Stent Success

Yesterday I had a stent holding my right ureter open replaced. The stents typically last only 6-8 weeks before the kidney builds irritating stones around the tube. My new stent will easily last me through the end of my Chemo and will ensure that I keep both kidneys functioning. Based on the amount the tumor had been pinching off the ureter, my Urologist said that he's confident the tumor has shrunk significantly more since my last CT scan. My next progress update showing actual tumor size won't come until the first of February, so this kind of good news was very welcome.

My next Chemo is scheduled for this Friday. I intend to post updates more frequently over the next couple of months now that I'm done taking tests. Stay tuned. Again, thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Happy Holidays from the newest C.P.M.

Christmas has been particularly good this year. I have so much to be grateful for! It's so nice to be in my "good days" during Christmas and New Years, since the first half of my 21 day Chemotherapy cycles can be tough. My next treatment is scheduled on January 2nd, with a minor kidney stent removal surgery on December 29th. It's been nice spending time with family and eating good food. I've taken a few more breaks from the daily quart of carrot juice in my regimen, (please nobody tell my grandma) and I'm feeling great!

The other big news is I've studied for and passed tests for C.P.M. (Certified Purchasing Manager) Modules 2, 3, and 4 all in the month of December. I am now Certified! (http://www.ism.ws/certification/content.cfm?ItemNumber=4674&navItemNumber=5616) My current employer has been a big advocate for continuing education, and it's been nice to be able to keep working toward some of my professional goals in addition to beating cancer. After 3 month at home, I'm very anxious to get back to work. Happy Holidays!

Day 64 - Treatment #4 - 2/3 Done & Progress Continues

Leslie and I have received a lot of requests to post more updates on my progress. Since my last Chemo treatment, I haven't had a lot to report, good or bad, on the progress of the cancer. Another suggestion was more pictures. Well, you're getting both today! What you're not getting is evenly spaced paragraphs or a spellchecked document because this isn't MS Word.

Today I met with a substitute doctor who was a little more open about my progress and the condition of the tumor and type of cancer in general. First, the good news is that the estimate of tumor reduction after the 2nd Chemo of more than 50% actually read 66% on the radiologist's report. The doctor gave me a 95% chance of licking the tumor this time... which gets into the bad news. The chances of Follicular Lymphoma reoccurring after it has gone into remission is 98%. So it's not a matter of if the cancer returns, but when. The up-side is that it will likely come back in similar form and be slow-growing. He also said he estimated I would have a 90% chance of licking it the second time. I am hopeful that with the dietary changes I am making, the cancer will have a tougher time coming back so quickly. Remission could last just a few months, or it could last 5 years or more. I will be closely monitored and it will likely be caught much sooner when it does come back, so treatment should be easier and quicker. Other people doing similar follow-up treatments only do a mild Chemo on a 2 hour lunch break before returning to work the same day. Another up-side is that he told me there are some pretty cool cancer treatment advances in the pipeline. Drug companies have recently had some major breakthroughs that have shown potential to cure some types of cancer. I'm hoping Lymphoma is one of them.

As promised here are a few pictures:

I was having some fun with some of the pills I get to take on a daily basis. Name that movie "Pills are good." Me and my not-so-hairless brother Jeff at Thanksgiving at the Friel's. Kylan thinks he's pretty cool with Dad's beanie!

I received a customized beanie from a friend at work. To her and her friends I am known as "G-Money" Hence the "G$G$" pattern. I don't even want to know how many hours she put into this, but I have to say that other cancer patients were a little jealous. This was definitely blog-worthy.

Day 43 - Tumor shrank more than 50%

Tuesday I had a CT scan done on my abdomen to check what effect the prayers, chemotherapy, daily quart of carrot juice, nasty wheat grass juice, and herbal supplements have had on my tumor.

Good news! The tumor shrank more than 50% after just 2 treatments. Instead of holding a small football in my abdomen, I now have two IPods stacked on top of each other. My Dr. warned me not to expect that kind of progress on my next scan scheduled around 12/29, but because of some of the things she has said, I believe I am on the high end of tumor reduction progress for the first 2 treatments.

Again, I can't say enough how grateful I am for all of your thoughts and prayers. I am truly blessed to have so many thoughtful family members and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Greg

Day 26 - Chemo #2 Wearing Off

I've decided to date everything back to my first chemo treatment because that is the most calendar friendly. Even though the pre-chemo surgeries started a month before, I can count down the progress of chemo treatments every 21 days.

