Merry Christmas to all

As 2016 draws to a close, Ellie and I want to wish all of you a joyous Christmas, filled with peace, love, joy, and hope.  This year has had its ups and downs, with good days and some not so good, but in the end here we are, still chugging along, and looking forward to 2017 which will be a year of milestones for us.

The first will be my 80th birthday on January 15.  Then on March 10 Ellie and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary, to be followed in July by Ellie's 75th!  That's a lot of celebrating to look forward to, and looking forward is exactly what we're doing.

I don't know if my cancer is officially in "remission" or not, but it hasn't spread or enlarged since my chemo treatments began in April and my hair has returned!  My latest CT scan disclosed no new news as of last week.  So, we continue to count our blessings and will stay with the clinical trial of the immunotherapy drug for as long as they'll have me.  My oncologist tells us that I am one of the "lucky" ones who respond very favorably to this therapy.  I can live with that.   (Literally)😊!!

So, life goes on...the Clemson Tigers are ready to win the national championship in Tampa next month, for which we already have ordered our tickets!  That should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about anything!!!  My condolences in advance to Buckeye fans everywhere, who have waited so long to share the national spotlight with some really good teams, only to wind up having to face Clemson, who roughed them up pretty good the last time they met.

I managed to get in a few rounds of golf this fall, resulting a handicap of exactly ten strokes higher than it was before I started treatment....perhaps the most fortuitous outcome of this little adventure....one which could pay big dividends in the year ahead.

All kidding aside, thank you all for your prayers and concern for us.  We have felt the love and truly appreciate your good wishes.

No News is Good News

Well, since last time not much has changed regarding my tumor.  I had a scan on September 10 which disclosed a slight shrinkage and no signs of additional activity.  That, according to my oncologist, is positively good news.  So far, the immunotherapy drug is working for me.  No negative side effects from these treatments, which I receive every third week.  I am experiencing no symptoms of lung disease and have been successfully off of pain meds for several weeks.  My legs and feet are still feeling the effects of the chemo and I could use some more energy, but I feel good about my hair returning.  I have to admit that being bald has its advantages.  Like never having to search for a comb when you're in a hurry, and using soap instead of shampoo in the shower!!  Bottom line: I'm feeling pretty good.

I told Ellie earlier this year that I had some goals for 2016:  To play in our Member/Guest tournament, to attend Clemson's home games, and to Christmas with family.  Well, I managed to play 64 holes of golf over three days in September. My partner, Frank Kenny, was nursing a really bad knee and I was pushing my limits, but we had a great time and we didn't finish last!!  I won't talk about how my feet felt over the following few days.

As for the Clemson games, many of you no doubt saw us in the stands at the Louisville game last Saturday....we were the couple dressed in orange....and what a time it was!! These Tigers are good; life is good; God is good.

We're looking forward to visits with my brother, Dave, and his wife DD,  as well as with Kathy, Joseph, and Cindy, and to the ACC Championship game in Orlando in December, and the national championship game in Tampa in January.

I'm not out of the woods, to be sure, but I've found that life in the woods can be good once you learn to appreciate the trees around you.  There's one giant oak that I lean on every day, and I don't know what I'd do without her support and love.  I don't know when or if I'll post another update, but I do want to thank all of you for your support and prayers.

Please keep Ellie and me in your prayers. We are living proof of their power.

Bob

So, what else is new?

The answer is, thankfully, not  much.  Nothing, in fact.  After six weeks of receiving just the trial immunotherapy drug, my tumor has shrunk another 20% and is now down to 1.7 cm compared to 5.1 cm when I began chemotherapy.  And there are no signs of additional tumor development.

I'm feeling much better and even played a few holes last week!  So, all things considered, I'm feeling blessed and am anxious to get back into fighting trim.  To that end, we're trying to walk daily, gradually increasing our range and degree of difficulty.  I really need to be able to play in our Member-Guest tournament just six short weeks from today, so I've got some work to do.

Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers for us.

Bob

No Más!!!

I remember those words of Roberto Durand, the great Panamanian middleweight boxing champion, who simply dropped his gloves in the middle of the eighth round of a title fight with Sugar Ray Leonard and walked back to his corner.  He later returned to the ring and held nearly every boxing title during his career, but at that moment, he knew when he'd had enough.

