The Tumornator: Tom's updates

First off, Mayo is crazy!  I'm sure this holds true for all Mayo campuses, but like 1/2 the town of Rochester is Mayo related.  It's almost like it's own little town.  You go through a security checkpoint, places to eat, grab coffee, lounge/waiting areas, a guy playing the piano, an outdoor courtyard area, etc.  We had appointments in 3 different buildings--but most are connected by a "subway" underground level or they have some skywalks as well.  Then Tom's surgery to check for peritoneal spread was completed at their Saint Mary's campus (like 1.5 miles away from the main downtown campus)  TLDR at the very bottom for those of you that just need the bullet points!   Onto the updates, overall mostly what we expected.  His bloodwork has pretty much stayed the same and his CA 19-9 (cancer marker in the blood) has continued to decrease which is positive.  Dr. Truty was very direct about what he looks for before continuing to surgery--3 main ...

Thursday 7/17 was Chemo #5--it's a long day hanging out in the chairs at the chemo suite.  Luckily Tom and I both bring all sorts of things to do between work, movies, games, etc.  The good news of the week is that Tom's chemo didn't seem to be too bad as far as the fatigue and the cold sensitivity seems less (which is a bit weird), but we'll take it.   The bad news that we were both significant disappointed with and I was mad about was his weight.  He's still continuing to lose weight and lost several more pounds which has floored me.  He has done such a great job of eating/drinking everything I give him.  I've reached out to the dietician again and will be checking with the Mayo team as well to see how to fatten him up.   We are excited and anxious to see the Mayo team this week, so I probably won't update until after Wednesday.  We are in Rochester currently and getting ready for a busy week.  Monday afternoon we have an initial ...

We've settled into this somewhat new normal of food tracking, medication adjustments, and a variety of appointments.  We've made some dietary changes again and are anxious to see what his weight is on Thursday as I *think* he might have managed to stay the same--but I'm not holding my breath either!   Tom has been trying to be slightly more active walking around the block or using our walking pad trying to get his energy and stamina back up.  He still gets worn down quickly after running errands or longer visits or appointments.  Scarlett is having a new experience this week attending ISU Volleyball camp.  There was a ton of girls 8th-12th graders at check in and when I talked to her tonight, she's so tired and her feet hurt!  They played for about 4.5-5 hours today, she'll have 7 hours tomorrow, and another 4.5-5 hours on Thursday 🏐 It's a good thing she loves it and is pretty good at it!     Some of you have heard Vivian started her t...

 Happy 4th of July to all!   We are having a low key weekend currently as Tom needs to pretty much be indoors during his chemo treatment--so we couldn't have been out until around 2p this afternoon.  The chemo bulb is a bit weird, it can't get too hot or too cold, or it could affect how quickly the medication infuses.  Those of you who know me also know--heat is not my friend, so I don't mind hanging out in the AC 😊  The dogs always enjoy the extra home time and insist on sitting directly on someone or directly next to someone.  Scarlett celebrated yesterday with some friends while V hung out with us, ran some errands, and watched movies.  We do have some plans with friends on tomorrow (Sunday) so we are just delaying the celebration a little bit!  Chemo #4 is done (which means 1/3 treatment over!).  Tom's not quite as tired this week and feels a tiny bit better than after #3, however the cold sensitivity in his fingers continues to inc...