02-26-2011 Saturday

Feeling pretty good today. Not much of an appetite but I've been forcing myself to eat healthy stuff and drink lots of water! Yesterday, I washed my hair in the shower and noticed that LOTS of it was in the shampoo lather. So, I rinsed and then just rubbed my head under the shower stream for a few minutes. When I shut the shower off, about 3/4 of my hair was in the tub! This morning, when washed my hair in the shower most of the rest fell out. So, this afternoon, I buzzed what was left! It was a little weird to look at my head with no hair at first but I'll get used to it. I'm surprized how sensitive my scalp is to warm and cool and how shiny the skin is! Lord, thank you for not giving me a head thats shaped too weird. Amen!

02-24-2011 Thursday

Catherine and I spent the day at the Cancer Treatment Center for Chemotherapy Treatment #2 today. Another all day session. Jody came to visit but Grant had to work and Melissa has a bad cold. The treatments went well until that last one. They pushed it at a little faster rate this time, and my blood pressure went up and my pulse jumped into the 120's. Nothing dangerous and I felt fine but I had to watch my levels tonight to be sure they came back down (which the did). Brenda (my awesome nurse!) told me to start taking B6 vitamins to prevent numbness and loss of feeling in my fingertips and toes (there is a medical name but I can't remember it) which is a possible side effect of Taxol (one of the chemo drugs that I get). She also told me to apply Tea Tree Oil to my fingernails and toenails because sometimes the nails will separate from the nail bed and possibly fall off and apparently Tea Tree Oil can prevent that from happening. I would rather that NOT happen thank you very much! As always, I thank God for getting us through another treament and another day. He truly does pour His blessings out on us every day and we so often take them for granted!

02-18-2011 Friday

I felt good enough to go into work everyday and work through the whole day! (A couple of those days I was running out of energy believe me!) I must admit I didn't do much in the evenings though... I was pretty much wipped! It was good to get back into a semi-normal routine and see all of my co-workers on a regular basis again. Health wise, I started getting a better appetitie and not as achy. However, the one thing that I knew would happen but didn't really want to admit started late in the week... my hair started falling out. Little by little so far, but it will continue. Oh well, It's not like I had long hair anyway. I got a nice surprise from a bunch of my DISKek "family". They all signed a really nice card and gave me gift cards to Amazon and Papa Murphy's! What a great group!! Thanks again all of you! And I can never for get to thank God. I do every day! I don't feel so overwhelmed anymore. I believe that God has more in store for me to do here on earth. And if thats not in His plan, then I've got a place in His Kingdom. We all do when we accept Jesus Christ.

02-13-2011 Sunday

Went to church today and sang with the worship band. When we went to church last week, I took one of my nausea pills to be sure I wouldn't get sick at church. Unfortunately, the pill also caused me to get VERY drowsy! I barely made it through church and lunch with the family. No more of those pills unless absolutely necessary! It was great to feel good enough to sick with the band! And I have to let everyone know that my/our church family at Prince of Peace has simply been awesome! We've been gettin cards and hugs and emails and hugs and calls and hugs!! Everyone has just... treated Catherine and our family and me beyond what ever expected. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! (By the way, if you're reading this and looking for a church home and family, you need look no farther!) Thank you God for all of your blessings and strength and forgiveness and love!!

02-11-2011 Friday

I worked from home all this week. Thank's again DISTek and Deere for allowing me to do so and God because I have a job that gives me that opportunity. No major sickness throughout the week. I had some "lower digestive track" issues (if you get my drift) which made things a little uncomfortable but nothing else too major. I just feel very tired, kinda achy, and not too much of an appetite. I had another blood test this afternoon and everyone was happy to see that my counts were still in the normal range... lower but still accepatable. Chemo tends to overwork the blood cells so they thought they might have to give me a shot to kick by bone marrow into gear to produce more. But they didn't have to so... HOORAY! So far my tubby little body is working well enough to keep up with the demand! Every little thing like this convinces me more and more that God truly is in control of this situation (and all of our lives) and it's best to let He and the Doctor's and great nurses do their jobs!

02-07-2011 Monday

Catherine walked over to meet me for my 8:00 AM appointment with Dr. Ryken in the Covenant Clinic building. He went over the MRI and confirmed Dr. Rotenberg's tumor type diagnosis. He said he estimated the tumor to be about 2.5cm and located between the auditory canal and the brain stem on the left side. I told him that I was getting my hearing back and he thought that was probably because of Deximethizone (steroid) that I had to take for the chemo. He agreed that the cancer treatment should take precidence since the brain tumor is a slow growing type. He said that surgery was possible but it would probablu take 6 hours just to get to the tumor and that recovery would be at least 4 - 6 weeks. He thought the more likely treatment would be Stereotactic Radiation which is a computer and image guided technique that directs radiation only at the tumor. We also discussed the fact that one of my chemo drugs (called Avastin) has been shown to be effective on benign brain tumors as well as malignant tumors... so maybe we'll actually be treating both of my tumor types at the same time! God does work in mysterious ways! Thank you Lord for putting a little more hope into this once completely dire situation! You truly are an awesome God!!

