Dennis is taking Votrient, with one of the side effects being hair color change. I've noticed his hair is starting to grow back in as its original color.
Hmm... I wonder if the drug is no longer working?
January 2, 2012
December 31, 2011
MRI
Last week Dennis had a few (6) headaches at the base of his skull on the right side, and blurry vision a few times in his left eye. I sent an email to his NP letting her know what was going on, and also suggested to include a brain scan the next time he has his CT. She responded indicating that he needs a MRI in the near future. I'm so thankful he is getting a MRI instead of a CT of the brain–I believe this will be much more accurate. Yesterday there was a message on the machine informing us that Dennis will have his MRI on January 11th. Hoping for good news!
Wishing everyone a Healthy New Year!
Wishing everyone a Healthy New Year!
December 10, 2011
Scan Update
Great news--Dennis remains stable!
This latest report did not contain any measurements, except for the slight decrease in the fluid collection that has been there all along. I always compare the latest scan to the previous one to see exactly what the changes are. No such luck with this report. I'll have to conclude that stable, in this case, truly means stable. No growth, no reduction.
Dennis will continue taking Votrient, and return in 6 weeks for his labs.
For those interested I'll include the findings.
Chest:
Enlarged destructive lytic mass at T3 rib is again demonstrated on the right. Several sclerotic foci in the thoracic spine are again demonstrated. These appear overall similar. Bony expansion at T6 on the left is similar. A small right middle lobe nodule is stable. No new suspicious pulmonary nodules are present. There is no new significant axillary, mediastinal, or hilar adenopathy.
Abdomen/Pelvis:
The liver is normal.
The gallbladder is normal in appearance.
The spleen is normal.
The pancreas is unremarkable.
The rt adrenal is normal. Nodularity of the left adrenal gland is stable.
The rt kidney is within norrmal limits.
The left kidney has been removed. The left retroperitoneal low density fluid collection anterior to the left psoas muscle is again demonstrated. It measures 5.3 x 4.4 cm, slightly decreased from prior exam of 5.6 x 4.8 cm but overall similar.
The pelvic viscera are unremarkable. There is no evidence for bowel obstruction. Previously seen thickening near the ileocecal valve is not present and likely represented under distention as described previously.
A fat containing lipoma in the left gluteus muscle is similar measuring 3 cm.
There is no significant abdominal or pelvic adenopathy.
Extensive bony metastatic disease in the lumbar spine and pelvis is overall similar.
Impression:
1. Stable appearence in diffuse osseous metastatic disease. Stable subcentimeter right lung pulmonary nodules.
2. Retroperitoneal fluid collection slightly decreased in size overall similar to prior exam, which may again represent a lymphocele.
This latest report did not contain any measurements, except for the slight decrease in the fluid collection that has been there all along. I always compare the latest scan to the previous one to see exactly what the changes are. No such luck with this report. I'll have to conclude that stable, in this case, truly means stable. No growth, no reduction.
Dennis will continue taking Votrient, and return in 6 weeks for his labs.
For those interested I'll include the findings.
Chest:
Enlarged destructive lytic mass at T3 rib is again demonstrated on the right. Several sclerotic foci in the thoracic spine are again demonstrated. These appear overall similar. Bony expansion at T6 on the left is similar. A small right middle lobe nodule is stable. No new suspicious pulmonary nodules are present. There is no new significant axillary, mediastinal, or hilar adenopathy.
Abdomen/Pelvis:
The liver is normal.
The gallbladder is normal in appearance.
The spleen is normal.
The pancreas is unremarkable.
The rt adrenal is normal. Nodularity of the left adrenal gland is stable.
The rt kidney is within norrmal limits.
The left kidney has been removed. The left retroperitoneal low density fluid collection anterior to the left psoas muscle is again demonstrated. It measures 5.3 x 4.4 cm, slightly decreased from prior exam of 5.6 x 4.8 cm but overall similar.
The pelvic viscera are unremarkable. There is no evidence for bowel obstruction. Previously seen thickening near the ileocecal valve is not present and likely represented under distention as described previously.
A fat containing lipoma in the left gluteus muscle is similar measuring 3 cm.
There is no significant abdominal or pelvic adenopathy.
