Hospital Stay

Good evening everyone, or morning to those of you on the other side of the planet.

Wanted to give everyone an update on how Dad is doing.

As you know he had his first chemo treatment last thursday. He is doing ok, but we had some pretty rough learning to do. Even though Dad has been eating regularly and drinking normally he still got extremely dehydrated. When we saw the Oncologist on Tuesday he admitted Dad to the hospital to go on fluids and receive two units of blood becuase of the dehydration.

Dad was discharged today from the hospital (only two nights) and is now home.

It's very stressful going through these roller coaster of emotions. On Tuesday things were looking really bad. Really bad! but then we got the news that oh hey, it's just dehydration...wow, from the low parts to the high parts. What a ride. Basically anything that we used to think was strange, abnormal, or dangerous is now just the new norm.

Wanted to say thanks to the church group for coming over and scouting out the list of chores we have. Also wanted to say thanks to John and Evy, for helping around the house and always stopping in to say hi.

Finally, and as always, I wanted to say thank you to Jesus for having answered more of our prayers and for putting all of you in our lives. This is not a journey that I would wish on any of our enemies but it's one we are in and I'm thankful that he has given us the strength, family, and friends to do it.

We don't have control over our time, but we do have control over how we use it. I've been working on trying to answer this question...perhaps you could reply with what you would do...the question is...if you only had 24 hours left to live, how would you spend it, what would you do, who would you do it with...how would you live every moment to its fullest potential? The reason I ask this question is becuase honestly I don't know how to live every moment, or every day to it's fullest. Perhaps there are more of you out there that may feel the same now that Dad has given this opportunity to learn the lesson?

To get those juices flowin'...here is a picture that makes me think of some things I'd like to go do again...you might recognize that strikingly hansome man on the right:

In Christ,
J. Raymond Jr., Jr.

Chemo Confirmed - it's game time

We received word that the insurance company has approved Dad's chemo treatment so in less then 24hrs we will start that portion of this journey.

I can honestly say that I never thought I'd have to prepare Dad for Chemo as I was growing up. But here we are. It's a very solemn occasion to be briefing Dad on chemo and providing his meds to prep for it. Tonight he got an extra nice dose of Dexamethason to prepare him for chemo (5x original dosage) and will get another 5x dose tomorrow morning.  I'll admit...it was not fun delivering it to him especially since he had to go all day without it and was in extreme pain....huh...extreme, if only we could all understand what that meant to him right now. Does extreme mean "on a scale of 1-10" or does it mean "I can't roll over in bed without it feeling like I just ran a mile." Funny how situations change our perspectives isn't it?

Dad and I watched Pale Rider tonight...a totally awesome Clint Eastwood Western. Brought back a lot of memories of riding in the mountains with Dad and learning how to be a cowboy from one of the toughest around. But watching the old westerns with Dad was totally awesome.

Soooooo...a lot of you have asked if you can help and well, the time has come for me to ask for help. We have some things to do around the house this weekend and those of us here now are a little tapped as far as time, energy, and emotion go. If anyone out there is willing to come by and help out we have some basic chores that need to be done and your assistance is appreciated

We need to:
1. pressure wash the lower area of the home
2. have a wood stacking party...Sherry is in charge because she loves doing it
3. If anyone has a moss thatcher we need to do that too
4. If anyone knows someone who wants to buy a F250 we are selling dads for $3000 Obo, we need to get that up on craigslist
5. I have a small address sign that needs to be fixed
6. Some boxes to move in the house
7. Pressure wash the downstairs cement
8. we need help selling their property in Tenaskit, WA...any recommendations or expertise, or interest are welcome
9. I could use someones help to scan all of our medical documents in for record keeping purposes
10. I need Shannon to take Sherry out and have a blast on the town so maybe someone could make Dad dinner on Friday and Saturday night? Also need people to go out with them and P A R T Y Sherry is totally awesome and right now, a good break is in order...she'll deny it all day long, and those of you who know her, know exactly what I'm talking about, but it's time for her to go get pampered, party hard, have fun with the girls, drink a beer, go shopping, or whatever it is girls like to do (one can only fathom LOL)
11. is someone good at trimming fruit tree's without killing them, because I'm not, so if you have time, we could use the help.
12. Cherry and Lemon Marange pie are always welcome


Well, we aren't normally the ones who go out asking for help but after the emotional stress of today and what we will be going through tomorrow...I really don't have a problem asking :-)

Beyond that I have two closing remarks (well one question and one remark)

first, tonight it occurred to me that maybe, juuuuust maybe, Dad has impacted your life in someway...I think it would be a great thing if you could post at least one comment to this post as to how Dad has impacted your life.

second, tonight while helping Dad (in that emotional state I was in) I heard the rain come down and God had me pause and realize that the rain drops i heard were his tears and they were pouring out for Dad. For some reason that thought brought me peace. God IS with us. God IS with Dad. And that simple notion, that simple reference, and that loud sound made me realize how deep God's love runs for us!

