We're NOT Going To Need It...

Just home from Kevin's check-up with his oncologist.

Everything looks good. Doctor says to give the side effects a good 3 months to subside and perhaps longer. I suppose three months should seem like nothing after the last 11 months; Kevin is ready for inprovement now though.

Regaining his stamina will take time and Dr. Skinner confirmed that it's a daily thing so not to be alarmed if he's energetic for a few days then very tired the next day. There is so much for the body to regain--getting blood counts and chemistry back in order then allowing muscle and tissue to begin to replenish from those chemotherapy induced losses. One of the (many) things I learned this past year was how altered blood chemistry impacts the body in ways I hadn't realized--muscle mass and tone among them.

Kevin has several appointments scheduled in the next few weeks to get things organized for ongoing observation. Imaging tests so there is a baseline to look at from here.

He sees the oncologist again in 3 months which will be his schedule for the next 3 years...a check-up every three months where they will do blood work. Aside from watching for elevated white counts that might mean infection, they watch for lowered hemoglobin that would indicate bleeding--possibly from another tumor.

They will check his CEA level via blood work. This is the most likely (but not always; Kevin's was not elevated with his initial tumor) indicator of a recurrent cancer. CEA is a protein molecule found in different body cells but often associated with certain tumors. It's expecially prevalent in gastrointestinal tumors. If Kevin's had been high before surgery, they would have expected it to fall after surgery if all of the tumor had successfully been removed. A rising CEA level now might indicate that his cancer has recurred.

Imaging scans will be done every 6 months for 3 years. They will alternate CT scans with PET/CT.

After 3 years, he will drop to an annual schedule and drop off the schedule at 5 years. Colonoscopy will continue at 3 to 5 year intervals for life.

It was strange to be returning to the cancer clinic today. We had discussed some possibilities before going so when a nurse popped into the office to access and flush his port, he was prepared to say he wanted his blood drawn from an arm. With the port being removed in less than 2 weeks there is no need to flush it. Being at the clinic and not having the port accessed is a bit of a victory for Kevin--he hates the thing.

Dr. Skinner's approach to the implanted port is one of the things we like about her. In Lafayette we were told the port would stay in "for years." Pushing that issue, we learned that the oncologist there would insist that it stay in at least one year beyond treatment. In fact, that's such a standard there that Kevin's Lafayette surgeon (who did the initial implant last year and will remove it this month) required Dr. Skinner's written permission to remove it now. Dr. Skinner says a)it bothers Kevin tremendously to have it in and he doesn't need that stress and b) it's a foreign object in a body which could have a risk for infection so why leave it in there longer than necessary.

"We'll put it back if it's needed again. And we're NOT going to need it."

High five to Dr. Skinner. I loved hearing that from her..."And we're NOT going to need it."