That's where I found myself last week regarding my chemotherapy.  I was feeling so bad  (I even spent Father's day in the hospital getting a blood transfusion). that I knew I'd had enough.   Fortunately, my oncologist agreed, and so this was the first week in thirteen weeks that I haven't had poison pumped into my veins.  The big question, of course, was how well the chemo had worked, and we found out this Tuesday.  The CT scan shows just minor traces of the tumor on my lung.  My doctor was ecstatic. Ellie and I were ecstatic.  

It will take weeks for my immune system to fully recover, and I will continue to receive the experimental immunotherapy drug every three weeks until further notice. Ellie and I look forward now to returning to a more normal routine.  Praise God!!

The outpouring of support and prayer and love we've received has been beyond my imagination.  Thanks to all of you and thank you, Lord Jesus, for your mercy.  I truly believe that the prayers of so many warriors have been heard and answered.  It's not over, of course.  I'm still a cancer patient, so keep praying that the experimental drug works as hoped.

Ellie and I are planning to travel to SC sometime in late July to try to salvage something of the summer.  I haven't swung a golf club since November, and at this point I'm not sure that I can lift my driver, but I'm sure going to try.  As for the Clemson Tigers, look for them in the top 5, maybe even #1 again.  We hope to make some of their games.

I Remember Mono

I came down with mononucleosis during the spring of my senior year in college, and how well I remember those few weeks!!  I'm sure I'm not the only one....they used to call it the "kissing disease", and most of us were at high risk, I reckon.  Anyway, I can remember the feeling of exhaustion after walking up a few steps, or even more dramatic, the time I thought I was over it, but wasn't.  That particular afternoon, my fraternity had an intramural softball game which I was watching, and for some reason decided to take a turn at bat.  Well, I hit the ball well past the left fielder....a home run in any ballpark.....except for the fact that I made it only as far as third base before running completely out of gas.... and that's pretty much what I'm dealing with these days.  Whether it's the disease or the treatment, I'm not sure....probably both....but let me tell you that stamina is not currently in my repertoire.  So, it;s with great satisfaction that I can say that I am now halfway through my chemo regimen, looking forward to regaining some strength in the weeks ahead.

Last time, I recounted the incident I had with my right eye.  It went completely dark for a minute or so and then returned to normal.  After a brain MRI, ultrasound of my carotid arteries, an echocardiogram, visits with my oncologist, optometrist, an ophthalmologist, my primary care physician, and a cardiovascular surgeon, I am happy to report that I will not need carotid surgery, as I had been led to believe.  What a roller coaster ride!! They initially told me that my right carotid was blocked as much as 79%, but a second ultrasound at the cardiologist's office showed a lesser blockage.  I sure have met a lot of interesting and pleasant people over the past few months.  I just wish that they weren't all physicians, nurses, and medical technicians.

Anyway, it's nice to be loved and cared for.

Next major checkpoint is three weeks from Tuesday, when my next CT scan will disclose whether I've made progress as significant as that of the first six weeks.  Keep on praying!!

Take That, you dirty rotten recklefreck

Went to the oncologist today, having completed some tests last week, and came away with encouraging news.  The CT Scan I had on Friday showed that the primary tumor is less than half the size it was when I began chemo six weeks ago!  The secondary tumor on my rib cage has been shrunk by the radiation, as well. How's that for the power of prayer and modern medicine?  The doctor was surprised and delighted at my progress.

I had an incident with my right eye last week, as well.  To make sure that there was nothing going on in my brain, I had a brain MRI yesterday and that showed nothing new has developed there.....but most of you could have testified to that over the past few years, right?  I will see an ophthalmologist to determine what might have happened to cause my right eye to go black for a couple of minutes, but at least it wasn't a tumor.  Probably nothing more serious than a stroke!

I even got a week off from the chemo because my white blood cell count is too low right now, so I'll probably be feeling better all during the time that Kathy comes to help celebrate Mother's Day this Friday.  That's a good trade-off for the postponement of the celebration of my last treatment in July.

I also learned to pace myself better this week.  Had a treatment on Tuesday, which always includes a bag of steroid "goodies" to make you feel gooood.  On Wednesday, feeling like a million bucks, I spent four hours working in the sun in the yard....digging and raking and hauling dirt and generally overdoing it.  The price was paid on Thursday to the extent that I had to be rehydrated via IV on Friday!!! Won't do that again, believe me.

