chemotheraphy

We just completed our first of many trips to MD Anderson, to begin a new clinical trial for my cancer. We flew in Monday morning, on a very nice jet. The trip was quick and very nice. Sarah and I were the only passengers, had no security lines to go through and enjoyed coffee and donuts during the trip. This is the best way to fly and such a blessing.

We spent all day Monday at the hospital, doing blood work and a PET scan. Everything takes so long, so being flexible and on no specific time schedule is the way to be. It was frustrating at times, but that is just the nature of the situation. We were going to get in for the PET scan 2 hours early, but because I had been chewing gum, I had to wait to begin the treatment! I didn't know that 'no eating or drinking' included gum. Now we know.

On Tuesday we met with the doctor and coordintator of the treatment. They were both very helpful and informative nice ladies. They told us that this trial is a 28 day cycle, and that I will be doing two cycles. During the cycles I will be doing a daily pill treatment at home and a weekly infusion at the hospital. I will be on two types of drugs Erlotinib (Tarceva) and Cetuximab (Erbitux). The Tarceva is the pill and the Erbitux is the infusion.

For the infusion, I was in a private room, getting the drug through an IV. Normally, this will be about a 3 hour process, but the first time it took 5 hours. Sarah was with me, working on the laptop and I was in and out of sleep while watching TV. Towards the end of the treatment I began having a mild reaction of shortness of breath and chills. They gave me oxygen to help with the difficulty breathing and after I was feeling well enough to leave it was 10:00pm.

It was nice to be able to stay with Sarah's friend, Jena, in their beautiful house. This made the trip more comfortable, since we had a great place to unwind and to sleep. Sarah was also able to meet up with one of her friends while I was having my scan, again thankful to have friends to be with during the stay.

So far, since I've been home, I have had headaches, am feeling tired and nauseous. These are all side effects of the Erbitux. I am keeping a log of everything, which I will report to Dr. Wheeler each week.

I am scheduled to go back for my infusions every Tuesday until the end of February. We do not know how we will get there each time, as the Corporate Angel Network is not always a guarentee for having a flight. As of now, there is no flight for next week, so we will either drive or pay for a very expensive pair of tickets. We know that God will always be providing for us, so we're not yet stressed about how it will all come together.

It will be interesting for Abbie and Asher to have us gone each week, but again, that will all work itself out. My parents are able to help with the kids, along with our dear friend Marjorie, and I know many of you will help us out with them too. We are already thankful for the many people that will help us get through these next 8 weeks.

Please pray for our family as we have a very challenging 2 months ahead of us. We are hopeful that these treatments will cause the tumors to stop growing, possibly even shrinking in size. It will be a long 8 weeks, with many changes and unknowns, but we know we will get through it. Pray for health for me, as I experience the effects of the treatment- the main one being the rash that is very likely to occur. Pray for Sarah as she will have a change in her work availability since she will be travelling with me most weeks. Pray for Abbie that she will understand why we are gone, and that it will not effect her emotionally. Pray for Asher that he will sleep well while being in so many different locations while we are gone. Pray that the flights will get worked out for the dates scheduled so far: 12th, 19th, 26th & Feb.2nd, that we will be able to contiune to travel with Corporate Angel Network for free.

We know that God is going to be our strength and provider through all of this, and we look forward to being able to give Him glory for all he has done! Thank you for your love and support.

a disney preview & a trip to MD...

MD Anderson, that is. James and I will both be going on this trip- Jan. 4th and 5th. He is scheduled to start his new clinical trial this time, and we want to get as much information about it first. I am thankful that my sister, Rachel will be in town from Denver, to help my parents with Abbie and Asher while we're gone. They both LOVE Auntie Rachie!

This trip we've been blessed with being able to fly with Executive Air Share, an organization that allows cancer patients to ride in extra seats on corporate jets. We'll leave from the downtown airport and get to fly in a very comfortable (and beautiful) Phenom 100 jet! This is a HUGE answer to prayer, as there is no fee for doing this. And, you can do it as often as needed, if flights are available. So, many thanks to all of you who have been praying about this for us. The Lord continues to meet our needs in powerful ways. We will share all of the details with you once we return.

For everyone who is asking to see images from our Disney trip, you will! I am working on a show of everything, and can't wait to share it. For now, here is a little preview from our sunny day at Animal Kingdom. Abbie was a brave girl, and road the Expedition Everest roller coaster (not once but twice!) and below is her take on the experience. Notice her hiding behind daddy, and showing how her stomach felt going down the huge drop. It was a great time!May you have a blessed and happy beginning to the new year!

