CT Scans /Onc Visit

Two weeks ago, I had a CT scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvic area. I got the results yesterday when I saw my onc. The nodule in my lung has gotten a little smaller. A kidney stone in my kidney was found. (No, I have no pain whatsoever, and I have told my AP and secretary of my school, have to yet tell my principal, and I will when I see her.) I also had blood work done 3 weeks ago. My blood sugar was a a little high. I had to go back today and have blood work done, fasting for blood sugar. At first, when I was accessed, no blood return. The nurse had me sit forward, then sit back and raise my right arm. Raising my arm, got blood return. Loosing weight will lower my blood sugar level. It is hard to do.

My next CT scan is February 21, and I already have the yucky stuff at home. I am scheduled for a port flush clear into February. I had to move my dentist appointment that was scheduled for February 21 into March.

Scan Results

Saw my onc today after school. I was weighed, and I need to severely cut back on my pop intake, chocolate intake, and cut back on my portion sizes. He did not say anything about my weight, thankful for that.
I will have a full scan (abdomen, chest, and pelvis) in 3 months, August 11. I will have blood drawn a week before. I will have my port accessed by Infusion Services the morning of my CT scan, since I've been having problems with it. Blood was drawn this afternoon, and I do not have the results. My onc, doesn't think getting my port flushed every 2 weeks will be much of a big difference.
He wants scans in 3 months, because he is watching different lymph nodes. Some are bigger than others, and some have decreased in size, while others have grown. The difference is just by a few millimeters. I have had a stressful year, and that could've been playing havoc with my lymph nodes.

4 month Onc checkup

I saw my onc this afternoon. Guess what? I don't have to see him again for another 6 months! Yeah! I was weighed and I only gained 5 pounds in the past 4 months. That is pretty good. I will try to loose weight again. My blood pressure was good, but I think the top number was slightly high. Blood work will be done at the end of December. Getting a CT scan on January 15.
I forgot to say something and my onc forgot about having to get my port flushed. I went next door to get my port flushing scheduled through April. Then I went to the back to see which of my nurses were working. My favorite was there. She went ahead and flushed my port this afternoon, instead of me having to show up on Wednesday for it to be flushed. I so had missed seeing my favorite nurse.

3 Month Onc Visit

I saw my Onc today. Since April, I had gained 9 pounds and was a bit upset about that because I was actually trying to loose the weight by going to the Rec over at Akron U the past 5 weeks. Both, the nursing student and my onc said it is probably muscle, since muscle weighs more than fat does. So, the weight gain is okay. I am taking a few weeks off from using the rec, and will get back to it when the fall semester starts the week of August 24 at Akron U. Since I will have a class that meets twice a week in the evening, I will be able to work out after school and before my class.

Blood was drawn before my port was flushed this morning. My white blood count is finally in the normal range!!!!!! I am thankful for that. It has been at 3700 for a few months, and is now at 4100, which is just normal. It is still slightly low, but finally working its way back up.

I now have to start getting mammograms yearly,so I am scheduled for one in September. I do not have to go back to see my onc until November. That is four months between visits. Next visit, will schedule my next CT scan, only have it get that once a year, since mine have been good. Come next summer, I will be graduating to 6 months between visits. Nothing was mentioned today about removing my port. I didn't say anything. My onc will probably say something after my next CT scan. Until then, will get it flushed every 4-6 weeks.

In summary, all good news.

2nd Quarter Onc Visit

To start off, I am cold. That is what bugs me, I am not a cold-natured person, but I am cold about all the time. I saw my onc this morning. I have gained a few pounds, which I am not surprised, that is what happens when you eat too much sweets (chocolate and cookies). My port will come out in October or November if I am still clear. I'd rather keep it, just because my veins do not like to cooperate, very hard to access. My port was flushed and blood was drawn. CBC was checked and the blood was sent over to the hospital so that my thyroid could be checked. My thyroid was checked because I complained about being cold just about all the time. My white blood count is at 3.7, basically what it was back at the end of December, still makes it low. My RDW is high, but everything else is normal. Will probably talk in July about doing a CT scan in the fall before I see him in October.

October Onc Visit

I saw my onc this morning. I gained 2 pounds in the past 16 days. My current weight is at 250.7 pounds. Daily, I'm up and down as to how good I am in watching what I eat. I've started eating yogurt again the past three weeks, so I know that will help. With working just about every day, not walking as much, but grad school starts in January, so walking on campus will help.

