Drug

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for the messages and phone calls about the new drug that was on the national news the other evening. It makes us feel good and reminds us that all of you are fighting the fight with us.

The drug that they are referring to is the same drug that I have just started. The reason that it is now making news is that it is getting closer to FDA approval each day. Anytime there is any kind of promising new drug that is about to come out it receives a lot of press, thanks to the drug companies. As it approaches final approval, and the drug companies know that it is going to be approved, they began to push it. I didn't see the news story itself, but I am sure that it was a good story. And it is a true story. The drug has shown a lot of promise for a lot of people. One of the positives for us will be that when the drug does receive final approval it will at some point be available at a pharmacy. Which for us means that we will no longer have to drive a great distance to get it. Which is always a good thing. Rebecca found a related article about the drug to make sure it is the same one we are on. In the article, in the last paragraph, it talked about the fact that unfortunately this isn't a curative drug. Which is part of what I talked about in the blog after our last trip to Houston. In short, with my kind of melanoma, the cancer itself has mutated. This new drug is specifically designed to attack and kill the mutation. Where it has shown promise is in many people it is effective at killing the mutation and therefore the cancer. The bad news is that in every case so far, the cancer creates a new mutation to defeat the drug and in doing so comes back stronger than before, thus spreading the cancer further and faster. The problem is there is no drug to fight the new cancer once it returns. What this drug has done for some is simply extended lives. The doctor's in Tennessee told us that this is the hope for me, that it will extend my life. They are already working on drugs that will kill the new mutation, but they are in the very early stages and don't know much about it. But, it does give us hope and that's what is important. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day who has a family member who is fighting cancer. He was sharing with me a story about a woman he was talking to who was losing a family member to this horrible disease. He told me that while sobbing, she made the statement that she had no hope. It broke my heart. Without hope, what do we have. I cannot imagine. We have hope. Thanks to our belief in God, to all of our family and friends, to knowing where I will go should I not make it, I still and will always have hope.

That is a little longer version of where we are. I hadn't gone into detail before now because I didn't think it was necessary to bore you with the details. But with all of the responses we have gotten from the news story I felt it might help to explain it the best I can without losing anyone. Being a few weeks into the new treatment I can say that I have some side effects to deal with. I haven't felt well the last several days. Last Saturday I was throwing up and ran a slight fever. The last few days I have run a slight fever with other flu like symptoms that seem to get worse as the day progresses. My energy level is down again, but hopefully if it goes they way they said, this will end over the next week or so. In spite of it all we are still busy as ever and preparing to move. We found a place with 5 acres that is set up for horses and animals and gives us some room to spread out a little. It will give the kids a great place to play and get outside while hopefully teaching them the value of taking care of a few animals and having other "chores" to do! Plus it gives Rebecca and I something we have always wanted, a place with land to garden, raise a few horses, and a great place to sit in the mornings while we drink our coffee. And yes I hate moving, so pray.

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