As many of you know, Dave is done with treatment for the month of August and has the entire month of September free from The James. In lieu of eight hour treatment days we decided we should have a baby! ha ha
You will notice the next few posts will have more to do with Marshall's arrival and less to do with cancer. We will also be giving you information regarding Light the Night. This is The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's annual walk to help fight blood born cancers. Dave and I are excited to round up family and friends in support of such a great cause.
Light the Night is Saturday, October 18th at Fred Beekman park on the OSU campus. The pre-walk festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. and the walk is at 7:45 p.m. This is the Michigan State game so no worries about missing a good game (no offense Emilie). There will be music, food, and family activities. And, of course, the grand appearance of the world's cutest new born baby!
I'm going to be honest....I hate collecting money. I don't like the idea of getting pledges or carrying around envelopes full of cash and checks. So, we're going to make this easy. We have found someone to make Team Hall t-shirts inexpensively. If you are interested in walking with us, and we hope you are, it's $15.00. ($4.00 will cover the shirt and the other $11.00 will go to the fundraiser) The night of the walk we will give you your t-shirt to wear.
All you need to do is let me know you are interested and I'll even register you. Shoot me an email at manda_cadri@yahoo.com and I'll let you know our address and what information I need from you. I need to know how many walkers we have by Friday, September 19 so I can let the t-shirt guy know.
As a side note, we understand that many of you have families that might want to walk. We understand that $15.00 times several family members is expensive. Please don't feel like you need to donate that amount per person. You can donate $1.00 per person and come walk with us...we just want your company and support.
You should know that The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society offers other items for larger donations. I don't want to make this confusing, so I'm just going to say this...if you would like to make a larger donation, an additional $25.00 will get you an illuminated balloon and an additional $100.00 will get you a Light the Night t-shirt and balloon. Certainly I'm not telling you these things because I want you to feel obligated...but I also didn't want you to wonder why you didn't get a pretty balloon. :)
Hope this finds all of you well and ready for fall. Dave is counting down the days until Ohio State kicks off and I am cleaning out drawers and sweeping behind the fridge! My doctor assures me it's called nesting and it only means Marshall is this much closer! YIPPPPEEE!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Live Blogging
Hey all -- since today is going to be my last treatment until October, thought I would sign on and put everyone in the seat with me today :) It is now 9:10 and I have been here since 7:50. The fun part of the day actually.. they start the IV access line and draw a couple tubes of blood, today however they had to draw five additional tubes to type me for the potential of a bone marrow transplant (more on that later). Since today is Mandy's first day of school, my brother is here with me today. I have not seen the doctor or anything as of yet, but will update everyone once things get moving here.
Ok... I'll save the PET scan results for Mandy to write about (she does a much better job than I do explaining everything), but it is now 10:50 and I have spoken to the doc and just got my first med started. First up Epratuzumab ... this is a very small bag that runs in in about 1/2 hour. So what else.. my brother is sitting here eating Wendys and talking on the phone at the same time. Who says that boy can't multi-task. Check back again shortly ... will let you know more.
Lots of visitors today. Had Momma Bear, Dusty, Pastor Dave and his wife Vicki. One of the nurses asked if it was my birthday, to which my brother said "nope he is just liked :)". Treatment is now over and once again seems to have went without any hitches (other than just pure grogginess from the Benadryl).
For those that can't wait for Mandy --- the PET scan results were positive. A quick back note about PET scans -- Dr. Blum had said early on a PET scan with Follicular lymphoma is not a very good indicator. PET scans show tumor activity and since FL is a very slow growing cancer it can take a while for a PET scan to show any reduction in activity. The CT scan (which is scheduled for October) will tell more about how this treatment is working. With that said, the PET scan today did show a reduction in activity. YEAAAAHHHHHH!!! A PET gives an SUV score. The report today showed almost every node had been reduced by at least 2 SUV points from the prior PET scan. She was very encouraged with the results and really didn't want to read too much into this. A key point she made about the PET scan, I can be in complete remission and still show activity in a PET scan. Dr. Blum is a very encouraging person and was more wanting to talk about Mandy and Marshall and D-Day (Delivery Day). I think she is just as excited as we are that the little guy is coming.
Ok... I'll save the PET scan results for Mandy to write about (she does a much better job than I do explaining everything), but it is now 10:50 and I have spoken to the doc and just got my first med started. First up Epratuzumab ... this is a very small bag that runs in in about 1/2 hour. So what else.. my brother is sitting here eating Wendys and talking on the phone at the same time. Who says that boy can't multi-task. Check back again shortly ... will let you know more.
Lots of visitors today. Had Momma Bear, Dusty, Pastor Dave and his wife Vicki. One of the nurses asked if it was my birthday, to which my brother said "nope he is just liked :)". Treatment is now over and once again seems to have went without any hitches (other than just pure grogginess from the Benadryl).
