December 20, 2008

Garrett had a follow-up CAT Scan on Friday, December 12th in Tampa. The tumors in his liver are continuing to shrink as a result of the two embolizations he had this past summer! At this point, the tumor in his lung has not changed so that is good news too. More great news....he doesn't have to go back for another CAT Scan for SIX months!!!!! What a wonderful Christmas present.

Merry Christmas and a HEALTHY 2009 to everyone!

August 27, 2008

I am sorry it has taken me a while to update the blog. Garrett had an encouraging doctor visit on August 15th! His two embolization procedures were successful and shrank the tumors in his liver significantly. The tumor in his lung hasn't changed so they will continue to monitor that. He does not have to go back to the doctor until December. At that time, they will recheck his blood work, perform another CAT Scan, and follow up with the doctor. We are all very happy about this news!

August 12, 2008

Garrett and Mom are preparing to leave Thursday morning for The Villages. Garrett has a CAT Scan, blood work and an appointment with his Oncologist on Friday in Tampa to see how successful the two embolizations were. Once they see the results of the CAT Scan, they will know what his future treatments will be. Mom is concerned because Garrett has had a cough and hoarse voice since his first embolization. The Oncologist stated at his last appointment that he had another patient whose lung tumor was activated after the embolization. They will be addressing this with the Oncologist this week as well.

July 21, 2008 - 5:00 pm

Garrett was discharged from the hospital around 4:00 pm. His bilirubin count and liver enzymes really didn't decrease but they let him go anyway. I am sure he will have to follow up with more bloodwork in the next couple of days. They are on their way back to The Villages.

July 21, 2008

Garrett is still in the hospital. His bilirubin count and liver enzymes are both high. His liver is not functioning properly to get rid of the toxins from the procedure. This will get better, it just takes some time. The nurse told them that it just means that the liver was "messed with." The procedure took 6 hours this time which is about double compared to when they did the right side in June. They have to wait until the bilirubin and liver enzymes are both decreasing before they can discharge him. They will do another blood test at 3:00 pm today. They should have the results back around 4:30 pm and if they have decreased they will discharge him. He is able to go outside and sit to get some fresh air. Garrett and Mom are both ready to get out of there. Once he is discharged they will be going back to The Villages, Florida so he can recuperate there before traveling home to Georgia. I will update again later once they get the test results back.

July 18, 2008

Garrett has been in a lot of pain since his procedure on Wednesday. His blood liver enzymes are very high, his blood pressure is still high, and he hasn't been able to keep anything down. He did get up today for a short walk but was very weak. This afternoon he had a slight temperature. Unfortunately, these are all common symptons to have after this procedure.

July 16, 2008 - 10:20 PM

Garrett is now in his room. He has been since around 8:00 pm. He is now stabilized. They have a new machine that clamps off the artery internally so they were able to take the catheter out. This "star" staple will stay in. He will now have to stay still on his back for four hours because of the clamp. His back is really bothering him since he has been on his back for 8 hours for the procedure. I did talk with him and with all things considered, he sounded good. Let's hope the morphine does not make him so sick this time and that he and Mom both get a decent night's sleep.

Here is the information for Garrett at the hospital:

Moffitt Cancer Center
12902 Magnolia Drive
Tampa, Florida 33612
Room 509
Room Phone: 813-745-2509

You can call his room telephone number anytime. Please call Mom's cell phone only after 7 pm due to lack of cell phone minutes.

I will update again tomorrow.

July 16, 2008 - 6:30 PM

I just spoke with Mom. Garrett's surgery was delayed and he didn't go in until 2:00. The procedure is done but he has not come out yet. Due to the secretions of the tumors, his blood pressure is out of control. Once it is under control, they will remove the catheter from the artery in his leg. Mom is still waiting to see him.

They did find out that the tumor on the left side of his liver was the largest. Also, they were going to check on the right side of his liver to see if it needed more embolization and if so, they would do that while they were in there as well.

