After being released from the hospital, she began her recovery at her daughter’s house. A few days later she suddenly started falling down and then passed out.  Luckily her grandchildren were home and were able to call for help.  An ambulance ride later, she spent five days in the hospital fighting an intense infection.  This was just the beginning of what has proven to be a very long journey.

Her next new adventure was the start of chemotherapy.  The first treatment, in September of 2005, went smoothly. The second treatment left her with stroke-like symptoms and the inability to speak.  The dosage was lowered and the journey continued. Side effects were a constant concern from neuropathy to hand foot syndrome, mouth sores, and nausea.  She persisted. Things seemed to be going ok for this spunky lady. A port was placed in February, 2006. 

In August, chemo was stopped and her treatment team decided it was time to focus on her liver. RFA   (Radiofrequency Ablation, a procedure in which a thin needle is guided into the tumor using ultrasound or CT scan guidance, and the tumors are heated and “cooked” with the needle while the patient is asleep) was attempted twice but the tumors were difficult to reach and could not be completely treated. This wasn’t the only obstacle. One Saturday she woke up in excruciating pain and discovered that she had a fracture in her spine from osteoporosis, a common condition in older patients in which bones lose their strength that is unrelated to her cancer. The skeletal structure was reinforced through another procedure Vertebroplasty (further information can be obtained at www.sirweb.org ) where cement was placed to build up the spine. For a while all was well and then another fracture occurred farther up the spine. It, too, was reinforced.

Looking back at all the things that she had been through, she missed the normalcy in life. The liver tumors were the major area of concern. RFA and resection were no longer options.  She needed a break from chemo. Her oncologist and Dr. Drooz started discussing the possibility of SIR-Spheres. The outpatient procedure seemed to hold great promise. After talking with her daughters they decided to go forward. Helen was a little bit reticent about the treatment at first but had such faith in Dr. Drooz that she felt confident.  She said that she copes by being steadfast and unruffled with what life throws her way….almost like self-hypnotization.

On February 22, 2007, she was able to have her dose of “little magic beads.”  Dr. Drooz offered stellar support and kept her at ease throughout the entire process. She said that the procedure itself was uneventful.  She did report that as she was lying there trying to be still, she raised her hand to keep something from coming down and ended up hitting her nose on the camera. It was later something that she and her family could laugh about. 

She has experienced fatigue since the procedure and has had to continue taking meds to help with her hiaital hernia and to prevent ulcers. It is probably one of the more annoying after-effects of treatment.

She had a few complications as some of the beads traveled to her gall bladder making recovery slightly slower than expected. It has now been six weeks since she had the treatment and she is beginning to feel better; every day gaining some strength. She proudly boasts that today is better than yesterday.