Wednesday, May 26, 2010
C. Diff
Well Trav still is sick...he has been fighting the C. Diff since about a week post-surgery. He'll start to feel good and then just crash again. Travis had a scope last week, fourth one this year, and there were no signs of C.Diff. So, Travis is tapering off the medicine again. He is currently taking 2 medicines to control the C. Diff, then a probiotic, and a mega multivitamin! He has been sick for over 3 months now and so he is quite frustrated. After we taper off we will hope and pray that he is all better. The GI doctor says that it's possible that his colon has just been through a lot, or maybe the medicine is causing him to feel the way he does, I'll spare you the details! If that's the case then in time he will be feeling better. If it's still C. Diff then Trav has to let it basically get out of control, so it's very painful, then we can go back in and he can be tested again. We are just continuing our faith and know that Trav will eventually be better!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tumor Board Results
Well I didn't want to post this right away, because we thought it was best to wait til Trav's Mom talked to all of Trav's siblings before blogging about it!
The good news is all of the genetic testing has finally come back and it does not appear to be genetic!! Yay! However, they still don't know why he would have cancer so young, and coming from parents with such little families, they thought it'd be a good idea for Trav's parents and siblings to get a colonoscopy! The main reason is for them, they don't know if they are also at a greater risk, but also for Travis so we can see if he does have a greater chance of relapse. If they find anything I'm not sure if that really changes our future too much, but we aren't going to predict that for now! This is the current plan...
No Radiation!!! No Chemo!!! Both great news! The Tumor Board felt like they got all of the cancer, with large enough borders, so there is no point in any further treatment! However, since he has had colon cancer he has an increased risk of getting it again, especially for the first few years. So, Trav is lucky enough to have a colonoscopy yearly for the next few years! They will also draw his blood every three months for a year. Not too big of a deal, with these precautions they would catch a polyp before it turned cancerous!
We feel so incredibly blessed that they caught his cancer so early! Every doctor we have seen just comes in and asks if Travis realizes how lucky he is. We know that the Lord had a hand in every step of this process! Travis received an incredible blessing when he was suffering from the C. Diff, it has been incredible to look back and see how inspired it was and to know the Lord prepared us for the cancer before we knew about it! The oncologist told us that our surgeon made a bold move by doing the surgery he did, she said it would not have been acceptable considering Trav’s ultrasound showed it as a T2, into the muscle. However, we know that the Surgeon was blessed and directed! We are so grateful for the lessons we have learned from the cancer and the blessings and miracles we have been able to witness!
The good news is all of the genetic testing has finally come back and it does not appear to be genetic!! Yay! However, they still don't know why he would have cancer so young, and coming from parents with such little families, they thought it'd be a good idea for Trav's parents and siblings to get a colonoscopy! The main reason is for them, they don't know if they are also at a greater risk, but also for Travis so we can see if he does have a greater chance of relapse. If they find anything I'm not sure if that really changes our future too much, but we aren't going to predict that for now! This is the current plan...
No Radiation!!! No Chemo!!! Both great news! The Tumor Board felt like they got all of the cancer, with large enough borders, so there is no point in any further treatment! However, since he has had colon cancer he has an increased risk of getting it again, especially for the first few years. So, Trav is lucky enough to have a colonoscopy yearly for the next few years! They will also draw his blood every three months for a year. Not too big of a deal, with these precautions they would catch a polyp before it turned cancerous!
We feel so incredibly blessed that they caught his cancer so early! Every doctor we have seen just comes in and asks if Travis realizes how lucky he is. We know that the Lord had a hand in every step of this process! Travis received an incredible blessing when he was suffering from the C. Diff, it has been incredible to look back and see how inspired it was and to know the Lord prepared us for the cancer before we knew about it! The oncologist told us that our surgeon made a bold move by doing the surgery he did, she said it would not have been acceptable considering Trav’s ultrasound showed it as a T2, into the muscle. However, we know that the Surgeon was blessed and directed! We are so grateful for the lessons we have learned from the cancer and the blessings and miracles we have been able to witness!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Where we go from here...
This last Thursday, May 6, we went to an Oncologist to see where we go from here, and after a 2 hour wait we were told he does not need Chemo and we were being referred to another Oncologist to discuss the possibility of radiation.
So Friday we went to the other Oncologist were she said Travis probably does not need radiation, but we are unsure right now. He is a special case and so they are presenting his case in front of a Tumor board this Wednesday. This will be a board of a bunch of Oncologists and Surgeons discussing where to go from here! Just because the cancer is gone, does not mean we are done! Our GI doctor, Surgeon, and the 2 oncologists we have now seen will be presenting our case. If Travis was 50-60 years older we would be in a much easier place. We could say...let's do radiation/chemo, and go forward knowing there is very few side effects to be worried about. Or we could say let's not do anything and go forward assuming old age is gonna kill him before cancer! We do not have some of our genetic testing back yet, and so that is also going to play a role in determing if radiation is necessary.
It's all kind of confusing and overwhelming! They want to be proactive and agressive because he is so young. But they also want to be conservative and not burn any bridges, because he is so young. We know the Lord's hands have been in every step so far, and do not doubt he is guiding the doctors thoughts and helping us get the best care that Travis needs!
In addition, the C. Difficile has flared up again. A couple weeks ago Trav went down to 1 pill a day and a few days later he got sick again. Dr. Gonzales was out of town, the GI Doctor, so another doctor in the office told us to go back to 2 pills a day for another week, then back to 1. We got a call last week saying that Dr. Gonzales will be back in the country next Tuesday and wants to meet with us. Travis went back to 1 pill, and it's flared up again since we made that appointment, so we will be discussing where we go from here with that. Tomorrow I want to discuss with the doctor about using a probiotic to get some good bacteria in Trav's intestines...but have read about some of the other possibile treatments that we may have to look into.
We appreciate everyones continued prayers and support!
So Friday we went to the other Oncologist were she said Travis probably does not need radiation, but we are unsure right now. He is a special case and so they are presenting his case in front of a Tumor board this Wednesday. This will be a board of a bunch of Oncologists and Surgeons discussing where to go from here! Just because the cancer is gone, does not mean we are done! Our GI doctor, Surgeon, and the 2 oncologists we have now seen will be presenting our case. If Travis was 50-60 years older we would be in a much easier place. We could say...let's do radiation/chemo, and go forward knowing there is very few side effects to be worried about. Or we could say let's not do anything and go forward assuming old age is gonna kill him before cancer! We do not have some of our genetic testing back yet, and so that is also going to play a role in determing if radiation is necessary.
It's all kind of confusing and overwhelming! They want to be proactive and agressive because he is so young. But they also want to be conservative and not burn any bridges, because he is so young. We know the Lord's hands have been in every step so far, and do not doubt he is guiding the doctors thoughts and helping us get the best care that Travis needs!
In addition, the C. Difficile has flared up again. A couple weeks ago Trav went down to 1 pill a day and a few days later he got sick again. Dr. Gonzales was out of town, the GI Doctor, so another doctor in the office told us to go back to 2 pills a day for another week, then back to 1. We got a call last week saying that Dr. Gonzales will be back in the country next Tuesday and wants to meet with us. Travis went back to 1 pill, and it's flared up again since we made that appointment, so we will be discussing where we go from here with that. Tomorrow I want to discuss with the doctor about using a probiotic to get some good bacteria in Trav's intestines...but have read about some of the other possibile treatments that we may have to look into.
We appreciate everyones continued prayers and support!
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