Good morning, sorry I didn't get back to you on Friday. It was a hard day. I had a pitty party for myself when we got home from the hospital and ended up sleeping from 6pm until the next morning.



Ok, here it is...

My team of doctor's are Dr. Cardenes(radiation), Dr. Helft(Chemotherapy), and Dr. Robb(Surgeon). Dr. Helft is the doctor I will continue to see even after my final treatments of chemo are done.

We met with the chemo oncologist, Dr. Helft. He was great. He explained everything about the chemo/radiation, surgery, and then the follow up of just chemo. He explained that the radiation works much better with a little bit of chemo. On Monday morning, we go to IU med center and they will put me under to insert the chemo port (somewhere in my shoulder). After that I will have a PET scan in the afternoon. I will return on Tuesday to get my chemo pump that will automatically drip through the port until Friday. I will also get my first radiation treatment. The radiation doses are low so that they kill bad tissue but lessen the amount of good tissue damage. The radiation will continue everyday of the week, Monday-Friday, Friday being the day that the chemo pump comes off. So for 6-8 weeks, I will arrive on Monday at IU, get a new chemo pump, have radiation through Friday and have the pump removed on Friday (not the port, it stays).



I think I mentioned that my hemoglobin level was quite low. On Tuesday after radiation and starting the chemo pump, I will my day with a blood transfusion and an iron infusion...that will take approximately 5 hours. It will be an extremely long day. I hope I can sit that long.



The statistics that Dr. Helft gave us was that with chemo/radiation, surgery, chemo treatment, the recurrence of local cancer (anywhere in the rectal/pelvic area) is 5-10%. For recurrence of cancer in a distant location (another organ, most likely the liver or lungs) is closer to 30%. If I all I did was surgery then the chances of recurrance locally is about 30% and distantly is about 40-45%. The worst news he had to say was that if the cancer came back in a distant location, it is not cureable, only treatable.



If the cancer doesn't come back in the first 3 years, it is 75% likely not to return. If it goes 5 years with out recurrence, the percentage moves to like 98% not to return at all.



The type of cancer that I have is typical of this area so they know how the best way to treat it.



After all of this information from Dr. Helft, we met the surgeon, Dr. Robb. After examining me, he told us all that there was no way to save any of the function of my rectal area. It is all about LOCATION...After the 6-8 weeks of chemo/radiation, I will have about 6-8 weeks of rest before surgery. Surgery could last anywhere from 3-8 hours depending on what the do when they get in there. If the ovaries or uterus need to come out, he will do that. Dr. Robb will have multiple doctors in surgery with him. He will have a plastic surgeon ready if there is reconstruction needed, however he usually does all of the reconstruction himself unless it gets to complex.



He told us that this is a very delicate area for women...there is the bladder, the urethra, vagina, lots of blood vessels and nerves that could potentially be damaged (that if they aren't already damaged by the radiation, yippy). Recovery from this surger is anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months.



After surgery, they will wait before starting the last procedure of chemo, I think it is high dosages...assuming that there are cancer cells hiding somewhere else in my body. They will administer one dose every 2 weeks for approximately 3-4 months.



So in a nut shell, I start chemo/radiation this week, I will be tired but I shouldn't loose my hair, probably can't spend a lot of time in the sun, but I will be able to resume normal activities as I feel like it.



In approximately 14 weeks from now, surgery will result in a colostomy with no chance to reconnect function, there may be other things they take out as needed. Recovery will probably be long (BUT I will be at every one of Jake's football games, probably standing).

One other thing that Dr. Helft suggested other than low impact excersize is to eat a Mediterranean diet. This consists of fish and poultry, fresh fruits and veggies, and whole grains. If anyone has good receipes let me know!



So I am thinking sometime around late fall, I will start the chemo.



Even though the CT scan did not show any evidence of cancer anywhere else, they are treating like there could be. All of the oncologists said that without a great surgeon to remove all of the cancer cells, they can only treat me so it is all about CURE. I loved my doctors, I pray we are in the right place. I trust them to be aggressive and get all of the cancer out and I will deal with what I need to afterwards...I want to thank all of you for your support, prayers, and kind words. Lord knows I way to ornery to let this take me down. By far, Friday was the hardest day, but after my pitty party and good nights sleep, things aren't stopping me from fighting.

Hi everyone...it has been a pretty uneventful day. I did get word that the PET scan has been moved up to Monday instead of Wednesday. I will be glad to get the results from that and hopefully nothing will show up on it.

I had blood drawn last Friday and yesterday and both doctors got low hemoglobin levels, 8.4/8.3. For a woman, it should be at least 13. I don't think they want me to go into the chemotherapy treatment with low levels. They told me that my levels are right on the edge of needing a blood transfusion...go figure. Probably 2 bags and each one takes approximately 2 hours to transfuse so it sounds like an all day event. I am thinking that Dr. Cardenes will have something lined up for me either tomorrow when we see Dr. Robb and Dr. Clark or next Monday when I arrive for the PET scan.

This blood transfusion procedure may give me enough time to finish the "New Moon" book that hasn't got very much attention lately.

