Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Some Scary News

I haven't posted for a while, and it looks as if I may not for another while.

In April, I discovered a lump in my right breast. My doctor checked it and didn't think it was anything. We couldn't do much more because my insurance only covers a prophylactic mammogram every two years, and my last was in November of 2014.

Friday before last, I noticed it was sore all day, and Monday I called my doctor for another check. She said it seemed thicker, and scheduled me for a diagnostic mammogram the following day.

They found a suspicious mass about the size of a peanut. They told me that because of my age they had to assume that it might be malignant. Ultrasound over the whole area showed that whatever it was, it was still localized, and they were going to schedule me for a biopsy the following Monday. I managed to talk them into a biopsy the same day. You can get very determined when you are scared, which I was.

The results came back the next morning. It is invasive ductal carcinoma -- breast cancer, grade two. Further analysis is still pending to determine the stage.

80% of breast cancers are this kind, especially in women in my age group. I'm 68. They don't think it has gone beyond the localized area, but it requires immediate treatment, for obvious reasons. I see a breast surgeon on Thursday, which is, as far as I am concerned, a long time.

I've spent a lot of time crying since Wednesday. No matter how well or ill this turns out, the next year is going to be a very hard one for me. I hope anyone who knows my writing will wish me luck, and those who believe in it, please pray for me. I have never been so scared in my life.

Nan Smith

Oh, Nan, my heart goes out to you. I wish you the best. This is some scary news indeed, but please don't lose your hope. Keep fighting!

Hello Nan,

I'm so sorry you're having to go through this. I'm glad, though, that you were able to catch it before it spread. You will definitely be in my prayers.

Please keep us posted and know that there are people throughout the world sending their thoughts and prayers your way.

Hugs,
Lynn

Very sorry to hear that, hope the treatment goes well. It's supposed to have improved a lot in recent years, so hopefully you'll be OK. Best wishes anyway.

I'm so sorry to hear this Nan. I have personally been through equally serious illness myself in the last 2 years, so I know what feelings and anxieties you are currently facing.

I have plenty I want to say to encourage you on your particular situation too. My mum was diagnosed 4 years ago and has been clear since finishing her treatment 4 months later, and a friend at church has just finished her radiotherapy. If you want some more personal encouragement I will message you, but please be assured that breast cancer is not as scary as it used to be decades ago. Even if it looks terrifying now, you will find the strength to get through this.

I'm not sure how much the treatment will differ in the USA to here in the UK but I cannot believe the differences will be anything but minor. The process was over for my mum within 4 months. There are continual follow ups, and medication, as aftercare, but the literal treating of the cancer was over very quickly. I expected a long and arduous fight for my mum, but - looking back - it was actually a realitively simple process. That's not to lessen the worry and the tension at many points along the way, and the inconvencience of travelling to a hospital 1 hour away every day for three weeks to have radiotherapy which took only 30 minutes. My mum was very strong, and did have a scare earlier this year that the cancer had returned, but it turned out to be nothing.

Please be reasured that, while everything looks terrifying at the moment, you can come through this - quickly - and also that many people will be praying for you during this time.

Praying for you, Nan, and thinking positively.

And please keep us posted--they'll be a lot of people here wanting to know how you are doing.

Cancer has touched my family more than ever in the last couple of years. While I haven't personally been effected, multiple people that I love deeply have been.

You can do it--know we are all rooting for you!!!
Laura

I will. Right now I'm gulping tranquilizers and chewing my fingernails to the quick. And telling myself that it isn't as bad as it sounds.

If I can get myself to believe that, it will be a miracle. Thursday seems a long way off.

I wish you the best of luck, Nan. My thoughts are with you during this trying time. (My anger at your insurance company, I'll try to keep under control and off the boards.)

I find comfort in seeing adversity in my life as a way to strengthen my writing skills, such as the depth of my characters through my own experiences. Not that you need any help in that department as your stories are wonderful and inspiration to us all. However, wacky person that I am, that's how I look for the positives when life pours lemonade on my wounds.

