Cancer Update

I thought this time that I'd just let you read the e-mail that my dad sent out to the family...

Hello Everyone,

I had my visit with with Dr. Nambudiri, my oncologist today. I found out that the tumor I had was a stage 3B type 2 cancer. This means, in a nutshell, that it is a moderately aggressive cancer that may have begun to spread in my body. I will definitely will have to undergo chemotherapy since without treatment, there is a 42 percent chance of the cancer returning.

Unfortunately, it is going to be a long course of treatment. I will be taking three to four different medications, some every two weeks and another possible treatment every week One drug needs to be administered over two days every two weeks via a pump attached to my blood stream to a port which will need to be mounted in my chest. I will be having blood tests taken every week to monitor my blood count among other things to make sure I am doing OK. The whole treatment will last at least six months!

The doctor said that people react in various ways to the treatment. I will most likely be able to work in at least some capacity as long as I am not too tired or ill. Obviously, my many visits to the clinic will take one to three days a week, so that in and by itself will keep me from working full time for a while. I will not be physically restricted and the doctor said that I should try to eat well and get as much exercise as I am able to. If my immune system become suppressed, during those times I may have to avoid contact with crowds or people who are sick. This will also be monitored. I also may have trouble with nausea but the doctor said that they have good medications now that control it.

He also talked to us about a new treatment just becoming available that involves using antibodies to help fight cancer cells. This treatment has been successfully used in fighting advanced cancer and studies are now under way to determine how effective this is in fighting my type of cancer. Side effects of the treatment are mild and few. If I took part in the study, I would have a 50 percent chance of getting the antibodies and 50 percent chance without. In both cases, I would get all of the traditional and proven medications. Since the traditional treatment is not 100 percent effective, I think that I will take part in the study since it sounds like it could be very effective with little risk, but I will find more information about it before I sign up.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to have x-rays of my chest and a CAT scan of the rest of me to determine if any tumors have appeared elsewhere. Next Thursday I will talk to Dr Nambudiri to discuss the results of the tests and when chemo will begin. Let's hope that another tumor has not formed. Later, I have an appointment with the surgeon to talk about what is involved with installing a port in my chest. That will most likely occur the following week. I don't yet know for sure, but chemo will probably begin the first or second week in April. There is definitely a lot of stuff to sink in!

Anyhow, I am feeling pretty good physically right now and have been walking quite a bit. There now is very little discomfort left from the surgery, so that is good! I think that I am in good spirits and I try to laugh a lot to keep the demons away. :-D

Again, thank you all so very much for your prayers and kind thoughts.

Bob

Job Hunting and Road Trips

Well, as most of you know, I'm currently looking for a second/new job. The problem is that I hate job hunting. It is the hardest thing to make myself do, and if I can find an excuse not to, I usually don't (which is the big problem here). That being said, today I am actually forcing myself to get out there and put in some applications. I've been working on a list of places (some which have been told to me by wonderful people at church). Some I'll be able to do here at home (which is soo nice), and some I'll actually have to hit the streets on. I'm going to need lots of prayers on this (not only for finding the right job, but just for getting out there to look).

In other news, tomorrow I'm going to be driving about 5 hours away to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and go to the yearly Gala put on by the group my cousins are in. I've been going now for around 6 years (pretty much since my oldest cousin joined) and this will be her last year in it. It's always a wonderful show. The the group is called Accompany of Kids. You should check out the website if you have the time, I believe they have sound clips and photos and such on there. And if it makes anyone interested, I'll be going again next year (the gala is always the first 2 weekends of March), and you're invited. My aunt likes company (as long as she knows who's coming).

*Edit: While on the job hunt, I ran across this. Enjoy!

the results are in

well, today we got the news. The doctor said they got all the cancer from the colon and bladder, but the bad news is that they did find some cancer cells in the lymph nodes. This means that as soon as he is healed, he will have to be starting chemo. He is healing well, they gave him his first actual food today (since sunday all he had been allowed was ice cubes). He's been up and walking around a bit, and the doctor says that he may be able to go home tomorrow. We're all thankful that he is recovering soo quickly. Though it is sad that he will have to have the chemo, I know that there is a reason for this, and trust God in everything that is going on. Thank you all for your continued prayers for all of us.

update

Well, today was my dad's surgery. The sergeon came and spoke to us just a bit ago, and he says everything went well. They had to remove a small peice of the bladder, but they seem very positive about having gotten everything. Dad's now resting, and soon we'll be able to go and see him. He'll be in the hospital at least till this weekend, and we'll know how the test results go on thursday. It's been a long day of waiting, but everything seems very hopeful at this time. I thank you all for your thoughts and prayers on this. They really have helped us all.

Random Thoughts

This picture is one I found a while back, and loved it. It's of some valley in California that you can see off the freeway or somesuch. I used it as a background on my computer for a whle. I just love the colors...

