Cancer Update - 9/17/10

I had an appointment with my oncologist this week and my blood work came back good.I went back to work last week and so far things are going pretty well. I have an office with a door, which I will shut when necessary. I will also be working from home part of the time as well.

On October 6th, I'll will get a chest ct scan and do blood work. The scan will be to determine if the tumor has shrunk any further. If the tumor has shrunk significantly, I will do round five of chemotherapy and possibly a round six. If there is minimal shrinkage another appointment with the surgeon will be scheduled instead of doing round five. The doctor says there is a 50/50 chance of more substantial shrinkage .

As much as I would like to be done with chemotherapy, I would really like to see even more substantial shrinkage. More shrinkage would allow me to retain even more lung tissue during the surgery. I also am holding out hope that the tumor will go away completely. I know with God all things are possible. Either way I, with God's help, am ready to do what it takes to be completely healthy again. I pray that its God's will for me to close this chapter soon.

I realize that I have been blessed in numerous way in my battle with cancer. God has blessed me with 11 years since my initial diagnosis. Prior to my initial cancer diagnosis, e blessed me with a wonderful wife who has been doing a great job of taking care of me and our kids, as well as managing the household, my appointments, medicines, and numerous other things. He also blessed my wife and I to be able to have a child before I first exposure to chemotherapy medicine, and to be able to adopt our son. Having him has been just as special as when we when we brought our daughter home. My wife and I have also been blessed to have been able to get our college degrees and be in positions to build careers after my first bout with cancer. We've have also been blessed with great supportive families,friends, and church families, who keep us uplifted in prayer and love. I realize that my journey has been made easier by all of these things that I've mentioned. I feel very fortunate and hope that I can give back all the love and hope that everyone has extended to me so far.

Cancer Update 9-4-10

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my oncologist. The goal of the appointment was to monitor my white and red blood cell counts to make sure they didn't get too low. The counts came back good. The doctor said that he liked how my treatment was progressing. He said that we would do at least another round of chemotherapy (round 4) and then do another chest scan. Depending on size of the tumor at that time, there's chance we could discuss whether surgery is an option with the surgeon. The doctor sounded very optimistic that we would be able to get the shrinkage needed for surgery. His optimism definitely put my wife and I at ease.

The last few weeks I haven’t had any symptoms related to the tumor. I have really felt normal for the first time since May. At this point, I just have been just dealing with the chemotherapy treatments. Fortunately, the side effects from chemotherapy seem to be less and less with each round. I had s muscle and bone pain at times during the first two rounds. I haven't experienced that with the current round of chemotherapy. I really feel blessed and fortunate to have so many people praying for me. I truly believe that the prayers are what is making the most impact on my treatment.

God is good. All of the time.