Adventures In Dining

Hey everybody...a quick update, slightly happier than my last one. So far, we have dodged the feeding tube thing. Tony is doing reeeeeally well drinking his Ensure shakes...he had TEN of them today! I'm so proud. I don't mean to sound like a doting parent, but I see how hard it is for him to drink them (seriously, YOU try drinking ten of those puppies...they don't taste THAT good!) Anyway, ten shakes = 3500 calories! Woohoo! (This is what we get excited about these days).

We did have a rather humorous conversation today with our server at Los Mariachis. We used to go there all the time - as in, we didn't even have to order. They knew what we wanted when we walked in the door. But needless to say, we haven't eaten out much lately. However, Tony decided to take me to Los Mariachis today, and he ordered some plain grilled chicken. He managed to eat a little of it before his taste buds started fizzling out and it tasted really weird to him. So he had a lot of food left on his plate.

Enter stage left: concerned waiter.

Waiter: Do you need a box, sir?

Tony: No, that's OK. Thank you.

Waiter: You didn't like it??

Tony: No, it was very good, thank you.

Waiter (confused): I can get you something else...???

Tony: [pained look to wife that says, "Do I really have to do this?"]

Jess: [stifled grin that says, "Yeah, you're probably gonna have to go there..."]

Tony (to waiter): Dude, I have throat cancer, so the food's really good; it's just kinda hard for me to eat.

Waiter: Ooooooooh. I'll get your check.


Hehehe...you can't say the guy didn't have good customer service. Tony left him a nice tip. :)

Well, Crap.

Today was a rough day. We went to the Cancer Center this afternoon as usual for Tony's treatment. When he came out to meet me after his treatment, he told me they had to "re-scan" him in the CT area due to his weight loss. They've started weighing him daily because he has lost so much weight and his radiation mask doesn't fit the way it did when it was first molded. This, then, affects where the radiation is directed, so they have to keep a close eye on things.

We kind of thought the "re-scan" was just par for the course, but while he was in the CT area, his radiation oncologist came to talk to me. When she started by saying "OK, here's the deal...", I can't say I was too cheerful. She explained that when they first scanned Tony for radiation treatments, they formulated the different areas or "planes" where the radiation would be directed. However, due to Tony's weight loss, they had to scan him again today. The problem is that the prior plan for his radiation planes and the re-scan they did today weren't meshing too well. In particular, he seems to have lost a lot of weight in his face and neck, which is messing with the plane of radiation near his spinal cord. Not cool. This means we have basically two options: 1) He gains weight and they continue with the existing plan or 2) He doesn't gain weight and they have to re-formulate the plan (remember all that complicated computer mapping?), which would take 5-7 days, which would mean delaying his remaining treatments. While that might sound like a nice thing, with this type of cancer it is NOT a nice thing. It gives it a chance to grow back.

The doctor then told me that she wanted us to consider a feeding tube, since I have been twisting Tony's arm to drink 4 nutritional supplement shakes a day, and to gain weight he needs to drink more like 8-10 each day. I knew he would not be happy about this. Heck, I wasn't happy about it. But the doctor said we reeeeeally needed to pack some calories in him, either by him drinking or by way of a feeding tube. If we couldn't do this, it would mean the delay in treatment, which is - as I mentioned - very bad. Oh, and we pretty much had to let them know by tomorrow morning if we needed the feeding tube because it takes a while to schedule the procedure. (Sigh). After she left, I sat in the waiting area and cried a bit - after all, I thought we had dodged the whole feeding tube bullet.

So when Tony came out, the doctor repeated the whole explanation to him, and he (rather vehemently) said that he was NOT going to have a feeding tube this close to the end of treatment. We explained/encouraged/admonished him that this meant he would have to drink 8-10 shakes a day, and he said that he would try. When we got home, I heard Tony scurrying around in the kitchen, and I thought he was doing "angry cleaning." (That's what both of us do when we're upset...you know, to take our minds off things.) But then he came in the living room and announced that he had a present for me, and that I should go in the kitchen. When I did, I saw six (yes, SIX) empty shake bottles. My mouth dropped open and I said, "Did you pour them out?!" He replied, "Nope. I drank 'em."

Wow. He had already had two shakes earlier that day. So eight "Fortify" shakes (that's Kroger brand Ensure...hehe) = 2800 calories and 104 grams of protein. I don't know how he didn't puke.

Just goes to show you what a little determination (or should I say stubbornness?) can do. Needless to say, he will be spacing them out a little from now on.

Also needless to say, we appreciate your continued prayers. Today was pretty rough, and this last bit of treatment is very rough for Tony. Trying to drink that much every day is hard. Also, since we are near the end of treatment, our thoughts have turned to what happens next. The doctors have told us that when he is done with radiation and chemo, they will wait about six weeks and do a CT scan. This will tell us how the treatment has affected the tumor area and lymph nodes, and if we are in the clear (remission!) or not. I don't even want to think about the "or not" part. I can't really think about that option right now. So please continue to pray! We appreciate everyone's kindness and prayers...we'll keep you updated.