"Well, that sucks," I say to myself. "But at least I know how Lois / Clark feels when life spirals out of control."

I know my words might not be as inspiring as others, so feel free to ignore my advice, but I've always found writing as a great escape from the realities of life. Writing gives me control (as I keep *trying* to remind my muse) in situations where I otherwise feel powerless.

So, don't let life force you to put down your pen (or put away your keyboard), because it might be the stress relief you need. Don't let this diagnosis change you, who you are, and want to be. I know it's sometimes hard to write or find joy in anything when you're feeling lousy, but when you're having a good day (and hard that it is to think that it's possible, there will be good days), it might be the breath of fresh air that keeps you from turning into couch potato (basing this analogy on my life, BTW) or worse.

I'm wishing you and your family the best of luck! Know that we love you and will be thinking of you here on the boards. Take care!

Hi Nan,

I'm sorry to hear your news. Praying for you and sending positive energy.

Hi Nan,

So sorry to hear the news. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this trying and scary time.

Good luck, Nan. I hope everything works out well for you.

Cancer covers a wide variety of levels. Common ones have really good success rates now a days. So remember things are hopeful. Good luck.

Hi Nan,

How did the meeting with the surgeon go? I hope it relieved a lot of your concerns.

Take care,
Lynn

Nan,

Just came across your post today. I'm sorry to hear about your situation. FarmerBabe and I will be praying for a good diagnosis and a quick recovery.

Best regards,
David

Hi Nan!

I just read this and can only echo the sentiments already shared!

Get well!

Michael

The meeting with the surgeon went well. I will be scheduled for an MRI in the next two weeks, and a probable lumpectomy followed by radiation, some time after that. Then there will be breast reconstruction to repair the piece they have to take out, and hormone therapy to suppress estrogen and progesterone, which can feed a tumor's growth, for several years.

My doctor, who comes highly recommended, tells me that this kind of tumor is the most common kind in women who have no family history of the disease (which I do not) and has a 95% cure rate, barring unlikely surprises.

This can all change, of course, depending on any further discoveries, but the growth is small yet. She told me to relax, that I wasn't going to die of this thing. I hope she is right.

Life isn't fair, as I have always known, but, good grief! I have no relatives on either side of the family, back as far as my great grandmothers, who have had breast cancer. I nursed 7 babies -- and I drew the short straw. I'd swear if I didn't make a point of not putting bad language in print. And in my job I had the unenviable opportunity to learn a lot of pretty colorful language that I probably should never have heard. I've used a lot of it to myself and my hubby in the last week, when I wasn't indulging in sheer panic.

Sounds like you got some good news! Glad to see the extremely high cure rate!

Relieved to hear this positive report from the doctor. Sending good thoughts your way.

Here's to hoping that your treatment goes smoothly and as painless as possible. Positive vibes coming your way from a long-time lurker. Sarah

Glad to hear the good news. Thanks for sharing.

Joy,
Lynn

Sounds wonderful - and I know that's a strange thing for me to say - but the diagnosis and treatment is almost identical to my mums, and I've already mentioned that everything went so very easily and quickly for her (in comparison to what I imagined it would be at her diagnosis).

Will still be praying for you.

Nan:

Just found out about this today. My thoughts, prayers and deepest hopes are with you right now. Here's a bit of encouraging news; my best friend's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer over thirty years ago. The doctors and nurses were helpful and very compassionate. All during the chemo sessions they cheered her on. The results? Mom recently returned from a trip to Africa and is planning on going back very soon.

Honestly, she has more stamina than I do!

Oh yeah, she just turned 90.

So be positive and remember all of us FoLC's are pulling for you!

Just read this right now and wanted to let you know you're in my prayers.

Thank you. I'm grateful for any prayers that anyone sends.

My MRI is today at 2:00 to determine exactly how far this thing has gone.

Nan

Hi Nan,

Did you get any results from today's MRI yet? (I would imagine that most scans might not be read for a few weeks, but I would hope that in a situation like yours, an exception would be made.)

