October 23, 2008 Update

Gus is thoroughly enjoying life right now.  Every waking moment is spent planning his week in the mountains.  The five guys will leave this Saturday and won't return until the following Saturday, November 1st.  Last Monday when we were in Bozeman, Gus went to the new sports store in town.  He left the store with every heat-producing item they could offer.  Boots, gloves, pants, thermals, electric socks, etc.  This could easily qualify as the most expensive recreational week of my life.

Gus also had his appointment with the medical oncologist on Monday.  The blood work looked good and the doctor was very pleased with how well Gus looked and how good he felt.  Right now, Gus is not taking any medication.  He has no pain or nausea.  His self-appointed nurse will make sure, though, that all medications are included in his pack before he leaves on Saturday.

Gus went golfing in Dillon with a friend last Friday.  No golf carts were available so they walked.  Gus was able to complete six holes of golf before he needed to quit.  This is an incredible improvement.  Just a few short weeks ago, Gus could hardly walk to the end of our driveway to get the newspaper.

Realistically, this will be Gus’ last time to go to hunting camp.  Gus and I both know that.  It is a very physically demanding week even when a person is healthy.  Gus would not be going to hunting camp if Scott was not going.  Scott has the ability and the strength to get his father there and get him home, no matter what the circumstances.  Scott has never been allowed to take a week off during hunting season before.  Other employees with more seniority have that privilege.  This year, no one would deny Scott the time off.  Everyone wanted Gus’ dream to become reality one more time.

It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.
                                                                                                                                       By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross  

October 13, 2008 Update

It has been 10 days since Gus had any radiation-chemo treatments. As of the last couple of days, he is starting to feel great. The medicine is once again controlling the nausea, his stomach feels normal and food tastes wonderful. Gus felt so good this week-end that he spent several hours hunting pheasants with Scott, April, Lindsey and John (Lindsey's friend). Gus went pheasant hunting again today and walked a couple of miles. Gus' feet have quit hurting and he is back in his cowboy boots again. The yeast infection is gone.

The only negative thing Gus is still struggling with is his weight. Even though he is eating normal, the numbers on the scales keep dropping. He has lost almost forty pounds since starting this walk. We never dreamed there would be a day when we rejoiced because Gus gained weight. We can't wait now for that day to come.

Gus has not felt this good since last May. His smile is contagious and everyone is enjoying being around him. Life is so good right now.

Picture of Gus and Scott taken this summer.

October 6, 2008 Update

Gus' last day of radiation went great last Friday.  He had his first radiation at 10:00 and then we immediately drove to where they would remove the PIC line and the chemo pump.  Taking the PIC line out was simple.   I had to sign when we took the chemo pump seven weeks ago and I made sure they signed that they got it back.  Our lunch of Chinese food tasted really good to Gus and he ate a good sized meal.  His 33^rd and final radiation was at 4:00 in the afternoon.  He hugged everyone he could and walked out of the cancer center with a huge smile.  

He hardly slept in the car coming home and even felt good enough that evening to be a part of moving the cows and calves the six miles to our place so we could wean the calves the next morning.   

Saturday Gus came and went enough in the corrals to keep us all on track.   He feels a little better each day and wants to start walking and building his strength back up.   Gus never did get as sick as I expected for having a double dose of radiation in one day.  Of course, he wears a nausea patch all the time and takes nausea pills also.   We look forward to the nausea being just a bad memory from the past.  

 

The soles of Gus’ feet are still tender so he only can wear tennis shoes right now, but that will improve.  The yeast infection on his arm is steadily getting better now that it is exposed to the air and medication.  Gus looks good for what he has been through.  None of the medical professionals believed he could pull off 7 weeks of radiation with the schedule of driving back and forth each day.   Gus’ fear was that they would decide to do more radiation treatments, so he asked them.  They had given him the maximum number of treatments possible and didn’t dare add anymore on.  That was a relief.

 

Gus and I have both seen how important our attitude is in this walk.  Our faith is the only thing that keeps us going when the shadows and doubt come.

September 30, 2008

What a roller coaster our lives are right now.  There was good and bad yesterday at the doctor's appointments.  Gus had lost 8 pounds in a week.  He is not able to keep anything down that has calories in it.   Part of the weight loss is dehydration so they escorted him to the infusion room and gave him fluids through his PIC line for two hours.   We had so looked forward to this part of the radiation being easier on him.  For the majority of people, it would have been.   With Gus, there was not that dramatic a change in how large the field was that is still being treated.   We are trying a nausea patch that is placed behind the ear hoping to get the upper hand on his upset stomach.  This is easily the fifth medication for nausea Gus has tried. 

 

Gus convinced his radiology oncologist into allowing him to have two radiation treatments this Friday and that would complete his 33 treatments.  Then he convinced his medical oncologist into taking the PIC line out the same day.   We already knew that when radiation stopped, the continuous infusion pump would also be removed.   We hadn't decided what to do with the PIC line, but because of the yeast infection under the dressing, the PIC line needs to go.  The yeast infection was much better, but still an opportunity for us.  As we were leaving Bozeman, Gus did finally ask if I agreed with removing the PIC.   Of course, I agree.  In his defense, he knew me well enough to know my silence while he was giving his presentation to the doctors was my agreement with his decision.   So, Gus will have a tough day on Friday, but he will come home with his freedom.

