A, B and C

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some things about Alex, Brooke, and Caedmon (who, by the way, have been weathering DJ's chemotherapy very well).

Alexandra Bigelow loves to bake!  I wonder if she will be the propietor of a book store slash bakery at some point in the future.  This is an example of something she created recently.  Alex also enjoys playing volleyball twice a week with a local club.




Caedmon loves Legos!  Here is a photograph of a set he received as a gift and spent many, many hours putting together, with some help from his buddy Logan.  Caedmon takes karate lessons twice per week with his good friend Dylan.

 Brookie loves softball! Her most skilled position is as catcher, and she also loves any opportunity given for her to pitch.  Mimi Penny and Alexandra cheered Brooke and her team the "Highlighters" at yesterday's game.

We love our rugrats! 

Happy Birthdays

I am always happy when the point of the chemotherapy cycle is reached in which DJ's health mostly returns.  He took round #2 of FOLFIRI from Monday March 12 through Wednesday March 14; and although the fatigue lasted a little longer into the second week, DJ was cheerful enough on Monay March 19 - his 43rd birthday! - to permit me to snap a photo.  He and I dined at Big Bubba's Bad BBQ for this special event :-).  (I ate salad).

Speaking of birthdays, our housemate Mildred Crabtree (DJ's maternal grandmother) turned 90 years of age on March 8.  She was well-loved and sufficiently celebrated all the day long. 

DJ has returned to work this week, and life is mostly normal.  Next up: treatment #3 scheduled for Monday March 26.  The end.

Round #2 at "The Fun Factory"

I would like to begin this post by telling you what a brave and courageous husband I have.  I appreciate that DJ was upbeat and happy and "normal" for the days leading up to this week's treatment of chemotherapy, and that he makes me laugh.  As we headed out the door Monday last to Coastal Integrative Cancer Care, DJ said, "And we're off to the Fun Factory".  :-)  Ai-yi-yi.  He's funny, even in the face of yuckiness.

Here is a photographic image of DJ's chemo drugs as they are infused into his body

For this Round #2, DJ has been prescribed a different set of anti-nausea medications, and I think that they are more effective than that which he took for Round #1.  He did have some harsh vomiting on Monday night, but for the days after that for the remainder of his treatment, he seemed more alert and awake and less contorted in pain.  It seems that this round, although uncomfortable and yucky, was not quite so horrible for him.  Then again, I don't want to feel nausea at any time, to any degree - so although this round has perhaps been "better" for him, DJ certainly continues to persevere in the face of difficulty.  When we returned to the clinic Wednesday for his pump disconnect, the nurse conversed with us about his symptoms and said that she would like for him to feel even less yuckiness; so it seems that DJ's medicines will be increased or otherwise "tweaked" in attempt to give him increasing relief.

Do you see how surreptitious I am?
 I sneaked around behind and took this photo of Nurse Valerie flushing DJ's port
at the end of his infusion.
Ssshhh!  Don't tell! 
I don't think he particularly prefers to be photographed for this event.

After the pump was removed from his person on Wednesday, he attended a softball game of Brooke's; the nausea seemed to slowly subside, although he still wants to eat very often in order to keep it at bay; and since then he has been affected especially by fatigue.  But he carries on!  What a guy :-).

Yesterday, Thursday March 15, DJ and I visited with an oncologist at Stanford University in pursuit of another opinion, alternate perspective, and further information.  It was a beneficial and profitable time, as far as I'm concerned.  I give kuddos to the Physicians' Assistant for her marvelous bedside manner, and to the Doctor for her wealth of information and advice and helpfulness.  I am especially glad that Dr. Cho-Phan agrees with the prescription of FOLFIRI which DJ is taking, and that she thinks highly of DJ's local oncologist Dr. Spillane.  She told us that she is a proponent of aggressive measures in order to rid the body of cancer, and spoke of a biological drug (whose name escapes me) that could also be included into DJ's cancer-fighting regimen. DJ asked questions about surgical options and wanted to know what her recommendations are.  Dr. Cho-Phan spoke well, also, of our local surgeon Dr. Hayashi, and she also offered to give DJ a referral to one of Stanford's surgical lung specialists.  All in all, it was well worth the time and energy (and gasoline!  Sheesh - $4.54 per gallon in Paso Robles), in my opinion.  Hooray!

When the 50 hours of chemotherapy pass (Monday through Wednesday), and also the next day after that (Thursday), I feel more energetic and hopeful and cheerful: the next 9 days before Round #3 will only be increasingly good and healthy for DJ's body, I do hope and pray.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you some more, for praying for us and loving us and supporting us and encouraging us.  I am certain that God's grace is administered to us through you, and that without what you give to us it would be more difficult for DJ.  Thank you!  May the LORD bless you indeed!

The end.

Round #1 , The Rest of the Story

By the end of last week following his first round of FOLFORI, DJ slowly and incrementally began to emerge from the darkest parts of nausea and feeling ill.  He began to speak on Thursday, he dressed and took the children to school Friday, he assisted Brooke's softball practice Friday evening and attended her pre-season game Saturday afternoon, and by the weekend he was more alert and "awake".  I did wonder if perhaps he'd become pregnant, since he felt a desperate need to eat every 2.75 hours in order to keep the nausea at bay and because he was easily fatigued; but how happy I was to see him becoming more and more healthy and happy.

The firefighters came by to give DJ love and a CareBear balloon.  Here's a shout-out to Aaron Miles Finnigan, Alec Mitchell Flatos, and Michael Oerr :-).  Brooke Bigelow thought she'd get in on the photographic action, also.

I am even more happy to report that the week following DJ's first chemotherapy treatment, Monday March 5 through the present, DJ's health continued to improve immensely.  He returned to work for a 40-hour week of assisiting the detectives, attended Brooke's softball practices and Alexandra's volleyball practices, and seems to be back to normal.  Hooray!  Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your prayers on his behalf and for our family.  How grateful I am for the part you play in bearing our burdens, and that God hears and answers our prayers!  Feeling healthy and good seems to be an important part of gearing up with courage and strength for the next round of treatment.

Today is Sunday, and it is the last day of this cycle; tomorrow (Monday, March 12), we will drive again to the Coastal Integrative Cancer Center for DJ to receive treatment #2 of this line of chemotherapy.  We have been presecriped an alternative anti-nausea medicine that I hope and pray will be more effective than the Zofran was for DJ's symptoms.  We shall see. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for loving us and encouraging us and supporting us and praying for us.  May the LORD bless you indeed!

Welcome to ChemoLand

Dear friends and family and those who love DJ and wonder at his well-being,

Please pardon the length of time it's taken me to post.  My life is filled with stimulation.  Here is a report of DJ's line #2, round #1 of chemotherapy, which began on February 27, 2012:

Firstly, we visited with Tim Souchck, P.A.C. to Dr. Spillane.  Here is a photo of DJ looking healthy and robust as he and Tim discussed DJ's pre-treatment health and FOLFIRI.

From there we moved to the treatment room, where my courageous and strong husband humbly submitted himself to round #1 of treatment.  My friend Ellalina (whose husband Terry has been fighting pancreatic cancer for nearly 5 years and whose story can be found at http://www.tkhb.blogspot.com/) expresses it well:  It's a bummer to drive your healthy husband to the place where he will become poisoned and ill; but of course, we submit ourselves to the process in our pursuit of health.  The greeting card that my Dr. Momma sent to DJ also expresses it well: "Chemo Sucks!  But if it sucks the cancer out of you, then 'Yaaay, Chemo'."  Yes, more or less.

This photo shows nurse Valerie, the lovely lady by whom we have been served since DJ's initial visit to the oncologist on May 10, 2010.  I appreciate the familarity and TLC that the staff of Coastal Integrative Cancer Care show to us.  DJ has a ritual of shoving a rubber glove into his nose as he sucks on a peppermint candy while the nurse is sterilizing his port site or the catheter tubing; this is in order to counteract the particular odors, which have become associative to him of feeling ill with chemotherapy.  But Valerie was happy to smile for the camera :-).

The infusion in the clinic lasted for almost a full 4 hours, during which time DJ remained alert and seemingly normal.  Toward the end of the time, he leaned back in the chair and asked for a blanket, feeling a little tired; but his demeanor wasn't noticeably different to me.  After the in-house infusion, DJ was connected to the pump to receive another 46 hours of chemotherapy in the comfort of his own home - and I use the word "comfort" very loosely and facetiously, since he felt very uncomfortable and yucky for the days of and immediately following the treatment.

The next 2. 5 days were difficult; DJ was nauseous and ill and spent much of the time sleeping or resting.  He spoke few words, except to ask for something to eat and to say "Good-night" to the children.  We returned to the clinic Wednesday for a quick disconnect from the pump, and I pleaded with the nurse for an alternative anti-nausea medicine to the Zofran.

To be continued....