Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Not Our Best Month

This last month has probably been the most negative news we've received since Jon's original diagnosis. The last scan showed progression of his tumors in the liver, his alkaline phosphotase is over 200 and his tumor marker is in the 40s. His white count and absolute neutrophils are the lowest they have ever been and his RBCs, hemoglobin and hematocrit are in the toilet. He feels pretty tired but still managed to hike Lakeland Hills twice this weeks. No weight work outs.

The good news is the doctors at SCTWC are still working the program. Jon hasonly had three chemos with the new cocktail so its too soon to tell if it will be effective. Dr Reilly (naturopath) is implementing IV infusions of Vitamin C which has shown promising results in other cancer patients and is increasing acupuncture to three times a week. That should all start next week.

I've spent the evening researching the Vitamin C treatment and just printed out 60 pages of pancreatic cancer survivor stories for Jon and left them on his desk. They guy could use a little encouragement these days.

I've decided to take a leave of absence from my job with the Department of Health until we get through this rough spot in the rode. I plan to go back in September.

Kelsey passed his driving test!!

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