No good news this time ... only bad! Judy jaundiced again yesterday and by the time she called the cancer clinic, her oncologist had left for home. The nurse gave Judy the option of either going to the ER immediately or going to the cancer clinic the next day. Since nights in the hospital are not much fun, Judy opted for the cancer clinic today.
By the time she was able to get up and get dressed (and make a short stop at the chiropractor's in route), it was early afternoon before we arrived at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. By the time we got there, Judy was feeling so ill and in so much pain from her abdomen and back that they had to put her on Morphine to settle her down .... a first time, but most likely not a last time.
Judy's bilirubin count was 9, a very high number, and her abdomen was filled with fluid. The oncologist thought that the problems were likely being caused by a blocked biliary duct, and so arranged for the surgeon to replace her temporary, plastic bile duct stint with a larger, metal (and permanent) stint on Monday, which they hope will be less problematic. They only use the metal stints when the life expectancy is less than a year. (At this rate I doubt that Judy will last nearly that long.)
Judy was hospitalized and will likely remain in the hospital until after the stint relplacement on Monday. They have already done an ultrasound on her abdomen and found a considerable amount of accumulated fluid. In the morning they plan to bring the ultrasound machine back and try and drain the abdomen. They will then culture the fluid, to determine how to treat it.
During the weekend they plan on doing considerable additional testing, including a MRI to determine if they can see the tumors that she thinks she feels in her abdomen.
We probably won't know the outcome of all this until mid-week next week.
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