I hope the results prove good.

Thinking of and praying for you,
Lynn

Not yet. Holding my breath.

My doctor doesn't get back into town until Tuesday. I don't expect to hear anything until at least then.

Somewhere along the line they're going to inject me with something radioactive to see if any of the lymph nodes that would first be hit by migrating cancer cells are clear or not. Then they will know how extensive the surgery is going to be.

Needless to say, I am holding my breath.

We will be waiting with you.

Continuing to pray--keep us posted!

Laura

Oh, Nan. I am so sorry.

I only came across this thread today, so forgive my lateness. I'm glad you've had some positive news.

Sending good thoughts and vibes your way.

Feli.

I had the MRI last Thursday. I got the results today.

The growth at it's widest measurement is 1.8 cm -- still under the critical 2 cm mark. There are no signs of it having migrated to the other side, and no signs of enlarged lymph nodes which would indicate metastasis, so that is good. The recommendation is for a lumpectomy with accompanying radiation and reconstruction of the breast, so I'm feeling better. I'll feel even better when I get a date for the surgery and get it over with.

Nan

That's good news. I wish you luck on your surgery and recovery.

Thank God. That must be a *huge* relief. Thank you for sharing the good news with us.

I hope the surgery can be scheduled very soon, and that it goes smoothly.

Joy,
Lynn

Glad to hear the good news! Wishing you a swift and easy surgery and recovery!

Just read this thread. My prayers are with you Nan. The prognosis looks good. Keep us informed.
Best Wishes
Artemis

Thinking about you and wishing you the best!

So glad to hear your good news. Thinking positive for a speedy recovery!

Laura

What a blessing! So glad to hear this positive news!

Hope things continue to go well!

My surgery date is July 20th.

Good luck.

I hope it goes smoothly and has a good outcome.

- Lynn

Thinking about you .
Laura

They did the surgery Wednesday morning, and removed both the tumor and the sentinel node -- that is the first lymph node to which cancer cells would migrate. She didn't take any others, which means they must have looked all right to her.

I stopped taking pain medication yesterday. My doctor did a very good job in keeping the incisions small, with minimal damage. The actual tumor scar is about an inch long.

We are waiting for a pathology report on the lymph node, and will find out the results on the 4th. If the node is clean, then all I have to worry about is the radiation to the actual tumor site.

Chuck and I are keeping our fingers crossed that it will turn out well.

Hi Nan,

Thanks for sharing the good news with us. May the lymph node prove clean.

Joy,
Lynn

Hi Nan

It's sounding very good and positive at the moment. They took two nodes from my mum - but both turned out to be clear, and had to do the tumour surgery twice as they didn't quite get it all the first time.

Still praying and thinking of you.

Wonderful news! Thanks for keeping us posted and so glad things are going well.

Continuing to think positive
Laura

I'm glad to hear that the surgery went well. I wish a speedy recovery.

Please let us know how you are doing. So glad the surgery was a success!

Glad to hear things went well. Am praying that they continue to do so.

I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Canavan today, and the news is good.

The lab reports that the edges of the tumor are clear of cancer cells, so they got it all. The sentinel node was clear, so it hasn't spread.

It was 2.2 cm, not 1.8, so technically it was a stage two tumor, but only because of the size. It hasn't gotten into the lymph nodes.

I will have to do 5 days of radiation therapy next week, probably, as there is only a small window of time for that. They are also doing a genetic analysis of the growth to see if it is the type to recur in 10 years or so. If it is I'll have to undergo chemo. Hopefully it will be negative. I really don't want to lose my hair, but if I do, that's life. It will grow back.

All in all, it's a good report.

Hi Nan,

Thanks for continuing to share with us, and mazel tov that the news so far is good. May it continue to be so.

It sounds like next week will be rough, but may there be smooth sailing after that.

Joy,
Lynn

It sounds like things are going well, Nan.

Thinking about you--and please let us know how you are!
Laura

So glad to hear the continuing good news! Wishing you a speedy and easy week with the radiation!

