You know the old saying, "No news is good news"? Well, in the case of my blog entries (or lack thereof) that is the truth. My treatments have been continuing without any problems, the chemo is keeping the tumors/masses/lessions (whichever you choose to call them) the same size (remember, no growth is a good thing), and the lession in my head continues to shrink (that one is almost miraculous!). The only bad thing is that the treaments are starting to wear on my body and I am getting more and more tired and achy. It hits me particularly hard the week after I receive treatment. I have been taking two naps every day during those weeks and I sleep over an hour every time! I know you are all saying, "What's frong with naps? They are a good thing!" Well, yes they are but if you know me very well, I was never much of a "nap taker" and even whe i do now, I don't feel much more rested when I wake up. Oh well, we all have our cross to bear and if that's what I need to do to keep on keepin on, then so be it. As for the rest of my family everyone is doing well. Catherine has been having some problems related to GERD and may need to get her throat stretched, Grant is recovered from his MRSA adventure, Jody is back outside and happy now that the weather is nicer, Melissa finished the year at UNI on the Dean's list, and Eli is walking and jabbering and just an amazing presence in all of our lives! God is defintely good!
Now, on to the Bible trivia. The question from the last post was: What was Matthew''s profession before becoming a follower of Jesus? My Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois got this one right the day after I osted the blog!. The answer is: A tax collector. Since no one else answers the questions, I am wondering if I should continute including them or not. Awe, what the heck! We all need a little more Biblical knowledge don'te we!?! So for this entires question... tough but not TOO tough... How about: What symbol did St. Patrick use to explain his theory of the Holy Trinity? This one isn't actually in the Bible but shouldn't be too hard to find.
I'll close today by asking all of you to celebrate Memorial Day by remembering those who suffered and died that we might have the freedom that we have here in America. Most importantly, we have the freedom to praise God (or not praise God) in the way we choose. Our theology might disagree with others, but just as we have the freedom to worship in our way, so do they in theirs. I pray that God grant you all the peace and contentment that only He can provide. God Bless.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
03-31-2012 Saturday
Hello everyone,
Well, Chemo Treatment #20 came and went without anything really noteworthy happening... except that it was my 20th treatment. There was a period of time at the beginning of this "adventure" when I wasn't sure if I would see my grandson born, celebrate our 31st anniversary, or see Catherine's 52nd birthday. But thanks to God's grace, the expert care of my Doctors, nurses, and health professionals, and the prayers of family, church family, and friends, here I am a year later typing this blog to share with all of you. GOD IS GOOD! In other news, I did finally get my voice back, all of last week I had the flu, and Eli turned 1 on the 22nd. Our family anventure for this blog was my son Grant. He got a bug or spider bite on the back of his left knee, that somehow got infected. He ended up spending a week in the hospital getting antibiotics and the infection was actually MRSA (an "illin" (i.e. penicillin, amoxicillin, etc.) resistant staff infection. He doing well now and we're so glad everything is OK.
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: What was Paul's profession before becoming a follower of Jesus? This one stumped everyone, even my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois. The answer is: A tent maker. Tough one huh! Maybe I cranked up the difficulty too much! So for this entires question... let me see... How about: What was Matthew's profession before becoming a follower of Jesus? This one shouldn't be quite a tough. Good Luck.
I'll close today by reminding everyone that next week is Holy week. A week of emotion for all Christians. Within a few days we mourn the suffering and death of our Savior and then celebrate His ressurection from that death and His eternal life. We must always remember that without His resurrection, we would not have eternal life either. His sacrifice was our sacrifice, His resurrection our ressurection, and His eternal life our eteernal life. Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!
God Bless, Jace
Well, Chemo Treatment #20 came and went without anything really noteworthy happening... except that it was my 20th treatment. There was a period of time at the beginning of this "adventure" when I wasn't sure if I would see my grandson born, celebrate our 31st anniversary, or see Catherine's 52nd birthday. But thanks to God's grace, the expert care of my Doctors, nurses, and health professionals, and the prayers of family, church family, and friends, here I am a year later typing this blog to share with all of you. GOD IS GOOD! In other news, I did finally get my voice back, all of last week I had the flu, and Eli turned 1 on the 22nd. Our family anventure for this blog was my son Grant. He got a bug or spider bite on the back of his left knee, that somehow got infected. He ended up spending a week in the hospital getting antibiotics and the infection was actually MRSA (an "illin" (i.e. penicillin, amoxicillin, etc.) resistant staff infection. He doing well now and we're so glad everything is OK.
