Hi Michael!  All went well with the colonoscopy.  Nothing to report except that it was clean!  There was some redness in the rectal area-which they biopsied, but didn't think it was of concern.  Glad that is over with,,,now I can eat!  LOL! 

Thanks for your prayers friend.  Hope you are doing well.  I'll keep you updated on things.

Steph

Thanks Michael. :o) I go in for a colonoscopy this afternoon-done with all that prep-ick!  The surgeon wanted it done prior to any surgery to be sure all is ok in the bowels.  The plan right now is to do surgery first,,,then folfiri and avastin afterwards-after healing is done.  And there's a possiblity of HIPEC for a 2nd time!  Yikes!  The surgeon is the same guy who did my HIPEC in december.  He said he would be involved with the obgyn in my surgery to check out a "mystery spot" that is anterior to my liver, as well as check out the peritoneal area to make sure ther is nothing else there....and said if there is, woudl I be open to HIPEC again?  Of course I had to say yes.  I'd rather do it than have cancer there and not do anythign about it....it is hard to imagine goign through that again, but I did well the first time...just hoping if we do this again it will be just as smooth....but this time with no recurrences after!

Hubby is feeling better now that there is a plan in place. Before that he was angry and of course concerned.  But if there's a plan to rid me of this-he's happy. :)

I'll keep you posted on things.  There's no date set yet for surgery, but he said probably within 2 or 3 weeks.

I hope you are well Michael. :o)  I always love to hear from you.  Take care-will talk soon.

Steph

Michael,

Thank you very much for your message (and I apologize for my woefully slow reply)!  I hope to one day hear about your 15-year anniversary.  I wish you well!!

Dave

Michael,

Thank you for your message way back in the beginning of May. I am terribly erratic when it comes to reading and responding to things on-line. It seems that when my energy and brainpower are sufficient for reading and writing I avoid my computer.

Glad to know your shingles are history.

I read about your PET scan results. I can only imagine how frustrated you must be. I haven't been at this long enough to have similar experiences.

You mentioned bloodclots.  Are you on a blood thinner, if so what do you use?  I have a port that dumps into my right jugular vein.  The port and chemo combo rewarded me with a clot in that vein. I started with Fragmin, but I felt I was injecting hot oil into my body, so we changed to Arixtra once that was available. At first, it was almost impossible for me give myself daily injections. Fortunately, I had a prescription for Emla cream (a numbing agent,) so I tried that and found that I could do those injections. After ten months of daily injections I still hate them.

I am 56, now and at least 10 years older than my Oncologist. At first, I felt that he was thinking of me as an older person and not as a youngish person with lots of life still to live.  I always mention my physical and social activities when I meet with him, and beginning to think he sees me more like I see myself. We are becoming closer ... after only 30 cycles of every other week treatment, but I doubt that we will ever really be friends. Given my initial reaction to him, I was surprised to learn that he teaches and researches clinical practice. Then I learned that his focus is not on Dr/patient relationship. His focus seems to be about different treatment approaches used by different doctors.

You also mentioned that your treatment is Erbitux on a weekly schedule plus Avastin every other week.  Are you having this treatment without either FOLFOX or FOLFIRI?

You noted that you can eat spicy foods.  I am jealous, but I think it's irinotecan that makes my mouth a little to tender for spicy food. On the other hand, the irinotecan has been shrinking my tumors, so I'm happy to live with that small limitation.

With care,

Randy

Michael, So I know today is your chemo day ... and meeting with the oncologist to find out more answers "hopefully".  I am anxiously waiting to hear what you found out.  Your in my prayers buddy.  

Kristi

Hello  Michael, Yes  i thought  that  the  blob  on  the  beach  was a jellyfish. I know  what you mean about not touching  the blob due to possible  poisoning-box jellies  will  kill  you. I wat6ch  nature and animal shows sometimes. Do you have to wear  a  pump  home ffrom  chemo?I use to be on folfox  chemo.  Well gotta run an errand so will chat with you later. Feel  better  and  rest  up.  Love  karen

Hey  Michael,I love your pictures! OH, What is the blob  on the beach? Just asking-Take Care  Hugs    Karen

Hey  Michael,I am sorry  to  hear  that  you  have  had  the  shingles! I  hear  that  they  are  painful.I  hope  you  feel  better  real  soon! When  i  spoke  of  my  husband  and  i  getting  together  at  such  a  young  age (which  we  did,I  was 16-and  he  was  17) we  were  married  in  1979-and  divorced  in  2003  because  crack  cocaine  took  over  his  life,as  this  has  also  touched  so  many  lives  in  our  country! Well  he  passed  away  in  December.2009  from an  overdose  of  cocaine;he  was  an  IV  drug  abuser. Such a tragic  ending  to  what  was  once  an  awesome  marriage. He died the day before our daughters birthday. I did  everything  humanly  possible  to  get  him  to  stop  drugs  but  i  was  unable  to  save  him.Tragic ending. I wont be able to make the conference this year,and hope i can go next year.   I am  happy  to  hear  that  you  and  Colleene  will be  able  to  attend!  It is good to hear from you;as i miss talking to you and others on chat. Maybe i can chat today. Take Care MC  Love  and  Hugs to  you  and  your  wife.   Karen