Hero in the Classroom!

Last night I got a call from the principal at the school where Chris teaches.  She let me know that Chris was nominated for the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom/Seahawk Teacher of the Week award by some of his colleagues.  Here are some details about this program from the Symetra website:

Program Details

Symetra Heroes in the Classroom is a community program that recognizes 16 Seattle-area teachers for outstanding leadership and instructional skills during the Seattle Seahawks season.

What Are the Criteria for Selecting Heroes?

• A teacher who makes a real difference in students' lives.
• A teacher who goes above and beyond in his/her day-to-day responsibilities.
• A teacher who helps students build life skills.

What Will the Heroes Receive?

• $1,000 donation to their school
• Two tickets to a Seahawks regular season game
• In-game HawkVision (JumboTron) "spotlight"
• Pre-Game VIP sideline experience
• "Heroes" award certificate
• School visit by sponsors to recognize their achievement
• Personalized #12 Seahawk jersey

Chris's principal had asked him to come to the staff meeting after school to hear an 'important announcement'. The one complication was that he had chemo today!  His principal originally thought he had treatment tomorrow.  There were limited opportunities to have the sponsors come to give out the award so she called me to see if we could get Chris there today. I let our wonderful scheduler at Swedish know what was happening and she helped us get right in to Chris's appointments today so we could get out in time for me to take him over to his school for the award presentation.  He didn't know anything about it, we successfully kept it all a surprise.  A friend picked up Taigen and brought her so she could see the award presentation as well.  We got there in plenty of time and Chris went in and joined the staff meeting, still without knowing what was going on until his principal described the award and announced that he was the recipient! 

The Symetra and Seahawk sponsors said they had never had a person nominated by so many people.  They had all of Chris's colleagues that nominated him stand.  Chris was very encouraged and touched.  It was so wonderful and thoughtful of everyone to take the time to nominate him and say such positive things.  It was fun to be a part of it, to have it be a surprise for Chris and have Taigen there as well.  I'll post some pictures from today soon.

For an update on Chris's health...chemo went well today.  White and red blood cell counts were good and cancer markers in his blood were down a bit more, which was great!

Beautiful Weekend!

We just spent a wonderful weekend on Orcas Island, thanks to sister Juli and brother-in-law Bill.  They set us up for a weekend at a timeshare for Chris's birthday.  We couldn't have picked a better weekend at this time of year...the weather was gorgeous, sunny and blue skies and crisp fall air.  We had a nice unit with a deck and hot tub that overlooked Deer Harbor and spent the weekend out in the hot tub, inside playing games and in town exploring. 

Chris had chemo again last week, as well as another blood transfusion, and wasn't feeling good Friday after work.  He decided he still wanted to go as all he had to do when he got home was get in the car and he could sleep for a few hours.  Once we got there and checked in, he woke up and felt much better, enough to stay up until about 1 in the morning playing games.  He did pretty well on Saturday, going at his own pace and taking a nap after we returned from town, which helped a lot.  That was the day that is usually the hardest on him after chemo but he did great.

Now that we've been there for the first time, we wonder why we haven't taken more trips to the San Juan Islands.  It is only a couple of hours to drive to the ferry and then an hour ferry ride.  It was fun to just decompress and follow our own schedule, having a wonderful family-focused weekend in a beautiful place.  We were also able to pray, reflect and stay unplugged for most of the weekend.

Here are some pictures:

In town Sat at the bookstore

One of the timeshare units



Our deck and hot tub

View from our drive

View through the blinds from our bedroom window

View of one of the marinas

Good Lab Results Today!

Since starting the new chemo, the cancer markers in Chris's blood have gone down 40%! He was so encouraged to hear that today. He's been feeling pretty good considering how much chemo his body has gone through. This helped confirm the chemo is doing something good.

On the flip side, this chemo is causing his hair to fall out. I guess we can't complain, he's been spared so many side effects so far. It is the Abraxane that is causing the hair loss.  We're not sure if he'll be able to keep his facial hair long enough to complete Movember but we'll see. I think he's beautiful no matter what!

Thanks to all of the prayer warriors out there!  Please keep it up!

Thankfulness

I am so full of love and gratitude for all of the encouragement Chris has been receiving, especially on his birthday.  Friends and family have shared so many meaningful, sincere words that will stay with us always. They have given of their time and talents to serve us and others so we celebrated Chris's birthday in style! They have hosted us throughout the weekend as we transitioned from birthday to Halloween to nights out to Seahawk game day What a busy few days it has been and Chris is doing great, though tired. Are we the only ones feeling it is later than it actually is due to the time change? Probably not, especially with how busy many have been with the holiday, etc. :-)

It is typical for some people to share every day in November something they are thankful for. I am thankful for how much people have loved us, served us and celebrated Chris this past week.

