Medical Procedures Category

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

PET/CT Scan #3 and Bone Scan #1

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”

The time for me is my 3rd PET/CT Scan

Scan #1 was The Lie

Scan #2 was The Fear

What will Scan #3 be…?

PET/CT Scan #3 will be Monday, August 10
The PET/CT Scan will tell us what is going on with the cancer… if it has shrunk, if some of it has died… or… if it has grown… if it has spread…

Bone Scan #1 will be Tuesday, August 11
The Bone Scan will tell us what is going on with the tumors in my lower spine… and if the metatisis has spread to other areas…

Mom is in town, so I’m not alone

Results should be received by week end.

Please pray…

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Posted in Cancer, Family, Medical Procedures, Mom, scared, Special People | 4 Comments »

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Tumor Markers #3

At my infusion last Friday, they pulled some blood for the “regular” blood work I’m supposed to have to track my tumor markers.  I’m actually supposed to have the tests run every 2 weeks, but it’s too expensive for me, so I only get it done about every 4 weeks.

On April 15, my baseline CEA tumor markers were 63.1 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter)

On June 03, my 2nd draw CEA tumor markers were 35.9 ng/mL

My numbers from the July 03 draw are 12.8 ng/mL

12.8…

FREAKING 12.8!!!

Another HUGE drop – a 23.1 Drop!!!!

12.8 is still “high”, but Not As High – norm is 0.0 – 3.0 ng/mL and levels higher than 3 ng/mL are not normal.

Still I wish I was confident with just how much this meant, but this (CEA: The Test) has answered Some questions…

I’m just hoping that this all means Something… Something Good… Please mean Something Good… I don’t want to think I’m going through all this for nothing, only to have the rug pulled out from under me in the end.  Mr. Sack pulled the rug out from under me.  Seems like I always get the rug pulled out from under me, and I’m Tired of it.

I’m gonna go ahead and be excited anyway cuz Dr. Deleon sure was excited!

My other numbers:
CA-125: 15 U/mL (Reference @ 0-35)
CA 15-3: 33(c) H U/mL (Reference @ <32)
CA 27.29 (see CA15-3 above): 40(e) H U/mL (Reference @ <38)

I’m thinking those numbers are looking close-to normal, but I don’t have any others to compare then to, so these will be my baseline…

I’m going to have PET/CT scan #3 the 2nd week of August, So we should have some idea of “what is what” then…  Just Hoping it’s better than PET/CT #2…

Til then my Dragons are Still Protecting Me!  And Their Riders are carrying light sabers!

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Posted in Burzynski Clinic, Emotions, Gene Therapy Drugs, hope, Medical Procedures, Results, scared, Tests | 21 Comments »

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

Zometa Infusion – Reaction Countdown?

Yes, got my infusion today, at about 11:15am.

And I’ve been at home, waiting for the reaction, any reaction.  It’s 6:05pm

Last time I was down for 3 days.  It – Supposedly – will not be “as bad” this time.

All I’ve felt so far is tired, but last time it was 13hrs before it hit.  Hit.Hard.

I’m hunkered down with soup and tylenol and lots of water…

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Posted in Dealing with Gene Therapy Drug Reactions, Gene Therapy Drug Reactions, Medical Procedures, tired | No Comments »

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

Congratulations, It’s An Infusion!

Today I got my Zometa Infusion! YAY!  It was done at North Cypress Medical Center Ambulatory Infusion Therapy Center.

And I Have to say, it was Such a Professional and Uplifting experience!

I was treated with Such Kindness, even though I have no insurance, the staff was Very Generous and Attentive!  With my financial situation, I secretly feel like a “beggar” of sorts, but that feeling was minimal today, and was in No Way caused by the Staff of the Infusion center… they were Friendly, Kind and I felt they were Truly Concerned and Cared about me and what I am going through.  They took time to sit and talk with me, and To Listen.

