Yesterday's worries

Hi everyone:

Yesterday morning, Kathleen took a call from her oncologist's office to confirm her appointment for this coming Wednesday. When the nurse asked how she was faring, Kathleen admitted she was feeling run down, dizzy and nauseous. Her oncologist asked that she come in for blood tests. When Patty and I arrived to take Kathleen to her appointment, she felt very weak; she took a sip of pop and said, "I hate how even that feels like a big deal." Whenever she stands and tries to move too quickly, she swoons.

Kathleen's blood tests revealed that many of her blood markers are depressed, even though she received two units of blood and four units of platelets late last week. The blood products gave her a boost over the weekend (a typical, short-term response that is wonderful, because Kathleen has a chance to be mostly herself again, if only for a short time), but she was running on empty by Monday morning.

As of yesterday afternoon, Kathleen's hemoglobin measured at 6.4 g/DL (normal is 12-16), and her platelets sat at 15 K/ul (normal is 140-440). In addition, five other measures were flagged for being outside normal ranges. Although such results are nothing new--most have been out of whack each of the last four times they've been measured--the hemoglobin level was especially concerning, because Kathleen received blood last Thursday and the number was still lower than the last three times it was measured. What's more, Kathleen has been experiencing headaches and racing of her heartbeat that both she and the doctors find worrisome--when she first arrived for her appointment, Kathleen's heart rate was 138 beats/minute. Our understanding is that this happens because she has too little blood for her body's needs, so her heart works harder to send it to her extremities.

After her appointment, we brought Kathleen to the hospital to have her blood typed and crossmatched so she can receive two units of blood today. Don plans to spend the day with Kathleen at the hospital's infusion clinic while she receives the blood, which should take about four hours. If after the infusion her measures improve, she'll head back to her oncologist's office tomorrow for her next round of chemotherapy. Her doctor mentioned yesterday that he won't know if the new chemo is working until she's received several treatments (so far, she's had only one).

In our opinion, Kathleen made a very good call yesterday. Had she downplayed her symptoms, her numbers would no doubt have been much lower by her appointment Wednesday, which very well could have resulted in a hospitalization through the holiday weekend.

Understandably, Kathleen is frustrated at times by feeling so sick, and by never getting much of a break from doctors and interventions. Still, she's a tough cookie. A brief flash of anger ("I'm NOT going to the hospital!") is often followed by a smile and a shrug when she later acknowledges, "Guess I'm going to the hospital, huh?" We continue to be impressed (and, at times, amazed) at how well she rolls with what has to be a crappy stretch of days.

We'll provide another update as soon as we have more to report.

Love,
Brian

P.S. I've snapped a few photos of Kathleen over the past few days; I'll try to post these soon.

Hi everyone:

As I write this, Kathleen is again over at St. Joe's (with Patty), this time for two more units of platelets. When she went this morning to have blood draws to see how her hemoglobin and platelets responded to the transfusions of yesterday, both measures were low, the latter enough to require immediate attention. Her hemoglobin was on the bubble. The hope now is that her body will respond enough to the extra platelets to keep her out of a hospital stay. Not much more to report at this point; we'll keep you posted.

Love,
Brian

Concerning developments

Hi everyone:

Kathleen is in St. Joseph's hospital today (as an outpatient) to receive two transfusions of platelets and two of whole blood; the goal is to boost her depressed hemoglobin and platelet counts.

Kathleen's oncologist started her on a new drug--Eribulin--because the chemo treatments she was receiving are no longer staying ahead of her cancer. Her latest test results have shown that the cancer has further infiltrated her bone marrow. Kathleen was also told that the ascites (fluid in the abdominal cavity) that plagued her during her prior rounds of hospitalizations never fully went away.

She's struggling most days with significant pain in her back. Last night, when Patty and I visited her at home, Kathleen was clearly uncomfortable much of the time, and yet she seemed pretty upbeat and positive. She's a feisty broad, to be sure. Patty is with her today, and has texted me a few times to tell me Kathleen's blood pressure is running low (70/35), and that she's sleeping a lot (thank you, Benadryl).

Eribulin is an anti-cancer drug given exclusively to metastatic breast cancer patients who have received multiple rounds of chemo that are no longer effective. The drug, which received FDA approval in November of last year, has been shown to extend a patient's survival beyond life expectancy without the drug.

I'll try to post another update after Kathleen finishes her treatments.

Love,

Brian

Christmas pics!

Hi everyone:

Many thanks to our nephew Scott Shepard, who remembered to bring his camera to the O'Mara Christmas bash and who shared these photos of his aunt; thanks, Scott!

Love,

Brian

A decent holiday

Hi everyone:

Well, of course I was a bonehead and completely forgot to bring a camera for the O'Mara family gathering over the holidays, so I can't share any photos. So...if any of you have snapped recent pics of Kathleen, please email them to me (omara_croft@yahoo.com) and I'll post them here. I'm begging.

As always, infrequent updates to this page mean there's not a lot to report. Kathleen still seems to be faring pretty well, all things considered. Patty and I visited with her last night, and she seemed energetic and her color was good. Keep checking back for updates!

Love,
Brian

Back and doing well

Hi everyone:

I haven't posted in a while; this is a good thing.

Kathleen and Don had a great vacation in Jamaica (for four nights, not three as I had posted previously...oops.) I've posted some pictures below.

Kathleen is at her oncology appointment with Don this morning. Her hemoglobin was at 11.4, and her platelets were at 15,000. She is receiving a chemo treatment. All in all, she seems to be doing fairly well. Let's keep the good trend going.

Love,
Brian

Off to Jamaica

Hi everyone:

I haven't posted much lately because there hasn't been much to report. Kathleen's numbers fluctuate, but have stayed mostly stable (which means Kathleen stays out of the hospital). She and Don left this morning for a three-night vacation in Jamaica. Hopefully, they'll come back with tons of pics.

Cheers,
Brian