As expected, this round was milder than the first treatment only because I haven't had to deal with any additional illness. Today is my fifth day since treatment, and I'm resisting taking the anti-naseau medication that puts me to sleep for 18 hours a day. My weight is stabilizing and I have a new CT scan to look forward to on November 18 (before my next treatment). Although I'm hoping the scan shows there is nothing left of the tumor, I'll be happy to see it shriveling away like an ugly little raisin.

Day 30 - I didn't think this was worthy of a new post, so I'm adding it to this one. I stopped taking my medication too soon on Day 26 and ended up paying for it the next few days. I'm just recovering this weekend. Yeah!

Day 15 - A New Haircut

I've been feeling much better this week. I'm getting back to sleeping during normal hours, eating normally, and my energy level is up. I have a full 6 days before my next chemo treatment which, appropriately, will be given on Halloween. (Chemo causes some pretty freaky dreams.) I plan to enjoy this week. The second chemo treatment is supposed to have the strongest effect on the body; but having had the flu and a cold while recovering from a surgical biopsy and a port-o-cath placement surgery probably made the first treatment a little worse than it might normally have been. Bring on #2!

Also, I will now be saving big dollars on haircuts, shampoo, hair product, and razors. Yes, I started losing my hair on Thursday. I had a couple of random, goofy bald patches and instead of accepting the scraggly mop, I embraced the inevitable and shaved my head. Here is a picture of my glorious bald noggin.

Nice Sunday!

They say if don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. So I haven't posted anything for a week. Our whole family got the flu last Thursday. Leslie recovered quickly after a miserable night, but Kylan and I are just feeling the tail end of it. I finally feel like I'm mostly recovered from the cold that started before chemo, the flu that I got after chemo, and the side effects of chemo that are heavy the first week after chemo. I'm told my immune system is at it's lowest point six days after I start chemo. I'm now into my 10th day and won't need another chemo treatment until day 21. This gives me a little break time for some well-needed rest. I will be doing six total cycles once every 21 days and a new CT scan will done at the end of the 2nd cycle to check the progress.

In case anyone is wondering, I still have a full head of hair, but I've lost 40 lbs of water weight (mostly in my thighs and legs.) This may be the first time that I can ever remember having chicken legs.

Thank you again for your prayers and concern. Yesterday was a nice Sunday!

Bladder Stent Functioning Well

After a rough weekend at home, I went back in to the Chemo Den on Monday morning to finish my bag of Ritoxin. This drug is supposed to target the cancer cells better than a general Chemotherapy. Today my cold has improved and, after another hospital visit, we learned that the stent placed in my right kidney is functioning extremely well. I've got a couple of weeks now to recover before my next chemo treatment.

Thank you again for your prayers, love, and concern.

Greg & Leslie

Chemotherapy - Day 1

After finishing a final for my last MBA course, I headed to the "Chemo Den" to start Day 1 of my chemotherapy. I call it the Chemo Den because I sit in one of about ten Lay-z-Boy chairs set in a circle where other Chemo patients are hooked in to the drip. Nothing like a bunch of fogies sitting in a circle talking about their aches and pains ... much like the San Francisco Opium Dens in the early 1900's but with a sterile environment and nurse supervision. Oh yeah, there's no opium either, just a variety of Chemos that range in color and effects. Today I got the cherry coolaid in a vial, a smaller clear vial of sweetness, and an IV bag of watery goodness. As you can tell from my humor or lack thereof, I'm taking the Chemo well today. I ate a full Paradise Bakery sandwich after Chemo, which is more than I've eaten all week. I'm still losing weight, but at a healthy rate to win the "Ab-off" next June. Watch out former roommates, I got this in the bag!

Thank you again for your prayers, love, and support.

Greg & Leslie

Diagnosis - Follicular Lymphoma, Grade 3

Today we visited our family practitioner to have a follow-up chest x-ray done and we were given the result of the biopsy taken Monday - Follicular Lymphoma, Grade 3. This is a very common strain of cancer and there are medications and chemotherapy that can beat this strain. We continue to remain optimistic about the outcome. Thank you again for your prayers and support.

Greg & Leslie

Hospital Adventure / Good News!

Yesterday morning I took Greg in for outpatient surgery and this afternoon we finally came home. It didn't go exactly as we expected but it was a successful surgery and we continue to make slow progress toward a definitive diagnosis.

Two hours after entering same-day surgery, I spoke with the primary surgeon who informed me that the surgery had been successful. The sample taken should provide adequate information for a conclusive diagnosis and we should know results within three to four days. They also inserted Greg's Port-o-cath for the chemotherapy drips once he begins treatment.