Thanks to all of you who have emailed, called, written and prayed for me.  It's really uplifting for both Ellie and me to hear from you.

Blessings.

Bob

ONLY THIRTEEN SHORT WEEKS TO GO

Well, tomorrow I will get my 6th of 18 chemo treatments, and I'd like to say that I'm really looking forward to it.  I'd like to say that, but I won't.  Actually, though, the side effects I've been experiencing have been tolerable.  And I'm not in any pain, having that under control now for several weeks.  The worst thing I'm experiencing at this point is that, although I have a pretty good appetite, almost everything I eat tastes terrible.  So I haven't been gorging myself..

We're changing our diet for different reasons than flavor.  I've been doing a lot of reading about cancer cells and tumor development, and I'm convinced that I can help myself by cutting out sugar and gluten.  Ellie and I actually did that last summer when we were on the "Whole 30" diet for the entire month of August.  We both felt better for it and I'd recommend it to anyone.  I more recently learned that sugar and wheat flour are among the best nourishers of cancer cells.  Both encourage inflammation in the body, and cancer cells flock to and thrive in inflamed sites.  In fact, one of the tests used to find tumors is called a PET scan, and that procedure calls for an injection of a glucose-based solution which contains dye which is attracted by tumors.  The radioactive sugar water goes right to the cancer cells and lights them up!!  So, no more double-stuff Oreos (once our current supply is depleted, of course!)

We were pleased to have our daughter Cindy with us this past weekend.  Although Ellie was a little under the weather on Saturday,  Cindy, who is a great cook and hostess, served us  a wonderful meal. Such attention I'm getting!!  Kathy will be with us for Mother's Day.

In four days, I'll get the first comparative CT Scan which will disclose whether we're making any progress with all these shenanigans.  So a week from now we should have something worthwhile, and hopefully encouraging, to report.

Ay Chihuahua!!!

Well, they told me to expect my hair to fall out, and it started this week.  So my favorite barber, Ellie, gave me a "buzz cut" this morning.  Other than that, my weekly chemo treatment left me feeling a little tired, but that's about it. 

A Revoltin' Development

As Jimmy Durante used to say, "What a revoltin' development dis is!!!  On January 26, I visited a local clinic because of some pain in my left shoulder, expecting to line up some physical therapy.  Two months and two days later, I've been through X rays, CT Scans, PET scans, a needle biopsy, radiation treatment to reduce a bone tumor on my left ribcage, and two of 18 weekly chemotherapy treatments for stage 4 lung cancer!!  Yikes!!!

During this period I've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love from so many people.  It's hard to express my appreciation for your prayers and good wishes.  Someone suggested that I try blogging my experience......that I might be able to keep folks updated in a convenient way......so that's what I'm setting out to do.  Please don't stop calling and writing though, and especially keep me in your prayers.  Ellie and I need your support.

I mentioned chemotherapy.  As it turns out, I'm enrolled in a clinical trial to test a new immunotherapy drug here in Florida.  This is one of many such experimental drugs  that are intended to enable the body's auto-immune system to identify and kill cancer cells, as an alternative to traditional chemotherapy which, in essence, poisons the cancer cells.  They hold great promise for increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy, while reducing the "collateral damage" to normal cells which are unavoidably poisoned during chemotherapy.

The trial will last for as long as it is seen to benefit me, but at minimum 18 weekly sessions.  During that time, I'll be "tethered" to Venice, Florida and will find it hard to travel much, so we don't expect to be able to spend any meaningful time in SC until after July.  Beyond that, the treatments are scheduled monthly instead of weekly, so we're hopeful that we'll spend most of the late summer and, (God willing), the Clemson football season back at The Cliffs.  What a terrible year to contemplate missing any Tiger games!!

All this has transpired during a time when my brother Dave and his wife, DD were here in Florida, and they were a great help to us.  Ellie and I are also so grateful that Kathy and Joseph came down to be with us for Easter, and that they have put their career plans on hold pending the resolution of all of this stuff.  And we're looking forward to being with daughter Cindy when she visits us later this month,

I thank God for all of you and for your prayers, and offers of assistance.   And I thank God for Ellie, the love of my life, who carries the biggest load in this little adventure.  She gets me through each day and makes me realize how discerning I was 49 years ago when she married me and how lucky I have been every day since.

Next chemo is tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Bob