Tuesday's news

Hello All,
Well I heard from my oncologist on Monday and she and the tumor board agreed that chemo is still the best option for me. I went this morning and got my gemzar, which is the one I have been getting since beginning of my treatment and then I started taking a pill form of chemo that I will take twice a day for the first 14 days of the cehmo cycle and I will take the gemzar at the hospital on the first day and the eighth day and then I will have one week off.

We saw Dr Khan today too and she felt my abdomen and can tell that the tumors have grown again. We are hoping that this new drug will work as well as the first one did without side effects that make it so I can't take it. We asked about going back to the cisplatin that I was on first that was working but gave me significant hearing loss after only two doses, and she said it would be my choice but it would probably make me deaf. So please pray that this new drug works. On the bright side, I don't have to get the shots at home anymore, much to Dave's dismay, lol :)

Liver cancer board

Hello all, just an update for you. I had an appointment with my oncologist last week and she said it seemed like the tumor is the same size not any smaller so she sent me for a ct scan this morning. She called tonight and said that I wouldn't be getting my chemo this week because she is going to present my case to the liver cancer board at Henry Ford Hospital downtown on Friday. She said it is a tam of doctors and surgeons that specialize in liver cancer. She said they will come up with a chemo plan and she will talk to the surgeons to see if they can offer any options. She said there is a localized treatment where they would cut off the blood supply to th e tumors but she wasn't sure it was an option because there are so many tumors. I will let everyone know when I hear anything. My oncologist said not to lose sleep over this so we are staying positive waiting for a new plan of action :)

Update

Hello!

Just a quick update, I have been feeling pretty crummy for the past week. Very tired and queasy most days. Today I feel the best I have in a while, hopefully I will get one more good day tomorrow and then back to the hospital on Wednesday and Thursday for chemo again. I will let you all know how it goes! Thanks for thinking of me and my family :)

Fundraiser

Hi all!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Pete and Michelle are hosting a fundraiser for us on Thursday, March 29th at the VFW hall on 14 Mile off Garfield from 5-9pm. There will be pasta, salad and bread, the cost is $20 per person. Please contact Michelle at 405-7917 or Pete for tickets or more information. Thanks everyone!!

Hello Family, Friends of Andrea! In an effort to help our dear friend Andrea with finances during her battle with Liver cancer my co-worker has offered her commisson on items sold during my 31party. PLEASE, PLEASE help if you can. You can log into the direct link and shop. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. And also spread the link! Id love to make life a bit easier for Andrea and her family!
http://www.mythirtyone.com/shop/catalog.aspx?eventId=E1424257&from=DIRECTLINK


Thank you,
Stacy Clark

Latest update

Got the results of my ct scan this morning...Dr said things look good, the rumors look smaller, so we are happy! The dr is switching my one chemo medicine because I am having hearing loss because of the cisplatin. I can't get chemo today but I will come back to the cancer center on Wednesday to start the new cycle. My nurse said that the worst side effect of this drug will be that I will be cold sensitive, that if I breathe in cold air my throat will feel tight like it is closing up and my fingers and toes may feel numb and pins and needles if I touch something cold. The good news is that I shouldn't have to come to the hospital for hydration everyday. Let's just pray that this drug works as good as the other one! I will also have to get shots for 5 days after the treatment. The pharmacy is checking with our insurance to see if they will cover it for me to do it at home so we don't have to drive to the hospital. I would have Dave give them to me, he is just a little too excited about that! Will update again soon!

Monday Update

Well, my white blood count was a little low still today so I wasn't able to get my chemo today. We will go back and try again next Monday, so another week off. My mom got in on Friday night so we are enjoying her company and the extra help!

Good news?? GREAT NEWS!

Got great news today...the chemo seems to be working!! Dr Khan measured from my rib to where she felt my liver and from before chemo to now it has gone from 13 cm to 6.5 cm so needless to say, my dr, Dave and I are VERY happy :). Thanks everyone for your continued prayers and support!!

January 2nd 2012

Had a good day today, Dave took me out to lunch and got me an IPad :). Go tomorrow to see the doctor, hopefully all levels will be ok and we can just get in and get out! For those of you that don't know, my mom is coming up to stay with us for awhile to help me and dave while we are at the hospital so much and I am tired so often. Mom and Tony arrive on Friday night and then Tony has to fly home on Sunday. We are looking forward to their arrival !!

