November is National Pancreatic Awareness Month. Please consider visiting the website below to learn about the disease, to help raise awareness and get involved with the fight.
http://pancan.org/
Thank You,
Vicki
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness
November is National Pancreatic Awareness Month. Please consider visiting the website below to learn about the disease, to help raise awareness and get involved with the fight.
http://pancan.org/
Thank You,
Vicki
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
THANK YOU
As you read in Joe's blog, he received a great report in Houston... the tumors keep getting smaller! Tomorrow starts another round of chemo, #13. Joe has really appreciated his two week reprieve, he has felt great. Our Houston doctor has already scheduled us to return for scans on Dec. 14. Dr. Abbruzzese will decide then if the treatment should change. We will likely be facing radiation treatments at some point.
Thank You to everyone who Prays for Joe. His continued improvement is proof that there is power in Prayers and our good Lord listens. Thank You to our Son for making this trip with us, he is a source of great strength and support. Thank You to Sally for such positive and loving text messages. Thank You to our dear friends Mark and Karla Meyer who took time to drive to Houston from College Station to spend an evening with us... we had a Super time talking and laughing about old times! And, Thank You to our family for all the love and encouraging words.
Vicki
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Back from Houston
Got home about 9:30. It was a good trip home, mostly because we got good news from the doctor, again. God is answering our prayers: the tumors continue to shrink, and the ones on the liver are almost gone. The doctor said I was doing excellent and fantastic, better than 99.999% of typical pancreatic cancer patients! I will continue another 8 weeks of the same chemo treatment, then possibly transition to radiation because only the original mass on the pancreas will remain. That will be determined when I return to Houston, probably in December. The doctor said my treatment will be somewhat difficult because they are not sure how to treat someone who has responded so well to chemo treatment! Thanks to everyone for their prayers!!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Hello from Houston
We woke up this morning to rain and cool temperatures. It's supposed to last most of the day. No appointments scheduled at M.D. Anderson until tomorrow, so we're just lounging around this morning. Ben is taking some time to log into his work computer to keep up with emails. What dedication! We plan to get out later to do some (indoor) sightseeing.
The picture is from Saturday evening. Perfect meal with football! We watched Texas beat Missouri. This is our only digital picture so far which Ben took with his iphone. I forgot the charger for our camera and of course it was DOA! We bought a disposable camera with old fashioned film, so our other pictures will be posted later.
Vicki
MYS!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Back to Houston
It's that time again. Another trip to Houston for scans and a visit with the doctor. We'll leave Saturday morning (Oct 24) and the scans will be on Sunday. We don't see the oncologist until Tuesday morning, so we have a whole day to do tourist things on Monday. Monday evening we will meet up with friends from College Station.
Ben is traveling with us this time, but Sally couldn't get the time off from her new job. He plans to be here early enough Friday evening to have dinner with us.
Hard to believe this will be our 4th trip to MD Anderson. Lots of time traveling and not that many hours at the hospital. Being familiar with the hospital and how to get around makes it less stressful, but I still have to go through the tests. They're not all that terrible, but still not something I'd do just for fun.
Ben is traveling with us this time, but Sally couldn't get the time off from her new job. He plans to be here early enough Friday evening to have dinner with us.
Hard to believe this will be our 4th trip to MD Anderson. Lots of time traveling and not that many hours at the hospital. Being familiar with the hospital and how to get around makes it less stressful, but I still have to go through the tests. They're not all that terrible, but still not something I'd do just for fun.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Wildcat Football
Kansas State vs Texas A & M
This weekend Joe and I will be in Manhattan for the game and RVing at Tuttle Creek with Ben and Sally. We'll be meeting up with some friends before Saturday's game to do some tailgating. Two of our friends are coming from College Station, TX. Even though one of their sons attended Texas A&M, I assume they'll be wearing Purple since they are Kansas State Alumni!
Saturday is Harley Day at Kansas State. Just before the game, there will be 100 bikes that come roaring into the stadium and circle the field with Willie the Wildcat in the lead. It is super exciting and super loud! The sound of the bikes is awesome and the fans go crazy!
Go Cats!
Vicki & Joe
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Gift to help us go green
I got a package in the mail a week or so ago that contained a John Deere lap robe. It was from Vicki's cousins in Edgerton, KS. It has pictures of old John Deere tractors on one side and old JD logos on the other side. It's going to be great for keeping my feet warm when they are propped up watching TV while we go "green" by keeping the thermostat down!
Thanks Tawnya & Darrell!
Chemo reprieve
I am being given a short vacation from Chemo. I asked my doctor in Texas if I could skip this week because I had a lot going on at work, and get my chemo next week. Since next week is right before I get another scan at MD Anderson, and I visit the doctor on Oct 27, he suggested I could wait until after my visit. He didn't have to ask me twice. I'm just worried that I will feel so good for a couple weeks that it will be really difficult to go back for chemo.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Back to full time work
It's official now - I am a full time worker. I had my doctor sign a release stating I can work full time without restrictions. That was faxed to John Deere and now I'm a "normal" worker.
