Getting ready for surgery

Well I have been stressed a little lately because of all the things I have had to do. With Track season is full swing that has been been demanding on me. I am trying to do my best, but things always go on and fires have to be put out. Lachlan is growing up so fast and I cannot believe that he is 13.5 months already. He will be 2 years before I know it and truly a 'big boy'. Too quick, too quick. Teaching has been crazy. You never seem to catch up with things. I come home from work and know I have plenty of work to do. Family time comes first of course, but the stress of thinking about all of that school work just drains me. My mind has been racing. The only way I can sleep any good is if I take my natural sleeping tablets. And now on top of that I have my surgery next week. I feel as though I am not prepared for it at all. Maybe thats a good thing. I wont be thinking about the surgery because I have so many other things going on. I do need to get a blood test tomorrow and the results sent up to IU. I might just get it done at Highlands. They get the results very quick and are good about faxing the results quickly. Just need the time to get my butt down there. I should have that tomorrow......then again.. who knows.
I am glad that my parents are going to be there for the surgery and afterwards. I think afterwards it is going to be really nice to have them by my side. We can go walking together which I will love and a very important part of my recovery. Total recovery should take about 3 months, but I am hoping to be at work after 4 weeks and working without any heavy lifting. My parents are here for 2 weeks.
I will be typing up posts from IU and the recovery room. It should be very exciting and I might actually get some much needed rest!

Indianapolis visit & Surgery Date

Jennifer and I drive 9 hours to Indianapolis, spent the night, up early to meet
with Dr. Foster and Dr Einhorn, then on the road again for another 9 hours back to Bentonville. It was a quick, busy trip but it was very worth it. The drive there was easy. Nice roads and minimal problems. Hotel check in was a breeze. My Insanity workout that night in the hotel room was not a breeze! I found myself stopping to many times and just not able to keep up the pace. The good thing for me is that many of the guys and girls on the video were also stopping. Maybe this is not so good for Insanity as you'd expect their 'athletes' to complete the workout without stopping. putting us mere mortals to shame. Anyway.. getting off the topic aren't I. Back to it.
Dr. Foster was first up and he was very relaxed and seemed very confident. He answered all of our questions, and we had a lot! He told us he does about 170 of these RPLND's a year and done about 2000 in his career so far. Amazing. Compare that to one about 6 years ago, which was the stat of my first urologist that wanted to do the surgery on me! So I felt very confident that if I was to get the surgery done, then Dr. Foster is the man to do it. Next was Dr. Einhorn. We went down the elevator to his office to check in. While we were waiting, I noticed the walls were covered with Lance Armstrong pictures and signed magazine covers. I'm sure he has his own private collection of signed gear. Dr. Einhorn's RN first came in to see me and talk to me about my case. Dr. Einhorn then followed in which he basically told me I have two options. Do the surgery, which he strongly suggests, or surveillance, which he strongly opposes. So, with this Dr. of so many years experience telling me I needed the surgery. I simply told myself that I have to bit the bullet and get this done. So I walked out of there a happier, more knowledgeable person. I'm happy I found IU and happy that this will be the place of my surgery with Dr. Foster. My parents are coming over a few days before which will be really helpful with my recovery.
Time to prepare for it all.

On our way to Indianapolis.

Jen and I are traveling all day, over 550 miles, up to Indianapolis to meet with Dr. Foster, surgeon, and Dr. Einhorn, oncologist, tomorrow. We have just passed the arch in St. Louis. Sorry, this was the best picture I could take from the care. Don't stress, I wasn't driving!
Hoping tomorrow is as good as I hope and that I get all my questions answered by these two very renowned Doctors.

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Surgery Date is set

So I spoke to Dr. Foster's assistant today and we have set the date for the RPLND surgery. March 2nd. My parents will be coming over (yippee!) for support and to help me through those first 2 weeks after surgery. Jennifer and I will most likely take a day to venture up to Indianapolis to meet with Dr. Foster and Dr. Einhorn next week sometime. We aim to discuss many questions regarding the RPLND. Again, this will be a great educational experience for us and I think that the more I know about the surgery the better I will deal with it.

My hair is coming back really thick now and everyone I see, especially after a few days of not seeing them, always mention how fast it is growing. When I walked into the classroom today, all the kids even noticed it!

Update

Snow and ice cancelled my flights. So Einhorn & Foster are going to review my CT scans when they receive the CD's Monday.
Feel so good they are on my team. Its like a new found confidence to beat this.

