Week of Dec. 28: Wisdom Teeth are Out

Hello and happy almost new year to all. We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends - amidst lots of snow! - but to be honest, I think the best gift of all was a couple of "normal" days as Matt and I had Saturday and Sunday. Matt was able to eat anything/everything, there were no medications to take and monitor, no incisions to heal, there were no dr. appointments, no work requirements for either of us - it was swell.

However, it's back to reality and preparations for radiation.

This morning Matt had his right wisdom teeth out (top and bottom ones) bright and early. See x-ray to the left, pre-surgery. You can see the impacted teeth.

All went well; there were no issues with the jawbone nor the sinuses. Yeah! See Matt post-op all bundled up and escorted to the door via wheelchair. And of course, we also have to post a photo of the teeth (below, right). Not too bad, eh? (the lower one they took in a couple chunks). He is sore and on mega-meds again but as I type is snoring in the recliner so I have high hopes that sleep is not going to be an issue as it was with the tonsils.

We (happily) don't have much more to post at this time. We are hoping to get down to Mayo to get affirmation/confirmation around the recommended radiation treatment but we have to wait for that dr. to have time to review all of Matt's records and we only got them down there on Wednesday of last week. The next appointment (other than the teeth check-up) will be next week, Thursday, Jan. 7 for the making of the treatment mask (that should involve some cool pictures) and final prep for treatment. Actual date for treatment is still TBD - I think we have to see how Matt's mouth heals.

That's it for today. I will post toward the end of the week if anything new comes up.

P.S. And to those of our Maple Grove neighbors who are reading this: YOU GUYS ROCK! Thank you so, so, so much for all the amazing shoveling and snowblowing over the course of the snowstorm, both Wednesday and Thursday. It was a gift beyond price! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ho, Ho, Ho - OUCH

Week of Dec. 21 - Tuesday addendum:

You probably know this already but just in case you didn't: cancer, and all that it entails, doesn't take breaks over the holidays - what's with THAT?!

Today, Tuesday afternoon, it was back to Dr. Ha, the oral/maxillofacial surgeon. We met him at his Edina office (he has a couple - all over the city). Based on the very prelim "map" Dr. H faxed to him last week (location for the radiation; it is going to potentially overlap with Matt's right jawbone) Dr. Ha is recommending Matt's right side upper and lower wisdom teeth be removed by surgery prior to radiation. This due to the long-term effects of radiation to your bones (jaw) and teeth in terms of their ability to heal, blood flow, infection-defense, etc. If Matt doesn't deal with this now and something goes bad down the road, it will be twice as worse and twice as hard to deal with successfully. So we say, okay - count us IN.

Given Matt's age, and given the extent of the "impactness" of the teeth we gather this will be again, not a very pleasant surgery - it is significantly tougher then getting wisdom teeth out in your teens. I was reading a little bit about it and evidently the roots grow that much deeper with age, and the jaw bone is that much denser, making this a bigger deal at 48. As Dr. Ha pleasantly warns Matt, "this is going to be able the same as getting the tonsil's out." Oh goody.

In addition, yet again, Matt is "special": the wisdom teeth are close to both Matt's sinus/nasal cavity (you should see the x-rays - they are cool) as well as his jaw bone. Given both plus the desire to move to radiation (which is just plan old permanently hard on teeth and bone) soon, he wants to treat Matt's mouth carefully. He is actually going to consult with a colleague to see if he (the colleague) has any additional recommendations. Much of it comes down to being very, very careful with the jaw. Also, he said, the reality of it is he will know more when he does the surgery and can see what's what with the teeth and the jaw.

To top this off, given Dr. H's desire to start radiation in mid-January and the need to let the mouth heal - yet again! - for at least 3 to 4 weeks (during which time he has to be particularly careful not to stress his jaw bone and as such has to nibble only, once he can handle more solid foods), Matt-a-rooney has to get this done as soon as possible. We made an appointment for the Monday right after Christmas, Monday, Dec. 28.

So, just when Matt was thinking he would be getting a break for a couple weeks, AND was going to be able to eat anything he wants before radiation, this tooth surgery has to happen! Is that fair?! NO! Gosh DARN it! Get those Christmas buffets ready McFarland's - Matt is MOVIN' IN.