For those that can't wait for Mandy --- the PET scan results were positive. A quick back note about PET scans -- Dr. Blum had said early on a PET scan with Follicular lymphoma is not a very good indicator. PET scans show tumor activity and since FL is a very slow growing cancer it can take a while for a PET scan to show any reduction in activity. The CT scan (which is scheduled for October) will tell more about how this treatment is working. With that said, the PET scan today did show a reduction in activity. YEAAAAHHHHHH!!! A PET gives an SUV score. The report today showed almost every node had been reduced by at least 2 SUV points from the prior PET scan. She was very encouraged with the results and really didn't want to read too much into this. A key point she made about the PET scan, I can be in complete remission and still show activity in a PET scan. Dr. Blum is a very encouraging person and was more wanting to talk about Mandy and Marshall and D-Day (Delivery Day). I think she is just as excited as we are that the little guy is coming.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Uneventful=Good
As all of you know, today was Dave's weekly treatment at The James. We arrived bright and early and ready to go! I'm quickly learning to plan as though we are going on a camping trip. Today I packed a cooler (pregnant women don't leave the house without snacks:), a pillow, and enough schools projects to keep me busy throughout the day. At one point I had nurses and other staff members helping me trace, cut, and color various bulletin board decorations for Oak Creek. I love a good day of multi-tasking!
Dr. Blum started off the day with her standard exam of Dave's lymph nodes. She believes they are still shrinking, but not as quickly as after the first treatment. This is what she predicted would happen at Dave's last treatment. Dave will have a Petscan next Monday morning to evaluate the lymph node response up to this point. We should know these results next Wednesday.
Dave continues to tolerate treatment well. Other than being incredibly sleepy from the Benadryl they put in his IV, he didn't have any other symptoms. He even went to work out this evening!
All in all, today was uneventful and frankly, we are okay with that. :) Next week will be very busy for us. As I said earlier, Dave has a Petscan Monday. On Tuesday, we meet with the bone marrow transplant specialist. On Wednesday, he has treatment. On Thursday, we go to my doctor to check on Marshall and somewhere in the middle of all of that I am starting back to school! Like I said, sometimes uneventful is good!
Dr. Blum started off the day with her standard exam of Dave's lymph nodes. She believes they are still shrinking, but not as quickly as after the first treatment. This is what she predicted would happen at Dave's last treatment. Dave will have a Petscan next Monday morning to evaluate the lymph node response up to this point. We should know these results next Wednesday.
Dave continues to tolerate treatment well. Other than being incredibly sleepy from the Benadryl they put in his IV, he didn't have any other symptoms. He even went to work out this evening!
All in all, today was uneventful and frankly, we are okay with that. :) Next week will be very busy for us. As I said earlier, Dave has a Petscan Monday. On Tuesday, we meet with the bone marrow transplant specialist. On Wednesday, he has treatment. On Thursday, we go to my doctor to check on Marshall and somewhere in the middle of all of that I am starting back to school! Like I said, sometimes uneventful is good!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Great doctors, Mighty Mice, and the Power of Prayer.
I shared a while back that many tears have been shed at our house, not in sadness, but because we have been so touched by everyone's encouraging words. We have received cards from churches we've never heard of and from people we've never met. People who say they know someone who told them about our current journey. That they just want us to know they are thinking and praying for us every day. On many occasions, we have received emails from friends we haven't spoken to in years wishing us strength and courage. And, of course, there are those of you we see day in and day out. Those of you who bring us food and stop to ask how Dave is doing. Those of you who have said so genuinely for me to call anytime...even if I just want to scream. :) Those of you who tell us you pray for us every night at dinner or at bedtime with your kids.
Hang in there with me, I have a point.
This is very premature, but can't go unsaid. After arriving at The James this morning, Dr. Blum examined Dave. She seems to know all the right spots to feel for lymph nodes. Go figure. :) When she was finished she said, "Well, they are all about half the size they were before we started treatment and I can't seem to find the one in his left armpit. " Now, we certainly don't want to get our hopes up, but she feels very strongly that the treatments are working exceptionally well. She believes we will continue to see the nodes shrink, maybe not as quickly from here on out, but hopefully at a steady pace. Remember, the goal of this treatment plan is to put him into remission for several years.
Dave and I had no idea we would get news like this today. We didn't expect it and even Dr. Blum said it was a faster reaction than she would expect. I suppose several key elements could be responsible for this great news. Maybe it's our great doctors or those funny little mice I wrote about last week. Some may say it's just plain old good luck...but I'm putting our money on the fact that we are surrounded by incredible people who have taken time out of their busy lives to continually pray for us. I know God has got to be busy...but it's hard to ignore so many people with the same prayer. :)
Hang in there with me, I have a point.
