The results of the CT scan taken yesterday are in, and it shows only one tumor in Lauri's left lung. Of all the bad news, this is the best we could get. Our Oncologist looked back through old CT scans from December and August 2008 and, now that she knows exactly where to look, she can see the tumor back in August of 2008.
The tumor is about 3 cm in size, located in the middle of the left lung. The growth rate has changed since December of 2008. The growth rate was very slow from August to December 2008, but has since increased in order for the tumor to reach its current size. Lauri's body has changed a good bit since December, with pregnancy and its associated hormones. Lauri has also suspended her anti-fungal supplement regimine during pregnancy. Both of these changes will revert back to normal after our son is born, so we expect to be back in a slow growth environment in the long term.
For the short term, we are focusing on several options. We will either proceed with surgery after the baby is born, or we will proceed with chemotherapy either before or after the baby is born, followed by surgery. The choice of which option to follow is being discussed by our Oncologist and Surgeon to determine if surgery without chemotherapy is viable considering the tumor's growth rate.
Chemotherapy before the baby is born is not preferred. While studies have shown that chemo treatment is possible in pregnant mothers without impacting the baby, it is a risk we are not excited to take. We meet with our OB Gyn next week to discuss "no earlier than" dates for the baby's delivery. This date will help us structure surgery and chemo plans, whatever they may be.
We are optimistic about our current condition. Only one tumor to deal with indicates the disease has not spread out of control. The tumor's age also indicates this is not new growth, but instead part of the original round of tumors that we missed the first two times. This may not be the last tumor we have to deal with, but it is certainly easier to deal with them one at a time.
We expect to hear back from the Surgery and Oncology teams by the first week of August. We'll let you know what we hear!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Evandog Holyear
*Edited to include pictures. Please don't laugh at him. It wasn't his fault...*
Yesterday I took Bromley to the groomer's to get a much needed haircut. I was expecting him to be finished around 5:30, so when the phone rang at 5:20, I was sure it was the groomer's telling me he was ready to be picked up. It was in fact the groomer's, but instead of telling me he was ready, they told me that while he was getting done, his ear "accidentally" got lacerated and they weren't sure if he needed a suture or not, so our vet had been notified and he was on his way there. WHAT? This has never happened before so we were not sure what to do. We called the vet and spoke with the Doctor. He was not actively bleeding, but he was going to require some sutures, so she would like to sedate him to do it, so he would probably need to spend the night. Poor Bromley! She would let us know if there was any problems, but we could pick him up anytime the next day. So after MY doctor's appointment today, we had time to spare, so we came back home and picked him up. We weren't real sure what to expect since his grooming was cut short to go the vet. The vet came out and explained what she did and gave us some antibiotics, pain meds and neosporin type stuff to put on his ear. She had to shave some of the hair to suture it, so he kinda looks like his ear got clipped. Not very attractive and they were working on his head when the "incident" happened, so his face is still long, but his body hair is short. So he sorta looks like a lion with a clipped ear. But he's feeling pretty good and not bothering it too much, so hopefully it will heal well and his hair will cover it soon. We'll see...
Full body shot:
A closeup:
The Lion:
Yesterday I took Bromley to the groomer's to get a much needed haircut. I was expecting him to be finished around 5:30, so when the phone rang at 5:20, I was sure it was the groomer's telling me he was ready to be picked up. It was in fact the groomer's, but instead of telling me he was ready, they told me that while he was getting done, his ear "accidentally" got lacerated and they weren't sure if he needed a suture or not, so our vet had been notified and he was on his way there. WHAT? This has never happened before so we were not sure what to do. We called the vet and spoke with the Doctor. He was not actively bleeding, but he was going to require some sutures, so she would like to sedate him to do it, so he would probably need to spend the night. Poor Bromley! She would let us know if there was any problems, but we could pick him up anytime the next day. So after MY doctor's appointment today, we had time to spare, so we came back home and picked him up. We weren't real sure what to expect since his grooming was cut short to go the vet. The vet came out and explained what she did and gave us some antibiotics, pain meds and neosporin type stuff to put on his ear. She had to shave some of the hair to suture it, so he kinda looks like his ear got clipped. Not very attractive and they were working on his head when the "incident" happened, so his face is still long, but his body hair is short. So he sorta looks like a lion with a clipped ear. But he's feeling pretty good and not bothering it too much, so hopefully it will heal well and his hair will cover it soon. We'll see...