No matter what Dad goes through, it pales in comparison to what Jesus went through. In 48hrs Jesus will be crucified for my sins, for Dad's sins, for your sins and in three days hence he will rise again. His resurrection is the ultimate victory, the ultimate assurance, and the ultimate sacrifice. Make this Easter more than bunnies and candy, Easter was never meant to be that anyway. Instead, recognize and see the truth...Christ was, Christ is, and Christ has risen!

Thank you to John today for helping take care of some chores around the house...you are truly appreciated!

In Christ,
Jeff

Chemotherapy delayed

Chemo was delayed until thursday, insurance still needs to approve the procedure...ahh bureaucracy

He was walking quite a bit today. He felt better but was not able to get comfortable in any position for extended periods of time.

On a really positive note, radiation series number 1 completed today! We should start to see positive results within 6 weeks time if not sooner.

Thank you for the love,

In Christ


Ps ...He has risen!

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Chemo Therapy Plan

Good evening everyone,

Brain MRI Results show no cancer in the Brain!!!! Thank you Jesus!

Dad will start Chemo Therapy on Tuesday.

Treatment will include two treatments:
1. Monclonal therapy
2. chemo therapy

Monclonal therapy includes: Avastin

chemo includes two drugs: Paclitaxel (aka Taxol), Carboplatin (aka Carbo).

Treatment begins on Tuesday and will continue for 9 weeks (1 treatment every 3 weeks for a total of 3 chemo treatments)

I'll post updates as we get treatment.

Love you all

In Christ! Hooah

4/11/11 A Good Day

Slept in this morning and it felt good. I got up and took the morning pills and got dressed for the day. Fixed a simple breakfast and enjoyed. Check the e-mails and hope to see you Sunday Andy. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. It was bath day and I had to get ready for an extra radiation treatment as they had been missing a spot on my right hip. Treatment today was about an hour due to the change but it will be worth being able to sit upright comfortably again. Sherry is home and we are getting ready for dinner so that is a wrap for this Monday. I am surrounded by great group of friends and family as i continue my journey. Thank you all Love Jim

Oncology Appt #2

I hate this Shit! Cancer F*^$ing sucks and when i get to heaven I'm going to personally go down to hell and Kick Satan's ass (me and the entire army of God)!

yeah, that about describes this day.

Soooooo.....this ain't easy so lets do it together.

Saw the Oncologist today for appointment number two where he provided us the results of the PET scan. Bottom line up front (BLUF): Dad's cancer is lung cancer and it has spread to all the major bones in his body. We are thankful that we now know the full extent of it's spread with one exception...the brain. We will have an MRI scan next week to confirm that.

Dad will start chemo therapy on 4/19. Treatments will last about 4 hrs and will be done once every 3 weeks. He has started his xgeva bone medication which is meant to halt the consumption of his bones by the cancer. This is the first Smart Bomb...so Nuke it baby...Nuke it. The cancer has more than likely been with him for at least 12 months and has already weekend his bones to the point where his pelvis has fractured because of it.

The goal of the chemo is to strengthen his bones but even with the chemo the best and most statistically accurate (note the usage of the words) is anywhere from 6-24 months. Anything over 24 is a gift at this point. no...wait...everything from now on is a gift, we should all be so lucky to truly understand that. Perhaps this is a lesson that we all have observed in our lives but never truly learned...there is a big difference you know; between lesson observed and lesson learned.

Our plan going forward is to fight the battle of trying to enjoy every day to the fullest extent possible and to improve his quality of life. This diagnosis will change his lifestyle. We aren't looking back (except for the good times) we are only looking forward and trying to find new ways for Dad to get out and enjoy life.

On the family conference call tonight I brought up the importance of realizing the true extent of the situation Dad(we) are in. In the military we had an acronym that helped us understand the physcology of what people go through when faced with this type of situation. The acronym is D.A.B.D.A. I bring it up so we can all be aware of the range of emotions we are going to feel and I want to encourage anyone reading this blog to express those feelings as they manifest to the ones you love and recognize that it's happening to you. We want it to happen so that everyone can get to the acceptance phase and we can move forward as a family as friends. I also want to encourage everyone to go have a great cry....I'm looking forward to the time when I can finally sit down and just let it out. Please don't hold your emotions in, it doesn't help anyone. Don't worry about having to be strong, just call and talk to Dad and if you cry then that's awesome! We need more of that. Compassion heals the soul and brings people closer to one another.

