Week of Jan. 3: to Mayo and Mask Fitting

Happy new year to all! While Matt and I started 2010 with a shiver (we had no hot water New Years Eve day as well as all morning, New Years Day! due to the installation of a new water heater and some gas issues....all was resolved eventually, thank goodness) we are good now: Matt's mouth is healing "like a teenagers" - this per Dr. Ha, the oral surgeon at the check up on Thursday - and the swelling is down...this is good, and Cathy thinks bodes well for radiation too? One can always hope!

We did hear from the Mayo on Thursday and Matt has been set up for some blood tests and a review and consult around radiation down in Rochester on Wednesday, Jan. 6. This is ideal as we have an appointment on Thursday, Jan. 7, with Dr. H at Methodist for the making of the mask Matt will have to wear during treatment. I assume at that time we will also set with him - based on Matt's mouth heal factor - the start of the radiation treatment. So hopefully the consult with Mayo will jive with what we have heard from Dr. H and we will be in a good place in terms of the area of the neck and intensity of radiation as recommended.

More later this week!

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.