This morning I emailed the Dr's nurse asking if they have heard anything. And this evening they wrote back.
The lesion in the liver looks different than the one in October.. But in order to compare they recommend another MRI with contrast. They mention that the lesion could be a result of the liver biopsy I had done in October.
So now my Dr here is getting me an appointment for the MRI. On Monday I will contact the Medical recors at MD Anderson and have them send the CT Scan DVD here. The MRI Scan that i will have next week will be sent to TX. And the radiologists there will do the comparison. But before then we should have a report from the radiologists in GJ.
My Dr here felt bad that i had to through this uncertainity again and offered a prescription of Ativan, but I really do not need it. With accupuncture, counseling and family support I am dealing with the situation quite well- yes I am proud of myself:)
Happy New Year everyone!
I pribably won't post anything till next week.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday came and went without news
Still no word from the Dr. The radiology reports were put on the MS Anderson website, and it basically says that there is an indeterminate lesion in the liver, the radiologist recommends an MRI of the liver. So I think that when they call me they will suggest me going fown to have another MRI taken.
Didn't do much today. Probably most important thing was to go over all the medical bills and try to sort them. With my mom's help I managed most of them. Now it is time to enter all the medical expenses in the computer so when the tax time comes we can plug in the numbers an hopefully get a tax deduction.
Right now I am waiting for my shrink appt. I will probably need her help more after I get "the call" but whatever.
Good night everyone! Tomorrow is another day..
Didn't do much today. Probably most important thing was to go over all the medical bills and try to sort them. With my mom's help I managed most of them. Now it is time to enter all the medical expenses in the computer so when the tax time comes we can plug in the numbers an hopefully get a tax deduction.
Right now I am waiting for my shrink appt. I will probably need her help more after I get "the call" but whatever.
Good night everyone! Tomorrow is another day..
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
still no news
OK, Tuesday came and went and I did not get a phone call from Texas. I postponed my mastectomy to a date to be determined in the future.. I am hoping that I will hear something (good) tomorrow.
My sister left this morning, she had come to help out during/after the surgery, but since I didn't have the surgery, we ended up having some good time together. As I had promised myself we spent this last week with activities that kept us busy and happy:
On Wednesday we all went to the rec center pool in Fruita. It was fun (I do not have any pictures unfortunately). The girls enjoyed it and keep asking when we can go again.
On Thursday we went Christmas tree hunting. I had gone by some stores the day before but nothing had looked promising. So I called around, and one store said that they had some, so we rushed there, but all they had was artificial trees. Dan and Deniz were not crazy about artificial trees so we started driving around and finally found one on the other side of the town (GJ is small so I cannot complain :) ). Best of all, they were FREE!!! of course, being as late as we were to get a tree, the store decided they were not selling them any more, and it is a nice tree. The girls and I worked together to get it in our van, it wasn't easy but we are resourceful ;)
Friday was spent with decorating the tree and watching Little House on the Prairie. As Dan took the girls for dinner to his dad's house, my mom, sister and I went out to dinner. Did you know that most dishes in Olive Garden have around 1000 cals in them???
Saturday, we baked pies, Dan prepared enchiladas, Deniz went to ballet in the morning... One of Dan's good friends from grad school came to spend Christmas with us. We had grandpa over for dinner and let the girls open a few of their presents.
On Sunday morning the girls went crazy with present opening (I really am not too fond of the whole consumerism of Christmas but this being the first Christmas that we spent at our home - usually we go down to Arizona to spend it with Dan's family, I lost control, and they also got presents from their Grandpa, my mom and sister.. wow, talk about present overload). In the afternoon we went on a hike to Liberty Cap, which is a structure in the Colorado National Monument, it is a total of 3 mile hike, but a lot of altitude gain (~1200 feet), and I was amazed that we all made it up to the top, even the girls!! I was very proud of my sister, too, because she is not the regular hiking type..
Yesterday, Dan went to work for a few hours, but was home early enough to go sledding. We went up to Bangs Canyon and the girls sled and sled and sled...
Today was a little stressful because I was actually expecting the phone call, but we had our friends over for "tea" and that lightened up our moods.
So now that it is after 5 pm in Houston, I am actually a little less stressed, I know there won't be a call till tomorrow. I will try to keep myself calm. Whenever I feel my liver, I imagine holding it in my arms and petting it, caressing it .. helping it to heal.. Please please please let it be something not too serious....
