I read the title to Tom and he stated "Sometimes it's good to be a rat!"
Tom came home today after being in Detroit since Sunday. He had a Bone Density test, MRI, and CAT scan. This morning he met with his doctor to go over the results. The doctor was very pleased with the scans and told Tom that he his bone scan showed that the cancer is stable. The cancer will not shrink in the bone so stabilizing it is the best result. The scans over his soft tissue (lungs and liver) shows that the cancer has shrunk. Dr. Ali talked with Tom about his side effects and determined that Tom will stay on his current dosage again. Tom has some blistering in his feet. He also has numbness in the fingers but Dr. Ali said that as long as it is not effecting his writing then he feels Tom should continue with his medication.
Tom will be back to Detroit on October 19 for a 4 hour visit. Then head back again on November 16. He will have scan sometime in early December. Then on December 16 he go over those scan results at his last visit for the year.
Thank you to all who have prayed over Tom and our family. On Saturday when I was explaining to the kids that Dad would be gone again for more test I was asked some questions. I told Katie and Cody that these scans show how Dad's cancer is doing if it grew or stayed the same. Katie pipped up and said "Or shrinks". I smiled and said, "Yes, that too. But I was afraid to say it out loud. Let's hope that is the case" Today Tom got to tell her that was! It was a great to see her face light up!
God makes a promise-faith believes it, hope anticipates it, patience quietly awaits it.
"But we have the true hope that comes from being made right with God, and by the Spirit we wait eagerly for this hope" Galatians 5:5
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Weekend Trip
It has been way to long since my last blog. Too long actually, I had to be reminded to update it by family members. The kids are back into school and we are falling into the "school" routine. Tom is back to work, ready or not.
On Sunday Tom is heading to West Bloomfield for 2 fun filled days of scans. Because of the medication they give to him before & during the scan they have to be spaced out as to not effect the other scans. Tom will be having his first scan on Sunday afternoon. His next 2 scan will be on Monday afternoon and evening. Then on Tuesday he will head to Detroit for his appointment with Dr. Ali before coming home. Tom will be handling this trip by himself. I am glad that he is bringing his laptop so that we can stay connected.
This will be Tom's first scans since going on the drug. I am curious (and maybe a little anxious) to hear what the results are and to find out how the drug is working. Tom continues to fight his nausea and soreness of feet. He is eating better since the dosage reduction but is not able to eat everything he would like. His fatigue is a struggle, especially since going back to work. However, he is determined to keep living life.
This weekend I will keep asking for God's guidance in our lives. My prayers will not cease.
"But I keep right on praying to you, Lord. For now is the time-you are bending down to hear!" Psalms 69:13
On Sunday Tom is heading to West Bloomfield for 2 fun filled days of scans. Because of the medication they give to him before & during the scan they have to be spaced out as to not effect the other scans. Tom will be having his first scan on Sunday afternoon. His next 2 scan will be on Monday afternoon and evening. Then on Tuesday he will head to Detroit for his appointment with Dr. Ali before coming home. Tom will be handling this trip by himself. I am glad that he is bringing his laptop so that we can stay connected.
This will be Tom's first scans since going on the drug. I am curious (and maybe a little anxious) to hear what the results are and to find out how the drug is working. Tom continues to fight his nausea and soreness of feet. He is eating better since the dosage reduction but is not able to eat everything he would like. His fatigue is a struggle, especially since going back to work. However, he is determined to keep living life.
This weekend I will keep asking for God's guidance in our lives. My prayers will not cease.
"But I keep right on praying to you, Lord. For now is the time-you are bending down to hear!" Psalms 69:13
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Travels
Monday night was our last meeting for Relay for Life. It put us on the road about 8:00 pm and our first time taking I-94 towards Detroit. The change of scenery was nice and I knew we would end up in D-town late so I called ahead to let them know we would arrive around 10:30 or so....Or so was more like it! I set the GPS to head to HFH, but not the one in Detroit, rather West Bloomfield. As we were heading towards the end of our destination I was looking out the window and telling Tom how familiar this area looked. We recognized the highway and streets and then I realized we were heading to the wrong destination. We were about 1/2 hour out of our way. Tom was very good though not happy about driving through downtown. He now knows where all the gentlemen clubs are in Detroit.
His appointment was bright and early the next morning so we got up, went down to the hospital's cafeteria for breakfast. We met with Dr. Ali who was pleased with all of Tom's levels and has decided to put Tom back on the Chemo at a reduced rate. We had to wait for all of Tom's labs to be processed before the pills could be administered. We had most of the results back within an hour except one. Three hours later we finally got the last one and Tom was ready to get home.
