It is time!!

I had an MRI of my Liver this past Monday.  Since then we met with my Liver surgeon.  He told us we are ready for surgery.  The newest thing he had to say was they only saw 2 - 3 spots in the left half of the liver.  This is amazing due to the fact there were originally 5 -6 spots in the left half.  He said some have likely completely melted. 

So for now we stop Chemo and prepare for surgery.   That is scheduled for September 27th.  During this surgery they will remove my right half of liver and possibly cut out the few spots which are on the surface of the left half of my liver.  Until then I have roughly 4 weeks to live semi normally.  Chemo will likely start 2 - 3 weeks after surgery depending on what my Oncologist decides.

Today was a rough day for me.  I started out with a lot of pain in my colon.  I tried doing my business and couldn't.  All the pain and pressure caused vomiting bile.  Not a fun thing for Lydia as she very much dislikes anyone Throwing up.  After three times of that the stomach calmed a bit but the pain in the colon stayed around for a while.  Later in the morning I was able to get rid of what was pressing on my tumor.  I never before imagined that much pain would come from a natural bodily process.  What resulted was a work at home day.

Tonight we went to Gilda's Club of GR to meet with the support groups.  It was good to see all the people I saw roughly a month ago.  I will miss talking with those people while I'm in the hospital and in recovery.  We will probably try going to a activity night once besides a group meeting night.  

Once again Thank you  for all your prayers and support.  Please keep them coming.

--Kent

Pain in the .......

The title of this post may make you think of the neck.  Not so for me.  My pain is where my cancer started.  While trying not to be to gross Colon Cancer patients like me become very aware of the digestive system.  Let me put it this way  I am very eagerly anticipating my Colon surgery.  Unfortunately the doctors are putting my Liver ahead of the Colon.  Maybe they just have a hankering for Liver and Onions.  

Seriously though tomorrow we meet again with the Liver surgeon after an MRI.  We are anticipating a Date for surgery.   If he doesn't see what he likes in the MRI he will tell my Oncologist to schedule more chemo.  Personally at this point I want to move into and through the next phase of treatment.  I will be as willing as able to resume chemo after surgery.  We are told that we have 2 weeks after surgery to begin chemo again.  Not exactly the recovery period I wanted.  I can certainly attest to the fact that the Doctors are sticking to one thing they all told me.  They are being AGGRESSIVE with this treatment plan.  Most treatments I had I should have been sent home instead.    Sounds like I should just get used to and expect aggressive.  Will be par for the course as far as I understand it.

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns.  They mean a lot to me and the rest of my family.

--Kent

Final Days.

Last night we visited the fair again with Lydia and her cousins along with the rest of the family.  The rides were running which Lydia was excited about.  The boys on the other hand had a difficult time looking at anything other than the large plumes of black smoke pouring out of whatever the vehicles were in the grandstands!  I have to say it looked pretty enticing.  Unfortunately I didn't feel so hot after being there a while.  Leah and I headed home and waited for our princess to arrive home from having all her fun.

We spent the time shortly before bed preparing for today.  Today is what we really hope is my last Chemo treatment before surgery.  I am currently in the reclining chair waiting to receive my meds.  So for the time I need to sit and wait while tied to the Med pole I will try to eat some lunch and then during my three hour med I will be watching  The Two Towers.  For those of you who don't know what that is you can read all about it at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167261/.  For those of you who do recognize the title you know that 3 hours is the perfect amount of time for this movie.  I cant believe my dear wife is putting up with me watching this today even though she doesn't care for the movie. 

I have to say Thank you to some people.  Two of the best chemo nurses in the business.  They were nice enough  to oblige us to take a picture with me.  They have been administering the "cocktails" as some call them, that are fighting the cancer cells in my body.  For that I have to thank you.  It is not fun but I know it is working so I am making the best of a bad situation.

The other group I have to thank is my work.  Tonight at the family work picnic our director asked the staff and families to lay hands on me and pray for upcoming surgery.  None of them knows how much that means to me.  A very caring and understanding group almost very much like a family.  Thank you to all for your care.

--Kent

Hello Goodbye!!

Today we met with my surgeon to discuss the upcoming surgery.  He said he wants me to have my 6th chemo treatment scheduled for this Thursday.  This will be my final chemo treatment until after surgery.  Chemo goodbye for now.  He scheduled an MRI for a week from today to get a closer look at my liver.  This will be followed up shortly with another appointment with the surgeon.  He claimed roughly 2 to 3 weeks I will be in surgery. 

Later this evening we went to the Hudsonville Fair to spend some Family time with Lydia.  She was very bummed the rides weren't whirring around already.  Frankly I didn't understand it either since we saw plenty of them rolling in Yesterday.  Since Lydia didn't care about the tractor pull we simply roamed around admiring all the big and small animals the fair had to offer.  During our roaming we bumped into and old coworker and friend.  It was great talking with him and his family.  Both his children and ours have grown so much in the last couple of years.

After the fair we grabbed some supper and ran into a waitress we had a couple years ago who was back in town for a short time before having to head back to WA state.  What a happy surprise to see her and her husband.  We had a great time talking. 

Overall we had the opportunity several times today to say both Hello and Goodbye too people who have been and continue to be very supportive.  Thank you to everyone.

--Kent

Overwhelmed by support!!