My sister left this morning, she had come to help out during/after the surgery, but since I didn't have the surgery, we ended up having some good time together. As I had promised myself we spent this last week with activities that kept us busy and happy:
On Wednesday we all went to the rec center pool in Fruita. It was fun (I do not have any pictures unfortunately). The girls enjoyed it and keep asking when we can go again.
On Thursday we went Christmas tree hunting. I had gone by some stores the day before but nothing had looked promising. So I called around, and one store said that they had some, so we rushed there, but all they had was artificial trees. Dan and Deniz were not crazy about artificial trees so we started driving around and finally found one on the other side of the town (GJ is small so I cannot complain :) ). Best of all, they were FREE!!! of course, being as late as we were to get a tree, the store decided they were not selling them any more, and it is a nice tree. The girls and I worked together to get it in our van, it wasn't easy but we are resourceful ;)
Friday was spent with decorating the tree and watching Little House on the Prairie. As Dan took the girls for dinner to his dad's house, my mom, sister and I went out to dinner. Did you know that most dishes in Olive Garden have around 1000 cals in them???
Saturday, we baked pies, Dan prepared enchiladas, Deniz went to ballet in the morning... One of Dan's good friends from grad school came to spend Christmas with us. We had grandpa over for dinner and let the girls open a few of their presents.
On Sunday morning the girls went crazy with present opening (I really am not too fond of the whole consumerism of Christmas but this being the first Christmas that we spent at our home - usually we go down to Arizona to spend it with Dan's family, I lost control, and they also got presents from their Grandpa, my mom and sister.. wow, talk about present overload). In the afternoon we went on a hike to Liberty Cap, which is a structure in the Colorado National Monument, it is a total of 3 mile hike, but a lot of altitude gain (~1200 feet), and I was amazed that we all made it up to the top, even the girls!! I was very proud of my sister, too, because she is not the regular hiking type..
Yesterday, Dan went to work for a few hours, but was home early enough to go sledding. We went up to Bangs Canyon and the girls sled and sled and sled...
Today was a little stressful because I was actually expecting the phone call, but we had our friends over for "tea" and that lightened up our moods.
So now that it is after 5 pm in Houston, I am actually a little less stressed, I know there won't be a call till tomorrow. I will try to keep myself calm. Whenever I feel my liver, I imagine holding it in my arms and petting it, caressing it .. helping it to heal.. Please please please let it be something not too serious....
Monday, December 26, 2011
Will we hear from Houston tomorrow?
I don't know... I spent the last 5 days with as little anxiety as I could. With the thought that I will not freak out until the doctor tells me something to freak out. It is very possible that the radiologists at MD Anderson will say that they cannot conclude anything based on the MRI that was taken here. So I am prepared to fly down to Houston, and have another MRI and maybe even another liver biopsy.. We will see. I will try to update as soon as hear something back. Please continue with your prayers, I believe that I sleep (pretty well) because of you all.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
another update
So we arrived at GJ last night. And this morning at 7 am, got a phone call from the MD Anderson. They wanted my MRI report from october. I had given them the DVD with all scans and their reports but whatever. I faxed them all again. It seems that they have seen something unusual in the CT scan and they want to compare it to the MRI of the liver. I am praying and hoping that it is what they had seen back in October, that my liver is slightly enlarged and has some abnormal tissue. And hopefully a little better than October state. It seems I may be up for another liver biopsy (maybe... we are waiting for the radiologists to read the scans/reports and let us know - which will take a week, urggh!)
So I postponed the mastectomy that I was going to have tomorrow, to next week. and in the end I may have to cancel it all together, depends on the results..
Please, please keep your prayers, positive thoughts, energy coming my way, I really need it.
I am trying to keep my cool at least around the girls. We are off to the pool now, they are so excited.
Take care everyone,
So I postponed the mastectomy that I was going to have tomorrow, to next week. and in the end I may have to cancel it all together, depends on the results..
Please, please keep your prayers, positive thoughts, energy coming my way, I really need it.
I am trying to keep my cool at least around the girls. We are off to the pool now, they are so excited.
Take care everyone,
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Update on Houston
After waiting over 1,5 hrs we saw the oncologist. They did not have the CT Scan results yet. We'll get those tomorrow or Thursday bia email. The blood tests were fine.
We are just spending time in Houston till our plane departure. It will be nice to be back home.
Cheers.
