Nathaniel ~ Gift of God: Ahhhh! Time to catch our breath.

The New "Normal"

I started this blog on November 9, 2013, while my husband Nat was recovering from major colorectal cancer surgery. The tumor was discovered after a colonoscopy on October 10th. They went in to remove the entire colon and tumour, and to create a permanent iliostomy on the 25th. The surgery was slated to be about 8-9 hours. At 9-1/2 hours, I received a call from OR staff, where Nat was. The surgery would be another 3 hours. I was growing increasingly concerned.

I learned later that the tumor had grown through the colon wall and had begun to attach to major blood vessels and the ureter (the tube between the left kidney and bladder). They scraped the cancerous areas outside of the colon as best as they could, but we didn't know how extensive the cancer was, until after we got the pathology results on November 18th.

This past few months or so before a trip to Florida, I noticed that my husband was pale and he was feeling very sick. He had battled chronic Colitis for 30 yrs. I expressed my concerns to him many times and encouraged him to get in to see his doctor. It seemed to get worse after our trip to Florida. I finally called and made an appt for him on Sept. 25th. On Sept. 21st, I woke up to find him in terrible pain, sweating profusely. I called the advice nurse, and spoke to a physician over the phone. We had to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.

He was realeased from the hospital ER that night and was encouraged to see a Urologist. He also developed a blood clot after the trip to ER. A colonoscopy was scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 10th, where the doctor found a blockage in his intestine. There were high suspicians that it might be a tumor, so Nat was admitted to the hospital for five nights where they did a battery of tests. On October 14th, the biopsies came back from the colonoscopy and we learned that it was cancer. He went home the following day and surgery was scheduled for Oct. 25th. After the surgery, he stayed in the hospital another six nights.

This is his/our journey through the process of getting his diagnosis and recovery.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Ahhhh! Time to catch our breath.

Well, Nat has finished his one-two-punch of chemo and radiation, which was approx six weeks of radiation, along with Xeloda (chemo pills) to help augment the radiation. He did very well, however, battling fatigue, cognitive slow-down, and a generalized "malaise" as he called it. Generally feeling sick all over. But he managed to get (nearly) daily walks in -- an avg of 2-3 miles in. Amazing, and it can't but help him so he has the strength to battle this disease.

Sunset from the Davis Home

On Feb. 11th, he will begin infusions of chemo at Epic Care, which is part of the Cancer Research Center in Pleasant Hill, Calif. The infusions with be 2-3 hours and it will be a pretty intense pumping of Oxaliplatin. He will also continue the Xeloda (5Fu) chemo pills, increasing dosage from 3300mg to 4000mg daily. He will not have weekend breaks, but go a full two weeks straight. Anti-nausea meds will be used as well. He will have a break and then start the process over for six months.

One round:
Infusions of Oxaliplatin (day one)
Xeloda chemo pills (day one, but for two weeks)
Break - one week.

Eight rounds will complete treatment (over a period of six months).

There are a ton of potential side-effects;

gastro-intestinal (TMI!!! I will spare you the details.)
ulcers in mouth, thrush (fungal infection in the mouth)
appetite decrease and metallic taste to food
indigestion and nausea
a drop in white blood cells (which creates a risk of serious infection aka neutropenia), anemia, low platelets causing increased bleeding, blood clots
bone and or jaw pain or aching
neuropathy (numbness, tingling or burning sensation in extremities)
increased sensitivity to cold and heat
allergic reactions, which could cause breathing difficulty
thinning of the hair, nails brittle, ridges and lines in the nail plate
skin dryness, sensitivity to the sun, darkening of skin and nails
rash, hand-foot skin reaction (sensitivities)
kidney damage - which can be lessened or prevented by drinking lots of fluids
chemo brain (forgetfulness, confusion, slower thought processes)
fatigue

So, again, these are potential. And the docs will be doing their best to stay on top of the side-effects, and there a several things Nat can do to prevent or lessen their impact. And the prayers, we believe, helped him endure the first leg of his treatment. So please keep those prayers coming, as they will continue to be a critical component to his treatment and general well-being.

WE LOVE YOU ALL and with God's help, comfort, presence (and YOURS), we will get through it!

Oh, not to mention Zoe Girl!

Peace,
Nancy, the Natster, and Zoe

2 comments:

Debbie Emery said...: Love you guys. Stay strong, and take it one step at a time. Sending love and prayers.
Debbie; February 1, 2014 at 5:45 PM
Steve J. said...: We have been praying for Nat. I don't mean to make light of this but don't they prescribe Pot to lessen the nausea. So Nat can get STONED again! :-); February 2, 2014 at 8:56 AM