When in doubt, ask the nurses. In my 20 years in health care, I have learned that the nurses are really the backbone of the whole enterprise. The doctors get the glory, but it’s the nurses who are serving the front lines. They are more likely to take the time to educate a patient, to […]
We met today with the oncologist, who had a tumor board meeting this morning. There wasn’t much new to report, except to say that the chemotherapy has been 95% effective thus far. With regard to the liver mets (cancer speak for “metastases”), he has ordered a test on the biopsy sample at UCSF. The test
We met this morning with the oncologist, and received somewhat confusing news. The good news: the chemotherapy is doing a good job on the tumors in her abdomen. They have reduced as intended. The confusing part is that the CT scan showed some spots on her liver. The confusion is in the fact that when
Mom went in for a CT scan this morning. She’s been having increasing pain in her abdomen, so the doctor ordered one to compare to the one she had at UCSF in March. To help ease the pain, she takes Tylenol, but is stubbornly avoiding anything stronger even when the physician presses her on it.
Mom had a couple in-the-right-direction milestones today. I went up to Napa for the day and we (1) went to lunch and (2) went shopping. Lunch was at a small simple taco joint in a strip mall. They sell “street tacos,” and one is a perfect size for her. Plus, they are yummy! Shopping was
Status quo. This is the first of two weeks off chemo. Mom is holding steady — no vomiting, manageable pain. She’s still fatigued but continues to putter about and even picked up some crochet work. She also tried a little coffee for the first time in a few months. Baby steps, but we’re moving in
If you do not believe that the U.S. health care “system” (a misnomer if there ever was one) is not broken, look no further than the latest crisis — a shortage of chemotherapy drugs. Because I am focusing on bladder cancer lately, I will just post a few things about the shortage of a critical
A national travesty Read More »
We are at the infusion center, the slow drips feeding into my mom’s body to fight the cancer. The results of the lab tests from last week were good; her tumor markers have decreased in the last two months. Basically it means the drugs are working. The doctor adjusted her thyroid medicine a little again.
We met with the oncologist today and my mom had blood drawn for a review of her labs, including metabolic and thyroid values. He continues to seem optimistic given (1) mom hasn’t taken nausea medicine in two weeks, (2) gained one pound, (3) still no return of ascites, (4) seems to be gaining strength and
No news = good news Read More »
We had a great Mother’s Day yesterday. G. and I went to her house on Saturday evening after a day of wine tasting in Sonoma. She had already received the flowers I’d ordered — a much bigger arrangement than I’d thought. On Sunday I gave her other gifts–a new set of bed coverlet and pillow