We were supposed to be out of the room by noon, but we were a little late and the staff was wonderful about it. There guest housing are 1 and 2 bedroom apartments on the 6th floor of a 22 story building on the hospital grounds. We are still very impressed with this hospital. I couldn't help but think if Tom does need surgery down the road, I'll be very comfortable staying at the hospital in these apartments. I made sure the GPS was properly programmed to take us home and nowhere else; only to realize 10 miles down the road that I had left a couple items in the room and we had to turn around to go back to get them! I am not sure if I will be invited to go with Tom again :)
Tom has asked his doctor to clear him to return to work after Labor Day weekend. He has asked to change his schedule to Friday-Sunday nights so that he will not need to take any further time off of work for his trips to Detroit. I am not sure if Tom feels well enough to return to work or is just worried about finances. I hope he does not try to over do it.
I wanted to share with you again some of my readings from my morning devotion (thanks again for the book Mom Andrews)
There is nothing but God's grace. We walk upon it; we breath it; we live and die by it; it makes the nails and axles of the Universe.
by Robert Louis Stevenson
His appointment was bright and early the next morning so we got up, went down to the hospital's cafeteria for breakfast. We met with Dr. Ali who was pleased with all of Tom's levels and has decided to put Tom back on the Chemo at a reduced rate. We had to wait for all of Tom's labs to be processed before the pills could be administered. We had most of the results back within an hour except one. Three hours later we finally got the last one and Tom was ready to get home.
We were supposed to be out of the room by noon, but we were a little late and the staff was wonderful about it. There guest housing are 1 and 2 bedroom apartments on the 6th floor of a 22 story building on the hospital grounds. We are still very impressed with this hospital. I couldn't help but think if Tom does need surgery down the road, I'll be very comfortable staying at the hospital in these apartments. I made sure the GPS was properly programmed to take us home and nowhere else; only to realize 10 miles down the road that I had left a couple items in the room and we had to turn around to go back to get them! I am not sure if I will be invited to go with Tom again :)
Tom has asked his doctor to clear him to return to work after Labor Day weekend. He has asked to change his schedule to Friday-Sunday nights so that he will not need to take any further time off of work for his trips to Detroit. I am not sure if Tom feels well enough to return to work or is just worried about finances. I hope he does not try to over do it.
I wanted to share with you again some of my readings from my morning devotion (thanks again for the book Mom Andrews)
There is nothing but God's grace. We walk upon it; we breath it; we live and die by it; it makes the nails and axles of the Universe.
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Normal
I just wanted to share a few things this week about what's going on at the Andrews' household. On Friday, we were in Hastings, MI for their annual Relay for Life event. It was a hot one and I think we were drenched about 2 minutes after getting out of the van! We had 10 walkers during this event with 5 of us staying the entire duration. Our walkers were awesome and dedicated. I don't think that we had more than a few minutes that someone was not walking the track. A few dedicated (crazy) walkers tracked over 20 miles. I think 28 miles was the top team member's achievement. Great job Martin!!!
The Survivor dinner was good and they had each Survivor give a sash to one Care Giver. The speech that was given before the walk is that the survivors could not do this alone. The music they played was "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler. It was powerful and I had to make a huge effort not to cry the whole lap. The event hit to home when one of our friends from another team came over to tell Tom that a fellow friend/fire fighter lost his life to cancer during the night. They had a silent lap in his honor & I don't think there was a dry eye at the park. At the end of the event they handed out the awards. Team Sleepwalkers received 2 awards: Third place for On Line Donations & Second place for highest overall donations for a first year team. Way to go team!
It took us the rest of the weekend to recover from this event. I could not walk up/down the stairs and putting on shoes was not an option until Monday when it was required. I was so proud of Tom for being there and participating the whole time. Tom walked 18 miles himself.
The good new is that as of this weekend, Tom is able to eat like normal. He even drank a pop this week! We believe this will be short lived as Tuesday he will head back to HFH to start treatment again at a lower dosage.
I just wanted to say "Thank You" to all who helped with our event in anyway.
THANK YOU :)
The Survivor dinner was good and they had each Survivor give a sash to one Care Giver. The speech that was given before the walk is that the survivors could not do this alone. The music they played was "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler. It was powerful and I had to make a huge effort not to cry the whole lap. The event hit to home when one of our friends from another team came over to tell Tom that a fellow friend/fire fighter lost his life to cancer during the night. They had a silent lap in his honor & I don't think there was a dry eye at the park. At the end of the event they handed out the awards. Team Sleepwalkers received 2 awards: Third place for On Line Donations & Second place for highest overall donations for a first year team. Way to go team!
It took us the rest of the weekend to recover from this event. I could not walk up/down the stairs and putting on shoes was not an option until Monday when it was required. I was so proud of Tom for being there and participating the whole time. Tom walked 18 miles himself.
The good new is that as of this weekend, Tom is able to eat like normal. He even drank a pop this week! We believe this will be short lived as Tuesday he will head back to HFH to start treatment again at a lower dosage.