I was relieved that everything went to plan during surgery and was told to please wait in room 166 until they wheeled Greg in for a brief recovery period and then we could be released. I waited in room 166 for over an hour and then, upon questioning several staff members from various departments, realized that nobody knew where Greg actually was AND that the entire Same Day Surgery staff had gone home for the evening. Super! My husband was drugged up on a gurney only Heaven knows where and nobody seemed to be concerned except for me.

I finally stepped out of room 166 for about 2 minutes to make a phone call in an effort to retrieve my Sweetie Pie and when I returned to the room he had miraculously appeared. Nobody knows who brought him there or where he was, not even Greg (as he was just coming off the effects of general anaesthesia.)

An hour later, and after a good shot of Demerol for Greg, they informed us that they had orders from the doctor to perform another ultrasound because of a fluid buildup around another lymph node. We waited yet another hour (it was now 10 P.M.) and were wheeled into radiology where he was poked and prodded a little more. (Poor Sweetie Pie!)

They kept us overnight to make sure Greg's pain was controlled and we were finally released around noon today. Greg is up and walking around, eating and feeling pretty well with the assistance of some Lortab. Better living through chemicals, right? This should be the last preparatory operation/procedure before treatment, so hopefully he can rest up for a few more days and feel well before chemo.

In addition to a successful biopsy, the bone marrow samples came back negative so the cancer has not spread to the bone. Also, this morning we learned that none of the lymph nodes outside of Greg's chest and abdomen seem to be affected. This means that although the tumor and affected area seems large, the cancer appears to be contained within the abdomen. Great news!

We will let you all know when we get the final diagnosis later this week.

Thank you again for all of your kindnesses, thoughts and prayers.

Best Regards and Love,

Greg and Leslie

The Jist

Doctors have been investigating various symptoms Greg has been suffering for about 4 or 5 months now and have treated him for possible kidney failure and possible congestive heart failure but have not had any conclusive answers to the problems. Last week his chest cavity filled up with fluid almost immediately after being drained of fluid which inspired the doctor to order a CT scan on Greg's chest and abdominal cavities.

We received the results of that scan on Friday, September 26th, which showed that Greg has a tumor in his chest and abdominal cavities. One tumor, it's just really big (about 7" wide by 12" tall.) Each doctor said that they are positive it is cancerous and thus we have been hurriedly searching for information in order to make some educated decisions regarding treatment. After an emotional and prayerful weekend we determined that traditional medical treatment is the path we should take to address this issue.

On Monday, September 29th, we had the tumor biopsied via a needle insertion. The doctor took 6 samples which, for one reason or another, ALL came back inconclusive. We will go in for a surgical biopsy this Monday, October 6th, and hopefully have a more conclusive result from that.

The tumor is also obstructing the ureter which leads from his right kidney to his bladder and some damage has been done to that kidney already. We were in the hospital yesterday to have a stint placed in that ureter which will hopefully facilitate better drainage and allow us to save that kidney.

We met with the Oncologist yesterday, October 1st, and felt confident that there is a good likelihood that his condition will be very responsive to treatment because it has all the signs and visibly appears to be a lymphoma cancer (although we will not know for certain until the results of the second biopsy come back.)

The Oncologist also took a bone marrow sample in order to determine whether the cancer is at such an advanced stage that a transplant may be necessary. We will receive the final results of that test on Monday, October 6th. However, the doctor thinks, based on the blood test results, that it is unlikely that the cancer has spread to the bone. Thank goodness!

Once all the information is gathered and we have a conclusive answer as to exactly what type of cancer we are dealing with, we will start treatment...most likely chemotherapy. The doctor has said that the treatment process will begin either Wednesday, October 8th or Friday, October 10th.

So, now that business is out of the way, I will say that Greg and I are both doing very well. For a few days things were quite emotional and we both felt like we were walking around in a dream world. But now that it's all settled in and we have some answers and a plan of action we are actually really motivated and encouraged that we will come out of this all just fine.

Greg is recovering beautifully from the stint placement and enjoying a long, restful weekend before the surgical biopsy on Monday. There really have not been any undue or unforeseen complications and all of our doctors have been very professional and efficient, which we are grateful for.

We really appreciate all of your faith and prayers and friendships - that's the best thing anyone can do for us. We're sorry not to answer all the calls and e-mails; however, we do read them and listen to them all and are encouraged by them, so don't hesitate to send a message or post on this blog. It's just a little overwhelming dealing with it all over and over again, so please don't take it personally. We really do love you all :)