December 29-chemo

Hello again. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We had a nice one here. It was quiet with just our famiy here in Auburn. The kids had a great time and enjoyed their gifts. We went to mass on Christmas eve with the kids.

Mark and I headed in to the Cancer Center this morning for Mark's infusion. He had his blood drawn as usual, but for the first time it wasn't good news for us. His CEA marker went up to 17. We were not happy to hear that number. Dr. Farmer came and talked with us some about what this all means. It may be that the 5FU isn't working as well since Mark developed an allergy to the leukovorin (which is the catalyst for the 5FU). Maybe it's just a blip in the number (we pray). He got his infusion today as usual minus the leukovorin. Mark will have his blood for the next infusion done early on Thursday the 8th. If the number is the same or higher, we will have to change his treatment. We pray hard that the CEA goes down. The 5FU and leukovorin are the cornerstones of all the chemotherapy protocols for colon cancer.

Mark has another test this Friday to see if his fistula has healed. If so, we will also have to consider when to schedule his reversal surgery.

This has been a very trying day for both of us. We are trying to stay positive and hope and pray for good news next week when the lab work comes back. Keep Mark in your prayers as always. God bless!!!!

December 22

Hello to everyone. Mark is doing well. He has been feeling much better with this round of chemo. The chemo effects have worn off and he is looking forward to a great week now. It has been much better than the last round when he was sick the entire time. That was awful!!!!

We made it through Emily's 4th birthday on Saturday. She enjoyed opening her gifts and eating cake and ice cream with the family. We will do a party with her friends on January 3rd. She is really looking forward to that party.

Mark's birthday was Sunday and we celebrated with a lunch at Provino's with the kids and then later got a babysitter and went out for Sushi with several friends. We had a good time and enjoyed the evening out.

We are now gearing up for Christmas. The kids plan to make their sugar cookies tomorrow evening and decorate them for Santa. That is always a lot of fun. We are all looking forward to the time off and just relaxing.

Thanks for all of the support through this battle. We are so appreciative of everyone. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. God bless!!!!!

December 16-Chemo

Hello. Mark got infused yesterday at the Cancer Center. All went well (as well as can be expected). He didn't have any reactions this time. They held the leukovorin. We visited with Dr. Farmer this time and she felt like things would be okay. Of course we'll have to wait and see. The next infusion is December 29th and Mark will get another CEA number then. That will help determine if the treatment without the leukovorin is still effective.

Mark is still hooked up to the chemo here at home. He will get unhooked tomorrow around noon. He is pretty worn out. He has been eating a little and keeping some fluids in which is good. We are hoping he rebounds for Emily's birthday this Saturday and for Mark's birthday on Sunday.

It is nice that the week of Christmas will be Mark's off week of chemo. We will pray hard that he doesn't get sick this time and he actually has a week of feeling good so that we can enjoy the holiday.

We've certainly enjoyed getting all of the Christmas cards from everyone. I love the pictures. They're always so fun and seeing all the kids grow is unbelievable.

Continue to pray for Mark's recovery and health. I hope everyone has a heartwarming Christmas. Be safe everyone. God bless!!!!!!!

December 10

Hello everyone. Mark is finally starting to shake this virus and has started feeling better. Unfortunately he doesn't have long now before his next chemo infusion. This cycle of chemo has just been awful!!!! Hopefully it will get better this time. He has decided to grow a beard since his face is sensitive and he hates to shave. It is a little rough right now. We will see. He has been getting out of the house more and going in to the office. We went to Calen's basketball game this evening and then had dinner after the game with the kids.

Colton and Emily are very excited about the elf that has come to stay with us until Christmas. Colton found him this morning and hasn't stopped talking about him ALL DAY!!!!!!!!! It is fun to see the excitement in those two. They were actually being nice to each other since the elf might tell Santa if they were naughty. (I think I'll keep him around all year).

Mark and I hope to get our Christmas shopping done this Friday while the kids are in school. We will see how that works out. I just don't know where the time goes.

Mark's week off of chemo will fall during Emily and Mark's birthdays and the week of Christmas so we are very happy about that. We hope and pray that Mark is feeling well for the holiday.

Thanks again for all of the prayers and support. We couldn't get through this without such great family and friends. God bless!!!!

