Hello everyone......After meeting with both doctors today, here are the updates:
1) I had to keep the one drain in since it is still draining a fair amount. But it will for sure be removed by next Wed. All other areas look good and are healing very well. Dr. Byrd was impressed with my quick recovery for the amount of surgery I went through :-)
2) They took blood today and are testing it to see what my HLA type is, and if it is type A2 positive (50% chance), then I am one step closer to being eligible for the "Cosmo" clinical trial going on in Southern California at both UCSD in San Diego and in Santa Monica at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. We will know my HLA type in 2 weeks.
Also, I will eventually have to have another PET CT to confirm that Dr. Byrd was successful at removing all of the cancer during surgery and that it hasn't spread elsewhere!
3) If I don't qualify for that trial (either wrong HLA type or PET CT shows more cancer) we would then be ready to consider interferon injections and localized radiation if there is not another option.
So while waiting for the HLA results over the next 2 weeks, Dr. Bryd agreed that I should consult with a couple more oncologists for their opinion. One will be Dr. John Thompson from the SCCA, and then maybe 1-2 others (from Denver and Portland.) I will also meet with the radiologist (Dr. P.) to hear how that treatment works, if I have to go that route, and then the physical therapist will get me started with that necessary treatment.
Thanks for all of your love, thoughts, prayers and support, it is all appreciated!!
We will update the blog in 2 weeks with the HLA results and in the meantime, you may see the girls having fun with the blog ;-)
~Keri
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Update # 8 - 1/23 - Pathology results
Hi everyone,
What a difference a week makes!! I am sleeping normally and then during the day, I am up and walking around the house a lot more. As of Monday, I have been off my pain medications and Tuesday I went to the UWMC and had one of my drains removed and the stitches on my shin and back of my knee removed. I am still house-bound since I have one more drain that we need to care for, but I feel great.
As for the pathology results...after hounding both Dr. Byrd and Dr. Margolin all day today, I finally got a call back from both of them tonight: the node on the outside of my knee was a stray "lymph node" which is very good news - that means that the melanoma had stayed within the lymph node strand and did not go "in-transit". Then he elaborated a bit more on the groin area: the lower area had some nodes that were positive and negative with melanoma and then the upper groin area was all positive with melanoma. So Dr. Bryd wants to have me meet with a radiation therapist to discuss possible treatment for that specific area. He wants to be sure that it didn't spread higher than what he could see during surgery. Along with this, the need for a physical therapy to help combat lymphedemea will be a must.
Next steps:
1) I have an appt. on Tuesday, 1/27, with my oncologist, Dr. Margolin, to discuss my treatment and since the melanoma was contained to just the lymph nodes, I am one step closer to being eligible for a couple of clinical trials. We believe that a clinical trial is a much better option than the interferon injection option, and we will need to consult with Dr. Margolin on her thoughts of radiation treatment.
2) Then on Friday, 1/30, I have an appt with Dr. Bryd to remove my last drain as long as it is ready to be removed.
So tonight we are relieved with hearing the good news about the outside knee area, yet a bit concerned with the aggressiveness of the upper groin area and the idea of radiation. If radiation therapy is the course we go, it wouldn't begin until after I am completely healed (a couple more weeks).
Again, we so appreciate all the flowers/cards and wonderful meals/baked goods that friends and family are making for us! We are so fortunate!! Thank you!!!
Have a great weekend and we will update the blog next Friday, 1/30.
~Keri
What a difference a week makes!! I am sleeping normally and then during the day, I am up and walking around the house a lot more. As of Monday, I have been off my pain medications and Tuesday I went to the UWMC and had one of my drains removed and the stitches on my shin and back of my knee removed. I am still house-bound since I have one more drain that we need to care for, but I feel great.
As for the pathology results...after hounding both Dr. Byrd and Dr. Margolin all day today, I finally got a call back from both of them tonight: the node on the outside of my knee was a stray "lymph node" which is very good news - that means that the melanoma had stayed within the lymph node strand and did not go "in-transit". Then he elaborated a bit more on the groin area: the lower area had some nodes that were positive and negative with melanoma and then the upper groin area was all positive with melanoma. So Dr. Bryd wants to have me meet with a radiation therapist to discuss possible treatment for that specific area. He wants to be sure that it didn't spread higher than what he could see during surgery. Along with this, the need for a physical therapy to help combat lymphedemea will be a must.
