6/26 Chemo and the morning after

The Kindle is amazing... Joe can listen to music while reading a book or, he can listen to music and shop online! He placed an order during his chemo!

Joe's chemo infusion went as scheduled this morning, in at 9:30 out at 1:00. We were a bit on pins and needles because two of his (much needed) medicines were not delivered until mid afternoon. Without one of them, he can get pretty sick. Nothing but lots of rest helps the fatigue, most of Joe's day was spent sleeping.

6/27

Joe is up early getting started on his morning meds. He's feeling good but taking it slow. It's amazing how much better he feels the day after chemo since being prescribed some strong anti-nausea pills....

Vicki

More Chemo

Second verse, same as the first...
In spite of the good news from Houston, the tumors still exist. Our doctor recommends more of the same chemo, so Joe will endure four or five more treatments. In eight weeks we will return to Houston again for follow-up scans. While we are very thankful that treatment is available for Joe, the side effects from the chemo make it difficult to look forward to. The first treatment of this round will be tomorrow morning.

Aside from tests and doctor appointments, we enjoyed being in Houston with our kids. They always make for a good time, they keep our spirits up and keep us laughing! Thank You Ben and SallyAnn... you two are a blessing! The cancer button and cozy were great gifts for Dad!

Love, Vicki and Joe

Great News

We received a fantastic report from our Houston doctor... Joe's tumors have decreased significantly in size! In fact, Dr. Abbruzzese used the adjective "impressed!" He said that Joe was responding to his treatments better than most! Our sighs of reliefe were pretty loud and our smiles very broad!
Thanks to all of you who were "there" with us!
Love, the Gray's

Quick update - good news!

Hello again! It's almost midnight and the crew (Joe, Vicki, Willow, Ben, SallyAnn and Milo) are back in Coffeyville and ready for bed. We had a good (long) day. Today we saw Dr. Abbruzzese to review Joe's tests. As it is late, I will give you the Readers Digest Abridged version: good news! There is no new cancer. The cancer spots in Joe's liver are greatly reduced and the cancer mass (tumor) on the head of his pancreas is smaller also. Even the doctor said he was impressed with how the cancer has reacted to the chemo treatments! We will give you more details soon, but for now we need to recoup! We made the 9ish hour drive immediately following the doctor appointment. We scaled 3 states today!

Thanks to everyone for all your support. As you can tell, it's working!

checking in

Today Joe underwent a CAT scan, blood tests and x-rays. Everything went really smoothly and we were actually ahead of schedule! Today was spend at the Mays Clinic, a building within the M.D. Anderson network. It was really nice - which is not surprising....everything and everyone we have met associated with M.D. Anderson has been great.

Tomorrow we will meet with Dr. Abbruzzese to go over the results of today's test and begin our journey home. We appreciate all of your prayers, thoughts and wishes. Keep 'em coming!

Hello from Houston

Hello from Houston! The Grays (Joe, Vicki, Willow, Ben, SallyAnn and Milo) are here! We arrived on Saturday night around 7:30. The drive was really pleasant - Texas is truly beautiful country. We stopped at a roadside stand and got some fresh peaches and blackberries. When we got to town, we checked in, let the doggies stretch their legs and headed to dinner at Pappadeaux'. Thanks for the recommendation, Kasey!

Today, Sunday, was our shopping day - the big reason why we came down to Texas early! We spent five hours at IKEA! Keep in mind that we drove one car....we are going to have to do some fancy packing to get everyone and everything home!

We had lunch at the IKEA cafeteria. Everyone enjoyed Swedish meatballs and yummy desserts. We need that break to refuel for the rest of our shopping excursion.

It is just after 6:00 now and we are resting our weary bodies before dinner. We have picked Pappasito's for Mexican food tonight. Mmmmmm!

Tomorrow, Joe has many tests at M.D. Anderson. Please pray for comfort and patience as it can be a long, arduous day. Tuesday we will meet with Joe's oncologist, Dr. Abbruzzese.

Thanks for checking in! We will be back with more updates and, of course, pictures - including a special Wildcat shout-out! Stay tuned...

Houston Bound

Joe had his final chemo treatment before we go back to MD Anderson. We will be leaving for Houston on Saturday, and our great "support team," Ben and SallyAnn are coming with us. On Sunday, we are planning a trip to IKEA... we're pretty excited about that! And we'll do some general "hanging out."

