ANTHONY R. VIZZARI | ARCHTOGRAPHIST

Oh that? That's just a quarter inch hole in my right side where I had one of my drainage bags (drains excess fluid from the cavity around the wound). The hose going into it was about 14"-16" long, nasty. It's still leaking, but should stop by Sunday (hence my leak towels). If not, they will sitch it up. There is one on the other side that has healed well. My first day in the hotel... Morning view from the hotel window... I love it. -smoke stack. This is my first official blog entry post-surgery. I’m on meds, so excuse any typos in advance. It feels like a decade, or, maybe just a few days since I’ve taken the time to write? The last few weeks have been brutally intense. It seems that I may have lost track of the days and sequence of things, even prior to surgery. Now, as I start the recovery process, I am starting to come back to life, albeit, in a fog and fighting abdominal pain. I don’t walk fast and can’t move anything of consequence. I try to perform simple ro...

From the collection: 1908: I found this glass negative at a local fair. It's one of Chicago's first fireboats, sunk in 1908 at 16th & Canal. This was a great little score and piece of Chicago history! 03/22/2010: CT Left & X-Ray Right. Note the size of the liver in the CT and the 3 white areas in the X-Ray. Those 3 white spots are the wires used to clog the veins... (AKA - PVE) 03/22/2010: 3 CT sections. In the first image, you can see some growth of the left lobe. Note the center of the large tumor in the 2nd and 3rd images. You can see a bit more necrosis forming... at least, that's what I'm told it is. This could be via PRRT killing NET cells, or from the right lobe & tumor having a decreased blood supply? Or, both? The blog has been SILENT this week… That is not surprising, since all I’ve been doing is trying to get some rest (Spending a lot of time catching up on bad TV). I can’t stand it… If I have not returned your calls or emails, it’s because I j...

FDG-PET: Note the large tumor lesion with an SUV +/- 60. FDG-PET: Note cross hairs on the "potential" primary tumor in the pancreas. I am out of the hospital in Germany and the good news is that I will not have to return for 12 months… the bad news is that I need to have surgery soon. It turns out that the large potentially 90% benign lesion IS NOT BENIGN after all… This wouldn’t be so bad except that now, it appears as though I don’t have a pure NET, but some type of rare unidentified hybrid (both in the liver and primary). This was revealed by the FDG-PET scan. These suspect tumors have massive FDG uptake. (-a scan that is available in the US an none of my doctors thought to order…???) This “mixed-tumor” didn’t happen overnight, it has been like this from day one, but we only now have the information to deal with it. My disease is no worse than when I walked into the hospital, but the information we have changes the plan, and potentially the prognosis, greatly. Luckily, th...

The "kidney protection" drip... this thing lasts forever! The beautiful adornment... My hospital room in the ward... not too bad. After a relaxing day with Andrea (fueled by room service and general doing-nothingness), I checked into the hospital on Sunday afternoon. At which point, Andrea and I were eventually forced to part ways. I am not allowed visitors in the hospital ward, be it before, during, or after treatment. On Monday, I started a battery of different tests which consisted of much poking of needles. One test was to examine kidney function. At around noon, after a physical examination, my treatment began with an IV drip of “kidney protection” medicine. After about 45 minutes, the PRRT treatment was started. The treatment was short, maybe 30 minutes or so? I felt ok during treatment, but right after I started to feel very anxious, had a headache, was kind of dizzy and generally irritated all over. It was as if I could just not stay still or get comfortable (I beli...

Berlin Photoautomat Chemical Booths: From our "grand tour" of Berlin. Location 1-7 (8 was not open in the winter.) Back to back booths in a Berlin neghborhood (loccation #9). Even though it was midnight, and 25 degress, people were still using the booths non stop! Me, Andrea, Carole and Siobhan (from London's Photomovette). Our Lady of Sorrows: Pedro Roldan Circa 1670: Bode Museum, Berlin After a few great, albeit very cold and snowy, days in Berlin we are now back in Weimer. In a few hours I will be headed to Bad Berka for my in-patient check-in. According to my schedule from Dr. Baum, I am supposed to start the PRRT treatment tomorrow (Monday). I will then be stuck in the hospital ward for a little stretch! We saw much of Berlin and toured nine photobooth locations throughout the city. Our friends from London came to visit with us for a few nights, which added to the fun. It was spectacular to catch up with them and see friendly faces. Via taxi, train, and many mile...

My 68-ga Scans: the full disk is amazing... note the bottom row. See that the large tumor is not illuminated. More to follow. UPDATED (Q/A with Dr. Baum via Email - at end of post) 02/10.2010: Disclaimer: Trying to get to Berlin, so please excuse the typos: Yesterday I had my visit with Dr. Baum and the (68ga PET/CT scan) here in Germany. The results were interesting! After over a year of searching in the US, the primary tumor was found here in Germany in the tail of the pancreas. It is very small, around 1CM in dia. Also, Dr. Baum believes that the largest tumor in the dome of my liver (6.5CM) is actually 90% benign with a metastasis (NET / cancer) growing in the center and edge. This is very rare and Baum has only seen it one other patient in over 4200 cases. We will do more tests (FDG PET Scan) to confirm next week, but it makes a lot of sense. This conclusion was made by how that tumor reads on the scan. It has to do with receptor uptake, etc. Others could probably explain it bett...