Next steps:
1) I have an appt. on Tuesday, 1/27, with my oncologist, Dr. Margolin, to discuss my treatment and since the melanoma was contained to just the lymph nodes, I am one step closer to being eligible for a couple of clinical trials. We believe that a clinical trial is a much better option than the interferon injection option, and we will need to consult with Dr. Margolin on her thoughts of radiation treatment.
2) Then on Friday, 1/30, I have an appt with Dr. Bryd to remove my last drain as long as it is ready to be removed.
So tonight we are relieved with hearing the good news about the outside knee area, yet a bit concerned with the aggressiveness of the upper groin area and the idea of radiation. If radiation therapy is the course we go, it wouldn't begin until after I am completely healed (a couple more weeks).
Again, we so appreciate all the flowers/cards and wonderful meals/baked goods that friends and family are making for us! We are so fortunate!! Thank you!!!
Have a great weekend and we will update the blog next Friday, 1/30.
~Keri
Friday, January 16, 2009
Update #7 - 1/16 - Home from the hospital
Hi Everyone,
Thank you all for the beautiful flowers/cards sent to the hospital and my home - they brighten my day and lighten up the house.
I was able to come home on Wed., 1/14, in the afternoon (my 40th b-day :-). They kept me an extra night since I was far from ready on 1/13 as I had a few fevers and very little sleep, plus not being able to get in and out of bed without major assistance. I had a great group of nurses caring for me in the hospital and also a cute/young team of residents - it was funny - it reminded me of Grey's Anatomy....I have a few stories about them!
Yesterday was my first full day at home and I am trying to figure out all the medications, how they make me feel/sleep, etc. so I am able to be coherent when the girls go to school and get home. Between the Oxycodone, Tylenol, Lovenox (self shot of blood thinner), and one other, it has been interesting. Still not sleeping completely through the night, but getting a few medicated naps a day ;-)
Surgery:
I got more info out of Doug's blog than I remember everyone telling me on 1/12. The one thing I can say is that my darn right ankle felt re-injured coming out of the long surgery - since they had to turn me over a couple times - I quickly asked for ice in the recovery room, and they thought I meant ice-chips, which was nice too - but once it was numb, it was all good and is much better now. Dr. Byrd visited me later in the evening on Monday and brought the resident that sent down the order not to feed me, she was so apologetic, I told her not to worry and that my daughter was determined to help and Dr. Byrd thought Kourts was awesome! He said he got everything he could see - (the node in my groin was the size of a ping-pong ball) and he was very glad not to have to do the skin graft, as the melanoma on the shin wasn't as deep - which is good.
I have some impressive incisions and nurse Glenda is taking care of them very well, along with the 2 drains (one in my stomach and on on my leg - which I will have until 1/30). The girls think that it is all pretty gross, but aren't far from me when they are home and my bedroom is still a good place to do homework ;-)
So I have to say that the best B-day present I have ever received was the news I am Cancer-free. I look forward to hearing the results next Tuesday and then meeting with Dr. Margolin again to make final decisions on my treatment.
Also, thank you for all the food/meals - every bit of it is being quickly consumed, and it all is much better than my family is used to... :-)
Thanks again for all your love, thoughts, prayers, comments and support! We will update the blog next week after we hear the results.
~Keri
Thank you all for the beautiful flowers/cards sent to the hospital and my home - they brighten my day and lighten up the house.
I was able to come home on Wed., 1/14, in the afternoon (my 40th b-day :-). They kept me an extra night since I was far from ready on 1/13 as I had a few fevers and very little sleep, plus not being able to get in and out of bed without major assistance. I had a great group of nurses caring for me in the hospital and also a cute/young team of residents - it was funny - it reminded me of Grey's Anatomy....I have a few stories about them!
Yesterday was my first full day at home and I am trying to figure out all the medications, how they make me feel/sleep, etc. so I am able to be coherent when the girls go to school and get home. Between the Oxycodone, Tylenol, Lovenox (self shot of blood thinner), and one other, it has been interesting. Still not sleeping completely through the night, but getting a few medicated naps a day ;-)
Surgery:
I got more info out of Doug's blog than I remember everyone telling me on 1/12. The one thing I can say is that my darn right ankle felt re-injured coming out of the long surgery - since they had to turn me over a couple times - I quickly asked for ice in the recovery room, and they thought I meant ice-chips, which was nice too - but once it was numb, it was all good and is much better now. Dr. Byrd visited me later in the evening on Monday and brought the resident that sent down the order not to feed me, she was so apologetic, I told her not to worry and that my daughter was determined to help and Dr. Byrd thought Kourts was awesome! He said he got everything he could see - (the node in my groin was the size of a ping-pong ball) and he was very glad not to have to do the skin graft, as the melanoma on the shin wasn't as deep - which is good.
