Immune System back up. (WBC 9.4)

It feels great to be back home again after all the travels to Houston. I am feeling great and am now into Day 15 of my treatment plan. I had an initial lab test today to see where my WBC levels are and they came back in the "normal" range (9.4). This is great news because that means my immune system is up and working to prevent any infections. I have 7 days till my next round of Chemo here in Fort Worth (Dec 6-8), so I will be working towards staying healthy as possible in prep for the next round.


I am getting back to work at SAP for a few days between treatments and am starting to get back to all the fun chores around the house.


I can't tell you what a relief it is to have the ability to do my main treatments here at home. I will still get re-staging and main evaluations at MD Anderson every 6 weeks, but my weekly chemo and blood level evaluations and other prescriptions will all be handled by Dr. Jordan here in Fort Worth.


As many of you know, Sandra and I met in Houston and were married there 16 years ago. Daniel was born in Houston and we eventually moved back to the DFW area in 1999. We still love Houston and it is like a second home to us and every time we visited, it allowed us to connect with old friends and cruise around our old stomping grounds. We tried to get a Star or Barry's Pizza last time, but were unable....maybe next time!

Back home in Fort Worth

I received my Day 12 chemo treatment in Houston on Sunday, Nov 25th at MD Anderson. This was a quick 30 minute infusion which I seem to not have any side effects from at the present. This drug, Vincristine, is a commonly used chemo drug and one which I took while in the hospital last week with no apparent effects. After my treatment, we crawled in the car for our drive back to Fort Worth. This drive normally takes 4 hours, but on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with all the traffic, it took 6 hrs. Sandra did a great job driving with no issues, but it made us realize how much we needed to get a local Oncologist to allow us to take chemo in Fort Worth.

To that end, we had an early appointment today (Mon 11/26) with a local Oncologist that came highly recommended. Our meeting with him (Dr. William Jordan, The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Fort Worth, TX) went great. He has treated many people with my type of Cancer and also was a fellow at MD Anderson for several years and knows my Dr. at MDA personally. This gives us the ability to take chemo and lab tests all locally, but continue to meet with Dr. Hagemeister at MDA for directing my staging, progress and any major changes in my treatment plan.

I do also have a follow-up MRI scheduled on Thursday to test for any additional inflammation in my brain which showed up on Thanksgiving at the hospital. This is still an outstanding issue that needs to be addressed, but may or may not be related. I should have the results by the end of the week.

My next chemo treatments will be Dec 6-9th in Fort Worth at Harris Methodist Downtown. I will be in the hospital during this time taking the chemo. Most chemos are given out-patient, but my chemos will all be in a hospital due to the fact that my body could have reactions and need to be closely monitored. We will then go to Houston for a re-staging and review with Dr. Hagemeister the week of Dec 17th.

I continue to gain more energy everyday and now that my schedule is now focused on treatments in Fort Worth, we will be less stressed about organizing our house and Daniel and pets while we are in Houston. This whole process continues to amaze me how things keep working out for us and I know that it is because of so many of you praying for us. Thanks for your support and encouragement on a daily basis.

Curve Balls on Turkey-day

I trust everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Although we have had lots going on, we had a thankful day on Thursday with good thanksgiving food. I had a very good morning, feeling better than the day before and my overall energy is getting better everyday. Although I have been feeling good, I have been monitoring my temp as the dr. was very specific that if my temp reached 101, I should head the emergency room because my body cannot fight the infections. So, I was checking it pretty close and finally around 5:30pm, it reached 101. I could not believe it. We did not want to go to the emergency room, but felt that since this is our first round we should not take any chances.

So, here we were, 6pm Thanksgiving night, heading to the emergency room near our home in Fort Worth. When we arrived, the quickly accepted us and took my vitals. As "murphy's law" would have it, they recorded my temp at only 99.5 (more on that later). However, they still wanted to run some tests, one of which was a scan of my head as I had been complaining about sever headaches both Wed and Thur (although Thurs was much less sever). I had assumed all along that this was a result of chemo.

We sat in the exam room for several hours as they ran several tests and about 9pm the Dr. returned to tell us my head scan revealed some strange results. My frontal lobe had some inflammation which was not normal and they recommended I get an MRI to verify what the issue was. The rub on this suggestion was they wanted to admit me into the hospital overnight so they could get it done first thing in the morning (Friday). We protested this suggestion but felt we should go ahead and get it done just to make sure.

During this time I just could not believe this was happening as this was yet another thing we might potentially deal with. It was 10:45pm before they could get us into a room at Harris Southwest and 11pm before we were settled. We did not have any time to call people and let them know what was going on because it was so late and we really wanted the MRI results before we really moved forward.

