Cancer Sucks

Long time readers of this blog know that when I author a post (this is Nate, by-the-way) it usually isn't a positive occurence being recorded for all of blogosphere. Today is not an exception.

Kim and I visited with her oncologist today to discuss her thyroid problems, to which the oncologist accredited to thyroid cancer. In short, Kim has papillary carcinoma, a cancerous tumor in her thyroid - though the extent of the cancer will not be fully determined until after the thyroidectomy. On October 12th she will undergo a total thyroidectomy in which they will remove the entire thyroid, after which she will spend the night in the hospital. Normally radiation therapy would follow a few weeks after the surgery, but because of pregnancy this will not occur until after the birth of our new baby girl. We were given the option to put off the surgery until after the baby was born, but at the risk of the tumor metastasizing to the rest of the body - decreasing likelihood of a positive outcome. Normally thyroid cancers are not overaggressive, but the rapid onset of Kim's tumor has caused concern. For this reason it has been decided to proceed with the surgery now and wait on the radiation. The radiation treatment is called radioiodine therapy and is used to detect and destroy any metastasis and remaining tissue in the thyroid.

Prognosis is very positive for thyroid cancer with a survival rate that exceeds 90%. Kim will have to take Levothyroxine (Synthroid) for the rest of her life to compensate for the missing functions of her (soon to be) missing thyroid. As for the radioiodine treatment, it isn't fun, but it is manageable. It will be tough in that the person taking the medication is 'radioactive' and supposed to avoid contact with other people for a few days.

Other than reasonable fear and anxiety of the unknown, Kim is doing very well. She isn't feeling sick other than normal pregnancy feelings (though that may be masking some thyroid symptoms). We are both confident that after the proper treatments that she will be well. We both agree that having gone through everything with Beckham that it has probably made this easier for us to face than it might have otherwise.

As we were entering the Holden Cancer Center at the University of Iowa we saw a good friend of ours that we didn't know was battling breast cancer. It was a good reminder, as occurred many times through Beckham's many hospitalizations, that it could always be worse and that we will be able to get through this.

I hope this clears up some of the confusion out there, we have been grateful for all of the calls of support. Also, a huge thanks to those new friends in Iowa City that hardly know us but have been great in watching Gwen and Beckham for us.

Love,

The Scadlocks

A full plate

I don't like to use the term "full plate" very often, letting others know that I am feeling overwhelmed and extremely frazzled. But, in all honesty, I can't think of a better term to sum up my current state of mind and being. Now don't get me wrong, I know that our Heavenly Father does not give us more than we can handle, and I absolutely know how blessed our family has been, but I'm just saying that right now things are a little...umm...crazy, and I could sure use a breather or two.

With moving to a new town (we still have boxes everywhere), Beck's constant GI tract ups and downs (well, I should say downs because that is the direction all of his pukes and poops go), his unknown cause of what is happening inside his body, Nate's huge graduate school work load, his crazy work schedule (he is working in both Des Moines and Iowa City because he has to work in Des Moines until his insurance kicks in at his new job here), me being 7 months pregnant, Gwen being tugged back and forth between everything (she is amazing through it all!), and on and on and on, we were definitely feeling the pull and pressure of everything. But now, something new has been added, giving us that nudge into the "full plate" zone. I have hesitated about sharing this with the "blogging world," mainly because I am a pretty private person when it comes to my own health, but I know that I have many friends and family out there that would be a little perturbed if I left them in the dark. So, with that said, here goes.

About 3 weeks ago, I found a lump in my neck. It was large enough that it could be seen with the naked eye and it was hard to the touch. After finding it, I immediately found a doctor (we still did not have a family doctor because of just moving here) and made an appointment. Once there, the doctor felt the lump and sent me for labs and scheduled an ultrasound. The labs came back showing that I have Hypothyroidism, and the ultrasound showed that I not only have one lump, but multiple nodules on my thyroid. The small nodules are not overly concerning because 60% of the population have nodules on their thyroid, but the large one was very concerning, so a biopsy was scheduled. After the biopsy (which was surprisingly painful to have a needle jabbed into your neck over and over again), my results showed that my lump is a tumor, a carcinoma, but whether it is cancerous could not be determined. What was determined is that it HAS to come out ASAP, and this is not the best scenario with me being pregnant and having a life inside me that lives off my body. But after visiting with my OB yesterday, it was determined that this is a "must" situation, and it is worth the risks to the baby (which they think will be very small) and myself. One ironic thing is that for both the ultrasound and the biopsy, I was already in the hospital with Beck. So instead of having to drive downtown, I only had to walk across the hall. Nice (ha ha).