Full body shot:
A closeup:
The Lion:
Another bump in the road
Lauri had a checkup with MD Anderson this morning. Our Oncologist has been following Lauri's condition with X-Rays while she has been pregnant. So far, the X-rays, taken every three months, have been clear. Today was, unfortunately, a different story.
Our Oncologist has found what she believes to be a nodule on Lauri's left lung. The official radiology report was not available this morning, but she conferred with several colleagues, and they believe the nodule is real, however, additional scans are needed to confirm. We are going back to MD Anderson this afternoon to have a CT scan of Lauri's chest to determine if the nodule is indicative of cancer, and if there are additional nodules that didn't show up on the x-ray. We have discussed the CT scan option with our Oncologist and OB Gyn, and both are in agreement that the scan will present no danger to our unborn son.
Forward plans will take shape once we have the CT scan results. If there is only one nodule, and it does not appear to be growing rapidly, then Lauri will continue untreated through pregnancy, with likely an induced labor at around 37 weeks to make way for surgical resection as soon as Lauri is healthy enough to support. If the CT scan shows multiple nodules, the path forward becomes less clear. In the multiple nodules case, we must weigh the option of chemotherapy treatment while Lauri is still carrying our son versus chemotherapy immediately after his birth.
We have enjoyed the best days of our lives together watching Lauri's belly grow with our son these past 6 months. We look forward to the joy of his birth coming, possibly sooner than anticipated, later this fall. We are doing our best to stay strong for his sake even though the news today was not good. We knew the risks of proceeding with pregnancy with Lauri's history of cancer recurrence. We have no doubt that we made the right decision.
This is another bump in the road. We have a plan forward, we have the best support group of friends and family one could ask for, and we have the best doctors in the business working the problem. This fall will be a difficult march, but we will be just fine.
Love shines brightest in the dark.
Our Oncologist has found what she believes to be a nodule on Lauri's left lung. The official radiology report was not available this morning, but she conferred with several colleagues, and they believe the nodule is real, however, additional scans are needed to confirm. We are going back to MD Anderson this afternoon to have a CT scan of Lauri's chest to determine if the nodule is indicative of cancer, and if there are additional nodules that didn't show up on the x-ray. We have discussed the CT scan option with our Oncologist and OB Gyn, and both are in agreement that the scan will present no danger to our unborn son.
Forward plans will take shape once we have the CT scan results. If there is only one nodule, and it does not appear to be growing rapidly, then Lauri will continue untreated through pregnancy, with likely an induced labor at around 37 weeks to make way for surgical resection as soon as Lauri is healthy enough to support. If the CT scan shows multiple nodules, the path forward becomes less clear. In the multiple nodules case, we must weigh the option of chemotherapy treatment while Lauri is still carrying our son versus chemotherapy immediately after his birth.
We have enjoyed the best days of our lives together watching Lauri's belly grow with our son these past 6 months. We look forward to the joy of his birth coming, possibly sooner than anticipated, later this fall. We are doing our best to stay strong for his sake even though the news today was not good. We knew the risks of proceeding with pregnancy with Lauri's history of cancer recurrence. We have no doubt that we made the right decision.
This is another bump in the road. We have a plan forward, we have the best support group of friends and family one could ask for, and we have the best doctors in the business working the problem. This fall will be a difficult march, but we will be just fine.
Love shines brightest in the dark.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Grayson's birthday party
Here are the pictures from Grayson's 1st birthday. As you will see, he didn't enjoy is cake all that much.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Dr. appointment
I had a doctor's appointment today. I was supposed to have it last week at 24 weeks, but it had to be rescheduled to today. For those that don't know, pregnant women have to take a "glucose tolerance test" sometime around mid pregnancy to check for gestational diabetes. It's usually around 24-28 weeks. You basically drink this stuff that is like super sugared koolaid, wait an hour, and then they draw your blood and check your glucose level. If it's high or boderline, you have to do a 3 hour test. Not fun. Well, today was mine and they didn't tell me. So I ate lunch right before going to the appointment. And then I drank the "koolaid", waited an hour, and got my blood drawn. I'm hoping to call tomorrow to get the results and I'm hoping that I passed. I told my doc that I didn't know I was taking the test today, so if I fail, maybe I can just repeat the 1 hour and not have to suffer through the 3 hour one. We shall see. But other than that, the appointment went well. Baby is measuring right about 25-26 weeks (I'm 25 weeks today), so that is good. Heartbeat was nice and strong. He actually kicked when she put the doppler on my stomach. I think he was jittery from all that sugar I just drank! My next ultrasound will be around 32 weeks. I have gained a total of 24 pounds so far! Sheesh, I think that's a lot. But she didn't seem concerned. I will see her again at 28 weeks. I'm still feeling really good, still tired and starting to get a few aches and pains, but nothing too terrible yet. Good thing since I have a ways to go! ;)
This past weekend we went to Louisiana for a few days. We spent some time with my mom and then celebrated 2 birthdays on Saturday. My nephew turned 1 and my brother in law had a birthday celebration as well. And today is my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday, Daddy! We're going back to Louisiana on Friday night to celebrate with him. But just for the night.