02-03-2011 Thursday

Today is my 52nd birthday. It is also my first day of chemotherapy! Talk about irony! Treatment went really well. Catherine and I arrived about 9:30, my actual treatment started around 10:45, and they flushed my port with saline and pulled me off around 5:00. Thankfully, I had no reactions to any of the meds which everyone is thankful for. By the way, my nurse, Brenda, is just awesome! Grant and Jody came around 11:00 and had lunch with us stayed till around 1:00. Then Pastor Dapelo came and visited. Melissa and Courtney came and Pastor talked for a little while and prayed with all of us before he left. Then Melissa left around 3:00. It was a long day but it was nice to visit with everyone and experience their support and love. I don't know how, but God uses those times of trial and tribulation to bring out the best in people. He truly is an awesome God and I have an awesome family!!

02-01-2011 Tuesday

Remember a few posts ago I said that i kind of felt like Job? Well, today that feeling washed over me once again. Dr. Masri called me today and told me the results of the MRI. I could hardly believe it but after this last couple of weeks, nothing seems to shock me too terribly. The results were that in addition to the cancer, I also have a brain tumor. Dr. Masri scheduled an appointment this afternoon with Dr. Rotenberg who is an ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) specialist and and appointment on Friday with Dr. Ryken who is a neurologist (nervous system including the brain). At the appointment with Dr. Rotenberg an audiologist checked my hearing and Dr. Rotenberg went over the MRI. He said he believed that the tumor was a Meningioma or a Acoustic Neuroma both of which are slow-growing, benign (non-cancerous) tumors. He didn't believe that the cancer and this tumor had anything to do with one another... they just happened to happen at the same time. In a way, this tumor probably saved my life. Had it not affected my hearing, I probably would not have gone to see Dr. Bickley and the cancer would not have been discovered for who knows how long! Talk about God working in mysterious ways!! Dear God, give me strength!!

01-31-2011 Monday

After working most of the day today, I went to Advanced Diagnostic Imaging (ADI) here in Waterloo for an Magnestic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. The MRI was ordered to try and determine what is causing my loss of hearing since the presribed medication isn't helping. As with the PET Scan, the MRI wasn't painful or anything but... I was required to lie PERFECTLY STILL... with a cage over my face... inside a tube... with this big machine humming and banging and buzzing... for almost AN HOUR. Not my idea of a good time believe me! At least I could listen to some music this time! Once again, God and I had a nice chat. I know that our God is an awesome God, but his experience has brought me to a whole new level of faith! Thank you Lord for all my blessings! My beautiful wife, my great kids, my caring friends, and most of all... your presence in my life!!

(P.S. I forgot to include that I had an hour long surgery last Friday to install an "Infusiport". It is a needle port implanted under the skin on my right chest with a catheter (tube) that runs through my jugular vein to my heart. This allows them to run my chemo drugs into a large vein and prevent the chemo from damaging the smaller veins at the normal IV sites.)

01-26-2011 Wednesday

Today Catherine and I met with my onocologist (cancer doctor) Dr. Masri. Grant and his wife Jody ( who works a coder for the CCTC sat in on the appointment as well. Dr. Masri showed us the results of the PET Scan which basically showed that all of the masses that had been found were malignant (active cancer cells were present). He said that because the cancer had metastisized outside of the lung, my cancer is diagnosed as Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma. Because the cancer is "on the move", surgery and radiation would not be effective because they would be a "hit and miss" approach at best. So, chemotherapy (chemo) is the treatment that will be taken. I'll start the initial 4 treatment (every 3 weeks) cycle next week. After that, I will be CT scanned again to see if the chemo is stopping or shrinking the cancer and further treatments will be determined from those results. Emotionally, everyone in the family (including me) seems to have come to grips with the situation and are putting our trust in the skills and knowledge that God gave the doctors and nurses and of course in God Himself. The Bible tells us that God only gives us burdens that we can handle with His help. When this all started I was ready to fall apart, but He took the load and gave me strength!

01-25-2011 Tuesday

This morning Catherine and I went to the Covenant Cancer Treatment Center (CCTC) and I had a PET Scan. PET stands for "Positron Emission Tomography". Basically I had to fast from all carbohydrates (sugars and starches) from dinner on last night. Then this morning, the technician injected me with "radioactive sugar water" and I had to lie still for about 45 minutes. During that time, the cancer cells (which multiply quickly and need lots of energy) sucked in those radioactive carbs for energy. Then for the next 45 minutes or so they run the PET Scan which shows the now radioactive "hot spots" in my body. None of this process is painful or anything except for being required to lie still for almost 2 hours with nothing to read, watch, or listen to. Needless to say, God and I had a nice long chat. Thank you Lord for giving me patience and strength.