The next day (Friday), I had my MRI and by 12pm the doctor was giving us the results. The MRI did not show any additional tumor or anything life threatening at this point. Praise God! He did say this inflammation could have been a result of my chemo the few days before, but to make sure, they will monitor and I should have a follow-up MRI in about 5 days. We were then allowed to exit the hospital and be on our way.

This has been an amazing 24 hours. We left the hospital around 2pm and proceeded to go home and pack our bags for Houston. We are currently in-route to Houston for my appts Sat & Sun and should be returning early afternoon on Sunday.

As a side note, we discovered our Thermometers at home are inaccurate. They were registering at least 1.5 degrees too high. As it turns out, I did not have a high fever (which is 101) on Thursday, and really did not have to go to the ER. I now have an accurate understanding of the temps on my thermometers, so we will be better prepared next time. I still believe all things happen for a reason and God had a reason for me to do this little test at the ER and the MRI (still figuring that one out). I am continuing to stay positive that I am going to recover from this and it is just the process that I have to take one day at a time.

Take care....

(go Aggies on Friday)...

Home

We finally made it home last night around 9pm. Lots of holiday travellers but it worked out fine.

Today I am not feeling so well. All the chemo drugs are taking a toll on my body and making me feel really tired and run down. I actually felt way better in the hospital all week! I can't figure that out.

Talk to you later...

Day 6 & 7 - Going Home.

Day 6 (Monday) was another good day of chemo (no real side effects noticed except headaches). I am still taking the last (slow) bag of chemo from yesterday. It should finish up today by 2pm and then Sandra and I will drive back to Fort Worth. This is still somewhat "up in the air" as I can't leave until this last bag is finished and it is on a very slow drip.

Although we get to go home today, we have to come back again this Friday (day after Thanksgiving) for 3 days. I have lab work on Friday, then on Sunday I have to take one bag of chemo. This will not be in the hospital, so I will do this in an out-patient infussion room. Once we are finished, we will drive back to Fort Worth on Sunday. The next cycle will begin Dec 6th back in Houston.

This first round of chemo has been a great learning experience and would hope future rounds to be the same. The next round on Dec 6th will be different drugs, so I still have that test ahead with regard to side-effects.

I will continue to keep this blog up-to-date with information regarding my progress and thoughts on my situation. I have enjoyed and continue to welcome all your comments and support and ideas for my recovery. Many of you have shared stories of friends you know who have beaten this and it has been a great encouragement to me. It continues to amazes me how much cancer has effected so many people and what effect it has had on their lives.

Take care!

Sunday - Chemo Day 5

Sunday was the 5th day of straight chemo during this round. I have started a new drug called Adriamycin (Doxorubicin). It is givin in a 24 hour drip twice in a row. That means it will last Days 5 & 6. It has a distintive "orange" color, which is weird because all the other drugs are clear. I have not had any side effects from this so far. One of the main problems with this drug is that it can decrease your heart function, so they monitor my heart and blood pressure often. Before you can even do this chemo drug, they do a cardiac heart test to see how strong your heart is. I did this test last week and my heart checked out strong and able to handle this treatment.

The other big even on Sunday was Sandra passed the "CVC dressing change" test for my PICC line. Way to go Sandra! She had to take 2 classes to learn how to change the dressing weekly while we are home. It is a very detailed process which is designed to prevent any possible infection throughout the 6 months. I think Sandra may be deciding on a new nursing career! (what do you think?)

My only other physical issue right now is just that I am really tired. I don't think it is from the chemo, but rather from the lack of sleep in the hospital. Seems ironic...you are suppose to get rest in a hospital...but it does not happen! I don't think I have had more than about 5 hours per night of sleep since last Wed. The nurses all say this is pretty normal. Once I get home, I can get back to a normal sleep routine and catch up. We are still anticipating leaving for home on Tuesday late afternoon.

I am looking forward to getting home and seeing Daniel. My mom has been staying with Daniel (in Fort Worth) while we are away so he can stay in school which has been great. We have had such great support from here and also the Scott and Jana Clark family (lives next door) who also attend Daniel's school (Covenant Classical School) and have supported us so much the past several weeks. Thanks!

This Sunday was yet another Sunday away from my normal routine. We have not been to our church in Fort Worth now for over 4 weeks. We have had such great support from them through this so far and I miss worshiping with them and look forward to getting back. One of the verses that has been on my mind a lot during this process has been Philipians 4:4-7 .

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace about everything is what I tend to misplace in all this. There is so much out of my control in this process that I have a tendency to get anxious about everything. I want to organize and prioritize and schedule and plan out all the risks ("risk" is something I talk to customers all the time about in my job...), and sometimes, all that is not possible. You have to learn to take one day at a time and deal with what comes. The main thing I have been worrying about is the risk of infection that comes with this chemo. Usually on days 7-10 after chemo my immune system is very weak and I have basically no defenses to fight any infections. I am learning to take to heart Phil 4:4-7 in dealing with this anxiety.

