It's been a few months........

since the last post and I have a little discouraging news. The tumor on my lung, that was taken care of by chemo, has reappeared in the same place. Don't be too glum chum there are a couple of bright spots. The tumor is a fraction smaller, the activity is quite a bit less than the first one,it came back in the same spot, and best of all there isn't any other cancer in my body. Discussing my options with Mary and Dr. Chen, my oncologist, I have made the decision to have surgery to remove the tumor. Dr. Chen explained that although she could give me two more doses of chemo it would not benefit me. Another option would have been radiation treatment that would take care of it. But,,,,, there's always a but thrown in there, if it were to come back and I had surgery it would be a longer healing process than just having surgery right off the bat. The procedure will be handled by Dr. Pei Tsau who is a cardiothoracic surgeon that graduated from the University of Arizona. She's another one of my doctors that tells it like it is and doesn't mince words. The surgery consists of three small incisions on my right side, collapsing the lung, making a V cut in the lung and removing the tumor. The tumor will be sent to the pathologist and if it comes back that it is the same as what was in my neck two years ago they inflate the lung and close the incisions. If it is something else they will remove the entire lower lobe of my right lung. Don't fret, I have two other lobes on that side. Recuperation time is anywhere from two to four weeks. Of that four to seven days will be in the hospital. Again thanks to all for your support through this. Mary, Stephen, Alanna, and myself appreciate it.

Drum roll please.....................................

Ladies and gentlemen of the blog site I have some exciting news. I had my PET scan on Thursday and I got the results today.(Monday) And the results are..........wait for it............wait for it...............the cancer has been taken care of by the chemo. There is nothing there anymore. Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!! I celebrated this evening with an ice cold beer with dinner. I go to the radiation oncologist on Tuesday, 09/27/11, to see what is next. I will keep all informed.
Thanks for the prayers.

Cycle 4 is..........................

out the door and there ain't no more. Next will be a PET scan in a couple of weeks to see how much more, if any, the tumor has shrunk.(I'm keeping my fingers crossed) Then 5 radiation treatments in October. I'm glad the chemo is over and done with. This round was a little bit more taxing on the system physically. Plus I had to carry a fanny pack with a pump in it for a week. What a pain taking a shower. I guess it will be all worth it in the end and I shouldn't complain since I requested it for the extra % points in cure it was giving me.

I tell you it has been a crazy year for all of us. Mary and I couldn't have gotten through it without the support of our kids, Alanna and Stephen, and all of our family and friends. Hopefully this will be the last of it and we can get to living a somewhat normal lifestyle cancer free.

You can overcome all obstacles with the help and support of family and friends.

Peace out!!!!
Steve

News Flash!!!!

I received a call from my Medical Oncologist, Dr. Chen, today with awesome news. The results from my PET scan are showing the tumor has reduced in size. It has gone from 3.6cm to 2.1cm. Dr. Chen is looking at 1 maybe 2 more cycles and then reduced radiation treatments. I would love to have a cold one to celebrate but that is going to have to wait until September.

Cycle #2

With the ongoing treatment I started to get real warm sitting around the house and decided it was time to cut off the hair. As you can see Alanna was more than happy to oblige. It felt so much better, but wait there's more. While getting ready for lunch the next week I decided to just grab some hair and pull. I got enough for a small paint brush. I knew this day was going to come. Jacques to the rescue and the finished product is below.

Yes folks Kojak is alive and well and receiving chemo in Arizona. Carla, my nurse, is ready to start up my joy juice for Cycle #2.

Fastforward and it's Friday. This treatment week went much better now that I have gotten my rotation down with the Tagamet and my nausea medication. The heartburn and nausea have gotten better. The fatigue and muscle weakness is just kicking in today and it seems to have gotten a little worse with my shot of Neulasta, for my white bloodcell count, that I got during my hydration this afternoon.

I will start with some Aleve for the weakness and fatigue and hopefully it won't last as long as the first cycle.

As always Mary and I thank you for your support and prayers.

2011 ASG

Thanks to my niece and nephew-in-law for giving me a "shout out" at the 2011 Allstar Game in Phoenix. Brooke and Sean thank you for "standing up" for me, it means alot.

