Always Abell

Man, this week has really gotten away from me.  Lets catch up, shall we?

• James was drained on Monday.  He had 6.5L of fluid removed from his abdomen.  Due to fever, the cath was not placed.
• On Wednesday, we met Dr. L, James' Radiation Oncologist.  I couldn't be more pleased.  She seems like an awesome doc and I look forward to her treating James.  Dr. L and Dr. C put their heads together, modified some treatments, and came up with an exciting new treatment plan.  Hopefully starting next week, James will have a low dose of radiation to the entire abdomen in combination with an oral chemotherapy drug.  The hope/goal is to slow/stop the growth of the cancer cells flowing around in his abdomen.  So I know what you are thinking...Why haven't we done radiation before?  Answer: Because the cancer in the omentum is new.  Until recently, the cancer was in different defined locations.  It was not possible to treat one location, such as the liver, without neglecting other tumors, such as the bladder or lymph nodes.  With the cancer pretty much everywhere in the abdomen, we can treat it entirely.
• Thursday found us at the dentist and sleeping.  It has been raining a lot here and it makes for some lazy days.  We seem to have our days and nights mixed up right now.  We've been staying up late and sleeping during the day.  I am hoping we'll get back on track soon.
• Today - We are at St. Luke's for another drain and hopefully, a cath placement.  The cath is important to starting radiation.  Because the radiation treatment is so precise, we need the cath to keep James' belly the same size from day to day.  If they do place the cath, we will head to the MDACC office for his radiation simulation.  There, he will be marked and prepped to start treatment Monday.  He is in the back now for the procedure.  All these plans, rely on the cath...

I'll be back with more soon...Stay tuned, my friends!!!

Amy