A lady I met through DUC on Facebook, Kat Vecchione, is a rock radio talk show host. She has agreed to interview Raymond and I live on her show to get awareness out about the struggles cancer patients and their families face during the journey!! My nephew, +Jordan Arnold is going to get the "RaymondsHope" website up and running before we do the interview so that it will be live right along with us on the air!
Kat told me that she is also a survivor! She had her last surgery for BC in January. Ironically, it was also the same month when Raymond had his FIRST surgery!
I had absolutely no idea just how many people there are out there that are affected by cancer in one way or another until my son's diagnosis brought us to so many of them. God wanted us to meet all of them because we are hearing so many inspiring stories of survival, strength, determination, and truly brave individuals that we have met.
As I mentioned, Kat's radio talk show is live on Saturdays beginning @ 6pm Eastern time... Here is a link to the website. Feel free to share it with your friends and stop by to check it out live Saturday night! They have a live chat during the show, too. Sounds like fun.
Showing posts with label chemotherapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chemotherapy. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
LIVESTRONG DAY...
I got an email from Livestrong today regarding their "Livestrong Day"...
Here is the link....
LIVESTRONG DAY... Livestrong Foundation
Here is the link....
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
All is Put To Right....
So, the Polk County Transit was highly dismayed to hear about how I was treated during what I now call "The Phone Call". They sent a representative over to the house to interview Raymond and he is now approved for his transportation. I'm glad they did the right thing.
Therefore, his second round of treatment started today. Again, he is wiped out from it and his head hurts. Luckily, he still has some of the pain pills left that my sisters bought for him. Four more days of the chemo and another week of the migraines and he'll have another two weeks of peace.
I asked the doctor today when we can officially call him "cancer-free" and she said, "After the chemo treatments are over, we'll do more scans and bloodwork to make sure it's all gone." She sounded really optimistic when she said it. Personally, I think it's "gone" now, but they are just making sure. The only thing that worries me is the fact that it's a "very aggressive" cancer and that sentence she said about it showing signs that it had "infiltrated the blood vessels" around where they had removed the mass. I'm still unclear as to if she meant that it actually DID infiltrate or that it COULD HAVE infiltrated. Either way, the chemo is going as planned and the lung/stomach scans were clear, with the exception of an enlarged lymph node... no, a "larger than normal" lymph node (meaning she wasn't overly concerned, but wasn't willing to take a chance with it, either).
So, it's off to bed for me. Have to rest up to make phone calls tomorrow on Raymond's behalf plus another round of sitting in the hospital for the day.
Oh, yeah... received information from Patient Advocate Center. Great resource for cancer patients (see address and phone # on HELPFUL WEBSITES page)
Therefore, his second round of treatment started today. Again, he is wiped out from it and his head hurts. Luckily, he still has some of the pain pills left that my sisters bought for him. Four more days of the chemo and another week of the migraines and he'll have another two weeks of peace.
I asked the doctor today when we can officially call him "cancer-free" and she said, "After the chemo treatments are over, we'll do more scans and bloodwork to make sure it's all gone." She sounded really optimistic when she said it. Personally, I think it's "gone" now, but they are just making sure. The only thing that worries me is the fact that it's a "very aggressive" cancer and that sentence she said about it showing signs that it had "infiltrated the blood vessels" around where they had removed the mass. I'm still unclear as to if she meant that it actually DID infiltrate or that it COULD HAVE infiltrated. Either way, the chemo is going as planned and the lung/stomach scans were clear, with the exception of an enlarged lymph node... no, a "larger than normal" lymph node (meaning she wasn't overly concerned, but wasn't willing to take a chance with it, either).
So, it's off to bed for me. Have to rest up to make phone calls tomorrow on Raymond's behalf plus another round of sitting in the hospital for the day.
