Consult with Dr. Shank

We saw Ma's radiation oncologist today, Dr. Shank. She thinks Ma can start radiation treatments even though her wound is not completely healed. I think we should wait. We'll see her surgeon again next Wednesday. Ma will also return to Dr. Shank's office that day for prep work. It'll take another week to get everything ready, so she won't start treatments right away. Maybe her wound will be almost completely healed by then.

Tumor Markers

Ma had a blood test done the other day to check for tumor markers -- CA 15-3 and CEA. Her CA 15-3 is in the normal range. But her CEA is high -- 5.1. Normal is under 2.5. That could be a sign that her cancer is returning or has metastasized.

We have an appointment on Tuesday with the radiation oncologist. Pa will show her the test results. But I'd rather see Dr. Irwin, Ma's regular oncologist. According to this, Dr. Irwin may order additional tests such as a chest x-ray and CT scan. Maybe I'll stop by his office on Tuesday after seeing the radiation oncologist. He's in the same building.

At least the numbers are nowhere as high as in this study with CEAs of 15+ and 25+. Maybe Ma's CEA just needs to be monitored more often to see if it's heading up or down.

Wound is Smaller

Ma had a follow-up yesterday with her surgeon, Dr. Cogen. Her wound is getting smaller. Dr. Cogen told Pa to change the gauze in her wound twice a day instead of just once a day. Apparently that will make it heal faster.

Dr. Cogen hasn't had a chance to talk to the radiation oncologist about when Ma can start her radiation. Personally I'd rather wait till she's completely healed. Ma has another follow-up in two weeks.

No More Snoring

Ma doesn't snore anymore. Okay, that's not true. She used to snore so loudly. Not it's just light snoring. What changed? I think it's the hospital bed she sleeps in. She leaves the head elevated slightly, and that probably clears her airway. Just a tip for those of you who snore loudly -- elevate your head.

Going to Church

Nothing's been going on lately. The only thing new is I found out Ma has been going to church on Sundays. She hadn't been going because she thought she'd have a hard time. But she does fine as long as she stays in her wheelchair.

Shopping

Even though Ma has lost a lot of weight, her belly is huge due to gas. Physical inactivity doesn't help. Her pants are all too tight. So we went to Mervyns to buy some clothes. I wheeled her around in a wheelchair.Thank goodness they have dressing rooms for the handicapped. She tried on several pairs of pants and a few shirts. Trying on all those clothes must have tired her out because she slept for 3.5 hours afterward. At least she had some physical activity. She even agreed to walk from the store entrance back to the car. Usually she would insist on using the wheelchair even for very short distances.

Wound Healing Slowly

Ma saw her surgeon today. The abscess in her breast is healing, but it's going slowly due to her diabetes. Dr. Cogen wants Ma to hold off on her radiation. She will consult with the radiation oncologist as to when Ma can start. I'd prefer to wait till she's completely healed. She has another follow-up with Dr. Cogen in two weeks.

Orchids, Orchids Everywhere

Food isn't the only thing friends have been giving Ma in abundance. She also has been getting lots of flowers, especially orchids. She got two last week alone. We're running out of space for them!

Speaking of food, Joy sent fruits & cheese from Harry & David. And a friend stopped by this afternoon with a pot of turkey soup. Yum!

Trip to Airport

Kit flew back to Switzerland today. Ma went with us the airport to see Kit off. As usual, she didn't want to walk, so we had to use the wheelchair while at the terminal. At least we're getting our money's worth out of it. She did walk around the house when we got home. And she prepared herself a snack instead of just sitting down and waiting for someone to serve her. I told her she should do that more often so that she's a bit more active.

Trip to Oakdale

Ma, Pa, Kit & I drove to Oakdale to visit a family friend who was injured in a head-on collision. She's had four surgeries and is in rehab now, but is still unable to walk. Today is her birthday, so we brought presents and a cake.

Oakdale is two hours away. I figured the trip wouldn't be too tiring for Ma since she'll just be sitting in the car (vs. sitting at home). The problem was she refused to walk once we got to Oakdale and had to be wheeled around in her wheelchair. I don't think she walked at all the whole afternoon.

Port Flush

We went to the Cancer Center today to have Ma's port flushed. They don't usually remove the port-a-cath right after the chemo treatments are done in case the cancer comes back and additional chemo is needed. But the port has to be flushed with Heparin every 4-6 weeks to keep it from clogging.

After the port flush, we saw Dr. Irwin, Ma's oncologist, for a follow-up visit. He thinks Ma is doing well although he didn't know about the infection in her breast. Ma had a blood test done yesterday, and the numbers look okay. One thing we forgot to have tested are her tumor markers. Ma will have another blood test done in a couple of weeks to make sure she's tested for tumor markers.

