When you choose hope, anything is possible

Hi All,

We hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Our hearts were sure pumping, as we received new PET scan results.

Dad has made amazing strides since his diagnosis almost one year ago. We have turned heads with the success of his treatment, with our family's positive outlook, and with our very strong group of supporters.

It fills my heart to share with you amazing news, I never want to share with you tough news, today I'm sharing with you simply, news. The PET scan shows the tumor has changes shape a bit. It's smaller on one side, but bigger on the other and it's uptake level has increased. Maybe the tumor threw in a fresh shovel of coal, but we're gonna put out it's flame!

Doctor Levitz, who is an absolutely charm, thinks we stayed too long on the last chemo regimen and this scan tells us we need to change things up a bit. His suggestion was to switch to VP16 (Etoposide), but after discussing with his team, the decision was Navelbine, the treatment would only take 30 minutes, 1 time a week and we were set to start right after our meeting.

Unfortunately, we learned that Navelbine and Dad don't get along. Shortly after the treatment started, Dad had a reaction to the drug. I won't go into details, but the staff and Dr. Levitz acted quick and together to help relieve him. Dr. Levitz sat with Dad the whole time, like I said, he's a gem. What I found interesting, is that the reaction was proof that the drug went straight to the tumor and went right to work. Doc said what Dad felt was cancer cells being destroyed. Perhaps that means the uptake level decreased. I'll believe it. The next course of action will be to start Dad on VP16 Tuesday.

Okay, so where do we go from here? Forward! Dad is wearing a bracelet that reads, "When you choose hope, anything is possible." With his pain meds finally in order and a new attack plan on the tumor, we're still going to move this mountain.

Thank you everyone, over and over for your support, your prayers, your energy braids! The end of this month we will pass our first year since Dad's diagnosis, and I think my Dad deserves a standing ovation for his courage and strength, not only for himself, but for all of us who stand with him. What a guy!

Love to all.

Keri

(peaceofkeri@gmail.com)

Odds Shmodds

Hi Everyone!

We have wonderful news to share with you!

Dad had his 3rd PET scan on Monday, the results are in, and are delightful. Remember... the smaller, the less active, the better... we are happy to report that the tumor in Dad's left upper lobe is smaller, as well as less active! It's size in July was 8.4 x 5.7cm, with an uptake level (energy) of 22.2, and is now 7.8 x 4.5cm, uptake 14.6!!

Some changes since the last update, we have a new oncologist, Dr. Levitz. It was a tough decision not to follow Dr. Roa to her new practice, ACOHA, in September. Dr. Levitz has big shoes to fill, and hasn't skipped a beat. We are very excited to have him on our team.

Dad worked hard for these results, he spent most of the summer with a great deal of nerve pain. I would assume this confirms our theory that the shrinking tumor, which butts up to the 3rd and 4th rib, is pulling the nerves with it. After weeks of trial and error, Dr. Levitz prescribed Dad Neurontin, which is helping to numb the nerves. On a scale of 1-10, after two days taking Neurontin, Dad's pain level went from a constant 7-12 to less than 1! Dr. Levitz is so pleased with the results that he wrote Neurontin for 3 more patients - way to pave the path, Dad!!

In other accomplishments, our team "4 the love of mike," for the Free To Breathe Lung Cancer Walk raised to date $5,343! Kellie was recognized as the top fund raising individual with an impressive $1,795. As a team, we received honor for being the biggest team in the history of the walk, and for coming in with the 2nd highest grand total! A big thanks to everyone who contributed!

My Dad is officially beating the odds, as we enter our 9th month since his diagnosis. We thought it appropriate to give him a theme song, Michael Jackson's "Beat It." It was 9 months ago that I started repeatedly blaring this song in my car to get pumped up to fight, rather than being down about everything. I'm so happy that he can call it his own now.

Once again, thank you all for your continued support, prayers and positive energy.

Keri

(peaceofkeri@gmail.com)

A great resource I used to find answers about Dad's pain: GRACE. I posted a question to the site and heard from 5 oncologists who offered great insight on treating his nerve pain. I brought this information to our oncologist, and it was assuring that he was right on target with us. I recommend passing this site to anyone you know who is touched by cancer, it's a wonderful resource.

