Bones...

lisaonthenet said:

Plan...
Hi Wendy,
Yes I remember you're in NY. Kelly and I are in Ohio. Up early today because Kelly works and she needs my help getting ready and I drive her to and from work. This will continue for some time I'm sure. During the week I'm up early because we both work and she needs my help for a lot of things and I drive her. I can get up early and go to bed late which is kind of a curse but I've always been this way. Often have trouble sleeping so can be up through the night too.

To answer your question: Kelly has an appt. with radiation oncology (where she just finished her 15 treatments to the left SI joint in her hip) to talk about this Monday. Her primary oncologist, who we saw last night, said she needs radiation for this. So, they must determine whether the previous 15 radiation treatments were to the same area or not; this is because they say you can only have 15 radiation treatments to areas otherwise the radiation can hurt the bone. We talked to her oncologist about nerve blockers, etc. some kind of pain relief besides the pain meds that don't do much and she said she needs radiation but preferably, if the radiation folks concur, 10 or less treatments because she needs to get back on her chemo regimen which is scheduled for next Friday, depending now on radiation.

Also next week Kelly has an appt. with an oncology orthopedist to evaluate her right leg and knee because the CT scan shows uptake in that region. Someone needs to determine whether this is swelling, scar tissue, etc. or cancer; she broke her right femur in Sept. 2007. If it's cancer she'll need radiation or surgery. Her oncologist last night mentioned that she's in support of surgery but also not. This would be a hard surgery and recovery and they'd need to make that determination at the time. Kelly and I are always scared they're going to give up and tell her there's nothing more they can do, or there's no point in surgery, etc. because she only has X months left.

When I asked if Kelly needs a different chemo or additional, her oncologist said her current chemo should take care of it. So then I asked why it's not and she said this can happen. Scares us that the cancer keeps coming and has now attacked her bone in several areas. When will it end?

Ok...

Thanks for your post.

How are you doing this weekend?

Lisa

lisaonthenet said:

Ortho oncologist
Wendy,

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Kelly's appt with an ortho oncologist last week revealed that the cancer has destroyed much of her right femur and knee. The hardware in there from her femur break in 2007 would eventually need to be replaced. The dr. recommends a knee and femur tip replacement if Kelly wants to not be wheelchair bound. We were more than shocked to hear this. Today we see another ortho oncologist for another opinion but he'll probably say the same thing. So, it looks like Kelly has a major and risky surgery in her near future. Today we also see someone for her severe and excruciating left hip pain from the pathological hairline fracture. She's in so much pain and the pain meds barely touch it. It's so hard to see her in so much pain. I'm so hopeful the dr can help but fearful they cannot.

Lisa

lisaonthenet said:

Wendy,

Thanks for asking.

Saw another ortho oncologist about her right knee/femur and he believes Kelly needs to have her right knee/femur replaced so we've scheduled this big surgery. The night before the embolize the tumor to remove some of the risk for bleeding. Thyroid tumors are very vascular so there's always that concern. We were told the current hardware would need to be replaced anyway because all that's holding the top and lower part of her femur together right now is a plate. The tumor has destroyed much of the bone. We're terrified but hopeful Kelly will be able to walk again and put weight on her right leg which would in turn decrease the weight on the left hip. Kelly's worried though that in building up her right leg she'll need to use her left hip/leg some in recovery and PT and it hurts her so much it's excruciating.

As for the pain in her left hip due to the pathological fracture and tumor there was nothing immediate they could do to help, unfortunately, but we're looking into possibly changing pain meds and dosages and possibly adding a pain pump into the mix in the future. We'll see. This is all so frustrating. It seems like the radiation that was supposed to help didn't help or maybe it's just the fracture hurting. So many unknowns. Seeing her in so much pain is so difficult.

Lisa

lisaonthenet said:

Thanks tj
tj,

Thanks for your prayers. Please know it is appreciated very much.

How are you doing?

Lisa