Lumbar tumor, treated with Radiation

From the MRI yesterday, we learned Liz had a tumor growing in her lumbar 3 disc, which is putting pressure on nerves to her leg. (Other discs also had growths. We also know the wedge of T11 is still there.) We went to Huntsman for planning and immediate radiation treatment, a one-time dose that should kill the tumor. Hopefully it will shrink quickly as it grew, and relieve the pressure and pain. (Dr Tward said 50% shrink and 80% have less pain.) Liz has had a lot more pain just today than before and took oxy (2 or 3). She has been nauseous as well. Dr. Tward said if he had done a five day dosing it would have a 10% chance of returning but with the single dose it has a 17% chance. It can be treated again later. This area was NOT treated in April's radiation (even though small tumors were present), because they don't want to irradiate too much of the bone marrow at a time.

Liz stopped BRAF drug (last dose Th night) and we feel fine about its interaction with the radiation today. Any skin burn/rash won't show nearly as much on her low back and belly. By Monday's SRS on her head, she will have been off for 3 full days, almost 4. It also seems to matter more how much she has right after radiation, when its effects are highest.

I told Liz I think her leg pain/numbness has been a tender mercy, even if it doesn't feel like it. By learning of this pain Th night, we added the MRI of her lumbar the next day, and got it treated the second day. Perfect timing. It is hard to think of it being good when she is feeling so sick and in pain. Her shoulder pain was probably due to the Zometa and is waning.

We had an extra adventure on the way to the hospital today. We decided to take the suburban so Liz could stretch out better (sitting hurts more than lying down or standing). As we stopped in SLC the car died. No power at all. We pushed it around a corner, and Brad fiddled with scissors and got the battery connected again. A few blocks later it did it again. We got it going, and duct taped the scissors in place to get the rest of the way. Brad dropped us off and went to fix the problem. He got back soon enough to get a tour of the various X-ray machines in the radiation oncology department - fun for a guy who works in that field. :) We were very pleased with the care Liz got and especially that she got in so quickly, on a Saturday.

ECGs and bumps along the way...

2-15-10

This morning Liz tried an Ensure on the way, and vomited as we arrived at the airport at 6:20 am. Luckily we brought extra pants, and a jacket. She changed in the car and we washed them later. Liz and I made it to Los Angeles after a delay of an hour in Oakland. It was harder this time than last with two flights to get to Burbank. We go back by way of Phoenix on Thursday.

Liz has had much more pain lately, and needs help moving most everywhere. She has trouble eating, feeling nauseous and reacting to heavier foods, then even to milk products. She tries to keep liquids down and eats like a mouse – applesauce, dry cereal, fruit (especially strawberries), a bit of chicken. Meat sounds too hard to eat. Since Friday Liz has had a swollen tongue on one side. We thought she reacted to a very acidic kiwi (like I now do eating fresh pineapple), but it hasn’t gone away. It makes it hard to swallow at all.

Val brought us home from the airport and we ate a bit then napped. I also showered. J Today Liz has eaten a bit of pop tart, a bite of graham cracker, a little serving of applesauce, a couple of blueberries, a little orange juice (6oz) and some ginger ale, soy milk chocolate 4 oz, and even a few small bites of chicken enchilada, mostly after we got here at 3pm.

2-16-10

Liz slept sitting up against some pillows and seemed to do better than lying down. We still used the heating pad too. We set alarms to get her medicines in less than 4 hours and it helps too.

Driving to UCLA was very slow as freeways are more like parking lots here. J We took over an hour to go 23 miles, but we did find it just fine. The office was packed with people, due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. Liz started her ECG (they still call it EKG) at 10:14am so we will end up doing the last one early before the last nurse leaves at 6pm.

We also told them about her tongue/throat situation and Dr Ribas came out to look at her and talk to her. He said maybe some lymph nodes are swollen and putting pressure on her nerves; then he borrowed a flashlight and said she has thrush. (She had it in the hospital before.) He prescribed a swish and spit med called Nystatin. He also heard about her pain getting much worse and called Smiths’ Pharmacy to talk to them about what the insurance will cover (instead of/before oxycontin). He has been on a trip but was concerned they didn’t just give her a different medication than was prescribed. “She shouldn’t be in so much pain.” She has taken one morphine pill which has made her sleepy. They told us it would take several hours to take effect for pain. We are grateful to Jackie for asking him to see her today (unscheduled) and that he got us meds to try right away. We also know Jackie has ordered pills to be ready tomorrow morning so Liz can start on them asap.

Liz has eaten some applesauce and some chocolate soy milk. Dry stuff hurts too much right now. We thought about stopping at Diddy Riese – they sell cookies/ice cream sandwiches there. We opted to head home more quickly. J

She is really tired, probably because of the morphine. Her back did hurt quite a bit after lying down on the bed at the clinic for 90 minutes. She feels every bump, every bit of braking or acceleration. I try to make it as smooth as possible in stop and go traffic. She ate some cereal and might be good for more.