1st Week of Treatment

My first week of radiation treatment has gone fine.

I will get 16 treatments total and I finished my first 5 last week.

A radiation treatment only takes about 15 minutes and it's a piece of cake compared to chemotherapy.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

Bill

Test Results - No Actrive Cancer Cells!

I got great news this week with my test results.

The results were negative, meaning that all, or very nearly all, the cells in my mass are dead!

I will not need any more chemotherapy sessions. I will, however, undergo some
radiation treatments just to ensure that no active cells will remain.

I will have a CT scan this Wednesday to exactly isolate where the radiation treatments need to occur on my chest and how many I will need.

Once the radiation treatments are completed, my entire treatment program will be done!

I feel really good today and look forward to the upcoming weeks where I won't be "knocked down" by chemotherapy sessions. Having experienced one radiation treatment, they are a cake walk compared to chemotherapy.

Thank you again for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.

Bill

Last Chemo Treatment Yesterday - Hopefully

I had my eighth chemotherapy treatment yesterday.
Today, I feel pretty good after 12 hours rest.

This past Wednesday I had my 'full body' PET scan to determine
whether I would need more chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

My nurse yesterday told me that the tests results were very good and that the doctor
said they were negative. I won't know exactly what that means until I see the doctor next Wednesday, however, it's very encouraging news. Hopefully, the tumor is either gone or small enough that just one radiation therapy is all that's necessary. At worst, I may need two more chemotherapy sessions. I'm ok with either and just very thankful that my healing has taken place so quickly.

I know that my rapid healing could not have taken place without my faith and all your prayers. I pray for all of you and my medical staff every day.

Will post an update on Wednesday evening after I've met with the doctor.

Thanks,
Bill

December 27, 2009

Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy New Year!

I had a chemotherapy session on Christmas Eve (Thursday). I felt pretty good on Friday and made it all the way through Christmas. On Saturday though, I felt tired and nausiated most of the day. I did though get 12 hours sleep on Saturday night. Today, I feel pretty good.

I have been back to work for a week and will be in the office this week. It's been a great blessing to see my friends and co-workers from General Dynamics and the Air Force. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many were following this blog to check on me.

Only two chemotherapy treatments to go! Then we'll see what the next set of scans say for any further treatments beyond January.

Love, peace, and blessings

Bill

December 14 Update

Last Friday, I had another chemotherapy treatment. That was my fifth one - I may have as few as three more to go.

My recent CT and PET scans from two weeks ago showed that the tumor has shrunk in size by about 40%. I will get another series of scans after I've undergone my next three treatments.

My chemotherapy patterns are now consistent. I feel nausiated and fatigued for 2-3 days after each session. I then start to gain strength. Last week before my session, I felt really great!

I'm planning to go back to work this week. I'll ease into it, of course.

Thanks again for your well wishews and prayers.

Bill

Update, November 27

I got my fourth chemotherapy session this morning. I'm feeling pretty good.
I will get my white blood cell booster shot tomorrow.

I have felt really the good this week, the best I've felt in months.

The only 'negative' this week is that I'm starting to lose hair. But let's face it, there wasn't much on top to start with and who couldn't stand to lose some of the hair on their back and the tops of their feet?

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. I have a series of CT and PET scans that I'll get on Monday morning. I will have much more information next week on my condition.

Bill

Saturday, November 14

Yesterday, I got my third chemotherapy treatment. That went fine. I will be getting another white blood cell booster shot from Joy later today. Although these make my drousy for a couple of days, the doctor told me that this side effect will decrease through my treatments.

I also had to visit the hospital this week because my temperature rose to 100.5. It turned out to be a mild case of the flu, however, the doctors are always cautious and bring me in to make sure I don't have any type of bacterial infection. It turns out to have been a 48 hour viral bug and I feel fine now.

However, while I was at the hospital, I picked up good news from my blood tests and my x-rays. My white blood cell count is back to normal and my immunity system is strong. This means I'll need to get the white blood cell booster shot after every chemotherapy session. They also learned from the x-ray that my tumor had shrunk another 2-3 cm. So, I continue to make very good progress. But, there's still a long way to go.

Thank you again for all your kind wishes, thoughts, and prayers.

Bill