October 25, 2012 9th Treatment

October 25, 2012 9^th Treatment

We arrived home late yesterday evening from Leland’s 9^th treatment.  The trip went smoothly;  there was roadside snow over the passes and on the peaks. The autumn leaves are still lovely especially against  dark clouds shot through with sunshine and rainbows.  It makes us wonder what we will be driving through next week!

The treatments are still going well, the blood work is stable and his weight was up another 4 pounds-yes! His hair is thinning noticeably, and he slept only 3 hours last night, which seems to be becoming a pattern for the night after treatment.  We went for a 2 mile walk today, which made him tired, but he recovered well after a rest. 

We are getting aquainted with more of the patients at the clinic each week.  Every one of them is a story of courage and perseverance, and dogged determination to find a better way.  Everyone with whom I have visited so far is a Stage IV Lung, Breast or Liver Cancer.  Most come with a spouse, adult child or friend, but some come alone.  Some look pretty healthy, and some are very very sick.  One lady, with Stage IV Breast Cancer also has mets to the brain and bones. Her husband is there every week, and very attentive to her;  interfacing with the doctors and nurses when she is unable.  She is very sweet and friendly even as sick as she is.  Another couple is dealing with his liver cancer, and doing some of the same treatments Leland is getting. His wife is struggling with his personality change as well as difficult changes in his appetite.  Another little lady with Stage IV lung cancer and mets to the bones drove all the way there with her husband from Goldendale only to find out no treatment was possible for that day because she needed a blood transfusion first.  I was visiting with them when the nurse came and told her, and said she would help them arrange for blood testing here in Goldendale before making that long trip up again.

We are  at the point of praying for one another, strangers brought together by a common enemy and drawn together by a common hope. Each one deals with it in his or her own special way, some with faith, some with a fighting spirit mixed with faith, and some just fighting, refusing  to give up until they have no other choice.   The staff is wonderful, lots of  bright young friendly efficient professionals doing their best to make their patients as comfortable and healthy as possible. The Oncologists and Naturopathic Oncologists are fighting for their patients every day, applying their considerable skill to save lives and improve the quality of life for everyone under their care. We are grateful indeed to each of them and to God for bringing us to this place of hope.

10/18/2012 Treatment #8

 

We are home from Seattle again.  It was a beautiful trip across the mountains; the fall color is really lovely right now.  Chaunda had come via Amtrak on Sunday evening from Portland and spent a couple of days with us, traveling back to Seattle with us on Tuesday.  Of course, spending time with her is always great and she drove all the way there.  Thank you Chaunda! 

She does not like my poor old dollar store mugs, so she gave us 4 of her beautiful handmade mugs with the vibrant colors and leaves on them, which are my all time favorites.  She has a job now which she will begin November 5, so her time will be more limited.

 

Leland is doing well, the sesame oil brought his platelets up enough that he does not need to take it again for a while, until the tests show it declining again.  He is having some trouble with peripheral neuropathy which can cause numbness and tingling in the extremities-in his case being sore and somewhat clumsy finger tips.  This can be caused by diabetes among other things, but in his case is one of the side effects of chemo.  He is already on a high dose of glutamine to forestall the neuropathy, but we were advised to add fish oil to his regimen.  So I have ordered the best I can find, and he will begin that just as soon as we receive it.  He is still on the vitamin cocktail administered before the chemo, and the Iscador, all of which I believe are contributing to his well being and toleration of the chemo.

His weight was stable this last week, no gain or loss.  His blood counts continue to decline gently each week, but so far are still in the acceptable range for the therapy. He had a little more fatigue this last week than he had been having, which they told us to expect, and his hair is thinner than before.  Overall, he is still doing well, and able to participate in life again.  I think a busy life  sometimes forestalls our appreciation of the ability to do the things we want and need to do until suddenly that is removed for a time.  It now seems like such a treat to go to church and stay for dinner, to be able to go out for the evening, or go to town together.  Even the ability to enjoy the trip to Seattle each week is appreciated after the summer we spent mostly unable to do much of anything.

Thank you Rosemarie and Riverside Prayer Shawlers for the beautiful purple “Prayer Shawl”. It is lovely to wrap around my shoulders in the early morning chill, or in the evening. Thank you for the love and prayers knitted into each stitch.

