We are home from our Mayo Clinic adventure.
And disappointed, we had hopes of finding a magical cure. Well, not really, not a magical cure, but something promising.
To summarize the past few months. My last chemotherapy was 10 July 2018. I had seen our family physician in late July, she was concerned about my breathing and ordered an X-ray and recommended that I get a CT scan. She also prescribed oxygen. It got two oxygen machines that same afternoon. I was scheduled for chemotherapy the following day and when we met the oncologist, he postponed chemotherapy for that afternoon and scheduled a CT scan. The next day we returned to the Cancer Center, the CT scan showed significant pleural effusions (lung scarring). He noted that the chemotherapy drug that I was taking was suspected rarely, very rarely, to cause pleural effusion, but it was unknowable if this was the cause. As a precaution, he canceled chemotherapy until we knew more. He scheduled a lung function test and I met with a pulmonologist the following week. My FEV (forced exhilation volume) was 2.54 liters, down from 5.45 liters 18 months earlier. I was put on steroids and an inhaler for 30 days. I saw only modest improvement to 2.67 liters. The steroids were quite stimulating, I had incredible energy for 30 days and gained 10 pounds.
As a side note, about 5 weeks after the discontinuation of the chemotherapy, quite suddenly I noticed that my thinking was becoming more clear, it is like coming out of a fog, the medical industry calls it "chemo brain." It was wonderful having my brain back, Carol said, "I have my husband back."
In October, we met with Dr. Schroeder, the oncologist at Rapid City Regional Hospital Cancer Center and he made a referral to Mayo Clinic, he had a page on his computer and it took only a couple of minutes.
Four weeks later, we were heading for Rochester and the Mayo Clinic.
As a side note, about 5 weeks after the discontinuation of the chemotherapy, quite suddenly I noticed that my thinking was becoming more clear, it is like coming out of a fog, the medical industry calls it "chemo brain." It was wonderful having my brain back, Carol said, "I have my husband back."
In October, we met with Dr. Schroeder, the oncologist at Rapid City Regional Hospital Cancer Center and he made a referral to Mayo Clinic, he had a page on his computer and it took only a couple of minutes.
Four weeks later, we were heading for Rochester and the Mayo Clinic.
 |
| Van losing at gin rummy. |
In the afternoon, we met with a pulmonologist, Dr. Agripaldo. The testing that was done on Thursday indicated advanced COPD. She added several drugs to try to reduce the amount of coughing I was doing. It was one of the most extensive history/work-up that I have received, she really drilled down on the cause of the coughing. I was very impressed.
The cough has been so limiting, I cough a lot at times, just walking up a set of stairs is likely to set off a spasm of coughing and at times I cough so hard I gag and then vomit. It is so hard to go anywhere because of the coughing and pockets stuffed with barf bags. So if we can reduce the coughing we might be able to get out and see the sights, do some traveling.
One good thing about the coughing, I have maintained my stomach muscle/core strength, yep, still pretty firm in the stomach, but with lack of exercise, have been losing strength in the extremities.
It has been a week since we returned. I started taking all the medications that were prescribed and a couple of days later I began to feel that there was some improvement in my cough. I suppose too early to be sure but it seems promising. I am already thinking about traveling again.
It has been a week since we returned. I started taking all the medications that were prescribed and a couple of days later I began to feel that there was some improvement in my cough. I suppose too early to be sure but it seems promising. I am already thinking about traveling again.
One last comment, the Mayo Clinic is very impressive. The Gonda building, where I had all of my appointments, was built in 2002, is 19 stories tall and has 1.5 million square feet of space. Lots of windows, large waiting rooms, marble walls, leather furniture, fine art work, very comfortable. The staff is truly exceptional, everyone smiles and goes out of their way to help. If you are ever at the Mayo Clinic, take a few minutes to look around, it is truly beautiful!
Thanks so much for the thoughts and prayers, we really appreciate all the love that we feel from all you all.
Love,
Van and Carol
No comments:
Post a Comment