Oh, yeah... received information from Patient Advocate Center. Great resource for cancer patients (see address and phone # on HELPFUL WEBSITES page)
Thursday, April 25, 2013
RAYMONDSHOPE MONTHLY FUNDRAISING EFFORT:
VERY IMPORTANT & SERIOUS POST
Well, today is the day that I have to set my pride aside to do what is right for my son. I am a very independent person and do not like to ask for help. In fact, I will exhaust every avenue first before I do. But cancer is unforgiving and does not allow me the luxury of procrastinating and putting off what must be done.
The state of Florida is still requesting information and waiting on medical records and whatever other red tape that they can come up with to put off approving Raymond's medicaid application. He had to resort to Polk County Health Plan which, as anyone on any county run insurance plan knows, pays for virtually nothing. They are not covering his pain medications, which the oncologist called in for a preauthorization for, nor one of his antinausea medications. Those two alone are $85.00 for a 10 day supply. He has 4 months worth of chemo to go through, which is causing migraine headaches and nausea as expected. Therefore, at $85.00/10 days for 4 months, we are looking at $1040 just for the meds. As per my usual M.O, I am seeking other avenues to cover the meds such as placing an application for free or reduced meds through the manufacturers of them. However, in the meantime, my son is holding his head in pain. Anyone who has ever had a migraine can relate. The one nausea medication that the health plan does cover is helping some, but the oncologist said that the two nausea meds she prescribed really work in tandem to be the most effective.
Another expense we are running into is the hospital bills that are starting to pour in already from the surgery and subsequent care since January. The chemotherapy and all related expenses are now being covered by Winter Haven Hospital, bless their souls! But the bills prior to chemotherapy are still our responsibility.
Then there is the transportation costs of getting to the treatments daily. He has finally gotten approved for Polk County Transit, which will take him from now on to his treatments and to his related medical appointments, but since January our neighbor, Paul Currie (another kind soul) and a friend, Dakkota Dudzik, have been our main sources of transportation. I have given both of them gas money when I can, but I'd really like to be able to fill each of their tanks at least once to show our gratitude.
Our air conditioner for the house needs a freon charge, but it's not broken so the landlord has suggested that we "get fans" to stay cool as he refuses to pay for what he considers "creature comforts". Under normal circumstances I would agree, but Raymond's chemo meds raise his core body temperature to begin with and we live in sunny Florida that is already peaking 80 degree temperatures most days. Therefore, on top of writhing in pain and feeling the nausea, he is also sweating bullets when he tries to rest... and he is extremely fatigued, as you can imagine.
Towards the goal of paying for all of the above plus whatever else comes up, and to alleviate the added pressure of financial strain, I have started a fundraiser to run for a month at a time called "Raymondshope." You can find the link at the top of the column to the right of the posts. I am very much hoping that I will only need the extra help for one month and that everything will fall into place with the other resources I am seeking. Lord knows, the economic times being what they are, not many of us can afford donations of any kind. Please consider helping my son financially if you are able, but if you are not, the page has a section called "Hugs" where you can just leave words of encouragement and even advice on who we can turn to for help during this trying time.
And now, as I knew would happen, my cheeks are beginning to feel hot and my pride is a bit bruised and I am embarassed to be having to ask for any type of handout but, being a mother, we do anything necessary (within the constraints of the law and morality, of course) for our children.
Thank you so much for listening!
Well, today is the day that I have to set my pride aside to do what is right for my son. I am a very independent person and do not like to ask for help. In fact, I will exhaust every avenue first before I do. But cancer is unforgiving and does not allow me the luxury of procrastinating and putting off what must be done.
The state of Florida is still requesting information and waiting on medical records and whatever other red tape that they can come up with to put off approving Raymond's medicaid application. He had to resort to Polk County Health Plan which, as anyone on any county run insurance plan knows, pays for virtually nothing. They are not covering his pain medications, which the oncologist called in for a preauthorization for, nor one of his antinausea medications. Those two alone are $85.00 for a 10 day supply. He has 4 months worth of chemo to go through, which is causing migraine headaches and nausea as expected. Therefore, at $85.00/10 days for 4 months, we are looking at $1040 just for the meds. As per my usual M.O, I am seeking other avenues to cover the meds such as placing an application for free or reduced meds through the manufacturers of them. However, in the meantime, my son is holding his head in pain. Anyone who has ever had a migraine can relate. The one nausea medication that the health plan does cover is helping some, but the oncologist said that the two nausea meds she prescribed really work in tandem to be the most effective.
