When you hear of someone having brain surgery you would think because of the seriousness of it, recovery would take a long time, but we are finding that is not the case. Nate was in the ICU for the first night after the surgery and woke up hungry and wanting to watch SportsCenter. By 4 in the afternoon he was transferred back to Karmanos and we were told we would most likely be sent home in the next 24 hours! We were shocked to hear this and excited at the same time. A doctor just came in and took off Nate's head bandage, which revealed a scar starting at the front of his ear, goes up the side of his head, then curves back down forming a question mark shape. Nate is feeling well and hopes to return home today. Thank you for your continued prayers and words of encouragement.

Surgery Complete

Nate's surgery was completed by about 4pm. The doctors said it went as expected and they removed a large portion of the tumor. Nate is going to spend the night in the ICU here at Detroit Receiving and will most likely complete his recovery on the 5th floor of Karmanos where we have spent the last 6 days. When they took me back to see him he was awake and breathing on his own. His head is wrapped with a thick white bandage that covers his ears so I have to speak loudly for him to hear me. He was able to speak shortly after coming out of surgery, but it took a lot of effort. He feels pressure where the surgery was performed, but no pain other than a sore and swollen throat left from the ventilator tube.

We have elected to do surgery

To all of my dear friends supporting us in their thoughts and prayers-

After weighing all of the pros and cons of each of my options regarding treatment of the brain metastasis discovered last weekend, we have elected to have the tumor surgically removed. We had hoped to have this procedure done by now, but due to the holiday weekend we were not able to schedule this until Thursday (28-May) at 8am. Please ask the Lord to guide the surgeon's hands in this delicate procedure that in total will last between 4 and 6 hours. Deb will take the reigns of updating everyone, hopefully just until I have regained the strength to share after my recovery.

We have received such over-whelming support from so many friends and family to help us navigate this difficult time. I firmly believe that prayers lifted for wisdom, grace, mercy, and hope have guided Deb and I to this decision. Of course there are very dangerous risks associated with this surgery, but we trust in God's love and I have comfort knowing that on the other side of this procedure I'll either see those I hold near and dear here on earth or I'll be in Christ's kingdom re-united with the Lord and loved ones who have gone before me.

I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your caring support. I have trouble finding adequate words to explain how many of your blog comments and personal emails have lifted our spirits.

In His Love,
Nate

The cancer has metasticised to my brain

Over the past week Nate has had headaches during sleeping hours that would subside soon after waking up. On Friday his headache worsened as the day progressed so we paged our oncologist who recommended an immediate MRI (brain scan), which required us to go to the Karmanos ER. We arrived at the ER around 2:30pm and Nate was treated with a steroid to reduce the swelling in the brain. Fortunately his headache subsided about one half hour after getting the steroid drug (Decadron) and he finally was taken for the MRI at 10pm. The scan showed a large tumor (4x4x5cm)behind his right eye near the back of his skull, sitting on top of the right hemisphere of his brain. He was admitted to Karmanos and was taken up to a room at 2am.

On Saturday we met with a team of neurosurgeons who showed us the scans and gave us information on various options to treat the brain tumor.


1) I can have the tumor surgically removed which will required a sizable hole drilled through my skull. This method will enable the neurosurgeons to remove approximately 90% of my brain tumor b/c the last 10% would potentially damage healthy brain mass and critical blood vessels for proper blood flow to my brain. Unfortunately leaving this amount of cancer will likely result in the tumor continuing to grow. Unfortunately tumor growth in the brain tends to be fairly rapid for Melanoma cancer. The recovery time for this surgery would be 2-3 days in the hospital.
2) Following surgery I would have the option of high dose targeted radiation (gamma knife) to kill off remaining cancerous material. More frequent subsequent MRI scans would determine if additional radiation is necessary. The tumor size must be small for the gamma knife technology. None of my other tumors are eligible for surgery or radiation treatments for various reasons. The risk of high dose radiation is that healthy cells in my brain utilized for motor function and healthy blood flow could also be damaged which could cause numerous health issues
3) My final option would be to use medication like steroids and pain killers to manage the headaches and brain swelling, but this would not reduce the size or slow the growth of the brain tumor. The neurosurgeon's best guess would be 1 to 3 months before I would drop into a coma from the pressure on my brain stem if I went this route.

