I haven't been very active on the message board as I have been having a hard time. I finished two weeks of daily radiation treatments last tuesday. Because my WBC has been so low, I have not had any chemo sine 1/4 but I have been really tired. Met with my local oncologist and he is very converned as my bilirubin test reslts have gone up from 10 last week to 15 this week. I have only had 1 treatment of the new chemo combo, so we don't know if it will work. My local oncologist has recommended I go back to MD Anderson and see what they recommend and I have an appt. for 1/25 and hopefully we can find something that will work.

I am working on getting my papers together...my will and other documents. It is hard to prepare for the possibility that I may die sooner than I plan. Don't get me wrong, I am not giving up!!!!!!!! I just want to make sure everything is in order and easy for my family if I do die sooner than later. I do not feel like I am dying...just feel tired and weak. I am still able to work part time and thankfully my job is secure and my boss is great about the time I take off.

Will update the journal when I know something.
  

Hi,
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile but I haven't really felt up to doing much. The chemo isn't working and my tumors have grown. I started last week daily radiation treatments to shrink one of the tumors, which is causing me the most pain. Right now I ahve had 3 out of 10 treatments. I start a new chemo regime on Monday (1/4). Hopefully the new drugs will produce better results. I will taking irineotecan,5-fu and leucorvin one a week for 4 weeks..then I will have two weeks off. I had to have a blood transfusion a couple of weeks ago but may need another one soon between the chemo and radiation treatments. I will try and update my journal more often now the holidays are over with. Hope everyone is doing ok ( teresa222,marie3b) . Here to hoping for a healthier year.

I just got off the phone with the nurse at my oncologist office and she briefly gave me the results of my latest CT scan. Since we were discussing my onging pain, she took a quick peak at the latest results of my CT scan and there was some good news. The tumor on my liver is stable and the tumor in my abdomen was no longer discernable. This is good news... the chemo appears to be working. The ct scan did show a mass in the right pelvic region, which is where I am experiencing strong pain. I am currently on a 75mg fentanyl pain patch and I take either 15mg of morphine or 7.5mg of hydrocodone ( I take take the morphine at night and the hydrocodone the rest of the time) for breakthrough pain. I am still in continous pain and am over not being able to walk much. I am not sure what the mass is but I am happy that one of my tumors is gone, my lymph nodes have decreased in size and the other tumor is stable. I am supposed to have another round of chemo on Monday and will meet with my oncologists then. Hopefully he will let me know what he wants to do about the mass in my pelvic ( hopefully it isn't cancer...maybe just fluid build up). So as of now I am in the mind set that I have been given a very nice christmas present early :)

Well,
i just got my first wig yesterday. I am still getting used to it. I like the color and the styleis close to what I used to wear. It is thicker  and I like that. It is just an adjustment going from no hair to seeing myself with hair again. I decided to get a wig because I got tired looking like I was sick and have to have new id picture taken for work and I refuse to have one taken with a bald head. I wear it to work for the 1st time tomorrow...see what my co-workers think. We'll see. Julie