2021 Is Off to a Rough Start

 Even with COVID still plaguing the U.S., we had a lovely Christmas and New Year's Eve. While the large family gatherings were cancelled, we still got to spend time with a small number of people during the holidays. The gathering pictured below was the most important one and I was so relieved when everything worked out and we were able to have our Christmas Eve exchange with my oldest boy and his family. I would have been devastated if we had had to miss our grandbaby's first Christmas. Luckily, we were fully recovered from COVID and everyone felt healthy. 

Things didn't go sideways until after the holidays.  On New Year's Day, Ken woke up feeling terrible. We thought he was having a gall bladder attack. He was in so much pain I offered to take him to the Emergency Room. He refused and somehow managed to make it over to his mom and dad's for Christmas with them. 

The gallbladder attacks continued. Our doctor was on vacation and didn't return until the second week of January. Ken had a virtual appointment, describing his pain, and what he believed would trigger it. The doctor agreed.  It sounded like a gallbladder issue. An ultrasound was scheduled to check for gallstones. 

The results of that ultrasound changed our lives. 

In addition to some thickening of the gallbladder walls, the ultrasound picked up a couple of masses in the liver.  The doctor wanted bloodwork and a CT scan done right away. The CT scan confirmed the masses on the liver but nothing truly noteworthy in nearby organs. The bloodwork, though, told a different story. Cancer marker numbers were high for both colorectal and pancreatic cancers. This prompted a colonoscopy and a referral to an oncologist. Before we met with the oncologist, we got the colonoscopy results back; not a sign of cancer anywhere. The oncologist, while relieved by the colonoscopy results, still wanted Ken to have a liver biopsy and a PET scan done. 

The liver biopsy was so very painful. Ken was still dealing with a lingering COVID cough and every time he coughed, the biopsy site was aggravated. It got so bad the night after the procedure that we called for an ambulance. They assured us he was not bleeding internally, which was our fear. They were also able to help him get his breathing under control so that he didn't feel quite so desperate to get enough oxygen to keep himself from passing out. 

The results from the biopsy were not great. The PET scan, though, told the true story. Ken was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  On February 9th, we sat through a phone call to discuss the chemo treatments and the possible side effects.  Then, on Febraury 15th, Ken started his first round of treatment. 

It was rough. He was so miserable that first week. It was torture for him going through it and torture for us watching him go through it and not being able to do much beyond making sure he took his meds, ate, and drank as much as his body would allow.  Pancreatic cancer interferes with the pancreas's ability to produce the enzymes necessary to break down fatty foods. This means he has to be very careful when it comes to his diet. Anything above 2.5 - 3.0 grams of saturated fat gives him stomach pain. He does have some pills that mimic the missing enzymes but they haven't been failproof, sometimes giving him stomach cramps, so he tries to avoid most fatty foods.

His second treatment, two weeks to the day after his first, had some new unexpected side effects. His tongue became partially paralyzed and the neuropathy in his hands worsened. Drinking room-temperature water caused his throat to spasm, resulting in a mild case of vomiting. So far, that's the only instance of vomiting he has had and it wasn't from nausea but from his esophagus freaking out. I won't lie, that was scary. 

He just finished his third round of chemo.  He has nine more rounds to go. 

Possibly. 

We don't really know if he will require all six months worth of treatment because after his second treatment we got some good news.  His pancreatic cancer marker numbers have already dropped from 500,000 to right around 100,000.  The chemo is working! Knowing that the chemo is working to shrink the tumors is such a blessing. It makes the misery more bearable for him and for us. We know we still have a long way to go before he's into remission. Yet, knowing the numbers are dropping, we feel as if remission is a real possibility. In the beginning, we weren't so sure. 

As I write this, he's just finished up his third chemo treatment.