|
June 2005 Updates Thursday, June 02, 2005
Wow, it's hard to believe it's June already!
We got the results from last week's blood work and the 24 hour urine. Bruce's blood creatinine was 2.3...not low enough for him to be able to qualify for clinical trials, but much better than it was in April. His 24 hr. protein has gotten worse though, it's gone from 2066 to 2494...normal is 0-149 (mg/24hr).
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Bruce saw the nephrologist today and we got the results of blood work Bruce had done last Friday (June 3rd). As of Friday, his blood creatinine was up to 3.6. The nephrologist thinks there's a possibility that now that Bruce is off of the Prednisone, his creatinine will continue to climb due to paraneoplastic syndrome. If that's the case, if the lymphoma is treated, the kidney failure might be stopped. Which brings us back to the Catch 22 we originally started with...with a creatinine count of 2.0 or greater, Bruce doesn't qualify for a bone marrow transplant, nor for most clinical trials.
Tomorrow, Bruce will be making an appointment with his onc.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Bruce had an appointment with the urologist on Wednesday...he had a urine test done and an ultrasound done of his bladder. The urologist called Bruce yesterday, he wants to see Bruce again in a couple of months.
Bruce talked to his oncologist and his onc doesn't think the kidney failure is caused by paraneoplastic syndrome. His onc called Bruce's nephrologist and suggested a kidney biopsy be done, but the nephrologist didn't like that idea. Since Bruce only has one functioning kidney, the nephrologist doesn't want to risk messing it up. Makes sense to us!...Bruce's onc called Bruce today to let him know what they (Bruce's onc & nephrologist) have decided. Bruce is going to be put back on Prednisone and next week he'll have a combined PET/CT scan done. He'll also be having more lab work done and will be seeing the nephrologist again next week.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
I don't have any news to share, but to update you...
Bruce did a 24-hour urine collection today & will be dropping that off tomorrow morning, he's having more lab work done tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon he's having the combined PET/CT done. He won't be seeing the nephrologist until next Friday (the 24th), but hopefully we'll have the results from everything before then.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Today Bruce got the results of the 24 hour urine & the blood work. His protein clearance is down to 1920 & his blood creatinine is down to 2.5. Yeah! We don't have the results from the PET/CT yet.
Today is Bruce's birthday, he's 54 years old. What a blessing it is to have him reach this age! He was 34 years old when he was diagnosed with the lymphoma. Happy birthday Bruce & thank you for sticking around! :)
Thursday, June 23, 2005
The office of Bruce's nephrologist called yesterday, to say he wanted Bruce to do another 24 hour urine ASAP. We're not sure why...Bruce is doing the 24 hour urine today & he has an appointment with the nephrologist tomorrow. He also has to have more blood work done tomorrow.
We also got a copy of the PET/CT scan report yesterday. It shows activity in the area over Bruce's shoulder, which we expected. However, it also shows activity in the rectal region, which we didn't expect.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Bruce saw the nephrologist yesterday. He put Bruce on Prednisone (a higher dose than we had expected) and Bruce will have to stay on the Pred. for at least 2 months. He wants Bruce to do a 24 hour urine and have blood work done every 2 weeks. He also wants Bruce to have an MRI done.
On to: July 2005 Bruce's Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Story Background courtesy of : |