Ear Pain and Dr. Gross

Curt has been having pain and clogging of his left ear. He e-mailed Dr. Gross a week ago Sunday about a thick yellow drainage. Dr. Gross said it was probably from the tumor, but to let him know if he had a temperature (for an infection). For the past several days it had been getting more painful and bothering Curt more (he was taking Excedrin everyday for the pain), so he e-mailed Dr. Gross again last Sunday and told him we were coming to Lake Oswego from Wednesday to Friday. Dr. Gross said he could see Curt on Tuesday, so Curt called for an appointment. He saw Dr. Gross' new Resident doctor first this afternoon. The Resident couldn't see very far into his ear and had to clean it out first. He commented about his crooked ear canal. It took him a little while to get it cleaned out so he could see the drainage tube. He said the tube looked good, but there was "debris". They prescribed ear drops ($83 worth for 3 weeks - 4 drops twice a day). The drops have both a steroid for swelling and an antibiotic. They also looked with their "snake" in his nose and saw a polyp that didn't seem to bother them. Dr. Gross also looked at his MRI and its results. He thinks the ear pain is from the tumor. The tumor is not just one lump. It branches out. Some of it has been destroyed, but not all of it. The tumor is deep inside where his ear is. He also said there are other chemo treatments that might work. It will be up to Dr. Chui to decide what to do (Curt sees him on December 7). Dr. Gross said the MRI can't tell you everything. They also have to go on how Curt feels, etc.

Good or Bad News?

Curt saw Dr. Chui this morning. His weight was good (161.1 lbs.), but his blood pressure was up a little (143/82). He first saw another Resident Doctor who asked questions and examined him (briefly). Curt told her all his "problems". One of his two biggest complaints are runny nose (that causes congestion - especially at night), ear, & eye (with a little pain above his eye a couple times where he took some Excedrin, and some blurry eyes for reading). The second biggest complaint is tiredness. He needs to rest while doing most things, like mowing the grass, and then take a nap afterwards. Some of his other complaints are tingling in his ankles and feet; feeling cold at times; nausea that lasted longer; and some minor memory problems. All of the symptoms can be from the chemotherapy or cancer. Dr. Chui said he didn't know what to say about the MRI. It showed some "enhancement" that could be caused by swelling from the treatments or by more cancer. We believe he said the "enhancement" is an enlargement of nerves around the large tumor that was at the base of his skull. One good thing is that this tumor is about the same or smaller. Dr. Chui said the only way he could tell if the enhancement was more cancer would be how Curt felt and looked. He thought Curt looked pretty good (especially after receiving doses 30% HIGHER than normal dosages). Dr. Chui said Curt was tough and a fighter. The Resident doctor wondered how much daytime Curt spent "resting". We thought it was over 50% of his time. He said Curt could drop the treatments for 4 weeks and then return to see Dr. Chui. If Curt continued to feel better, then the treatments were probably working. If Curt felt worse or had more pain, then it is possible the cancer has returned or spread. He won't have another MRI unless Dr. Chui thinks he needs one after his visit on Monday, December 7. If there is more cancer, we would have to discuss what to do next. He could possibly try another treatment, but it wouldn't be as good and could cause worse symptoms. He thought we should go to Illinois from December 17-28, and he could work around it.
Last Thursday is when Curt had his MRI at OHSU. Afterwards, we picked up Vega at school about 2:30. She was at school while Angie was doing some work from home. Later we celebrated Vega's 5th birthday at Build-a-Bear and McDonalds in the Mall with them and then went back to their place to open some presents. On Sunday we were going to go up to Vega's party at the Little Gym at 12:30. However, Vega had a temperature (102), so they postponed the party until next Sunday. Jef was cooking a big a turkey on the grill for his family and us after the party. So we drove up about 4:30. Jef's parents were also there. We tried to keep our distance from Vega. She feels better for awhile after some Tylenol and eating. When Angie e-mailed Vega's pre-kindergarten teacher about school today, the teacher e-mailed back that she only had 4 of her 10 students. Curt was able to get the seasonal flu vaccine last Friday. There isn't any H1N1 vaccine available around here yet.
So we wait and see how Curt feels during the next few weeks.

