Updates on Jan

After a few weeks of not feeling very well, Jan went into the Dr where she was prescribed antibiotics and sent her on her way. After about 5 days of no improvement, nausea and vomiting, Jan went into a different hospital (where she works as a nurse in the OR) where they found via sonogram that she had lumps on her liver and omentum (a part of the stomach).

The next day they did a biopsy and diagnosed her with carcinoma.

While awaiting results and a treatment plan, Jan tried to heal at home only to find the nausea and vomiting too much to handle. So she and Ben went back into Overlake where they put her on IV fluids and took her off of a pain medication that was making her sick.

Today she was feeling a little better, on a new pain regimen, and was getting lots of sleep. Tomorrow Jan will have a IV catheter surgically implanted into her chest to allow for chemotherapy treatments. She will not start treatment until she is able to gain a little weight back and start eating solids again.

Right now, we are awaiting a few test results having to do with the origin of the carcinoma and the stage of the cancer. As more tests are done and completed, we will keep this post as updated as we can.

Update: Oct. 5th
The port-a-cath was placed this morning and Jan made it through the night without any anti-nausea medication.

The origin of the cancer has yet to be discovered, but its looking as though it is most likely gastric carcinoma. (stomach cancer) As far as the stage of the cancer, we have yet to be informed.

Ideally what needs to happen this week is for Jan keep down solid food and gain some weight back. If this does happen, they will start Chemo right away and she could be home as early as Friday. We are hoping and praying for this outcome.

Update: Oct. 6th
Jan is feeling much better and was able to eat a bit of bagel and drink some juice. The Drs believe she can recover on her own at home, so she will be released today! No word yet on when she will start chemo, but we are hoping to talk to Jan a little later today and get some more information.

Update: Oct. 7th
Jan is home and has started chemo therapy. She will be getting a treatment once every 3 weeks, and so far is feeling fine! Because of the therapy, she is easily dehydrated (which is normal) so she will go into the hospital every once and a while for IV fluids.

The doctors have diagnosed her with cancer of the gall bladder and are hoping that her nausea and pain will subside when the chemo shrinks the tumors in her gall bladder, stomach and liver.

Update: Oct. 10th
Jan received another round of chemo today because they believe that on top of the chemo side effects, the cancer on her stomach is making it really hard for regain her appetite. She is in desperate need to put on some weight, so they have added an appetite stimulant to her medication regimen. A few hours later, she ate some squash and chicken :)

An odd side effect from the chemo treatments is that it can make things either taste too sweet or metallic-y. Jan is experiencing the "too sweet" effect and is having a hard time finding anything to eat or drink that doesn't taste like sugar.

She is getting a lot of rest and taking it as easy as possible at home.

Update: Oct. 12th
Jan is back at Overlake due to weight loss and dehydration. They have started her on a system called TPN which is a nutritional supplement that is given through a feeding tube. Hopefully this will allow her to regain some strength so that the chemo can start working better. She hasn't been able to eat much due to the stomach cancer and treatment side effects.