Great Ending to a Worrying Week

I'm still recovering from the reaction I had to the contrast in the CT scan IV. The doctor here said it is a common side effect, that I have a hyper sensitivity to the contrast, and that it happens sometimes. I had a two degree fever and dry heaves, along with extreme weakness and chills/shaking for about 24 hours. Hey, I'm still glad I had it done, since I found out I don't have liver cancer!

I had to go back to the doctor today for a short visit, because one of my drains got loosened due to all of the "activity" during the CT scan and other tests. It was leaking a little, plus just felt like skin stuck in a zipper, a constant little pinch and pulling feeling. Not comfortable. I am still draining too much for them to pull it out, so they taped it more securely to my skin until I get them all pulled on Tuesday in Phoenix. It feels slightly better. I'd rather have the drains in, than be swelling up like a puffer fish, with seroma's and hematoma's galore. I've always been a big fan of drains.

In better news, my liver labs have gone down quite a bit. I am now almost normal in the lower number (the one that was 600-something. The one that was 900-something is still about 4x too high, it is 160-something. But they are vastly relieved. The doctor there said he'd never seen someone with liver labs that high, still alive, lol.

They are going to closely monitor my labs, since this has happened twice before, but everyone seemed extremely relieved that the numbers went down, and they are attributing the failure to the sheer trauma of the surgery.

I am anemic, but that is pretty common with someone following major surgery, not to mention the other health problems that I have. They said my immune system is pretty shot, but not nearly as bad as they expected, with the diabetes issues that I have going on right now.

So, things are good. Really good! I feel blessed and extremely lucky right now. I know, not many people with cancer and facing chemotherapy ahead would feel this way, but I'm used to hearing bad news on top of more bad news, and this past week, everything has turned up so well, that I can't help but feel that I have really avoided a terminal diagnosis.

Felicia :)

No Liver Cancer!

I spent the whole of yesterday at my new doctor's office here (a local PCP to just help with any small things), and at the hospital getting tests.

My liver labs were so high that they did everything as if it were an emergency and I only had days to live, lol. In a way that was good, I finally got some answers. In a way, though, being only 5 days out from surgery, it almost killed me just running around all day long.

I'll try to type more later, right now I'm still so weak I can barely sit up.

Anyway, the good news we got this morning is that I definitely do NOT have liver cancer. Yes, there is something very wrong with my liver labs, but it is not cancer.

Supposedly the numbers are supposed to run about 50-60, and mine were over 600 for one test, and over 900 for another, which is very bad, and cannot remain that high for long without killing someone.

So the great news is, I don't have liver cancer. The bad news is, they still aren't sure why my labs are so out of whack, why my liver is swelling and causing some pain occasionally. And they have to find out sooner rather than later, if the labs don't improve.

I'll update you as more test results come in. I'm sure it's something bizarre and easily remedied.

Felicia :)

Finally, Good News

Nakamura just called and the lymph nodes are clear!

The left breast didn't have any cancer in it, either.

She said this makes it much less likely that my liver has cancer, although it could have gotten there via the bloodstream. It is still a possibility, but not nearly as much as if my lymph nodes had cancer.

This is very good news.

They have no idea why my liver is so whacked out, but I suppose I'll find out after some more tests.