We are just spending time in Houston till our plane departure. It will be nice to be back home.
Cheers.
Houston, here we come
Actually we are already here, in Houston, since Sunday afternoon.
Yesterday I had the CT scan of the chest and abdomen. Today in a few hours we'll meet with the doctor and get the results. I am scared, stressed, numb , in denial, hopeful, all it once. I will try to post a short update in the afternoon to let you know what happened.
We have been trying to make the most of this trip. We had not flown in an airplane, just the two of us for 7 years!!! It was nice to just sit, look through magazines, doze off on Dan's shoulder. I was worried about my ears, because my left ear had been clogged for 4 days or so, and I feared what might happened if I could not equalize the pressure during take off and most importantly during landing. But thankfully it worked out well, I could actually equalize the pressure and started to hear again, yuppieee!
On the way from the airport to the hotel, we went through some interesting neighborhoods, lost our way a few times, but finally made it here. We are staying at Sheraton Four Points. The reason I chose this hotel (other than the fact that it was the cheapest) was the fact that it is between the MD Anderson Medical Center and the Central Market. Pretty close to both of them. You may wonder what the heck Central Market is.. It is a supermarket, definitely upscale.. but they have great food, an awesome salad bar, bunch of cooked dishes, best selection of breads, sandwiches aaaaaaannnd sushi made with 12 grains rather than white rice. I actually think it tastes better than white rice and plus I can eat one of my favorite foods with no guilt.
As soon as we checked in an put our stuff in our room, we went their for our dinner (and the only meal of the day). I gave Dan the grand tour, we bought sushi, salad, olives, bread, some yummy tasting goat cheese, etc. Sat down at their little seating area and had a wonderful dinner. Dan was pretty excited about the place, and that made me very happy, too. It is nice to share the joy :).
Then yesterday we got up really early, and went over to the hospital - my first appointment (to give blood) was at 7:15 am, we checked in at 7 am. During the wait times, we went over the grades for my classes and actually changed a few of them (all for the better). The CT scan it self wasn't bad at all, drinking barium before hand was not very pleasant. When the time got closer they took us inside, had me change into scrubs. The funnies moment of the day was when a nurse saw me dancing in my room (it was cold I was trying to warm myself up) and thought that I had to go to potty! She had a worried look and tone in her voice, was ready to grab my hand and take me to the restroom. She was relieved to hear that it was only my attempt to get warm, so she offered a warm blanket (really don't you love those warmed blankets at the hospitals, they are the best things, who ever thought of them must have been a patient, him/herself at one point) aaaand another bottle of Barium. I was disappointed, after drinking the first bottle I thought I was done, not so apparently. Anyway, I chugged that one down also. They take a regular chest X-ray before the CT scan, I have no idea why. The real thing took maybe 10 minutes, the iodine that they inject into my system for contrast makes you feel warm, not a pleasant warmth though, also you feel like you are going to pee in your pants - I promise it didn't happen.
Once we were done at the hospital, we had lunch and then went to the fine arts museum, for the exhibition of King Tutankhamen. It was nice to visit the museum. The exhibit was in Denver in the Summer of 2010 and we had talked about going then, but just had not found the time then. After the museum we got back to the hotel and took a nap!!!! I cannot tell you how nice that was - when I was a kid I do not remember taking any naps, what I remember is that I never liked taking naps. That changed when I came to grad school, I sometimes would sneak to the couch on our floor and take a half an hour nap, boy that felt good! But ever since the kids were born my naps have been very scarce - sometimes I did sleep with them during their naps, but a lot of times I had felt like it was my chance to get things done while they were not up and running.
So after the nap we got up and went to a seafood restaurant. We sat at the counter rather than at a table - another thing that I always wanted to do.. The food was fine, but I think my changed diet habits prevented me from enjoying it fully.. No tears please, I did not go hungry..
After we got back from the dinner I run downstairs to the fitness room and exercised (by the way I had never exercised in a hotel before this trip in my life). It was nice to use the elliptical machine, different sets of muscles in use compared to our stationary bike at home.
The night went fine, we slept OK, although there was a cat somewhere near and we heard it meow a few times. Woke up early, without an alarm. Dan went back to sleep, and I am typing this. OK, I better get up and take a shower. I will do my best do update the blog later today. Hopefully, we will fly back home tonight. The girls will be asleep when we get there, but it will be so nice to see them again and kiss their big heads :). They have been doing fine with their grandma and aunt.
