Eat your Pineapple!

Preliminary research suggests that the bromelain in fresh and frozen pineapple may counter ulcerative colitis, a precursor to colon cancer risk. Check out this article by Dole

Nice Letter and Advice

I received a very nice letter today from one of Dad's cousins, Chip and his wife Terry. It is heartwarming to know that others are following Dad's progress and are reading my updates. It was also very exciting to receive a letter from a family member that I have never met. Maybe someday we can.  Thank you for the letter and kind donation Chip and Terry, it is much appreciated :)

One point I want to make clear, is that our family DOES have a history of Colon Cancer. Not just with Dad, but also with his Uncle and Aunt who unfortunately lost their battle. I know I have stressed this on my blog and in person, but it REALLY is important for anyone related to our family or if anyone else has a family history, to be checked at age 40. If you don't have history, then age 50 it is.  I had mine scheduled for last week, only to find out that my lovely copay is $200.00! It's steep, but it just delayed me a month or two until I go and have it done, but I am still doing it. If caught early, colon cancer can be treated, if not cured. So please, take my advice. Sometimes I look back and wonder if Dad had only had his colonoscopy sooner, what might have been. But I know we can't turn back time, so we have to live for today.

Anyway, Dad is feeling pretty good lately besides the diarrhea issues. He was out and about this morning running to the post office, bank, and a couple of stores. I'm sure as I write this he is probably napping, but he's allowed. :)

Hope everyone is staying cool. Here in PA it's sticky and icky the last couple of days. I'm so tempted to turn on the AC, but i'm holding back. hehe

Love to all,

Tammy

Updates

We had an awesome Easter. I hope everyone did as well. It was the first time in a while that our whole family (all 5 siblings and spouses, 10 grandchildren, and Mom and Dad) were together. 22 people strong were at my house partying on Easter. I was very nice and I know Mom and Dad loved it. I think the neighbors were a bit shocked at just how loud we can be hehe It's the first time we were all together in my house. One of Dad's good friends that always checks on him did mention that he could hear us partying. haha  All in good fun.

Dad had his CAT scan yesterday. No news yet and we probably won't hear anything until his doc appointment next week. I will be sure to go with him to get the scoop. He's doing well. He did have some problems after the visit yesterday and was up all night with bowel issues, but he seemed pretty good this morning.  I will keep you updated

Tammy

A little Background

The story...

November 2009, Dad was having problems with blood in the stool and was losing weight so he had made an appointment with his doctor to discuss. The doctor recommended that he go for a colonoscopy since he was due to have one anyway and to rule out any problems. So, we went to have the procedure done (I was his driver). The procedure itself only took about 30 minutes, and within 45 they had come to the door to ask me to come in. I went in and figured I was just going to sit with Dad until he was ready to be released, since they have to watch him a bit because of the anesthesia they give you.  Well, the doctor came in to go over the procedure and says "Well, we found some polyps that we did remove, but there's also some tumors and i'm 99% sure it's cancer". My heart stopped. WHAT? How can that be? This was supposed to be a regular maintenance type of thing. I just looked at my dad sitting there...helpless...just shaking his head. The man that I always knew to be the strong protector type, is lying in bed helpless and cancer is taking over his body. I cried, and cried...I tried to be strong for my dad, but the tears just wouldn't stop. We just sat there for a while and I held his leg, since I was sitting at the foot of his bed. Then the nurses came in and went over about a hundred things that we had to do next.

It's all a blur to me now, but we had to go for biopsies, and CAT scans and PET scans. We saw one surgeon and then had a second opinion at Fox Cancer Center. Dad decided that he wanted to have his procedures done local since Fox was too far of a drive. The diagnosis is Stage IV Colon Cancer. It has spread to the liver and his lymph nodes. So, he started his Chemotherapy in January 2010 and has been going just about every 2 weeks with doc visits and surgeon visits in between. He's had several CAT scans and blood tests and PET scans in between as well.

