Oceanside, 12:26 PM
I talked to Val. She is at Palomar Hospital. her blood work looks good, except fot Bilirubin. Normal range is 0.3-1.9. Her level is 3.6 this morning. This compares to 3.0 at USC on Saturday and Sunday. Also, an x-ray and urine test did not reveal any problems. Dr. Lenz is in the loop.
Bilirubin, in Val's case, is a way to measure how well bile is flowing out of the liver and down through the stents. I don't think the doctors are overly concerned with this number as long as it begins to drop soon. She will have another blood test tomorrow.
Dr. Yang used plastic temporary stents as opposed to expanding stainless steel stents . The difference is that the steel stents expand to a larger inside diameter and are less susceptible to blockage. The plastic stents are usually good for 3 months. We have heard thru the grapevine that once you have permanent stents, you are no longer resectable. Can anyone shed any light on this issue?
Other than the Bilirubin, pain management is the big demon. Any advice out there on methods other than morphine based drugs would be appreciated.
Val hopes to get sprung in the next few hours. I don't think she will be admitted.
Thank you for remembering our beautiful girl in prayer beloved.
Bilirubin, in Val's case, is a way to measure how well bile is flowing out of the liver and down through the stents. I don't think the doctors are overly concerned with this number as long as it begins to drop soon. She will have another blood test tomorrow.
Dr. Yang used plastic temporary stents as opposed to expanding stainless steel stents . The difference is that the steel stents expand to a larger inside diameter and are less susceptible to blockage. The plastic stents are usually good for 3 months. We have heard thru the grapevine that once you have permanent stents, you are no longer resectable. Can anyone shed any light on this issue?
Other than the Bilirubin, pain management is the big demon. Any advice out there on methods other than morphine based drugs would be appreciated.
Val hopes to get sprung in the next few hours. I don't think she will be admitted.
Thank you for remembering our beautiful girl in prayer beloved.
posted by McCrea Family at 12:33 PM
15 Comments:
I found an interesting article on genetically tailored therapy for Cancer treatments. Much of this is still proof of concept but looks promising. Follow the posted link and on the right side there are links to archived audio of the Sept 8th interview in various formats. Windows media usually works w/o issue on the normal PC. The guest speakers were Steven Rosenberg from NCI and Bert Vogelstein from John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
Ask your doctors if they are aware of the study. Two out of 17 (not great odds I know) are now disease free. If at a minimum it can open more discussion.
Leave no stone unturned.
Oops here is the link:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2006/Sep/hour2_090806.html
Try this one more time:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages
/2006/Sep/hour2_090806.html
Hi, Val & family. I am a friend of the Lester's.
My former co-worker's wife had a lot of luck with acupuncture for pain management during her fight against metestatic breast cancer. The pain meds made her crazy, so she looked elsewhere for help with the pain. While not mainstream, the acupuncture really helped alleviate the pain.
I wish you well, Val. I hope the stents work, and you are able to find a solution to your pain.
Hi,
My name is Marion and I have been following Val's disease for several month. My husband Bruce also has CC.
In re: to the metal stent. The metal stent can be removed during surgery, it is tedious but certainly possible. My husband had already a metal stent in place before surgery and even though the surgeon would have rather not dealt with it, it did not keep him from operating on the turmor and removing the stent. Fortunately, the stent was removed easily since it had been in place for only 2 months, but either way it should not prevent the surgery.
Thinking of you all the time, best wishes
Marion
what about getting a pain management doctor involved? they know more about pain meds, what works and what would be best for you better than anyone else. thats all they do is pain management, and they will work hand in hand with your other doctors to get your pain under control. I pray for you and hope you are feeling better soon.
Val & Chris - I have been thinking about you and am so sorry you have been going through all of this again. I wanted to pass along the name of my acupuncturist, she is amazing and might be able to help you with your pain. If you call her office let her know you are a friend of mine. Her name is Jeneanne Paden and her contact information is,
Galena AcuSpa & Chiropractic Center
11515 El Camino Real, Ste. 160
San Diego, CA 92130
858 792-7611 or 858 546-1530
I have also put some calls into some of the Interventional Radiologists I work with in regards to pain management and the question you had about the stent, as several of the IR docs I work with also place stents. I will let you know if I find anything out.
