Barb was released from the hospital this afternoon. I spoke with Pete this morning, and he said that the doctors are now thinking that the bleeding WAS caused by a "stress ulcer" as the result of some of the medication given as part of the Chemotherapy. They will be altering her medication for the next round of Chemo.
He said that the doctors were also concerned about her white cell count, which was still low, that they would like to see it a little higher to be able to fight off potential infection.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Results of Exploratory Procedure
I just talked to Pete who had the results from the exploratory procedure done this afternoon. They found 3 ulcers in the stomach, although they were "inactive" and none were bleeding. They don't propose to do anything about that.
They did find 3 small abrasions in the small intestine, which they believe to be the cause of the bleeding, although she has not had any active bleeding since this morning. They do not know the cause of the abrasions. They don't believe that it's related to the chemotherapy, but it could be the result of prolonged use of aspirin.
They also found an infection in her esophagus, which they will be treating with antibiotics.
They will be keeping her in ICU for 1 more night and then staying in the hospital in a regular room for an additional 2 - 3 days.
Pete thought all of this was good news. Will let you know if we hear anything additional.
Lori (Wallace) Wray
They did find 3 small abrasions in the small intestine, which they believe to be the cause of the bleeding, although she has not had any active bleeding since this morning. They do not know the cause of the abrasions. They don't believe that it's related to the chemotherapy, but it could be the result of prolonged use of aspirin.
They also found an infection in her esophagus, which they will be treating with antibiotics.
They will be keeping her in ICU for 1 more night and then staying in the hospital in a regular room for an additional 2 - 3 days.
Pete thought all of this was good news. Will let you know if we hear anything additional.
Lori (Wallace) Wray
Barbara Back in Hospital
There has been a development that we don't know at this point whether or not is related to Barbara's cancer fight.
Last night (Monday), Barb was experiencing severe stomach and abdominal pains. They went to the Emergency Room about 7:00 p.m. At first, they thought that it might be some kind of kidney infection, and took urine samples for that. It was then discovered there that she was having some sort of internal bleeding, as there was a good amount of blood in her stool. She also had very low blood pressure, they believe because of the amount of blood lost. They ended up admitting her to the hospital and she is currently in the ICU.
After consulting with several doctors, they have decided to do an exploratory procedure with a scope this afternoon to look for three possible causes for the bleeding. They will put a scope down her throat to look at her stomach. They are looking for three things: 1) a bleeding ulcer (that could be the result of stress), 2) blood vessels in the stomach that are bleeding, that they will then coturize to stop the bleeding, 3) the possibility of cancer in the stomach - although they are highly skeptical of this option, as her pathology reports showed very little cancer in her lymph nodes. They are leaning towards it being an ulcer, but this is the first episode of this type she has had.
I spoke with Pete about 2:00 p.m. today and they were just coming to get her for the procedure. He said that if surgery is necessary, the surgeon who did her mastecomy will be the surgeon to perform it, so they were glad about that. I believe that she will be in the hospital for at least a couple days, minimum, while they get to the bottom of this latest problem. We will post when we have any kind of results from the procedure, but I don't know when that will be.
On a separate but related note, Barb had her first round of chemotherapy last Thursday, Sept. 10. I talked to her on Friday and she was feeling very good about it. She said that everything went well, and the was amazed at how well she felt, as she had been warned about nausea, etc., following chemo. She was told, though, to expect this sickness on the 3rd day following the chemo, which would have been Sunday. I do believe that she was feeling some nausea on Sunday, but I don't know to what degree, and I don't know what portion of that might have been related to this other problem.
Please keep Barbara and Pete in your prayers during this difficult and stressful time for them.
Love to all,
Lori (Wallace) Wray
Barbara's niece
Last night (Monday), Barb was experiencing severe stomach and abdominal pains. They went to the Emergency Room about 7:00 p.m. At first, they thought that it might be some kind of kidney infection, and took urine samples for that. It was then discovered there that she was having some sort of internal bleeding, as there was a good amount of blood in her stool. She also had very low blood pressure, they believe because of the amount of blood lost. They ended up admitting her to the hospital and she is currently in the ICU.
After consulting with several doctors, they have decided to do an exploratory procedure with a scope this afternoon to look for three possible causes for the bleeding. They will put a scope down her throat to look at her stomach. They are looking for three things: 1) a bleeding ulcer (that could be the result of stress), 2) blood vessels in the stomach that are bleeding, that they will then coturize to stop the bleeding, 3) the possibility of cancer in the stomach - although they are highly skeptical of this option, as her pathology reports showed very little cancer in her lymph nodes. They are leaning towards it being an ulcer, but this is the first episode of this type she has had.
I spoke with Pete about 2:00 p.m. today and they were just coming to get her for the procedure. He said that if surgery is necessary, the surgeon who did her mastecomy will be the surgeon to perform it, so they were glad about that. I believe that she will be in the hospital for at least a couple days, minimum, while they get to the bottom of this latest problem. We will post when we have any kind of results from the procedure, but I don't know when that will be.
On a separate but related note, Barb had her first round of chemotherapy last Thursday, Sept. 10. I talked to her on Friday and she was feeling very good about it. She said that everything went well, and the was amazed at how well she felt, as she had been warned about nausea, etc., following chemo. She was told, though, to expect this sickness on the 3rd day following the chemo, which would have been Sunday. I do believe that she was feeling some nausea on Sunday, but I don't know to what degree, and I don't know what portion of that might have been related to this other problem.
Please keep Barbara and Pete in your prayers during this difficult and stressful time for them.
Love to all,
Lori (Wallace) Wray
Barbara's niece
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Oncology Doc Report
The following information I got through my Mom, I will try to explain as accurately as I can the next few steps in Mana's breast cancer fight.
Mana will begin chemotherapy (IV drugs to kill cancer cells) on September 10th. She will have a total of 6 treatments 3weeks apart totaling 18weeks of chemotherapy. The doctor said she would feel pretty sick the 3 days following each treatment, but would have 2 and 1/2 weeks without feeling sick between treatments. Radiation treatment will begin after the completion of chemotherapy. I am unsure of how long radiation will take at this time.
Hope this answers any questions, and hopefully this can give you specifics to pray for. Thanks for your commitment to Mana!
Mana will begin chemotherapy (IV drugs to kill cancer cells) on September 10th. She will have a total of 6 treatments 3weeks apart totaling 18weeks of chemotherapy. The doctor said she would feel pretty sick the 3 days following each treatment, but would have 2 and 1/2 weeks without feeling sick between treatments. Radiation treatment will begin after the completion of chemotherapy. I am unsure of how long radiation will take at this time.
Hope this answers any questions, and hopefully this can give you specifics to pray for. Thanks for your commitment to Mana!
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