High Maintenance

After an anxious day of waiting, this afternoon we got new PET and CT scan results. For some reason, this time, more than the last, I felt overwhelmingly nervous for the news. To save you from feeling the same, I'll start this update off with a sigh of relief:

Dr. Roa: "we're in a good place, we're really crusin"

*sigh*

The tumor in Dad's lung has not decreased much in diameter from the scan in May, however, the center has become photopenic (less dense where light can filter through; consists of floating dead cells; is breaking up and is visually much like a donut hole, or perhaps swiss cheese). Most important - no new spots!

Doc says we have reached a point of "maximum response" and now our plan is to maintain this progress by reducing chemo treatment based on how Dad is feeling. At this point, the toxicity of treatment can become greater than the benefit, therefore Dr. Roa has taken Dad off Carboplatin and has given us 3 options:

1 - Gemsar + Erbitux

2 - Erbitux

3 - Tarceva (an oral treatment similar to Erbitux, very new - need to read up on it)

Dad has been getting some pain on his left side, arm and chest - he's passed all tests to rule out any heart condition, we also thought maybe it's scar tissue forming around the IV port. The CT shows bone erosion from the part of the mass that butts up to his 3rd & 4th rib. On Friday, he will go to Morristown Memorial (outpatient) for radiation to "zap" that area and get the pain under control. He will not receive Gemsar during radiation because Gemsar makes radiation very powerful. We will know more Friday about his radiation schedule.

While today was another positive meeting with Dr. Roa, the reminder of "it's not curable, it's treatable" has been hard to chew. However, there is something to be said about my Dad's strength and courage. Instead of putting it in my own words, I will share his:

"whatever I need, I can take it"

"give me more fatigue, I can take it"

"...in for the long haul - whatever it takes"

"I can tolerate a lot"

I say my son is my hero... so is my Dad.

Thank you everyone, over and over for everything. We are feeling the love for sure.

peace and love,

Keri

(peaceofkeri@gmail.com)

MorristownPatch (donate blood, get a free movie ticket)

Free To Breathe: Fundraising for lung cancer research and awareness

National Lung Cancer Partnership

A Whole Lotta Love

Happy summer, everyone!

Dad finished up his 5th series of chemo today with low blood counts; platelets (10) & red (7.4). Hemoglobin (red blood), should be above 10 and platelets should be closer to 100. Tomorrow he will receive 2 pints of blood and 1 pint platelets to increase his levels. Anemia has been a trend in series 4 and 5, and I thought it is time to send out a message for energy & prayer for Dad.

As we know, chemotherapy eliminates cancer cells, however, it can also attack healthy red blood cells and have a negative impact on the production of new healthy cells. Not to worry, 7 out of 10 chemo patients develop anemia during the course of their treatment, and it's treatable. However, it does place extra demands on your body and can cause excessive tiredness and fatigue.

It's time to band together again and get Dad's counts, spirits and energy back up where it needs to be. Also, we're looking to schedule his next PET scan for mid-July and we are looking forward to more great results. I believe that with the energy from all of you, we will celebrate another positive milestone in Dad's fight.

Did you know that Lung Cancer is called "the silent killer?" I find myself cringe anytime I read or think about this. How dare they call something that my Father is fighting and beating "the silent killer!" All of you know my Dad, and some of you know me, and know that we will NEVER be silent about this disease. It's not going to to win! It's not going to be quiet anymore if we have something do with it!

First step is fighting, second step is spreading awareness. This year, we will participate in MorristownPatch and Free To Breathe. We ask that you take a look at all 3 links, even just one and either read, participate, donate or send on to your friends and family. Knowledge is power!

MorristownPatch (donate blood, get a free movie ticket):
http://morristown.patch.com/announcements/donate-blood-get-free-movie-ticket

Free To Breathe: Fundraising for lung cancer research and awareness:
http://participate.freetobreathe.org/site/TR/RunWalk/General?pg=team&fr_id=1441&team_id=14220

National Lung Cancer Partnership:
http://www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org/

From my heart to yours, here's to a happy, healthy summer.

