Month: August 2005

Diana had her chemo treatment this past Wednesday in Frisco at Dr. Trillio’s office. All went well. However, even in this more relaxed environment – no travel, short drive from home and no other tests – Diana’s blood pressure was really high. 165/98. Every-time we go for a test or to a doctor’s office – Diana has her blood pressure taken. Normal procedure. Usually, it is higher than normal but not this high. Later that afternoon at home – she tested at 145/ 88. The next morning she was back to 125/78. Poor Diana really gets nervous going to the Doctors.

Diana has had a mild reaction to the chemo treatment this time but has not been nauseated. She has been quite tired, We rested most of the weekend. The prior 2 or 3 treatments she really had no reaction.

The past 3 weeks have been good. We have gone out to eat, movies and shopping several times. No long trips and no bowling – my knee is still not fully recovered from that activity. Almost recovered but still a little sore – but it is getting better every day.

We are making progress on the sale of Diana’s business. There are several companies/people interested. Our goal is to have an offer/deal by the end of this month. Diana is happy/unhappy about selling the business. She started it in 1993 and even though she won’t admit – is emotionally involved. I have started and sold businesses before, so I am not as attached as Diana.

We are scheduled to be at MD Anderson the week of August 22. Diana is scheduled for blood tests, x-rays and CT Scan at that time. We will see the Dr. on Wednesday. If all goes well she will have her chemo treatment after seeing the Dr. on Wednesday of that week. We will have more to report at that time.

Diana is looking great and enjoying each day. I come by for lunch every day. We eat at home a couple of times per week. Often I will pick her up. We will usually go to Subway and get a sandwich. There is a nice park nearby with benches and we often sit on the bench and enjoy each other’s company while we eat. It is so great to see her feeling so well.

Diana really enjoyed the drum corp competition. We left our home early and had a quick snack before the competition started near the stadium. We had great seats near the center of the field. Diana brought her binoculars so she could spy on the buglers – make sure their uniforms were perfect etc. She is a neat freak as you probably know and of course spotted every mistake made. There were two or three top corps and the rest were good but not in the same class as the best. The corps came from all over the US – New Jersey, Wisconsin, California, North Carolina, Ohio,…. It was a hot but fun night. Good entertainment even for me.

Again – thanks for your support and prayers. We really appreciate them

We did the series of tests on Monday and Tuesday. All went well.

On Wednesday AM we met with Colleen – Dr. Blumenschein PA (Physician Assistant) and Dr, Lu. Dr. Lu is a colleague of Dr. Blumenschein’s – Dr. Blumenschein was out of town but in communications with Dr. Lu about Diana.

The results of Diana’s tests were mostly good. The lung tumor was stable. No new cancer was detected in or around the lung. Her physical signs were great. However, a new tumor – about 2 cm in diameter – was detected in her liver. There was only one tumor in the liver and it was perfectly round. As a result of this new tumor it was decided to delay Diana’s treatment until a biopsy could be performed on the new tumor in the liver.

Thus Diana has an appointment at MD Anderson scheduled for Monday afternoon 8/29 with the liver specialists. She is scheduled for a biopsy on Tuesday morning, 8/30 at 9:00 AM. We will probably not have any results of the biopsy until our next appointment with Dr. Blumenschein which is scheduled for Wednesday 9/6 at 10:30 AM. We plan to drive home Tuesday after she is released from her biopsy procedure.

Based upon our discussions with the Drs. this week the tentative plan is as follows:

If the tumor in the liver is malignant – it will probably mean a change of treatment for Diana to a new chemo. This has not been decided yet.

If the tumor is benign – she will probably continue with the same chemo treatment – Alimpta.

Until the results of the biopsy are received – her treatments are on hold.

Diana has been feeling great the past 3 weeks. She has been very strong and very active. We have been getting up early for an early morning walk (leave at 6:30 AM and get back at 7 AM) nearly every day. Diana had a slight reaction following her last chemo treatment – she was tired for about 2 days. No nausea, just fatigue. She bounced back and has been very active. Physically, she looks great.

We drove home Wednesday afternoon. She did set a new personal high for blood pressure on this trip – 165/115. The nurses are now expecting her to be high and don’t get as nervous and concerned as they did in the past. As soon as we got home last night – we took Diana’s blood pressure again. It had dropped to 148/101.

Today it was back to 140/98. By tomorrow she will be even lower. Once she crosses the threshold of MD Anderson – her blood pressure soars.

We have our fingers crossed and will be spending lots of prayer time the next few days. Everything has been going so well. We did not expect the finding that the CT Scan showed. Diana is taking it well – better than me I think although I hope I am not showing my anxiety to her about this turn of events. We will drive to Houston on Monday morning leaving around 6:30 and plan to return home Tuesday afternoon/evening.

We have received several offers for her business and we hope to have a deal by the end of this month. The potential buyer will then have up to 45 days to accomplish their due diligence. If all goes well, we will have a sale by mid October. Diana is happy but sad about the sale of her business. Her emotions are still with her business. She grew it from scratch and is definitely attached to it.

Thanks for your continuing support and prayers.