I have some impressive incisions and nurse Glenda is taking care of them very well, along with the 2 drains (one in my stomach and on on my leg - which I will have until 1/30). The girls think that it is all pretty gross, but aren't far from me when they are home and my bedroom is still a good place to do homework ;-)
So I have to say that the best B-day present I have ever received was the news I am Cancer-free. I look forward to hearing the results next Tuesday and then meeting with Dr. Margolin again to make final decisions on my treatment.
Also, thank you for all the food/meals - every bit of it is being quickly consumed, and it all is much better than my family is used to... :-)
Thanks again for all your love, thoughts, prayers, comments and support! We will update the blog next week after we hear the results.
~Keri
Monday, January 12, 2009
Update #6 1/12 Surgery Details
Hello All
First of all thank you all for the well wishes! They are much appreciated!
We had a long day beginning at 5:45 am. Keri was prepped for surgery,vitals,urine etc Had a pregnancy test...Negative! Whew! After that I was politely asked to leave. She met with the anesthesiologist and was on her way. The surgery began at about 8:15am and lasted until 1:01pm...4 hours and 45 minutes...now that is what I call a good nap! Keri's Mom, Dad and myself met with Dr.Byrd at about 1:40pm and heard his report. Basically everything went well, There were no surprises, the original mole was removed(no skin graft necessary at this time, which was good news! One less wound to heal!Yeah!) Next came behind the knee, lymph node removed behind the knee(Dr Byrd looked at this one under a microscope and confirmed that it was malignant) He then removed the node that was located at the side of her knee. We will have to wait for the pathology on this one. Up to this point it took about two hours.
Next Dr.Byrd started on the groin area, he removed the lower groin nodes and then removed the upper nodes as well. He took nodes out around the obvious malignant nodes in the upper section and will be checking the pathology under a microscope. This should take a little over a week before we get the results on these surrounding nodes. We know the main nodes are malignant as they were already biopsied.
Keri was in recovery from 1:00pm until 2:45pm. She was in good spirits, took one look at me and said.."Hi, where are my babies? I responded with "I will go and get them," She said, "Yes, Please!" The kids and I hung out until 8:30pm, Keri was tired and hopefully going to have a good nights sleep, I should have grabbed some meds for myself! Beer will have to do!
Keri was incredibly strong and we are hoping for the best with the pathology reports next week. Thanks again for all of your love and support. Thanks to Keri's Mom and Dad for putting in a full shift at the hospital today! We will let you all know when Keri will be released from the hospital.
Thanks again!
Doug
First of all thank you all for the well wishes! They are much appreciated!
We had a long day beginning at 5:45 am. Keri was prepped for surgery,vitals,urine etc Had a pregnancy test...Negative! Whew! After that I was politely asked to leave. She met with the anesthesiologist and was on her way. The surgery began at about 8:15am and lasted until 1:01pm...4 hours and 45 minutes...now that is what I call a good nap! Keri's Mom, Dad and myself met with Dr.Byrd at about 1:40pm and heard his report. Basically everything went well, There were no surprises, the original mole was removed(no skin graft necessary at this time, which was good news! One less wound to heal!Yeah!) Next came behind the knee, lymph node removed behind the knee(Dr Byrd looked at this one under a microscope and confirmed that it was malignant) He then removed the node that was located at the side of her knee. We will have to wait for the pathology on this one. Up to this point it took about two hours.
Next Dr.Byrd started on the groin area, he removed the lower groin nodes and then removed the upper nodes as well. He took nodes out around the obvious malignant nodes in the upper section and will be checking the pathology under a microscope. This should take a little over a week before we get the results on these surrounding nodes. We know the main nodes are malignant as they were already biopsied.
Keri was in recovery from 1:00pm until 2:45pm. She was in good spirits, took one look at me and said.."Hi, where are my babies? I responded with "I will go and get them," She said, "Yes, Please!" The kids and I hung out until 8:30pm, Keri was tired and hopefully going to have a good nights sleep, I should have grabbed some meds for myself! Beer will have to do!
Keri was incredibly strong and we are hoping for the best with the pathology reports next week. Thanks again for all of your love and support. Thanks to Keri's Mom and Dad for putting in a full shift at the hospital today! We will let you all know when Keri will be released from the hospital.
Thanks again!
