Rough Last 2 Weeks

I caught some kind of upper respiratory infection a few weeks ago. Since then I have had a persistent cough that has culminated in severe back pain. I had to go back on medical leave and the past few days I have spent mostly in bed. I have medication that relieves the pain. Deb and my parents have been with me this week, helping me during the day.

We are not certain what path of treatment is next for me. I have a clinical trial consultation on Nov 3rd at Karmanos. We have also investigated targeted radiation therapy at U of M and will be meeting their doctors on Nov 4th.

Today is Halloween... Landon's costume is a Transformer (robots in disguise) while Morgan is dressing up as a ballerina.

Nate

Scan Results after Biotherapy Treatment

Deb and I had our follow up visit with Dr. Flaherty this morning to discuss the results of my MRI (brain) and CT (abdomen) scans. The good news is that there is no evidence of metastatic tumors in my brain.

Unfortunately we didn't get the positive news we had hoped from the CT scan. The tumor in my liver remains ~ 9cm in diameter, which is slightly smaller than a grapefruit. The official analysis of the scan states the liver tumor is larger than my last scan (July 11), but the reported measurements are nearly identical. I suppose it really doesn't matter if it is slightly larger or not, since I still have to deal with it regardless. The pre-existing tumor in my lung remained the same size as before ~ 3.5cm in diameter, which is slightly smaller than a ping pong ball. However, an additional tumor in my lung was detected in this scan, also measuring 3.5cm in diameter.

The bottom line is IL-2 biotherapy was ineffective in treating my Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma. We are now going to look at my experimental drug options (known as Phase 1 trials). Deb and I will be meeting with doctors from Karmanos who specialize in selecting specific drugs for cancer patients who haven't responded to existing therapies. This meeting will be in the next 2 weeks and treatment will start soon after. If I decide not to enroll in a Phase 1 trial or if I have to wait for a trial to open, there are chemotherapy drugs that are available, but these would only be for slowing the progression of the cancer.

As you may imagine, Deb and I returned home with heavy hearts this afternoon. We had felt that my recent improvements in health would be reflective of my internal battle with cancer.

HOPE STILL REMAINS
- I have a very small risk of near-term organ failure
- I have a number of options in my next "at-bat" against cancer.

Please keep us in your prayers as we have difficult decisions to make in the next few weeks.

Nate

Pushing Scans and Results Back a Week

Ever since I returned home from my second stay in the hospital for IL-2 treatments Deb and I have had in our minds that my follow up scans were on Friday October 3rd. When I was getting all of my paperwork together on the evening of October 2nd, I noticed that my scans were actually scheduled for 7am that morning! Deb and I couldn't believe that we missed this. I guess we just got on with our life during this period of time and didn't think too much about these tests.

My MRI and CT scans have been re-scheduled to next week. We will be reviewing the results of the scans on October 14th with Dr. Flaherty. Basically everything has been moved back 1 week.

I am feeling the healthiest I have been since my diagnosis last December. Nearly all of the residual pain in my left lung has vanished. My strength and stamina grows every day. Last weekend our family spent time at a cottage on Lake Michigan. I bounced on a trampoline with the twins, took them on a kayak ride in the great lake, and we all climbed up / ran down a sand dune together. I thank God for giving me the strength to make such joyful memories.


Thanks to all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Please pray specifically that the scan results will be unbelievably positive.

Nate

Update on Nate

I have been back at work for 3 weeks now. I have had a few days that I have worked a short afternoon, but I'm close to having enough energy to get me through the work week. My overall condition seems to be improving week by week, but I have struggled with aches and pains in my back. The back pain doesn't feel like the lung fluid I had previously.

Our weeks are still busy with BSF, small group, and band practice.

We are taking each day as it comes without taking any future ones for granted. We still have about 3 weeks before we find out the effects of the IL-2 treatment.

Back To Work

Nate is doing much better and is returning to work tomorrow! This is perfect timing since tomorrow is also the first day back to school for the kids and me. He is still feeling some fatigue but that's it. We have felt almost normal this past week and have enjoyed our time home with the kids.