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Such a big day today: Dr. Einhorn

Yesterday I wrote an email to Dr. Einhorn who lead the team that saved Lance Armstrong's life. I didn't expect much a response back as he gets so many emails per day. He wrote back this morning and even tried to call! I was in the shower so missed it. I called him back and we spoke for about 20 minutes about my treatment. Well I found out that my treatment timeline has been pretty much wrong this whole time. I should of had 4 cycles of chemotherapy, should of had them 3 weeks apart, should of had my RPLND surgery about 6 weeks after my last course of chemo. I have a 12% less survival rate now that I took 3 cycles instead of 4. Dr. Travis and I will be discussing this next week.
Now I am focused in on working with Dr. Einhorn, oncologist, and Dr. Foster, the surgeon. This team is the best in the country. I am getting a CT scan tomorrow morning and my bloody tumor markers drawn as well. This information and all of my previous scans I will take to Indianapolis Friday. I am spending the day up at the hospital in Indy talking to Dr. Einhorn and, hopefully depending on his schedule, Dr. Foster.

This is where I start doing this treatment thing right.

Like Dr. Einhorn said, " This is still going to have a happy ending"

My brain is racing all the time

After the visit to Dr. Katz my mind is all over the place. It is all I can think about. When I wake up, when I go to sleep and numerous times throughout the day is thinking about my cancer and what my next step should be.
I am very worried because I am starting to feel something in my right lower back again. It was the same, to a lesser extent, as what I had in August 2010....when all of this started.
Dr. Katz told me I have 2 options. RPLND surgery or monitor. As the tumor is 4.3 cm then the urologist all think that I need the RPLND. If it was smaller than 3cm then it would be better to monitor it. So I have told myself I need this surgery and I will get it done. Now the question is, who does it? I have done a lot of reading on the web and have got on a great website, thanks for finding it Jennifer!, called tc-cancer.com which wraps my head around RPLND surgery and who does it. Dr. Foster in Indianapolis is my number 1 guy. He works with Dr. Einhorn who worked very closely to Lance Armstrong. Dr. Foster has been doing this type of surgery for many years and, from what I have read, knows his stuff. Dr. Katz suggested I talk to an excellent Dr. in St. Louis, Dr. Kibel. This doctor hasn't been doing it as long and I he is my 2nd pick right now. St. Louis is closer and easier for Jen's family and added cost, but I'm not going to let logistics make my mind up. I simply want the best of the best.... and in my mind that is Dr. Foster.
I see Dr. Travis on Tuesday (there is a storm coming through that is supposed to hit Monday night. I hope this doesn't cancel Dr. Travis appointment) and will make sure I get a referral to go see Dr. Foster ASAP. With my back hurting, I feel I need to work quickly on this.

News & my hair is coming back!

So I got a call today that I am to see Dr. Katz in Little Rock on Friday 28th. I have to go an pick up the images from Dr. Travis' office this Friday when I have a checkup from him.

Hair is coming in thick and fast

So as you can see from the picture I just took, my hair is coming in fairly well. It is so soft, I can't believe it. haha. So funny considering my hair is usually so course. I am looking forward to see how it looks in another month.
My rash is still around, after 6 weeks. So I decided I was going to try and get rid of it. I went to see Dr. Travis yesterday and they referred my to Dr. Hull, a local dermatologist. Yes, yet another doctor. The list continues to grow. They took a biopsy of it to send to UAMS (University of Arkansas Medical School) in Little Rock. They are thinking that is it folliculitis which is an inflammation of the hair follicles. The lab tests should show which bacteria or fungus is causing the infection. I hope to get it all done soon.
We are expecting snow overnight, so maybe I get that much needed rest..... we will see.

Waiting.....

It was a holiday for me today. No school. Which was great. Needed it because with the first indoor track & field meet all day Saturday it just felt like I didn't get much of a weekend.
I did get a call from Dr. Travis' nurse & she said she will Chase up a response from Dr. Katz as they hadn't heard anything from him in a week. I'm hoping I get the chance to talk to him. I'll definitely hear something tomorrow.

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No news is good news.... I guess.

I have only heard back from the nurse @ Dr. Travis's office to tell me she sent a note to Dr. Katz (UAMS, Little Rock, AR) and Dr. Greene (Lakeland Regional Cancer Center).Nothing back as of yet, but I hope one gets back with some positive news on surgery. Dr. Katz is a urologic oncologist specializing in laparoscopic and robotic surgery. So he might be able to do the surgery without cutting me from tip to toe. I'll be excited to speak to him personally about the surgery. Supposedly Dr. Travis nurse told me that he reviews all the notes on the patient and then makes an assessment as to whether it is a viable surgical procedure. Then he asks to speak to the patient. He does surgery Mon-Thurs, then takes patients Fridays. Maybe I'll hear something tomorrow.

