3/27 - I'm Bustin' out

Hi Everyone,
I am going home today :-)
Dr. Kaplan says my liver numbers are much better and that I can go home to rest and recover for a couple of weeks before I need to go back and see him. He said that we are done with the use of IL-2, as my body (liver) just didn't tolerate it very well, and he didn't want to do damage to it. We do hope we got enough IL-2 in me to help destroy any cancer cells that may have been hiding! Along with a bit of fatigue and about 5 lbs of fluid retention, the other side effect I am still fighting is itchy, irritated skin which will eventually peel, this side effect is very common with IL-2 and should go away in about a week.

The next step will be to have a PET CT &/or MRI taken in a month to see if there have been any changes since treatment in my right groin, back or other areas. Based on the results, we will then decide on our next treatment. Dr. Kaplan will call my insurance company to gain approval to use the approved drug, GMCSF, a shot taken under the skin for 6-12 months, so we will have to wait to see if they approve. Otherwise, if all is good, and I am clear, we could just observe for a while.

I look forward to getting back to life as I once knew it, yet much more appreciative of all that I have and the people I feel fortunate to call my friends. I can't thank all of you enough for all of the wonderful love, support, encouragement, prayers, thoughts, notes, emails, texts, comments on the blog, phone calls, hugs, and of course, the meals.....what a treat! Thank you to all my work friends at T-Mobile as well, for the support, flowers/ballons, meals, I am so lucky to work with such a wonderful team of truly caring, kind individuals.

Thanks to Doug, Kourtney and Alexa who have been my strength and they are the ones that got me through all of this and fueled my fighting spirit. Now, they are going to have some fun at the Grand Canyon over Spring Break and see the lights of Vegas with our good friend Krista while I stay home and recover with the company of my best friends Crina and Sharon.

Thanks to my mom, dad and sister too, for their love, support, car rides, encouragement and numerous visits. I am fortunate to have such a loving family!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!
~Keri
PS Look for the next update in about a month, after the tests.

3/25 -Keri's Second Round is Over!

Hey all,

Keri began her second round with interluekin II (IL-2) on Monday. She got to Swedish hospital at about 10:30 am. She was in the ICU for this round, which was much better as they monitor much more closely. The IL-2 drug was administered on a 24-hour drip (one friend said she would be able to tolerate the 24-hour drip better as she is use to living with a drip 24 hours a day! I think that was a little harsh ;-) She began receiving the low dose drip at around 430pm. The side effects did not start until about 5 hours later, she was not able to sleep, since she had chills, fever and was nauseated. They counteracted these with medications. She then pretty much slept all day Tuesday. The girls and I visited her on Tuesday night, she was very happy to see them, they liked her other room better though.

Keri's blood pressure fluctuated, yet stayed within acceptable range, her heart rate was a bit high, but her liver numbers were too high so on Wednesday morning she was taken off the IL-2. drip. Dr Kaplan said she would move out of the ICU and into a regular room on the 12th floor. Dr. Kaplan said she would need to rest for a couple of days in the hospital to get her liver numbers back in order and then head home to rest and recover there as well. He is going to try a different approach &/or medication again when her liver recovers in a couple weeks.

Thanks again for the food and well wishes! Especially the FOOD!

Doug

3/17 update- 2nd round begins 3/23

Hi all, (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

I saw Dr. Kaplan yesterday and he took a blood draw and everything looks normal, even my liver, which was the still the concern since it was still a bit off as of last Thursday. He said he was expecting my blood pressure and kidneys to have some issues with the high dose IL2 treatment, but the liver reacting like it did was unusual and that made him stop treatment all together last time.

I will be going back into Swedish on Monday, 3/23, for the 2nd part of this IL2 treatment. This time though, he will be putting me in the ICU to help manage and monitor my vitals more closely. Also, he will be lowering the dose of IL2 and administering it more frequently and in shorter intervals. He says I will have a 3-4 day treatment time, with 1-2 recovery days, depending on how my body takes this treatment this time around.

Thanks for all your love and support! Doug will be updating the blog next week.

~Keri
PS Happy Birthday to my nephew Connor (3/16), Kourtney (3/19), Doug (3/21), brother-in-law Bob (3/20) & sister Kim (3/28).

