Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Back to Treatments
The surgeon, Dr. Flynn, called yesterday with the pathology report on the tumor which was removed last week and it showed that it was squamous cell cancer AGAIN. In meeting with the oncologist today, we learned that the cancer is spreading through the blood system and not the lymph system and can show up in any location and thus far we are fortunate that Mark's has not shown up in any vital organs.
The remedy? We are awaiting a call from Dr. Canaday who administers the radiation and Mark will start that as soon as they think the wound from the tumor removal is healed enough which should be in the next week or so. Dr. Aviles also wants to get Mark back on a chemo treatment. So, he is starting today with a chemo pill to be taken at home which has been very effective with many cancers recently and so they are often going this route rather than intravenous treatments. It usually causes less side effects and less nausea but Mark has had problems with alternatives in the past so we are hoping the side effects on him will be minimal. The pill is called "xeloda" and it retails for $1,644 for 84 but we only had to pay a small co-pay! Dr. Aviles intends to keep Mark on this chemo pill for many months if it is not causing problems. In a sense, the radiation will treat the spot exactly where he had the recent tumor removed and the chemo will be chasing the remaining cancer through his system and trying to kill it off before it casuses more tumors or damage to the vital organs.
Mark will be followed closely, about every three weeks, with blood tests and visits with Dr. Aviles in the upcoming months. I'll plan to report back by mid-January unless something unexpected occurs prior to that.
Mark is disappointed to be back on both chemo and radiation as he had hoped to escape this time with just radiation. However, Dr. Aviles has been postponing the xeloda treatments until Mark was stronger after his miserable summer of hospitalizations, pneumonia and treatments. He thinks it is time to pursue this course and with any luck, Mark will be done with radiation and have a few follow-ups with Dr. Aviles and we can consider returning to Puerto Rico at the end of January or beginning of February and bring the pills with us.
Our company holiday party at the Cape Codder was a lot of fun as usual. Of course, Mark was a little sore with all the hugging and pats on the back on his tumor but it was great to see everyone and he arrived early and left late. Kevin has been home for the past five days and we have had many family gatherings to share an early Christmas with him. He leaves tomorrow to return to the west, do some racing and celebrating Christmas with Katie and her family in Sacramento.
We are hoping you all enjoy a happy Christmas season with those you love and wish you good health, days of joy and memories to cherish in the upcoming year.
Meanwhile, the best manner of corresponding is thru me (Nancy) at sheehan@cape.com
Mark generally reaches out in contacting friends and family when he is feeling up to it but leans toward isolating when he is in treatment.
The remedy? We are awaiting a call from Dr. Canaday who administers the radiation and Mark will start that as soon as they think the wound from the tumor removal is healed enough which should be in the next week or so. Dr. Aviles also wants to get Mark back on a chemo treatment. So, he is starting today with a chemo pill to be taken at home which has been very effective with many cancers recently and so they are often going this route rather than intravenous treatments. It usually causes less side effects and less nausea but Mark has had problems with alternatives in the past so we are hoping the side effects on him will be minimal. The pill is called "xeloda" and it retails for $1,644 for 84 but we only had to pay a small co-pay! Dr. Aviles intends to keep Mark on this chemo pill for many months if it is not causing problems. In a sense, the radiation will treat the spot exactly where he had the recent tumor removed and the chemo will be chasing the remaining cancer through his system and trying to kill it off before it casuses more tumors or damage to the vital organs.
Mark will be followed closely, about every three weeks, with blood tests and visits with Dr. Aviles in the upcoming months. I'll plan to report back by mid-January unless something unexpected occurs prior to that.
Mark is disappointed to be back on both chemo and radiation as he had hoped to escape this time with just radiation. However, Dr. Aviles has been postponing the xeloda treatments until Mark was stronger after his miserable summer of hospitalizations, pneumonia and treatments. He thinks it is time to pursue this course and with any luck, Mark will be done with radiation and have a few follow-ups with Dr. Aviles and we can consider returning to Puerto Rico at the end of January or beginning of February and bring the pills with us.
Our company holiday party at the Cape Codder was a lot of fun as usual. Of course, Mark was a little sore with all the hugging and pats on the back on his tumor but it was great to see everyone and he arrived early and left late. Kevin has been home for the past five days and we have had many family gatherings to share an early Christmas with him. He leaves tomorrow to return to the west, do some racing and celebrating Christmas with Katie and her family in Sacramento.
We are hoping you all enjoy a happy Christmas season with those you love and wish you good health, days of joy and memories to cherish in the upcoming year.