Keri
(peaceofkeri@gmail.com)

The results are in....

Dr. Roa: We are all here, we have very good news!
Mike, Peg, Kellie, Keri: YAY!!!!!! (clapping, high fives...happy tears)

Through the tears of relief and the smiles of hope exchanged with each other, the rest of the visit was a blur, aside from a few key points, shrinking & less active. As promised, here is my full report:

One hour prior to a PET scan (a more detailed CT), a glucose tracer is injected into the blood circulation. Cancer loves sugar, during the wait the tracer becomes concentrated in the tissues of interest, thus feeding the cancer which will show up on the scan as active hot spots. The intensity of these hot spots are then measured for size and how active the cancer is. The less active, the smaller, the better.

The mass in Dad's upper lobe on an uptake scale of 0-30 was a 23 and is now a 15/16! The mass size was 9.5cm and is now 6cm! With an uptake level of just 3 on his spine, it could now just be preexisting arthritis and no longer cancer!

Dad started his weekly Erbitux treatment last week and is beginning to develop the expected rash side effect. At first thought you may feel as if a side effect is something we would prefer to dodge, but not with Erbitux. The development of the rash is a sign that the drug is working and Dr. Roa expects an increased shrink rate with this treatment.

Leading up to the scan, our nerves were high - we said things like "when we get the good results" and "why worry, everything is going great." I'll admit, sometimes I would think to myself and hope that I wasn't just fooling myself, that maybe I was in the denial stage again. Today, I feel stronger than ever, that a positive outlook and perspective on life is the fuel the feeds our little engines that can, that will, that are.

Thank you once again for all your prayers, energy, love and support. We look forward to sharing more good news with the next scan.

A few more of my favorite quotes of the day:
"Once you choose hope, anything is possible" -Christopher Reeves
"Never thought anyone would ever be so excited about a rash" -Mom
"I haven't been so pain free in my life, since I started working" -Dad

Keri
(peaceofkeri@gmail.com)

...and we are all together

I hope everyone enjoyed the true Spring weather yesterday - I'm seeing buds and flowers popping up everywhere, which is making me really happy!

Dad was discharged Sunday and is home safe and sound. He spent 5 nights at St. Clare's for his "tune up." He ended up getting a blood and platelet transfusion (oil change), because his counts were very low - which explains the low energy level, and he had a bladder infection - which explains the fever.

We decided that while he was there he should have an IV port inserted (keyless entry?). This will avoid the game of hide and seek between nurses' and veins - now they can simply plug him in for chemo (service). The port was a surgical procedure done on Friday, Matt and Mom were there with him while Kellie and I relied on text message updates at work. What's really cool is, Kellie and I both got a "nervous heart" feeling at the same time - we were emailing each other and both sent a text to Mom and Matt. Come to find out that the feeling we got in our heart must have been the same feeling Mom and Matt got and at the same time, because it was when the doctor came out of surgery to tell us Dad did well. "I am his, you are his, we are here, and we are all together..." feeling very lucky to be a part of such a close, wonderful and loving family... coo-coo-ca-choo (Beatles reference for anyone wondering)

The best part - we have our Dad back! He's back to telling us stories, cracking jokes his smile is back - which lights up our hearts.

Thank you all for your love and support, once again.

Keri

(peaceofkeri@gmail.com)

High-Fives for Dad

We met with Dad’s doctor yesterday and after viewing his chest x-ray, he showed a possible infection (aka pneumonia). The doctors decided to keep him in for a few more days and watch for possible signs of pneumonia. Dad said last night something “clicked” and he felt better again. He had a good day yesterday but a better night. This morning he had physical therapy today and did very well. The doctors have started him on a little physical therapy to get him moving around easier. Tomorrow they plan to do some stairs with him. His blood counts were low when he was first admitted but today have shown improvement. He will begin taking Aranesp which is used to treat anemia to keep his blood counts high. The doctors expect him to stay in St. Clare’s until Saturday just to be sure everything is improving.