Bits and Pieces

Well we got a short reprieve from chemo and the worries of cancer. Last week was my scheduled week off from treatment. Over the weekend Terry and I went down to Atlanta for our good friends Denis and Carol’s daughter’s wedding. Christy Ann was a beautiful bride and we thoroughly out time there. The only disappointment was seeing this girl who, since she was a child has promised she would marry me, marry someone else. Oh well. Right before we left on Sunday we participated in a private Mass at their home, offered by another long time friend, Father Flanagan. It was a perfect ending to a lovely trip. And then on Monday it was back to the chemo lounge. Lately they’ve been having me come back for hydration because my creatinine level is high. This is a reading on kidney function. So I went back on Wednesday. That’s when I got the results from blood tests taken on Monday. They were disappointing. My liver enzyme measures are still creeping higher. I’m hoping that’s due to the radioactive assault on the liver. We’ll see. More concerning is the fact that the CEA count is also still creeping higher. This is usually an indication of increased tumor activity. The actual number was 58.4. Normal is up to 4.7. Three weeks ago it was at 43.7. In January it was 21.5. Last August it was as low as 3.7 but at that time the lab was using a different methodology for testing so it’s hard to compare. Normal at that time was up to 2.5. Dr. George interpreted the reading to mean that this chemo regimen is not working. So next week we’ll change it up again. I’ll go into more detail about the new cocktail next week but for now I can say that it includes going on the 5fu pump again. Or as Larry Alvey would call it the 5Fme pump. I can hardly wait. For now I’m looking forward to the time until then. Terry’s niece Michele and her family are flying in from Arizona and we will spend some time with them. Our friends Linda and Phil invited us to a barbeque. The weather is supposed to be nice which will allow me to work outside a little. I plan to do it all. Carry on. -------------------------------------------------------