Stu Chalmers Carcinoid Story - continued

Post surgical update # 1
Most interesting part of this surgery was that aside from the typical associated shoulder pain that occurred for the first two or three days, I had none of the acute pain that was related to trapped gas. In a previous surgery (1995) to remove the gall bladder I chased gas bubbles throughout the abdomen and chest area for about three weeks. Dr. Sielaff’s procedure definitely has a much better handle on this problem than the cholysystectomy surgeon in 1995.

I have been gaining strength all along and by the beginning of the third week I felt as though I could go through a whole day at the office without tiring. My work involves travel so I cannot run through airports and sling roll-on suitcases into the overhead compartment in airplanes, but the routine driving to work and working in the office is not a problem.

I had my first check up with the nurses when getting my Sando LAR shot 10 days after surgery. They said the wounds healed just fine. I had some localized pain over the liver, but that went away when I remembered to watch the diet and not eat so much fat. The steak on July 4 tasted great but should have been avoided. I called Dr. Sielaff and told him of this problem.

Dr. Sielaff’s nurse Marie Kramer called me as a follow up and reassured me that most of the localized pain was from the probing and prodding during surgery and that my assessment about avoiding fats was a correct one. I also sent an email to Dr. Sielaff telling him of my status and he responded the next day with an apology for not being able to see me the day that I left the hospital and was happy that I was recovering on schedule.

My next update will be after the tests for Chromagranin A, 5HIAA and CT scans are done in early October. I don’t suspect that there will be anything of substance to report to you before then. So it’s not so bad.

Post surgery report # 2
I had my Chromagranin A, 5HIAA and CT scans done. The results are that Chromagranin A went down from 51 on the average for the last 3 tests over a year to 35. This is encouraging. The 5HIAA stayed at around 15 where it has stayed. This reading was about 27 when I was first diagnosed and came down to 15 once I started the Sando LAR in June 1999. I may have a slightly more elevated reading than I should because I forgot about what not to eat and had a delicious banana split from the Texas stop sign (Dairy Queen) right in the middle of the 24 hour collection process. Bananas are on the “not to eat list.”

The CT scan showed an increase in the size of the tumors on the liver. I was expecting this from the conversation with Dr. Sielaff who told me that the RFA process includes ablating some of the healthy tissue surrounding the tumors. I sent an email to Dr. Sielaff the day that I discussed these tests with my local oncologist. He responded right away and indicated that he was happy that the Chromagranin A showed improvement and that I was feeling better. He asked that the CT scans be sent to him to be sure that all was going well and to compare the scans with what he had done prior to surgery at the U of Minn hospital.

I have been feeling much better. No flushing at all since the surgery; however the Sando LAR pretty much put flushing to a halt in 1999. The diarrhea has improved. Generally no more than two BMs per day and only about every fifth day do I have runny stools, the rest of the time they are semi-formed.

Continued...

For More Information Contact:

Texas Carcinoid Support Group
Carol-Anne Wilson 2609 Windsor Place Plano Texas 75075
Tel: 972-867-4417
FAX:
Internet: carol-anne.wilson@carcinoid-tx.org