Good luck with your continuing treatment. I'm glad you've gotten some good news!

Thanks for sharing the good news. We wish you a speedy recovery and we'll continue praying.

David

So glad the reports were positive! The next week will be long, but it shall soon be over!!!

Just an update. This morning I had the third radiation treatment. I will be going in for the 4th this afternoon.

There are three more days to go after today, with two treatments every day. The last will be Tuesday.

It is called the SAVI treatment, for anyone interested, and is the alternative to the month long treatment of the entire breast that left burns and a lot of discomfort. This one applies radiation only to the inside of the cavity where they took out the tumor.

Dr. Savnani, the oncologist, told me that the chances are that I am already cured, but this is the insurance policy for preventing the thing from recurring. It's inconvenient with this appliance surgically implanted in my breast, but I think it is worth it, and it comes out on Tuesday. All I have to do is get through the next few days.

Nan

Hi Nan!

This is great news and hopefully everything will continue to the best possible outcome!

Michael

It sounds like things are continuing to go well. So happy to hear that!

I'll be thinking about you over the next few days
Laura

Great news, Nan! I sincerely hope the next few days pass swiftly and easily for you.

It sounds like you're over the worst of it. Thanks for sharing the good news.

Joy,
Lynn

Excellent!

So glad this ordeal is almost over!

I have finished the radiation treatments. The only thing left is waiting for the genetic analysis of the tumor. If it is the kind that is likely to recur in ten years or so, that means chemo. If not I'm home free except for periodic monitoring. I'll let you know, but as of now, I'm cancer free. It's a wonderful feeling.

Mazel tov! And may the results of the genetic analysis prove as good.

Joy,
Lynn

That's good news! Let's hope it stays away.

Awesome--wonderful, Nan . Keep us posted...great news!
Laura

So glad to hear about your progress and hoping for the best test results.

Wonderful news! Fingers crossed for the best possible test results!

YAY! That's wonderful news! Hoping for the best results in all tests.

Hope all's well.

Nan,

I just saw this thread and I couldn't scroll fast enough to get to each update. It sounds like you've come through with flying colors, which is wonderful to hear. Please continue to keep us all posted!

Latest update:

I saw my medical oncologist today. The news is mixed.

As far as anyone knows, the cancer is gone. However ...

Even though the lymph nodes are clear and the edges of the excised tumor were clean, the doctor says it was an aggressive tumor that had been growing for about 6 months. In that time there is the possibility that a few cells may have spun off into the bloodstream.

To combat this, I must have chemotherapy every three weeks for the next six months to catch any such hypothetical cells and kill them. It won't be fun, but if I don't, there is a good chance the thing will reappear in my brain, liver, lungs or kidneys. If I do the chem, the chances are excellent that I will live out the rest of my normal lifespan without a reappearance. Since I am not a fool, I will do the chemo.

This means, of course, that I am going to lose my hair for a time. <sigh> I look like an alien from Star Trek without my hair. However, it will grow back.

So, looking for the silver lining, since I was having my hairdresser slowly lighten my hair color anyway, so that the roots won't show as much when they grow out, I bought a very stylish ash-blond wig this afternoon, and when I am over the chemo, and my hair grows back enough, I'll have Kelsie match the wig's color, and no one will know the difference except my family.

Anyway, that's the news. It's going to be a pain in the butt for another six months, but I'm going to live. That makes it worth while.

Hello Nan,

I'm sorry to hear that the next half year will be challenging, but thank God that the long term prospects are so good, especially considering that not too long ago you were wondering whether there even would be any "long term" for you at all.

Joy,
Lynn

Thanks so much for the update, Nan. We'll be thinking about you and always sending really good, positive thoughts your way.

A close family member of ours has gone through chemo twice in the last few years. She--besides loosing her hair--had very minimal side effects, and overall, has felt pretty good during the process. I'll hope for you the same.

