Thursday, June 21, 2012

What's Next?

So, we have been home from the hospital about 10 days now.  Steve is healing well from the surgery (to remove the adrenal gland and tumor).  For the most part, his pain is under control.  Unfortunately, Steve, Sadie and I all caught a cold/upper respiratory infection.  This hasn't helped in the pain department for Steve.  If not for the coughing, he would probably be completely off of the pain medication already.  Steve had a follow up appointment with his melanoma specialist, Dr. Kim today.  The point of the appointment was to find out "where do we go from here?" Dr. Kim thinks with the large tumor out of Steve's body that we have a little time and things are not as urgent as they were. Dr. Kim would like Steve to come back in 1 month and repeat his CAT scans.  Depending on the results of the scans will determine what the next course of action will be.  If the only spots are still the 1 lymph node and small spot in the lung and those spots have not changed, then it is possible that Steve will go untreated and get new scans every 2-3 months.  It is also possible that he would have another surgery to remove the lymph node.  If the scans show any growth, or any new areas, then we would proceed with either a clinical trial or one of the newer approved drugs (Yervoy, Zelboraf).  So, we are still in the land of unknown for now.  For the next month Steve will continue to recover from the surgery and we will just live a "normal" life.  Melanoma is a very scary and quickly spreading type of cancer.  However, Dr. Kim seems confident that for now it is under control.  So, in the meantime I will get back on our "cancer" diet, juicing, supplements, etc.  I don't feel comfortable just sitting and doing nothing at all.  At the very least I will have to pump Steve full of cancer fighting supplements!

Thanks for everything, everyone!  I will keep everyone posted when we know more.

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update. Continue praying for healing and good health!

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  2. it's good you are all together, healing from cancer. I chose to not take anymore drugs when I was at Steve's position, 1 year ago. God Bless!

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    1. Thank you, Mrs. Bowen! We are hoping for good scans later next month!

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  3. Like your husband, I have cancer, but the non-aggressive form on Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. When I broke my wrist off of my arm, surgery re-attached it with a plate and 7 screws, but my cancer, dormant before this, went on overdrive. NHL does not tolerate implants well, so my cancer spiked. Currently, I am undergoing chemo; the first treatment with a monoclonal antibody did not work. Am beginning to notice signs of remission, very small but very encouraging.

    Please stay strong; beating cancer is connected to attitude, remaining positive, mentally strong. I am adding your family to my prayers, sending white light. If you are interested in resources, you might want to follow my blog: http://beatingbackcancer.blogspot.com/ because it lists some awesome resources. I also have a cancer page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beating-Back-Cancer/200842329949101. I post timely articles, resources...which may help you in your journey. Continued success in beating back cancer.

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    1. I will definitely check out your blog. Thanks for checking out ours :) Good luck in your journey!

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  4. I just stumbled upon your blog. My dad is also a patient at MD Anderson. He was diagnosed with Melanoma and non-Hodgkins lymphoma 10 years ago. His Melanoma has been in stage 4 for 3 years now. MD Anderson has been amazing.The Melanoma moved to his brain over a year and a half ago, but he's still fighting. Melanoma is so scary, but don't give up hope. I'll be praying for your family.

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    1. Thank you so much! MD Anderson has been GREAT! We are hoping for more good news when we go back for scans next month!

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  5. I enjoyed reading about your story. I am 35 and I was diagnosed with stage 3a melanoma in January 2012 also. I am at MD Anderson today for my first 3 month scan praying for an all clear report.

    Prayers to your family!!

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    1. Thank you so much for reading our story! I wish you all the best on your scans. What type of treatment did you do?

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  6. My husband 46 years old and father of 3 has Stage IV Melanmoma. It has now spread to his lungs and is slwly growing. He will be admitted to the hospital next month to receive Interleukin II. This is a very scary time for our family.

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    1. I am so very sorry to hear that it is spreading. I completely understand how scary this is. It has been a roller coaster of emotions the last 6 months. What hospital is he going to? What treatments has he tried in the past? Will he only be doing high dose IL-2 or biochemo? Does he have any other mets other than the lung? Does he have the BRAF mutation? Sorry for so many questions. As you know, melanoma is a strange beast!

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