Half of 2013 is almost gone. It has been a busy 5 months. I have been feeling great lately; energy is up, neuropathy is more manageable. So I finally took the needed time to get the PET scan Dr. Baltz wanted me to have. My annual CT scan still had that pesky spot on the liver. It was a little bigger than last time, so he suggested I get a PET to look at it again. So I did the PET, and no surprise, the spot was still there and Doc said I should have another biopsy. Great. Well, I was a little less apprehensive than last year since I had been through it before. Made the appointment and headed to the Star Lobby at Memorial Hermann. Anyone needing outpatient radiology at Memorial knows where I am talking about. Got up early and made my way over to the hospital and filled out the paperwork, paid my copay, and waited. It was kind of slow that morning because I didn't have to wait very long before they called me back. Hmmm....looked very familiar. They put you in a 12 X 9 'stall' with a bed and monitoring equipment. It's outpatient, so you walk in, put on the stylish gown and relax. Soon the nurses start buzzing around. Every time one comes in to do something they ask you your name and birthdate....just to make sure you are the right person. I don't know who would want to fake an identity and go have a liver biopsy on the sly...Any way, I get all hooked up and wait....and wait...The procedure is supposed to be a CT guided biopsy, meaning they use a CT scanner to pinpoint the lesion for the biopsy. They started out in the 'stall' with an ultrasound machine, but the lesion is too small to zero in on and so its off to the CT room. Same drill...tech asks me to verify my name and birthdate. It takes about 20 minutes of different scans for the Dr to pinpoint the spot. They gave me a couple doses of happy juice to make me relax, but not go under...I have to be able to respond to the machine and Dr's instructions. Gave me two or three (can't remember)'numbing' shots at the location...then he was about ready to start. Man, he punched that first needle in and I thought I would pass out even with the happy juice. It was lot more uncomfortable than I remembered. Last time they really juiced me up to where the ceiling tiles were dancing around. Not this time. I could really feel the pressure. With two sample needles in, they ran me inside the CT scanner one last time before taking the samples. The machine tells you to 'breath in'...'hold your breath'...SCAN SCAN....'breath out'. Well, those two needles sticking in the old liver was so uncomfortable I was kind of holding my breath already, and when the machine said to 'breath in', I didn't have much lung capacity to inhale much. OUCH...He took 5 little samples and it was done. He pulled out the needles, put a bandage on the two punctures and that was it. Off to recovery.
Got my call from my Onco (well Donna got the call)and the biopsy showed NO cancer in the samples. Halleluah! I didn't expect to find cancer. And unfortunately I also expected what he did tell me what was going on. So last time, I had a 'fatty liver'...still do. I need to do some more blood work and testing now on the liver. I do not have any of the expected signs or symptoms, so my Onco says I should get with a liver specialist. Great...one more Dr. First thing I know I can do is exercise and lose weight. That can have a dramatic positive affect for the liver. I'm going to try yoga. Ok, chuckle now. That is my goal now, reverse this liver disease.
The other thing I have to do is stop one of the pain medications my GP switched me to. One of the rarer side effects is inflammation to the liver. Great...your liver takes a beating everyday. Everything goes through it and consequently you can damage it fairly easy. I don't drink alcohol, so I don't and won't have that related liver disease. Hoping the exercise regime will reverse this condition. Hopefully the yoga will help with the neuropathy in my feet. It was difficult tonight to go through the poses the instructor was doing because a lot of the poses require the strength of your feet for balance. I still can't feel my toes and its pretty uncomfortable bending my toes like the instructor wants.
But I'm determined to do it. By August, my two year anniversary off chemo, I want to be down significantly in weight and up just as much with flexibility and strength. I get angry thinking about the colon cancer and what it has done to me. I am grateful nothing has shown up in two years, but the side effects have been maddening. The depression it can bring really takes it out of you. But I press on. Life goes on. My little grandson is getting bigger and I love to spend time with him. My kids never knew my Dad very well, he died when they were young. I want to be around for the grand children from all of my kids.
If you still read this blog every once in a while, thanks. It helps me get balanced. Life is hard enough without physical challenges. I'll probably add another entry once I see the new doctor about this liver deal.
