It's time to update everyone on what has been going on lately. We continue to see the oncologist at the Arlington Cancer Center. Much to his dismay we continue to have success *without* resorting to either Chemo or Radiation. (this, of course, does not help his income rise) :-) On our last visit, which was Monday the 31st of January, her cancer marker were slightly elevated but we're not concerned with that finding. Remember that we had Becky off the DCA for nearly 3 months and that is the main element in our alternative therapy. She is back on it now at her weight adjusted dose and we expect the progress to continue.
Earlier in January we had an appointment with the surgeon. He's satisfied that the tumor has shrunk enough to permit surgery and be able to have a nice clean closing line. He is also quite confident that he can remove *all* of the cancer tissue in her breast without any risk of metastasis. As of now we're considering tumor removal this month which will likely have Becky off work for a week or so. Pretty much the entire left breast will be removed. We think that this will help us combat the cancer that is in one rib and a couple of vertebra.
Even if the main mass is totally dead we'd prefer not to have that tissue in her breast. To us that just seems like asking for problems down the road. If it's mostly dead but has some active cells inside somewhere..... then eliminating it also eliminates the risk of those cells escaping and causing problems elsewhere. No specific date for the surgery has been set at the time of this writing. At most we honestly don't expect her to be in the hospital more than overnight.
Otherwise she is doing quite well. The dietary changes mean that she is still loosing some weight which is helping with her hips and knees as they have less weight to bear. We also got rid of our old "sleep number" bed and acquired a mattress from IKEA. We added a 2.5 inch memory foam topper to that and a 72 spring base under it. So far it has helped Becky get a much better nights sleep than before so it was a good investment. She typically sleeps on one side or the other..... but since the new mattress she has been sleeping more on her back. Before she complained of back pain when she woke up but that seems to be a thing of the past now.... for which I am most thankful.
As soon as we have any additional information about her surgery I'll post an update here. I doubt she will in the hospital long enough for cards or flowers to reach her there. We'll discuss the possibility of posting our address here..... but I suspect that anyone reading this already has that information.
As a parting thought...... "Love as if you'll die tomorrow but learn as though you'll live forever."
Peace....................
Earlier in January we had an appointment with the surgeon. He's satisfied that the tumor has shrunk enough to permit surgery and be able to have a nice clean closing line. He is also quite confident that he can remove *all* of the cancer tissue in her breast without any risk of metastasis. As of now we're considering tumor removal this month which will likely have Becky off work for a week or so. Pretty much the entire left breast will be removed. We think that this will help us combat the cancer that is in one rib and a couple of vertebra.
Even if the main mass is totally dead we'd prefer not to have that tissue in her breast. To us that just seems like asking for problems down the road. If it's mostly dead but has some active cells inside somewhere..... then eliminating it also eliminates the risk of those cells escaping and causing problems elsewhere. No specific date for the surgery has been set at the time of this writing. At most we honestly don't expect her to be in the hospital more than overnight.
Otherwise she is doing quite well. The dietary changes mean that she is still loosing some weight which is helping with her hips and knees as they have less weight to bear. We also got rid of our old "sleep number" bed and acquired a mattress from IKEA. We added a 2.5 inch memory foam topper to that and a 72 spring base under it. So far it has helped Becky get a much better nights sleep than before so it was a good investment. She typically sleeps on one side or the other..... but since the new mattress she has been sleeping more on her back. Before she complained of back pain when she woke up but that seems to be a thing of the past now.... for which I am most thankful.
As soon as we have any additional information about her surgery I'll post an update here. I doubt she will in the hospital long enough for cards or flowers to reach her there. We'll discuss the possibility of posting our address here..... but I suspect that anyone reading this already has that information.
As a parting thought...... "Love as if you'll die tomorrow but learn as though you'll live forever."
Peace....................
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