Sunday, November 06, 2016
Go time.
Nov 24 , be there or be square. Sign in at 8:00 am. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight. Blood work done no sooner than three days before the big day. I am a little apprehensive. Been here before and I know the drill, but it just doesn't get any easier. November 14, sit tight for a phone call, the nurse will ring and take down all the particulars, my drug list with all that they treat.
Thursday Nov 17 its a half day at the Foothills doing the pre admittance physical. I've been here before so I got the routine down pat, but my anxiety level is high this time. These battles are ugly
and as I age they become harder. So wish me luck and say a good word.
Thursday Nov 17 its a half day at the Foothills doing the pre admittance physical. I've been here before so I got the routine down pat, but my anxiety level is high this time. These battles are ugly
and as I age they become harder. So wish me luck and say a good word.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Friday, October 28, 2016
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Jade Ribbons
It's been about a week since I got the news. Those
Two spots on my liver. Well as it turns out , they've gotten bigger. I've been through the tests, and even
Without a biopsy they know it's the same kind that was growing on my pancreas. I ask him how big they are and he holds his two fingers about an inch apart for the bigger one and slightly less for the smaller one. So now what. I've been here before, twice as a matter of fact. I don't want this again . It takes a heavy toll on
The mind and starts to reflect in every day living. It's never far from your thoughts.
Three options I'm told. Surgery is the usually most successful option. Next a procedure he calls ablation, where they attack the tumours with needles and try to destroy them. Third , we can do nothing, and see where they go. I can't live with the latter , so I need some kind of advice for a shot at surviving a bit longer. He suggests ablation surgery and I agree, it's a place to start I wonder why he tries to steer away from surgery, and I think he fears going in and finding something he doesn't like. So now I wait for the call. This is one of the things that leaves you in a stressful frame of mind. No long term plans, just wait.
This form is rare. 1 out of 100,000 will get this type. It doesn't respond very well to chemotherapy. Not sure about radiation therapy. But all I know is the fight is on, and I need to get started. I'll see my family Doc this week and see what kind of advice he has for me . I already know of course, I've heard it before. Keep moving, stay focused, don't give up and stay in touch with my God. The surgeon offered me a glimpse of what I could expect for time. He said I've got years left in me. I have to take that for all that it could mean.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Ablation, my option.
Tumor ablation for liver cancer
Ablation is treatment that destroys liver tumors without removing them. These techniques are used in patients with a few small tumors and when surgery is not a good option (often because of poor health or reduced liver function). They are less likely to cure the cancer than surgery, but they can still be very helpful for some people. These treatments are also sometimes used in patients waiting for a liver transplant.
Ablation is best used for tumors no larger than about 3 cm across (a little over an inch). For slightly larger tumors (3 to 5 cm across), it may be used along with embolization (see next section). Because ablation often destroys some of the normal tissue around the tumor, it might not be a good choice for treating tumors near major blood vessels, the diaphragm, or major bile ducts.
People getting this type of treatment typically do not require a hospital stay. Often, ablation can be done without surgery by inserting a needle or probe into the tumor through the skin. The needle or probe is guided into place with ultrasound or CT scanning. Sometimes, though, to be sure the treatment is aimed at the right place, it may be done during surgery.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
This procedure uses high-energy radio waves for treatment. The doctor inserts a thin, needle-like probe into the tumor. A high-frequency current is then passed through the tip of the probe, which heats the tumor and destroys the cancer cells. This is a common treatment method for small tumors.
Ethanol (alcohol) ablation
This is also known as percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI). In this procedure, concentrated alcohol is injected directly into the tumor to kill cancer cells.
Microwave thermotherapy
In this procedure, microwaves transmitted through the probe are used to heat and destroy the abnormal tissue.
Cryosurgery (cryotherapy)
This procedure destroys a tumor by freezing it using a thin metal probe. The probe is guided into the tumor and then very cold gasses are passed through the probe to freeze the tumor, killing the cancer cells. This method may be used to treat larger tumors than the other ablation techniques, but it sometimes requires general anesthesia (where you are deeply asleep and not able to feel pain).
Side effects of ablation therapy
Possible side effects after ablation therapy include abdominal pain, infection in the liver, and bleeding into the chest cavity or abdomen. Serious complications are uncommon, but they are possible.
Last Medical Review: 03/31/2016
Last Revised: 04/28/2016
Sunday, October 02, 2016
This Rings True
On the day I die a lot will happen.
A lot will change.
The world will be busy.
On the day I die, all the important appointments I made will be left unattended....
The many plans I had yet to complete will remain forever undone.
The calendar that ruled so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me.
