Some Test Results Are Now In

Just heard from Sandi and some test results are already in. Today's Pet Scan indicates no sign of cancer. Her thyroid seems to be a problem again so tests will be run on that. Some blood work is back and seems to indicate a low level infection of some type. Antibiotics are being prescribed for that. At this time, everything remains on track for the harvesting of her stem cells in about ten days.

Sandi's Thyroid Biopsy Results

All five samples have come back CLEAN! No sign at all of any cancer whatsoever. Nothing, nada, zip.

They want to do a followup that may or may not include another painful biopsy deal in about three months. So the end of July and early August is looking busy as that is also when they want to do another full body PET Scan to check on things.

At this point everything has come back indicting she is in remission for the two nasty types of Non Hodgkins Lymphomas she had and no sign of any other new cancer. Still needs to have the echo cardiogram scheduled and done to make sure the chemotherapy has not done any new damage to her heart. And she still has to have the surgery to remove the port out of her chest. But, all things considered, things are looking up for Sandi's health at this point.

This was the best possible news we could have gotten. Sandi's comment was, "I told you so." I still can't quite believe it. I really want to believe but to be told this after all the indications otherwise is pretty amazing.

Because we are back online Sandi was able to update her blog from home today. As always she has a lot of pictures. In this case her blog deal is on items she recently has been making the last couple of weeks. The link to check it out is http://lady-sandra.blogspot.com/2012/05/more-finished-projects2.html


Kevin

The Thyroid Biopsy--DONE

The thyroid biopsy is done and was very hard on her. Unfortunately it was not the simple procedure so many others have experienced. Unknown to us Sandi's thyroid is much deeper in her neck than most people. Not only was that an issue, she also has some sort of cartilage across the area acting as a wall between her thyroid and the rest of her neck. This had to be punched through to get at her thyroid.

Those two complicating factors meant they had to use a much longer needle than normal. Once they got to the thyroid they then discovered to their surprise that Sandi has calcium deposits all over her thyroid. Like everything else with us, this is rare and a difficulty that had to be dealt with by working the needed back and forth. Not only did that cause a lot of pain for her, but Sandi could hear and feel it every time the needle scrapped against a calcium deposit.

They took five samples for testing. At this point we have no idea when the results will be back. Having taken a pain pill, Sandi is now in bed and asleep with an ice pack on her throat.We are supposed to watch for swelling and theoretically it should be minor.

The good thing is it is over and now yet another waiting period begins......

Sandi's Thyroid Biopsy

After talking with the auto finance people and getting nowhere on skipping a payment this month while also getting plenty of lectures about how being late would affect my credit (as if I had any credit at this point), the hospital called. Sandi's thyroid biopsy is now scheduled for late tomorrow morning.

She is happy to get it done. Also very happy that it is not a dawn procedure like so many things and she also does not have to skip breakfast or do anything. Supposedly, according to the nurse, it is a real easy procedure and there is nothing to it.

Sandi and the Thyroid Biopsy

In answer to several e-mails tonight and a phone call, we still don't know when the biopsy of her thyroid  is planned. No one from the hospital called today so all we know at this point is it won't be tomorrow. As soon as we know, I will post it on here.

In the meantime, Sandi remains confident that everything is fine and she is not worried at all. I am a wreck with worry. But, that is the way it has been all through this deal so why should it change now?


Kevin

A Sandi Update

Yesterday was a very long day at the hospital and by the time we got home midafternoon I was not doing at all well. So, this update is much later than I had intended but it couldn’t be helped.

Apparently insurance would not pay for a biopsy of her thyroid without Sandi having another ultrasound first in a separate procedure. So, the surgeon was canceled and this was a straight ultrasound of her thyroid.  Unfortunately, the ultrasound shows significant growth and activity since the last one in February. That wasn’t supposed to be happening. It also apparently shows definite abnormalities. What those abnormalities are, quite possibly a new form of cancer, we don’t know and he does not want to speculate at all.  The doctor wants a biopsy done and wants it done as soon as possible.

The afternoon saw Sandi meeting with the skin cancer doctor. The places on her face are not thought to be anything and may or may not fade away. The mole on her knee is most likely a melanoma of some type. He removed it and is sending it for testing.