Doug
Update #5 1/12 Surgery
Hi everyone,this is Kourtney,
Daddy, Alexa, and I are all at the hospital right now, visiting my mom. Her surgery went well (more details later) and she is on the road to recovery. As far as I can tell, she is doing great and is very tired.
Earlier this evening, she asked if she could have some food but one of Dr.Byrd's residents decided that she couldn't.
So, me and my dad went down to the food court and ate some food. I kept asking my dad about Dr. Byrd, and he described him as very tall. As we were leaving, I saw a very tall man at the cash register, and it was Dr.Byrd. Of course I had never talked to him before, so I wanted to introduce myself. I went up to him and said "Hi Dr.Byrd, you did the surgery on my mom today." And he said "Why yes I did! How is she doing?" And I said good, her incision is just sore. My dad came over and said "Yeah, they aren't letting her eat." and Dr.Byrd told us "well, that isn't right! She is allowed to eat!" So thanks to me, she is eating right now. ;)
Also, I am sick right now so I have to wear a mask. I look pretty funny.
My dad will update the blog later with the medical stuff. This was just an update to let everyone know she is doing just fine!!
Thanks!
~Kourtney
Daddy, Alexa, and I are all at the hospital right now, visiting my mom. Her surgery went well (more details later) and she is on the road to recovery. As far as I can tell, she is doing great and is very tired.
Earlier this evening, she asked if she could have some food but one of Dr.Byrd's residents decided that she couldn't.
So, me and my dad went down to the food court and ate some food. I kept asking my dad about Dr. Byrd, and he described him as very tall. As we were leaving, I saw a very tall man at the cash register, and it was Dr.Byrd. Of course I had never talked to him before, so I wanted to introduce myself. I went up to him and said "Hi Dr.Byrd, you did the surgery on my mom today." And he said "Why yes I did! How is she doing?" And I said good, her incision is just sore. My dad came over and said "Yeah, they aren't letting her eat." and Dr.Byrd told us "well, that isn't right! She is allowed to eat!" So thanks to me, she is eating right now. ;)
Also, I am sick right now so I have to wear a mask. I look pretty funny.
My dad will update the blog later with the medical stuff. This was just an update to let everyone know she is doing just fine!!
Thanks!
~Kourtney
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Update # 4 - 1/6
Hi & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
(If you are new to this blog, please start at the bottom :-)
Updates:
1)Ankle - My Orthopedic at the UW said I need to rest and wear an air cast for a couple months and not run or play soccer while it heals, and at this point, there is no need for surgery. Yahoo! I think I can do what he asks! Then come to find out, my college roomate was his first girlfriend back when they were in middle school....what a coincidence!
2)Melanoma - I have an ultrasound scheduled for 1/7, a dermatologist appt. to map all my freckles/moles on 1/9 and then surgery 1/12 @ UW Medical Center - Surgery Pavillion, I will be staying overnight and when all goes well, released on 1/13.
Along with Doug and the girls, my mom Glenda will be helping me post-surgery, & my neighbor, April Perla, is helping coordinate all the food that has been so kindly offered to be made for my family post-surgery. (P.S. Kourtney would prefer if there were no strange casseroles, thanks!-KRK) Doug will manage the girls sports schedules so Kourtney & Alexa will be well taken care of during this time. Thank you all very much!
Thanks again for all your well wishes, prayers and comments! They are all appreciated! Until next week!
~Keri
(If you are new to this blog, please start at the bottom :-)
Updates:
1)Ankle - My Orthopedic at the UW said I need to rest and wear an air cast for a couple months and not run or play soccer while it heals, and at this point, there is no need for surgery. Yahoo! I think I can do what he asks! Then come to find out, my college roomate was his first girlfriend back when they were in middle school....what a coincidence!
2)Melanoma - I have an ultrasound scheduled for 1/7, a dermatologist appt. to map all my freckles/moles on 1/9 and then surgery 1/12 @ UW Medical Center - Surgery Pavillion, I will be staying overnight and when all goes well, released on 1/13.
Along with Doug and the girls, my mom Glenda will be helping me post-surgery, & my neighbor, April Perla, is helping coordinate all the food that has been so kindly offered to be made for my family post-surgery. (P.S. Kourtney would prefer if there were no strange casseroles, thanks!-KRK) Doug will manage the girls sports schedules so Kourtney & Alexa will be well taken care of during this time. Thank you all very much!
Thanks again for all your well wishes, prayers and comments! They are all appreciated! Until next week!
~Keri
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