That is all of the information I have right now. Mom will be calling me back once he is out of surgery to update me more. I will update as soon as I hear from her.

July 15, 2008

Garrett and Mom are in Tampa. Garrett had his pre-op visit today as well as his sandostatin injection. He will have the surgery on the left side of his liver tomorrow morning at 11:00 am. They need to be at the hospital by 9:00 am. Hopefully this time it will be a little easier on him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow. I will update once I hear from Mom.

If you plan on calling Mom, please wait until after 7:00 pm due to lack of cell phone minutes. If I get a room telephone number tomorrow, I will post it. Thanks!

July 3, 2008

Garrett continues to slowly recuperate at home in Atlanta. His second embolization surgery on the left side of his liver is scheduled for July 16th in Tampa, Florida. He will have his pre-op visit on July 15th. They will be leaving for The Villages later this week and then on to Tampa on Tuesday the 15th.

Please keep Garrett and Mom in your thoughts and prayers.

June 15, 2008

Mom and Garrett will be leaving The Villages in the morning so that he can get back home and finish recuperating before his next procedure in July.

June 11, 2008

Garrett is being discharged from the hospital this afternoon. His diaphram was inflammed which is what has been causing his shoulder pain. They have increased his pain medication for that. Also, his jaundice blood count was better today. They will be going back to The Villages, Florida today and hopefully heading back home to Georgia this weekend.

Thank you for all of your continued thoughts and prayers.

June 10, 2008

Garrett was readmitted to the Moffit Cancer Center tonight. His urine has been very dark and his shoulder is still really bothering him. His shoulder has been very sore since the surgery due to referred pain from the procedure but they said it should be better by now and it isn't. The dark urine could be due to jaundice or internal bleeding. So, the doctor said he wanted him readmitted so that he could check a few things. I will update again once we have more information. Please pray that this is something easily fixed. He was not at all happy to be going back to the hospital.

June 6, 2008

Garrett is out of the hospital and back to The Villages, Florida to recover! We feel that it is still a bit soon for him to have been discharged from the hospital. He has had high blood pressure ever since the surgery. He spent Wednesday night and yesterday morning vomitting and couldn't keep anything down. He still hasn't eaten anything except for applesauce. Garrett and Mom are both very tired since they haven't had a full night's sleep in two nights. Mom spent the night in a reclining chair in his room. Hopefully they can have a quiet night and get some much needed sleep. Please pray that he does well out of the hospital and that he is feeling much better real soon.

June 4, 2008

Here is the address and phone number at the hospital for Garrett:

Moffitt Cancer Center
12902 Magnolia Drive
Tampa, Florida 33612
Room 502
Room Phone: 813-745-2502

You can call his room telephone number anytime. Please call Mom's cell phone only after 7 pm to save her cell phone minutes.

Garrett has been sleeping most of the day. They sat him up in the chair this afternoon and also had him go in to the bathroom. He felt quite nauseous though. He is comfortable due to the anesthesia and morphine pump. I am sure he will be quite sore tomorrow.

June 4, 2008

Mom just called me a little while ago. Garrett's procedure is done. Everything went well as far as they know right now. The procedure took 1.5 hours instead of 2.5-3. They were able to emoblize the whole right side of his liver because he handled it so well. He is now on a pain pump and resting comfortably. There are no complications at this point. In a month, he will have the left side of his liver embolized. I will update as I get more information from Mom.

Please continue to pray for him that the pain isn't too bad and that he doesn't get an infection or fever.