December 31st

So the week has gone pretty well. Still feeling good just tired a lot. Looking forward to a better year filled with love and healing! Wishing everyone Faith, Hope and Love in the New Year!!

Good News

Chemo went well today. The nurse said my levels were back to baseline, which is good because they were way off on Friday. Got one bag of fluid and my chemo, and the best news is my levels were good enough that I don't have to go back to the hospital until next Wednesday for my Dr appt!!! This makes us very happy :)

Christmas

Had a great Christmas yesterday and another good day today. Had some strength and energy today so I was able to help Dave clean up the Christmas carnage of toys and toy boxes and the house a disaster :). Tomorrow morning back to the hospital for chemo and probably fluids. They told me this week shouldn't be as hard because it is only one kind of the chemo instead of both...let's hope they are right! Have a good night all!

Day 3 12/21

Update from Andrea's Facbook post...

Well, day 3 was actually better than day 2. Still pretty tired but not queasy today. Back to the hospital for more hydration, will keep you all updated. Thanks still for all of the love and support :)

Day 2 12/20

Update from Andrea's Facbook post...

So went back to the hospital for hydration this morning, they took blood and all my levels were good so I didn't have to get any fluids. Very tired today, a little queasy this morning. The nurse said day 3 is usually the worst, so we'll see how it goes tomorrow. Back to the hospital in the morning to see if I need hydration, will update again tomorrow.

Day 1

Andrea started Chemotherapy on Monday December 19th, 2011.

Here is her what she posted on her Andrea's updates Facebook page.

*Started chemo today, was a nervous mess this morning but feeling better now. Got a lot of fluid this morning and some anti-nausea medicine. They just started the actual chemo drugs. Said I probably won't have any I'll effects until day 2 or 3.

* finally got home from chemo around six, was a long day. Have to go back tomorrow at 9 to get fluids but shouldn't have to stay as long. We r tired tonight, but otherwise good. Thanks to my Dad and Carrie for keeping Rocco all day and getting Gino on and off the bus and feeding them. Thank goodness we have such great family and friends to help and love and support us! We love u all!

Friday Update

Spoke to Dave last night and wanted to update everyone on Andrea. Andrea and Dave met with the Oncologist yesterday and Chemo therapy will begin Monday. They are still baffled as to where Cancer began but they have decided to treat it with 2 types of Chemo that will attack cells in the pancreas , liver, lung and breast. Please keep Andrea, Dave,and the Cancer Team at Henry Ford Hospital in your daily thoughts and prayers as they do everything it takes to fight back!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry for the delay in updates, still been keeping pretty busy with tests. At the hospital yesterday for an xray and then back again this morning at 630 am to swallow a very sci-fi capsule that will take pictures of my insides as it travels through my system and send them to a recorder I have to wear...Sounds like fun, right :) It wasn't bad except that it was a little creepy to swallow a pill that is huge and has blinking blue lights inside it! I felt like that movie Inner Space from the 80's, lol!

Feeling pretty good today, just very tired as we had to leave our house at 500am to get to the hospital on time. Hopefully we won't have to go back to the hospital tomorrow, but we have an appointment with the oncologist on Thursday at 1pm. Hopefully all the test results will be in and we can start with treatment (even though that is still scary to me). The doctors put in this port just under my skin under my collarbone and that is what they will use when I get chemo or if they have to draw blood or anything, and for those of you that know me well you know I do not like blood or needles or other gross medical stuff, so it should be interesting when they have to use it. I will probably pass out on the floor the first time, lol :)

Will try to write updates more often...Thanks again for all of the love and support!!

Andrea

Welcome

Hello Family and Friends of Andrea Costa. My name is Stacy Clark and I was asked by Andrea to start a blog so that she could keep everyone updated on what is going on. Please check back often for updates from myself or Andrea.


On November 29th, 2011 Andrea was diagnosed with Metastatic Liver Cancer. Dr's say it has started somewhere else but they are still trying to locate it. Andrea has undergone 6 tests in November and another 8 test already December. Last week a port was put in.

Andrea has another round of test on Thursday and then hopefully they will be able to figure out where cancer is present and Chemotherapy will start.

Andrea has 2 Doctors that she trust and says that they are working together to figure this out.

Please keep Andrea, Dave, the boys, their families and the Doctors in your prayers.