By the way, Tilly is a bichon-poo, and Gus (the dad) is a bichon.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Puppies, puppies and more puppies
Between 2:00 and 5:00 am this morning Tilly gave birth to five bichon-poodle mixed-breed puppies. The litter consists of one female and four males. Four of them weighed in between six to eight ounces, but one puppies weighed only four ounces. We are hoping he will catch up with his littermates soon. All the puppies and Tilly are doing very well.
By the way, Tilly is a bichon-poo, and Gus (the dad) is a bichon.
By the way, Tilly is a bichon-poo, and Gus (the dad) is a bichon.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The first 5-FU chemotherapy treatment
The first treatment with 5-FU went smoothly. My dad was a little nauseated the day the treatment ended, and totally exhausted the day after that (Mother's Day).
5-FU is a 40-year-old cancer drug. I believe it was the only drug approved for treating pancreatic cancer until gemcitabine became available in 1998. 5-FU can have more side effects than gemcitabine.
Monday after Mother's Day my parents left for a short fishing trip to Lake Erie. They were invited by a couple they met last year on the trip to Ireland. They have been keeping in touch with this couple ever since.
My parents enjoyed the trip. They rode with their friends and stayed with them, too. My dad reported that the fishing was good with plenty of walleye and a few perch caught. My mom worked hard to sneak in this trip before Tilly's puppies are born, so it was nice to hear that they had a good time.
p.s. I realize that those of you who regularly check the blog are possibly confused right now. In the past several hours I added three backdated postings. I apologize. Two of those postings I started at separate times over the past three weeks, but never got around to finishing them. They have been sitting as drafts for all this time. It was easiest to just finish them and post them as they were. Otherwise, I would have had to rewrite everything as one posting. I didn't want to add to the delay.
Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that everything was added tonight despite the dates shown on the postings.
5-FU is a 40-year-old cancer drug. I believe it was the only drug approved for treating pancreatic cancer until gemcitabine became available in 1998. 5-FU can have more side effects than gemcitabine.
Monday after Mother's Day my parents left for a short fishing trip to Lake Erie. They were invited by a couple they met last year on the trip to Ireland. They have been keeping in touch with this couple ever since.
My parents enjoyed the trip. They rode with their friends and stayed with them, too. My dad reported that the fishing was good with plenty of walleye and a few perch caught. My mom worked hard to sneak in this trip before Tilly's puppies are born, so it was nice to hear that they had a good time.
p.s. I realize that those of you who regularly check the blog are possibly confused right now. In the past several hours I added three backdated postings. I apologize. Two of those postings I started at separate times over the past three weeks, but never got around to finishing them. They have been sitting as drafts for all this time. It was easiest to just finish them and post them as they were. Otherwise, I would have had to rewrite everything as one posting. I didn't want to add to the delay.
Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that everything was added tonight despite the dates shown on the postings.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Stints, stints and more stints
Dr. Dua added two more stints today in my dad's digestive tract and cleaned up some legions that were growing through one of the initial stints. Hopefully, that will take care of the vomiting for a while.
Also, I added a link to Dr. Dua's biography in the sidebar to the right.
Also, I added a link to Dr. Dua's biography in the sidebar to the right.
Monday, May 5, 2008
The cancer spreads
There is no easy way to reveal bad news. There are certain milestones along this journey we know we are likely to pass. One of those milestones came on Thursday. After a CT scan on Tuesday, Dr. Ritch informed my parents that the cancer in my dad is doing what cancer does. It is growing.
Now for the good news. (There is good news.) The tumor in the pancreas doesn't appear to have grown. The cancer has not spread to the liver or lungs. It is the studding in the peritoneal cavity that has begun to grow.
So. . . what does this all mean?
The chemotherapy drug will change from gemcitabine (Gemzar®) to fluorouracil (5-FU). The 5-FU takes 46 hours to run in via IV, but my dad won't be tied down. He'll be carrying around the pump in a fanny pack. I'm not totally clear on the frequency yet. The initial treatment will begin on Thursday, May 8. The next treatment won't be until after Memorial Day at the earliest.
My dad had some more testing done in regard to the vomiting. There is again a narrowing in the digestive tract. Dr. Dua will look at it tomorrow with a scope to see what needs to be done.
Now for the good news. (There is good news.) The tumor in the pancreas doesn't appear to have grown. The cancer has not spread to the liver or lungs. It is the studding in the peritoneal cavity that has begun to grow.
So. . . what does this all mean?
The chemotherapy drug will change from gemcitabine (Gemzar®) to fluorouracil (5-FU). The 5-FU takes 46 hours to run in via IV, but my dad won't be tied down. He'll be carrying around the pump in a fanny pack. I'm not totally clear on the frequency yet. The initial treatment will begin on Thursday, May 8. The next treatment won't be until after Memorial Day at the earliest.
My dad had some more testing done in regard to the vomiting. There is again a narrowing in the digestive tract. Dr. Dua will look at it tomorrow with a scope to see what needs to be done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
