Brother Tim and Brother-In-Law Tony

Tim Nichols


Tony Lenting

KEEP THEM COMING BOYS!

Join The Club

Jesse and Levi



Staci starting early



ONE MORE GROUP PICTURE: Kelsey, Levi, Jon, and Jesse

SOLIDARITY

sol.i.dar"i.ti, n. (Fr. solidarite', from solide, solid.) Unity or communion of interest and responsiblities among nations or mankind in general.




Much talk has taken place among the Nichols men of cutting their hair in solidarity with Jon and his battle with cancer. On Saturday, February 24, Chris Brown organized a "buzz fest" at Jon's favorite barber. The pictures above include Kelsey, Jon, Dan, Brock, Benton and Chris as well as Dan and Bobby Nichols in the second photo (Dan had the flu so he and Bobby buzzed each other at home). Levi got standed at work-his picture will follow in the coming week.

If anyone else decides to participate please email me your picture, I would love to include everyone on the blog.

Thanks to all of you for standing stong with Jon-you are an amazing group of men!

More news from Dr. Chu

Chemo went well on Tuesday for Jon. He had the opportunity to see Dr. Chu, not really for an examination but for a conversation and a hug. Dr. Chu told Jon that he would have two months of oral chemo after March 20th. Following the oral chemo we can expect to have another course of intervenous chemo but are unsure on how much and how long. He reminded Jon that, although he is dong remarkably well, he had "a lot of cancer" and we need to make sure it doesn't come back. There also remains the possibility of radiofrequency ablation to remove any tumors that might remain. We are all anxiously anticipating the CT scan in March.

Jon's RBC, hemoglobin, and hematocrit are all on the rise. I think he has even made a believer out of the Theresa, the physicians assistant. His alkaline phosphotase (liver enzyme) has risen slightly in the last two weeks so we are re-evaluating his liver detox supplements with the nutritionist. It should be 110 and had gone up to 124.

All in all Jon is feeling great. His workouts are on the rise and his weight has normalized. His aerobic capacity is still diminished but should improve as his red count continues to rise. We are going to try a mountain bike ride this weekend (on my brand-new mountain bike he gave me for Valentine's Day!) and see how he does. He still requires more sleep than usual, including an afternoon nap, but that is a small price to pay for the process.

Visiting Staci

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkKosuKViFnh5pCJFJwOfqpgg6ZxXrog2D0Zl66nrSIqTtyMmKDJ1gbhE8OsPKoTO-tT3f8I0A82aGK3cbS6quoCjFUZVTYLneEF67UEe-pEFXA9YmKIcsbAf170z7P8phMk-hfigA-mGI/s1600-h/Feb2007+027.jpg">
We had a great visit with Staci. Jon didn't get his required amount of sleep last week so he was tired on Saturday but feeling good Sunday. We rode "Legs" on Saturday and Staci and I went to the Branding Iron Saturday night where she taught me the Two Step and the Electric Slide...we are going to work on our dance steps some more when she visits in March!

Sunday we spent in Santa Barbara where we rode trikes along the beach, climbed ropes, swung on swings and acted like a bunch of kids (yes that picture is Jon and Staci having a race to the top of the ropeclimb). Jon, Staci, and I had our auras and palms read in Venice Beach. The psychic was very insightful and told Jon he would live into his late 70s. Kelsey says he is already manifesting his future so he didn't need a reading :)

Jon is back at chemo today accompanied by Rex and Tonya's homemade cookies. He is feeling great and excited to finish up chemo on March 20th. The CT scan is shortly thereafter. We are hoping for a "No More Cancer" party for his birthday on the 30th!

A New Challenge

Another good week for Jon. He had chemo on Tuesday and has 5 more to go before the CT scan. His alkaline phosphotase is in the normal range but his red count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were all low. He feels well most of the time but finds because of the low red counts his aerobic capacity is pretty limited. He still is making good gains in his weight-lifting and we both have returned to our pre-cancer weights (he had lost 19 pounds, I lost 6)

Two weeks ago Jon's white counts were low so he tried some different combination of supplements and essential oils to raise them. This week they were solidly in the normal range. He told the Physicians Assistant at SCTWC that he was going to raise his other blood levels in the same manner and she told him that he "couldn't do it without pharmaceuticals". Poor women, she has no idea what she's started!! I'm sure he will be in the normal range within the next two weeks.

Interestingly enough, there is a drug called procrit that most patients receive after 2-3 chemos to boost their red blood cell count. Your hemoglobin (the part of your red cells that carry oxygen) has to be 32 or below to qualify for it. Jon's is still 35, even after 9 (count them, NINE) chemos. The low end of normal is 40. So guess what, no procrit for Jon. He wouldn't have it any other way.

I told him this week that I didn't want him to have 5 more chemos, that I think he's already cured. He said, "but I like chemo, I can hang out with you, eat sweet stuff, and go out to lunch." I warned him that he shouldn't like this too much. Remember when I said he was going to be incorrigible with all of this attention???

We are leaving for Staci's tomorrow night for the long weekend and are excited about our visit. Rex is taking my place with Jon at chemo on Tuesday. Keep sending all those positive thoughts and prayers. I can already see that normal CT scan in March!

Although there isn't much to say I feel compelled to write something.

Wait, I know, this has been a great week! Jon is amazing and strong and weighs 180 pounds. He is sporting some pretty cute grey peachfuzz on his head.

I went out for dinner and drinks with my YaYas Friday night to celebrate Maggie's 50th birthday. Jon and I hiked Mt. Peak on Saturday, Kelsey worked at the Pacific Science Center. We went to church on Sunday and rode the Spirit of Puget Sound dinner train for Sunday Brunch (thank you Chris and Lisa-a wonderful wedding present). Kelsey had friends over tonight-they built a bonfire and played loud music like teenagers should and do.

All in all a normal weekend for a normal family. Sometimes we even forget Jon has cancer....

PS

Jon's pre-cancer weight was 185...lowest weight with chemo 169...todays's weight 178!

MORE LIVER NEWS

ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 2/5/O7 IS 114...LIVER FUNCTION TEST...NORMAL VALUES 38-110....JON WAS 195 AT HIS WORST.

Between the good news from the lab and Dr. Chu, and the steroid they give him with the chemo, the man is completely out of control. He just finished lifting weights and is flexing his biceps in the kitchen with the bald head...quite a sight!!

The Incredible Shrinking Liver

Jon has been saying for days that he feels so good it's scary! He had chemo yesterday and was examined by Dr. Chu for the first time since his initial visit. Dr Chu found that the swelling in Jon's liver has diminished approximately 3-4 inches in the past 6 weeks. He is scheduled for 6 more cycles of chemo and then a CT scan but I am lobbying to do one at the 8 week mark since he is doing so well. His blood counts are getting low and I figure we don't need to do any more chemo than is absolutely necessary. We will see what Dr. Chu (or as his staff and patent's call him "Master Chu") decides in the coming weeks. Keep him in your positive thoughts and prayers...they are working!!

A Pretty Good Week

All in all this has been a good week. Jon had a great time at Safari Club in Reno last weekend. For those who haven't been there it is basically a trade show for big game hunters. Usually Jon works at a booth and sells hunts for different guide companies but this year we just socialized with many of our favorite people. Jon relented that he probably won't be able to sheep hunt in August but set his goal to bear hunt on the Alaska Peninsula with Chuck and Lex Brewer in October. I think that is a realistic goal and will be excited to see him achieve it.

Jon had a head cold this week which has made him a little low on energy but he still managed to get in four weight workouts this week. He has chemo tomorrow armed with wonderful homemade cookies from Tonya.