With gratitude,
Wendy

Happy Birthday to My Love!

Today is Chris's 45th birthday! It has also been one year today since his diagnosis. What a year it has been!  Cancer, chemo, teaching, working, loving, socializing, school, Aikido, Girl Scouts, gymnastics, church, family, friends, MLK Day volunteering, Seahawks, Super Bowl XLVIII, New York, Marriage Retreat, Singles Retreat, Baltic Cruise,  Seaside, honoring our firemen and police for 9-11, pumpkin patch and corn maze, Leavenworth, ER, surgery, Sounders, hope, faith, prayer, celebrating Chris...his strength of character is amazing and I admire and love him so much.

Cancer doesn't define us, it just is. No regrets.

Some Good News

We are at Chris's second chemo appointment since starting the new regimen.  We just saw the oncologist and had a great conversation so I wanted to share. First, Chris had not had a fever again since getting the second course of antibiotics after the ER visit last weekend. Second, Chris has gained back two of the five pounds he lost since he got the infection that put him in the hospital a couple of weeks ago. Third, he ate solid food for dinner on Monday night, which hasn't happened for a while. Fourth, he didn't need a nap on Monday and was pretty energized in the evening, even having just had chemo a few days before. Fifth, he has reduced his pain medicine during the day. The oncologist says these are all good signs the chemo is having a positive effect. Keep praying!

The other thing we are doing today that is new for Chris is getting a blood transfusion. His red blood counts are low, making him anemic, which for a cancer patient means they need to get some new red blood cells through transfusion. Chemo kills all fast growing cells and Chris's red blood cells have fallen a bit behind in growing new ones to replace what is affected by the chemo. The good news is that this should also give him more energy. We may have time to get two units today but if only time for one today then he'll get a second tomorrow. He'll be back tomorrow anyway to get his white blood cell booster...that comes in the form of a shot, rather than a transfusion.  That is what allows his immune system to fight off colds etc (and to be around kindergarteners all day!).

Second chemo treatment starting in T-30 minutes...

Looks Like We're Going Home

All of the tests they ran tonight have come back negative so it looks like we're going home soon! I think we're ready...

Chris will be on another 7 days of antibiotic to further treat the infection in his gall bladder. We will talk to his oncologist on Monday to make sure nothing else should be done at this time.  But overall, Chris is looking a lot better and his temp is lower since he had the additional antibiotic tonight.

Chemo and Fever Updates

So I was just going to update everyone about how chemo went but now I get to write about the latest fever as well.  Chris started gem-abraxane on Thursday and like always, was a total trooper.  He didn't experience any side effects during or after, other than fatigue.  The 'funny' part was that he was given his normal dosage of Ativan in case of nausea before his chemo actually started on Thursday and he ended up having to ride in a wheelchair down to the car.  What we didn't realize was that this chemo treatment took only half the time that the past two chemo treatments took.  So we were done in about 2 and a half hours instead of 5.  The Ativan makes him very sleepy so right when it was peaking was when they were all done with him.  When we got home, he went right to bed and had a great night's sleep.  They upped his pain meds at night because he has a lot of back and stomach pain usually around the middle of the night.  With the Ativan in his system and the new level of pain meds, he had the best night's sleep that he had had in a long time.  Friday night's was good too.

He taught his class on Friday and had a good day though by the end of the day, he was pretty fatigued.  He slept about 12 hours Friday night and woke up Saturday feeling pretty good.  We had a low-key day and watched the Harry Potter movie marathon all together for a while. 

About 5:30 I noticed he was running a bit hot so we took his temperature.  It was around 101.  I called the on-call oncologist as anytime his temperature is above 100.4 that is what we are supposed to do.  Apparently lower-grade fevers can be just a by-product of the cancer.  The oncologist called in a new prescription for the same antibiotic that Chris was on for seven days following his discharge from the hospital a week and a half ago.  But he also said that we would need to go to the ER if Chris's fever hit 102.  Unfortunately it did go up to 102 around 8pm so I called the doctor back and he did tell us to head to the ER.  Chris and I are there now...he is getting the full work-up again.  We were hoping they would just put him on the antibiotic again, send him home and see what happens.  Chris didn't have a fever during the time on the antibiotic and just finished it yesterday so there is talk that he needs a refill.  But just to be safe, which is a good thing though we were hoping it would be a quick visit, they did a chest x-ray and are doing blood work in the lab from two different draws tonight.  We really hope we get to go home tonight but there is always the chance they will admit him just to watch him.  We'll see in a couple of hours or so.