Yesterday Kayla gave me a "prayer shawl" (it looks like a very warm very large scarf, being almost two feet wide and at least eight feet long) that her grandma had made. I love it, it is soo warm and comphy (though very magenta in color, which is something new to me...) It's called a prayer shawl because you pray the entire time you make it.

I recently have been in the mood for watching old eighties movies. So I went and got "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead" from the video store. It was great fun. I also got "Fried Green Tomatoes", which is one of my favorites. Next I want to watch "Son in Law", which I am getting from the library (since that is by far the cheapest way to get movies). If anyone can think of any other "classic" eighties movies, tell me, so I can watch them.

As far as books go, I am currently reading "Just As I Am" The Autobiography of Billy Graham. I love it. He has such a down to earth style of writting, and he's not afraid of laughing at himself. His childhood really helps me connect with him (not that I grew up as he did, but that lifestyle has always been one I love and admire). I've really grown to have a deep respect for his wife as well. I really suggest reading it if you haven't (and don't be scared away by the length, it really isn't that bad once you get into it).

I have been currently informed that I have OCD. I never really thought I did, but after a conversation durring the fold and staple, I really started paying attention to my actions and reactions, and I have come to the conclusion that yes, I do have this sad condition, but it rather selective in nature (or so I believe). I guess the only way I'll learn the severity of it is if/when I get married. I don't think this is a bad thing to have, as long as I watch my attitude about it. If I'm constantly getting annoyed about co-workers messing up things and such, then there is a problem. I don't know...

Well, now I have spent nearly 3 hours messing around on blogger, updating my blog, reading everyone elses, commenting, and playing around a bit. Ech... I think it's time to go and do something useful for a while...

Update

Just thought I should update you about my dad. He's gone in and talked to the surgeon. They set a date for his surgery, on the 20th of this month. The surgeon is supposed to be very good at this kind of surgery, and is also well-known and well-liked. He informed my dad that this kind of cancer is a slow moving variety, so the chances are high that it hasn't spead at all, and should be very easy to remove. They also took care of all the preliminary tests and such, so that everything will be ready to go on the 20th. Dad's really doing well. He is thankful for all the prayers going his way. He says he is concerned, but not scared.

It has been a very long, and somewhat difficult week. There has been some other news that I've recieved lately that has caused me some concern (though I really cannot speak of it on here). It seems like this has been a hard week for many people at church. I guess this should be an encouragement to us. It means we're doing something right. It would be nice to have a bit simpler week this week though...

P.S. In other news, the cat is healing fine, and really seems to be enjoying all the extra attention, and living in the house. So far he has not had any fights with the three resident cats, and I hope to keep it that way.

Of Cat Fights and Colon Cancer

Yes, I know, it's been a while since I last posted. There has been a lot going on, and somehow, even when I get to a computer, I just don't get around to an update. Well, as you can tell by the title, I have at least a couple things of interest to share.

Now as many of you know, this summer we had a cat adopt us, and has lately been living in our garage (comfortably supplied with a heated water dish, a full food bowl, and a warming pad to lay on. He's gone from being a small bony creature, to a large chubby garfield-ish cat. This past weekend my step-dad noticed that he (the cat) had a puffy cheek. So today I got to take him into the vet. Now this same thing has happened before to his leg, so I had an idea of what was going to happen. The vet took him into the back room to remove the puss and shave away the hair (so that it would stay clean), and came back to tell he that he had some infection around the wound and that it would have to be cut away. I left him there, and returned later in the day to pick him up. He now has a largish hole in the side of his face, which gives him a very strange appearance (to say the least). He is going to have to stay in the house (likely in a bathroom or the entryway) for a couple weeks so that it can stay clean and heal properly. He took it all very well, and doesn't even seem to notice it. (He didn't react much to his other injury either, he's just a tough cat). Hopefully this incident will teach him to stop fighting with other cats. (I'm not holding my breath on that, though.)

As to the other topic of this post. Last week (as many of you were informed), my dad went in to get a checkup, since he had been bleeding oddly. He had a colonoscapy (I'm not sure how to spell that...) where they put a small camera into his colon to check around. They found one area that looked suspicious and so took some samples to be tested. The doctor informed him that it looked like cancer, though they wouldn't be certain until the results came back. So we had a week of waiting. Today he went back in to here the news. It is colon cancer. They said that he'll need to have surgery within the next month or so to get it removed. If it hasn't spread at all, they should be able to remove it all then, otherwise he'll have to start chemotherapy. Right now he's most sad about not being able to be active out-of-doors this spring (he usually taps trees). We could all really use some prayers, this is going to be a hard process. Though he regularly attends church, I'm not sure if he is actually a christian, and that's what worries me the most right now. I know I can count on you for your prayers. Thank you all.