Things have been busy...

so I've not updated for a bit... Getting ready to head out to treatment here shortly, so thought I'd bring anybody curious up to date.

After a wonderful Christmas, we got the bomb dropped the next week about Joe's #'s going back up. yay. A CT later, the decision was made to switch his treatments... again... So... we're on #4. Vectibix. He had one cycle... 2 treatments... and they ran another CEA. From nearly 400 to over 700! WTHECK??? Apparently, that's what the doc is thinking too. The CT and the CEA usually correspond with each other... The CT looked really good, despite a couple of BB sized new growths. More was shrinking/dying off than was new. Doc said he wasn't worried about the BB's... he just doesn't understand the CEA being so high. This is the highest it's been since we started in October of '08 when the CEA went from over 3500 down to 315 with just a couple of treatments with the Folfox treatment.

Our last visit we actually SAW the doc, not the PA... He said we were going to give it another cycle... 2 more treatments... then run the CEA, AGAIN! Well, today is #2 of the 2nd cycle. Next visit, they'll do the CEA and see where the #'s are. IF they're going up still yet, he's going to order a PET and CTs to see what is happening inside. Depending on what those show... we may be on to option #5. Radiation.

There is a treatment that was actually developed for treating liver cancer... but what I read was that it actually shows better results in treating colon cancer that has matastisized into the liver. They shoot the liver up with millions of microscopic beads of radiation (not the clinical term, but you get the gist). The beads work their way into the blood vessels that supply the tumors and knock them out... kill 'em... wipe 'em off the face of the earth... hopefully... They do this... I think Joe said, every 3 months and check it?

If that does the trick in shrinking and killing off more of the tumors, then they will likely go back with a bit more chemo to irradicate any stray cancer cells possibly floating around in the blood stream.

That's the plan for the cancer part of our lives... I'll come back later to update on the good parts of life... I have to run get ready right now, or we'll be risking a ticket on our way to the Cancer Center... See ya' later!