All the material things I so chased and guarded and treasured will be left in the hands of others to care for or to discard.
A lot will change.
The world will be busy.
On the day I die, all the important appointments I made will be left unattended....
The many plans I had yet to complete will remain forever undone.
The calendar that ruled so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me.
All the material things I so chased and guarded and treasured will be left in the hands of others to care for or to discard.
The words of my critics which so burdened me will cease to sting or capture anymore. They will be unable to touch me.
The arguments I believed I’d won here will not serve me or bring me any satisfaction or solace.
All my noisy incoming notifications and texts and calls will go unanswered. Their great urgency will be quieted.
My many nagging regrets will all be resigned to the past, where they should have always been anyway.
Every superficial worry about my body that I ever labored over; about my waistline or hairline or frown lines, will fade away.
My carefully crafted image, the one I worked so hard to shape for others here, will be left to them to complete anyway.
The sterling reputation I once struggled so greatly to maintain will be of little concern for me anymore.
All the small and large anxieties that stole sleep from me each night will be rendered powerless.
The deep and towering mysteries about life and death that so consumed my mind will finally be clarified in a way that they could never be before while I lived.
These things will certainly all be true on the day that I die.
Yet for as much as will happen on that day, one more thing that will happen.
On the day I die, the few people who really know and truly love me will grieve deeply.
They will feel a void.
They will feel cheated.
They will not feel ready.
They will feel as though a part of them has died as well.
And on that day, more than anything in the world they will want more time with me.
I know this from those I love and grieve over.
And so knowing this, while I am still alive I’ll try to remember that my time with them is finite and fleeting and so very precious—and I’ll do my best not to waste a second of it.
I’ll try not to squander a priceless moment worrying about all the other things that will happen on the day I die, because many of those things are either not my concern or beyond my control.
Friends, those other things have an insidious way of keeping you from living even as you live; vying for your attention, competing for your affections.
They rob you of the joy of this unrepeatable, uncontainable, ever-evaporating Now with those who love you and want only to share it with you.
Don’t miss the chance to dance with them while you can.
It’s easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die.
Don’t let your life be stolen every day by all that you believe matters, because on the day you die, much of it simply won’t.
Yes, you and I will die one day.
But before that day comes: let us live..-unknown
The arguments I believed I’d won here will not serve me or bring me any satisfaction or solace.
All my noisy incoming notifications and texts and calls will go unanswered. Their great urgency will be quieted.
My many nagging regrets will all be resigned to the past, where they should have always been anyway.
Every superficial worry about my body that I ever labored over; about my waistline or hairline or frown lines, will fade away.
My carefully crafted image, the one I worked so hard to shape for others here, will be left to them to complete anyway.
The sterling reputation I once struggled so greatly to maintain will be of little concern for me anymore.
All the small and large anxieties that stole sleep from me each night will be rendered powerless.
The deep and towering mysteries about life and death that so consumed my mind will finally be clarified in a way that they could never be before while I lived.
These things will certainly all be true on the day that I die.
Yet for as much as will happen on that day, one more thing that will happen.
On the day I die, the few people who really know and truly love me will grieve deeply.
They will feel a void.
They will feel cheated.
They will not feel ready.
They will feel as though a part of them has died as well.
And on that day, more than anything in the world they will want more time with me.
I know this from those I love and grieve over.
And so knowing this, while I am still alive I’ll try to remember that my time with them is finite and fleeting and so very precious—and I’ll do my best not to waste a second of it.
I’ll try not to squander a priceless moment worrying about all the other things that will happen on the day I die, because many of those things are either not my concern or beyond my control.
Friends, those other things have an insidious way of keeping you from living even as you live; vying for your attention, competing for your affections.
They rob you of the joy of this unrepeatable, uncontainable, ever-evaporating Now with those who love you and want only to share it with you.
Don’t miss the chance to dance with them while you can.
It’s easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die.
Don’t let your life be stolen every day by all that you believe matters, because on the day you die, much of it simply won’t.
Yes, you and I will die one day.
But before that day comes: let us live..-unknown
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Safe
Wait, it's like I'm falling into a deep well. Time and space is rushing by me . I'm going deeper and deeper into the abyss towards a faint blue sparkling star. The feeling of morphing into a new existence is growing stronger. The darkness is unfolding into a sapphire blue vividly sharp light.
I am so close, when I hear the words. Johnny, don't leave. I know , I know now for sure, that I'm safe.
Monday, September 05, 2016
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Sunday, May 01, 2016
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Friday, March 25, 2016
Monday, March 21, 2016
Friday, March 11, 2016
Old age maybe.
