Very Belated Update

Hello Everyone, I apologize again for the tardiness of the update....  Life is full : )

I have been doing chemotherapy in three week cycles for the past several months.  The chemo was starting to take a bigger toll on my body - harder for me to recover by the time the next chemo started.  Because of that (and because of vacation plans), we changed the chemo to four week cycles.  This will give me longer to recover and will hopefully be just as effect at keeping the cancer in check.

The most recent scan I had showed 3 sites of tumors.  The chemo is keeping them at bay and may be shrinking them slightly.  Our doctor at Huntsman informed us that she will be leaving on Jan 18th.  She is going back east to be closer to family and to help develop drugs for sacroma cancer.  She has been a wonderful doctor and we wish her the best.  She ensured us she would find a special doctor to take over my case, as I am a "special case".  We told her that I was willing to be treatement at Primary Children's if needed, as I have a pediatric type cancer (they have better games over there).  We will see.  I know that Heavenly Father will lead us to the doctor that I need to be with at this stage of the game.

Heavenly Father is always watching out for us and watching over us.  One of our friends and ward member told us of a radiation oncologist that she was going to start seeing - the son of her cousin, I believe.  She was very excited about what he had to offer her as she battles cancer.  We were very interested to see of this doctor (Dr. Barney) could help us also.  We met with him earlier this week and had a very good experience.  At first he was just amazed at the length of my medical history.  He has a stack of papers that was about 4 inches high - I was even impressed.  He told me that reading through my file reminded him of his residency days and that the surgeon I had in New York had really done an amazing job that very few surgeons in the world could have done.  (A reminder of just how blessed I have been.)  He seemed a little overwhelmed at first and was unsure about whether he could offer anything of benefit.  After a divenly placed phone call with my doctor at Huntsman and seeing our openness to anything he had to offer, he said he would look over the latest scan images and call us with a recommendation.  A fews days later, he called and said he could do it - he could ZAP the tumors.  During the initial visit, he referred to the treatment at "spot welding" and we turned that into calling him a "sniper", the "American Fork Sniper" (we met him at his American Fork office).  He seemed to really like the new title.  He uses multiple radiation beams to hit a single point from a variety of angles.  The tissue around the tumor recieves a low level of radiation while the tumor itself receives a high (fatal) level of radiation.  After looking over my most recents, he thinks he can get them.

I have an appointment this week to do the pre-treatment setup.  With radation, you cannot move and must in the same position everytime they give you a treatment.  They create a body mold and give youo some tatoos to ensure you stay put and are in the same position.  He we go over his treatment plan and I should start treatment after Christmas.  I will probably keep up the chemotherapy during the radiation treatment and a few months after, then get another scan.  If it is good, mabey I can take another break : )

The hopefull thing about this treatment is that if it works (and there are no signoficant side effects), I may be able to have him "take out" tumors at they appear from one scan to the next with minimal chemotherapy.  We will see...

I know that God lives and that he loves us.  He can send us peace amid the scariest storms and lift us up above the sorrow and pain we may feel.  I have been so blessed - all of my life.  I have wonderful parents that taught me to trust in the Lord and He will provide.  I cannot express how truly grateful I am for my wife Angela.  We were married 17 year ago today.  I owe her my life .... literally.  She is my greatest defender and champion.  I love her so much.  She has blessed us with four amazing children.  She continually gives of herself to ensure our family is protected and provided for.  She is my "Angel".

May we all experience the true joy in this life - the Gospel Of Jesus Christ.  Christ is waiting for each of us to join Him, that He may heal us.  Let our light shine to all those around us, that we may all experience the joy of the season and everlasting peace.

Thank you for all of your prayers and faith in my behalf and for the angels that surround us.  Love, Doug.

The Little Things

I was talking to a co-worker about my chemotherapy schedule and how I was going to start another round next week.  I made the comment "I hope this week goes by very slowly."

As I thought about the later, I realized that I am usually wanting life to go by quickly, thinking that the future will bring with it more time, more energy, more health, more ease, more comfort, more ..... of the good things in life.

I recently heard a talk where the successful business was looking back on his life.  He told of the days when he had a young family and not much in the way of material goods.  He remembered the feeling he had when he would pull into the driveway and his little child would come running, saying "Daddy!  Daddy!".  He relfected on his life, all the successes he had in business and opportunities to serve in his church.  He said that none of the experiences he had had were better than his child's loving greeting.

I thought of mu children and how quickly they are growing up.  They all went through the "Daddy!, Daddy!" stage - and Annie is right in the middle of it.  I can always count on her and Daniel for a big hug and warm welcome.  This morning Annie had to give me two kisses before I could leave for work.  It doesn't get better than that : )

I need to make sure I enjoy each day and not rush them away.  There is so much to be thankful for and so much for us to find joy in.  All good comes from Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.  Miracles are happening all around us.  In the midst of tragety, there are acts of kindness and love.

Let us love more, laugh more, lift more, and seek to be the best we can be.  Let us look around and help those around us rise to greater heights and a greater feeling of peace and love.

Thanks again for all the prayers.  We are truly lifted and strengthened by your faith.  Your love and prayers encompass us with hope.