In the long run, it sounds like things will be ok. That's wonderful news .
Laura

Thanks for the update, Nan. Sorry you have to go through this, but it's good that the doctors are being so proactive on making sure this won't come back. Like LMA's family member above, one of my aunts had to undergo chemo this past year and her side effects were minimal - hair loss and tiredness were her only complaints.

The wig and dye job sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm glad the overall prognosis sounds good!

Keep your spirits up, Nan. You'll get through this and be stronger than ever.

Sorry about your hair, but I suppose it's a lot better than the alternatives. Hope all goes well.

The latest update.

My medical oncologist says that some of the cancer cells managed to leak into the bloodstream during the 6 months the thing was growing. I had a chemo treatment just about 4 weeks ago that put me in the hospital for 3 days. I had a roaring case of sepsis and they had to culture the bug since nothing seemed to work to stop it. Treatment required that I come back for IV antibiotics for 11 days delivered via a pic line to deliver IV antibiotics directly to my bloodstream since the bacterium in question was immune to everything else.

By the way, the doctor says that what happened to me was not unusual, but he couldn't really warn me because reactions are highly individual. On the good side, he says the inflammatory markers are now way down, which shows that the chemo was very effective and knocked the stray cancer cells back on their heels. The remaining chemo treatments are to make sure we get the ones that are still twitching. He expects me to make a full recovery. He tells me some doctors treat their patients' cancers gently, and many of them spread as a result rather than disappear. He, on the other hand, makes you feel miserable (which I do) but he kills the cancer cells. I guess setting the hare's foot against the goose giblets, I'll take his method.

We completed the antibiotics, and then I had my second chemo treatment last Tuesday. I have 4 more to go, every three weeks. Yay.

No infection accompanied this one. It has, however effected my blood cell count and clotting factors, not to mention my immune system. Think the boy in the bubble. My fingernails look white and I'm trying to eat food with a lot of iron in it to compensate. Also the shakiness when I try to walk is something to see to be believed. I'm trying to tough it out because I have no wish for a blood transfusion. Call me paranoid. The way my luck has been running, I would get the blood from someone with HIV who has not progressed past the short interval where the disease is not detectable in the bloodstream. No thanks.

I have about a week until my blood cell count begins to rise again. Until then I have to stay away from anyone sneezing, sniffling or coughing, or take the risk of pneumonia, which I would rather not have. The prospect of another hospital stay holds no appeal for me.

My hair has predictably started to fall out and I am wearing my wig or a nightcap full time. Nobody but nobody is going to see me without hair. Period.

And by the way, I do look like an alien from Star Trek. Nobody gets pictures.

/hugs Nan/

Thanks for sharing. It does sound like it's a positive total, though!

Michael

Nan...

I'm so sorry to hear that there have been bumps in the road, but--like Michael pointed out--the long run outcome does sound good.

It's a hard road to be traveling now, but with time, this will hopefully all be a long-ago memory.

Thinking about you--you're handling this great!!!
Laura

And thanks for letting us know!

Wow, you really have been on quite a roller coaster. I'm sorry the cancer sucker punched you like this, but it's good that you will overcome it.

Take care,
Lynn

Sorry to hear about all the bumps in the road, but hopefully it will all go smoothly in the long term. It's great that your doctor is being overly cautious with this, instead of too lax. I hope things go easier from here on out and that you soon put this all behind you.

Power through! Follow Donald Trump's lead and grab cancer by the ...no, I won't go there. I'm glad you feel safe to express your feelings and share your struggle with us, knowing we're all here to give you all the emotional support we can.

I'm sorry to hear about the second round of treatments but they're on the run. Kick them while they're down.

We'll keep praying.

I hope things continue to go well. Don't worry about the hair, it'll grow back - and the first bald alien that comes to mind in Star Trek is Persis Khambatta in the 1979 movie, who wasn't exactly unattractive...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persis_Khambatta#/media/File:Persis_Khambatta_we_Ilia.jpg

This has been a ride with a number of bumps and short starts, but having a doctor who aggressively treats cancer is a plus! I pray life settles down to normal very soon.