Going home - Sunday, 3/8

Hi :-)
All tests are good, my lungs are much better and have improved daily, and I am checking out of Swedish this morning with the doctor's orders to rest and recover for a couple of weeks.
My friend Sharon from Denver is here until Friday to help out and keep me company and I look forward to sleeping in my own bed and not having my vitals taken every 3-4 hours :-)

Thank you all for all your prayers and well wishes, they worked!!!

See you all very soon!
~Keri

Days 4 & 5 - 3/5 & 3/6

Hi folks,

As it turns out, 5 high doses of IL2 was all my body could take: Two on Monday (4pm, midnight & three on Tuesday 8am, 4pm, midnight) all of my vitals at one time or another had issues, but they would counter it with some type of medication. The one thing that has been lingering since Wed. morning has been fluid in the lungs. I've gained 10 lbs of fluid and have been short of breath, but managing and last night/today given a diuretic which has helped. I am down to 8 lbs today...ugh!

Dr. Kaplan decided that we are done for this first round of treatment and I now need to fully recover. He thinks I should be ready to be released sometime this weekend, and then rest/recover more at home next week. He is going to recommend a different treatment plan next round - which still includes IL2 but maybe administered differently.

I had a good friend, Michelle French, (Alexa's soccer coach) 2 doors down on my floor here from Mon-Wed, so it was nice having her and her mom to visit with, she busted out though, which is good! Thanks Michelle!

I have heard from Doug, the girls, mom, dad and Kim all the well wishes, calls, texts from everyone, and the comments on the blog -thank you very much! Plus all the meals from the girls' soccer teams have been very appreciated at home! Kourts and Alexa have been awesome, they created great wipe board art for me to stare at, along with visits and daily calls/texts. Doug, Mom, Dad and Kim have all spent their shifts here with me, even if I was sleeping the whole time. Thanks to my loving family for their support!

All I have to say is that I am SO GLAD that the worst of this (Monday night - Wed. morning) round is over - it was not fun and I do not look forward to those side effects again, but if that is what it takes to get this cancer out of me, then bring it on!!

Sending all of you my love!
~Keri

Day 3 Wed, 3/4

Hi everyone,
As of now, I am through 5 doses of IL2.
Dr. Kaplan visits me early in the morning and late at night. This morning he told me I was to get a little R&R today because my vitals are off: blood pressure is down too low & my heart rate was high and so due to all of that, I did not have IL2 today.
Today, along with all they still have me hooked up to (antibiotics, IV, etc) they ran more tests throughout the day. The results or my blood pressure, heart rate test improved, but my now liver is not doing well. So I get another night off of IL2.
I am also getting lymph-massage every day, which is such a highlight - this helps keep the swelling down in my left leg.

After more tests throughout the night, we will see how I progress and hope to start up again soon, as I want to be done with my 14 doses ASAP.

Thank you for all the love and support. As of now, just family is visiting, because I fluctuate so quickly and there is no set schedule to be sure I would feel good during visitors.

Thanks again!
-Keri

Day 1 and 2 : 3/2 - 3/3

This is my second attempt at writing in the Blog. It probably won't be as informative as Dr. Keri! We entered the hospital yesterday Monday, March 2nd. The room or condo, as I call it, has a great view of the Seattle Skyline!

Keri received a PICC line, which is a IV that goes in your arm and down to your heart area, it allows the medicine to get in your bloodstream very quickly. She received some anti clotting medication, then her first IL-2 (interleukin 2) at 4:20pm yesterday. She will receive them every 8 hours. About 2 hours later she got the rigors, which are violent shakes, a pain medication called Demerol is used to calm this. Her blood pressure dropped to(Mid 80's), they counter this with Albumin and fluids. Her temperature went up to 102. They give her Tylenol or Aleve for this and administer it every 6 hours, anti-nausea/sleeping meds(Ativan). Plenty of fluids are always being administered.

The major side effects have been fever, low blood pressure, nausea, head aches, rigors (shakes or chills). But all have been managed with medication.

Keri's appetite has been low, but she did manage to eat some soup and green and red jello today.

They draw labs every morning to monitor all the counts, they like to watch the platelets and white blood count.

Thanks for all the well wishes! She is not really up for visitors at this point, we will let you know.

Doug

FYI She is not responding to texts. Just keep checking the blog for updates.;)