Testing out the Auto-Notification

Okay, this is just a test to see if the whole subscription thing works. Let me know if you got the email!

Colonoscopy today

As per Dad's oncologist at the Med Center, he had a routine colonoscopy this morning...not because there was anything suspicious...just because Dad hadn't had one before and the doctor there wanted to be sure nothing was wrong in the colon before doing all the transplant procedure.

I'll give you a brief description of the results today (no one needs to know details...TMI!). He got along fine ...the doctor came in and talked to us afterwards. Dad had 2 small apparently pre-cancerous polyps that the doctor removed...which is not a concern. I think it's more common than not to have a few polyps. The biopsy report won't be for a week and a half, but the doctor sees no problems. We had been told that after the colonoscopy, people have short term memory loss and repeat themselves a bit, but Dad was as clear as a bell when I saw him in the recovery room (no surprise...as Sara fondly refers to Dad as a "freak of nature"). He was aware of what happened during the procedure...even though he had an iv with "lala" drugs. The worst part of the whole deal was him drinking the prep solution last night, turning quite green around the gills for awhile...but he survived.

We're home now and he has had some scrambled eggs and toast and was glad to have some solid food since yesterday for the whole day it was just clear liquids. He's planning on working after lunch from home...doing some computer work.

So onward and upward. The next scheduled event is on this Thursday around 2:00 when Dad gets a port put in to have for his upcoming chemo. For those of you who would like more info on this, here's a link: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertreatment/Treatmenttypes/Chemotherapy/Linesports/Implantableport.aspx

Next week is when Dad starts the chemo...on Tuesday, Wed, and Thurs. Tuesday will be a long day...about 8 hours. The other 2 days will be around 4 or 5 hours, I believe. As always, I'll keep you posted on that as we go. There is a computer by the chemo lab that I can post things during the day to let you know Dad's progress.

Resurrecting the blog

So Sara has re-informed me about how to post things on this blog again so here we go.

For those of you who are not quite caught up with the latest information: on Leo's last CAT scan and PET scan, it showed a slight growth of the very small remaining tumor in his abdomen from before. At that time they didn't know if it would still be active, so chose to just keep a watch on it. There had been no growth for 1 1/2 years and that's the good part. Leo's oncologist recommended a more aggressive approach this time in the hopes of a total elimination of the tumor. Keep in mind the tumor was huge last time...covering a large portion of his abdomen. Now it's about the size of a golf ball. The doctor is very positive about the success of this treatment and Leo also has a very positive approach to this. He says he's ready to get after this with a "big stick" instead of waving around a "little stick".

So the plan is to do 2 rounds of "salvage" chemo, autologous stem cell harvesting, another blast of chemo to eradicate any remaining cancer cells, then do the stem cell transplant/bone marrow transplant. I'll be explaining the details of all of this as we go. The salvage chemo will be done as an out-patient here. The remaining procedures will be done in Omaha at the Med Center as an out-patient for some things and then as an in-patient for the remaining procedures. I will be posting on a regular basis as much as possible from now on...so feel free to check on this blog whenever. It's a great way to keep everyone posted and also great for all of you to respond and for Leo to read your responses. As always, we appreciate any positive thoughts, prayers, and positive comments...they are a very important part of this process.