One Year

July 10 marks the one-year mark of learning that I have gallbladder cancer.  Major surgery, CT scans, and lots of chemo treatments have occurred in that year.  The last chemo infusion was at the end of March and I have been on "chemo-vacation" since then.  The last CT scan at the end of May showed the "spots" on the liver to be smaller in size and the tumor blood marker test was good.  We did another blood test at the end of June, and it was even lower, so we were given another month of vacation by Dr. Gilcrease, my oncologist.  He said we would do this until the marker started showing an increasing trend and then we'd do another CT scan and most likely restart chemotherapy.  We're also hopeful of being included in a clinical trial for a new drug that is showing promise in other forms of cancer.

At this one year anniversary, I am reminded of all the tender mercies along the way: a very early diagnosis because of good doctors (both in New Mexico and in Utah) who like to be thorough but not crazy in how they practice their craft; NO PAIN and no nausea while going through all this (I'm told that most people with cancer suffer lots of pain that can, at times, become very difficult to deal with); an amazing world-class facility in the Huntsman Cancer Institute only a few miles from home, staffed by a caring staff of doctors and nurses that really know their stuff; and most of all, a very large and diligent support system of family members, friends, and neighbors in our ward who constantly pray for me and my family.  As I've been reminded many times by the doctor, attitude is an important part of dealing with a cancer diagnosis.  For the most part I've been able to maintain an optimistic and positive attitude, and this is because of my strong and extended support system.  I want to acknowledge that power.  Thanks to each person who prays for me and my family, who send e-mails or text messages, or who makes that occasional phone call.  It means more than mere words can express.  Thank you again.

More Vacation

On Tuesday, May 26th, I had another CT Scan.  The last one of these was done in January, a little over four months ago.  We learned the results along with blood work results the next day during our visit with Dr. Gilcrease at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

The latest scan showed that the spots had again reduced in size compared with that last scan.  Nothing new showed up.  The tumor marker blood test was reduced also.  In general, things had improved again over these past four months, and only two of those months involved chemotherapy.  With this good news, Dr. Gilcrease said we could go another month without any chemo infusions.  We will test my blood again in a month for the tumor marker and make another decision at that time.

With the Colorado grandkids (Beth's)

I've appreciated the time off of chemo as it has helped me to increase my energy level which, in turn, increased my general activity.  Over the past couple of weeks we traveled so see all our grandkids in Colorado and New Mexico, plus we were able to attend a wedding and reception in Idaho.  

During these visits and also at other times, I have been reminded of the many people supporting me in this.  I appreciate so much the prayers, thoughts, phone calls, text messages, and emails.  It really helps to keep my attitude positive.  Dr. Gilcrease reminded me of the importance of that positive attitude as we go through the treatments.  Thanks so much to family, friends, and neighbors for being part of my tremendous support system.

More Chemo and Positive News

We did chemo infusions numbers 17 and 18 on March 19th and 27th.  Both were pretty much like normal: access the port, take blood-work, wait for results, then get the drugs and hydration.  It takes 5 or 6 hours total.

We also saw the oncology doctor this last trip, and went through the usual questions: "how's your appetite?  Any pain? What's your activity level? Any complaints?"  To this last question my answer was that I was just "tired" from the chemo and not motivated to get up and do a lot.  It seemed like these last few infusions were worse that way, but I imagine that it was just cumulative.

He responded, "we could take a couple of months off, do another scan and blood-work for the tumor markers, and see where we are.  You've been doing well.  The chemo has been working, and I think it is fine to take a break and let you rebuild your strength."  

This kind of surprised me since the plan has always been "more chemo until it isn't working any more."  I gladly told the oncologist I'd appreciate two months off.  

I am looking forward to the break.  I'm not quite over the last infusion yet, but it will be coming in a few more days.

We also talked more about the clinical trial that he is doing regarding immunology.  We would introduce a different type of chemo drug along with a promising immunology drug that has worked in other forms of cancer.  This is done via the infusion method, so that will be more trips to the cancer center on a routine basis, like I've been doing.  The idea behind this trial drug is to "re-program" the immune system to spot the cancer cells and get rid of them.  Right now it is as if the cancer cells were in disguise; they are ignored and allowed to do their thing.  The current chemo is designed to stop any growth and, while that has been working, we also want to get rid of it as well.  The whole field of using the immune system to attack cancer is showing lots of promise, so we are really hopeful about this.

I want to let you know that I am aware of all the support through thoughts, prayers, text messages, e-mails, etc.  They do make a difference in my attitude, which I am supposed to keep positive. It sometimes brings a tear to my eye to think that people think about and support me, when their own lives are so busy.  I really do appreciate it.