Well anyway, sorry for the little soap box but I care for you all and I care for Dad the most out of all of this and it's truly is in our best interest to express our emotions...that's it now :-) soap box is done. lol

Alrighty...if you have questions...call...call, call, call. My cell is on. If I don't answer, just leave a message and i'll get back to you asap!

Still and Always in Christ,
Jeff

Radiation Treatment (S1N2) & PET

phewwwww....we are exhausted! We started this morning and just got done not more than an hour ago. We had to go to Tacoma today to get a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan. The procedure involves injecting a nuclear (becuase it's radioactive) chemical cocktail that contains Flourine and Glucose. Basically the cancer absorbs the sugar more rapidly then the normal body cells so when the scan is completed the cancer will show up like a christmas tree. After the injection you get to sit for 45min by yourself with no talking or thinking (pretty much impossible for Dad LOL). After that they did the scan with the machine below...

They did a detailed lung scan and then they did a full body scan; total time for the appointment was 2hrs. Afterwards we hit Burger King and had some milkshakes (booyah) and then we went back to the scanner facilities and grabbed the CD with the imagery on it.

After that we rushed back to Poulsbo to get S1N2 and that only took a few minutes. No ill effects from either event today.

Becuase he wasn't able to take his full set of meds this morning Dad did feel a little more pain than he has been feeling. He's also had some night sweats over the past few evenings.

By the way, please ensure you review the Q&A page for a list of all the questions that have been submitted and answered.

In Christ

Radiation Treatment (S1N1)

a very good day for Dad.

We started the day trying to get into the meds regimen, he ate a great breakfast (cereal and toast/peanut butter with some coffee), we then went to the Radiologist at the Peninsula Cancer Center. We met with the Nurses and Dad was put through another CT scan. This one is part of what they call a "simulation" where they basically take the data to create the treatment plan/model.

We left there and came home where Dad had a great lunch (meat loaf sandwich). Throughout the day he also had two ensures...I say all this not becuase I want to share his daily meals but becuase it's an indication that his appetite has returned. :-) This is important becuase if we go into the Chemo he'll need all the strength he has. So things are looking up there.

We returned to Radiation Therapy at 2pm and it took about 45 minutes for them to complete the "simulation" which consisted of taking another "quick" CT scan and then a series of very specific XRays to compare with the earlier CT scan that had been marked by all the appropriate PhD's to ensure Dad is getting the right treatment. Once the comparisons were done the radiation therapy was given to all the areas of his spine. It's amazing how accurate they are now a'days less then 1mm of accuracy...which is awesome! Certainly made me feel good as I watched "mission control" launch Dad into radiation therapy.

The care at the center is fantastic...they really make us feel welcomed, they show a ton of compassion, and encourage any family and friends who want to know more to come by and ask questions...really felt good there.

Side effects of radation include nasuea and fatigue. Dad should start to feel pain relief very soon. But of course, this depends. (I hate that answer but I've come to accept it)

In Christ

Prayer meeting

If you'd like to pray for Jim please join us tomorrow at 6pm pst.

Call 18884826001 use the code 4936817 when prompted

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Oncology Appt #1

Well, thanks for all the great prayers folks...God has answered our prayers.

going into today we wanted to know what the cancer is, how long he's had it, and what the path forward is. In addition we also wanted to find a way to reduce the pain he is feeling in his back.

God answered!

Today we met with the Oncologist Dr. Kim...we all felt pretty comfortable with him. He reviewed Dad's files and his imagery (Xray, CT Scan, MRI), he gave us a thorough diagnosis and confirmed what Dr. Sy had told us previously...Stage IV Andocarcinoma...aka Lung Cancer.

They took blood today for labs and then while we there Dr. Kim stepped out and called the radiologist and got us in today for our initial consult. Which was freakin' awesome! Blew all of our expectations away.

The path forward is what we prayed for as well...to remove the pain in the back/hip/tailbone and restore his normal quality of life. The bad news is that the Dr. did confirm that L1, 3, 4, 5 and the Sacrum (aka tail bone) have been attacked by the cancer and are damaged because of that process (cancer eats the bone). So Radiation will help that. We left the appointment feeling better than going in because the Dr. provided answers to all of our questions. We will see Dr. Kim (Oncologist again on Thursday to review the labs and PET scan). We have to be careful and make sure that even though Dad feels better that he doesn't start getting too active because the cancer makes his bones brittle and thus he could suffer secondary effects.

As soon as we left the Oncologist we went to the Radiologist Dr. Madsen in Poulsbo. She was great. Got all the paperwork filled out and then she came in and saw Dad in his pain and said...we'll see you first thing tomorrow and "oh by the way" here's some new drugs to help with the pain...so bring on the steroids baby...it's party time. Dad should be feeling right as rain tomorrow. I'm calling this radiation series 1 which consists of 10 treatments spread out on the upcoming business days. Radiation treatment Series 1, number 1 (S1N1) is tomorrow and will continue every business day until the series of 10 is complete (S1N10). Dad should feel pain relief by this Friday and then serious pain relief by next Friday. Side effects of radiation will be feeling tired and some nausea.

