update from Houston

Hello from Houston. Well I can say it has been a very long 2 days. Donnie had all of his tests yesterday and we saw the Dr. earlier today. I wish I could say that we got better news. The dr said that the cluster of lymph nodes seems to be growing again. His tumor marker went up from 3.4 to 7.6. That is indication of the disease growing. The tumor in his esophagus is stable at this time. The dr wasn't sure if the growth was due to the fact that we have been pushed back 2 weeks and it has been a month since he had chemo or if this chemo has stopped working. He isn't quite ready to give up on this chemo. Just incase, it was because of the delay. So the plan is this. Donnie is having chemo now and will have chemo again in 2 weeks. After that 2 weeks they will do another blood test to check his tumor marker again. If it is still going up, they will change the type of chemo.
So that is my update. I sure wish it was a better one. I am pretty sure that we will be staying again in Houston tonight and driving home in the morning. It has been a long day and he won't be done till later.
Love to all and keep praying
Robin

update

Not a whole lot to update here. BUT we are going to Houston this weekend. As of yesterday MD Anderson was fully functional again. So he will have pet scan and x-rays and blood work on Monday and he will see the Dr on Tuesday for results!! We need lots of prayers to get a good result!!!!! love to all
keep praying
Robin

update

It has been quite a stressful week for me. Because of Hurricane Ike, we had to AGAIN reschedule Donnie's appointments at MD Anderson. When things get off track for our schedule and things get changed, it stresses me greatly. I hate feeling that we aren't doing anything. When his treatment is delayed I worry that this cancer is growing again and we aren't fighting it. To be honest, it scares me to no end.
These hurricanes don't help my stress levels either!!!!
On a good note, Keith's pet scan looked good. I don't know all of the details but it was a good scan. He doesn't go back until next month so that has to be good.
Donnie seems to be feeling pretty good. The only good thing when treatment is delayed is he has a little more time to bounce back from the chemo .
I will post again later. Everyone stay safe.
Keep praying
love to all Robin

update on us

All I can say is WHEW! What a crazy week it has been. I can say that we were fortunate to have only a small amount of damage. Especially after seeing some of what our community has been thru. We lost 2 huge trees in the back yard. Thankfully they fell towards the road and not the house. Destroyed my fence though. I think I am going to need a new roof after all the shingles we lost. I will call the insurance company on Monday.
We finally got power back this evening. (Thank the Lord) It went out early Monday. I will say that Donnie is especially thankful. That chemo causes him to be so hot. He was quite miserable from the heat.
He had driven over to meet Keith (his brother) to get his generator and some gas.
Keith has undergone his radiation treatment and had his scans yesterday. We will be praying for cancer free results.
We were supposed to leave for Houston on Sunday for Donnie's appointments on Monday for scans and Tuesday with the doctor but Donnie rescheduled them for next Monday and Tuesday because he was afraid we wouldn't have power and he didn't want to leave the kids here alone without power.
So hopefully Ike will stay away and we will be able to go next week.
Well I will update later
Love to all
keep praying
Robin

another update

Well, Donnie made it to Houston and back but not with any help from me. I started feeling tired on Sunday and Monday morning woke up with a stomach virus. It wasn't any fun and Donnie ended up going to Houston by himself. I hated that. Anyway, he didn't even get to see the dr. He saw the physicians assistant again! Said some of his levels were down and wanted to give him something in his iv when he got his chemo.
Now Donnie being Donnie, he didn't ask any more questions. I would have had several more. But it made for a very long day at the hospital. He stayed last night and got home around 6 this evening. He was quite tired (rightfully so) and is off to bed. I feel terrible that he had to go by himself. He on the other hand, swears he is fine. Always the tough guy.
I am feeling somewhat better today. Definitely not back to par yet but ever so slowly getting there. Hopefully Donnie won't get what I had. I had the kids disenfecting the house like crazy before he came home.
Well nothing else to report here. Looks to be an early night for all of us as I am off to bed myself. I hope that tommorow is a better day.Hopefully the Hurricane will stay away!!!

Love to all
Robin and Donnie

08/24

Just wanted to update. Donnie is feeling much better. Meds seem to be working and he is eating pretty well. But we leave again for Houston tomorrow afternoon and we will be back Wednesday afternoon. Not much else to report.
Love to all
Keep praying Robin

update 08-22-08

Donnie has still had a rough week. On Wednesday he finally called the dr because he just couldn't swallow and was running a low grade fever. He was able to get in to see the dr here in Baton Rouge yesterday. They checked his blood counts and they were ok. His throat was still yuck. The sores had started to heal. They weren't sure if it was infection in his throat or not. Gave him 4 prescriptions. Antibiotic, and 2 different mouth rinses for the sores and the pain. I'm not even sure what the other was. I think he slept ok last night. He hasn't been able to eat or sleep much at all this week. He said he felt a tiny bit better this morning. I hope he feels better before we go to Houston on Tuesday for chemo. And hopefully he will be able to get some rest this weekend.
But he is such a trooper thru it all. He amazes me every day of my life. His strength is unbelievable.
Keep praying
love to all
Robin