The latest CT scans (neck to abdomen) from 2 weeks ago showed that the mets in my liver and lungs are still growing, so I am no longer taking the phase 1 clinical drug. At this point there really aren't many systemic (i.e. root cause) options for the treatment of my cancer. I have tried multiple conventional and alternative therapies each of which offered approximately a 10% chance of effectiveness.

We obviously have a difficult choice to make regarding how to treat this new tumor in my brain, since we most likely won't be treating my cancer systemically it is likely that the tumors in my liver, lungs, and brain will continue to grow. Please pray for us to have wisdom in our decision and that which ever route we choose that the best possible treatment will be delivered by the medical team. We will likely make our decision in the next few days, once things settle after the holiday weekend.

Thanks to all who continue to let us know how loved and cared for we are. I wish I had the energy to answer all of your thoughtful messages individually, but please know that each and every one of your notes and responses to my blog lift our spirits and touch our hearts.

God bless,
Nate and Deb

Relay For Life May 16-17

Hi! I will be participating in Relay For Life again this year and wanted to see if you might be interested in coming along side me in this fight against cancer.















Last year with the support of family and friends I raised $1500! I hope to equal that this year.

Relay For Life is a wonderful community event that raises money to combat this disease and to spread awareness about how we can protect ourselves from cancer. It is a fun-filled event that brings together people of all ages to camp-out and take turns walking around a track for 24 hours to signify that cancer never sleeps. It's a time of celebrating those who have battled the disease, remembering those who have died and a chance to fight back against a disease that takes too much from too many.

Together, we will celebrate, remember, and fight back!
Thanks,
Deb

Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09GL?px=5241864&pg=personal&fr_id=14455&fl=en_US&et=CkEqObm_8vUodjZ56kUoyA..&s_tafId=260098

How cancer has influenced my faith

Cancer is not only a physical battle but also an emotional and spiritual journey. Commonly, at diagnosis, cancer patients will ponder why this has happened to them. Many who believe in God will wonder why He would allow such a terrible thing to occur. This often either leads to a resentment of God or spiritual growth in trying to connect closer to Him.

Of course cancer isn't the only cause of pain and suffering that leads to these type of questions and responses. It could be the sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one, a difficult relationship with someone close to you, or maybe a financial hardship.

One of the leaders in my church asked me to share how my experience had influenced my relationship with God. A link to my video interview is below.

Nate Trask Interview from John Miller on Vimeo.

Love to you all,
Nate

The past month

The last four weeks of my battle with cancer has been exceptionally difficult. After receiving the third IV injection of my clinical trial drug, I elected to get a permanent pain block procedure on my back near the bottom of my left ribs. This surgery was on 25-Mar. The evening upon returning home from surgery I felt significant pain in my left lung area, ran a 102+ fever, and had uncontrolled sweating. When I went in for my fourth IV injection on 27-Mar I was in so much pain that Deb had to slow to a near stop over every bump and pot-hole on the road (which was quite frequent in mid-town Detroit).

The doctors were concerned about my pain, so a full array of tests were ordered. Deb and I were really anxious when the physicians assistant thought she heard a "gallop" in my heartbeat, so we went to another part of the hospital to get a heart echo. This test looked at the efficiency of my heart and thankfully it showed that my heart was still in great shape. A wonderful technician did this test and to pass the time we talked about faith and the wonder of life, uplifting my spirits on my difficult day. Chest x-rays were clear. The blood tests came back negative for a bacterial infection but due to a specific liver enzyme (and my pain), it was decided that I would not receive my scheduled treatment.

That weekend at home I was just miserable. I prayed constantly to the Lord for mercy (the pain medication wasn't doing anything). When I went in for treatment the week of 30-Mar my liver enzymes were still to elevated to receive treatment and my oncologist determined that I had picked up a nasty virus that was overworking my liver. Thankfully, it looked like the enzyme numbers were coming down and I was experiencing less pain, fevers, and sweats. We agreed that I would resume treatment on 13-Apr and fortunately the pharmaceutical company allowed me to stay in the trial (even though my results could not be used in the analysis of the drug).

We went up to Port Huron for Easter weekend (11,12-Apr) to spend time with my folks, my sisters Meg and Emily, and my brother Steve. My brother Charley and his wife Melissa had spent the first part of the week with us in Dearborn. Deb's mom also came out for a few days this week to help us during the kids Easter break week.
It was great to be able to spend time with family, especially since we are so spread out.