I just wanted to say "Thank You" to all who helped with our event in anyway.
THANK YOU :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Timeout
Tom and Kyle headed out the door at 7:00 this morning to head to HFH. Tom had some blood work done & talked with the clinical nurse. It was decided that Tom will be taken off the drug for 2 weeks because of his side effects. In two weeks, on August 24 Tom will head back in for his Dr. appointment and 4 hour visit. At that time Tom will resume taking the drug but at a lower dose.
Tonight when Tom came home he received a call from his primary doctor checking up on him. I am glad that he has a doctor that is very engaged in Tom's treatment. Tom also received his calcitonin level from his last blood work here on the west side and his level is 785. It is up a little bit, but still way down from the start of this program.
This weekend we will be involved in the Relay for Life 24 hour walk. A friend from my work, whose husband is a Throat Cancer patient at U of M, will be joining us for a little while. It was funny to find out that her daughter is in charge of the event. It truly is a small world! I told Tom to just show up & not worry about walking the trail, but you all know how well he listens to me ;) Thank you to all who were involved in our first campaign & to those who donated. We have raised $2,929.00. It was far from our first thought of setting a goal of $1,000.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!
Each morning when I get up for work after my little workout I do a devotional. I have decided to share a little of my writing:
My God I say to you:
Please help us feel Your love
Shinning down deeply from above
Show us the way, the path we shall follow
Live our lives to the brim, do not leave us hollow
Fill our hearts with compassion, taught by your son
Living life to the fullest, until our days are done
Lord, only you know the path we shall take
Daily give us mercy for all our our sake
Grace & mercy pour out from you
We receive it every breath, all the day through
Your humble servant is here today
To proclaim your words & silently pray
That you protect my loved ones & help them now
They will turn to you, trusting you somehow
I proclaim my trust in You, My Lord
Send down your spirit like a sword
Remind us that Jesus is the way
As I remember this early in the morning of everyday
Tonight when Tom came home he received a call from his primary doctor checking up on him. I am glad that he has a doctor that is very engaged in Tom's treatment. Tom also received his calcitonin level from his last blood work here on the west side and his level is 785. It is up a little bit, but still way down from the start of this program.
This weekend we will be involved in the Relay for Life 24 hour walk. A friend from my work, whose husband is a Throat Cancer patient at U of M, will be joining us for a little while. It was funny to find out that her daughter is in charge of the event. It truly is a small world! I told Tom to just show up & not worry about walking the trail, but you all know how well he listens to me ;) Thank you to all who were involved in our first campaign & to those who donated. We have raised $2,929.00. It was far from our first thought of setting a goal of $1,000.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!
Each morning when I get up for work after my little workout I do a devotional. I have decided to share a little of my writing:
My God I say to you:
Please help us feel Your love
Shinning down deeply from above
Show us the way, the path we shall follow
Live our lives to the brim, do not leave us hollow
Fill our hearts with compassion, taught by your son
Living life to the fullest, until our days are done
Lord, only you know the path we shall take
Daily give us mercy for all our our sake
Grace & mercy pour out from you
We receive it every breath, all the day through
Your humble servant is here today
To proclaim your words & silently pray
That you protect my loved ones & help them now
They will turn to you, trusting you somehow
I proclaim my trust in You, My Lord
Send down your spirit like a sword
Remind us that Jesus is the way
As I remember this early in the morning of everyday
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
All Day
Tommy actually got up before I did today. He was on the road by 5:00 am and returned home around 8:30 pm. Thanks to his cousin, Martin, for taking the day to spend with Tom. I am so glad that Tom did not have to go alone to the other side of the state.
Tom met with the doctor first thing. They talked about the side effects & reducing the dosage. Tom is currently the only patient in the study who is receiving the full dose. Tom's side effects are boarder line from having to be reduced. They assured Tom that patients are still having good results with reduced doses. You know my husband and how stubborn he is! Tom was reminded not to be a hero and be honest about all the severity of the side effects as their is a potential for liver damage. Tom has completed cycle 1 of the study and the end of the 8 hour days in Detroit. Cycle 2 reduces his stay to 4 hours per visit. Tom was not able to start the program first thing because his potassium levels were low. This is a direct result because of the change of Tom's diet and lack of solid foods.
Tom was able to meet another MTC (medullary thyroid cancer) patient that is currently participating in the study. Tom really enjoyed meeting this person and talking about their experiences. Tom came home uplifted and thankful that he was able to spend some time with this person.
Last week when Tom had his blood drawn from the West side, they also took his calcitonin level. All the labs came back in the normal range, including his platelets. I could not believe the Calcitonin level and had to call the PCP's office to make sure I was not misreading it. The level is now at 543. Tom's level at the start of this study was 1306. All I could think about is that back at U of M they mentioned the importance of this level. We are taking this as good news!