Labs were not done this morning. It has been three weeks since my port was flushed. My labs were low, but okay this past year. Labs will be done next month, and my onc says my levels should be normal by then. Labs drawn and port will be flushed the Friday before Thanksgiving. The same thing will be done again on December 30. Scans will be January 7. Will change my derm appointment to a different time that week or later in the month. Will next see my onc on January 16 (no school day). I should get my lab reports within a few minutes each time they are done.

Come January, will talk about follow-up and what will be done with my port.

My brother was discharged from the hospital today, and is back at the group home. I'm thinking of seeing him tomorrow. (I checked out a few books at the library to read to him.) My mom did tell someone from the group home that I was very upset to seeing him in restraints while he was in the hospital. Hopefully, that will be discussed and will not happen again.

Went over to AU and filled out the paper requesting to change my advisor. Hopefully, that will be okayed. I am still not sure which classes to take first in January. I need help in deciding that. I need to finish my app for grad assistantship and get my recommendations written, so I can turn them all in.

Going to a Halloween party tomorrow night. I will be going as a domino. Will wear black and safety pin colored circles onto my shirt and pants. The circles will be made from construction paper. Will post pics at a later date.

Still have problems with posting pics, printing pics, and, printing from my email account. Once all of that is fiured out, I will post pics on here.

August Visit

This morning, I had my monthly appointment in seeing my onc. I was in and out of there in about 15 minutes. I lost another 3 pounds, with a total of 51 pounds lost in the past year. I had moved up the appointment a week, cause I thought I was moving this weekend, but I don't think I am at all.

I noticed a new spot, last night, of where I am loosing hair. The hair thinning at greatly slowed down, because of getting it cut short. I have been noticing in the last few weeks, some hair coming out. This new spot is right up front, on the left side of my head. I saw it in the mirror last night. I will be loosing hair through the end of the year, I am very thankful that the hair loss/thinning hasn't been as bad as some people have had while on Interferon.

I am expecting my white blood count to have dropped, and maybe even my platelet count, too. I had a headache that started Monday night and lasted a good 24 hours. I took a pain pill twice on Tuesday, one when I first got up and another one around supper time. had a tickle in my throat for a few days. Actually, I have a small headache right now. That is the thing about the side effects of Interferon, I never know when they will effect me and which ones.

July Onc Visit

I saw my onc this morning. I have lost another 6 pounds in the past month. That is now a total of 48 pounds in the past year that I have lost. He made a comment about my weight loss this morning, the first time. I told him that I am trying to loose weight. He said loosing it in the increments I am is good. He also told me, I should switch over to diet pop. I like pop too much to give it up, but I have cut back on it. I don't mind drinking diet Dr. P or diet 7up, not sure about diet Pepsi. I do better some days than I do other days.

For the past few days, I've been worried about getting a bad report on my scans, so I rode into town with mom just in case. Scans are good. They are the same as last time. There are still tiny nodules in my lungs, and they haven't grown. My onc did say that my spleen is slightly enlarged. He doesn't know why, and he isn't going to do anything about it right now. Since I am not showing any symptoms, he will not have it taken out.

I did have a headache yesterday, first one in 10 days. I didn't take anything til about 4 pm. My biggest complaint is the fatigue. I do get headaches, my temp does go up a bit, and my stomach bothers me. Those are my side effects.

From this good news, I am still NED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been NED for almost 10 months.

My counts are doing fine, nothing to worry about. I did talk to the onc about moving to NC. He said it is no problem, if I do. I see him again on August 15, if I don't' move. My next set of scans will be at the end of October, within a month after finishing up Interferon.

June Onc Visit

Today, was my monthly visit in seeing my onc. I get weighed every time I see him. In the past month, I had lost another 6 pounds. That puts me at a total of 42 pounds since last summer. I would like to have lost a total of 50 pounds by the time school starts at the end of August. That gives me two months to loose 8 more pounds.

My white blood count went from 2.3 to 2.0 I go up and down all the time. A lot of things are low, but still okay. My temperature is finally normal. This morning it was 98.5 degrees.

Wednesday, July 9, I am schedules for my next CT Scan. The appointment time is for 11:20 am. I am having it done at the hospital, since I want them to use my port for the IV. I will see my onc again the following week, on the 16th. That is when I will get the results of the scans. I am praying that I am still NED. Time to go play Boggle.