Finishing Session 7 - Half way there

Well folks, we are about at the half way mark!  When I leave today, I will have completed my 7th session of chemotherapy.  It looks like I will need the 14 sessions originally presented by Dr. Gouw and confirmed by Dr. Wright.  I have received so many blessings thus far and know that more are on there way.  My family has been blesses immensely.  Thank you to everyone who has donated time, means, energy, work, prayers & faith to our cause.

This session has gone pretty well.  I only tried to throw up one time and luckily it didn't work.  I have a medication schedule designed to always have to anti-nausea as often as possible - this seems to be working.  A hospital staff told me to day that they really like how I set up the room with pictures of family and my computers (one for work\play and one for family\play).  Seeing the family all over my walls makes the stay more bearable.

I have some pictures form the fundraiser I thought I would share.  We still are overwhelmed by the tremendous turnout and outpouring of support that we received.

This is just a small sampling of the pictures that were taken.  So many people showed up on a cloudy day to show their love and support for us.  It is a day we will never forget.

Well, I am going to do my laps now.  12 laps = 1 mile. Walking is one of the best forms of exercise, plus it is hard for Larry to keep up when I jog or run ; )

-Doug-

August 1st Scan - The Prayers are Working!!!

I went up to Huntsman on August 1st for my 3rd CT scan since starting chemo therapy.  The previous two scans had shown a stable cancer condition in that the cancer was not growing, but it was not shrinking either.

On Monday, August 5th, we met with Dr. Wright.  She had met with the Huntsman cancer board that morning and had reviewed my case and the August 1st scan.  She was excited to report that the scans revealed that we have some

SHRINKAGE!!!!

Words cannot describe the relief we felt when we heard this.  We had been getting worried that STABLE would be the only results we would see.  This has given us great hope that further chemo therapy will continue to shrink the cancer.

So, as you may have guessed, the cancer board recommended that I continue the chemo therapy for the 14 sessions as originally planned.  Dr. Wright did mention the possibility of some form of radiation if there are tumors that resist the chemo therapy, but I do not have the details on how that would work.  

Now, before you get too excited, I must explain what exactly shrunk.  As you may or may not know, the scan has two parts - the Chest and the Abdomen Pelvis.   The tumors in the chest showed no change.  They are still stable.  BUT, the abdomen pelvis scan is what got us all excited.  There are two tumors that SHRUNK.  One went from 5.7 X 2.7 cm to 4.8 X 2.2 cm.  This is a 16% decrease in length and a 18.5% decrease in width.  The second went from 2.2 X 1.7 cm to 2.1 X 1.3 cm.  This is a 4.5% decrease in length and a 23.5% decrease in width.  I love statistics : )

YIPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a side note, the fluid build up is also getting smaller.  Now, I do recognize that most of the tumors have not changed and that there is still a long road to travel.  But this small sign of progress was really important to us.  It has given us renewed hope and has made us even more grateful for all the prayers and faith in our behalf.  

The tumors that have shrunk area couple of the larger ones according to the scans.  I hope it is like the "mother ship" idea.  We take out the leaders and the rest of the army will shrink away.  I had heard on the new that for certain cancers they are trying a virus that targets the cancer cells.  This reminded me of Independence Day where they infect the mother ship with a virus.  I digress....

"Thank You" to everyone who fasted and continues to pray for our family.  We need your love and support.  We are supported and made strong because of it.  

Note:  I was supposed to start chemo on Monday, August 5th.  However, my white blood cell count and neoplasta count were too low so I have to wait a week.  I go back up on Monday, August 12th, to try again.  I will enjoy this extra week with my family and friends.  I have some projects at work I needed to get going on anyways.

-Doug-