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.
