Health Happenings

 Our appointments UP North happened last week.  

Far Guy had a Pet Scan and blood work.   His Oncology Doctor said "My beautiful friend your breast cancer is cured!"   The thyroid nodule that is benign they are watching and it has not grown in size since the last Pet Scan.  Far Guy is to follow up with his Endocrinologist  in October.  So that was all great news!  We were truly blessed with an excellent Cancer Doctor and good treatment to have the breast cancer cured within a year!!

Meanwhile...I had a procedure with the Gastroenterologist.  Waiting on the results. 

Far Side

In a row

 Getting our ducks pumpkins in a row. 

Next week Far Guy begins specialized radiation treatments.  Twenty treatments. 

The Radiation Oncologist thinks that the specialized radiation can be done safely and Far Guy's lung will be spared injury.  With radiation there is a about a 2% chance the cancer will reoccur, without radiation a 20% chance it will reoccur.  So...we made the decision as a family that we wanted him to have radiation....because we want him to kick this cancer to the curb once and for all. 

June 3 he saw the Dermatologist Jess for what he thought was a cyst, she took a biopsy.

June 10 he was diagnosed with breast cancer from a biopsy taken at the Dermatologists Office

June 13 he was seen by a Oncologist in Grand Forks North Dakota. The next week he had a Pet Scan and various tests.

July 2 he began Verzenio and Letrozole  (blood tests and Dr visits every two weeks)

August 27 he had another Pet Scan and the tumor is now very small

September 8 he had a surgical biopsy of his Thyroid Gland (It is not cancer, it is thyroid and should be taken care of someday...no rush)

September 16 Verzenio discontinued due to side effects

September 25 Left Breast Mastectomy (biopsy results were good, no lymph node involvement, margins were acceptable concerning the tumor)

October 14  Switch in meds from Letrozole to Tamoxifen

October 22  he had a consult with the Radiation Oncologist

November 3 Radiation will begin in Grand Forks North Dakota

So there we are.  Men can get breast cancer too. 

Far Guy was the first breast cancer diagnosis for the Dermatologist.

He was the first male breast cancer patient for two of the Residents/Interns that were there for his surgery.

He was the third male breast cancer patient for his surgeon.  

I can truly say that we were treated by some very caring Doctors and Nurses throughout Far Guy's Cancer 

adventure.  The Doctor that did the thyroid biopsy was a bit of a turd...other than that we are very pleased that we chose The Cancer Center in Grand Forks for treatment. 

Far Side

Three appointments

 Three appointments down..three to go..and Friday is a day off!  

Far Guy saw his Oncologist.  A different maintenance medication will be tried, as the present one has a number of bad side effects...think thrown into the deep end of menopause.  The cancer is all gone however  the Doctor would recommend three weeks of radiation treatments.  Due to Far Guy's fragile lungs and his heart function a specialist in Radiology must evaluate him. 

We met with Great Grandson Hey Mikey's third grade teacher.  A donation was made to that classroom in memory of Far Guy's sister Jan who taught third grade most of her teaching career.  The donation will go for books, a field trip and water safety! 

Jen removed the stitches from my forehead with only a little trouble because they were very tiny stitches...she consulted a You Tube Video at one point while I waited under her lit magnifying glass. 

Sadie came home from Daycare to greet us and Andy made burgers on the grill...delicious!

The next morning Far Guy had all of his staples and stitches removed from his chest.  He talked at length with his surgeon.   Far Guy is his career #3 man with breast cancer.  Regarding radiation the Surgeon said he would  trust the opinion of the Radiology specialist and that risk vs reward is a tough call. 

After that appointment we headed home.

I drove most of the way...Far Guy drove the last 60 miles so I could rest a bit. 

Cloudy skies in our area.  We had afternoon naps...in my case more of a sleep and for supper we warmed up some of the fabulous Pizza we made on Monday.  Leftovers can be a blessing. 

Minnesota weather: High of 56F or 13C  Low was 50F or  10C eh! 

Far Side

Potholders

 We are a potholder/hot pad factory here.  I load the loom and Far Guy weaves, I take them off the loom and start another for him.  It is a great activity for him as he sits in the heat/massage chair.   He is just 14 days post mastectomy surgery so his activity is restricted.  He is still battling a cold. 

I like doing the designs.  Some are destined to be Christmas gifts and some headed to flippin happy home decor and more store in Grand Forks ND. 

Thursday was a busy day while Far Guy went to his weekly infusion to protect his lungs I picked up a grocery order at Wally World, went to the other grocery store for a few things that Wally World does not stock, filled the car with gas, got a car wash, went to the Post Office and the bank.  After we got home we unpacked groceries had lunch and a long nap for me, Far Guy just rested but didn't sleep. 

We had left overs and a salad for supper.  

Minnesota weather: High 67F or 19C Low was 40F or 4C. 

Far Side

Fantastic News!!!

There is no more Cancer!  The  pathology report came back after the Dr appointment...and the cancer was all contained in the breast tissue, the margins are clear and the lymph node showed that the cancer has not spread!! 

Far Guy got his drain removed on Thursday afternoon. The staples have to be in place for two more weeks.  

However he now has an upper respiratory infection and is on medications. 

Thank you so much for all the prayers over the past Summer!

We are safely at home in the woods, the car has been unpacked.  It  will take me a bit to get organized again..unpacking and groceries ordered.

Far Side

Are we done yet?

 Far Guy has a follow up appointment with the surgeon today. Will his drain be removed…will they take out the staples…will they have the pathology report? 

We plan to head home to the woods after his appointment and my book club meeting. We are packing up “stuff” to take back home.  (Yarn, books, craft supplies, extra meds and devices)We will be back for a oncology appointment in about 12 days. Good thing they kinda like us here. 

I finished the puzzle with Jen’s help.

It was terribly windy yesterday, we sat outside a bit but did not wood carve.  No we are not done with the wood carved Christmas ornaments yet. 

Supper was eggs, pulled pork and tater crowns.

Far Side

Sadie

 Sadie is a good friend. She lets us pet and scratch her as much as we want.  

She lays outside when we wood carve and her beautiful coat gets full of wood chips.

She likes to bark at the dogs next door Nova a Black Lab, and the two little dogs one of which is a tripod and Trixie.  

She listens quite well to me and when she barks I call her to come and she does without hesitation. 

This week the big pool was covered up so leaves don’t fall into the water. She still has a small wading pool to lay down in…of course that is not the same as a good swim. 

It was another nice day in Minnesota high was in the 70’s and we had a nice breeze. 

Far Guy is feeling pretty good, he is recovering from the surgery better than either of us expected. He has an appetite and he takes nothing for pain. 

Far Side

Busy days

 Puzzles, crocheting, woodcarving, enjoying time outside sitting in the sunshine and going out for lunch with Jen, Andy, my other baby brother and she who sees robins first who stopped by to check on us on their way back from Western North Dakota. Oh yes and going for a ride in the 1976 Corvette.  What a nice ride! AND petting Sadie..of course that is a great activity!

Far Guy is gaining strength and his appetite, now keeping him from overdoing is a concern.  He had a very nice nap after all the activity!

Far Side