 

All that is left to complete this cycle of treatment is the three chemo infusions which are done once a week.  Because hunting season occurs in the middle of those scheduled treatments, the doctor decided to not start any of them until Gus is back from hunting camp.   His first treatment will be November 4th, the second November 11th, and the final one November 18th.   A CAT scan is scheduled for November 26th in Bozeman to determine the success of the chemo/radiation.  We will meet the doctor on December 1st for the results of the CAT scan. 

 

Gus will have almost the entire month of October with no trips to Bozeman.   You can only imagine what that means to us right now.   This last stage of chemo is what will affect his blood count so much.  It is a huge relief to me that he will not be going to hunting camp with low blood counts.   Gus and I both know that going to hunting camp is not a practical choice, but for Gus, it is the only choice.  Living every moment to the fullest is of utmost importance to both of us right now.

Yesterday was a difficult day for us. The soles of Gus' feet are starting to hurt from the chemo.  That is one of the side effects we were warned about.  The hospital was running almost an hour late on the CAT scan and then the technician had difficulty getting the IV started in Gus' arm for the scan.  

After the CAT scan, we met with the oncology doctor and he wanted to move the PIC line into Gus' right arm because of the yeast infection on his left.  After 6 days of taking the antifungal medicine, the yeast is worse than ever.  We only have to have that PIC line for two more weeks so we did not want to go to the emergency room and go through that procedure again.    Gus was keeping his composure and co-operating with whatever the doctor wanted to do.  I was not.  It was the first time since starting the 3½ month chemo-radiation treatment plan that I was ready to quit traditional medicine. I questioned the doctor about just discontinuing the chemo infusion so we didn't need that PIC line, but of course he wants to run the full regimen of the 5-FU with the radiation.   

What gave us temporarily a reprieve is the nurses who take care of the PIC line had one more trick up their sleeves.  They have a dressing that allows the skin to breathe under that bandage.   Also Gus and I did our reading last night and discovered that one of the medicines he is on reduces the effects of the antifungal drug.   Our prayer is that between the different dressing on the PIC and not taking his two medicines at the same time, the yeast infection will be controlled and the PIC line can stay where it is.  

Gus realized afterwards just how upset he had been and he just didn't let his emotions surface until we were by ourselves.   We just sat in the cancer unit waiting room for awhile until we both had the strength to face our walk again.  

 

On our way home from Bozeman, we stopped and visited our Amish friends outside of Whitehall.   We realized we needed the simple beauty they could offer us.   After a couple of hours, we came away refreshed and renewed.   It is beautiful to see the love and respect this man has for Gus.  We plan on going back in a couple of weeks for a meal and taking Scott and April with us.  Their boys love to be with Scott and Scott loves to be with them.  One of our fun memories is going to the Amish community dinner and the sons would compete to see who could serve Scott the quickest.   The younger ones had to keep working and taking care of other customers, while the older ones could sit with Scott and visit. 

September 19, 2008 Update

Gus had an appointment with a dermatologist Thursday, September 18th.  The red, angry looking spots on Gus' hands, arms, and the top of his head were pre-cancerous areas reacting to the 5-FU chemo drug.  The doctor conferred with the medical oncologist and they chose to deal with the spots.  The dermatologist spent over 30 minutes burning all the areas.  When I asked Gus how many spots, he replied "too many to count".   In the past, doctors used the 5-FU chemo drug for women with breast cancer and their skin would react the same way.   Also, 5-FU is usually the ointment prescribed by doctors for pre-cancerous spots and is just applied to the skin to kill the abnormal cells.  Partly what we are dealing with is the skin of a redhead that reacts to everything. 

 

Gus also now has a yeast infection under the dressing for the PIC line.  As discouraged as we get with all the opportunities right now, we are thankful for prescriptions that can kill that yeast and for the trained nurse that immediately realized what she was dealing with.  The area on his forearm was just beginning to itch. 

 

The radiology department is performing another CAT scan on Gus this coming Monday, September 22nd.  It is to determine the exact location of the tumor for when they confine the radiation to just the tumor and no longer the surrounding area.  Of course, you would love for this test to show that the tumor is greatly reduced in size and now operable, but only the tests done in Seattle can determine that.  The endoscopic ultrasound is the one that is invaluable for that diagnosis.  The preparation for the CAT scan is what takes the fun out it.  By my estimation, this will be Gus' fourth CAT scan and he knows the routine by heart.

 

Gus so enjoys the members of "His Dream Team" that drives him to Bozeman each day.  Each one has been so uplifting and fun to be with.  I had so many people volunteering to drive Gus that I have never needed to ask the same person a second time.  I do have a few drivers who wanted at least two days of driving Gus.  I have even had to turn some people down because of not enough days left for the daily radiation.   Like I mentioned before, as the cancer walk intensifies, so do the blessings.  We are overwhelmed with all the love.