Treatment #7

We spent last night at the Bakers because Curt had to see the Nurse Practioner at 8 AM this morning. He is gaining weight (162.6 lbs.)! He thought maybe his jeans contributed to some of the weight, but noticed they were feeling tighter. Curt mentioned how much his runny nose bothers him. His eye is also watering more and affecting his reading some. I noticed water running out of his ear the other day too and his ear sometimes feels clogged. The NP said these can all be side effects of the chemo. She also mentioned some of his eyelashes and nose hairs have probably disappeared and contributed to the problem. She recommended he take both Benadryl (which he has been taking every night) and either Claritin or Zyrtec. All of this makes him lightheaded at times too. Curt also told her how tired he has been feeling. The only tennis he played since his last treatment was with my group once. He also had to rest between mowing the front and back yards and takes naps almost every day. Walking doesn't seem to bother him as much.
The NP thought since the symptoms seem to be increasing, he should have another MRI before his next scheduled treatment on November 9. So they scheduled one on November 5 (Vega's 5th birthday). He will then see Dr. Chui on November 9th too. She hinted it might be time to take a break on the chemo. She also said he could get flu shots (not nose sprays) just before his next treatment. This will give his blood counts time to build up again.
The blood tests were all about the same as last time. The kidney portion was almost exactly the same. Curt has been working on drinking more fluids. So they went ahead with this treatment. We were out of there a little after 1 and stopped several places for shopping on the way home. We didn't get home until after 6.

Dr. Chui & Treatment #6

Curt weighed about same (about 157 lbs.) and blood pressure was good too. He saw another Resident Doctor (who was shorter than me) before seeing Dr. Chui. She could barely see in his ear and said there was still a little wax there. She questioned and briefly examined him and then went out to confer with Dr. Chui. Dr. Chui said they could see where more of the tumor had died even though the size had not changed much from the last MRI. Eventually the dead parts will be absorbed. Evidently there is some fluid that builds up from this that could become infected. Curt would feel intense pain from this and Dr. Gross might have to drain it. So Curt needs to watch for pain, redness, and possibly a temperature. Since the chemo seems to be working, Dr. Chui thinks Curt should continue (they actually scheduled 4 more treatments! After the next one in 3 weeks, they will probably schedule another MRI. They also want to see how Curt is doing. Curt told him this last treatment was probably the hardest. He never got back to his regular tennis, but he did walk, ride his bike, etc. He has felt light-headed quite a bit. The doctors thought Curt needs more fluids. This was proven when the nurse did his blood test before starting the treatment. The blood test showed his kidneys were not working like they should. She said Curt was "a quart low". She told him to drink at least a quart of water a day and try to work up to 2 quarts. If he mixes up something (like Crystal Light) and puts it in the refrigerator every day, it will help him keep track of the fluids. He needs to flush out all these chemicals and dead stuff from his kidneys! We doubt they will actually do 4 more treatments, but they want to get rid of as much of the cancer as possible. Dr. Chui said they can't get rid of all of it, but the more that is gone, the longer it should be before it returns. They will keep a close eye on it after the treatments ends. BTW my root canal has gone well so far.

Dr. Gross & MRI

Another long day at OHSU. Curt saw a Resident ENT Doctor and Dr. Gross after 10:30 this morning. Curt told them about his left ear feeling plugged (the canal is fouled up from his surgery 2 years ago) and his very runny nose (especially at night). They had him get his hearing tested before he went for his MRI. While waiting for the MRI, there was an emergency that postponed it from 12:30 to 2:30. They gave Curt a lunch voucher and pager. I had already gotten something to eat at one of their deli's and ate while waiting. I went with Curt to the cafeteria where he got something to eat. After that we stopped briefly to see Judi French from our church. She had been admitted the night before for acute leukemia and was getting ready for a bone marrow (sample?). Curt's MRI took about 1 1/2 hours and we returned to Dr. Gross' office. The hearing test showed that his right ear was normal "for someone his age". The left ear showed hearing loss due to fluid in the ear. The Resident Doctor removed quite a bit of dried wax from that ear and implanted a tube for drainage (just like children get). This tube will probably work its way out in about a year. We got a prescription in Corvallis for ear drops to put in for 3 days to keep away any infection. He thinks he can hear better even with the cotton in his ear now. They recommended he try taking Benadryl for his nose. Dr. Gross took a quick look at the MRI and could not see much difference from the previous one in July. He said they will need to take measurements, etc. Curt might hear from Dr. Chui about it before Curt sees him next Monday for his last scheduled chemo treatment. It was almost 5 o'clock before we left OHSU.
Curt hit a few tennis balls yesterday for the first time since his last chemo treatment. He got a little light-headed doing it. He did play with my ladies' doubles (not so strenuous) a couple days after that treatment before he started to feel worse. It seems to be longer each time before he starts to feel better now. During this time he does walk and ride his bike some (and then takes a nap).
I get to have a root canal tomorrow afternoon. Not much compared to Curt.

