“Patients” is a virtue?

It’s hard to wait. Hard to wait for test results. Hard to wait for Mayo to call with a day and time that they can fit Tom in for that second opinion. Waiting and wondering what’s happening inside Tom’s body…. while we wait.
The request to Mayo was sent in on the afternoon of Wednesday the 9th and we’ve been waiting since then, hoping that every time the phone rang, it would be THE call. Tom called Dr. Danso’s office on the morning of Friday the 11th and told them he hadn’t heard anything yet. Shannon, the gal at the doctor’s office who submitted the request, after telling Tom that it would take some time to hear back but it should be soon, told Tom the following, “Tom, do you know what the Mayo doctors call people like you that they treat there?” Tom falling for the bait, “No, what?” Shannon replied, tongue in cheek, “Patient.”
Tom got the message, so we waited some more. Finally we got THE call on Monday the 14th about noon . They could see Tom on Monday the 21st. More waiting; we were ready to leave that day if they could get us in any sooner.
It’s the season of miracles, maybe heading to Mayo will lead us to one. Please pray that Mayo will be a positive experience for us.

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."

Dear Friends, Loved Ones and Colleagues,
As many of you know, it’s been quite a year for our family. We were able to gratefully announce in October that Tom had a “clean” CAT scan after completion of 12 rounds of chemo for advanced stage 3 colon cancer. We thought we were home-free for awhile, but that was not to be. We just found out this week that the cancer is back. Cancer cells were found in the mesentery (the lining surrounding his abdomen). His doctor here, who is very well versed in current treatments, told us that this is treatable, but he wants us to go for a second opinion to be sure that other doctor’s concur. For several reasons, we have chosen to go to Mayo for the second opinion. We are just waiting to hear back from them. If they concur, Tom will start another round of chemo with stronger drugs that can be administered here in Midland . He will also go for acupuncture treatment as before to help minimize the side effects. Tom’s next scheduled check-up appointment was not going to happen for almost two more months. So as unfortunate as this news is at this time, especially around the holidays, we feel thankful to find this out now so that Tom can start further treatments as soon as possible.

We will continue to try to keep you updated as before through this blog. Even though we are still somewhat in shock and still absorbing the news, Tom has a very upbeat, positive attitude and we are dealing with it. Life goes on, fortunately.

For those of you who have asked “how can I help?” here are some suggestions:

• Please continue your prayers for Tom and our family. They mean so much. Feel free to put his name on your church’s prayer chain.
• Continue to call with words of encouragement. Tom is NOT on his deathbed and you will not be disturbing us. If Tom is not feeling well or is tired, we’ll let you know.
• Come over to visit. Ask us to do things with you. Do not assume that we wouldn’t feel like it. If you promise not to be party poopers, then so will we.
• Please avoid visits if you are sick or not feeling 100%. Tom’s immune system will be compromised again during treatment.
• Support us in our decisions for his treatment. Please do not second guess our choices or make suggestions for weird and wacky treatments. If you hear about a promising or new treatment at a recognized facility then feel free to share it, but we are not ready for clinical trials at this point.
• At some point, we might ask you to do some medical research on the internet for us.
• Depending on how well Tom responds to treatment this time, we may be accepting your offers of help to transport Tom to the hospital for his chemo appointments.
• Help with snow removal from the driveway this winter.
• If you have read a good book (sports stories, mystery and action) , pass it on to Tom. He'll have lots of reading time during chemo treatments.
• Stop by and challenge Tom to a cribbage match. He needs to keep his mind sharp and loves playing the game. Euchre and pinochle are also favorites.
• Sometimes a pot of soup, a loaf of bread or a plate of cookies would be a nice surprise and much appreciated.
• Share funny jokes and stories. Laughter is still the best medicine.
• Offer a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear, when we just need to talk.
• Help us live life as normal as possible.

Obviously Tom’s cancer reoccurrence is a major setback, but we see it as one more challenge on the road of life to overcome.

Thank you for your continued support,
Tom and Peg

The Great Thanksgiving

We have much to be thankful for this year.

Tom had a clean CAT scan—no sign of cancer. Dr. Danzo said that Tom’s blood work looked good and he confirmed the results of the CAT scan.
What a relief!
He will have his next CAT scan and a complete blood work up in February and prior to that he will have another colonoscopy. If all looks good then, it will be another 6months before more tests and if those are good then it will be a whole year before another round of tests and blood work.
He is getting his strength back little by little.
He still has some neuropathy in his feet and fingertips, but we’re hoping over time that will completely go away.

