My onc visit today

Lori-S
Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
So, first we discussed my Oxy infusion reaction again ... he called in my infusion nurse (like I wouldn't tell him the truth or something? .. where did he get that from Dr. House?) and the 3 of us discussed what the reaction symptoms were and how they were resolved. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. (or like the Peanuts cartoon ... wah ... wah ... wah). My infusion nurse is a bit goofy like me so between the 2 of us, the doctor actually had a hard time not cracking a smile. I caught him a couple of times when he pretended to look down at my chart ... he'd cracked a smile. So, he decided to write for the 25mg benadryl push at the beginning, with the dex ... and a second 25mg push at the half way mark next time to head off any reaction. But, he did call in all the infusion room nurses and manager to tell them that he wanted the crash cart in the infusion room when I was there! I said ... "what?? Are you trying to crash my party?" yep ... he cracked a smile.

So, seems my liver is enlarged and somewhat tender. Let's hope that's just cause it's working out the chemo. Blood tests are lower but, still doing good enough to do chemo so no biggie.

CEA is another story damnit. It just doesn't want to stop rising or go down. It's now up to 11.3 It wasn't even that high when I went in for emergency surgery. It's never been that high. Let's hope that's due to the dying cancer cell phenomena. We discussed my hernia, blockage and probable adhesions. He told me to look for a good surgeon .... HA! I reminded him that I am in the middle of chemo so I thought it could wait. Ha! ... caught him faking the ol' check the chart routine ... he smiled. I just know one of these days, I'm going to get a laugh out of him. It's my new mission in life!

PS ... gearing up for chemo on Monday ... means I'm going be feeling ... well you know. and .. I don't have a clue what turkey will smell or taste like on FOLFOX ... but, it might be interesting to find out.
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Comments

  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    Ahhh Lori
    I hope your taste buds come back in time for that turkey, we end up giving up so much to treating cancer, that I hope you don't have to give up your yummy turkey taste buds on Thursday.
    I'm glad the benadryl will come into play for you early on in your chemo, that's a good thing.
    And crap, sorry about your CEA, but as you said hoping it the dying cancer cell thingie (can't pronounce phenomena correctly so figured, why spell it?).
    Thinking of you, and sending prayers your way.
    Winter Marie
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    Lori
    Keep up the good spirits! You may even get a full smile from him one day! Sorry to hear about your liver + your CEA. I hope they both turn out to be nada. Will you have your turkey next Thurs? If so you probably will enjoy it by then (at least I hope so; what do I know?) Good luck!
  • okthen
    okthen Member Posts: 232
    Lori...he's (onc) probably
    Lori...he's (onc) probably like the rest of us and your humor pops in his mind throughout the day...which then results in a smile, or an actual laugh. (o:
    No chemo for Jack this week,,,and he doesn't even like turkey...doesn't seem fair...haha
    Youre in my thoughts...daily...hugs!
    Chriss
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member
    AnneCan said:

    Lori
    Keep up the good spirits! You may even get a full smile from him one day! Sorry to hear about your liver + your CEA. I hope they both turn out to be nada. Will you have your turkey next Thurs? If so you probably will enjoy it by then (at least I hope so; what do I know?) Good luck!

    Ann
    I'm still debating having turkey ... I need to make up my mind before Monday though as by Tuesday I won't want to do anything. If I commit to it by Monday then I have to follow through because I'm like that. ha! HUG to you Ann, you're such a great support, I appreciate it.
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member
    okthen said:

    Lori...he's (onc) probably
    Lori...he's (onc) probably like the rest of us and your humor pops in his mind throughout the day...which then results in a smile, or an actual laugh. (o:
    No chemo for Jack this week,,,and he doesn't even like turkey...doesn't seem fair...haha
    Youre in my thoughts...daily...hugs!
    Chriss

    Chriss
    Are you offering to let Jack take my chemo for me so I can enjoy turkey? ;)

    Chriss, tell me about your avatar pic ... I love it and I want that crown, so royal!
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member

    Ahhh Lori
    I hope your taste buds come back in time for that turkey, we end up giving up so much to treating cancer, that I hope you don't have to give up your yummy turkey taste buds on Thursday.
    I'm glad the benadryl will come into play for you early on in your chemo, that's a good thing.
    And crap, sorry about your CEA, but as you said hoping it the dying cancer cell thingie (can't pronounce phenomena correctly so figured, why spell it?).
    Thinking of you, and sending prayers your way.
    Winter Marie

    Thanks Winter Marie
    I hoping for that cell dying thingie too!
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    Lori
    Lori,
    You're beautiful and funny.... nice combination!! Your onc must love you. To have folks like you who can still laugh in the midst of this is a real gift. I hope the chemo is doing its job.

