Some Good News, Some Relief and Some "Still Don't Know"

We all met with Dr. Becdach this morning before Dad's regularly scheduled Erbitux infusion. Good news in that he did get the rest of the scan from UAB and it didn't show any new growths and showed the cancer in the nodes on his neck as "dying cancer cells". At this point, it is obvious that something is still going on in that area, but the question is whether or not there is still cancer trying to come back after the radiation or is the skin having a hard time healing having been through radiation two times. Both are possibilities. We pray that the skin is having a hard time healing. We can manage that! Please be in prayer that God is healing and the cancer is gone. I remember being told so many times that the skin may never heal after the second round of radiation..there was mention of open wounds, skin grafts, etc. I am praying expectantly for that outcome! The only way to know for sure right now would be to biopsy it, and again we would be faced with the fact that healing is so hard to do right now because of the radiation. So they opted to wait another couple of weeks before doing that. I did ask about the spot on the C3 vertebra and he said the scan mentioned nothing about it, but the MRI would tell us more. His opinion was that the area had radiation and was probably GONE! PRAISE!!!!!

So that is the good news so to speak..the relief is that he prescribed a patch for Dad to wear that gives him around the clock, 24 hour pain meds for the ear/tooth/jaw area. He has been trying to take pain medicine and Tylenol every 4 hours to stay ahead of the pain and this will be much easier as well as better for him for the time being.

That leads me to the "Still Don't Know" part...For a while Dad has been complaining of an ear ache and all doctor's have checked out his ear and found no infection. Dr. Spencer said that the ear drum is very dry from the radiation and that would cause him some pain. There is also a lot of scar tissue around there which has been through radiation twice that can cause discomfort. He has a lot of sinus issues related to the original surgery which also causes discomfort around that ear. Additionally, the one tooth he has left on the top of the left side has been aching and really hurting. Dad thinks it has abscessed and is really causing all this pain. Both doctors looked at the tooth and agreed it could be trouble. To take it out is a problem within itself because of the state of "healing" he is in at this point and that the bone is very weak from the original surgery and the Zometo he has been taking. He has been having monthly infusions of Zometo since they discovered the suspicious spot on his vertebra. It is supposed to help reverse or slow down any cancer trying to move to the bone. All good EXCEPT we now have found out that a major side effect of the Zometo could be the deterioration of the jaw bone. This very well could be the source of the pain and swelling on the left side of his face. So that is now the big question.....IS IT THE TOOTH CAUSING THE PAIN OR THE JAW BONE?

To find out, we are going to visit Dr. Willis (the oral surgeon in Madison who FINALLY correctly diagnosed Dad two years ago) and let him look at it to give his opinion on whether or not he thinks it is the tooth or the jaw bone. Dr. Becdach also put a stop to the Zometo infusions until we know for sure. We will talk all of this information over with Dr. Becdach in two weeks and go from there. I feel like an MRI will be scheduled at that visit as well.

So, thank you for your continued prayers. Pray specifically for the spot to heal on his neck, for the upcoming MRI to be clear and evident of no new cancers and for the outcome of this tooth/jaw issue.

Love to all!
Michelle