So what I thought would just be a quick update about how well the chemo went has turned into our second ER visit story.  Hopefully all is well as can be with his gall bladder and I will keep you all updated as we progress.  Thanks as always for your love and support, prayers and well wishes and comments on the blog for Chris.  Even though he has failed miserably at updating the blog, he still reads every post and every comment.  :)

With love,
Wendy

Doing Better

Chris seems to be doing better after his time in the hospital with IV antibiotics and fluids and now having been home a couple of nights.  We did leave the hospital at almost 10pm on Wednesday night, after his last dose of IV antibiotics for the day.  After leaving the hospital, he was taking two different antibiotics to cover a spectrum of bacteria that may be part of his infection.  However, the culture that they took from the bile in his gall bladder during surgery on Monday revealed today that Chris has two different strains of E Coli bacteria that his body can't fight off and that are making him ill.  Both of the antibiotics that he was on were stopped and he got a new one that would work against these specific bacteria much more effectively.  He took his first dose tonight and hopefully will continue to feel better.

We went to SCCA yesterday and met with Dr. Harris.  They do not have a trial that Chris qualifies for currently but they are watching for one.  Dr. Harris agrees with Dr. Gold that the best thing Chris can do at this point is the third group of chemotherapies: gemcitabine and abraxane.  He starts on Thursday and will go back to his original schedule of two weeks on, one week off.  The abraxane will cause him to lose his hair but other than that, we expect the side effects to be similar to what he has already experienced. 

Thanks for everyone's help, well wishes and prayers. 

Wendy

Going Home?

The word this morning is that Chris may get to go home today.  He is a bit cranky in the hospital and it would be great to go home.  The nurse says that's a good sign that he's feeling better.  What they are waiting on is the culture of the bile they took from his gall bladder on Monday evening during his surgery.  There is a bacteria growing in it and they are waiting for it to grow enough to tell specifically what kind of bacteria it is and what antibiotic will be needed to treat it.  In the hospital, they are giving him two general I.V. antibiotics that covers a lot of bacteria but they want to get to the specificity of the infection before they release him.

We hope to still make the appointment with Dr. Harris at SCCA tomorrow to see what options exist in clinical trials.  If not tomorrow, then we will reschedule as soon as we can.  Our oncologist, Dr. Gold came to see us this morning, as he does every morning.  He is ready to start Chris on a new chemo cocktail if there are no trials that Chris qualifies for right now. 

The biggest risk right now is of his gall bladder bursting, similar to appendicitis.  A lot of people have asked us why they don't just take out the gall bladder.  I asked that question this morning...I figured, since they were considering surgery to insert a drain from his gall bladder to either his stomach or externally, that would all take recovery time as well so why not just take out the gall bladder?  The answer...there is too much cancer in and around the gall bladder and they can't cut through the cancer.  It doesn't heal like normal cells, for one thing, and Chris would probably bleed out.  The other risk, with any of the surgery options, is that there is a high likelihood that this would cause the cancer to spread.  Because of this, they are not going to do another surgery at this time.  We need to pray that his gall bladder doesn't burst and that the next treatment will shrink the tumors to alleviate the pressure on the organs. 

Miracles do happen and there is still a possibility that we'll find a treatment that has more of an effect on Chris's cancer.  Through all this, we take comfort in God's promises, like John 14:1-4, shared with us by good friends yesterday:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.” 

As always, thanks for your prayers, good thoughts, positive energy and support.

With love,
Wendy

Back from Surgery

Chris's surgery went well. They were able to remove the two plastic stents that were put in back in August. They instead put in a metal stent that expands the bile duct more than the plastic ones do. They drained a lot of bile and sent some to the lab to test for infection. They will watch Chris for the next 24 to 36 hours so he'll be staying until at least Wednesday.  The oncologist and surgeon will talk tomorrow about a strategy to put in another permanent way to drain the gall bladder. This may mean another surgery on Wed. We'll know more tomorrow.

Thanks for all of the prayers, well wishes and offers to help! We appreciate it all so much.