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: What was Paul's profession before becoming a follower of Jesus? This one stumped everyone, even my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois. The answer is: A tent maker. Tough one huh! Maybe I cranked up the difficulty too much! So for this entires question... let me see... How about: What was Matthew's profession before becoming a follower of Jesus? This one shouldn't be quite a tough. Good Luck.
I'll close today by reminding everyone that next week is Holy week. A week of emotion for all Christians. Within a few days we mourn the suffering and death of our Savior and then celebrate His ressurection from that death and His eternal life. We must always remember that without His resurrection, we would not have eternal life either. His sacrifice was our sacrifice, His resurrection our ressurection, and His eternal life our eteernal life. Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!
God Bless, Jace
Monday, March 5, 2012
03-05-2012 Monday
Greetings & salutations everyone,
Well, a week ago Thursday was Chemo Treatment #19 and as with #18, it went off pretty much without a hitch. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a cold and the post-chemo kicked it back into gear... at least the cough part of it. So, because of that, I pretty much haven't had a voice since just after my birthday on February 3rd. My voice is finally coming back today!! I was feeling so ewxhausted last week that I worked from home the whole week! And if any of you really know me, I am not one to do that! But, God will guide my through this "adventure" one way or another!
Everyone else in the family continues to do well. Eli had RSV last week so Grant stayed homewith him 2 days and Jody another 2 days. He's feeling much better now. Oh one other cool/funny thing. Eli discovered a kleenex box the other day and was simply amazed as the tissues just kept coming, and coming, and comng and... well, you get the picture. It is just hilarious watching him!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: What was Bathsheba's first husbands name? and how did he die? Once again, Kudos to my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois for getting the correct. The answeres are: Uriah and David put him in the front lines of his army's fighting so he would be killed. Looks like I need to crank it up another notch or two. Hmmmm, let me see... OK, for this entries question: What was Paul's profession before becoming a follower of Jesus? Good Luck.
I close by noting that I miss using my voice to praise God in song. I wonder if God didn't allow this to happen to my voice for that very reason? My guess would be YES! He does work in mysterious ways! Amen & God Bless! Jace
Well, a week ago Thursday was Chemo Treatment #19 and as with #18, it went off pretty much without a hitch. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a cold and the post-chemo kicked it back into gear... at least the cough part of it. So, because of that, I pretty much haven't had a voice since just after my birthday on February 3rd. My voice is finally coming back today!! I was feeling so ewxhausted last week that I worked from home the whole week! And if any of you really know me, I am not one to do that! But, God will guide my through this "adventure" one way or another!
Everyone else in the family continues to do well. Eli had RSV last week so Grant stayed homewith him 2 days and Jody another 2 days. He's feeling much better now. Oh one other cool/funny thing. Eli discovered a kleenex box the other day and was simply amazed as the tissues just kept coming, and coming, and comng and... well, you get the picture. It is just hilarious watching him!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: What was Bathsheba's first husbands name? and how did he die? Once again, Kudos to my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois for getting the correct. The answeres are: Uriah and David put him in the front lines of his army's fighting so he would be killed. Looks like I need to crank it up another notch or two. Hmmmm, let me see... OK, for this entries question: What was Paul's profession before becoming a follower of Jesus? Good Luck.
I close by noting that I miss using my voice to praise God in song. I wonder if God didn't allow this to happen to my voice for that very reason? My guess would be YES! He does work in mysterious ways! Amen & God Bless! Jace
Monday, February 13, 2012
02-13-2012 Monday
Hello everyone,
I went in a week ago Thursday morning for Chemo Treatment #18 and it went off pretty much without a hitch. Either that or I'm just gettng used to them. Not too surprizing after 17 of them!
Last week was kind a tough. I was just getting over a chest cold when my post-chemo symptoms hit and really knocked me down! I choughed my head off (almost) and still haven't got my voice back completely! I'm so thankful I have the employer I do who is symathetic to my situation. I try to keep things going as normal but they know that from time to time things may take a little longer than usual and they're OK with it.
Everyone continues to do well. Eli is a crawling, eating, and almost walking machine! Oh, and he's up to 4 teeth now! Catherine got back from Phoenix and took a couple days to recover from the almost non-stop shopping! You should have seen the huge box that UPS dropped off the week after she got back!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: Who were the parents of King Solomon? The answer is: David and Bathsheba. Once again, Kudos to my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois for getting the correct answer again. C'mon, everyone! They're smokin' ya!! I've been told that maybe I need to make these questions a little harder so... for this entries question: What was Bathsheba's first husbands name? and how did he die? Yes, its a two part question and you gotta get both right to prove you know your stuff! Good Luck.