Anyway, that's about all I have for now. Will post some pictures later on of the party. Oh, my nephew took some of his first steps at the party, too! Very exciting to do that in front of all our family! And 25 week belly picture is up, too.
This past weekend we went to Louisiana for a few days. We spent some time with my mom and then celebrated 2 birthdays on Saturday. My nephew turned 1 and my brother in law had a birthday celebration as well. And today is my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday, Daddy! We're going back to Louisiana on Friday night to celebrate with him. But just for the night.
Anyway, that's about all I have for now. Will post some pictures later on of the party. Oh, my nephew took some of his first steps at the party, too! Very exciting to do that in front of all our family! And 25 week belly picture is up, too.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Progress
We made some progress in the baby's room this weekend. Jeff got it painted and we put up the crib! :) We still have the daybed in there and we will until August because we have people coming over and they need somewhere to sleep. But after that, we will move it upstairs over the garage and put the crib in it's place. But here are some pictures to give you an idea of what it looks like so far.
Before paint:
After paint:
Before:
After:
Crib:
Before paint:
After paint:
Before:
After:
Crib:
Friday, June 19, 2009
The month of June so far...
I guess it's time to update. The first weekend in June we went home to Louisiana for my niece's first dance recital. She did really well and looked so cute onstage dancing with her daddy. Not a dry eye in the row! (Can't blame it on pregnancy, cause I probably would have cried anyway!) It was so cute! Unfortunately, I have no pictures because we couldn't take flash photography during the performance, but I really enjoyed it. We also got a car load of baby stuff from my sister which is very helpful! Tons of clothes, a swing, bassinet and other misc things. We're going back in a couple of weeks and we will be getting another load. Yeah! That same weekend, Jeff's parents came into town, so we got to visit with them for a couple of days as well.
We registered last weekend at Babies R Us and Target and man, is that exhausting! I didn't think we needed all that much stuff since my sister is letting us use a lot of her stuff, but it really adds up. We had a good time doing that and I'm sure I'll be adding and subtracting things as we go along.
The baby's room is coming along as well. We have received the crib, but can't put it up yet since we need to keep the bed in there for company until at least August. :( But we have the dresser and a pseudo changing table that will double as storage for toys, etc. It looks really great and matches the furniture really well. We have picked out 2 potential paint colors and will hopefully decide soon as to which one to use. So everything is looking good so far.
This morning we had some guys come in and do a little work in our front flower beds (since we kinda neglected them) and I think it came out great. I have some before and after pics of that.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
And these last couple of weeks, we have really gotten into the College Baseball World Series. Mainly because Texas and LSU are in it, but all the games have been pretty good so far. Both of our teams play today and we're hoping for a UT/LSU showdown next week in the finals. Makes things a little more interesting in the Mauldin household! ;) But we figure, it's a win/win situation in the end. So on that note, I've got to get ready to watch my Tigers beat the Hogs again this week.
Hook 'Em, Tigers!
We registered last weekend at Babies R Us and Target and man, is that exhausting! I didn't think we needed all that much stuff since my sister is letting us use a lot of her stuff, but it really adds up. We had a good time doing that and I'm sure I'll be adding and subtracting things as we go along.
The baby's room is coming along as well. We have received the crib, but can't put it up yet since we need to keep the bed in there for company until at least August. :( But we have the dresser and a pseudo changing table that will double as storage for toys, etc. It looks really great and matches the furniture really well. We have picked out 2 potential paint colors and will hopefully decide soon as to which one to use. So everything is looking good so far.
This morning we had some guys come in and do a little work in our front flower beds (since we kinda neglected them) and I think it came out great. I have some before and after pics of that.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
And these last couple of weeks, we have really gotten into the College Baseball World Series. Mainly because Texas and LSU are in it, but all the games have been pretty good so far. Both of our teams play today and we're hoping for a UT/LSU showdown next week in the finals. Makes things a little more interesting in the Mauldin household! ;) But we figure, it's a win/win situation in the end. So on that note, I've got to get ready to watch my Tigers beat the Hogs again this week.
Hook 'Em, Tigers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)