I hope you find comfort and pain relief soon.
Lara
Faith assures us that if we suffer with Christ, we will also be raised up with him.
"A woman who had been afflicted with bleeding for twelve years approached Jesus. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors, yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said to herself, 'If I but touch his cloak, I shall be cured.' Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
Jesus was aware that power had gone out from him and turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched me?'
The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.'"
Mark 5: 25-34
My husband has had a difficult struggle with pain and cholangion as well, he had been in and out of hospitals for pain management almost a year and a half ago. The pain service doctors got involved and prescribed METHADONE tablets. We were very leary and not easily convinced that it would work...but it has been a Godsend. For almost a year and a half, he has been pain free, not near as tired as when he was taking morphine, and not any nausea associated with the pain medicine. It is a very strong medicine and needs to be tapered into the adequate dose. Please ask about this medicine, my husband's quality of life has improved soooooo much since starting. Wishing you all brighter days and God's grace
Did Val get to go home? I am praying that she found relief with a new pain med. and was able to go home. Please keep us updated. We are all anxious to hear that she is home and feeling better.
Love,
Marianne
Val-
Praying for you and your family each and every day. I wish I could help in some way! The doctor is still wanting me to stay off my feet and take it easy. I'm praying that your pain goes away and you find the right combination of treatment. I know it's challenging and I'm sure it gets confusing. Based on our discussions and what little research I have done I believe the pain management specialists are a good start. Like every other specialty they are the ones who understand pain. I have found that most doctors refer to these centers and know a minimal amount about pain management.
After many conversations and research I also believe in the holistic approach and my thoughts are why not try both when you are able. I have an acupuncturist as well and read that Lara's is closer to home. I remember you having insight into the PMC's locally and if you want me to do any research I will. Val I will do anything I can for you!!!!
I love you and miss you!
Deanna
I agree with one of the other postings regarding a pain management doctor. Their goal is to make you pain free and this is all they do. They also try alternative treatments as well. Hope you look into this. Praying for you always.
There is another wonderful accupunturist in Carlsbad - James Tsai on State Street. My husband had horrible back pain and while not in the same realm as what you are going through, the accupunture relieved the pain after two visits. He has had very little pain since then (about 1 1/2 year ago). We continue to pray for healing and comfort...
With love from a sister in Christ
Val: Pain Management specialists with the types of pain they specialize in - worth a call to their nurse to see what they could do for you?
Joseph Shurman
Scripps Memorial
9834 Genesee Ave Ste 427
La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: (858)626-6153
Fax: (858)626-7098
Email: jshurma1@san.rr.com
Chronic/acute pain/cancer
Farshad M. Ahadian
UCSD Ctr for Pain & Palliative Med.
9300 Campus Point Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92037 Phone: (858)657-6035
Fax: (858)657-6037
Email: mclary@ucsd.edu
Website: health.ucsd.edu/specialties
Chronic/acute/cancer/spine pain consultations, diagnostic and therapeutic interventional modalities, acupuncture
Margaret Lou Miller
USC University Pain Clinic
1510 San Pablo St.
Los Angeles, CA 90033 Phone: (323)442-6202
Chronic/acute pain management: back pain, cancer, Medicare, workers' comp.
Like Dr. Ahadian - any pain doctor who is open to nontraditional pain control like acupuncture would tend more to do what it takes to relieve the pain.
Here is another link with some information. Can you get in water? Aquatherapy is becoming more popular for relaxation and taking the edge off. Aromatherapy, too.
http://www.sharp.com/healthInfo/
content.cfm?pageid=P07302
Praying for you each day,
Michelle
How is Val doing? We are all praying that you are feeling better. I agree with all the other posts, a pain management Doctor can do wonders. I have a relative who had back surgery and continued to have excrutiating pain to the point of immobility, she went to a pain management MD and he has been able to stabalize her and keep her relatively pain free. Please give it a try. Praying for you everyday!
Please let us know how Val is doing.
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