I will close with a thought by Stormie O’Martian in Just Enough Light For the Step I’m On,  page 131 and 132:

“God often allows hard things to happen in our lives in order to bless us in some way.  If we are willing to allow for that possibility in everything that happens, it saves us from being devastated by people and situations that are ultimately going to be used for God’s glory.  If we surrender our disappointment to God and say “Be my Light and lead me through this Lord” His work will be accomplished faster……….

It pleases God when you have faith enough in the midst of your disappointment to put your hope and expectations in Him……If you will maintain a humble submitted, faith filled  expectant heart, you will see God’s goodness manifest in the midst of all that is happening to you”

Oct 10,2012 7th Treatment

Oct 10, 2012 Treatment 7

Today was a full day-4 ½ hours of treatment at the clinic, consults with both the medical and Naturopathic Oncologists, a great lunch which Chaunda fixed for us, a little shopping and then home again.

Leland is doing quite well. His PSA went from 23 to 228 while on Protocel.  Today it was 16!!  He has blood work done every single week, and they really watch all the indicators.  His platelets (for blood clotting)  are down now because of the chemo;  we were advised to get cold pressed sesame oil-untoasted- which will assist his body to manufacture more of them.   Who knew?  I thought sesame oil was only used for Asian cooking! We found some by Spectrum and I whipped it into his drink which contains among other things, protein powder, glutamine, mannose, sesame oil, flax oil, stevia, vanilla and orange juice in a base of almond milk.  I taste test it for him, and adjust it til it tastes good.    Stevia and vanilla make most anything taste better, and adding the orange juice makes it a little like an Orange Julius.  Fortunately, most of the meds and supplements which go in are relatively tasteless.

There will be 5 more treatments, then a reassessment, and probably 6 more before going on to  the next phase.

Another piece of good news is a 3.5 pound weight gain this week, 2 pounds last week and 3 the week before!  His appetite has really improved along with everything else. We really need to watch his protein intake, as it takes much more than normal to fight cancer.  So in addition to all he protein food he can eat, we have to add two  high protein drinks.  

Dr. Chen, the Med. Oncologist believes the new bone pain from week before last was probably the result of the Zometa infusion the week before. Zometa is a bisphosphonate used to treat osteoporosis, or bone metastasis.  Leland had to take narcotics for a couple of days, then it resolved.  He is being very careful not to do things like jump down out of the back of the pickup however.

 

Our nurse introduced me to another patient today-from Goldendale also.  A feisty little lady, Edna, with Stage IV lung cancer.  She told me she went to the cancer center in The Dalles-just once.  After they told her the misery which would be inflicted on her so she could live 6 months or so, she told the oncologist there that he was wrong, she was NOT going to die in 6 months-no thanks to him,  and she fired him on the spot.  It has been nearly a year, and she is still going strong.  She found the Seattle Center the same way I did, by searching on the internet for Integrative Medicine. Why does it need to be so hard and take so long?  Everyone to whom I have spoken there has found this clinic the same way. Many of them have tried traditional treatment first, which always comes without the nutritional support which naturopaths bring to an integrative team, and which really do help support the normal cells as well as faster regeneration of those normal cells which are damaged. 

 Dr G, the head Naturopathic Oncologist told us that many people are afraid of the side effects of treatment, but he reminded us the side effect of untreated cancer is death. We were staring that in the face earlier this summer.

We were really glad Leland was able to go to Mom VanTassel’s memorial this past weekend.  He hitched up the trailer and helped with the loading and did a lot of the driving.  Del and Chuck traveled with us so Chuck could help with the driving which we really appreciated.  We had a wonderful weekend reconnecting with family and friends.  It was a good weekend to honor the life and memory of a remarkable woman. I was blessed to know her and learned much from her as a young wife. I knew nothing about vegetarian cooking except for potato salad, scrambled eggs and vegeburgers, and she gladly shared her recipes with me.  She was always kind to me from day one, welcomed me to the family, and always let me know she loved me.  She taught me a lot; I appreciate and honor her memory.

Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012 6th Treatment

We are home from Leland’s 6^th treatment which went very well.  We were able to meet our daughter, Chaunda, and go to a small Thai Restaurant for lunch, after which we went to Harborview Hospital to see a friend from church here ( Jackie) who has had a stroke and very serious brain surgery.  Our prayers are for her and her family, and we hope she will be have a smooth recovery.