With love,
Wendy

Last Night's Adventure

Chris has been running a higher fever than normal since Friday night.  We were in contact with the doctors all weekend and they advised us to go to the ER last night, after trying two days of antibiotic at home.

After 6.5 hours in the ER, 500 ml of IV fluids, IV antibiotics, two sets of independent blood tests, chest x-ray, and another CT scan, they admitted Chris to the hospital at 1:30 am for the rest of the night. The ER doc consulted with Chris's oncologist and surgeon this morning and they have come up with a plan. They think the stents in his bile duct may be blocked. He is going to be scheduled for endoscopic surgery today to replace the stents - a procedure he has had previously.  We are all hopeful that surgery will confirm that the stents were the issue.

 

Chris will stay the night again tonight to make sure there are no complications from the surgery and to see how he does once the stents are replaced.  We are hopeful he will be able to go home tomorrow.  Needless to say, the Monday Night Football venue has been changed for the Soethes - Go Hawks! 

 

We have an appointment on Thursday at SCCA (Seattle Cancer Care Alliance) to meet again with Dr. Harris to see what clinical trials they have that Chris may qualify for at this time. We met with him at the end of last year to get our second opinion.  Our oncologist at Swedish, Dr. Gold, has referred us back to him as there are no trials at Swedish that Chris qualifies for currently.  I am so grateful doctors from different (and financially competing) institutions get to a point where they collaborate in the best interests of the patient! 

 

Thanks for your prayers!

Wendy

CT Results

Chris has not been feeling all that great in the last couple of weeks and has had a harder time sleeping, etc.  He gets through his day really well, as teaching and spending time with his friends at work causes the day to go by fairly quickly.  There may be an adrenaline boost or some similar effect.  But once he gets home, he has spent all of his energy.  We've adjusted and what helps is if he can take a nap right after he gets home...he'll then have renewed energy and focus to have quality time with the family.  The important thing is that we are making it work.  We try to make the best of the hand dealt us and there are still so many wonderful moments even in the midst of struggles. 

We went in for chemo today as well as to hear the results of his CT scan taken yesterday.  We were somewhat prepared to hear something different than what we've all been praying about as he has been having more pain at night, etc.  The cancer has grown again, in all existing tumor areas this time.  It is slow growing but means that his current chemo is not really working.  There are two options suggested for us by our oncologist at this point: to try a clinical trial if Chris can get into one or to switch to another chemo combo.  The clinical trial is a suggestion now because Chris is still pretty healthy and hardy in many ways.  He is a great candidate for a trial if he meets the criteria.  We have a call into SCCA to see what trials are going on currently that Chris might qualify for.  We can always do the other chemo combo if we don't get into a trial or afterwards. 

Chris didn't get chemo today, similar to last time the CT results indicated time for a change.  That is actually a good thing as you have to be four weeks out from your last chemo to participate in a trial and he is already two weeks clean.  Either way, we will have some new treatment in about two weeks.  I am hopeful that these extra two weeks will allow some of Chris's appetite to come back and that he feels better for a while.  At least he doesn't have to carry a pump around any more for 48 hours! 

Thank you as always for the cards, meals, well wishes and prayers...keep it up, Prayer Warriors!  We still have hope and faith though this isn't going the way we would have chosen at this time.  Chris has been a bit down lately and I just want to let everyone know that though he may not reach out and ask for it, he benefits so much from the encouragement and time with you that he gets. 

With love,
Wendy

P.S.  We found out this week that our friend David Jeffrey, husband of friend Susanne Jeffrey, has cancer in his pancreas and bile duct as well.  We send out love and prayers to them and all of our other friends and loved ones that are struggling through difficult times as well.  Many of you that read and/or comment on this blog may be undergoing struggles of your own...thank you so much for how much you give regardless. 

Can't Believe it's Been Almost a Year

So we've been getting back into our school year routines. Chris is teaching again this year and grateful to be able to do that. He really enjoys what he does and his colleagues provide so much encouragement for him (thank you!).  He has a nice class size this year, only 20 kindergarteners! :-)  

Today is actually the 11 month anniversary of Chris's diagnosis. He was given the results of his MRI on his birthday last year...what timing. Taigen's praying specifically that Chris will be better by his birthday this year to make up for the crappy day he had last year.

He goes in for his routine CT scan tomorrow and then we see the doctor on Thursday to get the results.  We'll find out then if he stays on his current chemo regiment or moves to another. Thank you to all the prayer warriors out there praying on our behalf! And thanks for the positive thoughts and well wishes.