We are thankful for our friends, family and neighbors for helping us and supporting us during such a challenging time.
We are thankful to such wonderful, caring doctors and nurses.
We are grateful that Tom’s acupuncture treatment was successful in minimizing his chemo side-effects.
We are thankful to God for listening to our prayers and your prayers for Tom, too.

Did you hear that? It’s the fat lady singing.

It’s over! Tom’s chemo treatments are finished! “Bye-bye” chest port. “Bye-bye” chemo pump. “Bye-bye” superman shower cape. “Bye-bye” extreme tiredness every other weekend. Bye-bye hot flashes, power surges and sleepless nights.

A CAT scan is scheduled in two weeks and on October 20^th, Tom will see Dr. Danzo to get the results from that and find out what his “new normal” will be like. He has heard from the nurses that there will continue to be plenty of blood checks, CAT scans and colonoscopies. No flu shots until his immune system gets built back up.

There were twelve 48 hour treatments over a period of 22.5 weeks and Tom was able to complete every one of them. What his friends and family saw over this period of time was a brave person who kept his sense of humor and positive attitude throughout. He listened to his doctors, nurses and wife (some of the time) and followed orders; going to bed when he was tired, drinking lots of water, using hand sanitizer a lot to lessen exposure to germs, limiting his exposure to direct sunlight, not going to Loon’s games or trying to golf when it was rainy and cold, and laying low during chemo week-ends.

He will have had 24-plus acupuncture treatments; one more on Monday. They helped. He never suffered from nausea or mouth sores; two ailments that many who have this form of chemo often experience. His blood count numbers remained in the “good” range so he never had to miss a treatment nor did he ever develop a blood infection. (Knock on wood.) He finally got his hemoglobin counts back to normal range and they haven’t been there in a really long time. He has experienced some neuropathy in his hands, feet and mouth, again not as noticeable as many patients and we’re hoping that as the chemo wears off, so will the numbness in those areas. He won’t hesitate to have acupuncture again if he needs it to lessen any lingering side effects.

So Tom’s “journey to healthy” continues; he has gone into some pretty deep valleys, but he has climbed out and is still standing—stronger than he was before. He may seem to be walking a little slower, but it’s only because he wants to “stop and smell the roses” along the way. Tom is having fun driving a school bus again and when he came home the other day commented, “I can’t believe they actually pay me to do this job.”

Thank you to all of you who have helped to “hold up and lift up” Tom and Peg through this “journey”. Your words of encouragement and advice, your phone calls, visits and cards and your prayers have helped so much. One more favor, please pray that the chemo did its job and killed all the cancer cells. Thanks.

Listen closely now, I’m sure you can hear the singing.

Eight was great! Nine was fine. Ten will soon begin.

Time marches on, the summer is almost over—what little there was of it. Tom is getting closer to the end of his treatments. Twelve is the magic number. His spirits are still good; he looks good; and most of the time he feels good. The results of his blood tests continue to come back with good numbers. (Knock on wood.)
He has kept up with mowing with help from his brother Richard, and son Kyle. He has tried to “out smart” a ground mole(s) that literally makes mountains out of mole hills, grubs that have protested against Tru-Green and turned the green grass into Death Valley, and skunks that dig up the yard looking for the protesting grubs. It’s been a battle and we’re not sure who’s winning.
When it’s not raining or too cold or too hot, he might be found on the golf course where he has “fun” (his words) even if his golf score might indicate otherwise.
He also attends the Loons games if the aforementioned weather conditions apply. He’s excited because the Loons are in the Mid-West league playoffs and one of his and Peg’s favorite players, Dee Gordon, was named as a co-MVP for the Mid-West league as well as a future top major league prospect.
Right now Tom’s focus is getting through the next three treatments with minimal side-effects. The chemo is building up in his body meaning that: he is a little more tired during and after treatments; he is beginning to have a metallic taste in his mouth some of the time; he experiences more numbness around his mouth and fingers; he has hot flashes more often; and he’s more susceptible to risk of infection. However, the acupuncture treatments appear to be working at strengthening his immune system and minimizing many of the possible side-effects. So keep your fingers crossed and your positive thoughts and prayers coming.
It’s making a difference!

