Clinical Updates, June 2013, #02

The last 2-3 days can be considered bad days for me because the pain was quite excruciating. Fortunately it had not developed to a “debilitating” state but it came very close to it.

On Monday, I saw my Med-Oncologist and a couple of things to report:

a)     The blood test results were alright, not the best but alright. Kidney and Liver functions are within normal range and that’s good. Platelet was 102. Could be better but I’m thankful because it could have been worse. Lymphocytes number was borderline low but it is within the patterns observed from previous tests and not much to worry about. The CA19-9 Tumor marker had dropped to 158 from 300+. Still can’t make much out of it because at 300+ the reading is not definitive and thus a reading of 158 may seem like an improvement but again it is not definitive but a good indication none the less.

b)     The stomach pain is also as expected and my Med-Oncologist suspects that the “worsening” symptoms were probably due to the higher radiation dose used in my radiotherapy. My medication had been changed:

              i.         The Fentanyl dose was increased from 25mcg to 37mcg.

            ii.         Omeparzole was replaced with Nexium (Esomeprazole), kind of a more potent form of Omeparzole.

          iii.         Buscopan was replaced with Sucralfate although I can take both at the same time since they function differently.

          iv.         Given some more morphine and advised to take as much as I need (not “want”) within the prescribed dose to ease the pain.

After a couple of doses under the new medication, they do help to ease the pain but not totally. I have to make sure I don’t put any pressure on the stomach like sitting in a slouch position as it compresses the stomach and that often create quite sharp intense pain.

I have a CT scan scheduled on 2 July and follow-up with both my Med and Rad-Oncologists on 8 July. Depending on my current condition especially whether I would have recovered from the Radiation Gastritis and the result of the next blood test, my Med-Oncologist would restart me on Chemotherapy.

It has been nearly one year now (11 months to be exact) since the preliminary discovery of the “mass” at the pancreatic head with “invasion” of the liver and duodenum. A tough 1 year and clinically the best news was that the cancer in the liver is gone but beyond the fight against the cancer, the year was also rewarding in terms of building relationship with family and friends and more importantly with God.

Don’t really want to say the journey is coming to an end because the journey never ends. The end of one part of the journey is beginning of the next and I pray that God will grant me the opportunity to enter into a fresh new journey with Him when He call to a closure this current journey on this current path.

In God We Trust and in Christ alone my hope is found.

Hebrews 11:1