The Ladies who took care of me were Patti, Teila, Becky and Sharon.  Theye were Awesome!  Of course, I’m still dealing with “emotional residue” from the chemo treatments, so whenever a needle comes close to my port, I kinda “fall apart”… not too bad, but I do cry and get emotional.  But these Ladies were kind and took it all in stride.

It’s a Tough situation being in, having no insurance, having to ask for assistance… and medical expenses are Very high.  But Today I Got A Break.

The TOTAL of my charges – receiving the Zometa, compounding the Zometa for infusion, infusion procedure utilizing my port AND the necessary bloodwork to access my levels and tumor markers was $315.00.

O.M.G.  $315.00!!  I Can Actually “Afford” That!!!

Which means that I Can Afford To Continue Treatment!!!

Which Means I Can Afford the Fight To Live!!!!

And they even provided a nice lunch!!

THANK YOU North Cypress Medical Center Ambulatory Infusion Therapy Center!!

I can take a breath and relax… until the next hit.



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Posted in appreciation, Emotions, Medical Procedures, North Cypress Medical Center - Infusion Therapy Center, Nurses | 5 Comments »

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Houston, We Have Infusion… kinda, maybe, hopefuly

So… every day is an adventure.

Novartis wasn’t able to ship my Rx of Zometa out until today (Wednesday) for a Friday delivery.  So my Thursday appointment had to be rescheduled, because the meds won’t be there. And I was Very concerned since we aren’t working Friday, that the Infusion Center would also be closed, and the delivery – which is Supposed to be refrigerated – would be stuck for 3 days in the heat… But… Thank Goodness, They Are Open and – Pending Delivery – they have rescheduled me for a Friday infusion.

Of course, they are not sure what time UPS will delilver, and I’m still waiting to get tracking information, so I am kinda on “stand-by” for Friday.  And since I don’t have a cell phone, I can’t be out running errands that I could be doing, I’ll have to stay at home, close to the phone.

But At Least I’ll Be Getting My Infusion!

I’m Hoping it will help with all the bone pain I have been experiencing for the past couple of weeks…

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Posted in Emotions, frustration, Medical Procedures, North Cypress Medical Center - Infusion Therapy Center, scared, tired | 4 Comments »

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Houston, We Have Infusion!

So I’ve got the final OK – I have found a location to receive my Much Needed and Long Overdue infusion of Zometa!  YAY!

Much Needed and Long Overdue by 2 weeks.  Two weeks that have past while I was struggling to find a solution to a problem that should NOT have existed.

The location will be North Cypress Medical Center – Ambulatory Infusion Therapy Center.  Let’s hope their infusion procedures are better than the PET/CT Scan procedures of the North Cypress Medical Center Imaging Center which – supposedly – are not quite as close to protocol as they should be…

I’ve talked with Novartis Oncology Patient Assistance Program, and they are good to ship my “new” prescription of Zometa directly to the NCMC Infusion Therapy Center Pharmacy, so the Burzynski Clinic will have no handling of the 3 small vials of Zometa, so there SHOULD be no need for any $1500/month charge for “Medicine Management”.

The total infusion charges will now be $310.78 per month (just a little bit higher than originally suggested, but still Much lower than the $1000 at the Burzynski Clinic)… this will include receiving the Zometa, compounding the Zometa for infusion, infusion procedure utilizing my port and storage of the vials.

I am scheduled for this upcoming Thursday – July 02.  If it hits me as hard as it did last time, I’m gonna have a helluva July 4th… And since Mom will be in Corpus with Dad, recovering from his surgery, I’ll be doing this one alone… ~sigh~

The “good news” though, is that the extreme symptoms I experienced with my first Zometa infusion were uncommon, and the more common “mild” flu-like symptoms usually occur with first treatment only.

Let’s Hope.

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Posted in Dr. R. Taylor, Gene Therapy Drugs, hope, Medical Procedures, North Cypress Medical Center, tired | 5 Comments »







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