At this point we have not heard from the cardiology folks about scheduling her echo cardiogram. Once we hear when the hospital wants to do the thyroid biopsy we will get that scheduled.

So, at this point, we don’t know much of anything but most of what we do know does not sound good. She remains positive that everything is fine and in good spirits.

It is FOOD BANK Saturday for us as we got to reschedule after the power failure a week ago. We will do that and then go from there.

Kevin

Sandi’s Thyroid---Here We Go Again

Back last Friday I was very happy to report that Sandi was declared by her cancer doctor to be in remission. I said then there were some issues that needed to be looked at and some more tests would need to be done. Over the course of this nightmare that started back last November, I have learned that when the doctors and hospital staff expedite things there is serious concern no matter how much they tell you not to worry.  The faster they move the more you need to worry.

We knew the cancer doctor had some concern about several things and one of the issues was/is Sandi’s thyroid. The last PET SCAN back in February showed three nodules on the right side and it was believed to be no cancer activity. The latest PET SCAN still showed those nodules and also showed some activity so he wanted her seen by an endocrinologist at the hospital.

 That was last Friday. By Monday at noon she already had doctor appointments and the first was with the endocrinologist. That happened yesterday morning with Sandi suddenly being the first patient of the day. By noon Sandi suddenly had another thyroid ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning. 

As we understand it from the endocrinologist, her right thyroid is definitely very active. The chemo did not kill it as expected and believed back in February. The endocrinologist believes the thyroid was the starting point for both of the two types of Non- Hodgkin’s Lymphomas she developed that did their damn level best to kill her. The fact that it has reactivated itself and seems to be building strength is not a good sign. His concern is that some patients during chemo can have those cancers killed and then have the thyroid develop a new totally different type of cancer that runs rampant very quickly because of the chemo and its aftereffects.

In short, she could be in remission from what they were treating for and rapidly become ill with a totally new and very different cancer.

So, tomorrow morning she will have an ultrasound of her thyroid. The plan, as we understand it and the information has been a bit conflicting from the hospital today, is that there will be a surgeon on standby to do a needle biopsy of her thyroid if necessary.  That biopsy will be done only if the doctor thinks it is a necessary risk based on what he sees on the ultrasound tomorrow morning.

Theoretically everything is okay and most patients don’t have this sort of nightmare scenario develop but everything that has happened with Sandi on this has not fit the expected pattern at all.

If that wasn’t enough tomorrow, Sandi will be seen by the skin cancer doctor tomorrow afternoon. Not only has a mole suddenly gone very strange looking but she has developed one for sure and maybe a couple more very strange spots on her face. In each case it is a dark circle, almost the size of what a black magic marker would make and black. They look like what you would get if you through a marker at somebody and it hit the person straight on in the side of the face. What they are we have no idea and neither did the cancer doc who thought that whatever they were they needed to be checked immediately.

Apparently another possible wonderful side effect of the chemo is that some patients develop melanomas because of the destruction of the immune system. While the chemo cured one of her cataract she had since birth it may have also set the stage for skin cancer. The theory here is that whatever these strange skin marks are they can’t be too extensive or extend any distance at all downwards into her skin tissue or the PET SCAN would have showed that and it didn’t.

At this point we have not heard from the staff of the cardiologist about scheduling another echo cardiogram to check and see how much, if any, damage the chemo did to her heart. With Sandi’s cardiac history we knew there was major risk to her heart to have any chemo done. But, as Sandi put it at the time, it wasn’t like she had any choice at all. It was chemo and hope ….or certain death.  So, you roll the dice and hope the stuff works and doesn’t kill you in the bargain.

One hopes it did not damage her heart. We are pretty sure it has made her diabetes worse and for now she is still able to control that to a certain point. What that will mean in the months to come we don’t know just yet. Sandi remains convinced that everything is fine and she will be back at work this summer.  As I write this she is out with Karl taking a short after dinner walk as she works to get her strength back up. She still tires very easily, her blood pressure still swings wildly at times, and the headaches come that worry me because of her history of strokes.

But, she believes all is fine and she is still here.  More than anything that is what matters.

Kevin