With love,
Wendy

Good News/Bad News

The good news is that Chris's cancer markers have gone down for the past few weeks.  The bad news is that the CT scan showed that the tumors on the lymph nodes and pancreas have grown a bit.  What is unclear is when the tumors grew.  We know that the tumors were growing in May when the last CT scan was taken, which is when Chris's chemo treatment was changed.  There was a delay originally to get him on the new treatment and then we delayed again between the second and third cycle to go on our trip so it is possible the tumors grew a bit more at that time and that the current chemo is actually doing good now.  The doctor decided to keep Chris on the current chemo treatment and compare the tumors again in a couple of months as long as he is still doing well. 

Chris had chemo today for five hours at the cancer center and again has the pump infusing a chemo for the next two days.  He did well, sleeping actually through the whole thing today due to the Atavan they gave him before the chemo to control any possible nausea. He has been doing great this evening, taking it easy and eating some real food for dinner.

Again, thank you to all you prayer warriors out there!  We were really encouraged to see over 100 'likes' on Facebook and the comments when we put out our specific prayer request on Monday.  It really means a lot and we are humbled by all of your support!

Wendy

Thank You! :-)

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and well wishes, especially leading up to Chris's CT scan today.  Scan and blood draw were taken and we find out the results tomorrow when we go in for chemo.  One of us will update the blog tomorrow. ;)

Wendy

Wow, where did the time go?

So we can't believe it is almost the first of August and the summer is half over!  There is a lot to fill everyone in on from the perspective of summer fun.  From a cancer perspective, Chris has had four chemo treatments in the last 10 weeks under the new plan.  He is getting chemo focused on fighting the cancer in his pancreas and has to deal with an IV of chemo over three days (48 hours) but it has seemed to be helping him feel better in-between treatments.  He has his next CT scan next Tuesday and I'd like to ask everyone a favor...I know so many people have been praying for Chris and we are so grateful.  I'm asking everyone to concentrate on praying for Chris this week to be healed from his cancer.  We are hopeful as always for good CT results.

From the fun perspective, we got to take the trip we'd been planning for a year.  On June 25, Chris and I left for Stockholm Sweden with my mom and stepdad.  We spent three nights in a great apartment hotel not far from the city center and old town.  What a beautiful city Stockholm is, I had no idea!  We explored the city every day, first by Hop On, Hop Off boats and by foot.  Chris did great!  We weren't in a hurry as we strolled around the city taking it all in.  We had Italian food twice (love real Italian food in Europe...the flavors are a bit different over there), Swedish meatballs and cooked in our apartment kitchen.  Chris ate really well, better than he had been eating in weeks.

On June 29 we all got on a seven night Baltic cruise.  We went to Helsinki Finland, Saint Petersburg Russia, Tallinn Estonia, Riga Latvia and back to Stockholm.  We splurged on a wonderful two day excursion in Saint Petersburg with Shore Trips, recommended by my favorite travel agent Suzy Schreiner!  We had our own car, driver and guide and saw everything you could in 16 hours.  We set it up this way so we could go at our own pace, as slow as needed, but in fact kept up an intense pace, exploring the Hermitage, Catherine the Great's palace, Peterhof, Church on the Spilt Blood, St Isaac's Cathedral and more. Saint Petersburg was the jewel of Chris's trip.

One of my favorite stops was Tallinn, Estonia.  It is a small city with an old town center that dates back almost a thousand years and is very European looking as unfortunately both Denmark and Germany were past conquerors.  But it makes for a quaint old town with close to a hundred years of independence that has been part of the European Union for a decade.  The people are very friendly and passionate about singing (I'd fit right in if I had a good voice!).

We got to spend another two nights in Stockholm when we got off the cruise.  We got to explore some more and relax.  We went back to Sky Hotel Apartments and loved our second stay as much as the first.  I miss the fabulous European continental breakfast they served every day and sharing tables with people from all over the world!

Chris did really well during the whole trip.  The hardest part was the jet lag once we were home.  Chris had chemo about 12 hours after we got home and our sleep patterns were all messed up as the time difference spanned 9-11 hours in the different places we had been.  The doctor and team were really excited to hear about the trip and saw no ill effects.  Chris had a harder time with those three days of chemo.  We think it was due to the jet lag.  Two weeks later he had chemo again and it was a lot easier. 

After we got home we had a visit from our great friends, the Sallees, from Kalispell, Montana.  They were in town for the Northwest Christian Conference, which we all went to and it was very inspiring.  It was so wonderful to see friends from near and far.  

