Happy Sunday Everyone...what's happening today???
Hello Connie and Eileen and everyone else I love so much here!
I will have to type quickly today, but I am determined to post. Chris and the boys are here. Mike is on his way here. Carrie and Leo are on their way here, too. Leo is going to cook for everyone today. He's going to cook ribs on the grill. We are having a family dinner with everyone and it feels very special.
However, I am dragging around like something the cat drug in today. I just felt like I could have slept all day, but of course, I had to get up. Doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, making baked beans, taking care of Butch . . . I am always busy.
Well, so, we got some pretty sobering news from the doctors at MDA last week. One doctor opined that we should just take Butch home and call in Hospice. That pretty well dropped me in my tracks. But that was the doctor in the hospital, and he had never met Butch before, and frankly, my husband did look terminal when we got to the ER at MDA last Monday. It was horrible the amount of pain he was in, and later on during the week, that particular doctor did revise his statement quite a bit. Still, he shouldn't have told me that after only meeting my husband for 5 minutes.
Dr. Tu, who is our main oncologist at MDA and the one we have been seeing regularly since last July, said that now that we have a diagnosis of lung cancer, we have more treatment options. Dr. Tu never did think Butch's cancer acted like a prostate cancer from the beginning. But he says that now we are getting a clearer picture of what is happening in Butch's body. It's very likely that the prostate cancer (which he has had for over 5 years) is NOT what has metastasized to his bones. It was probably the lung cancer. But the small nodules on his lungs did not present as lung cancer during the intitial scans.
So now that this one lesion in his lung has grown and it's been biopsied, we know that we are dealing with lung cancer. Lung cancer DOES metastasize to the bone (as well as the brain), and the bone mets do destroy the bone, which is exactly what has been happening in Butch's case. (Typically prostate cancer does not eat the bone when it metastasizes.)
Well, we met with our new doctor, Dr. Kurie, briefly while we were in the hospital and he will be taking over Butch's case. Dr. Kurie immediately ordered a MRI of the brain (which turned up NOTHING, thank God!) and a PET scan. The PET scan will be next Wednesday. I asked what that was. A CT scan will show spots in the lung, but it doesn't tell much about what the spots are. The spots could be scar tissue or they could be active tumors. A PET scan will show the doctor what the metabolic activity is in each of the spots. Scars are not living tissue. I mean, I have scar tissue in MY lungs. It shows up on every chest x-ray. So some of Butch's spots may be scar tissue or they might be tumors. It will help Dr. Kurie to know exactly what he is dealing with before treatment starts.
I have to call Dr. Kurie's office first thing Tuesday morning (Monday is MLK day) and get an appointment for us to see him in clinic, hopefully next Thursday or Friday. PET scan is on Wednesday. We will know more then.
Also, lung cancer, like breast cancer, has had a tremendous amount of funding and research. Dr. Tu says that lung cancer has an entire arsenal of drugs they can use to fight cancer. Prostate cancer only has a small handful. And Dr. Tu said that he was very pleased that Dr. Kurie got Butch's case. He said that Dr. Kurie was one of the most experienced oncologists at MDA.
However, and this is the hardest part for us, no matter what type of treatment the lung doctor comes up with, they are giving Butch a prognosis of 6 to 12 months. Phew. That's tough to hear. On the other hand, only God knows when he will call us home. MDA is full of people who faced similar odds and beat them. We have decided that we will take each day as a gift from God and we are not going to worry ourselves about WHEN it might happen. IT is going to happen to all of us. We will all die one day. No man is supposed to know the date of his death. That is God's gift to us. So we are not going to obsess over this prognosis of 6 to 12 months. That is only the doctors' guess. God's plans for us are sovereign.
Well, as you can imagine, this has been a very difficult and emotional week for both of us. Butch's pain is the biggest problem we face right now. If it is under control, Butch feels ready to fight a bear or a lion. When it is overwhelming him, he simply does not care. So pain management is imperative at this point. They have increased his oral medications significantly. He is still taking morphine at home, and now celebrex, too. Megadoses of both. They make him a little sleepy and it's a bit harder for him to focus on a conversation, but I would rather have him sleepy and not hurting, than awake and in pain.
I've got to close now. So many people in the house and it's really hard to get a minute alone. I'm so thankful that we have this beautiful warm sunny day to spend with our family. I'm thankful that Butch is not hurting today and is enjoying his time with the boys. I'm thankful for the love and support of so many family and friends--here and on FB and on CarePages. I'm thankful for the love that my husband and I share together. We will not let this cancer rob us of the joy we feel today. And personally, I will not let cancer win my soul. I cannot let that happen.
I love you all so much. Thank you for loving me back.
Vickie
((((VIC)))) Sweetie...I have a friend that has been through HELL and BACK dealing with HER cancer!!! She has been in remission many times and is once again dealing with cancer...GOD has been very good to her and trust me...PRAYERS DO WORK IN NUMBER!!!!!!!!!!! HANG TOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!! My friend was given 6-12 months also and its been years!!!!!!!! She has put her life in GOD's hands and what will be will be she said. So far GOD is letting her live longer than dr's have told her!!!! TRUST IN GOD!!!!!! Cancer research has come a long way!!!! Praying hard for you ALL!!! And PLEASE keep those pills locked up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Hi Connie...her name is Sharon. I used to work with her years ago back in Michigan. Her cancer is throughout her whole body. She is a fighter that's for sure.
LOL I am relaxing...big floor scrubbing tomorrow for me!!! OMG the mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the prayers...love you too!!!
HUGSSSSSSSSSSSS
