We are now back in Maine from our trip to VA for a wedding. We really enjoyed the visit as we got to spend a day+ with Barbara's Mom and were able to see all of her sisters and brother as well as a lot of other family. It was a busy and tiring few days, but worth the trip. However, we are glad to be back home. There were no problems on the trip and Barbara continues to do pretty well although there are still a couple minor issues.
First, the "stuck food" problem continues although most of the time she is able to avoid it being a issue when eating. Unfortunately, it does still happen bad enough that she has to throw up to clear her throat. We did hear from the surgeon (she called us directly this week) and indicated she would be getting us in to see the GI people in Portland to talk about what might be done to help with this problem. So far we have not heard from them to set up an appointment, but hopefully soon.
In addition to everything else, Barbara has developed a few "lumps?" on her neck and head. The first one started about two weeks ago and slowly seemed to get a little larger. It only bothers her if she touches it, but when a second one showed up, it did concern us. She also has a bump on the back of her head which seems to hurt her most of the time. The main problem with these (other than not knowing what is causing them) is trying to find a position at night to put her head that does not hurt but is comfortable. Going to sleep is an issue most nights.
Because we were not sure what this might be, we decided to stop by the hospital on our way back from VA to ask one of the nurses in the Oncology department who they thought we should see (the Oncologist or our PCP). It turns out they had the Oncology PA look at them and talk to us while we were there. She said the ones on her neck did look like lymph nodes but because of how they looked and felt as well as the fact that they bothered her when she touched them, it was a good sign meaning that they appeared to just be lymph nodes doing their job and it was unlikely it was related to the cancer. She did indicate that they should be watched carefully and checked especially if they continued to grow or get worse. We see the Oncology doctor in about a month, so unless something changes a lot, we will just follow up with her then. The PA did indicate that she was not sure about the bump on the back of her head as that did not seem to a lymph node and there was no indication of a bite either, so if that does not improve, we may go to her PCP to get that checked soon. Bottom line to all this is that it is a little concerning, but most likely none of these are anything to worry about. Barbara did start taking some Ibuprofen last night to see if that might help the swelling go down. It did seem to make a little difference, but after less than a day, it is really hard to tell.
She has her annual Mammogram on Monday with a visit to the Oncology department afterward to have her port flushed, but we do not expect anything to come out of any of that. They should be scheduling her first follow up CT scan before our visit with the Oncology Doctor on 12/9. But nothing on that yet.
Despite all of the above, things are really going pretty good. She continues to eat OK and is still losing a little weight, but seems to be keeping it to about 1-2 pounds a weeks which is what she wants. There is another wedding the Monday before Thanksgiving in VA for another niece, but given how tiring this trip was and how much worse the traffic will be that week around Thanksgiving, not sure whether we will go or not. It was great seeing everyone, but....
Once the GI visit is scheduled, I will let everyone know and if anything with the lumps changes, I will pass that along as well.
Wayne
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