Vince's Journey

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