Arizona and Cancer progression

A sister is a gift to the heart, 

a friend to the spirit, 

a golden thread to the meaning of life. 

 ~ unknown







Back in Oz already for over a week.  Lots of bad news since we returned home.  Arrived Friday had bone scan Monday and Cancer marker CA15.3 on Tuesday.  Both bad news.  Previous tumours had grown considerably and more tumours had formed in the bones.  Cancer marker had gone from just over 1300 to 5000.  Yikes.  Liver enzymes were all up and white cell count below normal.  Have since had CT of liver and have a new 2.3cm tumour there.

Saw the oncologist and we went back over the cancer markers while I was having Abraxane chemotherapy back in January and February.  The results were actually not too bad with a steady drop in marker.  The marker didn't go up till I got to Germany and tested it about 20th April when I had been off the Abraxane for about a month.  So the new plan is to restart Abraxane at a lower dose (as I got very sick after six infusions when I had it before) as well as Xeloda which is a twice daily tablet of chemotherapy.  Apparently cancer cells convert it to 5FU.  Have had three tablets so far and have been ok until about an hour ago when I started feeling nauseous and a bit weird in the head and chest.  Hopefully my body will adjust as it is supposedly not a high dose.  Meantime keeping a close eye on response.  This time weekly instead of monthly, which I am much more comfortable with.  I don't want to wait a month to find treatment is not working and have even more tumour progression.

When I had liver tumours in 2009 I had trans arterial chemo embolization of the liver.  Three treatments with Dr Vogl in Frankfurt got rid of all 4 tumours.  This treatment now appears to be available in Sydney so I will be exploring that option.  Basically what is done is a catheter is passed via the femoral artery in the groin to the tumour in the liver.  A small amount of chemo drug is injected directly into the tumour area and a small plug is placed in the blood vessel to keep the tumour bathed in the drug.  The plug dissolves over time and the chemo is distributed through the body and eliminated.  The beauty of this is that only a small amount of drug is required and when the plug dissolves the body is easily able to cope with this small amount and eliminate it.  The longest part of the procedure is lying flat and still while the femoral artery closes up, takes about 4 hours.

On a happier note the trip after New York, 3 weeks with my sister in Arizona and 1 week in Hawaii were fantastic.  The treatment in Germany seems to at least have reduce the bone pain considerably and my energy levels were better as well.  Just staying with my sister and spending time with her was great.  The bonus was a couple of trips.  Firstly my sister organised the rental of an Airstream caravan.  These were very popular in the 60's and 70's.  Our one was from 1973.  They are very distinctive shiny silver caravans.  Surprisingly spacious and comfortable.  On the day we left it was predicted to be 113F (45C) so very hot.  We were heading uphill and after about an hour and a half we were much cooler.  The plan was to be away for 5 days and take two days to get to Santa Fe in New Mexico, stay there two nights and then tow days for the return trip.  The whole trip was at higher altitude so that would be pretty comfortable.  We had a fabulous time, the scenery was fantastic.  One of the things I like about the American country side is that despite the huge population relative to Australia it is really easy to find a good camp spot that is not crowded.  It helps that there are lots of places you can just pull off the road and camp.  Our first spot was on the edge of pine forest with stunning undulating grassland into the far distance.  There had been a lot of fires through the forest with huge stretches of dead pines.  We were lucky to find a spot that had been minimally affected.


The second day we found a most beautiful lunch spot at the bottom of a small sandstone cliff and lava fields on the other side.  There was even a ruin of an Indian cliff dwelling.  The second and third nights camp spot was in a designated camp area with pit toilets but no power or water on tap.  We were beside a lovely little flowing creek and multi-layered and coloured cliffs surrounding us.  We had all our meals outside, just lovely to enjoy the fresh air, nature and each others company.  One night it was quite cold.  Because of the drought there was a fire ban on wood and charcoal fires but we had a pit fire that was fueled by gas so no danger of embers flying off.  It worked out really well, very cosy and just like an really good log fire.  We left the caravan there and went to Santa Fe with a lovely lunch stop just outside Santa Fe at an Mexican style cafe with a lovely big open but shaded verandah.  Dogs were allowed so there were lots of those including my sister's dog Roxy who had come along on the trip.  A pity there is not more tolerance of dogs at venues in Australia. Santa Fe was great, I particularly liked the architecture and there were lots of interesting little galleries and shops.  we visited the Georgia O'Keefe museum which was fascinating as it included quite a few photos of her on painting trips in the surrounding countryside.

Quite a few camp spots were closed due to bear attacks.  The drought had reduced their food source and they were checking out the campers for a bite (literally in some cases).  These were black bears, a bit small than the Grizzly so I don't think anyone actually got killed.  One campsite also warned of Mountain Lions.  We were very glad we were in a caravan and not a tent.

The trip back to Fountain Hills was also wonderful.  We saw a large herd of Elk in the biggest caldera I had ever seen.  The area was obviously very volcanic at some point.  There were miles and miles of lava fields, amazing.  I remember one lunch spot getting out of the truck and just smelling the beautiful pine trees.  Lots of Ponderosa pines which have beautiful trunks, a bit like the pattern on giraffes.

We also did a weekend trip up to Flagstaff, also much cooler than around Phoenix.  We stayed in an lovely old hotel in the center of town where there were lovely shops and cafes.  A friend of my sister was participating in a two day horse eventing competition.  It was really fun to watch the horses racing through the open pine forest and taking the log jumps.  Very exciting.

Hawaii was very different.  I didn't do very much, a lot of lazing about on the beach on rented beach chairs in the shade of an umbrella.  The water was lovely and warm as was the air temperature.  We had splurged on an apartment with ocean vies right next to the beach and on the 14th floor.  Palm trees, sunsets and watching the surfers.  We saw a couple of very large turtles feeding very close to shore which was very special.  Tried to climb up Diamond Head but it was too much.  Made it about three quarters of the way up which was amazing.  When we got to the stairs my spirit was still willing but the body rebelled.  Downhill was a lot easier.

The cancer may have progressed while I was having a holiday but I have no regrets it was absolutely wonderful and nourishment for the soul.

Living and thriving

Linda