MRI completed

Troy had his MRI yesterday afternoon and we will be going to Dr. Goldsweig's tomorrow morning. The kids will be watched by our neighbor, Marian, and we can't thank her enough for helping us out!! We'll let you know what we find out from the doctor. On a more positive note, Troy has spoken with Dr. Riley, the ENT, and Dr. Allen, the radiation oncologist and they have painted a more positive picture of the outcome. We take everything with a bit of skepticism however and we won't know the next course of action until tomorrow.

PET scan

Troy had his PET scan this past Thursday. We met at Dr. Goldsweig's today and unfortunately he didn't have great news. There is a small abnormality on the opposite side of Troy's neck where he had the original surgery. His lymph node on the left side shows as if it is slightly larger than normal. There is no way to know what it is from the PET scan so they are ordering an MRI for Troy so they can have a better look. At that time they will make a determination as to whether a biopsy is needed or not. We are praying for the best and hope that this is nothing more than something that is a result of the radiation. We'll keep you informed. As you can imagine we are in a somber state right now. Troy has been worrying since he had the PET scan on Thursday. I don't even want Troy to get a paper cut right now, let alone have to have another surgery. All we can do is hope and pray right now.

Doctor Appointments

Last Friday Troy met with Dr. Riley, the ENT, and he stuck the scope down his throat and confirmed that it was all burnt up in there. His quote: "Good for me... not good for you." Troy still is too sore to consume food just yet. We're hoping he will feel up to eating in the next couple of weeks. He saw Dr. Allen, the Radiation Oncologist, yesterday and she didn't have anything too uplifting to say - just basically that it is a healing process and it takes time. Today Troy went to the oncologist's office and met with Brandon, the Physician's Assistant. He thought that Troy's neck looked really red (which it does). This seems to be a little bit of an anomaly it seems, but every day it seems to get a little better and the redness seems to fade. Troy is still tired a lot so we try to let him rest the best that we can. He has been trying to go into work once or twice a week for the past few weeks. He hasn't even been doing a full day because it tires him out quickly right now. He does best working from home where he can stretch out on the bed with his lap top there and a phone by his side. We planned our trip to Disney for March 21-28 so we are hoping he gains some energy back in the next couple of weeks.

Today's appointment

Troy saw Dr. Goldsweig today and will be getting a PET/CT scan in another couple of weeks. We have to schedule it with the hospital. The doctor said we can start to return to a normal life and it will take some time for things to truly return to normal. His immune system will always be a little off due to the torment that his body has taken. Troy is extremely burnt on his shoulder/neck area and is in a lot of pain with that. His tongue/throat is still extremely sore from the radiation as well. He has tried a bite of food here and there, but still can't bear the pain of it as of yet. He'll keep taking baby steps toward getting his feeding tube out. Unbelievably, it is just torn out of his stomach when the time comes to take it out. We're not kidding about that either. The gastro doctor says it's about 15 seconds of sheer pain and then it's over. It takes about 4 hours for the stomach to heal and for the oozing to stop. I know, Iknow... completely gross - sorry! The scar tissue will form and then he is as good as new. The feeding tube was so necessary. He was able to maintain and actually gain weight throughout his treatment which is one of the reasons why he has done so well. The doctor is having him be an advocate to his patients in promoting the PEG tube surgery and Troy has offered his support to any of the center's patients who may need it. He knows Hal Mendel has been great support to him throughout this ordeal and he wants to offer the same to anyone who may need it.

Radiation Completed!!

Today was a milestone for Troy. He has finished his radiation treatments. Troy had an appointment with Dr. Goldsweig this morning and then we all met at the radiation center at noon. Derek was picked up at school an hour early by Grandma & Grandpa and Ryan and then they met up with us at the radiation center next to the oncologist's office. Hal Mendel met up with us too so he could join in our celebration and it was truly a special day. For those of you not following along, Hal was cured of the same type of cancer last year and he has been great support for us (and especially Troy) throughout our ordeal. Hal convinced Troy to keep his radiation mask so we have that souvenir. It's a grim reminder of what we have been through over the almost past 6 months, but it also reminds Troy of what he was able to conquer. We have an appointment next week with Dr. Goldsweig and I believe they will be setting Troy up with his 3rd PET scan at that time. We will just hold onto faith that everything will be fine. Feel free to keep the prayers coming! I will let you know how we make out and I will continue to let you know how Troy is progressing with his eating and energy. A good sign is that Troy told me to check out travel plans for Disneyworld with the kids for the end of March. Joanie & Dickie - We are still considering meeting up with you at Disney in the middle of February, but we aren't sure that Troy is going to feel up to it in just 3 short weeks. Hang on to the hope that he will and I will hold off on booking anything for March until he knows for sure.

27 down 8 to go

Troy is doing well. There's not a lot to report. His tongue is the most painful part of his body right now. The treatments have caused various ulcers to form all over it and it is just killing him. His throat is sore and he has occasional bouts of nausea. He feels tired a lot because he can't sleep well at night and the treatments are causing fatigue. I know it must sound like he can't be doing all that well with everything I'm listing, but comparatively speaking he really is blessed. I have heard stories of other cancer patients being hospitalized because of their side effects and I have seen other patients in the chemo room at Dr. Goldsweig's office who don't look well at all. One of them was taken away by paramedics. We're thankful that Troy can start his recovery process soon and we will continue to let you know how things are going.

Derek's Move-A-Thon

Happy New Year everyone! Troy is doing pretty well. He had nausea last night and got sick, but he tries to hold back on taking his phenergan sometimes and I think that causes issues for him. He also started a fentanyl pain patch last night and that might have done it, but I don't think it even had time to enter his system before he got sick. He is doing well though and is still above his normal weight by a couple of pounds. He only has 13 treatments left (less than 3 weeks to go now!).

The sheet to the right is for sponsoring Derek's Move-A-Thon that he will be participating in at the end of January which will raise funds for his Spring Fling event at the end of April. If you can donate any small amount, Derek would appreciate it. Let me know by sending a comment to this post or emailing me directly at soothcage@bellsouth.net. I will catch up with you for the money at a later date. Thanks for your support!