He gives me a prescription for a magic lotion . Put this on twice a day he says, make my way to a sports therapy outlet and get some help from the therapist. All this after he tells me the ultrasound came back showing nothing. The pain is still there, but what do I know.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Friday, January 08, 2016
Cutting Edge Treatment Improves Prospects For Liver Cancer Patients
RESEARCH ADVANCES In October, iconic buildings throughout the United Kingdom were bathed in pink light. NFL players wore pink on their shoes during games across the U.S. and, in Canada, hundreds attended high-profile galas.
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All to increase awareness of breast cancer and raise money to treat it.
While people across the Western world are aware of this disease and a handful of other cancers, liver cancer is not on their radar. But that may soon change.
It is less prevalent here than in countries where chronic hepatitis B and C, leading causes of the disease, are more widespread. However, according to the Canadian Cancer Society Statistics 2015, incidence as well as mortality rates for liver cancer are on the rise.
It is less prevalent here than in countries where chronic hepatitis B and C, leading causes of the disease, are more widespread. However, according to the Canadian Cancer Society Statistics 2015, incidence as well as mortality rates for liver cancer are on the rise.
Surgical resection and liver transplantation are the best treatment options for liver cancer. However, surgery is not always possible due to the size of the cancer or it spreading to other parts of the body. Other options include, embolization, ablation chemotherapy (often a drug called sorafenib), external bean radiation, and internal radiation therapy, which is also known as radioembolization.
“In radioembolization a catheter is used to deliver small radioactive beads directly to the tumour in the liver.”
In a treatment known as embolization, a substance is put into the artery carrying blood to the tumour. This substance blocks the blood flow, which makes it harder for the tumour to grow and sometimes causes all or part of it to die. Ablation consists of inserting a needle or probe into the tumour and destroying it by delivering extreme heat, cold, or concentrated alcohol (ethanol).
Recent Advances
Healthcare providers started adding a chemotherapy drug to embolization in the 1970s (chemoembolization) and, in the past decade, have been combining embolization with radiation treatment (radioembolization).
In a radioembolization procedure, a catheter is used to deliver microscopic radioactive beads directly to the tumour in the liver. The beads, which are glass, become lodged in the tumour and, over the course of several weeks, emit radiation that can destroy it. Few people realize that there is a radioembolzation treatment and it has already been used in over 19,000 patients worldwide. Many interventional radiologists have endorsed this procedure, citing its many benefits.
“The treatment targets the tumour and leaves surrounding tissue unharmed. That means you can deliver radiation without killing the liver, something that would be very difficult to do otherwise,” says Dr. Richard Owen, an Interventional Radiologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
“In many instances patients have been too unwell to tolerate established treatments,” adds Dr. Sean Cleary, a surgeon at Toronto General Hospital, “so chemoembolization and radioembolization techniques have been considered because they can be delivered with fewer side effects and risks.”
Radioembolization can be used to shrink large tumours down to the point where they can be surgically removed, and to treat tumours that are not responsive to other treatments.
"Although the treatment is costly, it is less expensive than other liver cancer treatments and is publicly funded only in British Columbia and Alberta. It’s available in just six provinces — British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Quebec."
Dr. Rob Beecroft, an Interventional Radiologist at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, says he has used the procedure to treat patients who would not have tolerated sorafenib because they were older and more fragile — he reports that it worked remarkably well. “In my opinion, in certain patients with advanced liver cancer, radioembolization can be more effective than sorafenib,” he says, “and have fewer side effects.” Side effects include fatigue, pain, and nausea. The majority of adverse effects are mild to moderate in severity and are manageable or resolve over time.
Just as many healthcare providers have voiced their approval of this new therapy, they have expressed concern over its lack of availability.
New treatment not funded for many Canadians
Although the treatment is costly, it is less expensive than other liver cancer treatments and is publicly funded only in British Columbia and Alberta. It’s available in just six provinces — British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. Many Canadian patients seeking the treatment have to go to the United States to get it, which often costs them tens of thousands of dollars. Qualifying patients may also opt for enrollment into radioembolization clinical trials available in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. More information on these trials can be found at www.btgplc.com.
“For many patients radioembolization is clearly the best treatment,” says Owen. “However, for the majority of Canadians it’s just not available.”
Dr. Owen would like to see this “made in Canada” treatment available in all major centres in conjunction with transplant programs. He says treatment would have to be overseen by a team of specialists from various disciplines.
Without a doubt, more public funding would help the growing number of Canadians battling liver cancer. With established treatments improving and new treatments being developed, physicians will be able to target liver cancer with even more precision and greater success.
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