Novocain? Who needs it?

If you have chemo for colon cancer, you probably won’t need it. One of Tom’s side affects of chemo that he is now starting to feel, is numb lips. Which isn’t a major problem if you like that lack of feeling of an anesthetized mouth that comes after a dental appointment. It only becomes a problem when you take a drink out of a bottle and you find liquid dribbling down your chin and onto your shirt. Peg has now taken on the role of “Hot Lips” Hoolihan (from MASH) to warm up Tom’s lips when needed.
Tom is doing great! He is now halfway through his treatments. Six down and six to go. Dr. Danzo feels that it is not necessary for him to have a CAT scan until the end of his treatments because his numbers from his blood tests indicate that he is doing fine. He has a few more days during the week that he feels tired, but other that that, he is feeling good and looking good. He continues to pursue his favorite things: golf, Loons games, mowing the acreage (including creating new paths for Paige and Carter to run through), reading, and the occasional laugh-a-thons with buddies at the Duel Bar.
Treatment number seven starts today. Tom’s positive attitude continues. Prayers and positive thoughts and wishes from everyone are still needed and appreciated. Thank you.

“Knock on wood”

Chemo cocktail # 5 is now underway. Tom is almost at the halfway point (41.67%). He feels well most of the time (sometimes even great). We are finding that when he gets off the chemo pump on Friday and the Saturday that follows, he is extremely tired and somewhat light-headed. (Of course, we’ve always known about the “light-headedness” due to lack of hair!) A couple of times he’s had numbness around his lips (light neuropathy) and still has the occasional hot flash. When he met with Dr. Danzo, the oncologist, he said that Tom’s numbers from a recent blood work-up looked good. His hemoglobin has stayed in the 11ish range, but his blood platelets have gone down, but are not dangerously low yet. They said he has a ways to go before they would feel the need to medically respond to that. So, “knock on wood”, everything seems to be going well at this time.

Tom has played golf at Currie several times and tells Peg that he’s played some of his best golf games yet. He plays in the morning to his lessen his risk of problems with sun sensitivity as a side effect of chemo. This past Monday he played golf with his two brother-in-laws and his 89 year old father-in-law in an American Cancer Society fundraiser. When he came home, his blue eyes had turned brown with the amount of “BS” that was shared among that particular foursome.

Tom and Peg have been able to go to a number of Loons games. His three sons got Tom a Loons jacket for Father’s Day so that he would be warm on some of those cool game nights. He didn’t take it with him when he went to the game on Saturday night because it was 80 degrees when the game started, but he sure wished he had it when the temperature dropped about 20 degrees midway into the game. At the game that night, Tom and Peg sat with the Bullock Creek Schools Retiree’s group. Tom really enjoyed visiting with the retired “Creekers”. It was especially nice to see and sit with old college friends, Steve and Sharon. Steve, now a retired minister, was a onetime teacher and coach at Bullock Creek. At this very same game, Tom and Peg’s daughter-in-law Jeanette was hit by a line drive foul ball. Fortunately, it hit her in the hand and not the head or face and it didn’t hit Tom & Peg’s grandchildren sitting next to her. At last report, after x-rays, it appears that nothing is broken, but she’s got a very sore and bruised hand. We’re thankful that Jeanette is ok.

Recently, Tom had the opportunity to meet for “burgers, beer and BS” with some of his other college buddies. It all started when one of the guys got a new cell phone which he had in his back pocket. When he sat down, for some unknown reason, Tom’s cell phone number was pushed; so when Tom would answer, he could see who was calling, but nobody was talking on the other “end” (literally). This happened several different times over the period of a week. Finally Tom reached the guy and asked if he had been trying to call him. The guy said no, but then explained about his new phone. So after this conversation and a few more phone calls to guys all around the state and one who was visiting from Hawaii, they planned the aforementioned get-together. All because of this guy who "sat on his butt" all day, (or maybe it was divine providence?). This is a true story, no ifs, ands or “butts” about it and I’m sure this person will, thanks to his phone, be the butt of jokes for many years to come.

We love seeing and hearing from all of you---it helps keep our minds off the scary stuff. Your prayers for Tom’s good health and healing as he goes through his chemo treatments over the next three to four months mean so much.