So, more - yet again - then you all want to know, but what can we say, sharing out helps us on many fronts. Thanks to everyone again for your notes, emails and prayers.

We look forward to enjoying Christmas with family and friends (and a good old-fashion, MN snowstorm too? The kids are supposed to fly to Florida with Lisa Christmas Day morning - yikes) and a "date night" (a movie and a fab dinner out) on Saturday - then we'll get back to all this cancer crap.

Our best wishes to you all....
Cathy with and for Matt

Week of Dec. 21: Countdown to Radiation and More

We have had a couple busy doctor days and while the reality of partial-neck radiation sinks in (it's a GOOD thing vs. the alternative of radiating both sides or all of his neck and head) other pieces continue to come together that makes it kind-of hard to be totally relaxed and upbeat. Specifically, Matt does have to have his wisdom teeth (right side only) surgically removed before radiation can begin. See tomorrow's post for details.

Here are our LUNGS and NECK/THROAT updates, FYI:
- Lungs: Matt had his 3-month chest scan and happily, the various spots mostly look "similar" or "unchanged." However, Dr. M says she wants him to get another scan in another 3 months time due to the nature of "this kind of cancer." Huh. We were thinking another one maybe in 6 months or a year...It all evidently bears watching - so I guess watch it we will.

- Throat/Neck: We also met with Dr. W (Doogie) as follow-up to the tonsillectomy. Matt's throat is healing nicely (you all are SO glad I refused to post the photos he had me take of his throat a couple days after surgery. Talk about gross.) and while we discussed with him our concerns about swelling of the throat during radiation - and its potential, subsequent impact on Matt's ability to sleep - he does not seem to be too terribly concerned. He also said he does not think prescribing steroids again (which really helped) should be a problem, but he will confer with Dr. H at Methodist. I think, net net, that so many of the side effects will be dependant on how Matt's body reacts to the radiation. While they most likely will not be worse than that which Matt experienced via the tonsillectomy (the throat part/pain anyway) they maybe, hopefully??!, will be slightly better. Hard to predict right now so we are just trying to be prepared. He is also going to hook us up with a registered dietitian which Cathy is excited about. How to keep Matt fat and happy and healthy during multiple weeks of throat pain is going to be a challenge.

One other quick Dr. W note: We won't see Doogie again until one month after the radiation is complete. Matt will get another PET scan at that time, essentially establishing a baseline - and after that appointment they will then connect about every three months for at least one year, maybe 2. Then it goes to once every six months until we hit the magic number of five years. Just get us there, puhleeze! Matt is bummed he can't wear the, what he calls, "cancer-free" yellow t-shirt until then. Lance - where are you when we need you?! Geez....

So that was Monday and Tuesday. I tell Matt I swear I am going to give him a calendar solely for cancer-appointments....but then we realized, his calendar now-a-days is essentially a cancer calendar. Thanks team-Streetfleet!!!!!

Treatment Update

Saw Dr. H, radiation-oncology/Methodist, today and got the scoop on what he recommends for treatment.

It is more good news/bad news: yes radiation, no chemo for sure; yes to a more general radiation of Matt's right side of his neck (tonsil bed and node area) but no to radiation of the left side. So - hopefully - Matt will be able to keep half his salivary glands. Treatment will begin mid-January, once Matt's throat has finished healing and then should be done early March (7 weeks). He, Dr. H, thinks - while a risk to not treat Matt's left side - that the benefits outweigh doing both sides at this time.

We are thinking we should be happier to hear all this - it's what we hoped for after the Un. of MN consult, but you know...it all still sounds like it's going to be the pits, for Matt. The side effects are going to be very hard on his neck and throat, and man, we just didn't need to hear that right now after last week!

We asked about, and he thought it couldn't hurt, going to Mayo one more time and revisiting Dr. O as well as another radiation-oncology dr. so we will probably do that, to get affirmation/confirmation of the partial radiation approach.

One other thing: Matt will have to go back to the oral surgeon, Dr. Ha, now that we know how the neck is going to be treated. Of greatest concern are Matt's wisdom teeth. They are going to be very close/part of the radiation area so.....We are going to try to NOT project on this one. Matt is going to make an appointment and we'll see what Dr. Ha says. If Matt has to get the wisdom teeth out, we don't know what that will do to the timing of the treatment but we will have to wait and see.