I know this is a long blog entry...but I can't miss putting in a prop for the Cowboys game Sunday (Dallas 28, Washington 23). It was a wild game and one that Dallas could have lost as Washington was playing well in the end. I will enjoy watching the game on Thanksgiving from home!

Take care friends! Thanks for tuning in and spending a few mintues of your day with me.

Saturday evening

I have had a "marginal" day today. Somewhat more tired and run down. They say this is normal as this is my 5th (out of 6) infussion of the same cytoxin. I will finish the final 6th one for this drug at 9:30pm tonight. Then I have two more new drugs over Sunday and Monday.

I continue to be amazed at how these drugs work. There seems to be something for every aspect of this process. Modern medicine has become so specialized and they can regulate everything about your body: blatter, kidneys, nausea, headaches, stomach aches, muscle aches, etc...I think I've had them all today. These nurses here have seen it all. They keep asking me questions about how I feel and there response is always...."ok, we have something for that". They come in 10 minutes later with a pill or an IV bag and hook me up. I always feel better soon after. I do worry about taking all these medicines, but they assure me that it will all work out and they do not hurt my body in situations like this. I am learning about "trust" and patience in these situations.

I also watched some college football today and am currently watching my Texas Tech Red Raiders play Oklahoma (current score OU 7, TTU 3). It will be a good game. Did anyone see the Texas Tech player introductions at the beginning of the game? Apparently, this very famous person is a good friend of Mike Leach (TTU head coach). ... Donald Trump! He gave the offense and defense starting line-ups...Leach and Trump...interesting mix!

Friday Morning

This morning has been great. I got at least 6 hours of sleep last night which is good because they come in at 4pm to check your vitals and draw labs. I have already had my 3rd Cytoxin chemo started today and it is going well. I will have another at 9pm tonight. This process will last through tomorrow and then another round of another drug will start. I saw the doctor this morning and said all my labs look great and they are expecting me to be released on Tuesday.

I have talked with several nurses here who all treat Lymphoma patients and they all say how fortunate I am to have found this in Stage 2. Many people who develope Lymphoma don't see symptoms until the later stages. By the fact that I developed a cold and also had SVC Syndrom (which is swelling of the neck and head veins due to Lymphnodes welling) this caused me to go to the doctor to get checked. My Dr. ran some tests immediately and as a result felt I had a good chance of Lymphoma. In many other cases I have heard, people with swollen lymphnodes are often mis-diagnosed with just allergies or viruses and given antibiotics which only masks the problems which can delay the right diagnosis of Lymphoma. The CT Scan will show swollen nodes then a biopsy is the only way to tell if the Lymphnodes have cancer cells.

I encourage everyone to learn from this and to check for any swelling in their Lymphnodes and have them checked by the doctor. Your Lymph system is all over your body and it's primary function is to fight infection. Your nodes are where the infection is pulled into and destroyed. These nodes are primarily located in your neck, chest, arm pits, ankles, groin and stomach areas.

That all for now.

I added a cool Video update to at the bottom so check it out...

MD Anderson

I know some of you have asked about where I am while in Houston. The MD Anderson Cancer Center has an entire hospital floor where all the Lymphoma patients stay for in-patient chemo treatments. Apparently, there are lots of people with this type of cancer to have their own floor (9th floor)!

Sandra is staying at the Residence Inn on Westpark & Kirby.

My first day of chemo was Wed (11/14). I took Rituximab from 8:30pm - 12:30am. I was able to complete this cycle without any side effects. Yea! I was able to sleep about 4 hours after that and was done with a long day.

Today, I am taking a chemo drug called Cytoxin. I will take 6 units of this over 3 days. We are watching this closely as it can also have side effects. However, my first round Thursday morning was again side-effect free! The nurses are encouraged with how my body is handling the treatements so far.

Sandra is taking a class to learn how to care for my "PICC" line which they setup in my arm to take the chemo. This PICC line is much easier to use than a normal IV. It was pretty easy to setup and can be taken out when my chemo treatments are over in 6 months. I can do normal activities with this as well, so it should not interfere with my golf swing.

Starting Chemo...

Welcome!

I plan on using this forum for keeping friends and family updated with information regarding how my life is going during my cancer treatments.

I am a novice at blogging, so it may take me a while to get use to this, but I think it will work better than sending emails to everyone. You can "subscribe" to this blog and it will send you an email with any new entries. You can also post your own comments here when you want to respond to a blog entry.

I appreciate everyone's prayers and support over the last 3 weeks as I have certainly felt your support every step of the way.