DOCTORS UNITE DECISION MADE!!!!!!!!!! AUGUST 30TH 2005

Well, I will get right to the point. I am not done with treatments this Thursday. I get a three week break then I am back to getting more radiation. Seventeen more treatments to my midsection. It is best explained as the area near your diaphram some where down inside there. The doctors had a meeting and discussed my options. After discussion they both decided I need the treatments. Im a little disappointed I was looking foward to feeling better. However, I agree that I need to do all I can to get rid of this cancer for good. Im lucky in so many ways so I won't complain. Hang in there an end is in sight.......

As far as my doctor saying do not let them do the additional radiation a few days ago, that has changed. There were some things on the scans that at first review where questionable. It has since been determined that I had a small, but significant cancer mass in my abdomen area in addition to area in my neck. It is located in a area that can succesfully be treated with radiation without causing harm to major organs so they are doing it. Its a secondary, be on the safe side, we dont want to fight this disease twice type of thing. Like I have heard so many times if you dont get this cancer the first time your chances of getting it licked the second time is much more difficult. I would still kick its ass the second time, but we wont have to worry about that.

NOT SURE WHAT TO SAY AUGUST 29TH 2005

Had radiation treatment this morning only three more to go, I think????? First of all I will cover my appointment with radiation doctor today. I was given three new prescriptions for my throat. One increases saliva production to mouth. The other one acts as a lotion for my throat. The third is for pain. I have to use a straw to put this medicine down the back of my throat to numb my throat before I eat so I can swallow without pain. They said my throat will stay sore for about two weeks after treatment is over. So I have two weeks down, two to go. I thought sore throats were bad when they lasted 3 days. The news on losing my sense of taste is that it will come back in about 2 months after treatment. Great!!!! Two months of cardboard taste. That's something you don't think much about til its gone.

After that discussion things went downhill. She asked if I had thought anymore about the additional treatments to my back. I told her I talked to my cancer doctor and he said not to do them. She got this look on her face and I knew what was coming next. She said you need to have this done I reviewed your scans and I have no doubts, second thoughts, that this needs to be done. She is meeting with my doctor this afternoon. She said this is not fair to leave this decision up to you. I told her I felt like I was being put in a real hard spot and that as doctors they needed to get together and get on the same page. Will just see what happens, may have to seek a second opinion.

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS AUGUST 26TH 2005

Things have been pretty quiet in the kicking cancers ass department. Still going to radiation treatments daily. Have had sore throat for 7 days now. Only 4 more to go will be done next Thursday with all treatments. I get my port a cath removed on Wednesday, September 7th. I will be glad to be rid of that thing. Starting to plan my big party. Looking at the end of October. It will be my house warming, divorce, kicked cancers ass, got a new dog after old one got ran over, PARTY. Been a busy couple years. Time to celebrate.

GOOD NEWS AUGUST 21ST 2005

Finally was able to talk to my cancer doctor about radiation treatment. He said I only need the treatments to my neck. So I will be done with everything on Sept 1. He was actually surprised they wanted to do radiation on my back. He said absolutely do not let them do it. Its kinda scary that there is a difference in opinion for treatment only a parking lot apart. He explained that is why he had me do chemo to take care of the rest of my body so they would not have to do radiation everywhere. The only spot that needs radiation according to him was the primary location where the cancer was found.

Im starting to notice more side effects from the radiation. Throat started getting sore on Saturday. Feels like there a lump in my throat and mouth is dry. Also very sensitive to the sun.
Also having some late side effects from Chemo. My toe and finger nails are changing colors growing weird. I did some research and sure enough they said about a month after chemo your nails will go through some weird stages and may even fall off. My big toe on my right foot is trying to do that I have to go to doctor to get it looked at. It is infected and I will just leave it at that.

Well this is all starting to come to an end. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not sure what this hurdle in life was all about. Cancer is a scary word, but there is something about beating it. It really makes you a stronger person, but then again most hurdles in life do. I think I will take a break for a while and enjoy life.