    Thinking of you.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member

    Lori
    Lori,
    You're beautiful and funny.... nice combination!! Your onc must love you. To have folks like you who can still laugh in the midst of this is a real gift. I hope the chemo is doing its job.

    Thinking of you.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen

    Aloha Kathleen
    I love when I see your signature! I always picture you wearing a grass skirt and coconut shell bra with tiki torches glowing behind you while you type. Hope you are doing well.
  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    Hoping all goes well
    Goodness girl you try to keep everyone in stitches...hope your doc realizes what an exceptional patient you are.

    I am sure that you will get him to laugh out loud before you are done with him, even if you have to resort to a whoopie cushion or candy wax lips!

    Hope that the liver tenderness and the CEA are 'good' side effects of chemo working.

    Even if no turkey next Thursday, you can celebrate on another day when you feel more like eating.

    Take care and keep working on a plan to get the doc to laugh!

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member

    Hoping all goes well
    Goodness girl you try to keep everyone in stitches...hope your doc realizes what an exceptional patient you are.

    I am sure that you will get him to laugh out loud before you are done with him, even if you have to resort to a whoopie cushion or candy wax lips!

    Hope that the liver tenderness and the CEA are 'good' side effects of chemo working.

    Even if no turkey next Thursday, you can celebrate on another day when you feel more like eating.

    Take care and keep working on a plan to get the doc to laugh!

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties

    Hi dear what a humor sense! l love it!
    Take care and enjoy turkey,s day with or without turkey, ( from my point of view not to have to eat turkey is a blessing! LOL ).
    Hope everything goes well next infusion.
    Hugs.
  • Friendinpenn
    Friendinpenn Member Posts: 70
    Hang in there kid!!
    I've had a bad reaction as well to the Oxiplilatin on Novemeber 10th, and it was so bad for me that I can no longer take it, (this would have been my 14th treatment on it) so I'm back on the irrectecan as of Wednesday this week...

    That very morning of the reaction, I kidded my Onclolgist on the 10th after she told me my lab work numbers looked good by saing to her: "So you're gonna send me to the chair today" !!! She cracked up like I had never seen her do!!!

    And then of course I had the severe alergic reaction to the oxiplilatin that afternoon...

    So Wednesday this week, I had my wife resereve that very chair with my jacket on it because even though I was going back to "the chair"... I've learned in life that instead of running from your fears to run towards them...and I did...

    And yesterday with my 5-fu pump I went to my cabin in the woods built a cozy crackling fire inside and listened to the cold rain outside in the Northern Pennsylvania Mountains...and I was glad to have the experience...hope all of you are doing well...

    Your "FriendinPenn"
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    Treatment
    Sorry that you are having such problems with the treatment but that chemo can be some hard stuff. My CEA went up on chemo too, but my doctor said it can do that and it did go back down. Hope you are able to enjoy your turkey. Waiting all year for it and then not being able to taste it would just not be fair. Hope you do well on Monday.

    Kim
  • okthen
    okthen Member Posts: 232
    Lori-S said:

    Chriss
    Are you offering to let Jack take my chemo for me so I can enjoy turkey? ;)

    Chriss, tell me about your avatar pic ... I love it and I want that crown, so royal!

    I am Royalty, yes I am...
    Lori, Sorry...it's a no go with Jack. (o:
    I'd take it for you, but make note, that is coming from the mouth of someone whose never had it....but I would forgo the turkey to help you out if I could.

    Not sure about the avatar pic...just something I liked that my Aunt had on her facebook page. I, like her, am SURE that at one time we were Royals. (o:
    She is just done with her Chemo for breast cancer and I think she wanted to change her pic to something magical. She's an amazing woman! I'm proud of her for all she's been through too.
    Have a great weekend!!
    Chriss
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    Keepin' It Simple
    I'm with you, Lori...I just hope to be able to sit up for an hour in the daytime and another hour or so at night, as much as I can do. Radiation continues to knock me down and by the holiday, I will be at 28 of 30, so for all intensive purposes, Thanksgiving is over....think the wife is going to have a couple of slices turkey and make a couple of things...maybe I can have a bite or two if I'm feeling like I can.

    Just want to spend some time with her - then I'll go lay down and let her get on the phone with her sisters:) That'll get me off the hook, LOL:)

    Hope you enjoy your day and that you can enjoy something to eat, regardless of what it is.

    Gobble, Gobble
    -Craig
  • jararno
    jararno Member Posts: 186
    Hope things go better!
    As for the Turkey....I pretty much only ate Turkey and mashed potatoes during the whole 12 rounds of Folfox. I made sure that I didn't get sick of it so I can still enjoy a Turkey meal.