1947 Memphis Studio: Taken with what I beleive was a P.D.Q Camera... similar to photobooth technology... somewhat. The blog has been silent this last week. Things have been beyond hectic trying to get my act together to disappear for a while (even if it is only for a week, or two?) I wish I had some great parting thoughts... but alas, I really don't. I don't even have any great German (found) photos? But I did recently find this image(above), which I love! All I can say right now is, I'll keep you posted!

My 3oth B-Day Candles Andrea and Sylvie: Bedroom @ the Highland house... in progress. A vintage chemical photobooth we installed last week at a new location, The Charleston Pub, Chicago, IL: Michael is checking out the booth.... Farmscape: Highland, WI. Highland, WI sign: Entering the town. Andrea threw me a small, albeit great, 30th b-day party for me on Friday at our house in Oak Park. Afterwhich, we skipped town and headed up to Wisconsin... we went to Mineral Point, then to our "cottage" in Highland. After 3 days of no phone service and limited email, I was starting to get a little stir crazy. (At&t is the worst up there!!) The house is coming along well. We still have a lot of work to do before we can start deocrating, but we're making progress. We did some painting and worked out some of the floor finishes. The bathroom is almost done too! Our friend Sylvie just moved to Madison, WI for 6 months and she came out to meet us in Highland. She was our first guest ...

found photobooth photo - hand tinted The Grind: Last night was a late one, with multiple events… one at the Standard Club, which is a beautiful venue, but NOT fun for the installing of photobooths! It’s hard to get the equipment in, and of course, they’re very particular about things… Nevertheless, both events were a hit, flawless, and now done! In a few hours, off for yet more photobooth event madness! Day to Day: Sadie, my Step-Grandmother, is currently in the end stages of pancreatic cancer. This was quite sudden… with that said, everyone is very upset about the situation. At this point, it doesn’t look like there’s much to be done? For me, I often think so much about cancer, and my own fate / death, that I feel a little better prepared for this situation. But no matter how much you prepare, it’s hard to accept this fate for anyone. It’s especially difficult when it causes distress for those who you love… Right now, there’s little I can say or do, except to acknowledge the circum...

A blurred landscape photos for no good reason... We have our tickets for Germany. -Flying into Frankfurt arriving the morning of February 6th. On the 7th, we take the train to Bad Berka. Scan on the 8th. If the scan looks ok, we will proceed with surgery in Omaha with Dr. Botha. But before heading back to the US, we'll take the train to Berlin, and fly out from there on the 13th. If the scan is not so great, i.e., too many tumors in the liver to operate of extensive disease, we will see if I can stay for PRRT treatment. I'm not sure if this is an option at this time with respect to scheduling in the hospital, etc.... I still need to work out some logistics... that is, how does my surgeon in Nebraska review the imaging from the scan? When will a report be completed? That's all for now...

A messed-up strip from one of my booths on route. I kind of like it... when the chemicals get old, they start to do weird, unpredictable things. The following is a question / answer via email between me and my surgical team at UNMC. First, I just want to say, that the staff at UNMC is absolutely awesome about answering my questions in a punctual manner. I have also forwarded them my questions for Dr. Baum in Germany, but they were not sure about my questions for Dr. Baum, with respect to the 68-GA scan. This is not surprising because it’s not offered here in the US. Nevertheless, it seems as though some doctors here in the US are becoming aware of the importance of the 68-GA scan and PRRT. It’s probably not a silver bullet for everyone, but has had some great results –at least from what I have learned from other. Letter to UNMC (To My Nurse Coordinator & Dr. Botha) From me: Dear (x), I have my appointment with Dr. Baum, but have some additional questions I've been trying to ha...

Circled is the left lobe of the liver. This piece would eventually grow to become a full sized organ, if all goes to plan. It has a few tumors throughout, but manageable via wedge resections. Here you will see my largest tumor, outlined in red. 6-7CM. Note the IVC (inferior vena cava), and next to it, the 2CM tumor outlined in red. This needs to be dealt with before it grows into the IVC . UPDATE: 1 year of scans was "officially" reviewed. It appears as though the tumor growth is stable in the liver, that is, minimal. So, that's good. Also, another NET patient asked me about the possibility for future resections after the liver takes its new form (post 2nd surgery). The answer, from what I have been told: You are limited in some cases, but you can still resect if necessary. RFA, Spheres, etc. is a more likely option though... Also, if all goes to plan, the liver grows back to its full size and you have a 100% functional liver & tissue. Dr. Botha showed me an exampl...

I have scheduled my Octreoscans (OTS) and MRI for December 21st. It's 3 days of scans, which means 3 days in Omaha again. The OTS scanner / method is supposed to be better at UNMC. This time I think we'll drive to take advantage of the antiques! We saw some great furniture there last time that we would have loved to take home for the Wisconsin house. I have also recently been in touch with Dr. Baum in Bad Berka, Germany. I'm sending them my files for review. Dr. Baum thinks I might be a candidate for PRRT. (watch the videos... an hour total...but full of amazing info once you get past the history in the beginning.) Their scanners are amazing. If nothing else, I think I should go there for a scan to get a better picture of what is happening. From what other patients have told me, a treatment package is about 10,500 EUR (about $17,000 USD). Of course, there is also lodging and airfare. I think the scan alone is about $3000 USD. So, I need to start saving my pennies now, espec...