Latest News About Bill Richard

Dear Followers of Bill's Blog,
A note from Joy, Bill's Wife,
It was confirmed that there is a recurrence of Hodgkin's Lymphoma for Bill. Thankfully he has already had two rounds of new chemo and perhaps one more before his care will be transferred to the Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati. There he will under go some prep work to collect his very own bone marrow/stem cells, the hospital will save his cells in the deep freezer for later, Once the collection is complete he will be checked in for approximatly a 3 week stay as they give him strong chemo therapy for about 5 days and then, when the time is right, re introduce his own stem cells back into his body. Our guess is that this more intensive healing adventure will begin sometime in late Oct.
I will do my best to keep you up to date with accurate information. With special days, times and intentions on what to pray for.
The back story
Something was not feeling right to Bill in late July so he when in for a Dr. check up and had a PET scan scheduled for the next week.
It was about the middle of August that Bill starting feeling more tired and having night sweats. The PET scan info came back with some "hot spots", On the first day of school for the kids Bill stayed home and told me he was not feeling well. After that things moved quickly a Dr. appt at WPAFB with instructions to go to Miami Valley Hospital Emergency Room to prepare for fluid removal from Bill's heart (about a liter) as well as lung(about 5 liters). No wonder he was not feeling well. From that moment every thing was in high gear to confirm that it was Hodgkins so that he could start chemo.. to get the show on the road Bill underwent a biopsy near his color bone with only a local pain killer!! I was so PROUD he got that completed before the Labor Day weekend! That way the lab was able confirm that it was Hodgkin's again and Bill's Dr. was able to get chemo started a.s.a.p. Phew...

For our 20th anniversary experience Bill waited for his chemo port to be installed... unfortunately.. the port thing did not go as planned and a few days later a PIC line was installed in his left arm. That seems to be working just fine. Bill has had two round of chemo. Tuesday for about an hour Wed for a full 24 hours where he is checked in to the hospital for and over night and then one more hour on Thursday and then he is home. The first time over night he ended up in the ICU because of low Oxygen levels and they took more fluid from his chest caviaty. While there they also found a blood clot so now I get to give him shots in his belly everyday. His second round of chemo was easy and he seems to be doing very well. Plus he recieved a blood transfusion and that has helped with his energy levels and well as his skin color.

We have as a family gone thru a wide rage of emotions from shock , deep sadness, to time to pull yourself up by your boots straps and get on with it... Mostly we talk about how it SUCKS that he needs to go thru this experiance again and we come up with ways to make it suck less. (inspired from a quit smoking add) Mostly practicing the power of being in the now. Praying and Giving Thanks for all of the helpful people who are are providing right action and support.

Once the paper work is complete I will provide more detailed information.

Thanks for caring.

Peace and Blessings,
Joy

All Done! - Feeling Great - Checkups Every 6 Months

I completed my radiation treatments last week. I feel better now than I have felt
in about a year! I only now need to go see the doctor every six months to ensure
that the cancer has not returned. I've also finally started exercizing again.

I appreciate all your thoughts, prayers, and support over these six months. I am very, very grateful.

God Bless,

Bill

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