and so it continues

Much time has lapsed since we have updated this blog....quite honestly, I don't believe either one of us ever thought we would be revisiting the blog, let alone actively starting it up again. It, the blog, had a purpose which was communicating about Roger's treatment for esophageal cancer - the chemo, the radiation, the surgery and the recovery. We thought we were done. We thought the cancer had been excised, removed, killed, gone, done with... you get the picture. And, we thought we, Roger, was on the road to better health days. Now, nearly 2 years later - literally almost 2 years later to the day - it appears the cancer is back and is back with vengeance. And the world is a vastly different place. Roger is minus a few more organs (esophagus, part of the stomach, and most recently his gallbladder) minus 95 pounds (!), minus a lot of the confidence and minus a lot of his sense of humor.


So, the journey continues.

We've talked about me updating the blog for days. I've thought about doing it for days...but haven't had the ability? energy? focus? words? I don't know. I just haven't been able to do it. But regardless, here I am with the keyboard as we travel familiar yet not so familiar waters.

A quick review of what has happened over the last year. Roger has continued to evaporate before my eyes both physically and maybe a little emotionally. He has gone from 235 lbs when we started his treatment 2 years ago to now hovering between 140-150 lbs. He is 6'2". Translation: Roger is literally skin and bones. Literally. In March he had a pancreatic attack due to gallstone blockage which landed him in the hospital for another 5 days. They removed his gallbladder, pumped him full of fluids to clean his system and sent us home. Since then he has had his regular quarterly post-cancer check ups with the oncologist including CT Scans, blood work, etc. Every check up came back "clean" until 3 mos ago. The doctor saw a tiny spot on his lung. The spot was too small to biopsy so he said we will wait for the next check up. He thought there was a good possibility the spot was scar tissue from the complication after the esophagectomy. So, we waited 3 months. The optimist in me said, "yep, its scar tissue" . The pessimist in Roger said "no, its cancer". 3 months went by - Roger went in for tests in June. And, the results showed the cancer had indeed spread to his lungs - both lungs - and has spread to a lymph node in his chest. Metastatic cancer. We were devastated, crushed, paralyzed...I think the words were ripped out of us as were our hearts.

So clinical Angie the Researcher kicked in. Figure out all that we possibly can. Learn as much as possible. We'll kick cancer's butt! Its been 100 times more confusing this go around because its esophageal cancer which has spread to his lungs and lymph nodes. Its not lung cancer. Its not a blood or lymphatic cancer. Its cancer from his esophagus which has spread through his blood or his lymphatic system to other parts of his body. Chemo is our only option because the cancer is considered "systemic" or spread through the system. So, you have to treat the system. The other much larger challenge is that Roger is exceptionally frail. He just doesn't have the physical or strength or health he once had. Not to mention the emotional/mental beating he has sustained.

Chemo started 2 weeks ago on July 6. The routine is one day of 5-6 hours of infusion at the oncology center and then 2 days of continuous 24 hour drip via a pump he wears at home. The chemo is less toxic than last time because he simply would not survive the last treatment. He goes in tomorrow for round two. Friday they will take the pump off and the chemo/poison will set about killing the cancer cells and virtually everything in its path along the way. We track the days to try to help us predict the good/bad days for future treatments. As of now, the Friday/Sat/Sun immediately following treatment are the worst. Roger starts to climb out of the hole by Tuesday and continually starts to slowly feel better....just in time to start the process all over again. The schedule is on for 3 days, off for approximately 12 days and then back on. This will continue for 2 months at the conclusion of which they will test to see if the cancer growth has been stopped and if any of the tumors have been reduced in size. If good results, then they will continue treatment for another 4 months. By my calculations we should be done by the first of the new year.

Well, that's a start. You now have a basic lay of the land. I'll write more tomorrow from the oncology center as he gets his next round of treatment and will try to upload some photos as well. ~ Angie