Hello Everyone. I hope this post finds you well, prosperous, and enjoying life. I was able to do some yard work this morning, so I already feel complete for the day. To top it off, I get to help Angela de-junk and organize when she gets back from a play. And for extra bonus fun, there is a swim party for Matthew and Jonathan's summer swim group tonight. Couldn't ask for a better day 😃
Well, I know you are not reading solely for the purpose of hearing how my Saturday is going, so lets get you up to date with treatment and such. Since the last post, we tried a chemo regiment where the first week I would take Gemcitabine, the second week I would take Gemcitabine and Docetaxel, and the third week I would have a break - kind of. The need to take the anti-nausea medications for only 3-4 days the first week and the second week. The nausea was not an issue during the three cycles I completed. During week two, I also took the Neolasta medication which helps stimulate white blood cell production. That came with its own side affects that resulted in worry, extra phone calls and doctor visits, and some down time.
After three three-week cycles of this combination, I got a PET scan. The scan results were going to be the main topic of discussion for the doctor visit that followed; however, I started getting really, really tired.....super tired. I just wanted to sit on the couch and do nothing. I had gotten a bad nights sleep the night before and scan and I came home early from work the day of the scan - very unusual for me. Angela became very concerned about this and started to seek help. She made phone calls, set up a doctor's appointment, took me to the ER, and was there for me. She is my Angel!
As they were testing my vitals, my oxygen saturation would be in the low 80's at times. This was concerning and became the mystery to solve. When I went up to Huntsman for my doctor's appointment, they put me on oxygen and admitted me to the the hospital so they could run some tests and figure out what was causing the low oxygen levels (hypoxia). They did lung tests, heart tests, and blood work, but all the tests came back normal. Everyone is scratching their heads at this point.
We came home from Huntsman with oxygen (as you saw at church, at work, in the home, and almost every where else.). We had gotten an oxygen machine for night time before the doctor's appointment. I met a lung doctor (Pulmonologist) at the hospital and we had a follow up scheduled for about two weeks from coming home. The follow up with the lung doctor went well in that I was told I did not need to use the day time oxygen any more - hooray!! However, she showed me on the scan how my right lung has some issues (not disease; but, deformity and scarring). The right lung did not come into view on the scan at the same time as the left lung. The right lung has been damaged by radiation. Also, when I broken my 10 right ribs, they did not heal in place and are actually smashed in a little. This has restricted the right lung and affected its shape. The left lung looks nice and smooth - the correct lung shape. The right lung is smaller and does not have the nice smooth curves.
Having said that, there is really nothing they can do about it, so why worry! I am grateful that I am aware of my condition. I can make better choices in regards to how much I exert myself, the exercises I do, and can pay better attention to what my body is telling me as I go throughout the day. Before going to the lung doctor, I did a pulmonary function test. It involved a lot of breathing, as you could imagine. The woman administering the tests said that I behaved very well (she gave me an A for my effort and consistency); however, she said my lungs do not get an A. They did not perform to their expected potential. In regard to air flow and storage, I was at about 55%. In regards to oxygen function, I was at 44%. I just need to be careful and pay attention to my body.......oh, and remember to breath deeply.
I also went to a sleep doctor to talk about sleep apnea. I have been diagnosed with mild obstructive sleep apnea and wear a mouth guard at night to help with that condition. I used a device to measure my oxygen levels while I slept with the mouth guard in, but not with oxygen. The results came back with me being in the mild range, even with the mouth guard. The sleep doc said to adjust the mouth guard and we could test again in a month or so and see if it made a difference.
So, what are we doing now. Since there was no hard evidence that my hypoxia was caused by the chemotherapy I was on, we are going to start it again. Why? The scan results were mixed. There was some growth and some improvement. We want to give this regiment another three cycles to see if we can get all improvement and no growth. We shall see......
We will be paying close attention to my breathing and how tired I get.
Thank you for all your prayers, faith, encouragement, hope, love, kindness, generosity, and good will. Our family is continually blessed, like rain from heaven. I know God lives and loves each one of us. He wants us to treat all people with love and respect. We are all God's children. We must trust Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. They have a plan for us and will be there helping us along the way. I have felt of their love and strength on many occasions. I have hope through them.
-Doug-
