Singing Praises!

THE BONE SCAN CAME BACK CLEAR! The cancer HAS NOT metastasized into the bone! The doctor came in and simply said.."the scans look good"..Mom, Dad and I all replied.."but..." and he said.."no but, they look good". (It was kind of like he was thinking... I just told these people last time that the cancer has metastasized into the bone and that was big trouble. I also told them that he was aspirating food in his lungs and I am wrong!) !

Apparently, in May the PET scan showed suspicious spots in the neck and lung along with the original spots in the neck still active with cancer. He ordered CT/MRI scans and they came back reporting that edema in the vertebrae suggested the cancer had metastasized into the bone and that the spots in lungs were infection due to aspiration. He then ordered a bone scan to confirm and a swallow test to see what the problem was with the swallowing situation causing him to aspirate. Well you can bet that we, along with many of you, have hit are knees hard! Our God is amazing as my faith in him will never waiver! First, the swallow test came back perfectly normal and the bone scan was entirely CLEAR!

The PET scan showed no new growths (Hallelujah!). There are two spots still containing active cancer cells in his neck on the left side and the spot ON the vertebrae still lights up as "suspicious". (Notice I said ON the bone, not IN the bone!) So, here is the plan. Two more rounds of chemo. (Not what Dad wanted to hear, but despite how much he wants to throw that pump in the river he hooked it back on this morning!) This will take 6 weeks starting today. After that, radiation therapy for the spots that are still there. We do not have any other scans scheduled before that as far as I know. The goal is to shrink these existing spots as much as we can and then destroy them with radiation. We have to remember that radiation of his neck is very tricky and risky because he has already had radiation in some of those spots before. However, the farther away we get from the last radiation treatment before starting more is good. So having two more rounds of chemo will also buy some more time in that area.

We do know that two more rounds of this particular regimen of chemo is all that he can have. 6 rounds is the max that has ever been given. So, we cannot waiver, we cannot stop praying. Please thank God for all that He has done. He is compassionate and merciful! Please pray for the next two rounds..it will be tough. Pray that the cancer shrinks and that the radiologists believe they can do what needs to be done to get rid of this cancer.

I am excited and hopeful! I am thankful to my great big God! I am also thankful for all of you and all that you do to help my parents during this storm. The friendships, the cards, the visits, the food, the support and the prayers. It all means so much.

Love,
Michelle

Results of MRI/CT

This morning we met with the doctor to discuss the results of the MRI/CT. The good news is that the chemo is working on the cancers that we had originally planned to attack. They are "sick" and responding to the chemo which is good so we are going on with the fourth round. Most of you know that the PET revealed a suspicious spot on the 4th vertebra in his neck and a some suspicious spots in his chest so the CT/MRI tests were ordered. The results today revealed two new hurdles. First, since the first radiation effected his esophagus so much and the fact that he has to swallow soft foods has caused his esophagus to shrink, he is apparently aspirating food. That is what showed up on the PET. This is a huge concern because it will cause infection in the lungs which we DO NOT WANT! So, tomorrow (Tuesday) he has an appointment at Decatur General for a Barrium Swallow test to evaluate exactly what is going on and to "teach" him how to swallow. Hopefully this will work with a little determination or else a feeding tube may be required in order to reach full nutrition and keep infection away.

The second issue is with the suspicious spot on the vertebrae. It appears that the cancer has metastasized into the bone. We are not sure at this point whether or not it was there before we started treatment or has occurred since then. (We should have had CT/MRI scans before this point in order to accurately compare and somehow we didn't) Dr. Becdach sincerely believes it was there when we started treatment and the treatment is apparently working so he didn't change the plan at this point. Keep on as planned with treatment number 4. It is not good news to have it in the bone and it wasn't what we wanted to hear. However, our plan is to attack it with chemo followed by radiation treatment and pray that it doesn't appear anywhere else. This spot can be cured by radiation and he hasn't been radiated there before so that is all good. The BIG PLAN at this point is to treat what is there now and keep it away for a long time! Please be in prayer for this.

As far as the re-radiation of the areas that have had radiation already, that will be up for discussion after the next PET scan that follows this round of treatment. Dr. Becdach will discuss with Dr. Spencer in Birmingham as well as Dr. Hardacre here in Decatur. He started round 4 of chemo today and I will put the schedule below of what we know so far. Thanks for your concern and constant prayer!

"Show me your ways O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, For you are God my saviour, and my HOPE is in you all day long." Psalm 25 4-5

June 8 Barrium Swallow Test at Decatur General
June 7-11 Pump infusion (treatment 4)
June 10 Neulasta shot
June 14 Appointment to review the Swallow Test
Erbitux infusion
June 21 Erbitux infusion

June 23 PET SCAN
June 24 Bone Scan

June 28 Appointment with Dr. Becdach to review scan results and PLAN!!

Please be in prayer for these appointments and SCANS! Thank you!!!!

CT/MRI

Hello family and friends! I have had so many calls and questions today wanting to know how the tests went this morning. It is so nice to have so many people really concerned and anxious to hear the results. I apologize for not posting earlier, but we don't have any information. It is common to have to wait several days for the test to be read. Dad has an appointment Monday morning to go over the results and start round 4 of chemo. I will post as soon as I have a chance to get to my computer after that appointment. As far as the actual scans went this morning, they were easy breezy for dad and he was in and out of there by 7:15 and headed to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast! This is usually his "good week" as he starts to heal from the chemo and feel stronger. (Just in time to start all over again on Monday!)

Keep those prayers coming. Pray that the scans show positive information and that the chemo is working.