May 23-25 Health Update

Note from Erin: I'm going back and posting from Dad's original emails, so you can catch up. The actual first date of this blog was in January 2015.

From the Chair of John Swank

Update for May 23-25,2014

Guy Version

Dr. thinks the Pet Scan report was “fabulous.” The nurse said it was “outstanding.”

He wants to go a total of 6 months with treatments every two weeks. 3 down and 3 to go. He said that if we had not caught the cancer when we did I “might not be sitting here.” Sobering!

Some medication doses have been lowered as I have had severe burning and peeling of hands. Especially painful from Sunday night to Monday night last time.

Cleared to fly to Colorado this summer. Joyce's (multiple) cousin Duane Gritzmaker has made us an offer of his family's “Tree House” near Winter Park. It is a wonderful place to relax.

Recent photo below. 

Reflection below on being helped by friends

The Gal Version

Sitting in chemo chair starting this update. Hopefully may get it finished today. (Didn't)

Met with my oncologist Dr. Joe Lavelle. The previous update gave the results of the PET scan on 5/14 in which the staff has called “outstanding” fantastic, etc.

The result showed “essentially normal” scan of the colon and surrounding lymph nodes. Dr. Lavelle indicated that the PET scan results indicated that the cancer was “relatively weak.” However, his treatment approach is to continue chemo every two weeks for a total of 6 months and reevaluated at that point. So 3 months down, three to go! May be that can go for 3 month intervals after that.

The sobering comment that he made was that without treatment, I likely would not be here today, based on what he saw at the beginning of treatment. A big thanks to Dr. Spagnola who found the cancer when the UVMC didn't bother checking for it.

Dr. Lavelle lowered the dosages on a couple of medications today, trying to create less side effects, esp the “hand and feet disorder”. I am going through complete peeling of skin on my right thumb for the 4th time in about 8 weeks! Hand and Feet issues have been worse this past cycle, so I am hopeful that this will reduce that. I will know by Monday evening as Sunday night and Monday are the worst time for that. (Last time on Sunday night I slept with ice packs on my hands!)

We are going to try to go to Colorado sometime in August. He gave us the go ahead and would work around treatment so that I could be a the peak of feeling good while there!

People often say to me, “Gee, you are looking good” or “You look better than I thought you would.”

What people seem to think how I'll look.

How I really look.