CANCER SUCKS

So far I am not impressed with this current round of chemo! It's never much fun, but at least with the prior rounds Jon didn't start going downhill for at least a month. This time around he's tired, nauseous, and "feels like shit" from Thursday until Monday. I don't know if its the addition of the oral Tarceva or the fact that he has been through this so many times that his body's resistance is depleted. That's fairly surprising considering how strong he appeared in August and early September. We were both optimistic that we had some more time before all the side effects started so we are reassessing our plan and "battening down the hatches" for the next few months.

We have an appointment with Dr. Reilly (naturopath at SCTWC) this Tuesday. He made a quickie appearance last week when Jon's platelets and WBCs took a nose dive, but this week will be a longer visit with an opportunity develop a more comprehensive game plan. I would also like to touch base with Dr. Chue about the Tarceva. His attitude in the past seemed to be to "take it as long as you can tolerate it." That's what he was on when he ended up in the hospital with double pneumonia last March.

Rex has called us with some great input from MaryJane Mack and Dr. Versendal who have also treated Jon this past year (more nutritional support and light therapy). Jon is talking about working that into the equation as well. I vote for covering every base we can. MaryJane is has been helping me with nutritional supplementation to keep me sane through this process-I'm planning on seeing her myself for a recheck next week :)

Just to add a little more to the mix, Jon has a decayed tooth that needs to be extracted since his braces have been removed (for those of you who haven't seen him, his teeth look great!). For most people that's not a big deal but when you're on chemo and your white cell count is low it can create a serious infection. The Physicians Assistant asked Jon to wait until his white count is in the normal range to have it pulled but he wants to do it on Monday. With any luck the dentist won't be able to get him in until Wednesday and we'll have his Tuesday blood work back before the procedure. You know Jon, he "does as he fees!"

So for all of you in the prayer lines, I'm cranking up the power! Thank you for your continued support.

Chemo #2

On the way to chemo this morning Jon said that he feels better and stronger now than before he started his first chemos last year :) From where I sit, that has appeared to be the case but it's nice to hear confirmation from him.

For the most part chemo was pretty uneventful today. His white counts and platelets were down a little which is somewhat disconcerting since they seemed to hold pretty strong for the first 4-5 chemos with the earlier sessions. We do, however, feel much more informed and well equipped to handle the ups and downs of the blood counts. He starts tonight on Matike mushroom extract for the white count and sesame oil for the platelets. He's just finishing up with acupuncture while I write and we will be heading home to get Kelsey to his guitar lessons.

We were looking at the calendar today and confirmed that Jon's week off from chemo will fall on the Tuesday before Staci and Octavio's wedding (good planning, Stac!)
That should mean Jon will be feeling well and able to enjoy all the wedding festivities!

Friday and Saturday haven't been too bad. I was surprised to see Jon up early to drive with Kelsey to school Friday morning (Kelsey has his learner's permit and Jon has been driving to school with him each morning to give him some driving practice.) He was a little nauseous in the morning so when he stopped by my office I gave him Altoids and sparkling water which seemed helped considerably (go figure?? I guess its better than Compazine). He napped, worked out and then we went to the high school football game after work. This morning we celebrated Granny's 84th birthday with Tonya, Kristi, Kelsey, and Steve. He's taking his afternoon nap on the living room floor and planning a UFC (Ultimate Fighting) party with all the guys tonight. I am going to see a chick flick with the girlfriends, that's just way too much testosterone in one place for me!!

Here We Go...

Jon had his first official crash and burn tonight. We got all our office work done this morning and went to the Puyallup fair for the afternoon. He seemed great all day. We got home around 4:30 and he said he was going to take a nap, then work out. About 7pm I thought I'd better go wake him. He awoke to have dinner but then moved directly to the couch. He's really tired and "feels like shit", his face is already beet red from the Tarceva.

We went to fill his prescription today (to the tune of $3000 for our out-of-pocket portion). After feeling so badly tonight he asked me to wait to pick it up, since it made him so sick last time. We will see how he does this week and check with Dr. Chue on Tuesday. It amazes me how fast he can go from good to bad :(

Back In The Saddle

The first day back at chemo went pretty well. We had our favorite nurse, Dee, who is pregnant and due in October. She knows Jon very well and takes his idiosyncrasies in stride. We also had a visit with Dr. Chue. It took us a while to decide what chemo cocktail to go with because, as the Chue Chue likes to say, we are "making history". We settled for a combination of Gemzar and Taxol intravenously on a weekly basis with 100mg of Tarceva daily. Jon will get one week off every four weeks in hopes of dissipating the cumulative side effects of chemo. He also promises to let us know his side effect symptoms prior to him requiring a visit to the ER this time (I'm not sure I really buy that one). His alkaline phosphatase was somewhat elevate (174) and his liver slightly enlarged. It concerns me that maybe the tumors there have grown a bit during our "vacation" but he is otherwise strong and healthy.

Everyone is in good humor tonight. My parents are still visiting and made us a wonderful dinner, we told lots of stories and laughed through the whole meal. The nurses have finally mastered Jon's steroid dosage so he should sleep ok tonight. Oh, except for when he picks Levi and Ericka up at the airport at 1am!! My parents leave for PA at 6:00am so I guess it will be another semi sleepless night here at the Nichols! We are all a little tired but have thoroughly enjoyed this special time with our family.

Levi and Ericka's wedding was a smashing success! They both glowed with happiness throughout the whole thing. (well once Levi got all those tables and decorations set up!) They are currently honeymooning in Las Vegas and will be back Tuesday night. Thank you to everyone who helped make this beautiful event possible. Jon and I slept until 10am Sunday, got up to clean up and return tuxes, keg, etc then went back to sleep for a few hours. I feel almost normal today. I was so busy with all of the festivities I never took pictures so everyone that has them please email to me. Ericka found an incredible photographer and I am looking forward to seeing his pictures. I will post some on the blog as soon as someone sends me some (Liz, you promised!)

Jon felt great for the wedding and has been quite sentimental. He is so proud of Levi and really enjoyed having all the family together for the event. We couldn't be happier with our new daughter-in-law and are anticipating more grandchildren soon.

Tomorrow is D day with the start of the fourth round of chemo. It's good to see Jon going in strong. My parents are still here and will get to come along for the ride. Jon does have a tendency to make the whole thing a bit of a party (or is that a circus?). He has managed to maintain his sense of humor and we actually have fun most of the time on chemo days, its the crash and burn on Thursdays that sucks. I expect to be back writing more frequently as the next part of this adventure unfolds.

Levi's wedding is just around the corner and we have been working hard to get everything ready. It's been an exciting time for all of us. Jon's been feeling a little "punky" the past few days and I'm not really sure why. He's worked hard in the yard and has increased the intensity of his workouts in the past few weeks. He's also been doing some different kinds of detox and I think maybe his electrolytes might be low or it's an accumulation of the Interferon. At any rate, I pumped him full of water and electrolyte mix today so we'll see how that goes.

Everything is falling nicely into place for Levi and Ericka's wedding. The house is almost ready and we made the Costco run today. Kelsey's been helping with all the yard and deck preparation and has gone back to school (3 honors classes which mean LOTS of homework). Levi and Ericka are taking care of all of the last minute details. Staci and Octavio get here tomorrow night, Elizabeth and David will be her Saturday and so will my parents! It should be a wonderful wedding with about 170 guests. I will post some pictures on the blog.

I feel like we're coming to an end of an era with chemo starting next Tuesday (thanks for all your thought and well-wishes, LoriB). It's been a wonderful month and we are both ready to take on the next challenge and "kick some ass" as my husband likes to say. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we move forward to the next chapter.