New Update 10/27

Hi Friends,

I was able to meet with both doctors last week to talk about further treatments. First I met with Dr. Smith the radiologist to see about radiating the area behind my ear again. We went over the risks involved and they seem pretty high. Then I saw Dr Fiorentino the Oncologist to see about more Chemo treatments. I asked him if it would really do that much good and he thought that there was a less then 5% Chance that the chemo will help anymore. I don't feel like 5% success rate is worth all the sickness that I go though on chemo. So I have decided that I am done with these two types of treatments and will look for alternative things. I have already ran across two alternative treatments that sound very promising.

For the last week I have been going to a man's house in Boise everyday to lay on what's called a Bio-mat(biomat.com). They have been having great success with shrinking tumors using this mat. The very first day that I layed on the mat we noticed some changes, not big changes but some never the less. Linda and I have ordered the Mat and it should be here next week.

Something else that has happened this week is an emergency run into the hospital on Monday. For the last couple of years I have been having issues with a stricture in my urinary tract so I haven't been able to eliminate completely. This last weekend the structure closed off and I was unable to go to the bathroom. I went to the hospital and had to go through a very painful procedure to open it back up. I ended up coming home with a catheter for several days. I will be pulling the catheter out tomorrow morning and then seeing the doctor tomorrow afternoon. Please pray that things will stay open.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for Linda and I. I now it how important pray is and how we are told to pray for one another.

We love you all

Doug

New Update as of Oct 15th

I went to the doctor today to get the results of the MRI I did last Friday. It was great news in that there are no tumors on or near the Brain area. That means that the issues I am having with the left side of my face are being caused by the tumor behind my left ear. We are going to check with the radiation doctor to see if there is any chance of doing radiation to this area again.

Now here comes the bad news. When we discussed doing more Chemo treatments the doctor said there is less than a 5% chance of the chemo doing any good, so that doesn't leave me with much hope of fighting the 4 tumors that grew the last 2 months. With only a 5% or less chance it seems senseless to go on with any more chemo treatments. We will be looking at different options in the next week or so, but things don't look too good at this point.

I will try and keep the blog updated as we go forward with new ideas and treatments.


Keep on praying for Linda and I, we love you guys and your constant prayers are a source of strength and hope for us.


God Bless,
Doug

New Update

I was to see the doctor on Tuesday to go over the MRI that I had done last Friday, but I was sick all day Monday and half the day on Tuesday. So I never made it into the doctor on Tuesday. I am rescheduled for this Friday at 10:30 I am also scheduled to restart chemo treatments next Monday.

Please continue to pray for Linda and I for the next few days. I am still not feeling all that well and things seem to be getting a little worse. I will update more this Friday after my appointment.

God Bless you all

Here is the scope

I had a PET/CT scan done last Friday (Oct 1st) and got the results today from the doctor. It looks like out of the 5 tumors that I have 4 of them have grown some. Most of them right at 1 cm of new growth. I also told him about some of the other things that had been going on. The left side of my face is acting weird when I try to suck on a straw or spit after rinsing my mouth out. Also I have been having some issues with my left eye. Things have gotten blurry and I can't seem to wink out of that eye. So the doctor wants me to get an MRI on my Brain. That is now scheduled for Friday late afternoon (5:45pm). All of these symptoms have to do with the brain however we are not ruling out the tumor behind my left ear lobe as causing these issues. We won't know if there are any new tumors on the brain until I see the doctor next week with the results of the MRI. The doctor talked about going back to the chemo treatments after the MRI is found to be clear.

All of your prayers mean so much to us. We know just how important it is to lift each other up in prayer. Please kept praying for Linda and I and for the results of the MRI to be clear of anything except a perfectly good brain.

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." Philippians 3:20-21

Monday September 13th

Good Morning Everyone,
I hope that the fall is starting out great for you. Linda and I spent last week up at our cabin in Cascade. It was so nice being up in the mountains. It's really hard to come home, but there are things that have to be done here in the valley, so home we came.

As I stated in my last update we have been working on reducing the pain levels brought on by the tumors behind my ear and on my 6th rib on my back. Well just when I think we are doing pretty good, back comes the pain. I have been given a pain patch to wear on my arm for 72 hours. I called the doctor last Friday and asked if we could up the dose of the patches. I am going in today to pick up a prescription for a much stronger patch. My pain was very high on Saturday and Saturday night. It almost impossible to get any sleep or rest with so much pain. Please pray that we can get this pain under control.

Please continue to lift Linda and I up in prayer. I know that prayer is keeping me going and I really appreciate all of you praying for us.

God bless you and keep on looking up.

"Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on the things above where Christ sets at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you have died, and your life is hidden in Christ with God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4

For the last several weeks I have been working on my pain levels, trying to get the pain under control. I went to the doctor this week and we discussed my pain and if we needed to try something else besides the Tylenol 3 W/Codeine. The doctor added a pain patch (Fentanyl ) that I put on my arm and wear for 72 hours. This should help level out the pain from having spikes of pain through out the day.

Right now I am not going to do any more chemo until after my next PET scan, which I have scheduled for Oct. 1st. After this next scan we will decide how to proceed with treatment. It is really nice to not have to do chemo for now. I am already feeling better and am even getting some hair back on my Bald head.

Please keep praying for us as God leads us through this journey. I thank Him for each day that I am here and look forward to when He calls me home to be with Him.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

God bless you for your constant prayers for Linda and I we really appreciate it.

New update 8-4-2010

I went to get my test results from last Friday's PET/CT scan yesterday and to see both doctors (Oncologist and Radiologist). My test results were pretty good over all. There has been very little growth in any of the tumors, although one had increased by 2cm. Here is what the report says under the heading of Conclusion:
1. "There continues to be abnormal uptake within the left parotid (behind the left ear lobe) the gland the mass. Multiple bilateral lung masses, and lateral segment hepatic (the liver) lobe lesions consistent with the metastatic disease. The size of the lesions has slightly increased in size or are stable. (In other words there is not enough growth to measure exactly)
2. No new areas of abnormal uptake are identified.
3. There are multiple diffuse metastatic lung lesions which have slightly increased in size when compared to the previous study. (April 2ND was the last study). The lesions do not today show significant PET uptake which is likely due to the size of the lesions being less than 1 cm.

Over all we were pretty pleased that things seem to be stable for now.

After talking to Dr. Fiorentino about all the pain that I have been having he thought that instead of doing chemo treatments we should work on getting the pain under control. So he wrote me a prescription for some pain meds. He wanted to see me back in three weeks to see how things are going. So far the pain meds haven't done much good so we may have to try something else until we find the right one to use. So that's it for now. No chemo and back to see him in three weeks.

Thank you for praying for Linda and I. It was nerve racking yesterday while waiting to see the doctors, but I know that the Lord is in control and He knows best. I want to follow Him above all else in my life. I love Him and He is my Lord and Savior.

God Bless you all and please continue to pray for us.

Doug