Meanwhile, the best manner of corresponding is thru me (Nancy) at sheehan@cape.com
Mark generally reaches out in contacting friends and family when he is feeling up to it but leans toward isolating when he is in treatment.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Here We go Again!
Mark had a really wonderful Fall. We traveled, he played golf, reunited with many friends, did some gardening and, in general, we began to lead normal, independent lives again, even though it was a bit like sending a kid off to kindergarten at first after caring for him for so long! We left for Puerto Rico the day after Thanksgiving to go to our condo which we had not visited since last February. Half way through the trip, Mark showed me a tumor he found on his upper back which he had kept secret from me when he discovered it as a little pimple a month earlier. When I first learned of it on December 1, it had grown to the size of a half dollar and in the week following, it grew to about 2 inches around. We contacted the oncologist Dr. Aviles immediately but he advised us to stay in PR until we had planned to return on Friday, December 7. He accomodated us by meeting us at the office on Saturday and fortunately, the surgeon, Dr. Flynn was in the office as well. So, they both looked at the tumor and assessed it right on the spot.
Although they felt there was a slight chance that it was a cyst, they were fairly convinced it was a tumor. So, Mark had bloodwork done Monday, a scan Tuesday and was operated on today in the doctor's office with local anesthesia. The good news is that Dr. Aviles called after he read the scan and said that there was no cancer in the lung or armpit, the original two areas where it had been.
We can not be absolutely certain of what was removed today until the pathology reports come back next week but Dr. Flynn really had no doubt that it was a tumor. It was much bigger than he anticipated, about the size of a golf ball, and was attaching to muscles in the area and did not manifest itself with an attachment to the top layer of skin as a cyst usually does (if I understood correctly!). The doctor had to really work at getting it out and Mark is going to be SORE for a few days and has to lay low. Dr. Flynn had to stitch three layers of skin to seal it and it is bandaged up for the next five days so I have not seen the incision.
We have an appt. with Dr. Aviles, the oncologist on Tuesday and should get back the pathology report and get some direction of whether Mark will be followed up with chemo or radiation. We vote radiation if possible, particularly seeing it is just one focused area that is showing cancer at this time. He has really benefit from radiation in the past but he can not have further radiation on the front of his body, but we think he can on the back.
As most of you probably know, Gary finished treatments in October, got married to his fiance Kristina Conaway a few days later and they're going on their honeymoon to the British Virgin Islands in January. Gary's hair has all grown back - darker than it used to be - and he looks GREAT! We expect he will be cancer free from now on but he will be followed and checked for the next ten years.
So, I will update you by Wednesday, December 19 with the follow up details on Mark. Thanks for caring! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season. Our business party is this Saturday night at the Cape Codder and Mark thinks he will be able to attend. The business has grown so much that there will be 75 attending! Kevin is coming home for just five days and will be joining us at the party so the whole family should be there, including the two sets of newlyweds!
Although they felt there was a slight chance that it was a cyst, they were fairly convinced it was a tumor. So, Mark had bloodwork done Monday, a scan Tuesday and was operated on today in the doctor's office with local anesthesia. The good news is that Dr. Aviles called after he read the scan and said that there was no cancer in the lung or armpit, the original two areas where it had been.
We can not be absolutely certain of what was removed today until the pathology reports come back next week but Dr. Flynn really had no doubt that it was a tumor. It was much bigger than he anticipated, about the size of a golf ball, and was attaching to muscles in the area and did not manifest itself with an attachment to the top layer of skin as a cyst usually does (if I understood correctly!). The doctor had to really work at getting it out and Mark is going to be SORE for a few days and has to lay low. Dr. Flynn had to stitch three layers of skin to seal it and it is bandaged up for the next five days so I have not seen the incision.
We have an appt. with Dr. Aviles, the oncologist on Tuesday and should get back the pathology report and get some direction of whether Mark will be followed up with chemo or radiation. We vote radiation if possible, particularly seeing it is just one focused area that is showing cancer at this time. He has really benefit from radiation in the past but he can not have further radiation on the front of his body, but we think he can on the back.
As most of you probably know, Gary finished treatments in October, got married to his fiance Kristina Conaway a few days later and they're going on their honeymoon to the British Virgin Islands in January. Gary's hair has all grown back - darker than it used to be - and he looks GREAT! We expect he will be cancer free from now on but he will be followed and checked for the next ten years.
So, I will update you by Wednesday, December 19 with the follow up details on Mark. Thanks for caring! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season. Our business party is this Saturday night at the Cape Codder and Mark thinks he will be able to attend. The business has grown so much that there will be 75 attending! Kevin is coming home for just five days and will be joining us at the party so the whole family should be there, including the two sets of newlyweds!