Happy Birthday, Ma

Today is Ma's actual birthday. She started off the day by going to Mass for the first time since she got sick. They sang happy birthday to her in church. Then we attended the funeral of a family friend. The reception was at a Chinese buffet. That was Ma's birthday meal. :)

For dinner, the neighbors across the street cooked several dishes for Ma -- chicken with rosemary, rice, veggies, cornbread, and candied yam. They were all good. Oh, and cake! They baked a small cake.

Missing Lashes

I just noticed today that Ma doesn't have any eyelashes left. Most of her eyebrows are also gone. It seems that with chemo, patients don't lose their eyelashes & eyebrows till after the chemo treatments are gone.

One of Ma's friends bought her a wig. I think she plans on wearing it tomorrow to the party. The friend will also help her with make-up.

Kit's Here

Kit arrived today. She brought lots of cookies and crackers and Ma's favorite -- roasted chestnuts. Ma's happy.

Radiation Oncologist

Ma had her first appointment today with her radiation oncologist, Dr. Shank. She went over what Ma can expect when she undergoes radiation. She also agreed that we should hold off on radiation till the abscess in Ma's breast stops draining. I think it's pretty much dried up. I'd prefer that we wait till it's completely healed. We have a follow-up appointment with her surgeon, Dr. Cogen, in two weeks and will assess the situation at that time. It's possible that Ma can proceed with radiation by the end of the month.

I've lost track of how many guests are coming to the party. It's definitely over 100. I hope I ordered enough food.

Not MRSA

We saw Ma's surgeon, Dr. Cogen, today for a follow-up visit. She thinks Ma's wound is healing nicely.

The lab screwed up and will have to redo Ma's culture test. But it did show that her infection is not MRSA, so that's good.

Afterwards we went to the dentist to see why Ma's gum is so sore. Dr. Mora didn't see anything obviously wrong. All of Ma's teeth are equally sensitive. If it gets worse, she may need a root canal and/or crown. We'll have to clear it with the oncologist first.

Painful Gums

Poor Ma. Her gums have been painful lately. I don't know what's causing it. She's been applying lidocaine to them, but they still hurt. So I gave her Tylenol, and the pain went away. She now knows to take painkillers when her mouth is in pain.

Kit is coming. I didn't think she would come, but she emailed me last week saying she's arriving on Thursday. She's staying for 9 days.

Fr. Rene drove up today from LA. I didn't think to even invite him, but here he is. He's staying till Sunday.

Although not everyone has RSVP'd yet for the party, my guest count is already at 98. I'm expecting 120.

A Houseful of Guests

When I arrived at the house, there were 10 guests visiting Ma. Maring (Kuya Dan's wife) and her daughter Cherry had been wanting to visit Ma. They drove up from LA along with Cherry's husband and kids and Cherry's brother and his wife. Bitoy and Beta came along, too. Ma enjoys having company, so I'm sure she was glad they visited. She gets tired easily though and had to lie down after a while. Everyone left soon after.

Ma's open wound was draining a lot yesterday. It looks like it stopped draining today. I stopped at a medical supply store for some gauze. That stuff is expensive. I also got some draw sheets so that her bedding doesn't get stained from the fluid draining, but she doesn't need it now.

Infected Wound

Ma's lumpectomy site is infected. Dr. Cogen said it's unusual for a surgical site to get infected so many months after the surgery. She's having tests done to see what's causing the infection. I hope it's not MRSA. In the meantime, Pa has already started Ma on antibiotics.

Dr. Cogen had to clean up Ma's wound. She injected the site with painkillers and sliced it open. Lots of fluid drained out. There's a cavity inside Ma's breast where the lumpectomy was done. Dr. Cogen dug her fingers in there and cleaned it out. It was gross, and I watched the whole thing.

She's treating it as an open wound and proceeded to pack the wound. I've heard of the terms before but never knew what they meant. Now I know. The incision wasn't stitched up, and you can stick your fingers into the cavity in the breast. That's an open wound. Packing the wound means you literally stuff wet gauze into the cavity. Ewww! It didn't hurt though. The gauze is there to absorb fluids. The idea is that the wound will heal from the inside out with the skin being the last to heal. I'm not sure if Ma will even need stitches. Pa will have to repack the wound twice a day. Ma has a follow-up on Tuesday.

It could take several weeks for the wound to heal. In the meantime, she can't start her radiation. Apparently, radiation will keep her wound from healing. I hope her diabetes doesn't complicate matters.

Lots of Goodies

Cousin Bitoy just got back from the Philippines and brought back lots of food from Tito Vesting and Tita Med. There were two kinds of suman, cookies, turon de casoy, hopia and duman! Ma's happy. Too bad her blood sugar is so high. It was over 400 tonight.

Grace, please pass on our thanks to Tita Med and Tito Vesting.