Two months have flown by since my last update. We took a little trip to the beach for some R&R, took a ferry to Galveston, and enjoyed some down time.
We also had company for a few days. These are our lifelong friends. We tried to see a movie, but the emergency system made us leave the building, due to a fire at the popcorn machine. We’ll have to catch that one later.
You may want to know what happened with my last endoscopy. And, if you follow me on Facebook, you also know I broke a tooth. I’ll address that one first, and then the former.
My bottom right molar is missing about 1/4 of the top. I wasn’t eating a nut or anything hard. It just broke off. My dentist recommended I get it extracted and referred me to an oral surgeon. I thought I should check with MD Anderson first, and so I went downtown to the dental oncologist for a consult today.
Tim got up and offered to drive me. What a charming gentleman he is! It save us $20 in parking fees, and gave us a chance to be together since he just got back from a work trip. While I’m typing this blog, we are sitting in a brand new Panera Bread that still has a giant balloon out front, advertising their Grand Opening. (Actually, the manager just told us it’s a re-opening, and they will be doing the same to the one in Conroe later this year. Yay!!) It’s nice to get the free drinks with our sip club. I’ve digressed…
Dentist. The dental oncologist and his fellow gave me an overwhelming verbiage of information. Dr. Lei reminded me that my cancer treatment is the highest priority. Everything else is supportive. So, they will do what they can but it always takes second place to dealing with the cancer. After all, if we let the cancer take over, there’s no reason to do the rest.
Anyway, here’s what they said, in a nutshell…
- I clench my teeth which causes breaks as well as other issues with the joints. Anyone else out there do that? Resolve? Wear a mouth guard at night.
- Extracting my tooth is out of the question. I have been on Zometa since 2017 for the bones and therefore my body is never a candidate for bone involvement. Since the root of the tooth is in the bones, they cannot touch it or we risk osteonecrosis of the jaw. I knew that was always a concern, but I really hoped I could just get it out of there. Resolve? Go to an endodonist and get a root canal and crown. Hopefully they can save the root and avoid any bone involvement. Ugh…
- More importantly, he looked at the roof of my mouth. My palate has been sore for a while. I thought I maybe burned it eating cheese pizza, or drinking hot tea. But I’ve done that before, and this is different. It isn’t healing, and it’s been there for a few months now. I talked with my ENT about it a few weeks ago, and today I mentioned it to the dentist. He said this isn’t a pizza burn. It’s something else, but we don’t know what. He said this is a higher priority, and I need to get a biopsy. He put in a referral to the head and neck specialist so we can find out what we are dealing with.
So, to wrap up my big mouth part of this blog, I have to go back downtown to see the endodontist, back again to get a biopsy of the palate, and however many more times I need to get the procedures and follow-ups after the initial consults. Those of you who know me know how much I love going downtown (can you hear the sarcasm?), so this is a bit of a challenge. However, we will look for other reasons to go and make it worth our while.
GI Issues. My first endoscopy was combined with the colonoscopy, so my stomach was empty. He found perforations in my esophagus, as well as colitis, and started me on medication. When I came in for the follow-up endoscopy, those were healed! He performed a biopsy to determine if I have Barrett’s Esophagus. He also discovered residual food in my stomach, which should not have been there since I had been fasting for the past 8+ hours. He may not have found this if I didn’t do the endoscopy without the colonoscopy, because the prep is different. This is likely the reason I have had the nausea and vomiting, which was the reason I started the GI process in the first place.
Next step was to do a NM (Nuclear Medicine) Gastric Emptying Study. This took place at the Houston Methodist Hospital in The Woodlands. I love that hospital. Its lobby has a beautiful sculpture of Jesus, and it has such a warm and welcoming feel to it. They fed me a scrambled egg with radioactive material used for tracking, took a scan, waited two hours and took another scan to track the egg, then waited another two hours and took a third scan. I still had egg in my stomach so they officially diagnosed me with Gastroparesis.
I have a video consult with a surgeon on Friday, August 7th, to discuss a possible repair of the nerve with surgery, but I’ll know more about that after we meet. Prayers are appreciated!
I’ve done some research on these conditions, and the drugs I’m on to prevent the cancer from returning are a trifecta for GI issues. I am not wiling to give up the immunotherapies, as they have kept the cancer at bay for the past decade. I knew there could be side effects, but it feels like my body is starting to fall apart. Going to the doctor is a full-time job.
The upside is, God has given me plenty of energy to do His will, and what we enjoy. Travel, write books, spend time with family, and minister to others. No matter what, the Lord is with us and He has it all in His hands. We thank Him daily for giving us another day of life.
Our next trip begins in one week. We will be taking our Classy Girl up north, then west. Tim has an onsite visit for work in Chicago area, we plan to see our daughter’s family somewhere in Wisconsin, we are making plans to attend the Airstream Club International Rally in Minot North Dakota, and then we will head home via Colorado, New Mexico, and visit with our two granddaughters who live in west Texas.
After that, we will take care of our broken bodies.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
“I am the Lord, who heals you.” ~Exodus 15:26
My relationship with Jesus Christ motivates me to keep blogging. Though I have metastatic breast cancer*, my faith helps me survive, thrive, and feel alive while staying active. Without Him, I couldn’t achieve anything. With His help, well, my accomplishments speak for themselves on my blog. If you’re interested in learning about building a relationship with Jesus, feel free to comment below. I will never sell or share your email.
*Metastatic breast cancer is Stage IV cancer. Metastatic, or metastasis, means the cancer has spread beyond the original location (breast and immediate lymph nodes). In 2016 the doctors found significant metastasis to my bones, skull, liver, and lungs; then in 2018 to the brain. However, with chemo, immunotherapy, gamma knife, and of course my faith in the Lord, it is all undetectable at this point. I continue in treatment every three weeks via infusions, and receive multiple scans on a regular basis. If you or someone you know has metastatic breast cancer, I recommend these organizations for additional support:
Metavivor and Unite for Her (also for ovarian cancer)