I got the PET scan setup for Wed at 1000AM. This is an important appointment as it will allow us to know the full extent of the cancer...folks..this is the next surprise. But the nice thing is once we are done with it then we'll know the full extent and can make better plans.

Thursday is our next really big answer session (hopefully...need those focused prayers to provide the answers on Thursday). We'll find out the results of the blood work and should also get the full read on the PET scan and thus know what we are dealing with.

Going forward....

Chemo..yup...there are apparently some really new "smart bombs" as Dr. Kim called them that are very effective at attacking the cancer and aren't as bad as what we normally know. Xgeva and Avastin. We'll know more about chemo on Thursday and after Radiology is completed. But it sounded good.

As always I'll ensure that you are all kept in the loop as we move forward.

I'm going to be setting up a prayer conference call this week as our faith says that praying in mass is the way that God can hear our requests. If you are interested please reply to this post so I can pass on the dial in information. I'm thinking Wed night PST would be good so we can focus on getting good answers on Thursday from the Dr.

In Christ!

The joy of family & friends

Dad wanted me to pass on to everyone his thanks for all of you. To those who couldn't make it, he totally understands and looks forward to talking/seeing you in the future.

He really thought having the family together was awesome and felt that it was really special to have his Dad here as well sitting next to him.

I think there's still enough food in the house to feed 5,000. LOL and there's certainly enough cake here and cherry pie to last a while.

Dustin had a great idea to do a brisket so we made that happen and I think between it and the super BBQ sauce that everyone left thoroughly over stuffed. ;-)

Today we go to the Oncologist for Appt #1. I'll post as soon as we know more.

Love you all

In Christ,
Jeff

Family arrives

Good morning everyone, Dad had another good day yesterday. Pain level was medium. We are learning to make sure the pain meds keep flowing on a normal schedule as to stay ahead of it. Had a pulled muscle in his neck that bugged him most of the day...seems to be better now.

The entire family will be here today and that's freakin' awesome! Dad wants to pass his thanks on to everyone for taking the time to drive down/up and realizes times are tough right now so he truly appreciates the sacrifices people are making to come and say hi.

The journey is just beggining and I know we are getting anxious for tomorrows Oncologist appointment. It will be nice to get more questions answered...though I know we'll just end up having more questions for every one answer.

For those that don't know how to use the blog to leave comments...do the following...on each posting (that's the written text like this posting) right below the last entry there will be the word comments followed by parantheses (##) with a number inside. Just click on the word comment and you'll be able to see what others have posted and will be able to post a comment yourself.

In Christ,
Jeff

A good day

Dad had a good day today. Didn't have to take an oxycotin until this afternoon. Idea say the pain has subsided slightly, probably due to the relaxing we've been forcing upon him :-).  All the kids were here for the first time together in a long time today and he really enjoyed that. He's looking forward to being surrounded by friends and family this weekend, and it makes him feel great to know that so many people care and have/are taking the time to be with him throughout the coming days.

Thank you to you all

Thank you Jesus

Diagnosis

The combination of the MRI results and the Biopsy provided the following diagnosis:

Stage IV Adenocarcinoma Cancer

The cancer appears to be started in the lungs but the Dr. isn't sure yet. What we do know is that the cancer has spread throughout his body (the definition of Stage IV) and is also in his bones and spine...this is what is causing his leg/hip pain.

A PET scan has been scheduled for 4/11 but we are hopeful to get in next week. We meet with the Oncologist who will oversee Dad during this time (Dr. Kim) on Monday 4/4 in Poulsbo.

The PET scan will provide the full extent of the cancer throughout his body

What's happening??

1/16/11 - fell at work
3/7/11 - finally went to his Dr. reporting hip pain: we suspected bulged disk, Dr. diagnosed abnormal lung sounds and requeseted CT Scan
- CT scan completed and showed pnuemonia and partially collapsed right lung
- Scheduled a lung biopsy for 3/29
3/8/11 - had a check up on his knee replacement and reported significantly higher back pain
3/16/11 - transferred to Dr. Christen, occupational therapist, for pain
3/21/11 - diagnosed back pain as clinically stable by Dr. Christen
3/29/11 - Lung Biopsy completed
3/30/11 - MRI completed, showed no bulged disk, no broken hip, no broken tailbone...did show metastatic lesions on his spine (L1, 3, 5, Sacrum, and Hip Bone)
3/31/11 - Biopsy results were in...