Time for an update concerning my Bride's cancer treatment and stuff for those that are interested in following along. If not interested, please feel free to bypass the rest of this post.
We spent the 15th and 16th in the emergency room because she was having trouble breathing and her oxygen stats had dropped into the 70's, according to our pulse oximeter at home. They ran several tests and determined that she had fluid in the pleural space (the pleura is a sac that encases the lung; the pleural space is the area between the pleura and the lung). The doctor came in on Sunday the 16th and performed a thoracentesis (stuck a needle in her back to drain the fluid). We went home that night and she was feeling much better, but she's been on home oxygen since then.
She began having trouble breathing again this past Monday, so we managed to get in to see the doctor again yesterday. The doctor put in a catheter so that I can drain the fluid off from home. We'll have to do that for about the next six weeks. After that point, she says that the pleura should re-attach to the lung and there is a less than ten percent chance that fluid will accumulate after that. So that was good news, because we were expecting that this was going to be a long term issue.
Also, yesterday afternoon, we heard back about the clinical trial medications. Our
insurance had denied coverage and denied all appeals. We applied for Merck's Patient Assistance Program. About a week and a half ago Merck denied our request, but said that we may qualify for an exception clause and allowed us to apply for that. We did, and it was approved yesterday! YAAYYYY!!! So now, we're waiting to actually receive the medications, which shouldn't take too long. We have a CT scheduled for tomorrow morning, and will likely have several appointments next week so that the doctors can run tests to establish baselines before beginning the treatment. She will take the treatments for two months, then have the scans and blood work done again to see if it is doing any good. But we're finally On The Path! She has been without any treatment for the past three months or so, and we've both been very anxious to get something started again.
So, that's the long and short of it for now... sorry for not updating y'all in a while, but we've been in limbo for a while and finally have some news to share. At least it is the beginning of some good news.
Much love to all, and thank you all so much for following along in our journey.