I went in for treatment on 13-Apr and felt relatively well. My spirits were high and my liver enzymes were low. I received my IV injection and went home. On Wednesday I began to feel a new source of sharp pain in my left side. When I went in for treatment on 16-Apr the doctors found that my hemoglobin (red blood cells) had fallen again. Unfortunately this may mean that I am bleeding internally, which is fairly common with Metastatic Melanoma tumors. I am going back in for treatment on Monday (20-Apr) and will also get a blood transfusion (two units). It will be a 10 hour day for us a Karmanos.

Deb and I appreciate all of the wonderful people that have prayed for and encouraged us through this journey. My primary prayer need right now is pain relief, so I can interact more with Deb, Morgan, and Landon. We don't know how much time I have left and every moment I can spend with my family is more valuable to me than gold.

God Bless you all.

Nate

Next Trial Selected

My oncologist team at Karmanos has recommended another phase 1 clinical trial that I will start next week. This experimental treatment is a drug designed to unbind a specific protein common in cancerous cells. In theory this would prevent cancerous cells from replicating. The drug will be administered by IV twice a week, which will require me to be at Karmanos for approximately 3 hours. There isn't much existing data on this drug for melanoma patients, so we really don't know what to expect from this treatment. Please pray that this treatment will be effective against my cancer.

When my oncologist was determining my eligibility for this trial she found that my hemoglobin was too low (but not dangerously low). Therefore I had to get my first blood transfusion. I received 2 units of blood, which took approximately 5 hours to administer. One thing I noticed after the transfusion was my energy level had increased.

I have been struggling more with physical pain, especially in my left lung (tumor location) and left shoulder (non-tumor location). I had a couple days early in the week that my pain medication was largely ineffective. I have shared this with my doctors so they scheduled me for a pain clinic. I have never participated in one of these clinics, but from what I understand there are a number of temporary and permanent solutions available. I will see a pain specialist on Monday, who will hopefully help alleviate my pain. After over a year of pain in my left lung, I am ready for relief.

Deb will be taking a medical leave starting tomorrow to provide care for me at home. It will be nice to have her with me during the day. The kids will remain in pre-school. Morgan and Landon have finished their swim lessons and are now trying soccer at the YMCA.

Thanks to all for your continued prayers and support for my healing and family well being.

Nate

First Clinical Trial Ineffective

Deb and I met with my oncologist to discuss the progress of my first phase 1 clinical trial (Pazopanib). The CT scans taken on January 30th showed that the tumors in my left lung and next to my spine increased significantly in size. Interestingly the large tumor in my liver didn't appear to increase in dimension. Unfortunately this clinical trial wasn't effective, so my oncologist will investigate other open clinical trials for me to select from. I have to wait 3 weeks before I can start another trial, in order to ensure that the drug has been removed from my system.

We had hoped that the results were going to be positive, particularly since I have been feeling better the last month or so. I still get fatigued easily and have had problems keeping my weight on (I'm down to 175lbs now), but I've been able to manage my pain with medication. I've also been able to avoid catching a cold or the flu this year, which is amazing since our kids constantly bring bugs home with them from pre-school.

I didn't have any significant negative side-effects from the Pazopanib drug, which made it a nice alternative to the previous chemo and biotherapy treatments. One interesting side-effect of the drug was that the hair on my head, beard, and chest turned blondish-white. My dad and I have even more in common (which mom gets a kick out of). I expect the color will turn darker once the drug gets out of my system.



Our thanks goes out to all who continue to pray, love, and provide for us. We continue to hope that we will find an effective treatment for my cancer.

Nate

Happy New Year!

My experience with the clinical trial drug has been positive thus far. I really haven't had any negative side effects to speak of. I have finished the first phase of the trial, requiring me to spend a full day at Karmanos every other week. Now I am taking the drug orally at home every day, which is much more convenient. I won't find out how well this drug is working against the cancer until I get my next set of scans in early February.

A portion of my strength and energy has returned, but I still struggle to get myself moving in the morning. I thank the Lord that He has taken me to where am I now, compared to where I was just 2 months ago. We pray that the scans will reflect this also.

We went up to Port Huron to spend Christmas with my family. We were fortunate to have everyone there. Morgan and Landon were absolutely joyful when they saw the stack of presents under the tree! I was so glad to be able to spend another Christmas with my family, as this really wasn't expected. We always talk about the true value of Christmas. These past two Christmas seasons have given me a new perspective of celebrating the joy of our Savior's birth.

Happy New Year everyone, we wish all of you the best in 2009!