Merry Elf-Dancing Christmas

Merry Christmas! We express our holiday cheer through dance. Open the link below and enjoy our performance.

clinical trial

The words clinical trial may or may not be meaningful, but for a cancer patient it can mean hope-a last ditch effort to halt cancer's assault on the body. Cancer has been a vicious and cruel enemy to my body, destroying healthy cells and replacing them cancerous ones. This endless assault has created permanent damage and endless pain. My present struggle against this disease is a in the "do or die" phase of the game. I have had no promising treatment options during this long eight year struggle, but I remain hopeful this clinical trial will at least slow the cancer's progression.
I recently traveled to Houston, TX to visit MD Anderson cancer center. This world renown cancer center conducts clinical trials for all type of cancer. I will be participating in a phase one clinical trial using targeted therapies. They have viewed my medical records but more importantly they requested the pathology slides of my individual cancer cell. Under a microscope, they can view the distinct properties of the cell, helping them to formulate the treatment plan that is best for me. Many clinical trials use drug therapies which are not yet approved by the FDA and are very experimental. Fortunately, I will be using 2 FDA approved cancer treatments. The experimental part of my clinical trial is using the drugs in conjunction with one another in the treatment of cancer and the observation of side effects.
I will be using Tarceva and one other drug which is not yet known. I have been using Tarceva since June (about 6 months) and so far scans show that it may be helping the tumors in my lungs. Participating in this clinical trial will require me to travel to MD Anderson once a month for treatment and evaluation. This will be challenging both financially and physically. Flying to Houston has been expensive so far, and sitting on the plane inflames the cancer in my sacrum, causing high amounts of nerve and bone pain.

Star Wars Halloween

My Star Wars fantasy began last year. Asher was 6 months old and the perfect size to be Yoda. If he was Yoda, I would be Darth Vader but couldn't convince Abbie to dress up as Princess Leia. She was set on being a farmer (and Asher was the cow). I had an entire year to introduce Abigail to the world of Star Wars . This year Abbie knew all of the characters from all of the movies (thank you Lego video games) and she decided to dress up as Ahsoka Tano, the female Jedi from the Clone Wars. This would be the year of our star wars Halloween!
I had one minor problem, Darth Vader costumes were not cheap, unless I wanted to sport a dorky spandex outfit. If I was going to dawn the mask of Vader, it had to look good. I didn't want to spend a fortune so I had to build my costume. I spent all of October crafting my costume to look authentic. I bought the helmet, gloves and light saber but I made everything else (Bev helped with the sewing.)
Not wanting to be left out, Sarah put together a Leia outfit from the Ice planet, Hoth. Ultimately, I wanted to create a lasting memory for my kids. If they don't remember, at least they have cool pictures!
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growing

Growth is good. Sarah and I experience obvious growth every day. We witness Abbie and Asher grow physically; We also witness their developing personalities, interests and talents. We grow in our relationships with people and God. Our bank accounts are (not) growing. As we live this life we grow in wisdom and intellect. Unfortunately, my cancer keeps right on growing too.

The cancer in my lungs is now twice as big as it was last year and as a result I have developed an asthmatic cough. The three areas in my head and neck are larger. I have noticed lately that I have had more difficulty speaking and eating and my doctor confirmed that I have lost some mobility of my tounge. This makes me really worried since I only have the use of half of my tounge .

I have been using a drug name Tarceva, a chemotherapy class drug which targets cancer cells, since May. This drug produces an acne type of rash and other skin issues. I tried this drug last year but discontinued using it after 6 months because of the rash. I have been receiving acupuncture twice a month and so far it seems to be keeping all of the side effects to a minimum. We will do some more CT scans in 3 months and we will know for sure if Tarceva is helping. If it is not I will probably pursue a clinical trial but I am hoping for the best. So as always, keep us in your prayers; pray that Tarceva would prevent the cancer from growing.

Another health note: On my recent scans, the doctors noticed that my left pelvic bone was fractured. The fracture probably occurred last August when I received radiation treatments to my hip and then was soon after unable to walk. This is the first time I learned about this but then again I have notice a painful bump for awhile. I didn't know what was wrong but I did know something wasn't normal. My advice... our body never lies, listen to it. If your body doesn't feel normal, be safe and check it out and stay on top of it!

abbie goes to school

today is the first day of kindergarten! abbie is in mrs. maggard's afternoon class and just could not wait any longer to finally get to school! there weren't any tears, just loads of excitement and eagerness into this next phase of life. she is so ready, and we know she will do a great job. her desk is right in the front... which we'll see if that's a good or bad thing (for mrs. maggard!). i'm sure she will let everyone know all about her class and we'll try to get her words on the blog so you can hear about kindergarten from her view!

he's getting so big!

i took asher to deanna rose on friday with my sister leah and her two kids. we had a great time, and asher really enjoyed making noises at all the animals. i had the chance to grab some shots of asher and have my new all time favorite image of him. enjoy!

asher wins

the second part of the previous post, where asher does get abbies toys and tosses them off the bar stool, will not download! i have been working on taking movies with my new canon camera and the files are really large, and this movie won't upload. any suggestions on how to shrink the size of movies before uploading?

funny [clever] boy!

asher is so funny. he is always making me [sarah] laugh, and i try to always make him laugh! he is changing so much, i thought i'd put out some videos. abbie has been learning that she needs to move her toys away from him, out of his reach, if she doesn't want him to have them [video1]. she tried, but as you'll see he didn't take long to figure out he could reach them.... listen for her 'growl' [video2 in next post] when she sees what he's done. so funny! **we have a chicago post down lower, so don't miss that!**