An update

Things have been interesting & busy the last 2 weeks or so.   After the paracentesis in mid-April, I was put on 2 types of diuretics to hopefully remove the edema that I was dealing wit in legs, etc. Meanwhile the prednisone that I'd previously been given caused my blood sugar to go crazy high.    So, those were stopped, and thankfully, my blood sugar is just about back to normal. We've had to up the dose of diuretics several times but any changes in the swelling have been very slow going.  

The liver specialist that my oncologist wanted me to see was not seeing any patients until August or September.   Thankfully, my oncologist decided to call herself and work some magic getting me at least a telehealth appointment.   She also had me get several tests to check out possible causes of the ascites/ swelling so that the liver dr would have those by the appointment.  To check out the heart, I had  an  ECG which came back good & actually the same as prior to first chemo back in 2012.  That was a relief since that original chemo can cause damage.   I also had an MRI of the abdomen.  It showed that the lungs were good which is always nice to hear especially with COVID going around.  The MRI showed that there was no additional cancer outside of what we knew about in the liver.  There also weren't any blockages or things of that nature.  That is good as I don't want to have to deal with that or have a surgery, etc. at this time, but it leaves us with more questions than answers.

I had the telehealth appt with the liver dr this past Tuesday. He was incredibly nice and caring, but  so far there is not an "easy" answer for whats going on.  My spleen is slightly enlarged which he says does point to a liver issue. I was also getting very uncomfortable with swelling in the abdomen again.  So, I had another paracentesis this past Friday.  They removed 4300 ml ( or about 9.5 lbs) from my abdomen again with this procedure.  No wonder I was feeling so uncomfortable especially with still having the edema as well.   Some of the lab tests will take about a week to get back.  I'll then do an appt with the liver dr again, and he will decide if he wants to do a biopsy of the non-cancerous parts of the liver.  He seems to be leaning towards some form of liver disease, but will know a bit more after this set of tests.   With all the chemos and radiation I've been on,, he stated that it wouldn't be that unusual  the liver was damaged or lead to liver disease.

Saw my oncologist on Friday before the paracentesis.  I haven't been on chemo in several weeks.  There is a feeling of wanting to get this figured out before having more chemo but also you don't want to wait too long.   Depending on some of these results & what the liver dr is planning, she may have me restart the Halaven on the  lowest dose possible  this coming Friday.  

Not sure how I feel about this.  So, I'd appreciate thoughts and prayers that we do whatever is best for me in relation to all of this, and that things will straighten out with the current issues.    Hope everyone has had a good weekend, and that you are staying safe and well!