The Look of Soft Tissue Sarcoma

The Sarcoma Doctor had a nurse, Kathy. She came in at the beginning of Mathew’s appointments and was available during the day if I had a concern. In fact, one day she returned my call and said “When I saw your name and number, I knew something was wrong.” They knew I paid close attention to Mathew and what the doctors and nurses explained to me.

Anyway, one time towards the beginning of this journey a comment was made and I had a question, I don’t recall the preceding conversation, but the end result was this statement by Kathy. “We can tell what is going on with the cancer by looking at the patient.”

At the time, I believed her but had no clue what she meant. Some of it was obvious, such as the way Mathew looked when he was first admitted compared to how he looked after just two treatments. But over time I came to understand what she meant. One day I looked at Mathew as he sat on the exam table and Dr. Reed tried to examine his abdomen. I say, tried, because Mathew, even when he was doing well, was very tender and had a lot of pain. Dr. Reed asked Dr. Knight one time, “How do you get Mathew to let you examine him?” But that day I looked at Mathew and I could see that things were starting to go downhill and that’s when I realized what Kathy meant.

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Replace the 3 Lumen Pic Line with a Port

Mathew's 3 Lumen Pic Line was replaced with a Power P.A.C. Both Mathew and I were given Medical I.D. cards to carry at all times. I have mentioned before that texting from the DRC is almost impossible. The staff told me it used to be the X-ray department so the walls are leaded. Again, the phone tree would have helped so much. I texted the following information to my niece, my sister and Mathew’s Dad and Stepmom. And probably Joseph and Carlos. I know that could have been reduced to two texts, three at the most. At the time I didn’t know about group messaging as my phone was an old Android. Texts Between me and Diane Hi. We are at the hospital early because Mat is in a lot of pain. We think the bill stent may have moved. Sent 3-31-14 Because he was NPO for other procedure they should be able to fix today. Sent 3-31-14 In the DRC sending texts is almost impossible so if you don’t hear from me for a while don’t worry. If ...

Why is it Called Confections for Cats?

I want to take a moment and talk about why Project Mathew is called Confections for Cats. The main reason is that it was going to be the title of his first album. He had sketched up some artwork. We were working on it in Photoshop. Here is an early permutation of the artwork. Mathew's life, his story is mainly about music, his music, and his journey through cancer. When he created his Facebook page, he named it Confections for Cats and I continued with that name. I have been thinking about a logo, a way to incorporate cats, Sarcoma and his music. I like to brainstorm. So, I was thinking about the word confections. When Mathew first told me that title, this was before his diagnosis, I recall thinking about how he practiced his guitar into the night and early morning and that his cats have been his constant audience. Sweets, confections for his cats, and his music as delicious morsels for our ears. I looked up the word confections and yes, a confection is a sweet. Bu...

The Rollercoaster of Chemotherapy Fewer Highs and More Lows

TEXTS BETWEEN ME AND ARPIE Mat sees Dr. Reed Thursday at 9 and then at 1 he goes to have biliary stent changed to a larger gauge. We had to reattach a bag this morning. Sent May 12 I have Dr's appointment myself Thursday will call after and see if you are still with Dr. Reed. ...

Confections For Cats

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