Gus and his horse...

March 27, 2009 Praise Report

This is a Praise Report. We received a phone call from the oncologist's assistant yesterday afternoon. She called to tell us the results of Gus' CA 19-9 blood test. It was 52! Anything below 55 is considered normal. I would love to talk to the oncologist to hear what his thoughts are. I will be calling the doctor next week before I order more oral chemotherapy, that is for sure. It has been a couple of weeks since we have talked to him. Gus and I are amazed, but I order the oral chemo online and it is mailed to us.

Gus felt poor yesterday which is usually normal for the 2nd day after the infusion. Today he feels great. He has spent the day doing one of his favorite things. Working alongside Scott. They were building the electric fence for our horse pasture. As of the 1st of April, we will be officially leasing the ranch and we need to get our horses off of pastures that will be part of the lease.

March 25, 2009 Update

Gus looks and feels too good for someone whose life revolves around chemo tablets and weekly chemo infusions. He had his scheduled chemo yesterday and he asked them to reduce his anti-nausea medicine. It is a stimulant and keeps him awake during the night. They reluctantly cut it in half and Gus did fine. He feels o.k. today and is busy getting things done. Gus is flying to Denver on Sunday so he has his list of things to accomplish first. I, of course, added my ideas to his list.

This has been a very hard week on Gus emotionally. There was a coach in Dillon that was diagnosed last January with pancreatic cancer. Gus had tried contacting him and never could. He died last Friday. Today Gus went and visited a dear friend who was diagnosed two months after Gus was. She also has pancreatic cancer. Gus originally tried to see her every other week, but as her disease progressed, he went weekly. The two of them could share with each other their feelings, their crazy and weird side effects, their joys. Things no one else understood. Today she was so frail, that he only stayed a short time. Gus desperately needs some time away from the reality of his life and the reality of losing people he cares about to the same deadly disease he has. His trip to Denver can come none too soon for him.

Yesterday, they did the CA 19-9 blood test. We are always anxious to know the results which we should have by this Friday. If how Gus physically feels and looks is any indication, then the results will be good.

March 6, 2009 Update

Gus felt great last Tuesday, the day of his chemo infusion. He also felt good the following day. The chemo was hardly affecting him. Then on Thursday the chemo took affect and he felt terrible. Today, Friday, is his last day of the chemo tablets for a week and once again he is feeling good. He is so looking forward to this coming week of no pills or infusions.

The one thing that surprised us last Tuesday was the medical oncologist is planning on giving Gus only two more cycles of chemo and then doing another CT scan. Depending on what the CT scan reveals, Gus might be done with chemo for awhile. That is at least one month less of treatment than was the original plan in January. We have not seen the doctor himself for three weeks, but have been seeing his assistants. He found Gus in the infusion room to tell him this. They did another CA 19-9 blood test on Tuesday and it was the lowest yet! It was 64 and anything less than 55 is considered normal. The highest we ever saw was 604 last October.

Gus is flying to Denver March 29th to spend time with his two sisters and his mother. He will then fly home on April 3rd to start his next cycle of chemo. Gus has not seen his mother or his sister, Jan, since he became sick so I expect it to be a wonderful time of memories, laughter and tears.

Gus is also planning on golfing his way to Seattle this spring or early summer to see Grayson, his grandson, play baseball. He will stop in theCoeur d'Alene area to golf with a friend and then he is hoping that his son, T.J., will take him golfing in the Seattle area. He would love if any other golfers between Sheridan and Seattle wanted to meet him on the way. He has no deadlines and no commitments, just high expectations for himself on the golf course.

February 24, 2009 Update

Gus' week of no chemo went by too fast.  We were enjoying it so much.  He never felt great, but he felt o.k.  We accomplished several projects and made the most out of each day. 

 

Last Saturday, Gus started his second cycle of chemo.  We have set his cell phone to remind him to eat 30 minutes before taking his chemo and then to alert him to take his chemo tablets.   That is four alerts each day and we selected the "siren" ring to really get his attention.  It reminds us of that beloved chemo pump that was a part of our lives for seven weeks last summer.   The pump would scare you every time its siren would sound off.  We really struggle with remembering to take the medicine 12 hours apart at the same time each day so this is our solution.   We then have to make sure the cell phone is with Gus.  This morning as we started for Bozeman, we had to come back home to get the phone where Gus had left it.  The siren was going off as I stepped into the house to retrieve it.

 

Gus is gaining weight, but he is not eating enough for the weight gain to be legitimate.  We are suspicious that he is retaining fluid.  For three or four days in a row, Gus has gained a pound a day.  The doctor today said chemo can affect the heart so instead of keeping the fluids moving through the body, the fluid is allowed to pool in low places, like your feet, legs and around your lungs.  The doctor today could find no evidence of extra fluid so we will watch and wait a week and see if there are any changes.  The one place we can see some difference is above his eyes.  They are puffy.  We never dreamed we would be surprised to gain a few pounds.  The medical profession has such a challenge in balancing the chemo.  Enough to kill the cancer, but not the patient.

 

Another side effect Gus is experiencing is problems with his teeth.  Once again, chemo is the likely culprit.  He just had a root canal done and now he has another tooth that is loose.  He has a dentist appointment for this coming Monday.

 

Gus' CA 19-9 came back slightly higher than the previous reading.  It was 99 this time.  Our prayer is that it does not continue to rise.

 

Gus is attending a men's retreat this week-end in Great Falls.  Five men from our church will leave Friday morning and return late Saturday night.  The guest speaker is Mark Lowry who is one of Gus' favorite entertainers.  We are thankful that Gus feels well enough to enjoy an outing.

Feb 11, 2009 Update

Yesterday was a good day.  Gus' blood counts were low, but the doctor was not concerned.  Gus still received his full dose of chemo.  He slept on the drive coming home, but then surprised Scott and I by joining us as we were building fence in the afternoon.  He was swinging a hammer right alongside Scott.  Gus did comment how it took so many more swings to drive that spike into that pole than in the past.  Gus was exhausted in the evening, but he so loved being outside doing something.  Scott and I loved having him. 

 

Gus had a restless night, but he feels good today.  He is looking forward to Saturday, because that is the beginning of his chemo-free week.  No oral or IV chemo until the following Saturday.

 

They did draw blood for another CA 19-9 test yesterday.  We should have the results by Friday. 

 

Gus has not lost anymore weight, so that really pleases us.  His appetite seems to have improved slightly.   He is really trying to push the fluids and the food and it seems to really have made a difference. 

 

Feb 4, 2009 Update

Yesterday was uneventful in the infusion room.  I base that judgement call on whether the nurses were able to get the IV started first try and how well Gus tolerated the chemo.  They always give him anti-nausea medicine through the IV before the actual chemo starts.  That helps so much.  We at least can get home with little or no nausea.  Gus has one favorite young nurse that when she is working, she seems to be able to come up with a lunch that pleases him.  He cannot tolerate sandwiches anymore.  He also had a good book to read, so that helped the time go by fairly fast for him.

 

Gus even felt well enough to drive home from Bozeman.  As soon as we got home, though, Gus stretched out in his recliner and slept.  His evening was very low key.  He has lost a couple more pounds and I expect his weight to once again become a problem.  He just isn't eating very much.  Gus did not have any issues with the evening chemo tablet last night which pleased us.  We were concerned it would trigger the nausea again. 

 

Today he hasn't felt good, but he forced himself to get up and go outside.  Our weather right now is warm and beautiful.  That alone can lift his spirits and brighten his day.

 

The doctor did tell us that he did not expect side effects to really start until Gus had been on the chemo for at least a week.  That was disappointing.