Week 1 in the books

Hello all and Happy Boom Boom Day! Sorry I'm a few days late in updating about my first week but the treatment kicked my butt. I'm guessing the added 5FU that is on a pump being injected all week is the culprit. The heartburn and the hiccups have been tamed by Tagamet and nausea pills. It's the fatigue in my back, arms, and legs that is annoying. Fortunately I'm feeling a little better each day off of treatment. July 18th is the start of my next cycle. Until then, when you feel down and troubled and need a helping hand just remember WWDHD. What Would David Hasselhoff Do? Yes, get up brush himself off and move forward. Until then adios.

Steve

Part II Day one

Okee dokee my brothers and sisters still following the saga. Today was day one of my new treatment and it went without a hitch. I would like to give a shout out to the Bard company for manufacturing the Power Port. That little bad boy was placed in my chest last Thursday and it makes drawing blood and administering the chemo drugs easy as 1 2 3. All you do is pierce the skin with a special needle and snap it into place. As my nurse put it "Slicker than snot on a doorknob". Mary and I got into the chemo room , after my doctors appointment, around 10:30. I was hooked up shortly after and pumped up with the good stuff. After all was said and done Mary and I were out of there a little before 5:00. Long day filled with a few naps induced by the Benadryl iv's. So far so good on the lack of side effects. I am hooked up to a portable pump that shoots me up with 5FU for the next 96 hours. I'll be going back the next few days for hydration and I will keep everyone updated. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes, it means alot to Mary and myself.

Peace and Lovie Dovie,
Steve

Update for 06/16/11

I will be undergoing chemotherapy again in about a week and it will be a more aggressive approach. Although my oncologists aren't sure what kind of cancer it is they feel it may be what I had in my neck and throat. She mentioned that lung cancer usually starts centrally in the lung and not peripherally where mine is located. There were a couple of options given for treatment and I decided for the more aggressive approach. This time around I will be having a port placed in my chest next week to accommodate drawing blood and for the ease of administering my chemo drugs. The plan of attack consists of three drugs. Cisplatin, Taxotere, and Fluorouracil(5-FU). All will be given on a Monday session. The 5-FU will be pumped into my system for 4 days by a handy, dandy little pump that I will be carrying on me. On Tuesday I will go back and have a shot of Neulasta which is a white blood cell booster. From my understanding the only drug after the initial Monday chemo is the 5-FU for 3 weeks. This whole process, "Chemo Mondays" and "Neulasta Tuesdays", is considered a cycle. I will do 2 - 4 of these before my radiation treatments. The side effects for all of this is neuropathy(diabetes), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, low white blood count, allergic reaction to the texotere, and last but not least hair loss. The original game plan by the doctor is to be out for 6 months. That is only precautionary until after the first cycle and how my system handles it. If I do well with minimum side effects then I will petition the court to let me come back with IFAM. So for now Sunday, the 26th of June, will be my last day. Thank you for all of your support through all of this. It means a lot to Mary and myself.

Biopsy Update

To those that are still following the ongoing saga of Cancer Boy.I have been scheduled for a lung biopsy Thursday June 9th to see what is on my lung. I am assured that I won't feel a thing. I will let you know what the results are when I get them and also if I feel anything.

Good and bad news. 05/18/2011

I have some good and maybe not so good news to share. I recently had a CT scan done which is normal procedure during my doctors visits. My doctor ordered a chest CT to be done, along with my neck and throat, because he saw a speck on my lung from my last PT scan in November. First the good news. The cancer in the throat and neck is gone(woohoo!!!). The speck on my lung is gone(woohoo!!!!!). But(there's always a but in there)they came across a spot the size of a large grape(one inch by a little under an inch) on the lower lobe of my right lung. Dumb luck, luck of the Polish, call it what you will. There are three scenarios with this.
Door #1) The neck and throat cancer spread through my bloodstream to my lung.
Door #2) A new cancer in its early stages.
Door #3) Valley fever that was aggravated by my chemotherapy.
Monty I'll take what's behind door #3.
I won't know until a biopsy is done within the next few days. Once I find out I will let you all in on the results. Until then .........Peace Out!

02/09/2011

It's been a while since my last post and I apologize. I've been seeing my doctors(ENT, Radiation Oncologist, and Medical Oncologist) at least once a month since September 2010 and all is good. From what my Radiation Oncologist says the cancer that I had is a cancer that jumps out at you right away and is not a slow mover. So far so good with the check ups. I've been dealing with a cold for a little over a month but I am assured by my doctor that it has nothing to do with my cancer. Whew! My resistance is still low because of the radiation and chemo treatments and also my healing is slow because of this.
If I don't post again I would like to say thank you to all that have been following our journey and sending us well wishes.

Peace out!