Gone but not forgotten

Well it's been a couple of months since my last post and I apologize for that. As of the 6th of this month my chemo cycles are over with. About two weeks prior to that I had a CT scan of my chest to see how things were going and it came back favorable, the tumors were gone but I had some fluid on my lungs. This was due to my treatment and also to my lung surgery in January. Dr. Chen is not too worried about this. If she's not worried then I'm not worried. On Friday the 24th I had my PET scan to see exactly how my treatments were working. That was a long weekend waiting to hear what the results were. Well I'm here to tell you that after 17 chemo treatments, 35 radiation doses, and 1 lung surgery I am cancer free!!! Woohoo!!! I have started a maintenance program which consists of premeds and only 1 chemo drug. This will be our ritual every 3 weeks for as long as.............. Liquor is not an option to celebrate anymore. The liver needs to be working properly in order for the chemo drug to do it's job. A small price to pay to stay above the ground instead of below it. Mary and I would like to say thank you to all for their well wishes and prayers. As of now this will probably be the last post. Peace Out! Steve

And now it is two......

drugs that is. Yes Dr. Chen decided to take me off of the 5fu pump and I am happier than a pig in you know what. Some of the side effects of the 5fu were mouth sores, nausea, heartburn, drying of the skin on my hands causing them to peel. The tumors were chemo sensitive (a good thing) and appear to be gone. I will be going for a Pet scan towards the middle of July to see how much progress I have made. I mentioned that I had a little soreness, like tugging, in the area of the tumors and she assured me that was normal and it was the scar tissue from the dead tumors. I have to say one thing for the tumor between my ribs, it seems to have helped my golf game. I am keeping my right elbow in to my body so as to not over stress the area of the ribs and it seems to help straighten my shot and smooth out my swing. As always thanks to all for their prayers and well wishes. Peace out!

Some Uplifting News

Dr. Chen confirmed at my appointment this past Monday that the tumor that was between my ribs and the tumor just below my shoulder blade seem to be gone after one cycle. Woohoo!!!!! Now we are looking at 4 cycles and probably going down to just 2 drugs for cycles 5 and 6. We will keep everyone up to date.

The First Cycle

And my two rest weeks are coming to an end. Do you know what that means?? Cycle number two starts on Monday the 14th. The first cycle wasn't too bad. Wednesday was the worst day, but some drugs during hydration took care of the nausea and upset stomach. I have to give kudos to my lovely wife for insisting that I do hydration during chemo week. It has helped immensely with how I felt during the week. Mary and I thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes. Peace out!

It's hard to believe..................

that one week ago today, and at the time of this writing, I was under the knife and having a tumor removed from my lung. How time flies. Although it was great having my meals and pain pills brought to me it's still not home. I have been at home since Monday and am enjoying being able to sleep through the night without being woken up for this or woken up for that. The pain has subsided to only feeling like a mild muscle pull on my right side. Multiple doctors visits are scheduled for the next few weeks along with bloodwork and a chest x-ray. If all looks good I could be back in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the doctors agree with me. To all the folks that have been following our journey and praying for us, Mary and I would like to offer our thanks to you. Until the next update.

Peace Out!
Steve

Surgery and the day after

Steve had surgery on the 5th and Dr. Tsau did not need to remove the lobe. In fact, he was done in just under two hours, just when Geoff, Carol and I went to grab a snack in the cafeteria my buzzer went off. Dr. Tsau told me that the tumor had metastasized from his throat/neck cancer and it was not lung cancer - which is a good thing (at least that's what I've been told) and the margins were clear (I can't take credit for asking this, Geoff was there and asked). He was put in ICU (same place as when his feeding tube was in, not as scary) and hopefully will be moved to a "less expensive room" (my words) this evening after Dr. T comes in. Steve has an epidural in his back and that will most likely stay for a couple more days. Everything is fine, so far and he's feeling a little better - what a trooper. I keep saying Three Times a Charm and he will be done/finished with the big C.
Thank you to Alanna for coming yesterday morning and Geoff and Carol for spending the morning and afternoon with me. This was much appreciated.
Love to all - Mary