The surgery is scheduled for next week, and the results of whether the tumor is cancerous will be determined once it is removed. So, basically, that is where we are at. And to say that I am not frightened would be a HUGE understatement. If you could send a few prayers this way (not only for myself, but for all of us) they would sure be appreciated.

Thanks, and lots of love!
-Kim

Update 9/23/10

Sorry for not posting for the last couple of days. I have not had a laptop in the hospital, and sneaking into the hospital playroom to type on their computer has been impossible because Beckham cannot accompany me because of his "isolation" status. Why, you might ask, does he have "isolation" status? Well, the answer is because they have decided to re-test him for all of the viruses and illnesses that he was tested for a month ago (which were all negative). Anyway, the good news is that we are home! The bad news is that we still have no idea what is going on. I'll first give you an update on his happenings in the hospital and then fill you in on the plan for home.

On Tuesday, Beckham had a special x-ray where he had to drink barium and the doctors watched, by x-ray video, as his system digested it. Our little guy was completely unwilling to drink the barium (can you blame him?), and after an hour of fighting him, he had to have an NG tube put up his nose, and have the barium put into his system that way. Poor guy. At least the test was successful, and it showed a perfectly working GI tract.

On Wednesday, most of the tests and labs came back, showing that Beck did not have a virus or an illness. The only thing that was off in his labs were his Liver numbers, which were above normal. The doctors aren't sure what to think of that, but they did not think it was enough to keep him in the hospital. And because he did not puke or have loads of diarrhea in the hospital, we were given the green light to leave yesterday afternoon. But, of course, on the drive home from the hospital, he puked all over the back seat of the car and he had 5 diarrhea diapers once we got home. Awesome!

The plan for now is to see how he does with being home. Basically, in my opinion, this means that the doctors have no idea what is going on and they don't know how to treat it. I can't blame them because they have truly looked at almost everything. If the pukes and poops do continue for the next couple of weeks, Beck will be having a full colonoscopy. Yikes!

For now we are super excited to be home! I am especially excited to be home and sleeping in my own bed. It is no fun to sleep in a hospital bed, with a three year old, while you are 7 months pregnant.

-Beckham & Co.

Unexpected, yet expected hospital stay

I know that I am WAY behind on my blogging, and most people like to assume (myself included) that "no news is good news," but, in this case, no news basically equals that we have no new news to share because we are still in the same boat.

Over a month ago, Beckham had a hospital stay because of loads of poop and puke. Since then, his poop and puke has not ceased. He has, however, had a couple of good days in a row (over the past month), giving us the hope that he might have actually kicked this GI issue, but we soon learn the hard way that he has not. He was tested for c-diff, CMV, Rotovirus, Celiac disease, lactose intolerance, allergies, CF, IBS, parasites, and much more. All are negative, and that is what is the confusing part. Even with the negative test results, we have treated him for parasites and c-diff, just in case he has a rare form of either that cannot be detected by the lab. And, sadly, they did nothing. He also had an IVIG infusion, hoping that his low IGG levels were the cause of his illness.

Today, Beckham, had a GI appointment and more tests. When I told them about his rough weekend with truck loads of poop and bile filled pukes, they decided to keep us here and do more extensive tests tomorrow. So, basically, that is where we are now. No new answers. No sign of relief. At least our little guy is cute and happy through everything. He even thanked the Life Flight nurses tonight after they poked him multiple times for an IV. What a guy!

I have lots of theories and so do the doctors, but nothing has been determined. Lets hope that tomorrow might shine some light on this mystery. Until then....

-Beckham & Co