Leland was sick for a couple of days last week, just after I posted the last blog.  He had another episode of bone pain, in his  lower left leg, which was new.  When I called the clinic for him, they were concerned it could perhaps be a blood clot, and they thought he should get an Ultrasound on it, but it resolved within a couple of days, so  the US was not necessary after all.  The pain meds make him feel weird, and it seemed to upset his stomach this time.    However, by yesterday he was better, the pain was gone, and he was off the meds again.

Today, he got his first dose of Iscador, or Mistletoe, an immune therapy being used quite extensively in Germany. It is given by a small needle in the   interdermal fat layer.  The nurse showed us how to do it, since I will need to give it to him three days a week. He is still getting his vitamin “cocktail” by IV every week before the Chemo, along with the other nutritional therapies.

 I have been getting acquainted with some of the other patients  while Leland is napping, very nice people, all of them struggling with this awful disease. I met a couple across the aisle from us today from Leavenworth.  They are an older couple (like us? : )) and he has liver cancer.  She is from Germany so I was asking her about the package insert that came with the Iscador since it was all in German. They told me that when her husband started the Iscador, that he really began to feel better-almost normal.  So we are hoping for the same results for Leland.  

 We had a good trip both ways again for which we are thankful. We were delayed on I-90 for an hour on the way in.  They stopped all traffic going both ways for an hour for blasting.  Fortunately we had a book to read aloud and our supper, so we took a break right there in the middle of the freeway.  It is good to be home again.

September 30, 2012 5th Treatment

Leland had his 5th treatment last week.  It went well,  and he continues to be much improved.  Not 100%; as in completely well, but still so much better.  He is driving again, and has taken over the Seattle driving for which I am very happy!  He does a better job of that than I do, so I am glad to let him have it and so glad he is feeling up to it. 

After treatment, we went to Chaunda and Patricks.  We got to see the house and yard and a couple of the newest art projects.  She had fixed a nice lunch which we enjoyed, and then Patrick came home from work and we were able to visit with him for a few minutes before starting for home.  It is a long drive!

Yesterday, Sabbath, we went to church then in the late afternoon headed to MaryHill Park for a picnic supper with friends, a lovely day, none of which was possible just 5 weeks ago.

This week will be quite busy with the trip to Seattle, then on to Redmond for Mom's memorial service.  We will take the trailer and Del and Chuck will travel with us, so if Leland gets tired, Chuck can drive.  I can drive on the open road if I need to, but would never be able to back it up and park it.

Mom's service is on Sabbath, Oct 6 at 3pm, Redmond SDA Church. Leland has created the program hand out, and it has gone to the printers, we will pick up the order on Monday.  Del has arranged the program, gotten the headstone which is beautiful, Norm has done a really great slide show, and now I must put the finishing touches on the Eulogy, and we are ready to honor her life.  We are grateful Mom never had to know about Leland's cancer.  We are also grateful to be able to plan on going to her service, which would not have been possible had this all happened in July.  We are looking forward to seeing all the family and many friends next weekend.

September 19,2012 Treatment #4

We are home from Seattle once again, another safe trip.  Leland is feeling so well, he drove the entire way home while I read to him, much of the time that we were not watching the fires we could see from I-90 near Ellensburg.  Awful smoke and devastation in the forest there.

As I am writing this, he is in his office working on the program for Mom VanTassel's memorial service. This is after arriving at the clinic at 8 am, 4 hours of treatment, a trip to the South Center Mall with Chaunda then 5 hours home.  Amazing!   He enjoys that kind of work, but had not had the energy to do anything like that for months.  

The treatments are going very well, and Leland commented tonight that he feels better today than at any time since his diagnosis-what an incredible blessing after the nightmare we lived through in July!

We saw both Oncologists today, who think Leland is doing very well.  The CT scan was somewhat troubling, but was repeated after only three treatments of  twelve, so they will wait and check it again in November.  In the meantime, his blood is drawn every week before treatment;  they are satisfied with the profile and the progress he is making.  We have access to a Physicians Assistant, RNs, a Medical Oncologist and a Naturopathic Oncologist every week.  They all work as a team, meeting every morning together to discuss each patient for that day.  I cannot say enough good about Integrative Medicine and the huge improvement in Leland's quality of life! It is an answer to prayer.

