Thursday, June 29, 2006
A Quick Update....
Just thought I'd do a quick update. Not much has happened since last week. I'm feeling a lot stronger this week and appear to be just about over my cold. My white blood counts were very high on Tuesday so I'm off the shots for now. I'll get my counts checked again on Monday - I'm sure they'll drop significantly but hopefully not so low that I'll need to go back on the shots.
My next appointment with Dr. Leming will be July 10. Between now and then I'll need to have CT and PET scans done. Lets all pray that those come back clean so we can officially move on to the next phase of this process. I know the scans were good on April 17 and would expect that nothing has changed. Our vacation is planned for July 14 - 23. We're going to Lake Tahoe and spending a couple days in San Francisco, as well. Were hoping that we'll get some great news to celebrate on July 10 so our vacation can be a bit more relaxing!!
Looking forward to the 4th of July weekend! I hope all is well with you and your families!
Vince
My next appointment with Dr. Leming will be July 10. Between now and then I'll need to have CT and PET scans done. Lets all pray that those come back clean so we can officially move on to the next phase of this process. I know the scans were good on April 17 and would expect that nothing has changed. Our vacation is planned for July 14 - 23. We're going to Lake Tahoe and spending a couple days in San Francisco, as well. Were hoping that we'll get some great news to celebrate on July 10 so our vacation can be a bit more relaxing!!
Looking forward to the 4th of July weekend! I hope all is well with you and your families!
Vince
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Wiped Out....
Those are the only words to describe how I'm feeling a week after treatment #7. I've caught a cold or something and along with that and the cumulative effect of the treatments...I am beat...absolutely wiped out. I did have my blood counts checked today and everything looks OK. I'll still take the shots and antibiotics through the week and hopefully start to feel better in 5 to 7 days. Dr. Leming warned that it would get tougher the closer we get to the end and that seems to be coming true.
We decided not to take the Bruces up on their invitation to go to Hilton Head. The prospects of driving 12 hours just didn't seem like a good idea to me and based on how I feel right now, it appears we made the right decision. If we were down there right now, Julie would probably be working and I'd be sleeping on the couch with The Maurey Povich Show playing in the background. I have to admit a nap sounds pretty good right about now but not with the the beach right outside your backdoor!
So the next few weeks can't go by quick enough. My next doctor's appointment is July 10 and I'll have PET and CAT scans done prior to that. Here's praying that everything comes back CLEAN!!!
Nothing much else report! Abbey is off to camp this week and on Thursday Aaron will celebrate his 16th birthday! He's slowly but surely getting in his required driver's training but I wouldn't expect he'll hit the road solo until late August! We'll be sure to warn you when that time arrives.
Wishing you all a great week!
Vince
We decided not to take the Bruces up on their invitation to go to Hilton Head. The prospects of driving 12 hours just didn't seem like a good idea to me and based on how I feel right now, it appears we made the right decision. If we were down there right now, Julie would probably be working and I'd be sleeping on the couch with The Maurey Povich Show playing in the background. I have to admit a nap sounds pretty good right about now but not with the the beach right outside your backdoor!
So the next few weeks can't go by quick enough. My next doctor's appointment is July 10 and I'll have PET and CAT scans done prior to that. Here's praying that everything comes back CLEAN!!!
Nothing much else report! Abbey is off to camp this week and on Thursday Aaron will celebrate his 16th birthday! He's slowly but surely getting in his required driver's training but I wouldn't expect he'll hit the road solo until late August! We'll be sure to warn you when that time arrives.
Wishing you all a great week!
Vince
Monday, June 12, 2006
Treatment #7....
OK, treatment #7 is over and circulating through me as we speak! If all goes according to plan, that will be the last chemo treatment! At the risk of sounding a bit too jubilant....Hip, Hip, HOORAY!...is all I can say. This has been an incredible journey and while we still have a few remaining hurdles, its wonderful to know that the worst MAY be over (Disregarding the fact that I will probably feel like shit most of this week).
The plan is as follows; I'll be on the Neupogen shots (along with 4 other mediation) for the next couple weeks and have CAT and PET scans done in about 2-3 weeks. On July 10 I'm scheduled to see Dr. Leming and at that time we'll learn what's next. My big concerns right now are, 1. The scans are once again clean and 2. My white blood counts start to take care of themselves so I can get off the Neupogen. I'm assuming if all goes well on July 10, I'll probably see Dr. Leming monthly for awhile and get a mainteneance treatment of Rituxin in about 3 or 4 months. This cycle could continue for a year or two. But Rituxin is very tolerable and does not knock out your blood counts the way chemo does.