RADIATION CONTINUES AUGUST 18TH 2005

Just completed my 7th radiation treatment to neck. It is a blast. Drive for 30 minutes lay on table for 2 minutes drive back home. The treatment itself is not bad they need to find a new method that does away with that mask. You can't feel anything while getting treatments. The machine makes a little noise and your done. You can or at least I can smell and taste the radiation. Its hard to explain and I'm not even sure if radiation has a taste or smell but there is something there. Im starting to notice a few side effects as treatments go on. Mainly feeling fatigued. Also have dry mouth and some upper chest discomfort. A little burning on the back of my neck. You can really feel the sun. I can't wait til this stuff is over. Its been quite an adventure. I have not decided on whether to have treatments to my back. I will have to discuss this with my cancer doctor some more. The less radiation you get the better. You just have to weigh the benefits of the radiation compared to chances of relapse. To be honest Im not sure they know what is best. If they did you would'nt think they would make me decide whether or not to have 17 more treatments. Have a good weekend.... Mallory and Avery are staying with me this weekend.

THANK YOU!!!! AUGUST 14TH 2005

Thanks to everyone who attended the Benefit concert in Wellington Saturday night. Had a good turnout. Also thanks to those who could not make it and sent donations.

A very big thanks to Mike Gracy. Mike you did a great job and I appreciate you taking the time to put this concert on. I would like to thank all my family and friends.

The benefit concert raised $3200.00 and we are still counting.

Silent Auction Results

OU football tickets sold for $550.00
Dallas Cowboys $100.00

RADIATION DELIVERY

This is the machine that gives me my radiation treatments. You just lay on the table with mask on and the machine rotates into position to direct radiation into the right spots.

MASK AUGUST 11TH 2005

This is the mask they use to keep your head still during treatments. It was hard to explain so I thought I would share a picture. The mask is secured to the table once placed over face. Looks like a Jason mask.

BENEFIT CONCERT

Had a few questions about where the Regent Theater is at in Wellington.

114 W. Lincoln

Its about 1/2 block west of the main street downtown. Not to hard to find.

RADIATION BEGINS MAY BE MORE TO COME

AUGUST 8TH 2005

Well, went in for my first actual radiation treatment. Yes, I had to wear that damn mask. I had to have the radiation field marked with markers. Its like having a map drawn on you. It showed exactly where you are getting radiation. Im actually getting a pretty large area treated my entire neck and upper chest area. They decided not to treat under my arms. The treatment lasted a entire 45 seconds to one minute max. They shoot you from the front and once from the back. At least I didnt have to wear that mask long.

After the treatment the nurse said that radiation doctor wanted to see me. So I went and met with her. Dr. Zhu. She asked if my cancer doctor went over my scans with me and I told her he said everything came back clear. She then said that she studied the scans and was not so sure that the cancer was gone. She said she thinks the CT scans shows a 1cm tumor left in the neck area. However he PET scan shows no activity. She said thats why they do radiation to make sure the radiation kills off any cancer cells that Chemo may not have killed. She asked me if they let me see my first PET scans when I was diagnosed. I told her they did not. She said it was quite impressive. She said I had a very large mass of cancer in the neck area. She said even if I do still have a 1 cm lobe left that Chemo did a very good job of treating the cancer for the amount I had. So that news was not to bad.

The next news was not all that good. Not really scary bad but bad that I may have to get additional radiation treatments. If you remember back to the first of my blog to the staging section. The initial scans showed a small area in my lower back on the PET scan. At that time my cancer doctor was not sure what that was and the CT scan was thought to be clear. That is the spot that if it was cancer made me a stage III. Well the latest PET scan and CT scan show that spot is now gone. However the radiation doctor studied the original CT scan of that area and she thinks that it was Hodgkins in my lower back. She highly recommends that I get an additional 17 treatments to my lower back. This is after the 17 to my neck are done. My cancer doctor never showed any concern about this. So I was on the phone trying to talk to him but he is gone for a few days. I did talk to his nurse and she said he is aware of the 1cm spot in my neck but not concerned. It could be scar tissue. If it is cancer the radiation should get it. Reference to the spot in my lower back she didnt know anything and said she would have Dr. Johnson call me.