I close as always by thanking God for the many blessings in my life. I have to deal with this cancer, others have to deal with health problems, family problems, money problems, ... the list goes on and on. The Bible tells us that to worry is a waste of time and energy. Instead, bring it to God and you will surely feel the peace that passes all understanding! Amen & God Bless! Jace
I went in a week ago Thursday morning for Chemo Treatment #18 and it went off pretty much without a hitch. Either that or I'm just gettng used to them. Not too surprizing after 17 of them!
Last week was kind a tough. I was just getting over a chest cold when my post-chemo symptoms hit and really knocked me down! I choughed my head off (almost) and still haven't got my voice back completely! I'm so thankful I have the employer I do who is symathetic to my situation. I try to keep things going as normal but they know that from time to time things may take a little longer than usual and they're OK with it.
Everyone continues to do well. Eli is a crawling, eating, and almost walking machine! Oh, and he's up to 4 teeth now! Catherine got back from Phoenix and took a couple days to recover from the almost non-stop shopping! You should have seen the huge box that UPS dropped off the week after she got back!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: Who were the parents of King Solomon? The answer is: David and Bathsheba. Once again, Kudos to my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois for getting the correct answer again. C'mon, everyone! They're smokin' ya!! I've been told that maybe I need to make these questions a little harder so... for this entries question: What was Bathsheba's first husbands name? and how did he die? Yes, its a two part question and you gotta get both right to prove you know your stuff! Good Luck.
I close as always by thanking God for the many blessings in my life. I have to deal with this cancer, others have to deal with health problems, family problems, money problems, ... the list goes on and on. The Bible tells us that to worry is a waste of time and energy. Instead, bring it to God and you will surely feel the peace that passes all understanding! Amen & God Bless! Jace
Saturday, January 21, 2012
01-21-2012 Saturday
Hello everyone,
Sorry for the delay but I'll get you caught up on all of my medical related stuff from last week.
I went to my family doctor a week ago Wednesday morning and he gave me a couple of prescriptions to dry the fluid in my inner ear and take care of the dizziness & balance issues I’ve been having. The new prescriptions are working and once my balance was better, the nausea went away too.
I went and had an MRI early that afternoon (I don’t know if you’ve ever had one, but you pretty much have to lay in a big tube, with your head in another tube-like saddle and you DO NOT move your head AT ALL for over an hour!) I went to the neurologist later that afternoon and he looked at the MRI images and read the radiologists report. The tumor in my brain measured 1.42 x 0.52cm versus 2.0 x 0.8cm last September. He told me had read through some studies and based on those studies how my brain tumor is shaped and is reacting to the drugs I am getting during chemo, he again believes the tumor is a benign menengioma rather than a malignant adenocarcinoma! YEA!!
I went in a week ago Thursday morning for Chemo Treatment #17 and my oncologist read Monday’s CT Scan and the radiologist’s report. They only seem to be noting the size of one mass now (I think that a good thing?). Visually it looked about the same size but the report said it was 2.1 x 1.3cm versus 3.1 x 1.8cm 6 weeks ago. In any case, its not any bigger and that’s what we want to see (although shrinking is even better!).
We had a good Christmas at the Hicok house. Lots of gifts and food and laughter and hugs. As you might guess, my best gift was simply enjoying the time with my family. There obviously were times during the past year when I doubted that would happen.
Everyone continues to do well. Little Eli is crawling like a madman, eating like little horse, standing and walking along things, oh, and he learned to clap his hands! My grandson is a genious!! We had an 8" snowstorm yesterday so we we're all digging out last night and today. My lucky wife Catherine, flew to Phoenix this last Wednesday to visit a great friend of hers for a week. She was rubbing it in that it was 70 and sunny in Phoenix when I talked to her last night!! That's OK thought. I got to see Eli clap by himself before she did! HA HA!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: What language is Jesus believed to have spoken? The answer is: Aramaic. Kudos to my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois for getting the correct answer again. The rest of you are slackin' a little bit! hehe.
Now for this entries question: Who were the parents of King Solomon? (This one should be pretty easy!) To share your answer, just post it in the comments area below this blog entry. Good luck! :o)
Once again, I can't close this entry without thanking God for the many blessings in my life. As I said in my last post, I know that I've had to deal with cancer (something that I would not wish on my worst ememy!!), but God has showered me with blessings in every other facet of my life!! GOD IS AMAZING!!
I wishing you all a warm and blessed January and I'll fill you in again in a few weeks!
God bless you all,
Jace.
Sorry for the delay but I'll get you caught up on all of my medical related stuff from last week.
