chemo (not mambo) #5
Apologies for the long pause between updates. The days get away from us so quickly because so much is happening. We’ve got some time today while Mark gets chemo #5 (sadly, not nearly as fun as mambo #5…), so here we go.
On the health front...Mark continues receiving chemotherapy treatments at the Columbus Oncology and Hematology Associates (COHA), and Dr. Kourlas is an outstanding physician and partner. We remain ever grateful to Laura and Warren for making this connection for us. I can't imagine where we would be if any other physician were in charge of his care.
On Oct. 21, Mark was supposed to have treatment #5; however, that didn't happen. On Oct.18, Mark had bloodwork and a new set of scans, and when we met with Dr. Kourlas, we received some mixed news. The esophageal tumors have not dramatically changed, and his peritoneal carcinomatosis has somewhat improved; however, he is experiencing new tumor growth and enlargement of existing tumors elsewhere in his body. The cancer continues to metastasize in his liver and lungs, and he continues to have kidney pain, which is now explained by a subocclusive thrombus in the left renal vein.
Today, Oct. 28, we are back at COHA to start a new treatment regimen. I don't have the drug names handy, but he will have one treatment that he will get once a week for three weeks and another that he will have once every two weeks. So basically, we'll be in Columbus three out of four weeks a month. The hope is to control the metastasis to the non-esophageal areas while maintaining or accelerating the progress we've made in the primary site.
Mark wanted me to tell you all that he is doing well, so I am. From my perspective, though, he is doing a little less than well. He still has difficulty falling and staying asleep, and nothing really seems to alleviate his pain. He basically lives upstairs because he feels too weak to go up and down the stairs once he gets home from treatments. We took the air conditioner out of the bedroom, so he's been able to get some fresh air during these beautiful fall days, but he no longer feels like walking around in antique malls and taking trips just to get out of the house.
On the home front... we have had some pretty wonderful things happen recently. Jessie and Randy Daniel spent the better part of a Sunday afternoon installing a tall toilet in the upstairs bathroom. Suffice it to say that plumbing in a house built in the early 1900s can be...interesting. Only two trips to Menards were necessary, but lots of laughs were had with this dynamic duo. It was far more entertaining than watching someone do this on HGTV. ;)
We have also taken steps to install a walk-in shower in the upstairs bathroom. Right now, we have a jacuzzi tub that you have to step up and into if you want to take a shower. Getting in and out of the shower is tricky on a good day when you are healthy and pretty much dangerous and downright impossible when you have cancer. Bath Fitters out of Zanesville is completing this project for us, and we should be ready with this enhancement before Thanksgiving. During this process, we had the incredible good fortune to meet Joe Justus from Bath Fitters, and let me tell you, he is one incredibly kind human being! Joe was so respectful of Mark's needs (and our two extremely barky dogs) and took absolute care to ensure we understood the process. He was only with us for an hour or so, but he felt like an old friend from the minute he came into the house.
We are also in the process of getting a hospital bed for the living room so Mark doesn't have to feel so isolated upstairs and can use the bathroom downstairs when the new shower is being installed. We aren't exactly sure when that will happen, but the orders have been written, and Genesis Home Medical Equipment will handle them soon.
It has only been three months since the diagnosis, and somehow, time has managed to slow down and speed up simultaneously. I think it might even be fair to say that time has slowed for Mark but accelerated for me. Most days, it is challenging to stay focused at work, and I'm still trying to find the rhythm to complete my dissertation proposal defense. However, the one thing I know is there is no way that either of us could manage this new way of life without our HCOM, biological, and chosen families. A day doesn't go by that we aren't thankful for the love and friendship each of you has shown us. We aren't sure how we ever became so lucky, and it means the world to us that you care so much in all the big and small ways that matter. We can't say it enough, but we will try. :) Thank you!!!
I'll leave you with a photo of some members of Loudin's Legion. This isn't everyone in the Legion, just a few of the cool members from HCOM Admissions and Medical Education Technology. :)
-Jill Harman
