After considering my options for keeping family and friends up to date, I decided to open this blogspot back up. I have better control over who reads things here, it is free, already exists and can be shared easily. My family can post for me if I am not feeling up to it, so people can be updated in one post. And if you get bored, you can go back and read all my blog posts from years ago.
I am sick. Very sick. March 1, 2023, is the day I went to my nurse practitioner thinking I might have some type of hepatitis due to my itchy skin, yellow eyes and yellow skin. By 10:00 that night, I was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and admitted into the hospital in Springfield to have a procedure the next morning. I will spare all of the details, but after 10 days in the hospital, 2 days in ICU, a near death experience, 4 units of blood transfused, I went home on March 11. We then knew that my cancer was metastasized to my right lung and that I had stage 4 cancer.
So many people I love have reached out to me. My family came to see me from far away. My best friend dropped everything and came from Florida. So many meals brought to us at home and the hospital, vases of beautiful flowers, cards, money, gift cards, house cleaning, helping out with Galia and Graycen, the list goes on and on. It means so much, and I honestly don't know what we would do without each and every person that has made an effort to reach out to us. Thank you seems so inadequate, but we are very grateful.
It has been a process, but I have now been seen by a top surgeon in St. Louis that has confirmed that my tumor is inoperable at this time. Kevin, Grant and Garrett traveled with me to St. Louis on Wednesday for that appointment. He said there is a small possibility that I could be a candidate for surgery in the future, but not likely. He was very kind and I have confidence that he would help me if he thought he could.
We spent the night in a hotel and on Thursday saw the oncologist that I was very fortunate to get an appointment with, due to some help from someone I have only met one time. He had the connection and used it to get me in with this doctor as soon as possible. I am truly grateful.
The oncologist was also very kind and explained things thoroughly. He wrote things out as he explained them. The 2nd thing he wrote after my diagnosis were the goals for any treatment. The first is to prolong my life, second to give me a good quality of life and lastly to shrink my tumor. Since my tumor is occupying a large portion of a very vital organ, my top concern is keeping it functioning. I currently have 2 large stents in the main ducts of my liver, keeping the bile flowing and getting rid of the toxins that livers normally do for us daily without complaint. Since I am not just fighting the cancer, but fighting to keep my liver functioning, treatment options are very limited.
After a lot of prayer, thought, and talking things through, I have decided to go ahead with traditional chemo treatments for now. When I initially found out I had such an advanced cancer with truly no cure, I said I didn't want to do any chemo. I did not want to be more sick by taking chemo than just living with the cancer. But after realizing I need the chemo to slow things down with my liver, I have decided to go ahead with this horrible treatment. Am I scared? Yes. Can I quit the chemo any time I decide? Yes. All I know is that God is in control of my future. He can heal me if I decide to take traditional chemotherapy or went with a more holistic/integrative medical approach. For me, at this time, I have made my decision. I don't need anyone to send me different treatment options or ideas. I have seen most of them and decided against them for now. Could I change my mind in the future? Possibly. I just have to go down this path for now.
Thursday, April 13, Grant and I will go to St. Louis for a portacath placement, MRI and a shortened day one of my treatment plan. I will be on a 21 day cycle protocol:
Day 1 - treatment with 2 chemo drugs (I will only get one drug the first day 1 on 4/13)
Day 8 - treatment with 2 chemo drugs
no treatment through day 20
Day 21 starts over to Day 1 - treatment with 2 chemo drugs
Repeat of above. I think I will then have scans to see if the chemo has done anything after 2 rounds of treatment.
If you have been praying for us, thank you, please keep praying. I believe in the power of prayer to change things and make the bad days better. I am about to begin the hardest fight of my life. I appreciate each one of you 💗
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