My single biggest concern about going full time was getting up and getting around in the morning. It had been so difficult to get over the fatigue after getting out of bed, but that had improved much the past few weeks. For a while I was having to eat as soon as I got up, then eat again an hour or so later. I've gotten over that, too. Vicki has been fixing me good breakfasts that I eat after I get ready to go.
I have actually gotten up and been to work early 2 days this week. It's still not easy getting out of bed, but it never has been for me. As my Dad used to say, "There ought to be a better way to start the day than getting up!" I'm pretty well back to my old "get ready for work" routine, except I'm not drinking coffee. Well, I had a tiny bit this morning. It seems like the caffeine really affects me and gives me the shakes.
Working full days hasn't been difficult. I've been busy and time doesn't seem to drag as much as it did when I was only working part time. Maybe it's because I'm more in rhythm with the workplace. I haven't really felt tired until I get home, but at least I feel like I have a reason to feel tired.
My single biggest concern about going full time was getting up and getting around in the morning. It had been so difficult to get over the fatigue after getting out of bed, but that had improved much the past few weeks. For a while I was having to eat as soon as I got up, then eat again an hour or so later. I've gotten over that, too. Vicki has been fixing me good breakfasts that I eat after I get ready to go.
I have actually gotten up and been to work early 2 days this week. It's still not easy getting out of bed, but it never has been for me. As my Dad used to say, "There ought to be a better way to start the day than getting up!" I'm pretty well back to my old "get ready for work" routine, except I'm not drinking coffee. Well, I had a tiny bit this morning. It seems like the caffeine really affects me and gives me the shakes.
Working full days hasn't been difficult. I've been busy and time doesn't seem to drag as much as it did when I was only working part time. Maybe it's because I'm more in rhythm with the workplace. I haven't really felt tired until I get home, but at least I feel like I have a reason to feel tired.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
A special surprise gift in the mail.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a surprise gift from Vicki's cousin, Ken Decker. It was a flag that had been flown on August 17, 2009 aboard a Missouri Air National Guard C-130H aircraft on a combat mission over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The co-pilot was Ken's daughter, Janelle Decker, Cpt, USAF. Included with the flag was a certificate with a picture of a C-130 in flight, the information above, my name, the aircraft numbers and signed by each of the crew of 6.
August 17, 2009 also happened to be my mother's 90th birthday. Pretty cool!
Chemo #12
Maybe it's just my attitude, but these chemo treatments are starting to seem like such a drag. Three hours of sitting there with an IV in my arm seems like a long time even though I know some people have to sit there a lot longer and lots of people have done it many, many more times than I have. I think maybe my arm is starting to get more sensitive to the IV and the chemicals, or is it mostly a mental thing? Because of the clots from the port in my right shoulder before we even got started, I've taken all 12 chemo treatments in my left arm. Of those 12, 10 have been in the same vein, and one of the other veins is still inflamed from a treatment several weeks ago.
On the positive side, I am completely free of pain killers, specifically narcotics. I had tapered off and finally stopped them several days before Chemo # 11. I had a lot of problems with fatigue that week but since then the fatigue has improved. Generally, I have felt pretty good, some nausea which is controlled by meds, still not as much energy as I'd like. I hope to start working mostly full time next week. As long as I continue to do as well as the last couple weeks, or better, full time shouldn't be a stretch.
Today's trip to the hospital didn't start well. When Vicki tried to start the car, nothing happened. The battery was dead. The car had sat for a week, but unless something was wrong, sitting shouldn't have killed the battery. Since Vicki plans on a trip to Burlington on Friday, I spent my "Chemo time" thinking about how to fix the car if I felt rotten. Fortunately, I didn't feel too bad to work on it. I jump started the car and drove to the dealer so they could do a load test on the battery. Found out they have been having a rash of bad AC Delco batteries. Mine was no exception; it failed the load test. Took the car home, removed the battery, then went and bought a new one. This definitely wasn't what I planned for the afternoon, but Vicki can drive the car.
On the positive side, I am completely free of pain killers, specifically narcotics. I had tapered off and finally stopped them several days before Chemo # 11. I had a lot of problems with fatigue that week but since then the fatigue has improved. Generally, I have felt pretty good, some nausea which is controlled by meds, still not as much energy as I'd like. I hope to start working mostly full time next week. As long as I continue to do as well as the last couple weeks, or better, full time shouldn't be a stretch.
Today's trip to the hospital didn't start well. When Vicki tried to start the car, nothing happened. The battery was dead. The car had sat for a week, but unless something was wrong, sitting shouldn't have killed the battery. Since Vicki plans on a trip to Burlington on Friday, I spent my "Chemo time" thinking about how to fix the car if I felt rotten. Fortunately, I didn't feel too bad to work on it. I jump started the car and drove to the dealer so they could do a load test on the battery. Found out they have been having a rash of bad AC Delco batteries. Mine was no exception; it failed the load test. Took the car home, removed the battery, then went and bought a new one. This definitely wasn't what I planned for the afternoon, but Vicki can drive the car.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)