3 bone mets: 

• One in my right hip (treated with radiation in September and looking smaller than on my last scan)
• One on my T8 vertebrae (treated with radiation in September and looking like only half of it shrunk. Looking into another radiation treatment for this guy soon)
• One new one on the head of my left humorous (shoulder). This one is new and corresponds with some subtle pain and loss of strength I've been feeling there lately.

The CT scan showed new developments in a number of areas:

• All the mets in my lungs have grown subtly. The biggest one in the right upper lobe previously measured 3.2x3.2 cm and now measures 4.0x4.7cm.
• There is an enlarged lymph node in the pre tracheal area (in my chest right near where the trachea divides into 2 branches) that measures 3.4x3.6cm. It previously measured 1.1x1.8cm. This is almost certainly a metastasis.
• There are no liver mets (still! - awesome!)
• There are 2 new mets in my Pancreas. I know. Pancreas? WTF. The Dr is convinced these are colon cancer mets and not primary pancreatic cancer. She also said not to expect any major physical symptoms from these. Good news I guess...

Going forward the plan is to consult the radiation Dr on Monday the 9th and hopefully have radiation on my back and maybe my shoulder that week. I would restart chemo following that sometime, probably on single agent irinotecan for a change. It seems I have had enough cancer progress on my current regimen of chemo (5Fu + Bevacizumab) to warrant trying something else. I've done irinotecan before but not in a few years so maybe it will work better now with renewed vigour! 

Also going to see the pain Dr. Tuesday December 10 to get better help in living with the pain from the bone mets.

Mostly not great news but at least I'll be off chemo for a few weeks and maybe the radiation on my back will work better this time.