    Due to a bad reaction on my 11th treatment, I was assigned a seat near the nurses station for my 12th treatment....They really kept an eagle eye on me! They also gave me lots of premeds and slowed the infusion down. Hope things work Ok for you!

    Take Care,

    Barb
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member
    Sundanceh said:

    Keepin' It Simple
    I'm with you, Lori...I just hope to be able to sit up for an hour in the daytime and another hour or so at night, as much as I can do. Radiation continues to knock me down and by the holiday, I will be at 28 of 30, so for all intensive purposes, Thanksgiving is over....think the wife is going to have a couple of slices turkey and make a couple of things...maybe I can have a bite or two if I'm feeling like I can.

    Just want to spend some time with her - then I'll go lay down and let her get on the phone with her sisters:) That'll get me off the hook, LOL:)

    Hope you enjoy your day and that you can enjoy something to eat, regardless of what it is.

    Gobble, Gobble
    -Craig

    Hey Craig
    Maybe we should have an anti-turkey day.

    28 of 39 ... whoa ... that's got to be adding up. Sorry you'll miss the turkey but, glad your wife has her sister to call for company. Funny you signed your post Gobble, Gobble. That's always how the kids and I address each other on Thanksgiving. It's really funny at first but, I noticed that newcomers to our house on Thanksgiving got tired of it after a while. We used to play that you couldn't speak to someone unless you said Gobble, Gobble first. Yep, Gobble 2 times before you spoke or everyone would go "aaaawwwwwwnnnnk" like the noise when you get a wrong answer on a gameshow. Actually it sounded more like a flock of turkeys yelling. So, "aaaaaaawwwwwnnnnk" about not having turkey this year!

    Hope you're feeling better soon.
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member
    jararno said:

    Hope things go better!
    As for the Turkey....I pretty much only ate Turkey and mashed potatoes during the whole 12 rounds of Folfox. I made sure that I didn't get sick of it so I can still enjoy a Turkey meal.

    Due to a bad reaction on my 11th treatment, I was assigned a seat near the nurses station for my 12th treatment....They really kept an eagle eye on me! They also gave me lots of premeds and slowed the infusion down. Hope things work Ok for you!

    Take Care,

    Barb

    Hey Barb
    Sounds so good. Yum. Probl;em I'm having is if I can stand the smell (not often) of something cooking, everything taste like .... well .... unless it's really sweet or very spicy. I'm going to try some turkey though. Last time I ate eggs they tasted like dead baby chickens. I hope that turkey doesn't tast like a dead bird. Imagine that!
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    Lori-S said:

    Hey Barb
    Sounds so good. Yum. Probl;em I'm having is if I can stand the smell (not often) of something cooking, everything taste like .... well .... unless it's really sweet or very spicy. I'm going to try some turkey though. Last time I ate eggs they tasted like dead baby chickens. I hope that turkey doesn't tast like a dead bird. Imagine that!

    Lori my dearest friend!
    Would you kind enough to post in my thread what are you doing this weekend, and how I would survive without my wife 10 days? My God what a friend!
    LOLLOLLOL!
  • maglets
    maglets Member Posts: 2,576 Member

    Hang in there kid!!
    I've had a bad reaction as well to the Oxiplilatin on Novemeber 10th, and it was so bad for me that I can no longer take it, (this would have been my 14th treatment on it) so I'm back on the irrectecan as of Wednesday this week...

    That very morning of the reaction, I kidded my Onclolgist on the 10th after she told me my lab work numbers looked good by saing to her: "So you're gonna send me to the chair today" !!! She cracked up like I had never seen her do!!!

    And then of course I had the severe alergic reaction to the oxiplilatin that afternoon...

    So Wednesday this week, I had my wife resereve that very chair with my jacket on it because even though I was going back to "the chair"... I've learned in life that instead of running from your fears to run towards them...and I did...

    And yesterday with my 5-fu pump I went to my cabin in the woods built a cozy crackling fire inside and listened to the cold rain outside in the Northern Pennsylvania Mountains...and I was glad to have the experience...hope all of you are doing well...

    Your "FriendinPenn"

    oxy
    oxy the very devil of a drug....we haven't met mr penn.....just saying hi and welcome to the forum....I too have a cozy shack in northern Ontario but it takes me 12 hours to get there.....lol summer only

    hugs maggie
  • maglets
    maglets Member Posts: 2,576 Member
    pepebcn said:

    Lori my dearest friend!
    Would you kind enough to post in my thread what are you doing this weekend, and how I would survive without my wife 10 days? My God what a friend!
    LOLLOLLOL!

    ahhh lori
    eggs were my go to on oxy....so sorry they taste like dead chickens.....have you found anything that appeals?

    maggie