Tuesday, July 30, 2013

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Hello and good evening!

Fort Collins is beautiful tonight, perhaps one of the nicest nights we've had the entire summer.  For those of you who don't live here (which I know is quite a few of you, actually) you're missing out!  Thunder is rumbling softly as a small rainstorm moves east, the sky is purple and orange, the air is still and light, and it is a beautiful 75 degrees.  The lanterns are starting to flicker on in our backyard and I've got a nice Rolle Bolle. Perfect time for me to sit down and let you all know what is up.

Although it's been a few days, please don't take that as something has gone wrong.  Quite the contrary, actually.  Three things happened...Kurtis went to treatment, my mom came to visit, and I got totally sucked into a puzzle.

Friday was pretty rough for both Kurtis and myself.  We found out earlier in the day that the chemo was rocking the cancer (taking the hormone marker betaHCG from about 38,000 to about 15,000 which is a huge drop) so we were flying pretty high.  When the radiation oncologist called with the news that they found more tumors, it was like we fell off of the cliff we had just climbed.  After a few days to digest and talk with the doctors, we know a little bit more and it has been "digested" so to speak and we are moving to fight it.

Here are a few things that have "changed" in the treatment plan and some other things that we now know:
-Kurtis is now receiving "whole brain radiation" which is designed to kill ALL of the cancer in his brain, the chemo will handle it everywhere else
-Radiation treatments last about 5 minutes total...just enough time for me to consume one of the rice krispy treats they have in the snack box at the office.  He doesn't really feel any side effects yet - and the treatment is not painful.
-Kurtis had to make another mask on Monday since the treatment changed...the old one is now at our house, and if you'd like to see it, please just ask when you drop by!
-The rest of this week and all of next week will be radiation.  Chemo starts back up August 15th
-Today the radiation oncologist stressed again that the new tumors are very small and also told us that they may already be shrinking.
-An MRI will be taken in about 5-6 weeks to see the progress of the radiation.

Honestly, Kurtis has been doing quite well.  Is he uncomfortable? Absolutely.  But, he's still eating pretty much everything, his color is good, and we even listened to "Radioactive" on the way to the appointment today.  His lung doesn't seem to be filling up with fluid (or at least, not too quickly) and all things considered - he's rocking the treatment.

My mom came up on Sunday night and stayed until this afternoon which was really nice.  I love that my parents live close enough that it is easy to see them - we see them a lot at Rockies games during the summer, but obviously, that isn't happening right now so it was nice to get to spend a few days with her and for a little bit of extra help around the house.  Mom brought up a few things from the Rockies games we've missed including a couple of the Michael Cuddyer face cutouts.  These are important because Chauncey is terrified of them and all you have to do is show him Cuddy's face and he runs away and stops barking.  Pretty hysterical, not to mention useful when he and our neighbor dog decide to try and kill each other through the fence.

Kurtis' mom, sister, and nieces are here for a bit now too. We enjoyed spending a few hours with them today, and will see them more tomorrow,  Kurtis has radiation in the afternoon so it should be a pretty lazy/relaxing morning.

I think that's all.
Chauncey still hasn't caught any rabbits, even though he is trying very hard...lots of stalking and lots of waiting...but as soon as he gets off the deck they dart away.  He's not even close and it's been nice comic relief around here.

More soon -
Love to all!
Liz, Kurtis, and Chauncey
 

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