Git 'Er Done!

It is with great pleasure that we announce Tony is nearly 2/3 done with radiation! (Last Friday was halfway, and this coming Friday will be 2/3). Believe you me, we couldn't be happier to be approaching the end of this ordeal. To date, Tony has lost about 14 pounds. The weight loss can be attributed to all the side effects of the radiation, which vary in intensity from day to day. Dry mouth, loss of appetite, mouth/tongue sores, and altered taste all affect how much he can force himself to eat. By far, though, I think he'd say the altered taste is the worst. Dairy products taste rancid to him, and sweet foods (such as ice cream, which I thought would be our savior), taste bitter (like "bug spray," he says). Meats are one of the few things that still taste somewhat desirable, so we've had every type of turkey, roast beef, rotisserie chicken, and pot roast known to man in the last few weeks!



Much to Tony's consternation, his radiation oncologist mandated that he is to have a minimum of four nutritional supplement shakes each day. We should probably buy stock in the Carnation Instant Breakfast line of products. Of course, he is growing very tired of these and it is probably safe to say he will never touch them again after this.



I am so very proud of him, though, for keeping a positive outlook and putting up with my incessant nagging to drink a shake. ;) We were concerned at the beginning of radiation that he might require a feeding tube, as many patients with this type of treatment do. But it looks like we may get away without it! However, we still have to keep his nutrition in mind, so when you see him out and about, feel free to ask him how many shakes he's had that day (muhahaha!)



We still have crappy days and days when we both get bummed by the monotony of going to the Cancer Center and getting painful treatments every single day, but it seems like God always sends encouragement right when we need it. For example, this past Monday...the weather was gross, we were in a "going-to-treatment" funk, and I thought I was going to have to drag Tony into the Cancer Center by the collar (or he'd have to drag me). We got a message from our all-time favorite CT tech, Lynne, that she wanted us to drop by when we had a chance. We stopped by to see her, and Tony got the coolest, most unexpected gift ever: a framed picture of the Navy's Blue Angels flight team, signed by the pilots and crew! And it had Tony's name on it! Tony went from "blah" to elated; even when we got back in the car he kept saying, "Isn't it COOL?!?!" It was such a pick-me-up to know that people were thinking of him and cared...it was really needed that day, and we appreciated it very much. (Thanks Lynne!) It's also been nice to have Tony's sister, LaTonia, visiting us this week...there's nothing like a big sister to keep things in order. ;)



So we'll just keep on keepin' on...at least we're on the downhill slide. Thanks for taking the time to read this or to say a little prayer - we appreciate you all! Hope you have a good weekend; we certainly plan to. :)

1/3 Done With Radiation...

Hi everyone - sorry it's been a little while since the last post, but it was the end of the semester for me, and that means finals. And, well, you know how that goes.

At any rate, Tony is plugging away with the chemo and radiation. He gets a lower dose of chemo on Mondays and has radiation Monday through Friday. And he is getting a different chemo drug this time: it's carboplatin, not 5-FU as I had mentioned previously. He also gets the amifostine shot in his arm every day. All in all, he amazes me. I would be a puddle of tears by now if I had to endure all of this.

With 22 more treatments still to go, he is definitely beginning to feel the side effects of radiation. His sense of taste is mostly gone, although every now and then he will run across something he can actually taste. Not being able to taste things has a profound effect on appetite (I probably wouldn't want to eat, either, if I couldn't taste food at all). His throat is sore, mostly when he swallows, so this limits what he can eat, too. We've made the transition to mostly soft/slippery foods that are able to go down easily. We've also stocked up on Boost shakes, which are high-calorie, high-protein nutritional supplements. Tony says they're not too pleasant, so I am going to try to mix them up in a milkshake and see if that helps at all. More than the sore throat, though, he says it's the inflammation and swelling that is unpleasant. With all the radiated tissues being inflamed, he says it feels like his tongue is swollen and his throat is too small to do what it's intended to do. He's also got a very dry mouth most of the time, and keeps water around at all times. So if you can taste and swallow food today, stop and say a little prayer of thanks...it's amazing what we take for granted!

Tony's radiation oncologist has given us a variety of things to try for relief, including "Magic Mouthwash," which has lidocaine in it to numb the throat. Tony tried this and said it was pretty awful, although I think we're going to try it again later. He didn't like the fact that his tongue went numb as well as his throat!

We do request your continued prayers. I would say this is the most difficult part of treatment, physically and emotionally, and unfortunately, it will get worse before it gets better. He's 1/3 done, and we just have to keep plugging, but it is very unpleasant. So prayers are very much appreciated! Hope everyone has a great weekend...we'll be trying to rest up, since Saturdays and Sundays are treatment-free. :)