So, I had my first chemo treatment on January 4 and about 5 1/2 months and 7 treatments later...they may be over! Hard to believe. I think the head games have been tougher to deal with than the chemo. You feel so helpless sometimes. But I do know this, it would have been a helluva lot harder to deal with had I not been able to stay active. The only work I've missed has been on treatment days or days with Dr.'s visits. I was able to coach Judd's basketball games and attend most of the Xavier games. I went to Pittsburgh for a Bengals game, several road trips with Judd's volleyball team and Aaron's LAX team, we were able to do our ski trip over the Christmas holiday, we spent the pring following the volleyball and LAX teams and last week we went to Chicago to visit potential colleges for Judd and see the play 'Wicked'. Being able to do all these things helped keep my mind off the Dr. visits, treatments, etc. and really helped pass the time in a quicker fashion. I couldn't tell you how many people were involved with all these activities but each and everyone of them helped me get to where I am today...and if you're one of them, I can't thank you enough.
What's next? We've been invited to Hilton Head next week...we're trying to figure out if it's possible to do since we just got back from Chicago and have a family vacation planned for Lake Tahoe next month. I guess more on that later but we certainly appreciate Jeanne and Steve Bruce's invitation. They have been so supportive of us through this entire ordeal, they were even with me the day Dr. Leming called with the great news about my April 17 PET scans. I would love to say I hope I get a chance to repay them someday but I would never want one of them to be faced with going through something like this. All I can do at this time is thank them for being there for us and for being our best friends. We do so much together it almost feels like we're a family of 10, not two families of 5. I know I've mentioned several times that the true blessing to come out of all of this has been the enormous sense of love we've received from so many people. The Bruces have led the way since the first day. So to Jeanne and Steve...and all of you...we love you for your support, your friendship, your prayers, thoughts and concerns...we wouldn't be where we are without you!
Peace and Blessings....
Vince, Jules, Judd, Aaron and Abbey
The plan is as follows; I'll be on the Neupogen shots (along with 4 other mediation) for the next couple weeks and have CAT and PET scans done in about 2-3 weeks. On July 10 I'm scheduled to see Dr. Leming and at that time we'll learn what's next. My big concerns right now are, 1. The scans are once again clean and 2. My white blood counts start to take care of themselves so I can get off the Neupogen. I'm assuming if all goes well on July 10, I'll probably see Dr. Leming monthly for awhile and get a mainteneance treatment of Rituxin in about 3 or 4 months. This cycle could continue for a year or two. But Rituxin is very tolerable and does not knock out your blood counts the way chemo does.
So, I had my first chemo treatment on January 4 and about 5 1/2 months and 7 treatments later...they may be over! Hard to believe. I think the head games have been tougher to deal with than the chemo. You feel so helpless sometimes. But I do know this, it would have been a helluva lot harder to deal with had I not been able to stay active. The only work I've missed has been on treatment days or days with Dr.'s visits. I was able to coach Judd's basketball games and attend most of the Xavier games. I went to Pittsburgh for a Bengals game, several road trips with Judd's volleyball team and Aaron's LAX team, we were able to do our ski trip over the Christmas holiday, we spent the pring following the volleyball and LAX teams and last week we went to Chicago to visit potential colleges for Judd and see the play 'Wicked'. Being able to do all these things helped keep my mind off the Dr. visits, treatments, etc. and really helped pass the time in a quicker fashion. I couldn't tell you how many people were involved with all these activities but each and everyone of them helped me get to where I am today...and if you're one of them, I can't thank you enough.
What's next? We've been invited to Hilton Head next week...we're trying to figure out if it's possible to do since we just got back from Chicago and have a family vacation planned for Lake Tahoe next month. I guess more on that later but we certainly appreciate Jeanne and Steve Bruce's invitation. They have been so supportive of us through this entire ordeal, they were even with me the day Dr. Leming called with the great news about my April 17 PET scans. I would love to say I hope I get a chance to repay them someday but I would never want one of them to be faced with going through something like this. All I can do at this time is thank them for being there for us and for being our best friends. We do so much together it almost feels like we're a family of 10, not two families of 5. I know I've mentioned several times that the true blessing to come out of all of this has been the enormous sense of love we've received from so many people. The Bruces have led the way since the first day. So to Jeanne and Steve...and all of you...we love you for your support, your friendship, your prayers, thoughts and concerns...we wouldn't be where we are without you!
Peace and Blessings....
Vince, Jules, Judd, Aaron and Abbey
Monday, June 05, 2006
Bad News, GREAT NEWS....