The kicker is that the decision for the 17 treatments to my back is going to be left to me. Yea, she said I have to decide. Im not the doctor. All she could say was she recommends it be done. She said you dont want this to come back the second time. Im going to wait to talk to Dr. Johnson. Nothing can ever be simple, yet could always be worse.

See ya Saturday night at the fundraiser.

SILENT AUCTION

Some new tickets have been added to the silent auction at the benefit concert August 13th.
There will be tickets for the Dallas Cowboys vs. Houston August 27th 7pm includes parking pass.

RADIATION TO BEGIN AUGUST 4TH 2005

Well four days into remission and all is well. I kicked cancers ass. Im a survivor.

Met with radiation doctor yesterday and they went over radiation and marked me for treatments. By marking I mean they lay you on a table like a CT scan take pictures of your insides and mark you with markers and tattoos. I had 6 temporary marks and only 1 permanent tattoo. The only time you get a tattoo and your Mom doesn't get mad. Actually it is very small. It took about 25 minutes to get marked. Before they start the put a warm mask over your face and it forms to your face. It has small openings like a small fish net. After it is put on they attach it to the table and you can't move your head. It sucked. I am claustrophobic and it tested me. I was in the mask for about 20-25 minutes. I about ripped it off at first but I made it. So I go back next Tuesday and start treatments. I get 17 total treatments and will be done on August 31st. They are treating all the lymph nodes around my neck and under my arms. I had many questions like why are you treating under my arms if I never had cancer there? That's the next place it would spread and they want to make sure if by chance there was a cell or two its gets zapped by radiation. Its seems all with radiations is precautionary. I would probably most likely be fine without it, but with it Im 99% okay. I think Im lucky if I was female I would get 2 more cycles of chemo instead of radiation. The risk of radiation for females is much greater than it is for males. I don't want anymore Chemo. So I will try rads. The side effects for me I'm told will be low. I am receiving a very low dose of radiation. I was told it will feel like a sunburn and I may get a lump feeling in the throat and a sore throat. They said the more serious side effects usually start about the time I will be finishing up my treatment. Treatment will be done 5 days a week and take 3-5 minutes. I will be having a big party in Sept sometime better see you all there. I am inviting all my neighbors so nobody can call and complain about the noise. Also hope to see you August 13th at the benefit concert. If you would like to donate and cant make it feel free to use the donate button on this site. There will also be a silent auction for 4 Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State football tickets that were donated by my dad. Have a good weekend.

I will keep posting until radiation is done. After radiation I will no longer post. That is the end of my fight against this disease. It is time to move on and put cancer behind me. Another curve ball that's been hit out of the park. Although I will not in medical terms cured until 5 years without a relapse Im not going to sit around and wait. As far as I am concerned Im cured. You can be assured I will have a closing post soon.

THANKS

UPDATE AUGUST 1ST 2005

REMISSION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cancer is gone. Both scans came back as clean as they could be. I meet with radiology on Friday. Even though there is no more cancer I still have to go through radiation. The doctor said it is the best treatment. He said with radiation after chemo the chance of relapse is nearly 0%. He said we have to do what we can to assure it doesn't come back. Hodgkins is not as curable the second time around. He said that radiation will be a breeze compared to Chemo with few side effects. I will be receiving radiation to lymph nodes on both sides of neck and under my arms. Im kinda not sure what to think Im not sure everything has sunk in until now. I get to join the cancer free club that's all that matters. Thanks to everybody for your support. Hope to see you on August 13th......