By the way Persis Khambatta was also the head of the Congress of Nations on the Lois and Clark pilot.

Dear Nan:

I've been away from the boards for awhile and am sorry to hear of your illness. I hope that you are doing better as of the New Year and that this year will be better than the last.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Sincerely, Iolanthe

Adventures in Chemo
by Nan Smith

Well, at long last the chemo is over. January 3 was my last treatment, and now it is a matter of waiting several weeks until all the chemicals work their way out of my system.

This includes the steroids they gave me to avoid allergic reactions to the actual chemo. I've gained 20 pounds because of them, and now I have to lose the weight. <sigh> I also have the traditional moon face of people on steroids, however it never got too bad, and is starting to go away.

That part has been a fun ride, because the steroids also gave me a chemically induced case of diabetes. So, naturally they had to give me stuff to keep my blood sugar down. More pills. For a while there, I could swear I rattled when I walked. Fortunately the number is now decreasing, to my vast relief.

All the chemical poisons have, of course, disrupted my body's natural flora, so I'm having trouble with that, and they have to figure out how to get that all re-balanced. One of the problems it has caused is repeated UTIs. The last one (resistant e-coli courtesy of all the infections I have had because of the chemo) was going on when I had my last chemo treatment, which had to be given on schedule in spite of the infection.

Since it knocked my immune system down, the infection went crazy and I wound up in the hospital on IV antibiotics for a week. That was an adventure all its own. (You remember the definition of adventure, don't you? "Somebody else having a hell of a hard time a thousand miles away.")

While I was there they did a CT scan to see if the kidney stones, which I manufacture in abundance, had tried to move and might be causing part of the problem. They hadn't, but they spotted something on my liver, 5.5 cm long, that shouldn't be there. Because of my history of breast cancer, the hospitalist jumped to the conclusion that it was liver cancer, that the breast cancer had metastasized and that I had only a few weeks to live and should be put in hospice. Oy!

Anyway, I called Dr. Ehsan, my oncologist, in a panic, and he got involved. He got hold of the scan and the report and called the guy and told him I did not have liver cancer, that I had just finished a course of chemotherapy, and that they had better do another CT scan, this time with contrasting media instead of without, to see what this mystery thing really was.

Eventually, the hospitalist agreed to do it, even though he wasn't convinced, and I begged the people in charge to rush it through. They did, too. They got the scan in just under the wire that night, and eventually it got read.

As Dr Ehsan said, it wasn't cancer. It was a hemangioma on my liver. Big difference. Lots of people have hemangiomas. You're born with them, and they can show up anywhere. In case you don't know the term, if you see someone with a big red birthmark on his face or other part of his body, that is a hemangioma. Mine just happened to pick my liver for a good place to live.

They can be dangerous, of course. They are a collection of blood vessels that have grown abnormally, and if someone with a large one manages to fall or otherwise damage the thing, they can literally bleed out, and quickly. It happened to a little boy I used to know, who had one on his face. But it is a lot different from a cancer, and mine has apparently been there all my life with no harm. My doctor, however, recommended that I do something about this one, because if I ever develop another breast cancer (God forbid) any adventurous cancer cell that tries to metastasize would find that a good home because of the abundant blood supply. Getting rid of it involves a single injection that chemically cauterizes it and it's gone. I agreed, and that's going to be done in a couple of months. A minor problem, especially considering what the hospitalist had in mind. Yeesh!

Anyway, that is the saga of my recent adventures in chemo. We're counting the weeks until I am free of the chemicals, and I have half a dozen more specialists to see in the next couple of months to get my system operating as it should again, especially to deal with these confounded UTIs. Guess what. It's been a week and I have another one, but at least my immune system is coming back, and it won't mean getting stuck in the hospital again.

One other good thing came out of this, too. My parents always told me that they believed I was allergic to penicillin because of something that happened when I was about 2 years old. Penicillin, as most know, was discovered during WW2, and so it was still pretty new at the time. I told Dr. Ehsan about the incident and he said that in his opinion, I was not allergic to penicillin.

