After the small bowel obstruction surgery, my husband’s recovery was uneventful. He was in the hospital for another five days and sent home on TPN in order to gain his strength back more quickly… he lost approximately 10 pounds during the 17 days he spent in the hospital, and he is a skinny guy to begin with.
Immediately after reading your responses to my first post, I composed an email to our nurse navigator, a remarkable woman who coordinates any cross-specialty needs for the surgeon and the oncologist, with many specific questions for both doctors. They both came to the hospital to talk to us personally within 24 hours, which I was not at all expecting.
The biggest questions I had were, if this was your loved one, would you feel this treatment is aggressive enough? I also asked this question of a couple of internal medicine docs where I work. The consensus was that yes, the FOLFOX regimen was the best place to start; and if the lung nodule grew or we gained any new information, a second opinion might be valuable. While I know this doesn’t mean a damn thing
it did reassure us a little bit. I have obtained contact information for a recommended oncologist at Mayo and am holding onto it for the time being.(I didn’t have all the details on his “lung thang” before, but here it is. Nodule measuring 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm noted on CT scan 09/03/14; reviewed in retrospect, against previous CT scan 05/23/14, noted barely visible nodule measuring 0.2 cm x 0.2 cm. Nodule increased in size on CT scan 10/29/14 to 0.8 cm x 0.7 cm.)
My husband had his first chemo treatment on 12/03/14, and all things considered he’s tolerating it quite well. His nausea has been well-controlled with Emend during the infusion and Zofran/Compazine at home afterward. He does have pain in his hands and throat when exposed to cold (hard to avoid when stepping out into our delightful Minnesota weather), and the cold sensitivity/fatigue are getting a bit worse with each treatment. But for the most part, things have been going well.
He had another CT scan on 01/10/15 after completing three treatments. The oncologist showed us that there has been no change in the lung nodule, and there are no new spots in the lungs. Because rapid growth was noted between May and October, and no growth has been noted between October and now, the oncologist feels (and his colleagues/lung surgeon agree) that the best way to proceed is to do three more sessions of chemo and then scan again. At that time they will assess whether to keep going, or take a break to remove the nodule. So... we hurry up and wait. He's finished his 4th chemo session and is scheduled for his 5th next week.
My apologies for the delay in posting again. Just trying to get through the day-to-day, ya know? For the most part we are doing okay, with a breakdown thrown in here and there. Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. I truly appreciate the insight and help I find on this board. Even though I don’t post much, I smile with you and cry with you, and my thoughts are with you all the time.
Niko