We do have an appointment set with Dr. H for a 'mapping' session when Matt will get his custom-made mask in preparation for the radiation treatments. That date is Jan. 7.

Next week Matt gets a final lung/chest CT and we see the pulmonologist to get the (hopefully) all-clear for his lungs. Dr. H said we would have keep an eye on those pesky spots - but didn't seem to be too worried....And we also see Doogie (Dr. W), late Monday, for a final check on the throat. We plan to talk to him at greater depth about what might help help Matt manage the throat swelling that is likely to accompany the radiation. We just can't take him not being able to sleep again due to blocked airways!

So that's it for now. Matt will be just fine, we know - but getting to the other side of this is going to kind-of suck. Ah well.

Take care all.

Monday Update: Appt with Dr. H on Thursday

I am remiss in not posting earlier today: Matt is doing MUCH better. He was even able to meet up with some friends at the Vikings game Sunday and had a good time (albeit came home with a sore throat - surprise, surprise. Nice to know he has priorities, eh?!). He is only getting up once at night to dose the throat with pain meds and actually was able to eat some soft pasta the other night. The mornings are still rough but he is on the official mend and can actually talk on the phone in the afternoon/evenings now....THANKS for the e-mails, visits, cookies (for Cathy) and all. :-)

The other update is that Matt does now have an appointment set with Dr. H, in radiation-oncology at Methodist, for Thursday afternoon. It should be interesting - we know much more than we did when we first saw him, nearly 6 weeks ago, and specifically now we know - finally! - the primary source of the cancer. Hopefully he will be able to answer our plethora of questions about what kind, how how extensive, treatment Matt is going to have to have.

We will post an update on the appointment later this week. Stay tuned.

He Sleeps

Friday morning: Matt sleeps! He is getting up to at least 4 hours at a chunk now - yipee skippy. I think we have turned the corner and am not even going to knock on wood. :-) He is still on major pain meds and living on Italian ice, but things are looking good.

The dogs sleep too (and they asked to be in the blog today) - Sogra sacks out in Matt's chair, and Argos is just basically zonked, on the couch. Check 'em out.

I don't think we will have much to report for a couple days now. Our next step is an appointment with Dr. H, radiology-oncology, at Methodist. Dr. W's office just told us to call ourselves, when Matt is feeling better, to set up our next consult with him. We won't be doing any treatment until Matt's throat is healed and that will be a couple more weeks. So I am guessing we will call on Monday. That appointment will help us learn what kind of treatment is recommended - we continue to hold out hope that that will be modified radiation of Matt's neck only, and no chemo. We will let you all know when we know!

Thanks again to all for the e-mails, texts, prayers and all. Stay warm (for our Midwest friends!); stay safe.

For Strong Stomachs: the Tonsils

Oh boy. Dr. W emailed us a photo of the tonsils - Matt insists on posting. :-) The right one is the one on the top - you can see how much bigger it is. Now you know what tonsils look like!

All About Cathy

Okay - I am grabbing a post all for myself...

Yesterday it took me 1 1/2 hours to get home (including the Rainbow stop for italian ices, vanilla ice cream, etc.) given the stupid snow and wind.

Madalyn came over for dinner which was fab - we haven't seen her in a week - and I think that really cheered Matt up.

Then, she left around 10pm and called 7 minutes later - in a ditch off highway 494. OMG. She is okay, and the car (Chapin's Passat) is okay - she actually picked a perfect spot to spin out we concluded. The car's tires were shot - which we knew - but they had not been replaced (which we had been asking about for MONTHS) and given the black ice on the road - it was almost inevitable that something like this would happen. We tried to take a photo to document (we are in that mode as you all know!) - not sure you can really tell but here it is. That's the Passat getting pulled out of the ditch on the right.

I called AAA (god I love them) and met her by the highway where not one but two tow trucks awaited, plus a state trooper - it was all good. It took quite awhile to get the car out of the ditch given its angle but eventually it came out and we arranged for the dude to tow the car to the nearest discount tire place. New tires are going on even as I type. Drove Mam to her mom's, then back home in the snow...to bed around 12:30pm.