Fatigue

Nate's been having a hard time with fatigue. He was hoping to return to work today but is going to have to put it off at least for another week. He goes to bed between 9-10 each night which is extremely early for him and wakes up between 4-6 a.m. He naps once or twice a day and spends all of his waking time on the couch taking it easy. His appetite is great and he is trying hard to put some of the weight back on that he lost during treatment. He has decided to abandon the vegan diet he was on during chemo in order to do this. He is also experiencing itchy rashes and a numbness in his upper left leg along with uncomfortable swelling in his liver area. It is uncertain if these are caused by the treatment.

I want to mention that in July we did find out that his liver tumor had nearly doubled in size in the six weeks post chemo. We also found out that his lung tumors had shrunk considerably and are now hardly detectable. More good news was that the cancer had not spread anywhere else.

His next scheduled appointment is Oct.7. IL-2 requires a long time to determine if it is having an effect. He was told to call and make an appointment if he had any concerns so I imagine we will do that if he does not improve this week. Please pray for him to have a great turnaround this week and to be energized and ready for work come Monday as this would really help raise his spirits.

A Slow Week of Recovery

It has been a week since I returned from the hospital. My recovery from the second week of IL-2 has been much slower than the first week. At the end of my first recovery week I had enough energy to play 18 holes of golf (riding in a cart). I am no where near to having the strength to do that now. I can do about 1 hour of light activity (i.e. cooking) before I run out of energy.

I am hoping that I can recover my energy by the end of the week so I can return to work. Meanwhile, I am spending lots of time on the couch watching the Olympics.

Better Than We Expected

Nate was awake all day yesterday and finally went up to bed around 9:30pm. He was able to sleep flat last night with only a small headache when he woke up at 4:30. This is amazing since last time he had to prop himself up almost to a sitting position because the pressure in his head was too much. His headache went away within half and hour and he was able to get another hour and a half of sleep! His nausea is completely gone and the swelling in his face, hand and feet is minimal. He thinks that maybe he had too much sugar (mainly from apple juice) during the first week of treatment which may have lead to the horrible migraines he suffered for the first few days following that week of doses. His main issues right now are fatigue and grogginess. This is definitely an answer to prayer.

Thank you for the e-mails and comments they mean a lot to us. Sometimes comments don't show up immediately because we have elected to approve them before they go online. Now that I can approve comments, I can get them up earlier.

On Friday while we were still at Karmanos we were pleasantly surprised to find that Brian (who Nate had met the first week of treatment) was our new neighbor. Since I couldn't eat in the room due to Nate's nausea, Brian and his wife Katie invited me to eat in their room. Our neighbor from home Caroline had dropped by Thursday night to have dinner with me. She had picked up Thai food from Eastern Market which was wonderful. I had so much left over that Brian, Katie and I were able to enjoy it for lunch -Thanks Caroline!. Katie and I went for a nice long walk outside in the evening which I hadn't done before because I didn't feel particularly safe by myself (Karmanos is downtown Detroit) and I didn't know the area. They showed me pictures of their recent honeymoon (camping in Hawaii) and we watched part of the Olympics opening ceremony. Some interesting things I found out about them is that Katie went to Hope college and is now a teacher. Brian is finishing up his teaching degree in History and Spanish. They like attending Mars Hill Church near Grand Rapids and were both camp counselors at Spring Hill Christian Camps. There is a link to Brian's blog on the right side of our main page.

Home Again

Nate had a rough night sleep but woke up feeling a little better. He actually watched some t.v. which he hadn't done in several days. At 11:30 we were able to leave Karmanos for home. Since Nate hadn't been on his feet much all week we thought it would be safer to take a wheel chair down to the car. We were so relieved to get home and after freshening up Nate ate a bowl of cereal-his first solid food since Monday. We are excited about the Olympics and look forward to watching it during the next couple weeks while he recovers. Morgan and Landon are still with my mom and Jim in Naperville, IL and will most likely come home later in the week.

6 Doses Complete/Week 2

Nate was given a dose at 3pm Thursday and another at 7am this morning. He had a very rough night sleeping and has decided that he doesn't want anymore. The doctor came in this morning and said that was fine. She said there has been no evidence that having more doses equals a better response. So this afternoon they will start taking him of some of the other drugs and we should be able to go home in the morning. He is very much looking forward to getting rid of the 15 lbs of water weight which is visible mostly in his face, hands and feet as well as getting over the nausea that he's had since monday.