Ken:1, Cancer:0!

The past few weeks have been really rough for dad. He's had weight loss, constant nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and a scarily high temperature that landed him in the emergency room for a few hours. His platelets are extremely low, and his blood pressure and pulse are both in unhealthy ranges. Due to these symptoms, Dr. H decided to forgo the last two chemotherapy sessions. And since today was his last day of radiation, dad is officially DONE WITH TREATMENTS!!! I kind of want to stand in the street and shout that, but I figure posting on here will do!

Dr. H and Dr. R are confident that treatments were successful, and that the cancer is gone! According to visual assessments, there is no sign of cancer in the palette or tonsil. Now we must wait... dad has to heal from radiation in order to have the tests ran that will be able to confirm the absence of cancer. The following are important dates that I will update after:

April 6th: Chemotherapy follow-up with Dr. H
April 13th: Radiation follow-up with Dr. R
Mid-June: PET Scan and follow-up with Dr. B at Virginia Mason in Seattle. This appointment will determine if dad will need any type of surgery, whether it be of the tonsil or lymph node, or both. 

Dad will still have the above mentioned symptoms to deal with for a couple of weeks, but he will only get better from here. This is a relief not only to him, but to the whole family. We really miss him being able to talk to us (radiation has made it impossible to not only swallow food and liquids, but also carry on a conversation) and can't wait to have him feel well enough to play with Harlow! Plus, those darn birds are really getting out of hand...

Good News!

As of today dad has completed 4/9 chemotherapy doses and  18/40 radiation sessions. Yesterday Dr. R did another visual assessment of his throat, and the tumor on his tonsil appears to be 40% reduced! This is great news, and has him progressing through treatment as expected! 

Dad is really starting to feel the effects of radiation - he has completely stopped eating because food has no taste and his pain level is about a 7-8 on a scale of 1-10. All of his nutrition comes from cans of protein mixes now administered through his feeding tubes. For more information go here.

Recently dad has uploaded an encyclopedia, a handbook on weights and measures, Birds of North America, and a ballistics software program to his NOOK. The ballistics program he uses to plot the trajectory of his air rifle pellets. I have a feeling the non-native birds are in even deeper trouble now...

Chemotherapy Session #2

Chemotherapy session #2 (single dose) has made dad pretty tired, but he has had a much easier time as far as nausea goes. Hopefully this weekly schedule continues to be easier on him!

Change in Chemotherapy Plan

On Valentine's Day dad met with Dr. R for a visual assessment of his tonsil and palate. She concluded that the tonsil was responding to the radiation treatments (7 at that point) and that in three weeks she will use a scope for a more thorough examination. 

Due to dad's reactions to the three doses of chemotherapy, Dr. H has decided to continue treatment with single doses once a week beginning February 24th.

So far dad has completed 12 radiation sessions and three doses of Cisplatin, and his blood work has been coming back just fine. He has been keeping busy at home reading his NOOK, performing population control on non-native species of birds with his gun (poor birds), and learning how to play the guitar!

Side Effect #1

Dad's initial course of chemotherapy treatment was to have three doses of chemotherapy in one day, and then return three weeks later for another three doses, three times. The other route would be one chemotherapy dose once a week for nine weeks. Yesterday was dad's first three doses, and although he didn't feel the side effects last night, he sure did today.
Dad passed out twice this morning due to low blood pressure and dehydration. Mom could not catch him, and so he hit his head on the way down both times. An ambulance took them to Kadlec where he was given IV fluids, an X-ray and a CAT Scan and released after a few hours of observation. He is feeling better, but will definitely have some bruising and headaches for the next few days.
Radiation continued today, but later in the afternoon than planned.

-Alyssa

First Day "Impressions"

Mom and Dad were very impressed with the Tri-Cities Cancer Center staff. Dr. H (Hematology/Oncology) and Ms. T (Oncology RN) are both proficient and caring. Dad says that cisplatin (chemotherapy drug) hasn't lived up to its ominous reputation at this point, but that the anti-nausea medication may be keeping its side effects at bay. He also has to wear a mask during his external beam radiation therapy to secure his head in place during treatments. Dad says...

The Mask! It looks evil, it feels evil. Two guys placed the mask on me while my head was tilted back over a high neck bridge. The mask was so tight I could feel my carotid arteries pulse. Swallowing while in the mask is difficult as is opening and closing my eyes. Freddy Krueger has nothing on me. Afterward I walked into the patient waiting room where four guys and one lady stared at me because of the lines the mask left all over my face. I said, 'I have been diagnosed with waffle-face disease.' Some got it, some didn't. The receptionist asked me how it went and I said 'Let's just say it left an impression on me.'

Two more chemotherapy sessions (3 doses per visit) and 30 radiation treatments left! On the road to recovery!

-Alyssa

In the beginning there was chemo...

Dad starts chemotherapy Thursday, February 2, at 8:30 in the morning, and radiation follows at 1:45!

-Alyssa