Another rough night for Matt - the steroids are starting to wear off or something, and he has also developed a nasty cough which isn't too great in general, and for sure is rough on his throat. It is really depressing right about now, again. Argh.

But hey - woke this morning and was mentally preparing to go outside to shovel the driveway (which in theory I don't mind but wasn't looking really that forward to it 'cause I was tired and it was still cold and blowing) and GOD BLESS OUR NEIGHBORS: Jeff from next door had already been over and cleared our driveway! Wasn't that so nice?! So maybe today will be better. :-)

Primary is Confirmed (and Matt's Throat HURTS)

Got the call today from Dr. W: pathology confirmed there is cancer present in the right tonsil and it was spreading. A good thing we got it out when we did. He will be setting an appointment with Dr. H (radiology-oncology at Methodist) for us later this week/early next to set treatment. We may also do one more visit to Mayo - we'll have to see.

And, as everyone we had talked to prior to the tonsillectomy had told us, it is confirmed that having your tonsils out as an adult is HORRIBLE. Last night was really tough: Matt's throat is so swollen that he can't relax his neck/tongue and when he starts to fall asleep he ends up basically choking on his tongue and needless to say, is not able to sleep. So....he (we) are going on his third night of basically no sleep. Dr. W phoned in a prescription for steroids to help quell the swelling - here's praying they help!

Tonsils are OUT

The tonsils came out yesterday and the right tonsil continues to look suspicious. It was noticeably larger than the left one, and Dr. W said it also felt firmer which is another indicator. He did take a photo for us but we don't have it yet - they kind of look like pink oysters-on-the-shell! Check out some of our yet another fab surgery teams - can you tell they are having fun or what? (Matt was cracking them up, trying to shock them, of course.)

So we are home and Matt is recuperating. As predicted, his throat really hurts - last night neither of us got a lot of sleep. The cold he is getting over doesn't help. :-( The dogs are trying to be as sympathic as possible - see photo of Sogra trying to comfort.

I am off to get more ice cream, ice and popsicles - another update later. We will get results of the pathology on Tuesday hopefully.

Matt's Idea of Prep for Tonsillectomy

Buy gallons of ice cream at Cub.

Eat ALL the ice cream between Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Send Cathy for more on Friday.

!!!!

Yup to Tonsils Out Friday

Tonsils will come out this Friday, Dec. 4 - yeah.

Then pathology report with cancer status available on Tuesday, Dec. 8, hopefully. And yet another Doogie follow-up scheduled for Dec. 21 (same day as the chest CT - oh goody and the day before he has his final touch bases with the lungs dr. - we still need to officially rule out the nodes but just aren't too worried about them.). Hopefully? Potentially? somewhere after next week is another consult with Dr. H at Methodist (the radiologist-oncologist) which is when we will possibly? probably? know about treatment.

Can you say count down to Christmas? :-)

Yet Another Day, and More Waiting

I keep thinking daily or semi-daily posts are kind of ridiculous - we all have lives don't we? And yet for Matt and I right now, it truly is one-day-at-a-time and each day brings something new. Can you say exhausting?

Yesterday we got a chance to connect with Dr. W, our quarterback, and fill him in on the Mayo visit and talk next steps. Not much to say really. He has not received the notes yet from Mayo but he took a 'feel' of Matt's tonsils as well (Matt says it wasn't half so aggressive as Dr. O) and says yes he feels something but it is REALLY small and could be a nodule or something. He says we all really want the tonsils out and heavy-duty pathology done right away. We agree!

It turns out there was a bit of a scheduling snafu and Matt is calling on the tonsillectomy this morning to confirm he can get in on Friday - if not, we have to wait until next Friday - argh. Happily, it is an in-and-out/same day procedure so no more hospital stays - yeah. He says it will take at least a week and a half for Matt's throat to heal.

We also did talk treatment: we will be going back to Dr. H at Methodist once the pathology report is back, for a consult with him about the extent of the radiation therapy needed. While we hold out only a slim hope right now for no radiation, at least we can consider a more modified approach that isn't going to impact Matt's mouth...But we are FINALLY learning not to project out too far on that front. We just won't know until the report on the tonsils are back, and Dr. H has had a chance to review.

So...more waiting. I will post when we know about the tonsillectomy; the pathology reports will be available (in theory) the Tuesday after the surgery, FYI.