December 8

Hello everyone. Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. It's been soooooo busy around here. We've been constantly on the go. Mark has been sick. He spent all last week sick with a virus. Stuffy head and cough. He just felt achy and under the weather. His absolute neutrophil count was low when they gave the chemo, so I'm sure it dropped even further. That is a measure of his immune system. We've had him taking vitamin C and got him the Zicam OTC cold stuff which he said actually helped some. He has pretty much been in the bed for the last week and over the weekend. He thought he felt better today and went to the office, but said when he started walking to lunch he got short of breath and his heart started racing. I told him to call the doctor's office to see if he could go in for a chest xray, but he said "no, then I might miss Calen's game today". Typical. He is doing a little better now. He made it to the game tonight, but has been in the bed since we got home. Hopefully he will call the doctor tomorrow. He can be really stubborn sometimes.

I was very busy over the weekend getting the kids here and there. Emily had 2 birthday parties and both boys had practices in addition to all the typical weekend errands. Sunday afternoon I started getting all of the Christmas decorations down from the attic. I figured if I didn't get it done, it may not get done before the holiday. I managed to get the tree up and lights on it, but we still have to get the ornaments on. Maybe this weekend we can do that. It has really been crazy!!!!

Calen has 3 basketball games this week and then will have a break until January. Colton is just practicing now which helps.

Mark was sick on my birthday, but we made it out for a short dinner with the kids. We now have Emily and Mark's birthday's coming up before Christmas.

Please continue to keep Mark in your prayers. He really needs them this week with being sick. Hopefully he will kick this virus and get a few days of feeling better before the next round of chemo starts again. He is really starting to look a little better tonight. Hopefully looks aren't deceiving. God bless!!!!!

December 2

Hello to all. Mark had a better day today. He is pretty puny from the chemo, but doing better than the last 2 infusions. I think the meds are helping. He went out to teach in the late morning and then had to get Colton to basketball practice since it starts at 4pm and he was able to do that okay. I picked up the rest of the crew and when we got home, the nausea was starting to kick in, so Mark got a dose of all 3 pills and has been sleeping soundly ever since. He looks very comfortable. I guess that's one way to get through the chemo. It certainly beats feeling miserable!!!!

The kids and I had dinner and did homework and got showers done. Not much excitement tonight, thank goodness.

Pray for healing of Mark's body and a cure to end all of this awful cancer. God bless!!!!!

December 1-Chemo reaction

Hello to all. We had a mixed day today. Mark went in for chemo #3 this cycle. He took the Ativan and Benadryl ahead of time to help circumvent the nausea. All things were a go and he didn't get the dry heaves walking into the infusion center, so we thought things were good. Mark's cancer marker came back at 8 and that is GREAT news!!!!!!!!!! We were thrilled with that number. It should be <3 for normal. It started at 16 and climbed to 25 in a weeks time before starting this round of chemo, so it was an impressive fall. Mark got the IV nausea meds and the IV steroid infusion and then the oxaliplatin and the leukovorin and that's where things went south. Mark was about 20 minutes into that infusion when he woke from sleeping looking very red and violently coughing. He couldn't stop coughing. He coughed so hard and often that he had tears coming out of his eyes. His infusion nurse quickly came over and stopped his infusion. He started looking rashy, but the cough immediately got better. They gave him another steroid push and more Benadryl (IV this time) and some IV histamine blocker. Mark's heart rate shot up into the 130s and he felt like it was pounding out of his chest. After the meds, things started calming down. Dr. Johnson was immediately there on site and later Dr. Farmer came to look at Mark. She thinks it is a reaction to the leukovorin which isn't "chemo" but a catalyst that helps the 5FU chemo work better. We will have to stop that now. Unfortunately this med is a part of every chemo regimen that treats colon cancer. Dr. Farmer was positive in stating that she has several other patients who have developed this allergy and are doing fine without the leukovorin. She states it would be too risky with the brochospasm to reintroduce it to Mark.

After all of that fun, he was able to finish oxaliplatin infusion and get started on the 5FU infusion which is the pump that he brings home and lasts 46 hours. He was pretty sleepy with all the meds on board, but insisted on going to Calen's basketball game, so we headed straight from the infusion center to the gym and watched basketball. Mark was actually feeling a little better than last time and so far (knock on wood) hasn't had the nausea.

Colton came home from the game with a migraine headache and began vomiting on the carpet. He has had a few rounds of the vomiting so far and feels absolutely terrible. Hopefully he will be feeling better by morning. We will see.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. Continue to pray for Mark's healing and recovery. Keep Paulo in your prayers as well. God bless!!!!!!