And it doesn't end there.  Chris just went to Comic Con in San Diego with his best friend, Aaron and his son.  He left last Thursday a few hours after his last three-day chemo ended.  Aaron picked him up that night from the airport and they had three fun filled days at the convention.  They also got to see good friends Andy and Noelle in La Jolla while down there.  Taigen and I missed him but had a terrific girls' weekend.  We picked them up last night at SeaTac and Chris is doing well.

So here we are a week from the next CT scan and chemo.  Thank you for your kind thoughts, prayers, meals, etc.  We love you all, near and far.

Wendy

P.S.  For those close to us or to our dear friends, that are also suffering and struggling through cancer and other illnesses, please know that you are always in our prayers as well.

New Chemo

Chris had another CT scan on Monday and we found out the results yesterday when seeing our oncologist.  The results weren't great, as the cancer has grown in or around his pancreas since the last scan 9 weeks ago.  Our doctor/nurse team said this is probably why he is having a hard time eating.  The 'good' news is that the cancer hasn't spread outside the initial areas diagnosed last fall.  He is still having back pain, which they said is due to the cancer in the lymph nodes in the stomach area, not cancer in new places as I was afraid of - the nerves in the area of his cancer refer to the middle of his back.  We are working on getting the right amount of pain medicine in him before he goes to bed so it will alleviate the pain for the entire night so he can get more sleep. 

He was sent home without chemo yesterday as the regiment has been changed.  He will now be on a hard hitting chemo cocktail used to fight pancreatic cancer - 3 different chemo drugs given in the same day.  He'll also have a pump attached to him for 48 hours after each chemo appointment, extending each chemo treatment for two days.  The new chemo schedule will normally be every other week, starting next week, though we have a few variations in the schedule coming up due to previously made plans that the doctor is okay with us keeping.  I am grateful Chris is almost done with the school year as we don't know if this new treatment will affect him differently than the one he's been on for the past seven months.  One treatment next week and then he'll get the next one just after school gets out.  He has done so well on the initial chemo therapy that we have hope he will continue to experience few of the possible side effects on the new one.  We are so grateful to God for that - must be due to all of your prayers!

He also has to go in for endoscopic surgery again as his stents have slipped out of place.  His liver function was tested yesterday and tests returned normal results and no jaundice indicators appeared.  That is one of the risk factors with biliary tract cancers that they worry about.  They are going to do the surgery next Friday to replace the stents with a new kind that won't slip as easily. 

That's most of the update for now.  I'll work on getting Chris to write more often.  As always, thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers!  We need them!

With love,
Chris and Wendy

Not a great blogger!

Hey all,

I know that it has been a long time since my last entry and I am sorry about that.  I wish I could say that it is because of my health but that would be a lie.  I am just not a good blogger.  I wish that I was more like my father-in-law Dave, he has mad blogging skills.

I can say that these past several weeks have been a roller coaster.  I was put on this new medication to help my appetite and it did everything but that.  I started to be very emotional, almost crying when talking about mundane subjects, commercials, or just random subjects.  I though I was going crazy!  On top of that I started gagging when eating.  It turned out my new medication was progesterone...I was getting women's hormones.  I was relieved because I wasn't going crazy and now I have empathy when my wife gets all emotional over a commercial or movie.   Needless to say I am off that now.

On top of that, I have been sleeping horribly the past couple of weeks.  I tell you what, not sleeping for several days really takes everything out of you.  Now they have me on better pain meds at night that will hopefully solve this problem.  I just started, and already feel better.

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes.  I need both of them.  Through the ups and downs, I know that my friends and family are there for me.  My wife and daughter have been so awesome.  I know that I could not do this without them.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Chemo Today

Chris is having his eighth round of chemo starting today.  He is also on Spring Break so is busy resting up.  He has been having some additional stomach and back pain so we talked to the oncologist, Dr. Phil Gold and oncologist nurse Alice today about it.  We are hoping it is due to the Aleve he has been taking as it can be hard on the stomach. The pain is in a different place than the tumors so hope is good.  He will stop taking Aleve and start taking something else the doctor gave him to see if that makes a difference.  He also got an appetite stimulant to take in the morning which will hopefully help him want to eat more.  He has lost quite a bit of weight, which isn't good at this point.  Of course, he is eating so healthy that it is hard to calorie load...so ironic he is facing this issue.

Taigen and I are hanging out while Chris is sleeping during the last half of chemo.  She came down to do some artwork with a wonderful lady that works at Swedish.  She really likes these afternoons where she can come do art, see her daddy and have a treat.  We just finished up at Starbuck's and are about to head back soon.

Here are some pictures from today (mostly!):

Chemo #2 is the brown bad in the middle, cisplatin.  It needs to be protected from the light so in a cellophane-type bag.

 

 My love!

 

Oops!  How did this one slip in here?  Oh well, a goofy pic from our Super Bowl trip!

The Results Are In!

Chris and I saw his oncologist today and got the results of the CT scan from Monday.  The good news is that there is no progression of his cancer and maybe a tiny bit of regression!  We were worried that it was progressing because he has been feeling more discomfort in his stomach area and back, which were the initial signs of the cancer.  They don't know why he is feeling more discomfort now and why his cancer markers have been going up but the doctor thinks it may have had to do with the old stent that was replaced on Friday in his bile duct.  The sludge that accumulates can cause a blockage, even with a stent, especially the longer they are left in and we had left the original one in almost a month longer than they normally stay in. 

We are staying with the current treatment plan another 9 weeks and will have another CT scan at that time.  This is day 1 of his seventh cycle of chemo so he has had six complete cycles, for a total of 12 chemo treatments so far!  He has been a champ through this whole process and continues to do well.  We are working on getting him to eat a bit more as he is losing his taste buds and is not wanting to eat as much but he should not lose more weight if he can help it.  Oh, the irony of life. :)

Chris here...I thought that I would add something since my awesome wife has been blogging for me.  I want to thank everyone for their prayers and good thoughts.  God is so awesome and he hears everything that you send his way!  Please keep up the good work for me!  It means so much to me and my family!!

Cheers!

Catching Up

I know Chris will be updating his blog soon but I wanted to catch everyone up on where we are at with treatments, etc.  Last Friday, Chris went in for endoscopic surgery again to replace the stent in his bile duct.  The first time he had this done was the day before Thanksgiving, and this was very similar but luckily he didn't have to stay the night in the hospital this time.  This time they put two stents in, side by side, so that they will drain more efficiently...picture a figure 8 inside a circle...the drainage can go through each of the circles as well as on each side where the indents are.  He should be able to go 6 months this time before needing a replacement stent, which is great. 

He was in and out of the hospital in 5 hours on Friday, though the actual procedure took about half an hour and he was grumpy to be there that long for such a short procedure.  It really had a lot to do with the fact he had to fast from the night before, he couldn't even drink water on Friday, so he was hungry and thirsty until about 6pm.  He was very grateful to not have to spend the night as he doesn't sleep very well in the hospital with the nurses checking on him all night long (not to pick on the nurses as they are great!) and the bed is always moving - they do that now so you aren't as likely to get bed sores when you are an inpatient for an extended time.  Unfortunately he didn't sleep well that night at home either.  He described it as his insides felt like someone had been poking around in them, which of course the surgeon had done when placing the stents.

On Saturday, Chris took on more than he should have and paid the consequences Saturday night and Sunday but he seemed to be feeling better by this evening after staying down all day today.  Tomorrow, on Monday, he goes in for his next CT scan after work.  We are praying that we'll get good news on Wednesday when we see our oncologist and hear the results of the CT scan.  If the cancer is not advancing or is shrinking, he will continue on the chemo regiment he is on now.  If it has started growing again, we will need to change to a new chemo and that is a big unknown for us.  While it is discouraging to be on chemo continuously and I know it is getting harder on Chris, the chemo treatment that he is getting now allows him to maintain a good quality of life and continue to work, travel, play, etc. with family and friends. 

We do want to thank everyone for the healthy meals that you've brought us as well as your positive thoughts and prayers as it is all making a difference!  The doctor has said that he has never seen anyone go through the chemo Chris has been going through for the last 4 1/2 months as well as and with as few side effects as he has had.  And though both Taigen and I have gotten the crud that has been going around, Chris has not...Thank you God!

Please keep up your prayers and positive thoughts and we will let you know what we hear on Wednesday.  Take care and love to all of you and your families!

Wendy

What? A new blog post?

Believe it or not, yes.  I finally got to it and here I am.  Than you so much for your continued prayers and well wishes.  I know that these are doing as much as the Chemo is in fighting this caner.  Please keep on keeping on.