I went to my family doctor a week ago Wednesday morning and he gave me a couple of prescriptions to dry the fluid in my inner ear and take care of the dizziness & balance issues I’ve been having. The new prescriptions are working and once my balance was better, the nausea went away too.
I went and had an MRI early that afternoon (I don’t know if you’ve ever had one, but you pretty much have to lay in a big tube, with your head in another tube-like saddle and you DO NOT move your head AT ALL for over an hour!) I went to the neurologist later that afternoon and he looked at the MRI images and read the radiologists report. The tumor in my brain measured 1.42 x 0.52cm versus 2.0 x 0.8cm last September. He told me had read through some studies and based on those studies how my brain tumor is shaped and is reacting to the drugs I am getting during chemo, he again believes the tumor is a benign menengioma rather than a malignant adenocarcinoma! YEA!!
I went in a week ago Thursday morning for Chemo Treatment #17 and my oncologist read Monday’s CT Scan and the radiologist’s report. They only seem to be noting the size of one mass now (I think that a good thing?). Visually it looked about the same size but the report said it was 2.1 x 1.3cm versus 3.1 x 1.8cm 6 weeks ago. In any case, its not any bigger and that’s what we want to see (although shrinking is even better!).
We had a good Christmas at the Hicok house. Lots of gifts and food and laughter and hugs. As you might guess, my best gift was simply enjoying the time with my family. There obviously were times during the past year when I doubted that would happen.
Everyone continues to do well. Little Eli is crawling like a madman, eating like little horse, standing and walking along things, oh, and he learned to clap his hands! My grandson is a genious!! We had an 8" snowstorm yesterday so we we're all digging out last night and today. My lucky wife Catherine, flew to Phoenix this last Wednesday to visit a great friend of hers for a week. She was rubbing it in that it was 70 and sunny in Phoenix when I talked to her last night!! That's OK thought. I got to see Eli clap by himself before she did! HA HA!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: What language is Jesus believed to have spoken? The answer is: Aramaic. Kudos to my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois for getting the correct answer again. The rest of you are slackin' a little bit! hehe.
Now for this entries question: Who were the parents of King Solomon? (This one should be pretty easy!) To share your answer, just post it in the comments area below this blog entry. Good luck! :o)
Once again, I can't close this entry without thanking God for the many blessings in my life. As I said in my last post, I know that I've had to deal with cancer (something that I would not wish on my worst ememy!!), but God has showered me with blessings in every other facet of my life!! GOD IS AMAZING!!
I wishing you all a warm and blessed January and I'll fill you in again in a few weeks!
God bless you all,
Jace.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
12-24-2011 Saturday
A Merry Christmas Eve to my friends and family,
I had Chemo #16 last Thursday and it went pretty much without incident. I asked Dr. Masri if the radiologist had added an addendum to the last CT Scan reading. He had. Unfortunately, he had only measured one of the masses when he/they/??? normally measure the three primary masses. I'm guessing that Dr. Masri may be having a word or two with the radiology department!
I did start getting some treatment for my neuropathy and it seems to helping my feet feel better and they don't seem nearly as numb. The treatment is called Anodyne Therapy and basically they put four rubber pads with 60 Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) each on each foot for about 30 minutes. When the system is turned on, the LEDs emit an Monchromatic Infrared Energy (MIRE they call it) that stimulates the cells in that area to release a chemical called Nitric Oxide (NO). The NO caused the blood vessels in that area to dialate which improves circulation and the improved circulation provides the nerves with the blood they need to begin repairing themselves! Whew! Now you know all (and probably more than you wanted to know) about Anodyne Therapy!
The family is all doing well. Melissa is on break from school and Grant and I get the Holiday week off from work too. In case I forgot to mention it before, Grant got a job with the same company that I work for. He is now a Test Technician for DISTek Integration and works on-site at the John Deere PEC in Waterloo. Unfotunately for Catherine and Jody, they are in the health field and, as Catherine says, "We can't catch a break!" Eli cut his second tooth and has learned how to crawl now! I forgot how fast those little knees can scoot once they learn! He is quick!!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: How many son's did Adam and Eve have and what were their names? The answer is: Three and their names were Cain, Abel, and Seth. I think I stumped everyone except my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois (at least they were the only ones that I heard from). Good job ladies!! Now for this entries question: What language is Jesus believed to have spoken? To share your answer, just pot it in the comments area below this blocg entry. Good luck! :o)
Well, I can't close this entry without thanking God for the many blessings in my life. I know I've had to deal with this crappy disease, but the care given me by the Doctors and nurses, the love shown me by my family, church family, and friends, and the strength and comfort that God has provided are more blessings than I or any of us deserve. What a loving and giving God we have. He is amazing!!
