2013, September 20

This week made more than 20 trips to the cancer center.  Leland has been a patient there for a full year, and what a difference it has made in his overall quality of life!  We were remembering this trip how very sick he was the first time we went, wondering if they would be able to give us any real help, wondering how it would all turn out.  I remember feeling how unreal this all was, walking into a cancer clinic with Leland,  hardly able to believe this was really happening, feeling really scared about starting chemo-even low dose, and unsure whether or not we were doing the right thing.  And yet, there seemed nothing else to do, no where else to go.  We had prayed earnestly that God would open and shut doors and lead us to an effective treatment;  this was the only door that opened.

 The previous treatment had clearly not worked at all, in fact it had allowed the cancer to spread considerably,  in spite of the assurances otherwise.

So now we know, this cancer will never be cured without a miracle.  However, a good partial
 remission has been achieved.  Meaning his quality of life is quite good in most respects, although he does seem to be experiencing an increasing lack of energy. The present  protocol he is on has  been  successful , so according to Dr. Chen and Dr. Sweet, we stay the course for now.  They are very pleased with his progress, Dr. Sweet calling him a "Poster Boy" for Integrative Care.

Lab test results were good, PSA slightly up from 4.5 to 4.52.  Dr. Sweet told us it is very usual for tumor makers to go up and down within a small range, so they are not yet concerned.  They are concerned enough about some new pain in his hip and leg to order another bone scan, which is entirely reasonable as it has been a year since the last one. We need to know whether the pain is being caused by arthritis (possibly from some of his meds), bursitis or the cancer.  That will be scheduled soon, within the next week or so, and when we get the results, I will post them here

We are once again in Portland with Cherilyn, Todd and Phoenix.  We have had the fun of looking after him again while his parents work.  He is such a joy, sitting up now, grabbing everything within reach of his little hands, smiling all the time, and laughing out loud when we play with him. Tomorrow we will take him to church with us, then in the late afternoon we will go to Mark and Tina's for dinner.  We will have our two grandsons together, so it will be a good opportunity for pictures, and a good family time.

2014 September 2 Home Again

Home Again

 

Actually we have been home for a few days, but they have been quite busy getting caught up from our trips.

 

Our trip was perfect,  we had a great time with everything we did, and everything went as planned.  The family reunion was wonderful, Crater Lake was rainy but still beautiful. But best of all we were with Del and Chuck as well as Judy and Norm.  Lorinda (Chuck’s sister) and Frank came for the day and we dashed through the rain all together, very fortunately finding a  place over the lodge in a large mostly empty room fitted with tables and chairs to have our lunch out of the rain.  The next day’s weather was much better and we all enjoyed a long bike ride around part of Diamond Lake. 

 

After the family reunion we picked up Grant in Bend, then met  Chaunda at the Boise airport and we proceeded to Yellow Stone, the Grand Tetons and Craters of the Moon.  Part of the time at Yellow Stone and Grand Tetons we also had the pleasure of Judy and Norm’s company, as we enjoyed the beauty together.

We especially enjoyed the geysers and the bison-who own the roads there; huge magnificent creatures who block traffic without a care in the world.

 

After Craters of the Moon, we dropped Chaunda back at the Boise airport, drove to Baker and toured the Oregon Trail Museum, well worth an afternoon.  Spent the night in LaGrand then headed for home.  We unpacked the trailer, spent one night at home then were off again to take Grant home, then head for Seattle and Leland’s treatment. Then it was back to Portland to spend three days caring for Phoenix while Cherilyn and Todd had to work.  He is growing so fast and learning new skills every day. Of course he is absolutely adorable.

It has been a little frustrating to have to wait so long for the results of Leland’s blood tests. Usually we have them done before the appointment so we have them in hand, but this time it was not possible, and the clinic has been unusually slow getting them to us.  I finally called on Friday, 8 days after the appointment,  and  was told the PSA was up a little, 4.5 this time, up from 4.3 last month.  He is feeling and looking well still, so we will wait until next month and see what the trend tells us.  Dr. Chen told us a couple of months ago that a 5-10% rise will call for reevaluation. 

We  have been really grateful for the good summer we have been able to have and for the blessings of Integrative Medicine, especially when contrasted with last summer’s almost constant illness. We were counting today, and it has already been a year and a half since the diagnosis which turned our world upside down.  Sometimes, for just a little while I can almost forget that cancer has ravaged Leland’s body, because in many ways he seems so normal.  He is much more at peace with this than I am. 

Our flowers really burst into bloom while we were gone, the strawberries and tomatoes did very well (thanks Del and Chuck for picking them and saving some for us) so we were expecting on Friday morning to go out and pick another gallon or so of strawberries.  But the Bald Faced Hornets are back, and they are eating all the berries.  Even if we can beat them to it, it is not worth risking a nasty sting, so I guess we are done with berries, even though the strawberries will bear until frost, or until it gets too cold.  

 

This picture was taken in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone; Lower Falls in the background.