After weeks of continuous nausea, and with escalating liver enzyme counts, the doctors have taken Nancy off the Cytoxan and had another CT Scan performed on her liver.  Dr. Ward called late last night to tell us that the tumor has grown to 6.3cm x 3.4cm but he didn’t see any other material changes.  The way he phrased it was “nothing has fallen apart”.  Nancy will see  Dr. Koenig (considered the expert on Dermatomyositis) and confer on what course to take next.  There is another chemotherapy drug out there that treats both diseases, but it also affects the liver.  Since her liver counts are already too high, they will confer and see what will be the best route to take.   Nancy is feeling somewhat better in that her nausea usually only appears now around 6PM – instead of all day.  Her muscle (CK) counts are down to 75 (from 6500) so we are wondering why she still has the pain in her arms, neck, chest and tops of her thighs.  She remains to me to be a “miracle” and is an inspiration to us all.  Thank you again for all your concern and acts of kindness.  – Kevin

Ever since they reduced Nancy’s methypredisone and chemo, she has been feeling poorly.  She is experiencing nausea, chills and just a general feeling of not feeling well.  The doctors are trying to get an appointment for Nancy with a Dr. Koenig who is a specialist in the one disease she has, namely dermatomysitis.  Christmas Eve day and night she was so sick she only got out of bed for a few minutes and then went right back.  She is on a number of anti-nausea drugs, namely Zofran, Reglin and Lorazapan, but none seem to be a permanent solution.  Since her liver counts are extremely high and her white blood count is low, we’re not sure what the next step will be.  We are seeing the doctors at Huntsman again on Tuesday, Jan. 3rd and still anticipating a call back this afternoon.  Thanks again for your thoughts, prayers, dinners, etc.  -  Kevin

Even though Nancy had a flareup yesterday (her throat closed causing her to choke  just trying to swallow water) her CK count was down to 131 (from a high of 6,500) which puts her in the “normal range”.  Because of this, the doctors are reducing her Prednisone  from 24 mg/day down to 16mg/day and if she is doing OK down to 12mg/day by next week.  The sooner she gets off the Prednisone, the less likely are her chances  to pick up any more infections, or diseases.  Also, we would like to have the pain  disappear.  They are keeping her on the large doses of Morphine until things settle down.  She is tolerating the Cytoxan so far and we are happy for that result.  Nancy remains to have a positive attitude and is a great example to all of us.  Thanks again for all your acts of kindness and concern.  – Kevin

With Nancy’s pain continuing and with all of us worrying about the liver tumor growing, Dr. Ward has placed Nancy on two chemo pills a day called Cytoxan.  She had this chemo in IV form back in 2003 along with the Red Bull.  He said he is hoping to not only attack the tumor, but also attack the dermatomysitis so Nancy can lower her steriod intake at some point.  He also said this is somewhat of an older method for breast cancer treatment, but in Nancy’s case it will hopefully attack both diseases.  We continue to have other options if this doesn’t appear to work.  She is being monitored weekly for her blood count and any adverse side effects on this chemo.  It looks like we might have to break out the old wigs (or maybe get some new ones) because she might have some hair thinning or hair loss.  He also raised her Morphine intake so the pain can be addressed.   Nancy is still not allowed to be in large crowds or visitations for fear of any colds, flu, cough etc. that seems to be prevalent this time of year.  We hope you all understand.

Sometimes we as a couple find it is difficult to work through Nancy’s illnesses, but at this time of year and with the other people we see receiving treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Center, we know we are in good hands with Dr. Ward’s team and we know that from all your prayers, meals, notes and concern that we truly are blessed. – Kevin