Welcome to the next Thriving Not Just Surviving blog post!
This is written by Maureen. :)
We pray you had a good holiday! In December Greg underwent his check-up chest scan that occurs every three months. It was all good news- his chest scan remained stable- no growth or change. They added a brain scan as well- it was clean with no signs of abnormality!
We pray you had a good holiday! In December Greg underwent his check-up chest scan that occurs every three months. It was all good news- his chest scan remained stable- no growth or change. They added a brain scan as well- it was clean with no signs of abnormality!
Also, in December, Greg had his
two-month check in with his Neurologist. He remains seizure free- praise God!
Based on some recurring symptoms Greg had been experiencing, his neurologist
diagnosed him with severe and chronic migraines. They still occur most days but
we are hoping a new medication he is on will help- it can take two months to
know if it’s working and we are still in that initial waiting period.
Some of the concerns addressed at
his many December appointments were about his processing and cognition, which
had seemed to be decreasing. His Oncologist prescribed Speech Therapy. Speech
therapists address many areas in addition to speech, including memory,
problem-solving, attention, and processing speed, just to name a few. There is an amazing program called ReVital Cancer
Rehabilitation. Greg’s sister, Audrey, is a ReVital-certified occupational
therapist, and she shared this to better explain what ReVital is:
ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation is a national association and
network of certified physicians, nurses, therapists, and other healthcare
professionals that are dedicated to helping cancer survivors “live well beyond
cancer”. This means something different for every single person, but
ultimately, the goals are to improve daily function and overall quality of life.
Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy (one or all of these
disciplines, depending on the needs of the individual) can assist in
remediating, compensating, and mitigating the physical and mental effects of
cancer and cancer treatment. Cancer survivors have already been through an
incredible amount of suffering and pain, and they deserve to live the full,
rich lives they want to live. Specialized, skilled therapy interventions can
(and do) help make this a reality.
As I was doing research on ReVital,
I came across a familiar “slogan” on their website- it even says that the
therapists want to help people thrive, not just survive!! It’s not just a
slogan for us, but something that gives me hope and keeps me fighting when I
know I need to be heard. When Greg met with the speech therapist, he went
through initial screening to test his levels of processing and see his
strengths as well as areas to focus on in his sessions. Two areas of concern
emerged.
In the Attention category, Greg
scored at the .1 percentile. In the Memory category he scored at the 10th
percentile. These results supported some of the processing and cognition
changes I had seen. Knowing this allows his therapist to help him with
strategies to overcome these deficiencies and raise those numbers by the end of
his therapy. We do not have a specific cause of his lower processing in those
areas, but with the six months of Chemotherapy, being on a high dose of seizure
medication for an extended time, being on pain medication for an extended
period of time, and suffering from migraines (that we didn’t even know were
there) could all be contributing factors. I am glad we did not have to add
another medicine or drug or just ignore what was happening. I’m so thankful to
give Greg the tools to help him.
We appreciate the continued prayers!