So, when I went into the emergency room, they gave me penicillin initially to deal with the infection, since I was going septic.

Guess what. Dr. Ehsan was right. I am not allergic to penicillin, which gives me a whole new arsenal of antibiotics that they can use on these dratted infections until they can put my body chemistry back together again. That was one small bright spot in all the rest of the drama. But the whole thing was enough to make me want to go back on the tranquilizers they gave me in the beginning when they found the cancer. I got off those as soon as I could, however, and in spite of temptation, with this last little event, I don't want anything to do with them.

Oh yes, one other joy to deal with. Apparently I am developing non-alcoholic fatty liver, and to get rid of it I have to lose about 20 pounds and avoid sugar and starches. <Sigh> No more chocolate in the near future, along with a lot of other things I love.

But I have to lose the weight anyway, since it was the steroids and chemo that made me gain it, so maybe the day will come when I can go back to eating things like that again, albeit in smaller amounts.

Dr. Ehsan said that chemo is not a sprint but a marathon, and that this is actually the harder part of the whole process. I believe him.

Anyway, I survived the cancer and the chemo. I'm on the home stretch, even if it's no rose garden. I'll tough it out, I guess.

I'll drop a note again in a few weeks to let you know how things are going.

Nan

Hi Nan!

Thanks for sharing. This sounds...harrowing. So glad there's a nice, friendly light at the end of that dark tunnel, though. And it's not coming closer under its own power, too!

Michael

I'm so glad that you checked in, Nan ...

And while I hate to hear all of what you've been through, I'm so happy for you in finding out that you are through the gauntlet of chemo. Hoping, praying, and thinking positively that things start to realign in your body, your immune system goes into high gear, and you start feeling like your old self again soon.

You are doing great!!!

Please check back in a bit with an update on how you are feeling--I'll be looking for it
Laura

Nan,

So glad you checked in, just yesterday I was wondering what was happening and of course (my wife will tell you I am a glass half empty kind of guy) began thinking the worst. I am extremely glad that the worst appears to be behind you. Hopefully you will get on a faster recovery track now that your immune system is coming back. It would be extremely difficult to fight any of the common stuff we get exposed to without that functioning properly.

As Laura says keep checking in and keep us up to date on your progress. That way I won't worry as much.

Mike

Glad to hear an update. Hopefully your adventures now will be a little less adventurous, for lack of a better word. (And a more functioning brain than I have at the moment). Sounds like you've got a good set of doctors on your side. Hopefully this year will be smoother than the last.
Sarah

Glad to hear that things are improving after the bad.

Sorry it's being such a drag, but it sounds like things are improving. Hope things continue to improve.

I am so glad you are able to let us know how everything is going. Hope the very worst is over.

Hi Nan,

Thanks for sharing your trials with us; I am sorry you have been having such a rough time, but am happy to hear how much progress has been made.

Take care,
Lynn

Well, well, I now have some good news and bad news. I spoke too soon. I'm going to have to go back into the hospital to be put on IV antibiotics for a week to kill this blasted infection, since there are no oral antibiotics that I can take to kill it. The only one is Bactrim, which is a sulfa drug, and I am definitely allergic to sulfa drugs, as the last time I took one (Septra) I broke out in a lovely little red rash that itched like fury and lasted for a week.

However, the good news is, my urologist thinks he has pinpointed the source of the infections. I have a big kidney stone in the left kidney which is probably harboring the bacteria, so the antibiotics can't reach them. The solution to that is shockwave therapy, otherwise known as lithotripsy. So first they have to kill the infection again, and then smash the stone.

I sure hope he's right on this one. This is getting awfully old.

Hate to hear this latest development, but it is good that they seem to know what is going on.

I'm allergic to sulfa drugs, too. Not fun.

Take care--and shoot us a message with the good news that you are back home .
Laura

Sorry to hear the latest development. But I'm glad that, overall, you are getting closer to the finish line. My prayers are with you for a speedy recovery from the infections.