Today I met my new colorectal surgeon.  The meeting went very well and as much as one can be thrilled with a surgeon I am.  He was very nice and compassionate and talked though my treatment cycle with us.  We didn't learn a lot new from this appointment but he did confirm I would get Liver surgery first in which my Liver surgeon would take the right lobe of my liver.  Following that surgery and recovery I would get more chemo.  This would be followed by a surgery combining my liver surgeon and colorectal surgeon.  They would work together to remove the tumor area in my colon and locally burn the spots remaining in the left lobe of my liver.  He said they have worked together many times doing the same surgery they would perform on me. 

So Monday I will meet with my liver surgeon to see what the game plan is. Then it will be on to surgery whenever he wants to schedule it.  My colorectal surgeon told us today he would come and visit me in the Hospital after my first surgery.  We found this news really comforting and supportive since his expertise wont really be needed until the second surgery.  I will happily have him visit and talk with him while in the Hospital.  To be honest I'm almost excited to talk with him there.  I would rather have the opportunity without having to have surgery but if that's what it takes to get to talk with an outstanding Doctor I'll take it.

Speaking of support during the course of this journey (especially through my blog's comments) I have felt an overwhelming amount of support by friends and family.  Many comments I read bring tears to my eyes.  I don't feel like I'm that different going through this than anyone else would be.  Several people (including a dear friend) have noted I am inspiring and I have gone through this as a challenge God set before me and walked through it without asking why.  My dear friend says it best like this

"You truly are an inspiration

Instead of focusing on; "Why me God?"
You took his hand and basically said "Ok Lord, lets do this together"".

I am truly honored to be an inspiration to others but honestly all I hope is when this is done this all points directly toward heaven and shows the magnificent power our God has.

---Kent

Weekend.

This past week they stopped one of my medications due to the anticipation of surgery.  The medication is the one that stops the growth of new blood vessels so they don't grow into the tumors.  This medication also brings on the tiredness.  I didn't sleep as much this weekend but did manage to get a couple of naps in. 

For most of the weekend my appetite remained close to normal.  This is helpful for getting High calorie diet.  There is one more day in the weekend so hopefully the appetite continues to be as normal as possible

hopefully the next week will bring news about the surgeries.  We need to both make and receive phone calls from surgeons this week.

--Kent

Gold Medal Winner!!!

Today we Met with the Doctor and received great news.  Leah's Aunt called me a personal Gold Medal winner. 

The pet scan showed the tumors in both Liver and colon have responded well to my Chemotherapy regimen and have begun shrinking.  Yea God!!! "Praise be to God from whom ALL blessings flow"  The doc said the Active cancer would glow on the scan and due to no glowing in the liver and very little glowing in the Colon this means the Chemo is doing it's job. 

He said it is now time to get the surgeons involved again.  Our hope is all the functions necessary can be done in one surgery.  Our fear is that the Liver work will require 2 surgeries.  This is news we will discover again soon.  So soon is Phase 2.  It is becoming more real to me I am beating this cancer. 

I also had another round of Chemo today.  That went well and I managed to sneak a 2 -3 hour nap in as well.  Normally my appetite tanks shortly after chemo starts.   Not today.  I managed to take advantage of  a large dinner in order to keep the calorie count and weight up where it should be.

Thanks to everyone for all their prayers. 

--Kent

P.S.    K. Boeve and Family I responded to your comment a few posts ago.  Please feel free to check it out.

Adjusting to life ....

...... Lydia is back!  We went for a week child free.  Well that may sound inviting, I missed her tons .  She was at Camp Geneva.  She had a great time.  She talks about her great experience with her counselors and the many friends she made.

 I need to tell you all a brief story.  Lydia loves going to Hope College events with her Papa.  One of the counselors was a Calvin Student.  The Calvin Student wore a beat Hope necklace and Lydia saw that.  The Next day Lydia thought she would have her own fun and wear a sweatshirt that read Hope College.  May I remind you the weather was 95 degrees.

  Lydia loved them and I think her enthusiasm was contagious to them as well.   Hearing her tell the stories of the love she received brings tears to my eyes.  Lydia shared her prayer request,  she needed prayer for her daddy, so the cancer would disappear.  I am  glad she trusts the counselors to be able to bring such a heavy burden that this dear 8 yr old has on her heart.  I am so thankful also that the counselors came up to me at the end and said we will pray for your husband.  She has known Lydia a week and she has invested her prayer time for a Father of that precious 8 yr old.  I will never forget my Daughters 2012 experience at Camp Geneva. Oh.... can I tell you a God Sighting ....... Lydia only got in on a cancellation.  God only knew that my Child needed that week.   Only a God like you, could make that happen.
--Leah

PET Scan!

I had a PET scan today.  I hope they only find the fish I have. I don't have a dog and we got rid of the cats a few years ago.  Seriously though the test went as good as can be expected.  It is difficult waiting a few hours for all the Injections through the IV.  Then the 1 hour countdown for you body to "suck up" the Sugar and radioactive molecules.  After the hour they hook you up to the contrast die which at this point i'm sort of used to.

The first pass at the test had a glitch so they started over to get a good scan.  Since they play any music you want I didn't really mind the extra time.  So the test is done and now we wait.  One bit of news I did receive is that white blood count is still low.  My nurse was very concerned.  So until we meet with the Doc next Thursday we wait and wait and wait!