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Scans time plus for Mike -updated 12-12


shineladysue

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Hi everyone,

I'm asking for your positive thoughts and prayers to take us through this next week . Mike's last chemo treatments were with CPT-11 on the 10th and 31st of October. The CPT-11 made him sick from the very first day and he has had a hard time ever since. The problem he is having now is an unstable stomach and a cough that appears only when he eats or sleeps. The doctor started treating him for GERD, but even after two different meds.. Zantac and then Protonix, it didn't totally go away.

Tomorrow, Dec. 6th he will get CT scans of chest, abdomen and pelvic. On Thursday he will see the pulmonologist, for the second time this week, in reference to the symptoms of coughing.. we may get his take on the scan results then. The following Monday we are scheduled to meet with the oncologist to discuss the scans and the next plan is to start him on Etopiside pills. There are a lot of if's ands and butts between tomorrow and then, so we will have to see how it all plays out. Please keep us in your prayers , please.

I see a lot of people starting off this month and this week in particular getting scans and results. I've got my list of names close by and I want you to know that all of you are in my prayers. Love you all. Thank you for being here for us.

Love,

Sue

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Oh Sue, you can rest assured that I will be saying lots of prayers for great test results. I will also be adding some prayers in for you, asking God to also watch over you! Please let us know as soon as you get these results! Fingers crossed, positive vibes, good thoughts and lots of prayers!!!

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Thank you to everyone for your loving words, prayers and support. They help more than you can imagine. Fay and JC , I will keep the Thrush idea in mind. He never had anything like that before and he doesn't cough except when he is lying down sleeping or when he tries to eat. He has a terrible time with belching when he eats and then it oftentimes results in him not being able to finish eating. This cough is a very high pitched wheeze. He has been listened to by 2 np's , his pulmonologist and his oncologist and they say his lung sounds clear. Hopefully the scans rule out scary stuff.. :? This disease is so complicated.

sue

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We went to the pulmonologist today, got the scan results and his explanation for the reflux and digestive problems. The scans show no significant change, butttttt..... they mention the "esophagus is encased and compresed by this mass" referring to the chest mass.. the doc says the esophagus is dialted at top an skinny at bottom.. ..I don't understand how if the tumor is unchanged that this new problem developed. The doctor tried to tell me that we are talking about a very compact area and a little change or shift can cause problems. In Mike's case, his lung has moved due to the fact he is missing a lung. I'm not explaining all this very well, but the fact remains it will require fixing. As for the Adrenal mass and lymph nodes , they remain unchanged...

Next step is an appointment with a gastroenterologist and the likely procedure will be endoscopy and dialating the esophagus. The appointment is set for Dec. 29th... seems a long way off. In the meantime, we go to the oncologist next Monday, the 12th and we will get his take on it. Don't think Mike wants to start new chemo right now or at least until after Christmas. We will discuss that with him also.

I'm not sure how we feel at this point in time. It appears that things remained fairly stable which is good, but the new problems he has developed are just another obstacle. Mike has this wonderful attitude. He was just elated that something can possibly be done to help the problem he is having. He just wishes it could be done yesterday. I will add to this thread or start another when we see the oncologist on Monday. I couldn't reach my edit button to edit this thread so I had to add to it.

As always , my prayers to everyone.

Love,

Sue

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Sue,

anytime there is lung surgery there is mediastinal shifting of some sort. This is a congested area, and a lot of us who have thoracic surgery end up with having to have our esophagus stretched or stented. Sometimes we develop hiatal hernias that result from shifting of the diagphram. Here is to hoping Mike gets some help soon, and that he can eat normally and not cough so much. Sleeping elevated helped me with the gastric reflux.

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Sue: I hope that Mike gets some relief with his reflux and coughing. It can be very annoying to say the least. I had a problem with that after my pneumoectomy and fortunatlely for me it went away after a few months. I hope Mike's oncologist and you all come up with a plan that will give good results. Enjoy your holidays.

Don M

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