Extensive bony metastatic disease in the lumbar spine and pelvis is overall similar.
Impression:
1. Stable appearence in diffuse osseous metastatic disease. Stable subcentimeter right lung pulmonary nodules.
2. Retroperitoneal fluid collection slightly decreased in size overall similar to prior exam, which may again represent a lymphocele.
November 26, 2011
Morning project
This morning I pulled up almost all the vinyl tiles from the bathroom floor. The perimeter tiles were easy to remove since they were all smaller than 12 x 12, but the full size tiles, that was another story. It was hard to get the putty knife under the tile, and when I did it would break in little pieces. Hmmm... I certainly didn't want this to be an all day project! Off to the computer for a search on how to remove self adhesive tiles. A few sites listed using your iron and a wet washcloth to heat the adhesive on the back of the tile, allowing it to peel up easily with the putty knife. It worked great! I was done in 2 hours!
November 25, 2011
A quiet Thanksgiving!
This year I stayed in North Carolina for Thanksgiving instead of traveling to New York to be with family. It's not that I didn't want to spend the holiday with my family, I just didn't want to travel. Thanksgiving is the worst travel time. It's a 12 hour drive one way, and the traffic is awful. Unless you leave very early on Sunday morning, say around midnight or 1:00 am, it usually takes 14 to 15 hours to get home.
Dennis has been in NY since the 16th. He goes every year at this time to hunt. Haylee really wanted to go to NY for Thanksgiving, so she took a flight up on Tuesday the 22nd. That left me spending Thanksgiving with the cat and the dog!! Another reason to stay home--it's not cheap to board the pets.
I'm enjoying my peace and quiet! Yesterday morning I cleaned out the front closet, and while my Thanksgiving dinner was cooking I put the contents back in. Funny how you can get so much more done when you don't have to worry about someone watching everything you're trashing. Translation: my husband's a pack rat and wants to keep everything. I didn't go crazy and trash too much, only about half a garbage bag!
As always, I am thankful for family, friends, and Dennis' health being stable.
November 20, 2011
Finishing and Decorating!
I'm taking on a major project, finishing and decorating the house.
Dennis and I built an addition on our house over ten years ago to transform a 765 heated sq ft bungalow style home into a 1400 sq ft. 2 bedroom home with a study. Our septic is only for 2 bedrooms, so our guest room/study has no closet to keep it legal. There is sooo much that needs to be done, and I'm tired of all the unfinished projects! I still have a plywood floor in my bedroom, and the soffit and fascia have never been done. How sad is that?
My first project will be redecorating the main bathroom. Yesterday I purchased an unfinished mission style table to be used for towels/storage since my bathroom has no closet. Haylee really liked the table when she saw it. Personally, I think she wants it for her bedroom! I also looked at shower curtains and found a few that were okay, but nothing great. I'll look again today while we are out Christmas shopping for the nieces and nephews.
I'm really excited to get back to work on the house!! It's been way too long!
Dennis and I built an addition on our house over ten years ago to transform a 765 heated sq ft bungalow style home into a 1400 sq ft. 2 bedroom home with a study. Our septic is only for 2 bedrooms, so our guest room/study has no closet to keep it legal. There is sooo much that needs to be done, and I'm tired of all the unfinished projects! I still have a plywood floor in my bedroom, and the soffit and fascia have never been done. How sad is that?
My first project will be redecorating the main bathroom. Yesterday I purchased an unfinished mission style table to be used for towels/storage since my bathroom has no closet. Haylee really liked the table when she saw it. Personally, I think she wants it for her bedroom! I also looked at shower curtains and found a few that were okay, but nothing great. I'll look again today while we are out Christmas shopping for the nieces and nephews.
I'm really excited to get back to work on the house!! It's been way too long!
November 7, 2011
Time Change... Ugh!
Up at 3:30 this morning!
I love that it will now be lighter in the morning, but this time change really messes me up. I usually wake up at 4:30 - 5:00, so I knew I would be awake around 3:30 - 4:00. I tried to go back to sleep, but that didn't happen, so at 4:15 I got up and made coffee. I love how people say you get an extra hour of sleep. Yeah, only if you actually fall back asleep!!
I hope it doesn't take too long to get back on track!
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