I also forgot to mention that during the radiation, it would most likely (definitely) push me into early menopause because the radiation would damage the ovaries...go figure again...hot flashes, mood swings (Jake doesn't think he will be able to notice any difference in my mood). We are trying to keep things upbeat. We have been given a lot to digest in the past 2 weeks and I am sure we will continue to be faced with more obstacles.

Rick is holding up, things have been pretty rough with the late planting season and his dad is not very well. He has been in and out of the hospital with heart trouble. Our kids seem to be handling things and we are trying to keep them as informed as possible.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers, and I will continue to keep you informed. Judi

rectal ultrasound, ct scan

Hi all,

Today was a very long day. I have been probed and poked in every internal opening imaginable. The days started out at IU med center in the GI ultrasound dept. When we finished, Dr. Dewitt, was very straight forward that the tumor has been there for a while and it took up most of the interior of the colon. It is approx. 2" in height and is only letting a small amount of stuff through. It is at the very bottom of the rectum. It has penetrated the walls of the colon and there were 4 lymph nodes that looked suspicious. They took a biopsy of one of them to see if there is cancer there. The others were not able to be checked because of the thickness of the cancer tumor.

It was pretty tramatic to listen to Dr. Dewitt talk about the test results. From there, we went to the CT scan. It was to see if there was any sign of the cancer in any other organ. We did not get any results from that department at that time.

After that we met with the radiation oncologist, Dr. Cardenes, who did a very thorough exam on me, pap smear, rectal exam, breast exam. She specializes in ovarian and rectal cancer. She is the lead oncologist on the team. She was awesome. She was very to the point, but gentle. Her goal is to cure, not just fix. She told us that is was in advanced stages because it has gotten into the lymph nodes, yet it is treatable. Ahw ordered blood test that would be used as a baseline for my red and white blood cells, she ordered another CT scan to layout the location of radiation locations.

On Friday, I will see Dr. Robb, a rectal surgeon and also Dr. Clark, a chemotherapy oncologist. They will review my charts and test results and decide on their approach. Dr. Cardenes will begin with radiation/chemotherapy in combination starting on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I will have a PET scan, which is a more detailed scan for smaller signs of cancer cells that might be some where else in my body.

As of right now, we will start chemo/radiation on Tuesday. Chemo will be administered by a port and a pump of chemo that will be started on Monday and completed on Friday...I will get radiation every day from Monday through Friday. Every Wednesday, Dr. Cardenes wil do blood work to monitor my condition.

This process will last approx. 6 weeks, then approx 6 weeks of rest and then surgery, followed by another bout of chemo.

They are moving very aggressively, because they must. I really liked Dr. Cardenes and think that they have a very strong team of doctors working together.

The good news was that they didn't see anything in any other organs, the bad news is that the tumor is so close to the sphinkster muscle that they may not be able to salvage function...it's all about cure or function. This is the miracle part of the treatment...actually, it hasn't been my best friend for quite some time, so maybe I wouldn't miss it...I have way too much to live for: my daughter, my two sons and their futures...Say prayers and thanks for being there for me. Judi

Tuesday, May 26, preping for the ultrasound/CT scan

Hi all,
Today I am getting ready for a rectal ultra sound tomorrow. My test starts at 8am at IU Med Center. Then at 11 am I am going to have a CT scan. Later that after noon at 1pm, I will meet with Dr. Cardenes, a radation oncologist. Hopefully, she will be able to give us some news about the stage of the cancer, but if not, we should find something out on Friday when we meet with the surgeon.

On Friday, May 29, 12 noon, we meet with a rectal/colon surgeon that specializes with this kind (and location) of cancer. His name is Dr. Robb. These doctors are in the Cancer Pavilion which is attached to IU Med Center.

We met with a Lafayette oncologist last week, Dr. Harb, and he just gave us some insight as to the chemo/radiation process. If the cancer is in stage I or II, which is still contained in the walls of the colon, he would do a chemo/radiation combination for 6-8 weeks. This is to shrink the tumor so that maybe they would be able to salvage muscle and nerves so that I would have function in the rectum...since the tumor is located in the lowest 1/3 or the rectum. If the cancer is in stage III or IV, the chemo would be more aggressive. They would do 4 months of chemo, then proceed with the chemo/radiation combination for 6-8 weeks, let my body rest and then do the surgery. Surgery is a definite...they just want to try to shrink it to see if they will be able to reconnect the colon to the rectal muscles...

Hopefully all will go better than worse. Thanks for all of your prayers and I will keep you posted. Judi

Welcome to Judi's Kick Ass Cancer Blog

As all of you are aware, our friend, colleague, teacher, and overall person we like to tease, was diagnosed with colon cancer. As a way to communicate with everyone that loves her so dearly, I've created her a blog. This will enable all who are interested to check up on Judi daily or semi-weekly.

After reading what Judi has posted for the day or week, you should see a link at the bottom of the post/page that says, "comments." Please click this link and give her your well wishes. If you have any questions, please note them on the comments or email me at kinziel@delphi.k12.in.us.

Please pray for Judi for her strength, understanding, and patience. Please pray for the doctors for wisdom, perseverance, and their patience working with Judi! :)

I know that Judi has had some many calls from well-meaning friends and family. Maybe this is a way to see how she's doing throughout this process without us talking to her in person.

As of now, she plans to be at school tomorrow unless the doctor could see her for bloodwork.

Thank you for commenting for Judi!