Well, today was the first of 12 Chemo treatments. It was pretty uneventful, and quite boring! We (Clint came to this one) were a little late being seen, which was no big deal. Treatment itself took from 11-2, which should shorten to about 2 1/2 hours for the remaining treatment. They gave 4 different Chemo drugs, along with anit-nausea and anti-clotting medicine. I have numbing cream so I don't feel the needle going in to the port. It is all very surreal right now, kind of just floating in la-la land. I had been dreading and looking forward to today. It was actually very anticlimactic, which I guess is good. So, hair loss is approaching, just kind of want to get that over with. I feel pretty disconnected to the cancer right now, like it is happening to someone else. Anyway, I think I handled it just fine. If I am going to get sick it will probably be in a few days. I am pretty tired, but that is so normal for me that I just am not sure if it is the treatment or the disease. They did end up giving me a drug to help keep my white cell count up. It is called Neulasta or something like that. I was pretty sick with a cold/sinus infection last week and they decided to just help me out a bit and try to keep me as healthy as possible. It is apparently like $5,000 or something insane like that. Thank God for Navy insurance! That is all for tonight. Don't worry about me, I am just fine.

Today went as well as we hoped. All the test results are in, and they all say "nodular sclerosing Hodgkins Lymphoma". My bone marrow biopsy showed that the cancer has not gone into my bone marrow. The PET showed that the cancer was nowhere but where we thought it was. I start taking the blood thinner tomorrow, cuomadin. I guess I need it because when the port was placed, the vein that the catheter was threaded through was really squashed. It is so small that with the catheter in, it is really tight. If any clotting were to happen it would be very bad. He showed Clint the scans. A few weeks ago someone told me that they heard through the Cody grapevine that I had a mass the size of a baseball. I said that it was not true, and laughed about it. It appears someone knew more than I because he said today that the nodes in my chest have gotten so enlarged that they all have grown together to form a mass the size of at least a grapefruit. How does a person not know that is there??? It is kind of funny but for the past few years, every time I would ride with the biker chicks I think "I am not that out of shape, why can't I keep up?". Dr. Anderson said today that he was surprised I hadn't been in to see a doc earlier complaining of decreased cardiovascular strength. Instead I just beat myself up for being a wimp!!!! Now I know... The only change that was made today is that Chemo will begin on Feb. 26, and will now go for 6 months as opposed to 4. New studies are saying it is just better to go longer. It works pretty well for me, as I will not be tied to radiation 5 days a week all summer. I should finish up chemo sometime early August, then begin radiation after the kids go back to school in the Fall. OK, enough for now. Thanks for all your support up to this point, and for the continued support to come.

PET

Rob got here, but barely! WE have had 4 days of fog so planes are not landing. He ended up flying in to Billings on Wednesday night. The PET scan was Thursday. Kind of a strange experience but not bad. For those of you who don't know what it is I will try to explain. You go in after not eating since midnight. My scan was scheduled at 11. The airplane carrying the "radioactive isotope" that they inject into me, was having a tought time with the weather. I actually went in for the test at 1:00, starting to get pissed off at even the smell of the candy that my brother was eating. They give you a Zanax to relax you. Then, they inject you with this isotope, that is in a sugar solution. THey let the solution be absorbed and metabolized by the cancer for about 45 minutes, then they scan you for about 30-40 minutes. Not painful in any way, but very wierd. I guess they can tell exactly where the cancer is and how active it is by this test. I see the Oncologist on Tuesday to set up a treatment plan so I will keep you posted. It is foggy again today so Rob may be stuck...

hi all,
just a quick update today. Yesterday I had the bone marrow biopsy done here in Cody. Kind of a gross thing, but not so horrible in the grand scheme! I am sore today, but not too bad. My brother Rob comes tomorrow night. He is taking me to Billings on Thursday for the PET scan. He will be here until Sunday morning. I am flying out to Vegas next Friday the 16 to get away for a weekend. Feeling pretty strong, ready to take this thing on. Thanks to all for the beautiful flowers and other goodies that have been sent. Sure does bring out the good in people...