I close by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!
God bless you all, Jace.
I had Chemo #16 last Thursday and it went pretty much without incident. I asked Dr. Masri if the radiologist had added an addendum to the last CT Scan reading. He had. Unfortunately, he had only measured one of the masses when he/they/??? normally measure the three primary masses. I'm guessing that Dr. Masri may be having a word or two with the radiology department!
I did start getting some treatment for my neuropathy and it seems to helping my feet feel better and they don't seem nearly as numb. The treatment is called Anodyne Therapy and basically they put four rubber pads with 60 Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) each on each foot for about 30 minutes. When the system is turned on, the LEDs emit an Monchromatic Infrared Energy (MIRE they call it) that stimulates the cells in that area to release a chemical called Nitric Oxide (NO). The NO caused the blood vessels in that area to dialate which improves circulation and the improved circulation provides the nerves with the blood they need to begin repairing themselves! Whew! Now you know all (and probably more than you wanted to know) about Anodyne Therapy!
The family is all doing well. Melissa is on break from school and Grant and I get the Holiday week off from work too. In case I forgot to mention it before, Grant got a job with the same company that I work for. He is now a Test Technician for DISTek Integration and works on-site at the John Deere PEC in Waterloo. Unfotunately for Catherine and Jody, they are in the health field and, as Catherine says, "We can't catch a break!" Eli cut his second tooth and has learned how to crawl now! I forgot how fast those little knees can scoot once they learn! He is quick!!
Now for this entries Bible Trivia. The question from the last post was: How many son's did Adam and Eve have and what were their names? The answer is: Three and their names were Cain, Abel, and Seth. I think I stumped everyone except my Aunt Elsie and cousin Lois (at least they were the only ones that I heard from). Good job ladies!! Now for this entries question: What language is Jesus believed to have spoken? To share your answer, just pot it in the comments area below this blocg entry. Good luck! :o)
Well, I can't close this entry without thanking God for the many blessings in my life. I know I've had to deal with this crappy disease, but the care given me by the Doctors and nurses, the love shown me by my family, church family, and friends, and the strength and comfort that God has provided are more blessings than I or any of us deserve. What a loving and giving God we have. He is amazing!!
I close by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!
God bless you all, Jace.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
12-03-2011 Saturday
Hello everyone. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Ours was great, great food (a special thanks to my son Grant for smoking the turkey this year), a chance to share laughter and stories with my own family, Catherine's folks, her brother Roy and wife Alicia and Alicia's Uncle Bob. Some of you might think, "Jace, how can you really feel blessed when you've got cancer!?" Well, I look at it this way. Yes, cancer is now and always will be a part of my life and life experience. But the key is that it is "part" of my life, not the center of my life. And with God's strength, I refuse to let it be the center of my life! -- I had another CT Scan last Monday and my Chemotherapy #15 on Thursday. We went through the normal steps: get blood drawn, pee in a cup, weigh in (I used to hate that part but don't really care too much that I'm a fat man at this point in my life!), blood pressure, pulse, temperature, standard "how are you feeling" questions, and then chat with Dr. Masri. He read the radiology report from Monday's CT aloud and it didn't give any measurements of any of the masses! He pretty said the report was not help as it was and would send the radiolgist an note to MEASURE THE MASSES and append them to the report! He did pull up the CT images from this scan and the previous one visually compared the masses they looked to be the same size and that's what were looking for... shrinking is better, but maintaining is good. We talked about my neuropathy (numbness and pain in my feet) and I showed him some information I had found about a specific brand of electronic neurostimulator (it stimulates the damaged nerves to get them active and working again). He went ahead and set up an appointment for me to talk to the Physcial Therapy group and see what they use, if they knew of this tool, if it works, and in any case, look into settng up some type of therapy for me. I'm hoping they recommend or use the tool as it sounds like it would fit the bill, but they are the experts so I'll wait to see what they say. All in all, I'm feeling pretty well... just tired most of the time, achy muscles, and numb feet! Woo Hoo! -- And in closing, the last entry's Bible Trivia question was: Who cut off the soldier's ear when Jesus was arrested? The correct anser is: PETER. Was that your guess? And for this entry's Bible Trivia question: How many son's did Adam and Eve have and what were their names? Drop me an email, or Facebook message if you think you know the answer. I want to thank all of you all once again for your interest in the progress of my treatments, your prayers and words of support, and I want to thank God for His presence in my life. God bless you one and all, Jace. :o)
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