This is very premature, but can't go unsaid. After arriving at The James this morning, Dr. Blum examined Dave. She seems to know all the right spots to feel for lymph nodes. Go figure. :) When she was finished she said, "Well, they are all about half the size they were before we started treatment and I can't seem to find the one in his left armpit. " Now, we certainly don't want to get our hopes up, but she feels very strongly that the treatments are working exceptionally well. She believes we will continue to see the nodes shrink, maybe not as quickly from here on out, but hopefully at a steady pace. Remember, the goal of this treatment plan is to put him into remission for several years.
Dave and I had no idea we would get news like this today. We didn't expect it and even Dr. Blum said it was a faster reaction than she would expect. I suppose several key elements could be responsible for this great news. Maybe it's our great doctors or those funny little mice I wrote about last week. Some may say it's just plain old good luck...but I'm putting our money on the fact that we are surrounded by incredible people who have taken time out of their busy lives to continually pray for us. I know God has got to be busy...but it's hard to ignore so many people with the same prayer. :)
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Good Mice vs. Bad Mice
Dave and I have learned more about cancer in the last two months than I ever thought possible. Sometimes we nod our heads and say, "Yeah, that makes sense." And other times it comes out more like an, "Are you kidding me?" This fun-filled fact was definitely the later.
As you know, Dave took Epratuzimab via IV on Wednesday. This is a monoclonal antibody created from human DNA. The very unscientific explanation of this drug is it's grown from human DNA. As I wrote earlier, Dave didn't have a reaction to this drug.
Yesterday, Dave spent 8 hours receiving Rituxin via IV. This, too, is a monoclonal antibody, but it isn't all human DNA. Here is the crazy part I was telling you about earlier. Rituxin is half human DNA and half mice DNA. So they literally pumped Dave full of mice DNA for several hours. He, of course, thinks this is humorous and lived much of the day in full character. He asked for cheese and nibbled on anything and everything he could...including me. ha ha!
Dave didn't have any problems with Rituxin until we got home. About 30 minutes after getting in the door, he began to have uncontrollable shivering and spiked a fever. I loaded him up with blankets and a heating pad, but then he began to vomit. He will tell you that he was just fine, I would tell you it was scary to watch. (And he calls me stubborn!) The good news is he was able to fall asleep early and was feeling good around 3 a.m. when his fever broke.
He's still in bed this morning, but I've checked on him a few times and he seems to be back to his normal self. No fever, chills, or request for cheese.
Yesterday he did so well throughout the day that I kept saying, "Those must have been some good mice they used." But after Dave's reaction last night, I wanted to change my mind and call them bad mice. However, if those little mice save his life, I don't care what kind they are....they can move in if they want!
Next week we return to The James for treatment, but this time they will combine the Rituxin and Epratuzimab into one day. Doesn't that sound fun? We are also meeting with what I've heard is one of the head transplant doctors in the country to talk about a possible bone marrow transplant down the road. More info on that later.
Hope you are all enjoying the start of the weekend! I know Dave and I are going to make the most of it!
As you know, Dave took Epratuzimab via IV on Wednesday. This is a monoclonal antibody created from human DNA. The very unscientific explanation of this drug is it's grown from human DNA. As I wrote earlier, Dave didn't have a reaction to this drug.
Yesterday, Dave spent 8 hours receiving Rituxin via IV. This, too, is a monoclonal antibody, but it isn't all human DNA. Here is the crazy part I was telling you about earlier. Rituxin is half human DNA and half mice DNA. So they literally pumped Dave full of mice DNA for several hours. He, of course, thinks this is humorous and lived much of the day in full character. He asked for cheese and nibbled on anything and everything he could...including me. ha ha!
Dave didn't have any problems with Rituxin until we got home. About 30 minutes after getting in the door, he began to have uncontrollable shivering and spiked a fever. I loaded him up with blankets and a heating pad, but then he began to vomit. He will tell you that he was just fine, I would tell you it was scary to watch. (And he calls me stubborn!) The good news is he was able to fall asleep early and was feeling good around 3 a.m. when his fever broke.
He's still in bed this morning, but I've checked on him a few times and he seems to be back to his normal self. No fever, chills, or request for cheese.
Yesterday he did so well throughout the day that I kept saying, "Those must have been some good mice they used." But after Dave's reaction last night, I wanted to change my mind and call them bad mice. However, if those little mice save his life, I don't care what kind they are....they can move in if they want!
Next week we return to The James for treatment, but this time they will combine the Rituxin and Epratuzimab into one day. Doesn't that sound fun? We are also meeting with what I've heard is one of the head transplant doctors in the country to talk about a possible bone marrow transplant down the road. More info on that later.
Hope you are all enjoying the start of the weekend! I know Dave and I are going to make the most of it!
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