May 31, 2008

Tomorrow morning, Sunday, June 1st, Mom and Garrett will be leaving for Florida via The Villages for one day and then on to Tampa on Tuesday. Garrett will be admitted on Tuesday at Moffit Cancer Center for pre-op testing. He will be operated on, on Wednesday morning, June 4th, at 10:00 am for the hepatic arterial embolization which will take approximately 2 1/2 - 3 hours if everything goes as planned. He will be in the hospital for 4 - 5 days following the procedure to monitor pain control, infection, and fever. He will have a morphine pump for pain and an IV for antibiotic and fever medication. I will keep everyone posted as information becomes available to me. Please say lots of prayers that the procedure is successful in reducing the size of the liver tumors and that he doesn't suffer too much pain. This is a very painful procedure because it cuts off the circulation to the liver. He will have to have this procedure repeated to do the other half of the liver in 4 - 6 weeks. The commuting makes it difficult for them with how he feels traveling in the car and of course the cost of gas these days! Also, if you will be calling them to check in on his progress, please make as many calls after 7 pm as possible due to cell phone minutes. Thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and support. We ALL appreciate it!

April 23, 2008

I know it has been a while since I have updated the blog. Unfortunately, there haven't been any changes to report. Mom and Garrett have been trying to make some decisions on how they should proceed to get him the treatment he needs. There have suddenly been a couple of other options brought to their attention as well. With that being said, they have decided to give up on Kaiser Permanente because they aren't getting anywhere as far as treatment is concerned. They have decided to go to the Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa where they have several different options for treatment with the doctors he saw in January that specialize in his type of cancer. For now, they will commute to Tampa until their house in Georgia sells. Garrett has tests scheduled for May 5, 6, and 7. As soon as they receive any results, I will update the blog.

Please know that I send out an email to everyone once I have updated the blog. If you don't receive an email, it means nothing has changed and there isn't anything new to report.

February 15, 2008

Garrett's Oncologist called this morning to give him the results of his Cat Scan. There has been growth in two of the lesions in his liver and there are more lymph nodes clustered in his lung that are now involved. Again, the Georgia Oncologist does not have any suggestions at this time for treating the cancer growth. The Oncologist would like to wait three more months and send him for another Cat Scan. Garrett's 24 hour urine analysis, blood work and Cat Scan all confirmed cancer growth. The Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa does have several treatment options for him. Garrett now has some decisions to make as to which route he wants to go....Georgia or Tampa.

February 10, 2008

First of all, on behalf of Garrett....Way to Go, Giants!!

Since Garrett's trip to the Moffitt Cancer Center, he has had many things to consider. He was told that he is definitely not a candidate for a liver transplant. They will not do a liver transplant on a patient that has cancer in other organs. He was given several different treatment options specifically hepatic embollization which they will probably do in the future. Hepatic embollization is a nuclear chemo that goes directly to the tumor to dissolve it. Garrett is continuing with sandostatin injections monthly. He is now going through his second round of complete testing including another full Cat Scan with contrast. This will give them something to compare from the tests in September. The results of his 24 hour urine analysis has come back abnormal. We are waiting on the blood work results now. This week, he will have an echocardiogram and the Cat Scan. After that, we will know where he stands.

Garrett continues to have night sweats, fatigue, back pain and stomach bloating.

Mom and Garrett felt that Moffitt Cancer Center was very competent and they were comfortable with the way they handled Garrett. They wish that they were able to use Moffitt Cancer Center for his care.

Please continue to keep Garrett in your thoughts and prayers.

January 14, 2008

Happy New Year Everyone!

Garrett and Mom are headed to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida this afternoon for an appointment with Dr. Kvols. Dr. Kvols specializes in Neuroendocrine cancer. They are hoping to leave there with a treatment plan as well as a prognosis on the stage of the cancer as well as his longevity. Garrett's primary care doctor found out that his liver is extremely enlarged. Hopefully Dr. Kvols can give them an idea of his liver function in the future.

Please keep Garrett and Mom in your thoughts and prayers for a safe and beneficial trip. Garrett's appointment is on Wednesday at 2:00 pm.

I am sure Garrett would also like us to root for the Giants next week against the Packers. Go Giants! (Don't tell my husband I said that!)