Cheers everyone, keep the prayers coming...
Yesterday I had the CT scan of the chest and abdomen. Today in a few hours we'll meet with the doctor and get the results. I am scared, stressed, numb , in denial, hopeful, all it once. I will try to post a short update in the afternoon to let you know what happened.
We have been trying to make the most of this trip. We had not flown in an airplane, just the two of us for 7 years!!! It was nice to just sit, look through magazines, doze off on Dan's shoulder. I was worried about my ears, because my left ear had been clogged for 4 days or so, and I feared what might happened if I could not equalize the pressure during take off and most importantly during landing. But thankfully it worked out well, I could actually equalize the pressure and started to hear again, yuppieee!
On the way from the airport to the hotel, we went through some interesting neighborhoods, lost our way a few times, but finally made it here. We are staying at Sheraton Four Points. The reason I chose this hotel (other than the fact that it was the cheapest) was the fact that it is between the MD Anderson Medical Center and the Central Market. Pretty close to both of them. You may wonder what the heck Central Market is.. It is a supermarket, definitely upscale.. but they have great food, an awesome salad bar, bunch of cooked dishes, best selection of breads, sandwiches aaaaaaannnd sushi made with 12 grains rather than white rice. I actually think it tastes better than white rice and plus I can eat one of my favorite foods with no guilt.
As soon as we checked in an put our stuff in our room, we went their for our dinner (and the only meal of the day). I gave Dan the grand tour, we bought sushi, salad, olives, bread, some yummy tasting goat cheese, etc. Sat down at their little seating area and had a wonderful dinner. Dan was pretty excited about the place, and that made me very happy, too. It is nice to share the joy :).
Then yesterday we got up really early, and went over to the hospital - my first appointment (to give blood) was at 7:15 am, we checked in at 7 am. During the wait times, we went over the grades for my classes and actually changed a few of them (all for the better). The CT scan it self wasn't bad at all, drinking barium before hand was not very pleasant. When the time got closer they took us inside, had me change into scrubs. The funnies moment of the day was when a nurse saw me dancing in my room (it was cold I was trying to warm myself up) and thought that I had to go to potty! She had a worried look and tone in her voice, was ready to grab my hand and take me to the restroom. She was relieved to hear that it was only my attempt to get warm, so she offered a warm blanket (really don't you love those warmed blankets at the hospitals, they are the best things, who ever thought of them must have been a patient, him/herself at one point) aaaand another bottle of Barium. I was disappointed, after drinking the first bottle I thought I was done, not so apparently. Anyway, I chugged that one down also. They take a regular chest X-ray before the CT scan, I have no idea why. The real thing took maybe 10 minutes, the iodine that they inject into my system for contrast makes you feel warm, not a pleasant warmth though, also you feel like you are going to pee in your pants - I promise it didn't happen.
Once we were done at the hospital, we had lunch and then went to the fine arts museum, for the exhibition of King Tutankhamen. It was nice to visit the museum. The exhibit was in Denver in the Summer of 2010 and we had talked about going then, but just had not found the time then. After the museum we got back to the hotel and took a nap!!!! I cannot tell you how nice that was - when I was a kid I do not remember taking any naps, what I remember is that I never liked taking naps. That changed when I came to grad school, I sometimes would sneak to the couch on our floor and take a half an hour nap, boy that felt good! But ever since the kids were born my naps have been very scarce - sometimes I did sleep with them during their naps, but a lot of times I had felt like it was my chance to get things done while they were not up and running.
So after the nap we got up and went to a seafood restaurant. We sat at the counter rather than at a table - another thing that I always wanted to do.. The food was fine, but I think my changed diet habits prevented me from enjoying it fully.. No tears please, I did not go hungry..
After we got back from the dinner I run downstairs to the fitness room and exercised (by the way I had never exercised in a hotel before this trip in my life). It was nice to use the elliptical machine, different sets of muscles in use compared to our stationary bike at home.
The night went fine, we slept OK, although there was a cat somewhere near and we heard it meow a few times. Woke up early, without an alarm. Dan went back to sleep, and I am typing this. OK, I better get up and take a shower. I will do my best do update the blog later today. Hopefully, we will fly back home tonight. The girls will be asleep when we get there, but it will be so nice to see them again and kiss their big heads :). They have been doing fine with their grandma and aunt.
Cheers everyone, keep the prayers coming...
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