 His series of treatments are due to be finished the 14th of November, and then another protocol will start, to be determined by the results of tests that will be done then to gauge progress.  I hope we will not need to continue weekly trips there, but we will do what we need to do. Hopefully, he will have made excellent progress into remission and the protocol will be one of maintenance and prevention.

Last week David and Susan came over with Kylie and Kierstyn.  David used the weedeater and cut down a lot of weeds which were growing around the parking area and driveway.  Thank you soooo much!  Kylie almost 7, and very cute, leaned into me while I was sitting in the living room and said very seriously "Grandma VanTassel, I NEED to know why Grandpa VanTassel has cancer."  "Well honey, I really can't answer that-we just don't know"  I replied.  A little later she went into the computer room where Leland was opening some pictures to show them, leaned into his chair, and repeated the same question to him.  He told her "We really don't know why Kylie, but if you ever get cancer, you will be very old when it happens"  He said she seemed satisfied with that, and ran off to play.  So sweet, and learning so fast. 
 Also last week, Del came over and organized the greenhouse in which I had been piling boxes until we can get them to recyling.  And then she washed a couple hundred of the 3 1/2  and 4 inch pots!  Thank you Del, now when spring comes, we can just go right to work :)

Thursday, Sept 13, 2012

We are back from Seattle. Leland had a Power Port inserted under his skin on Tuesday afternoon. It has a catheter that goes from a small recepticle inplanted just under his skin and right under the collarbone. The catheter goes into the jugular vein and moves whatever is being infused much more quickly and efficiently than a vein, as the blood flow is much faster there. This saves him from having his veins pierced each week, and hopefully will keep them from breaking down.

His blood is drawn each week, and the status checked before they do any therapy.  He will have the CT scan done tomorrow in The Dalles  and we should get the results when we go to the clinic next week.

His treatment is including high dose IV Vitamin C now, 25,000 units.  The treatments are going well, and he continues to feel better and able to enjoy his food again.  He still needs to nap throughout the day, but in between has energy and interest to do a few tasks as long as they don’t take too long.  He got his desk cleaned off again and has even done a session of Flight Sim which he had not had even the mental energy to do for a couple of months.

I got acquainted with a patient across the aisle from us this last week with   Stage IV Lung Cancer.  She was very friendly and we ended up visiting for several minutes while Leland dozed.  She told me they gave her 6 months to live, and first she was depressed, then she got mad.  So in colorful language which I will not repeat here, she stood up and told her Doctor that he was wrong, she would NOT Die and he was not going to help her, then he was fired.  She endured traditional treatment for 18 months, then found the Seattle Cancer Treatment Center and switched there.  The original DX was three and a half years ago, and she has been at this clinic for 2 years.  She has a fighting spirit, and great respect for the protocols here.  She was inspiring. 

 She told me that she has learned a few things through all of this, that life will never be the same again, but she is grateful to still be here, and refuses to spoil the gift of today with grieving over what she has lost.  She is alone with a 15 year old daughter so has huge incentive to keep fighting.  Her name is Tera   for anyone who would like to add her to your prayer list.

 We see patients there who seem quite well, and a few which are in much worse shape than Leland is. 

 

 We feel so blessed that he is feeling better, and is able to enjoy the trips there and back.  He has even been able to drive part of the way, which is really helpful.  So far I have done all the driving in the city, which has been rather stressful to me.  We see more cars going through one change of the intersection than we do all month in Goldendale!  But I remind myself that God has this all under control, that I can do all things thru Him Who strengthens me-even drive in crazy Seattle traffic surrounded on all side by 18 Wheelers!  Leland teases me that I must really like those trucks, cuz we are always right behind one : )  (Apologies to Laura and Larry)

Thank you dear Cherilyn and Todd for the housekeeper who came while we were gone and did the routine cleaning for us-what a help that was!  And to Pat for picking up our mail and leaving it on the step along with a basket of organic produce from her garden, to Stanton for delivering our Azure order today.  We will enjoy and be thankful for all we have this day.  And last but not least, we are also very happy that Cherilyn and Todd will be making us grandparents again on or near March 25 : ).  Hugs to all of you.