Some latest pictures while I wait for surgery date

While I wait for a surgery date I am simply happy to be here and am able to play around with my son. Here are a few of the pictures we have taken over the past few weeks (the bottom two are from tonight). Lachlan makes all the worry disappear. Tonight when I was giving him a bath he started to say "uh oh" when I dropped his plastic peas in a pod in the bath. When he picked them up & put them in his mouth, I grabbed them with my teeth and he thought it was hilarious. Then I'd drop them in the water again and the cycle would continue. You could see he was learning how to speak and learn the game. Amazing!

 This picture to the left is funny, not only because  of Lachlan crushing my chest, but because he has a diaper full for poo, his 3rd for the afternoon. And it smelled horrible. Luckily this was BEFORE the bath :-)
The last picture is of my hair growing back! Not sure if it will be the same curly think hair I am accustomed to, or if it will be something different. I guess we will wait and see.

Tomorrow I am hoping to hear back from Dr. Travis' nurse with an appointment to see Dr. Katz in Little Rock, AR. I am eager to hear what he has to say about my future surgery.

Another Chapter is starting

The image on the right is one of a series of pictures from the last CAT scan I had. I went through it with my urologist Friday. You can see the spine and then the white round object is the aorta, to the left of that, round gray object, is the vena cava. I outlined the tumor in red. It is about just under 3cm across and it starts just under then right renal artery and continues to the split into the Iliac artery (see image below scan). The urologist wants to operate to get the tumor out, kind of the next step after all the chemo. It will be a very extensive surgery that may last up to 8 hours. It involves a cut from the sternum to about 3in below the belly button. Removing the intestines to clearly work on extracting the tumor. Then it's a long road to recovery. I am getting a 2nd opinion this week from a Dr. in Little Rock, Ar. Should be interesting what he says.

I will be continuing the progress of the Dr. meetings and surgery through this blog. I'm looking at it as Round 2. Chemo being Round 1.
Never knew that surgery would be a part of the process but I guess with cancer you can never know and it can always change. I have learnt a lot from this experience and will be a better person for it.
Thanks for the continued prayers and positive energy you are all giving me.
I WILL beat this.

Haven't posted in a while

I have been doing alright these past few weeks. A little tired at times and people telling me I look drained and 'sick', but I have felt decent enough to do things normally (for the most part). I am not looking forward to work, but I am looking forward to start a normal routine in the week.
I will have to have surgery to remove the tumor, but not too sure when that will take place. I am guessing in January. I have an appointment to see Dr. Travis next week that should clarify it.
Christmas was good with Jen's family and I missed talking to my family on Christmas day for the first time in many years. Made me sad, but it was busy and the times just didn't happen for us. We spoke on the 27th through Skype.
New Years is ahead and I am hoping for a better year in 2011 than in 2010. Cancer is a part of my life now and I'm becoming used to the fact that I have it. I hope it goes away in 2011.

Starting to come around

I'm starting to feel a little better these days. I guess it takes a few days to get out of my system. My stomach area feels very bloated and full all the time. I felt this during the last cycle and its another things that goes away after about a week. The rash on my back still hasn't gone away but I see the Dr. Friday so that will be good for him to see it. Looking forward to a cancer free Christmas!

Not a good weekend

After a solid week in the chair getting treatment I felt my body going south on Thursday night and all day Friday. I was hoping that the weekend would bring me back to life considering that I didn't have to actually take the chemo medications, but that wasn't the case. I got worse throughout the weekend. I don't really remember it much at all. I simply laid on the couch and was a zombie. I felt the worst I have in a long time and probably since that first week. I got my Neulasta (boost WBC) shot on Saturday morning and then I got a bad rash all over my mid section. Jennifer took great care of me, but I couldn't even play with Lachlan at all. I was simply watching my family move around me and couldn't participate. I slept a little Sunday arvo and got to bed early Sunday night. Of course I woke up @ 6am wanting to eat. Thats another thing. I have gained too much weight during these last few months and I'm disgusted in that. I have put my energy into getting better and I have found that it means I eat more. Then I don't burn it off and it accumulates. I know I will get it off but it will take a long time. I also thought what was life without knowing that I had a tumor, or cancer? Will I always be thinking about the tumor inside of me? Will it hold me back from pushing beyond the comfort zone? I was so used to pushing myself to the highest limit when  I was younger, but will that change now that I have this holding me back? I'm not too sure. It has been a rough weekend and today I'm trying to get better. I just got back from a 25 min walk with Dot. Nice and easy. To get some fresh air into my lungs as I have been couped up in the house for too long.
The rash is getting better, but the last thing I want is another IV in my arm pumping me with antihistamines. My veins are shot.