-Doug-

Latest scan results

Hello everyone,  I hope this update finds you well and happy. We all have so much to be thankful for : )
I had more scans a week or so ago and want to share the good news. The tumors are SHRINKING! !!!!!!!!!!
Because I appear to be handling the side effects well,  my doctor wants to continue the same chemo that we have been doing. So,  I  just finished a week of chemo and will have two weeks to recover before the next round.
I think of all that is wrong in the world and am thankful for my trial. I could not ask for a better network of support.  Thank you for all your prayers, love, and support.  I feel it every day : )

Keep believing and never let go of the hope of eternal life.

July Update

Again I must apologize for taking so long to update the blog.  I continue to feel your love and support.  Thank You!
I have been doing chemo for 9 weeks or so. In January I had a clean scan so we stopped chemo. In April I had more tumors. We started chemo. The latest scan showed that the tumors were not growing and some were even shrinking. So, we press on with the same three week chemo cycle.  I get another scan at the end of august.  The first week and a half are not as fun, but I can get back into the swing of things by the third week.
I have so much to be thankful for. I have an amazing wife, wonderful children and a support network that rivals any in the world.
I love you all.  Thanks again for all you do for me and my family.
God lives.  He loves us. He is near.  He Is all around us.

Treatment Update

As I type this, I am in the Huntsman infusion center at the South Jordan U of U facility.  I have taken an anti-nausea pill and then an oral chemotherapy.  We had an adventure getting blood for labs, but got something to 'stick' (Ouch :{})  After labs come back OK, I will get the IV chemo.  Following that (when the alarm goes off on my phone), I will take another oral chemo.  As some point after the IV chemo is done, I will make it back to work.  I get to take the oral chemo Monday though Friday this week, then  I get a break for two weeks.  We will repeat this three week cycle then do another scan to see how effective it has been.   The smaller the better.

I am so grateful for the caring and professional medical staff I am able to interact with and have interacted with in the past.  My experience has been that the staff have a genuine concern for me and want we to be cancer free.  They want me to be as comfortable as possible and do a great job as getting me what I need.  I will forever be grateful for all those that have been apart of my medical treatment.  Thank you so much : )

I know that God lives and loves us all.  He is walking with us through our trials and our celebrations.  He is waiting for us to return to Him as an eternal family unit.  I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ - it is the source of my peace and joy.  Let us all love one another as Jesus would do.

-Doug-

Birthday Celebration

And it came to pass that a decree was sent from Angela Kotter that all the world should come and celebrate Doug's 40th birthday, on Saturday June 4th, at the Kotter home (734 E 840 N, Orem).  The celebration will be from 4 pm and 8 pm.  Refreshments will be provided.

We are so grateful to be beating the odds and still enjoying life and all it has to offer.  We were very excited when we had the clean scan in January and were looking forward to many more.  With the 'dirty' scan in April, we are choosing to celebrate each year that we are together.  We have so much to be thankful for.  We want to express our gratitude, love, and friendship to all those who have helped us in any way.

Please stop in any time on Saturday and share in the joy of life and all that it has to offer.

Forever Grateful - Doug & Ange

Looking to the future

Hello everyone : )

First I need to thank you for all of the prayers in our behalf. We continue to feel the power of your faith - it is strengthening us in many ways.  We are so grateful to have you in our

On Sunday we had a family dinner, did some good socializing,  and most importantly received priesthood blessings.  They have been a source of comfort and strength.  We also talked about options for moving forward. We all know that chemo is poison and that a body can only handle do much of it. We also know the limitations of surgery and radiation. Angela's Dad spent a significant amount of time looking at therapies that would help my body fight the cancer using is own immune system. Thanks to him,  we were able to go into Monday's appointment with some alternative treatment ideas.

The appointment went really well. The medical staff at Huntsman are wonderful and amazing. We did the normal routine items, looked at the 'glowy' spots on the scan, and talked about the next step. I was able to share with them some studies Angela's Dad had found and forwarded to us. We recently were told I don't qualify for one of them;  however,  we are hopeful for the second one. If the studies don't pan out,  it will be chemo and possibly surgery : (

I must say though, that we have been so blessed. To have made it this far is beating the odds.  So many miracles have occurred in our behalf. We are truly surrounded by angels.

We know that God lives and is watching over us. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Through him we find PEACE.

Thanks again for all you do for our family. -Doug & Angela

New Scans and Bad News

In January, Doug and Angela received the fantastic news that Doug had clean scans.  With no visible tumors, he was given a break from chemo for 4 months--something his body desperately needed.

But the good news didn't hold out.  Doug had new scans on Wednesday and on Thursday received the news that he has visible tumors through his upper torso. His oncologist is now working on the next plan of attack.  But the path is not straight forward nor easy.  On Monday Doug and Angela will meet with Doug's doctors to hear the next ideas.

As you may imagine, it made Thursday a rather tough day for the Kotters. When I asked Angela, "What can we do?"  Her answer was "pray hard."  We are certainly praying as Doug and Angela face this next chapter in Doug's treatment and the tough decisions it will bring.  We invite you to join us with prayers on their behalf.

--Jenna Wood, family friend