Updates

Sorry it's been so long since an update. Here a few....

Mom ended up having another paracentesis to have more fluid drained from her abdomen on December 31st. She had to wait a week before the procedure could be preformed due to her INR or blood clotting factor. The procedure went really well and they were able to remove 20 pounds. Mom felt very week and sore after she was back in her room. The doctors gave her some more fluids and protein before releasing her. We learned that the fluid being taken out of her abdomen is protein, so when that much is removed she needs to have a supplement.

The week after her paracentesis, she was unable to get chemo due to her white blood cell count, being a little dehydrated, and her blood pressure had also dropped a lot. She's been taken off of her blood pressure medicine now and her blood pressure has been going up. Since she didn't get the chemo, her doctor decided to have her get a CT scan. Due to her dehydration, she had to get a total of 7 hours of fluid along with the scan. She had to get an hour before and six hours after. It was a long day.

On Monday of this week, mom got the results from the CT scan. The scan showed that the cancer has grown. It has not spread to any other organs, but has increased in size. The doctor decided to stop her current chemo treatment, because it's not working. He briefly mentioned a few options and set up an appointment to discuss the options in more detail on Friday. Mom did have some more fluid built up in her abdomen, so the doctor scheduled her for another paracentsis on Thursday. She had the paracentsis on Thursday and everything went well. The doctors only removed 10 pounds from her this time. She felt great.

Today, Friday, we met with the doctor to discuss some options. We are planning to have her start another chemo treatment this coming Monday. This treatment will involve receiving chemo and then being on a pump for 48 hours after chemo. Since she'll have to bring the pump home, we are going to be assigned a home health care person as well. We are scheduled to have a chemo teach on the day of her appointment to learn some more about the drug and possible side effects. We already know that this drug will make her very sensitive to cold. She is not looking forward to that.

Please continue to pray for my mom and our family as we continue to battle this cancer. We pray that mom responds well to this new treatment. Many thanks.