Dad has a Port-a-Cath®

Today my dad had the Port-a-Cath® (also called a port) put in. The device was surgically inserted under the skin in the upper chest. The surgery was minor and was performed under local anesthesia.

Baseline testing

Testing this morning went fine. Dad was frustrated to be stuck five times for the blood tests, but his days of multiple sticks are numbered. He scheduled to have a Port-a-Cath® (also called a port) put in on Wednesday. A port is a small device placed under the skin. It empties into a blood vessel and makes it easier to give chemotherapy and to take blood for tests. It requires no special maintenance and is completely internal, so swimming and bathing are not a problem.

Dad's birthday

Today my dad turned 60!

The morning began with surprise gifts from my dad's former co-workers. This balloon with the dancing frogs was one of his gifts. He enjoyed all of the gifts very much and was overwhelmed by how many people cared enough to contribute to the gifts.

Of course, he has also received many other gifts and cards. Thank you all so much for taking the time to send them.

The afternoon was spent at the oncologist's office. My dad had his first appointment with Dr. Paul Ritch at the Medical College of Wisconsin. My mom, brother, and I also attended the appointment. There was no more bad news. Dr. Ritch restated information he received from Elmbrook Hospital records. The cancer is in the pancreas, gallbladder, peritoneum, and the lymph nodes. Dr. Ritch did mention that my dad has likely had this cancer for years.

Pancreatic cancer almost always has no symptoms until it is in the 3rd or 4th stage. This is my dad's case. More information about pancreatic cancer can be found on the PanCAN Website.

On Monday my dad will have preliminary testing done before starting chemotherapy on Thursday, February 1. This testing includes both blood tests and another CT scan with a higher resolution machine than was used at Elmbrook Hospital. The results of these test will be used to establish a baseline before treatment is begun.

The chemotherapy regimen will begin with seven consecutive treatments once per week. This will be followed by one week off. During the week off blood work will be redone and another CT scan will be done. We hope the chemotherapy will prolong and improve his remaining time with us. There is no curative treatment available because the blood flow goes through the tumor.

Home from the hospital

Tuesday, we brought my dad home from the hospital. Despite the cold weather it appears that all of the plants and flowers survived the move. Now my parents house is full of greenery and blossoms!

My dad asked me on Monday to send a short, funny, cryptic email. Below is the prognosis for those of you who didn't understand or have more questions.

My dad is facing his toughest fight yet against cancer. His pancreatic cancer has metastasized into the peritoneum and is also in the lymph node. There is no curative treatment available. My family and I are hopeful the chemotherapy treatment my dad has chosen to undergo will slow the progress of the cancer and shrink the tumors.

Next Tuesday, my dad will have his first appointment with an oncologist at the Medical College of Wisconsin. It is also his 60th birthday.

My family and I are hopeful that with chemotherapy we will all be blessed with many more months of my dad's sarcasm, wit and strong convictions. (You may not want to get him started ranting about George Bush or the Chicago Bears.)

-Michelle

The third strike

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville. . .

Strike one, 1979, testicular cancer

Strike two, 1998, prostate cancer

Strike three, 2007, pancreatic cancer

My family and I are bringing Dad home from the hospital in the next few days. We hope to have a year full of sunshine, bands playing, light hearts, laughter, and children shouting.

On second thought. . . we actually don't want the whole year full of children shouting.

Michelle
Daughter of Philippe

p.s. I guess the little plastic boat wasn't the problem after all.

Hope for tomorrow

Dear family and friends of my dad,

My dad has had a busy weekend full of visitors (including his dog Tilly), phone chats , and deliveries of plants and flowers. Thank you all for caring so much. Our family appreciates your support and prayers.

In addition to the intravenous nutrition, my dad is eating well. He is on medication to control nausea and has not vomited since arriving at Elmbrook Hospital. His recovery from the surgery on Friday continues to progress well. The pathology report with the results of the biopsies is expected on Monday.

Going into tomorrow we have much hope. My dad is in good spirits. We will keep you all posted.

Sincerely,
Michelle

It's pancreatic cancer

Hi,

Phil had surgery this morning. The surgery itself went well, but it brings with it news that is disheartening. The doctors are pretty sure that he has pancreatic cancer. We will know for sure after we get the results of the biopsies, probably on Monday.

Although pancreatic cancer isn't good, there are some promising treatments if it is caught early enough. We don't know if we've caught it early enough and we don't know what treatment options are available. We will know more after we speak with the oncologist.

Phil was pretty tired when I saw him this evening, but he has been up and about walking a few times today. He was also cracking some jokes. They are feeding him liquid nutrition intravenously, and that should help him feel better. He has lost a fair amount of weight over the last couple of months.

Phil and Judy are gearing up together to find the doctor, hospital, and procedures they need to fight the cancer and get a positive outcome. I'm sure they can use your prayers and support.

Michelle and Judy took Tilly to the vet today so that she can get clearance to visit Phil at the hospital. We may take her to see him tomorrow or the next day.

