After seeing her doctor and doing a bone density scan, they found her result to be -3.9 which is very severe. She took some steroid shots and went to Italy anyways. They had a great time and the tour was very accomodating with my mother's condition.
We just returned from our Hopkins checkup a couple of weeks ago and everything was pretty much clean. However, the CT scan showed a compression fracture of 80% in the T12 area of her spine. We consulted a spine surgeon (Dr. Hasz of the Virginia Spine Institute) and he mentioned that there was nothing he could really do for her but rather that we needed to treat her osteoporosis as her level is *very* concerning. He mentioned we would need a non-standard and very aggressive treatment plan.
So I spent some time trying to track down a specialist and it was fairly difficult. It seems that most osteoporosis specialists are endocrinologists. First I looked for private practices. These days there are a lot of Dr. review sites that you can look at to get a feel for the doctor. A lot of the private practitioners had terrible reviews so I avoided those. The good ones were very busy and couldn't take appointments till late December, early January. I tried Hopkins but realized their bone center is 20 minutes further than the hospital so that was too far. We finally settled on Dr. Barsony at Georgetown. I feel more comfortable with university doctors for these kinds of special situations so hopefully she will end up being a good choice. The appointment is scheduled for December 10.
My mother's 5 year anniversary from her Whipple is coming up on Nov. 28. They will be at Hopkins for a blood draw so we scheduled a little meeting with Dr. Cameron so my parents could say thank you. He's 77 now but still trucking along doing many many whipples a week. I think his record for number of Whipples will be unbeatable.
5 comments:
November is pancreatic cancer awareness month. The symptoms are not very noticeable in the early stages, making it difficult to diagnose at a time when it can best be treated. Pancreatic is an ugly, dangerous cancer. More people should be aware of it's symptoms, IMO. If there is awareness of the symptoms, it might improve survival rates. http://www.omnimedicalsearch.com/conditions-diseases/pancreatic-cancer-symptoms.html
Hi. My name is Christie Cho and my Mother was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma in March of this year. Since then, she too went through Whipple Procedure in early May in Korea. However, the doctors at Assan Hospital felt that she could go without chemo/radiation therapy. Thereafter, we returned home (Houston, TX) and followed up with an oncologist here three months post-procedure. Unfortunately, close to her second 3-month followup, my Mother was admitted to an ER after she vomited blood. An endoscopy was performed but her colon & esophagus came out clean. So we're waiting for a PTC procedure on upcoming Monday. At the same time, we received another discouraging news. They found another blockage in her bile duct area via CT Scan in addition to a few yet identified modules in her Liver. After reading your stories, I am now wondering why there hasn't been a recommendation of any chemo/radiation therapies and more than ever, encouraged to do more research and ask more question. Its been six months and its been a roller coaster. As I am laying next to my mom in her hospital bed, I decided to do some "research" online and came across your blog. I just wanted to say how informative and encouraging your blog had been. I hope to continue to hear good news regarding your mother as I grow hope for mine through your journey.
Christie - sorry to hear about what you and your mother have been through. I do hope her condition improves soon... I'm sure she appreciates all your support.
My dad passed away from Pancreatic Cancer this summer. Thanks for the moral support you provide in your blogs.
My dad passed away of pancreatic cancer in febuary of this year (2012) just 3 weeks of us finding out!at the young age of 53! everyday I pray they find a Way to detect this cancer sooner so that no families or at least less have to go through what we are mow!!
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