Time for an Update...

geotina

George is doing so much better than in May when he was in the hospital. Since then we have had PET and CT scans. The chemo CPT-11 and Avastin continues to do its job. On the CT scan there was a hazy area by the spleen but on the PET it showed nothing and nothing lit up. His original tumor was right by the spleen and when they did the original surgery, there was a question whether the surgeon would remove the spleen when doing the colectomy but it was not necessary so could have something to do with that. The oncologist is confident there is no cancer in the spleen, nothing lights up in that area and nothing shows at all on PET so he is not concerned at this time and wil watch for now.

The lung mets are stable and continue to be smaller in size. Same for the liver mets. Bone, brain, etc. all remain clear of any CRC mets.

His CEA had spiked in January to a little over 200 but has gradually come down. In May it was 28 and now 20.

In a visit with our onc in May, I asked about a reduction in dosage and he agreed to give it a try so it has been reduced 20% since May and continues to do its job and George did notice a difference, the fatigue is reduced as well as the diarrhea and gas.

So all in all it is a fairly good report for now. When he was diagnosed he was advanced Stage IV, heck, one of the mets on his lung was 6 cm and on the liver they were larger. Here we are 2 1/2 years later and doing fairly well but must admit George is getting tired of it all so I just remind him that it is a marathon not a sprint.

Take care - Tina

idlehunters

Hey Tina...
It is so good to hear from you! Wow.... George is really doing good. I am so happy to hear this news. He has come a long way and I know it gets tiring. I am on just the CPT-11 now too but no more Avastin for me. Can't really say if it's working or not...thngs are kinda up in the air right now. Gve Geore a hug from me and you take care.

Jennie

LivinginNH

Hi Tina, That is really

Hi Tina, That is really great news! I'm so happy to hear that George is doing so well. (I hope that you're taking care of yourself as well.) All my best, Cynthia

tina dasilva

Tina
Tina I'm happy George is doing better . Hugs Tina

tootsie1

Wonderful!
Oh, Tina!

That sounds good! I'm glad George is doing so well! Tell him to hang in there!

*hugs*
Gail

ketziah35

Tina,
I am happy that yor
Tina,

I am happy that yor husband is doing well. Thanks for the update.

lisa42

Great
Wow, Tina, this is great news. CEA at 200 and now down to 20- awesome! What a great PET scan too. I'm so pleased to hear how well George is doing. And you're right- this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Take care!

Lisa

Kathleen808

Tina
Tina,
Thanks for the update. It sounds like George it doing well. Man, he's a tough guy! It is great that things are stable or smaller. I'll keep praying for good news.

Aloha,
Kathleen

luvmum

Dear Tina
Thank you so much for your update. I'm happy to know George's situation is stable and the chemo continue doing it's job!

Please keep us updated and take good care of yourself!
Best wishes to you and George!
Hugs Dora

Sundanceh

T&G
That's a big lung tumor, Tina. My last one was also 6cm and butted up close to the spine and caused so much pain. My liver one was about 8cm. So George and I have big tumors in common.

Have not seen you too much lately - if you missed it my last test results finally came back "clear" after this last year of fighting. Did not know if you had read that or not. So we're 3 for 3 if you're keeping score.

Know you and George are pulling into your 3rd year in the fight....I just finished my 7th and motoring down the highway to #8. It may be more of a marathon than any of us can ever imagine. Maybe it's more like a "Trek."

I know George is tired - this last year wiped me out. I went back to work for awhile, then had to leave again to finish up the last few chemos. It was so hard this time and it was very hard to hang at work.

Sounds like a great report and I could not be more thrilled for both of you. CEA numbes are looking good too.

Well, just wanted to say hi as I have not caught up to you in awhile. Still rooting for you. Hope all continues on schedule.

-Craig

janie1

Sundanceh said:

T&G
That's a big lung tumor, Tina. My last one was also 6cm and butted up close to the spine and caused so much pain. My liver one was about 8cm. So George and I have big tumors in common.

Have not seen you too much lately - if you missed it my last test results finally came back "clear" after this last year of fighting. Did not know if you had read that or not. So we're 3 for 3 if you're keeping score.

Know you and George are pulling into your 3rd year in the fight....I just finished my 7th and motoring down the highway to #8. It may be more of a marathon than any of us can ever imagine. Maybe it's more like a "Trek."

I know George is tired - this last year wiped me out. I went back to work for awhile, then had to leave again to finish up the last few chemos. It was so hard this time and it was very hard to hang at work.

Sounds like a great report and I could not be more thrilled for both of you. CEA numbes are looking good too.

Well, just wanted to say hi as I have not caught up to you in awhile. Still rooting for you. Hope all continues on schedule.

-Craig

Been thinking about you.
Thanks for the update. So glad to hear things are going much better. A hospital stay and recovery time can seem like it's taking forever, but then you're back on track again, and hopefully it gets even better and better.

pete43lost_at_sea

marathon not a sprint
dear tina,

2 1/2 years, thats great, your a top support girl.

hugs,
pete