Friday, March 12, 2010

Hey all! I have finally found the time to post, and I am happy to report a good session with the doctor!

Ken's CT showed that the tumors in his esophagus have shrunk, and he has responded well to the chemo and radiation. The spots on the liver are unchanged, but that indicates that they are likely to be simple cysts. The bone metastases seem unchanged, but chemo doesn't work well for treating cancer within the bone, because there is no blood flow to carry the chemo to the sight. The biggest worry for the bones is their susceptibility to breakage. So, they are starting him on an osteoporosis drug that does three things: (these drugs are unbelievable in how they treat in multiple ways):
First, it puts up a shield that blocks cancer cells from getting into the bone.
Second, it builds bone where the cancer may have broken it down.
Third, it produces an environment where the residing cancer cells find it unbearable to live. So they leave. Where they go when they move out, I don't know.

The lymph nodes in the pelvis are still inflamed, but they say that may be because of the 3.5mm KIDNEY STONE!! We both just rolled our eyes. That's nothing new. Okay, here we go again! Urologists, pea in a cup, etc. etc. etc. The blood work looks good, so it's another round of chemo, next week.

Ken is still kinda weak, but he is trying really hard to eat and to get up and move around. Spring will be good for us all, around here.

Thanks for checking in. We'll talk soon.

Inga

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