01-24-2011 Monday

I went to work as usual today and tried to concentrate on my tasks. Catherine called me around 2:00 PM and asked if I had heard from the Doctor yet. I hadn't, so I called Dr.Wait's office and left a message. About 15 minutes later he returned my call and told me what I hoped I wouldn't hear. The biopsy results were that I have Adenocarcinoma... I have lung cancer. How I held it together, I don't really know, but I called Catherine back, and then Melissa and Grant (my son). I told my co-workers the outcome, finished out the day in somewhat of a daze, and drove home in silence...  

01-21-2011 Friday

Unfortunately, there is no word from the biopsy today or for the weekend either. Sleep has dropped to a few hours a night... I eat because I have to keep up my strength... Emotionally, to deny the situation has passed so I bounce between anger, bargaining, & depression. We don't have enough answers yet to allow acceptance to happen. This has been a week unlike any that I EVER could have imagined. I feel like Job from the Bible. God must be testing my faith. My human body has failed me... Only God is the constant. Cards, calls, and prayers have poured in from family, church family, and friends. THANK YOU ALL. I have always thought of prayer as kind of the "octain booster" to God's already awesome power. If He is for me, who (or what) can be against me!! Keep Catherine in your prayers... God is my STRENGTH but she is my ROCK!

01-20-2011 Thursday

Catherine (my rock through all of this!) and I again head to Covenant for yet another appointment. This morning I will undergo a CT assisted biopsy. Basically they shave and numb an area of my left chest and use CT Scans to guide the radiolgist with a little clamp-on probe gizmo in taking cell samples for testing. Again Lynette McNamee is there to do her job and keep me at ease at the same time. After about an hour, I put my shirt back on to head home and Catherine heads back to work. We and Lynette had a nice chat about her daughter Kelsey's attitude and outlook on life (Kelsey Lee has been battling leukemia off and on for some time) and the leaps and bounds in cancer treatment over the years. Thank you Lynette for your words of hope, thank you Catherine for your love and compassion, and thank you God for your strength and comfort.

01-19-2011 Wednesday

This morning we met with Dr. Wait and he showed us the actual results of the CT Scan. The three masses in my right lung are approximately 2.2, 2.6, & 3 cm in size and an additional 2 cm mass. The mass on/in my left chest/breast is approximately 1.7x3.6 cm with an additional 1.5 cm nodule involving the left breast. Dr. Wait explained that obviously these are fast-growing masses and that in his experience, treatment would probably be very effective. He numbed an area above the left chest/breast mass and performed a needle biopsy for testing. My daughter Melissa had joined us after her class and had a nice chat with Dr. Wait. We all head home after the appointment still in a state of unbelief. Now its my turn to pass along bad news and I send emails to DISTek (the company that I work for) explaining the recent happenings. Later in the afternoon, Dr. Wait's office called and told us that the samples he took did not contain any viable cells (only fat and fluid). He had me scheduled for a CT assisted biopsy for Thursday morning. The news isn't getting any better! God's strength and the prayers and support of family are what is keeping me going at this point.

01-18-2011 Tuesday

Catherine and I went to Covenant to have a CT Scan of my chest done. Lynette McNamee and Ellen Morris (part of the CT group at Covenant and good friends) helped me through the process and eased by anxiety. Thanks ladies! Dr. Bickley's nurse called later in the morning and said that the Doctor would like to talk to us about the results at 2:00 PM. We met with Dr. Bickley and he told us that the x-ray showed and CT confirmed three masses in my right lung and one on my left chest/breast. He had already scheduled an appointment with a surgeon, Dr. Wait, for the next morning. We head home in virtual silence and disbelief. Catherine begins the torture of calling our family and telling them what is happening. She is my shoulder and God is my strength.

01-17-2011 Monday

My left ear had been plugged for a couple of weeks so my darling wife Catherine convinced me that we should go to the Doctor so I can get it treated. In our conversation with Dr. Bickley, I mentioned that I wanted him to re-fill my Lasix (a diuretic - water pill) prescription as I am still having some shortness of breath. Dr. Bickley prescribed an antihistamine for my ear and ordered a follow-up chest x-ray "just to be safe" (my x-ray from March '10 was clear). That afternoon, Dr. Bickley's nurse called and said that the radiologist saw something on the x-ray and that I have a CT Scan scheduled for Tuesday morning as an x-ray follow up. Needless to say fear, worry and questions begin to set in. What is happening!?

Welcome family & friends

This blog was created to help in keeping family and friends informed of my (Jace's) health status, events and appointments, results and reactions. It was also created to share the joys, thoughts, and concerns of the rest of my family and close friends with those who might be interested or concerned and want to share their prayers and support and encouragement with the whole family.