New Medicine

Well we went to Tennessee for our second last Tuesday. It was a fast and exhausting trip. We left on Tuesday morning and made it home on Wednesday night at 12:30. The reason it was such a quick trip was Rebecca and I then left on Thursday to go camping for the weekend. It was a great time to get away and forget about things for a while. As good as it is to get away, it's always good to be home.

The visit consisted of a CT Scan, MRI, Dermatologist visit, and Oncologist visit. Along with meeting with the research nurse to pick up the new chemo. (The MRI was much better on me this time!) The scans didn't tell us much. Being at a new place they didn't have the results of the last scan and weren't able to compare size difference. The good news is the cancer still hasn't spread to any other vital area's besides my lungs. They did say the tumor under my arm had changed shape but didn't know about size with it either. I think it has gotten bigger. I will have to start having my full body scans again because the new chemo can actually cause a very treatable form of skin cancer. The chemo will consist of my taking 4 pills 2 times a day for a total of 8 pills a day, everyday. Then going back to Nashville once a month to pick up more pills. I will have scans done every two months. The research nurse did tell us that the drug company that makes the pill is "setting up" or training a doctor in Oklahoma City to dispense and monitor the drug. So there is a chance that in a few months they will be able to transfer me to the new doctor in OKC. I have mixed feelings. It would be great to only have to drive to OKC and not Nashville. On the other hand, I am tired of switching doctors. It seems as soon as we get to know a new one, and they get familiar with me and my case, we switch. But I guess it is still better than driving 9 hours. As I said before they advised us the side effects should be minimal. The biggest being a flu like feeling that will last a few days. Hopefully I will know soon what I will have to deal with.

Again we don't really have much news. It seems my cancer is just stubborn. Not growing too much, but not going away. It's kind of like a toddler who sits and pouts in the corner and just won't do anything. You can't even bribe it with toys! We seem to go through times where we are in limbo, which gets old itself. We are there again. It will be two months before we have scans and know anything again. The waiting is there worst part. I am still hurting most days and just don't have the energy I used to. My sleep is still out of whack which makes things even more fun. Other than that we are gearing up for a busy summer. The kids have basketball camps, VBS, and church camps back to back, almost until school starts again.

Well that is all for now. Don't have much to say, but wanted to give an update.

Remember every day to put one foot in front of the other, drink a lot of water, and don't forget to breath..............