First the bad; once again my white blood counts were too low so my 7th treatment has been delayed for a week. This really didn't break my heart since we are going to Chicago this week to look at few colleges for Judd and see the play, 'Wicked'. Too be honest, I'm kind of glad that at least I'll feel decent for the trip...had I received a treatment I would have probably felt pretty crappy on Wednesday and Thursday so if ever there was a week to get delayed, it was this week.
Now the GREAT NEWS....We did get to see Dr. Leming today and he said treatment #7 will BE MY LAST!!!!! He reviewed my PET scan from April 17 and it basically said there is no metabolic activity which means the 'R' word....REMISSION!!!! He said the protocol is to follow-up with 2-4 treatments following signs of remission and feels three will be enough for me. This news comes almost 8 months to the day that I was diagnosed back on October 4. I can't thank you all enough for all your prayers and support these past 8 months...we couldn't have gotten to where we are without you.
This doesn't mean we're done. Dr. Leming said I could do Rituxan maintenance every 3 months for up to two years. But the Rituxan doesn't wipe you out or effect your blood counts the way Chemo does. And every three months is a helluva a lot better than every three weeks!!!
Needless to say we're very excited about this news. Its the news we've been waiting to hear since we started on this journey. But the fact is, we don't want to just win the battle, we want to win the war. So we have to keep supporting the doctors and researchers who are out there working hard to find cures for these diseases. As Dr. Barrett told me back on October 4, he thinks there could be a true CURE for my disease in 3 to 5 years; they are that close. And I don't think he would have said that if he truly didn't believe it. So this is a great day but I'd like to ask you to continue the fight because a cure is not that far away! And thats a day we will all celebrate.
I would also like to ask for your prayers for one of my great friends, Marshall Esler, and his family. Yesterday, we attended Marshall's father's funeral. He passed away last week after a battle of his own with lymphoma. A couple years ago he was treated and put into remission but it recently came back. The doctor said that if he was stronger and in better health, he could have treated him but at the age of 82, his body couldn't have withstood another round of chemo. So please remember Marshall, Bee (his mother), Sam (his brother) and their entire family in your prayers during this time of great loss. They are a wonderful family and have been a tremendous source of support for me during the past 8 months.
So, we're off to Chicago on Wednesday. Abbey is looking so forward to seeing 'Wicked' that she can't stop listening to the CD. I just hope the rest of us aren't sick of the songs by the time Thursday night rolls along.
Thanks again for being there for us! We love you all!
Vince, Jules, Judd, Headly and Abbs
Now the GREAT NEWS....We did get to see Dr. Leming today and he said treatment #7 will BE MY LAST!!!!! He reviewed my PET scan from April 17 and it basically said there is no metabolic activity which means the 'R' word....REMISSION!!!! He said the protocol is to follow-up with 2-4 treatments following signs of remission and feels three will be enough for me. This news comes almost 8 months to the day that I was diagnosed back on October 4. I can't thank you all enough for all your prayers and support these past 8 months...we couldn't have gotten to where we are without you.
This doesn't mean we're done. Dr. Leming said I could do Rituxan maintenance every 3 months for up to two years. But the Rituxan doesn't wipe you out or effect your blood counts the way Chemo does. And every three months is a helluva a lot better than every three weeks!!!
Needless to say we're very excited about this news. Its the news we've been waiting to hear since we started on this journey. But the fact is, we don't want to just win the battle, we want to win the war. So we have to keep supporting the doctors and researchers who are out there working hard to find cures for these diseases. As Dr. Barrett told me back on October 4, he thinks there could be a true CURE for my disease in 3 to 5 years; they are that close. And I don't think he would have said that if he truly didn't believe it. So this is a great day but I'd like to ask you to continue the fight because a cure is not that far away! And thats a day we will all celebrate.
I would also like to ask for your prayers for one of my great friends, Marshall Esler, and his family. Yesterday, we attended Marshall's father's funeral. He passed away last week after a battle of his own with lymphoma. A couple years ago he was treated and put into remission but it recently came back. The doctor said that if he was stronger and in better health, he could have treated him but at the age of 82, his body couldn't have withstood another round of chemo. So please remember Marshall, Bee (his mother), Sam (his brother) and their entire family in your prayers during this time of great loss. They are a wonderful family and have been a tremendous source of support for me during the past 8 months.
So, we're off to Chicago on Wednesday. Abbey is looking so forward to seeing 'Wicked' that she can't stop listening to the CD. I just hope the rest of us aren't sick of the songs by the time Thursday night rolls along.
Thanks again for being there for us! We love you all!
Vince, Jules, Judd, Headly and Abbs