Another expense we are running into is the hospital bills that are starting to pour in already from the surgery and subsequent care since January. The chemotherapy and all related expenses are now being covered by Winter Haven Hospital, bless their souls! But the bills prior to chemotherapy are still our responsibility.
Then there is the transportation costs of getting to the treatments daily. He has finally gotten approved for Polk County Transit, which will take him from now on to his treatments and to his related medical appointments, but since January our neighbor, Paul Currie (another kind soul) and a friend, Dakkota Dudzik, have been our main sources of transportation. I have given both of them gas money when I can, but I'd really like to be able to fill each of their tanks at least once to show our gratitude.
Our air conditioner for the house needs a freon charge, but it's not broken so the landlord has suggested that we "get fans" to stay cool as he refuses to pay for what he considers "creature comforts". Under normal circumstances I would agree, but Raymond's chemo meds raise his core body temperature to begin with and we live in sunny Florida that is already peaking 80 degree temperatures most days. Therefore, on top of writhing in pain and feeling the nausea, he is also sweating bullets when he tries to rest... and he is extremely fatigued, as you can imagine.
Towards the goal of paying for all of the above plus whatever else comes up, and to alleviate the added pressure of financial strain, I have started a fundraiser to run for a month at a time called "Raymondshope." You can find the link at the top of the column to the right of the posts. I am very much hoping that I will only need the extra help for one month and that everything will fall into place with the other resources I am seeking. Lord knows, the economic times being what they are, not many of us can afford donations of any kind. Please consider helping my son financially if you are able, but if you are not, the page has a section called "Hugs" where you can just leave words of encouragement and even advice on who we can turn to for help during this trying time.
And now, as I knew would happen, my cheeks are beginning to feel hot and my pride is a bit bruised and I am embarassed to be having to ask for any type of handout but, being a mother, we do anything necessary (within the constraints of the law and morality, of course) for our children.
Thank you so much for listening!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
It's Official....
Well, it's official. Raymond's chemotherapy starts on Monday @8:30am.
His pulmonary function test indicated that his lungs are not strong enough for one of the chemo drugs, so he has to do the other 2 chemo drugs 5 times/week for one week out of each month for 4 months. He has to do 4 cycles of the chemo.
He was all irritated the other day, so I didn't bring it up to the doctor, but when I can get her by herself away from him, I'm going to ask her what the CAT scan of his lungs showed. She seemed concerned. And she wanted to do CAT scan of his abdomen, but by this time, he was tired, irritated, and just wanted to go home. He promised me that he would let her do the abdomen CAT on Monday. She said she needs to get a "baseline" before the chemo starts.
So, keep him in your prayers especially this week. Pray that God give him the strength he needs to endure the coming week.
Already, I have to call Polk County Healthcare because they're not covering 2 of the 3 prescriptions that the doc wrote for him.
His pulmonary function test indicated that his lungs are not strong enough for one of the chemo drugs, so he has to do the other 2 chemo drugs 5 times/week for one week out of each month for 4 months. He has to do 4 cycles of the chemo.
He was all irritated the other day, so I didn't bring it up to the doctor, but when I can get her by herself away from him, I'm going to ask her what the CAT scan of his lungs showed. She seemed concerned. And she wanted to do CAT scan of his abdomen, but by this time, he was tired, irritated, and just wanted to go home. He promised me that he would let her do the abdomen CAT on Monday. She said she needs to get a "baseline" before the chemo starts.
So, keep him in your prayers especially this week. Pray that God give him the strength he needs to endure the coming week.
Already, I have to call Polk County Healthcare because they're not covering 2 of the 3 prescriptions that the doc wrote for him.
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