As everyone can expect, this journey is one of many ups and downs.  I just want everyone to know that I have been having a hard time with food.  Not that I don't have awesome and delicious food, thanks to many of you who bring me the best food one can ask for.  Not that I don't have an appetite, which I still do.  I have been having a hard time with how limited my diet has become.  As you may well know, I have cut sugar, dairy, gluten, fats, processed foods and most oils out of my diet.  I know, what do I eat.  Mainly very healthy food that has been helping me fight the cancer and many side effects of the chemo.  I know that I have joked before about being the healthiest that I have ever been while being the sickest.  The trouble comes when I notice just how much food that is all around me at any given moment.  I miss the days when I could just randomly choose what I wanted for dinner instead of strategically planning and researching the options.  I wish that I could go back to the ease of grabbing a bag of chips when I wanted a snack with out seeing what kind of oil they use.  Just today, I was in the store hungry and wanted to get a snack.  I picked up some peanuts and read that they add sugar to them.  Why do they add sugar to peanuts?!?!  

I know that my health is much more important than snaking on some chips, but it gets tiring.

Oh well, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

Cheers,

Chris

SUPER BOWL!

WOW!  That sums up what it was like to be at the Super Bowl.  It was crazy.  Everywhere we went in Manhattan there were Hawk fans yelling "Go Hawks" and "Seahawks"!  I am not kidding when I say there was 10 to 1 Hawk fans to Bronco fans.  And we were not disappointed with the play on the field.  I heard some say that it was a boring game, well I disagree.  The game was awesome.  We needed a win like that to get the national respect that this team deserves.  The day after the game we woke up to find 8 inches of snow on the ground.  That was cool because I always wanted to see NYC in the snow.  Funny thing is that we got out of JFK fine but it wasn't until San Fran that our flight was cancelled.  Probably just lingering hard feelings from the NFC championship game.  Thank you again to Mack, Zoe and Lisa for making this whole trip possible!

Some sobering news is that the cancer markers in my blood have been on the rise.  So please keep praying and sending good thoughts.  I know that I need them and they help so much!

Silver Linings!

All throughout this experience, Taigen has been pointing out all the good things or silver linings that have come our way.  She pointed out that she is getting lots of play dates with all of her friends, that amazing meals are being brought to us to help fight the cancer and keep me healthy, and that so many prayers are going up to God for me!  These have all been incredible and the love that has been shown to me and my family has been humbling and inspiring.

The latest silver lining came to me on Thursday when I found out that my friends Mack and Zoe Strong were able to get me and Wendy Super Bowl tickets to buy.  WOW!  I can not even believe that I just typed that.  The Super Bowl!  With the Seahawks!  Mack works for the NFL in addition to doing Seahawk broadcasts and he worked his magic to make this kid's Make-a-Wish come true!  Thank you so much Mack and Zoe!  I know that you were swarmed by people asking you about tickets, and it means so much to me that you thought about me and wanted to encourage me in this way.  I will never forget this!

Chemo has been going good.  The doctor is still very pleased with how I am responding to the treatments. I was hit kind of hard on Thursday and Friday when I started feeling that I was coming down with the flu, but no, it was just chemo.  Thankfully I am coming out of that and this is my break week.  This is the week to have off!  God worked it out!

Cheers,
Chris

Top half of the class!

Hi everyone,

I know I've been silent for the past couple of weeks so I'll fill you in a bit on what's happened.  After New Years Eve, which was an amazing evening with my wife and friends on a Lake Union cruise, we went to get a second set of eyes on my case at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA).  The doctor and staff were great but after that meeting we were a bit bummed out because mentally it put us back to the beginning of this whole process. We just weren't prepared for that.  We did learn about some trials that I could possibly get into but I would have to get off my treatments that seem to have been working so far.  Also the doctor said that surgery is not a great option because I would go off chemo to get the surgery and he has seen, in most cases, that the cancer spread to other parts of the body during this time.  Not really encouraging. 

But on to some good news.  I had my first follow-up CT scan at Swedish on Monday since my diagnosis and original scan.  Just got done talking to my doctor and he told me that most of the time he is telling patients with this type of cancer that their cancer is growing, which is not good.  He told me that everything is stable with no growth and in fact, one tumor actually shrunk by a 1/4.  Feeling good with that. So same chemo, same plan for the next 9 weeks and then another scan.

Everything else is going great.  Still no pain, no nausea, no massive hair loss and the Hawks are in the championship game.   Go Hawks!  Just about to get hooked up so more later (and sooner :) )

Cheers, Chris