No chemo today: UPDATE 3/2

[elissa]

We went to MSK today and met with our wonderful onc for the usual pre-chemo appointment. My husband has had this "nonspecific stomach upset" for a number of days now. Since we had just traveled home from our California vacation....red-eye on Saturday night, and the fact that hubby had this stomach issue, the onc thought that he was too under-the-weather to have chemo. Bummer!! So instead, they gave him fluids and some IV anti-nausea meds, and told him to go home and relax for two days and come back on Wednesday. Now, my husband is freaking out that we should not have gone away on vacation and that something is probably wrong with him, and that now his whole chemo schedule is messed up (he actually had an extra week off for the vacation whihc the onc fully approved of). I keep telling him that he is a "regular" person too, and that he could just have a little bug....everything does not have to be chemo or cance related. Guess I don't really have a question this time...just venting! Thanks everyone!
Elissa

[Terry]

Elissa, what you told him is completely correct! Not everything has to be cancer related, even though we have cancer we still get the regular colds, stomach bugs and whatever else is going around. We've all messed with chemo schedules to go on vacation or even just because we're sick of it. I did it a couple of times. You have to try and live your life as normal as possible and that includes going on vacations. Key word is "live". That's your job, to set him straight, those men need that once in a while

[Seriously, WTF?]

Sometimes it is the bloodwork that throws a curve ball into things. This time it may be that he is truly under the weather like so many people are...I wish you better days ahead xoxox Hang in there. I hope you enjoyed your getaway, you truly deserved it. Memories <3

[Candyys03]

I am pretty adamant about getting my chemo too.
At least its only a few days and not a few weeks.Tell him to relax, enjoy the next few days and take care of himself.
Hoping that all goes well.
Candy

[jgall]

well, that stinks! What a bummer. Thank goodness it's only a 2 day hiatus and not a whole week. Count your blessings

[pstolarski]

Elissa,

Maybe a different way to look at this is ask him if he had a good time on vacation. If he did (which I'm assuming he did) then remind him of the fact it was worth it and that it would not have been any different than if you were at home. I know I get caught up in the moment with what I'm dealing with and forget to look at positive side of things. You only get so many moments, vacations and memory builders in life - enjoy each and every one of them for what they are!

After all chemo isn't going any where it will be there when he's ready.

[elissa]

Hi all,
I just checked the MSK patient portal, and his blood work from yesterday was posted. His CEA is up from a low of 9.7 at last measurement to 14!!!! The CEA has been a good indicator for him, as it has consistently dropped each time it was taken. Could he actually have cancer growth with just one extra week off for vacation?! Could cancer grow that fast? Could that be what his nonspecific stomach upset is? I am completely freaking out now!!!! His WBC count is also more elevated than usual....he gets neulasta shots so it is always elevated but it should have dropped a little with the extra week. For some reason, his glucose level is also up. Any ideas, thoughts??? I'm going to call his onc and see what he thinks. I'm totally stressing!!!!

[Seriously, WTF?]

Relax until you get the information... I am sad his numbers went up but maybe there is a reason because of everything that is going on with him. Maybe they can run specific scan on him to be certain things are okay in the abdominal area. i know he has had many issues in the past and perhaps something is up?? Just a thought. HAng in there...a million prayers coming from NJ

[LivinginToday]

Dear Elissa:

Please remember to breathe. . . I am glad you had a wonderful vacation. Sending you peaceful thoughts and praying that all will be confirmed to be well . . .

[Bev G]

Deep, cleansing breath, dear Elissa.

1) Chemo can and does make CEA go up and down.
2) GI inflammation (ie tummy issues) can raise CEA not related to cancer.
3) WBC may be up due to whatever is causing his current GI issues
4) It is REALLY, REALLY unlikely that one week off chemo would cause overgrowth of cancer
5) I don't think you could find more than 10% of us on the board who have NOT missed a round of chemo for one reason or another

Good idea to call the onc. Think about if you would like to ask for a CTC (circulating tumor cell test). It is somewhat controversial, but felt by many to be a good marker to follow to see if chemo is working. You can search the board if you want to know more about it.

I'm praying for you.

Love, Bev

[MrPleistocene]

I remember feeling like I was on the once a month club. I know it is different for everyone, but it did kind of bum me out. There is a schedule to fighting this disease, and I saw myself sliding off the success curve. I really can't say I had any advice except for maybe sports or trash television to avoid it until you are back on track. It probably isn't helpful, but chemo is inevitable. except when it is delayed. If he wants the chemo, they will get it in him.

It is a good sign that a small sign of illness is enough to postpone. If they were really concerned that it would jeopardize his long term prognosis, they'd find someway to give it to him no matter what. I know a friend that was really struggling and she got her chemo no matter her physical condition. That was scary. Take the day off and trust that they are doing this in his best interest and to further the cancer's demise.

[weisssoccermom]

Elissa,
I could add another post but Bev already wrote what I was going to say.
PLEASE try not to get all freaked out. The rise may simply be the combination of whatever he has (confirmed by WBC) and the chemo doing it's job.
Read Bev's post - these are very valid possibilities.
You're only going to make yourself ill by all the stressing out.

It's highly unlikely that one week would have made any difference and sometimes, frankly, you just need a break. Remind yourself how important, how special that vacation was - whatever things you did, places you visited, friends you saw - wasn't it all worth it?????

Jaynee

[tytiff]

Elissa, I have many prayers headed your way. Try to remain calm, you are his best advocate and you have been doing great so far. Don't beat yourself over the chemo break, sometimes you just need it.

Tiff

[tammylayne]

Elissa...I second, third, fourth, fifth...etc...what everyone else has said. Try to remain calm, you don't KNOW anything concrete, and for every BAD thing you can come up with, there are multiple reasons this is happening that are NOT cancer related. Don't borrow trouble. I know, easier said than done, but in this battle, we need to stick to facts, deal with facts, and try to block out the "monkey chatter" that will drive us insane.

I am sending you lots and lots of positive energies to get you through this bump in the road...try to call on those memories you made while on vacation to bring you some peace of mind as you figure this all out.

Tammylayne

[dianne052506]

Elissa,
NO hard facts, but I have plenty of anectodal evidence after 4 1/2 years on chemo. GI distress does cause as rise in CEA. In my case, it could be GI distrress from a minor stomach bug floating around the house, the flu vaccine I got the day before, or GI distress that accompanied lots of the big D I got with inrinotecan. (After 8 rounds of irinotecan every other week, I forced my onc to move every 3 weeks. The GI distress went way down, and so did my CEA.)

Everyone has given you great advice about not panicking, but I know that's not easy. The best thing is to call the onc and get an interpretation of the results. If you can't get an interpretation to calm things down, ask for Ativan for both of you. Love it.
Dianne