Monday, we will be at MD Anderson for Joe's scans. Tuesday we will meet with our Oncologist to go over the scans. Needless to say, we are very anxious! God is the only one that knows what the results will be, but with constant prayers from our family and friends, and our prayers for each other, we have the strength to face it.

Thank You to each and everyone of you that has been a part of this journey!

Love, Vicki & Joe

Eureka Springs and the Fedora

We had a GREAT time in Eureka Springs, Arkansas over Memorial weekend! The company of Ben and SallyAnn, (and our pups), beautiful scenery, great shopping, a nice RV park, and a travel trailer with all the comforts of home! Ben, thanks so much for doing 90% of the driving, you’re a super navigator!

If you’ve never been to Eureka Springs, it’s totally worth a visit. It’s an eccentric little town tucked in the Ozark mountains. It was selected as one of America's Distinctive Destinations. Some describe it as an extraordinary place, where there is much to see and do. (Check out our slideshow to see some of things we did.)

There is a trolly system that stops at most every place of lodging and it’s a good idea to take it wherever you want to go. The streets in Eureka Springs are very narrow and parking is at a premium. Plus, it’s a fun ride through a scenic town. There are shops galore and I think we may have stopped in every one of them, going up one side of the street and back down the other.

This was SallyAnn’s first visit. We told her she would love it, and we were right... she was silly excited over all the little shops, especially the ones with clothes! Sally, that was a darn cute dress that you bought at a bargain price!

One of the shops that we strolled into sold hats of all kinds. Joe started trying some of them on, and when he came to a beige Fedora, we all told him he should get it. It looked great on him and it beat the heck out of ball caps! We weren’t convincing enough, and he put it back on the shelf. SallyAnn really thought her father-in-law should have that great looking Fedora, so the morning before we were to leave Eureka Springs, she and Ben made a quick run back to the store. Sally purchased the hat, and she and Ben gave it to Joe for his Father’s Day. He was pretty darn impressed! He’ll certainly be wearing his new Fedora when we go back to Houston!

This was another family trip filled with great memories that will last a life time. Enjoy our photos!

Love, Vicki & Joe

Chemo Five

Our last treatment is over! Joe felt the usual fatigue and lack of appetite, but his meds kept the nausea mild... thank goodness! Our next step is the follow up appointments and tests at MD Anderson in a couple of weeks. Ben and SallyAnn are going with us and our plans are to go to IKEA while we're in Houston!

Vicki

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Fifth and Final Treament

We are ready, and expect it to be the
"kick in the butt!" treatment!

Vicki

Today and every day we Pray
to know and accept God's will.

Chemo #5, June 11, 2009

Another chemo today. This session was added to the original 4, but is the last one scheduled. The doctors decided that since I had time before our scheduled visit to MD Anderson on June 22-23, and I have tolerated the treatments well, it would be good to have another chemo. I am happy that the treatments have been working, but not necessarily thrilled to take another treatment. I will be fine as long as I have my nausea medicines. I have 4 different anti-nausea pills, and they will give me a couple more in my IV today. Just think, only a couple months ago I couldn't even spell nausea.
Well, time to go get ready . . .

Joe

Tumor Markers Are DOWN! *as of 6/3 lab

Revision: A week ago today, we were told by our Oncologist that Joe's Tumor Markers were down. It was Awesome news...we practically did cartwheels on our way out of the hospital! It was so good to learn! Even though we knew things were improving, this was medical proof. Praise God!!

What are Tumor Markers?

Tumor markers are substances that can be found in the body when cancer is present. They are most often found in the blood or urine, but they can also be found in tumors and other tissue. They can be products of the cancer cells themselves, or made by the body in response to cancer or other conditions. Most tumor markers are proteins.

Determining the effectiveness of cancer treatment

One of the most important uses for tumor markers is to watch patients being treated for cancer, especially advanced cancer. If a tumor marker is available for a specific type of cancer, it is much easier to measure and track it to see if the treatment is working rather than often repeat chest x-rays, CT scans, bone scans, or other tests. It also tends to be less expensive.

If the tumor marker level in the blood goes down, it is almost always a sign that the treatment is working. On the other hand, if the marker level goes up, then the cancer is not responding and the treatment may need to be changed. (One exception is if the cancer is very sensitive to a certain chemotherapy treatment. In this case, the chemotherapy can cause many cancer cells to die and release large amounts of the marker into the blood, which will cause the level of the tumor marker to rise for a short time.)

Helpful Inspiration

This book is small but mighty! We read it daily and it has helped us through some tough times.

Thank You Mom.

Love, Vicki & Joe

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JOE