We got the results of the PET scan today. Aside from the mass in the liver and some surrounding lymph nodes that we already knew about, there are no other masses or areas of concern throughout the body. Dr. Martin is not recommending surgery, but will send Marye to her breast cancer oncologist to figure out what the best chemo treatment is, then start that. He said expect about 2-3 months of chemo before we even talk again about surgery. So, basically... nothing new.
As far as her condition goes, she is still having quite a bit of pain in her abdomen, and she's very weak. That makes sense since she hasn't had a good meal in more than two weeks. She's also lost about 10 lbs., but that's due to not eating and not the cancer. The doc says the pain is from pancreatitis and possibly stomach gastritis, so he will prescribe Nexium or something, and she should take some Mylanta or Maalox. Also, he wants her to start getting more calories, so I'm off to the store to get some cans of Ensure. She can eat (or drink) anything soft and low-fat. The pancreatitis should be easing up soon.
We're expecting an appointment with Dr. Riley, her oncologist, this week. After that, we should have an idea of what kind of chemo to expect. It's complicated, since they have to see what she has had in the past. Due to the toxicity of certain medications, there is a lifetime limit on how much a person can get. I love chemotherapy: the idea is to poison the cancer tumor and kill it just a little bit faster than the chemo will poison and kill the whole body.
Ok, that's it for now. I'll keep posting on how she's feeling and such. Thanks to everyone for all the kind words we've gotten. Marye would love to talk to you all, but she's just feeling lousy all time.
-Chris