Treatment #5

Today was a long day. We left for Portland about 7 AM and didn't get home until almost 8 PM. Curt's weight (157+ lbs.) and blood pressure (108/81) were good. He saw a Nurse Practioner (instead of Dr. Chui) this time. Curt told her he was extra tired and it took longer to recover after his last treatment (which is a normal reaction). His stomach bothered him a little more the first week too, but he didn't feel like he was going to throw up. He only played tennis once (last Sunday) in the last 3 weeks, but we were busy with Maddie and Vega from August 28 to September 5. Angie was here for the first couple days and then she went to work for a couple days before she and Jef went to the coast for a couple nights to belatedly celebrate their 10th Anniversary. They came here Friday night (4th) in order to get to the first OSU football game at 11:30 AM on the 5th (OSU beat Portland State 34-7). They went home after supper that night and we went to our pinochle group.
Curt told the Nurse Practioner how his left ear really feels plugged up and that it affects his hearing. She e-mailed Dr. Chui, and he recommended Curt see Dr. Gross about the ear. Dr. Chui also recommended another MRI before Curt's last (we hope) treatment on September 28. So we are returning to OHSU in 2 weeks to see Dr. Gross and have the MRI. Curt also mentioned how much his nose runs (especially at night). Curt has had a few headaches above his eyes and has taken one Excedrin for that. He thinks the congestion might be the cause. The Nurse Practioner suggested he take some Claritin or Zyrtec to help with that.
Curt doesn't feel too bad right after the treatments. We stopped at Baker's afterwards to return a couple things they left behind. Vega started her preschool class (she will go every morning at Maddie's school from 9 to 11:30) and Maddie started First Grade today. They were anxious to show us the goldfish in their new water feature in the backyard. On the way to their house we looked at a Columbia Outlet store and after their house we stopped at the Woodburn Outlet Mall for Curt to look for a new lightweight jacket. Someone took his at church a week ago last Sunday. He did find one at Helly Hansen. So after stopping for supper, we didn't get home until about 8 tonight.
(Curt thinks I get too "sidetracked" on these blogs, but I was trying to explain why it took us so long to get home, etc. - I guess I also tend to talk too much).

Treatment #4

Today was a long day. We were at OHSU for about 7 hours (about 9:30 to 4:30). We had to wait a little to see Dr. Chui (we actually saw his Intern first). Curt weighed 157.4 lbs and his blood pressure was low again (111 over 75). Curt mentioned that it seems like his left ear has been affecting his hearing more lately. This ear also has a very "crooked" canal from his surgery. Curt thought it started to get worse in Colorado. Dr. Chui said that a side effect of the Cisplatin medicine can be hearing loss. He asked me if I noticed Curt's hearing getting worse (I think it has a little). He wants Curt to have a hearing test in a couple weeks. Dr. Chui does not want to change this medicine though since it has done such a good job (he said it is better to be deaf than dead.) He said he showed the results of the MRI to a couple people (including Dr. Gross). They were impressed with the big dead tumor hanging in there. Curt was still getting tired after exercising (walking, cutting the grass, playing tennis, etc.). He wants Curt to have another MRI sometime after the next treatment that will be on September 8. He will continue with the chemotherapy until he doesn't see any improvements in the MRI.
After seeing the doctor, we had to wait a little to get started on the treatment. They were busy and put us in a room with no windows and a bed to start. We were there a couple hours and then Curt got to move to a recliner with a view of the river and Mt. Hood. His nurse was slow. She had a little trouble opening the Port completely, then we had to wait quite a while for the results of his blood tests. The other nurses had started his first bag of clear liquids while waiting for these results. She waited and started the liquids with the first medicine bag (they mix up this medicine in the Pharmacy right there - it doesn't have a very long shelf life and everyone is probably different). He has 2 big bags of the liquid he gets each time along with the 2 bags of the chemo-medicine. So we had to wait a little at the end for the last liquid bag to empty. We need to call the Corvallis Clinic in the morning about his followup shot tomorrow afternoon.
On the way home we stopped in Albany for supper and got gas and some other things at Costco. So we were gone from about 8 in the morning until 8 tonight.
By the way, we had a great time in Arrowhead, Colorado (west of Vail). There were 22 of us in a big beautiful house next to a couple tennis courts and pond with goldfish (the kids did some catch and release there). We all did different things but all went to a rodeo on the last night.
Last Friday we celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary.