Chemo #6 - The Halfway Point

Monday, March 25, 2019 
Some sweet ladies from the ward came over to help me clean my house again. That's really nice of them. It helps me out a lot.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019
I go in for genetic counseling today. I want to cover all my bases and know if we need to be concerned for the kids. The insurance won't cover my testing based on my family history, and since I don't have cancer. Interesting how insurance won't intervene until you're sick, in most cases. There is preventive care for a few things, just not this. I ask her about Scott's results since it's been three weeks exactly. She says she's expecting results back for him today and will call him as soon as she knows. Great, we'll wait to hear from her.
She calls Scott later that day. Of the 40+ genes tested for colon cancer, NONE of them came back positive for genetic mutations for colon cancer. His cancer is 100% environmental! He's excited about that because he feels like his body only needs to fight it just this one time and if he beats it he doesn't need to worry about it coming back due to a genetic mutation. We're both glad that our kids won't have to worry about something genetic too. They still need to get scoped when they're 35, but if they get it, it will be environmental, so we need to teach them to be conscious of that and always be mindful of their health and wellness. So what caused his cancer in the first place? We have no idea! It could be a billion things! Cancer doesn't suddenly just develop. It builds up over years. What has been his environment for the past 20 years? Uhhhh ... Me! I'm not blaming myself, but it's dang hard not to! My gut (haha, no pun intended) tells me it's because of the acid reflux medicine he's been taking for the past decade (at least)! I'm sure it's deprived his body of needed nutrients. That stuff just relieves the problem, but doesn't allow the body to cure itself from any damage caused by the acid. We need to figure out how he can deal with this without medication, once we get this cancer under control.
We tell the kids later and they are relieved that it is not genetic.

Thursday, March 28, 2019
Our 10-year-old son has a ballroom concert tonight. We go early to get a seat away from people and Scott wears his mask. I'm glad he's able to get out and participate with our family in this. Our son does an awesome job. We are so proud of him and all the hard work he has put in throughout the year. We can tell he loves to perform as we watch him. It's great that he has found something he really enjoys.
I go to the Young Women's activity later with my daughter. One of the presidency members invited me on Sunday because she said they needed more adults to help with the projects. I thought that was really nice of her and I thought it would be a good chance to say goodbye to the rest of the girls that weren't there on Sunday. I stay for a few minutes, but feel really out of place, because I don't know how to sew and that's what the projects include. I decide to go home and tell my daughter to get a ride home. I say goodbye to the girls and no one responds, except my daughter. Ok, I guess my time really IS done with them.😭

Saturday, March 30, 2019
I enjoyed a wonderful walk with my neighbor/friend who lost her husband to pancreatic cancer a little over a year ago. It was so great to talk to someone who totally understands EVERYTHING I'm going through. We walked, laughed and cried together. It was very therapeutic and cleansing (I hope for both of us.)

Monday, April 1, 2019
It's April Fools Day! What's a good April Fools joke? After all, we need a good laugh, right? Earlier last week, I acquired a for sale sign from a family member and decide to put it in my yard on Sunday night so people will see it in the morning. I thought it was a pretty good joke. I wonder who I can fool. I get a few texts from neighbors who are wondering what's going on. Some I string along and make them think we are indeed moving, and others I just tell right out it is a joke. I keep the sign up for a few more days to see if I can fool anyone else. No one thought it was funny, except me!🤣
I went in for a thermograph today. It's like a mammogram, yet without the smashing and radiation. It's supposed to be more accurate than a mammogram. Does insurance cover the cost? Of course not, even though it is a sort of preventive care. Whatever! I'm fine to pay out of pocket; we have an health savings account, so at least I can use my card for it. It's an interesting experience. Hopefully everything will turn out okay with this screening also. I have to wait about a week for results.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019
We met with an alternative health doctor today. I found out about him through my chiropractor, who is big into natural health. The office offers a free consultation, so I figure it's worth a shot.
Scott briefly recounts the last two months and the doctor offers some advice and counsel on how to move forward and what might help. Then he gives us an article he wrote about acid reflux and how medication does NOT help it! He tells us that that medication is not to be taken for more than 5 days! And the doctors just ignore that when they write out the prescriptions. 5 days, really? Not weeks, months, or years! Well, I guess my gut feeling was right. I really hope it's not too late to do something about this for Scott. The doctor wants to see Scott again and do some body testing for certain nutrients he may be lacking. We're curious to see what that shows since his gut is already so diseased. We set up a follow up appointment for the following week.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - Chemo Day #6
We get to the chemo office early today; we're the first ones there. They haven't even opened the doors yet and we wait outside with one the familiar nurses; she forgot her card. We brought our oldest son with us today. He is getting his wisdom teeth removed today, so he's tagging along until he and I go to his appointment. They do the usual blood draws and send them for testing to see how Scott's numbers are, to determine if he is well enough for treatment today. While Scott is getting his blood drawn, the nurse asks him what treatment this is for him and he says it's number 6. She tells him that he is at the halfway point of completing his treatment. Colon cancer has a 12 treatment cycle; other cancers is six. Yay! That's good news. We didn't know there was an end date. We just thought he would have treatments until he decided to be done, and have a scan every three months. We go back to the doctor's office and wait .... kind of a long time. A half hour after his actual appointment time, the doctor's assistant comes into the room; the doctor is out of town. He is wearing a mask because he has a scratchy throat this morning and doesn't want to spread anything. He pulls up Scott's chart and we begin talking about his treatment. I already like this doctor more. He is much more personable and pleasant. He takes time to answer our questions to the best of his ability. He sets up a time for Scott's next scan - a week from today. He says the results will come later that day and he will call Scott with those results. He'll just go over the preliminary results with him; tell him what, if anything has shrunk, and we'll go over the scan in more detail with the doctor the next time he has chemo, in two weeks. We are hopeful that things have shrunk, at least in the lungs (he hasn't coughed in over a month). The blood test results came back and Scott is good to go for chemo today. His numbers are good and the best news of all - his tumor marker number has gone down drastically! The tumor marker measures how "alive" the tumor is. When Scott first started treatment, the number was 4000! Today it is 300! It has gone down dramatically every time, but never this far. We are pumped! Our oldest son is in the room with us and he smiles and exclaims with glee; something he doesn't do much. We are so grateful and hopeful for some improvements in the next scan. I text my family the good news after we're done with the doctor. Scott begins his chemo and after a while I take our son to the store to get some soft foods in preparation for his oral surgery recovery. He hasn't eaten all day and it is almost lunch time, so he is having a hard time being in the grocery store and hungry.😖
We go to his wisdom teeth appointment, hoping to finish about the same time as Scott. After our son gets checked in, they take him back to the room and the doctor visits with him briefly. He asks him what he's going to do all weekend as he recovers, and his matter of fact response, "Pudding and anime!" 😂 The doctor laughs and says that's a great saying and he's going to tattoo that across his chest. They get him set up and he is out after about 30 seconds. I go in the waiting room and eagerly anticipate the coming out of anesthesia, recovery, blackmail, video. Boy, did that ever happen? Oh my goodness, he sure made a fool of himself.😂 We finish at the same time as Scott, woohoo! and go pick him up and head home.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019
So those are the latest updates. The next scan is tomorrow. Please pray and keep your fingers crossed for good results. Thanks for reading my ramblings. Love to all.