In my daily devotions I have read this and wanted to share it with you:
Confidence is not based on wishful thinking, but in knowing that God is in control.
Psalms 27:13 "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." NTV
Tom met with the doctor first thing. They talked about the side effects & reducing the dosage. Tom is currently the only patient in the study who is receiving the full dose. Tom's side effects are boarder line from having to be reduced. They assured Tom that patients are still having good results with reduced doses. You know my husband and how stubborn he is! Tom was reminded not to be a hero and be honest about all the severity of the side effects as their is a potential for liver damage. Tom has completed cycle 1 of the study and the end of the 8 hour days in Detroit. Cycle 2 reduces his stay to 4 hours per visit. Tom was not able to start the program first thing because his potassium levels were low. This is a direct result because of the change of Tom's diet and lack of solid foods.
Tom was able to meet another MTC (medullary thyroid cancer) patient that is currently participating in the study. Tom really enjoyed meeting this person and talking about their experiences. Tom came home uplifted and thankful that he was able to spend some time with this person.
Last week when Tom had his blood drawn from the West side, they also took his calcitonin level. All the labs came back in the normal range, including his platelets. I could not believe the Calcitonin level and had to call the PCP's office to make sure I was not misreading it. The level is now at 543. Tom's level at the start of this study was 1306. All I could think about is that back at U of M they mentioned the importance of this level. We are taking this as good news!
In my daily devotions I have read this and wanted to share it with you:
Confidence is not based on wishful thinking, but in knowing that God is in control.
Psalms 27:13 "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." NTV
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Chemo
This week I have been able to spend time with my best friend. We've been to both sides of the state combining good memories with the medical and keep Tom focused on the fun things in life.
On Wednesday Tom went to Henry Ford Hospital. I was able to accompany him and meet 2 of the main care takers. The team went over the side effects again with Tom and they were able to give him a prescription to help with his pain. They very carefully celebrated with Tom that he has these side effects while explaining to me that they believe he must be on the chemo and not the placebo. As we were leaving I had to laugh that they had a newbie taking Tom's blood, with his permission. Tom showed him which were the best veins for the draw (my medical expert!) . The chemo is starting to wear Tom down and the effects are taking their toll. It was explained that his dose could be reduced if the side effects became too much for him to bear. On the way home we made a stop in Lasing to watch Sammy Hager perform.
Thursday we received a call from HFH stating that Dr. Ali checked over his blood work and found that his platelets were a little low. Dr. Ali said the Tom was the first patient to have this reaction from the meds and requested that Tom's PCP order another blood draw for them so that Tom did not have to drive all the way back to Detroit. Friday morning he headed to Spectrum Health for his draw and we are awaiting the results this week from his doctor. On Friday night we headed down to my brother's house to do the annual Venetian Festival with him and the Diva a.k.a Robin, his wife. Tom did pretty well as we tried to make sure he was not pushing himself too hard during our visit. Tom is learning to slow down and this was a nice quiet get away for us to spend quality time together.
Tom's next trip to HFH is Tuesday, July 27. This will once again be an all day trip with many blood draws and E.K.G.'s Thank God that Tom has such a good attitude during this whole process. I am grateful for so many caring people and the support we are getting from so many.
"Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians: 17-18
On Wednesday Tom went to Henry Ford Hospital. I was able to accompany him and meet 2 of the main care takers. The team went over the side effects again with Tom and they were able to give him a prescription to help with his pain. They very carefully celebrated with Tom that he has these side effects while explaining to me that they believe he must be on the chemo and not the placebo. As we were leaving I had to laugh that they had a newbie taking Tom's blood, with his permission. Tom showed him which were the best veins for the draw (my medical expert!) . The chemo is starting to wear Tom down and the effects are taking their toll. It was explained that his dose could be reduced if the side effects became too much for him to bear. On the way home we made a stop in Lasing to watch Sammy Hager perform.
Thursday we received a call from HFH stating that Dr. Ali checked over his blood work and found that his platelets were a little low. Dr. Ali said the Tom was the first patient to have this reaction from the meds and requested that Tom's PCP order another blood draw for them so that Tom did not have to drive all the way back to Detroit. Friday morning he headed to Spectrum Health for his draw and we are awaiting the results this week from his doctor. On Friday night we headed down to my brother's house to do the annual Venetian Festival with him and the Diva a.k.a Robin, his wife. Tom did pretty well as we tried to make sure he was not pushing himself too hard during our visit. Tom is learning to slow down and this was a nice quiet get away for us to spend quality time together.
Tom's next trip to HFH is Tuesday, July 27. This will once again be an all day trip with many blood draws and E.K.G.'s Thank God that Tom has such a good attitude during this whole process. I am grateful for so many caring people and the support we are getting from so many.
"Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians: 17-18
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