We will keep you posted.

-Mark

Problem lies in the pancreas

Again, many thanks for the phone calls and visits to my dad thus far. Also, thanks to those of you who have helped out my mom with rides and meals. Please continue to forward these emails to anyone interested.

This morning (Thursday, January 11) another test was run which ruled out an obstruction. After further review, the internist, surgeon, and gastroenterologists all agree the problem lies with my dad's pancreas. The large cyst behind his stomach is believed to be part of his pancreas. It will be biopsied and his gall bladder removed during laparoscopic surgery. His surgery is scheduled for 7:30 tomorrow morning. The three possible problems with my dad's pancreas are pancreatitis, a benign pancreatic cyst, or a malignant pancreatic cyst.

My dad recovers slowly from general anesthesia, and he doesn't expect to feel well enough for visitors on Friday. He would welcome visitors again beginning on Saturday. He will be staying in the hospital several days.

Please keep my dad and our family in your prayers.

Thank you,

Michelle and Mark

p.s. I haven't seen the small plastic boat, but maybe I just need to look a little more closely at the pictures from the upper GI scope.

CT scan & upper GI scope results

Thank you all for patiently waiting for this update, it's been a little hectic around here. We would like to send a big thank you for everyone that has called, visited and sent flowers. I can see a positive change in his attitude after each friendly interaction. So here is the deal since the last email:

On Tuesday morning Little Papa (see below if you have questions) was woken up and carted down to the radiology department for a CT scan of his "guts". However, there was a bit of confusion around his allergy to the dye they use and they had to reschedule the procedure for 6:30pm. He was in such a "good mood" as I walked in at 8:00 just as he was being returned from Radiology.

Later that morning the GI specialist (He's actually my parents neighbor) performed an upper GI scope. This very quick procedure takes a camera into the food pipe, stomach and the first part of the small bowel looking for irregularities. The specialist returned to the waiting room after five minutes and debriefed my mother and I while my dad was in the background telling the nurse and everyone else how much he loved them. The specialist found a pool of acid and bile in his stomach along with a small plastic boat floating around that he removed. He also found additional liquid at the entrance to the small bowel.

On, Wednesday morning we received the results from the CT scan. The scan showed that he had a few small gallstones in his gallbladder, he has a large cyst behind his stomach and a few cysts inside his pancreas. So what does all this mean . .

Let me start it out with they're not sure. The GI specialist's initial thought was since there is backup of fluid in the stomach and entrance to the small bowel there must be an obstruction somewhere further down that the scope cannot reach. However, they consulted a surgeon and he thought that since the dye used for the CT scan went all the through to the colon there is probably not an obstruction. So, now they are all a little puzzled. Both the GI specialist and surgeon talked and agreed the best course of action would be to schedule a exploratory laparoscopic surgery for Friday. This would give them a chance to address the gallstones by removing the gallbladder and look into the small bowel and the pancreas.

So that's where we stand.

Michael

Second trip to the hospital

Good evening all: I hope this email reaches everyone with a good start to 2007. Here at the Ortiz family we are having a little drama, but heck we’re going to make it. So here is the status as of today.

Judy or mom as some of else like to call her- She went to the doctor this morning and had the stitches removed from her elbow. Good news! The doc says she is healing well and will be able to start using it after another week. The family had fun comparing surgical scars today.

Dad or little papa as I like to call him these days- Tough day for the little guy. After some good days of eating and trying to regain weight, last night he started vomiting again. Unfortunately dehydration is a concern so he went to hospital and they pump him full of fluids. He looks and feels good when I left him tonight. Tomorrow they are planning some early morning test and therefore he gets to spend another night in the hospital. Not to worry though, because the tests are scheduled for the AM they won’t let him partake in the scrumptious hospital food. Awe shucks. As I left him tonight little papa was getting prepared for an (hopefully I’ll get this right) upper GI and a CT scan in the AM. His preparatory cocktail didn’t sound as good as the smooth whiskey snifter I rang in the new year with, but he is very excited to get the results and find a solution to his #2 being like a #1. Sorry for that and hope I didn’t make anyone sick, but it sounded funny to me.

So that’s the update and I’ll let you know when we get more info. As usual little papa loves to talk to people on the phone and hear some positive reinforcement about his treatment.

Michael

The start of it all

The following is an email from my Aunt Mary which describes the initial situation:

Thought I would update you on the Ortiz's. Phil is still holding down his food and his system seems to be working okay. However, he is very weak and depressed. He called the priest to give him the annointing of the sick and Fr. Dick Aiken came today. He annointed both of them since Judy is trying to recover from the surgery on her arm. I think it is important for him to get a more positive outlook. He seems to be resigned to dying and that is not good. Anything any of you can do to cheer him up would be helpful. Judy cannot cook so Michelle and Michael are helping out. We have taken some food over there also.

Mary (Judy's sister)