During the last year and a half, he has been a real trooper. So tough, and determined. He's done very well, with a couple of problems, including a hospital stay because of what they believe was the start of appendicitis. Luckily, they did a short procedure without having to remove the appendix and he has been fine since.  He has dropped about 40+ pounds since he started his chemo and has finally lost all of his hair, but he's still fighting.

It's funny how nobody wants or can give an answer on the life expectancy of a Stage IV Colon Cancer patient. His last surgeon appointment that was about a month or so ago was interesting. I don't even know what other word to use. The surgeon told Dad how he was impressed that Dad has taken to the chemo so well and is still fighting. He told Dad that the first day he saw him, he really thought to himself that Dad wouldn't have made it past 6 months. Now hearing this breaks my heart, but on the same note makes me happy and proud. Happy that he didn't tell my dad, because that could have been a deal breaker, and that dad is such a fighter that he outsmarted the surgeon AND his cancer  :) But the surgeon said that since Dad's doing so well, that we will just keep on with the chemo since it seems to be working.

Dad's tumor marker has gone up and down since he started the chemo, but lately the number has climbed, so they had changed his doses of Avastin that he receives (starves the tumor) and that hopefully will do the trick. Dad has an appointment next week for another CAT scan so please say a prayer, cross your fingers, or whatever it is you can do that the results are good.

It's hard to think that Dad's days can be numbered, or not. We are just living each day now to it's fullest and fighting along the way.

NOBODY FIGHTS ALONE

Bracelets have arrived

I'm excited to say that the bracelets have arrived. Please help us raise money for Dad. He shouldn't have to be worrying about bills at this time of his life. There's a link on the right to order your bracelets.  Thanks so much for helping :)

Dinner Out

Dad was very energetic today. He even went and got wood chips and shovelled them in his truck himself. We of course went over after Clark was done work and helped him out although we thought we would have had to help him with the wood chips, but our nice neighbor had stopped over and helped Dad. He's a great guy. After we were done helping Dad out, we had plans to go to dinner. Dad called me earlier in the afternoon and asked if we wanted to go to dinner with them. I was shocked. I've been bugging him and Mom about getting out and enjoying life since they are so predictable and are always home cooped up. So, of course I couldn't refuse and we all went out to this nice Irish Pub in town and even ate outside since it was so nice out. We had a great time. Don't worry, we both paid for our share hehe.

Well, that's pretty much it for today. Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Night

Better

I'm happy to report that Dad is feeling better lately. He's in good spirits and is hobbling around hehe. A little joke I have with him is he's always walking around with his toes in the air. I always call him 'twinkle toes' and tell him to put his toes down. Mom and he laugh so hard when I yell at him for it. hehe

Thanks to everyone that has showed interest in the bracelets. Hopefully they will be in soon. I'm anxious to start distributing them :)

Enjoy the nice Spring day today

Chemo Side effects linger

One of the worst side effects that Dad is facing right now is the diarrhea and fatigue. Yesterday was a bad day for him and this morning when I saw him he was pretty slow moving. We had a dinner date last night with Mom and Dad, but he had to cancel because he was not feeling well. My son brought dinner down to them and ate with them. He's so cute and said he wanted to keep them company. I was a bit dissappointed that they didn't come for dinner, but I totally get it and was very supportive.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for him.

Silicone Bracelet fundraiser

I have started a fundraiser to help Dad pay for his medical expenses which are skyrocketing right now since he's now been on chemo for almost a year and a half. As of now the orders will be pre-orders since the bracelets don't come in for about 2 weeks.   I will post a pic when they come in but they are blue with one side saying "John DBs Fight" and the other saying "NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE"

Please note that we do not accept credit cards at this time as it would cost more $ to accept the payments. Only checking account payments right now.
Thank you so much for your generosity in helping Dad out.

Just the start

With more and more people interested in how Dad is doing, I thought this blog would be a great way to keep everyone informed, especially those that do not have Facebook.  Please visit often to keep up with the latest on Dad and his treatments. I will also soon be posting information on a fundraiser.

Thanks so much to everyone for their kind words and prayers. It really means alot

NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE