February 16th, 2011

Dad had a Cat scan done last Friday. Today the doctor went over the results of the Cat scan. According to the Cat scan, there really hasn't been much change. The tumors in the lymph nodes have shrunk a bit, but the rest appears to be unchanged. This isn't necessarily bad news. It's still early. He's only had 2 chemo treatments. The positive news is that there is no new growths. The doctor wants to do 2 more chemo treatments - same as the last 2. Then, he'll do another Cat scan and decide where to go from there.

Dad received his 3rd chemo treatment today. We're hoping the recovery from this treatment is as good as the last treatment recovery. Overall, he did very good after his last treatment. He tires easily, but that was the worst of it.

Prayers for a smooth recovery and lots of cancer shrinkage!

Love,

Shanon

January 30th, 2011

Tonya talked to Mom yesterday. According to Mom, Dad is doing much better after his second chemo treatment. So far, he's feeling pretty good. He hasn't even experienced a soar throat! Amazing! He has 3 more days of the nasty white cell boosting shots, then he gets another break.

Still waiting to hear when Dad will receive his next Pet scan. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you for the Prayers. I believe in the Power in Prayer. Our God is an awesome God.

Much Love,

Shanon

January 26th, 2011

Dad met with his Oncologist today. The news was very positive. The lump in Dad's neck has shrunk by 1cm - down to 3cm from 4cm in size. This means that the chemo is doing it's job and the torture has been worth the reward. He gained 3lbs. Mom attributes this to her fabulous bread pudding. The good news really lifted Dad's spirits. The Oncologist said that for now, he plans to do 5 months of chemo. More will be known once Dad gets his next Pet scan.

With no time to waste, Dad was sent for his second round of chemo. Dad was feeling pretty good after getting his chemo. In fact, he felt so good, he went for a walk in the mall. Dad has been really weak since his first round of chemo. Partially due to the chemo, part due to recovering from bronchitis (he had the bronchitis right before his first round of chemo), and part related to being unable to do much because of the chemo and the bronchitis. Needless to say, he wasn't getting up and about much during that time.

Dad starts his week long series of Neupogen shots tomorrow. He's not looking forward to the shots, but again they have to be done to boost his white blood cell count.

Please continue to pray that the chemo is able to shrink the cancer into remission.

"Everything is possible for him that believes." (Mark 9:23)

Much Love,

Shanon

January 21st, 2011

I talked to Mom tonight. She said that Dad has had a nice break from the chemo. He's still very weak, but he definitely feels better. He was able to work and is going to continue to work when he feels well. This helps keep him busy and keeps his mind from wondering. His bones still ache, but not nearly as bad as they do when he's getting his shots to boost his white blood cell count. His throat feels better, so he is able to eat again. He isn't eating steak yet, but he's definitely consuming more then just fluids. Dad is starting to lose his hair. In Dad's words, "Hair today, gone tomorrow".

Dad sees his Oncologist on Wednesday, then will receive his second round of chemo. He had blood work done earlier this week. He didn't hear anything back about his blood work. Typically, no news is good news.

"St. Jude, you witnessed the healing power of our Lord Jesus. You saw his compassion for the sick and dying. You yourself touched the sick, shared the sorrows of the mournful, and encouraged the despairing. You received this authority and healing power to work wonders, to cure the incurable, to make people whole. We ask you to intercede with our brother, Jesus, to send his saving grace to heal the sickness and suffering of Alan, to uplift his despondent spirits, and to instill hope in his heart. Amen."

Love always,

Shanon

Issue with Comments

All-

I'm sorry if you've tried to post a comment and later found that your comment disappeared. I have no idea what's going on. I posted a comment myself earlier today and it disappeared. This evening, I posted a test comment, and it appeared to "stick". I deleted it and posted a real comment, and it appeared to "stick". So, keep trying to post your comments. Hopefully, blogger has corrected the problem.

Shanon

Caregiver

I want to thank everyone for the words and prayers. This means a lot to Alan & I . Alan is feeling much better today, he is getting his strength back . You know, it is the small things in life that matter the most . Take care!

January 12th, 2011

Tonya and I had a conference call tonight with mom. Mom got a kick out of it - this was her first conference call. Mom gave us the scoop. Dad received his last Neupogen shot today - last shot for round one of chemo, anyway. Needless to say, he was very happy. This is the shot that stimulates the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells. His blood work indicated that his white blood cell count was down, but this is to be expected. Without the shots, the counts would be even lower. He lost 4 1/2 lbs this week. The nurse that seen him was pleased. She thought that most of the weight loss was probably water weight. Dad's kidney tests have been indicating that he's dehydrated due to not being able to eat or drink much. He's had to have fluids via IV on a few occasions over the past week. Swallowing has been very difficult. The mouth wash (Swizzle) has helped a lot. It numbs the inside of his mouth. The chemo is causing his throat to be very soar. He has to take very small bites in order to get the food down. Most of his nutrition has been through fluids. He drinks a high calorie diabetic drink similar to ensure, and gatorade. His back has been bothering him quite a bit lately. His chiropractor burned his back while treating him this past week, causing a big sore on his back. He'll have to watch it closely for infection. He's a little grouchy, but that's also to be expected. He's developed some diarrhea. He says it's not too bad, but nobody likes diarrhea. He was able to get his port-a-cath yesterday. This will help tremendously. He won't have to get stuck nearly as much. They can do his chemo, and take blood via the port-a-cath. He plans to return to work on Friday. Depending on how well it goes, he may opt to take add'l time off.

Dad now has a week and a half of down time before doing his next round of chemo. Hopefully, he'll get some relief before starting the next round. He feels like the lumps in his neck have started to shrink. Please pray that the chemo is doing its job, and the tumors are shrinking into remission.

Hang in there Dad. We all love you and we are so proud of how strong and courageous you have been. We know you're enduring this for all of us and we admire you for it.

Much love,

Shanon