Situation Report #18

We promised to update you today with the news.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  Remember when Voldemort seemed powerless forever but still had a spark or Arnie came back from the Terminator with only a twitch of the finger left at the end of the movie.  Heck he rose up in a couple more movies and even had the energy to be the Govenator...

YES, I am finding the way to tell you something even many of the doctors at Stanford didn't believe.  Dads cancer was in remission the first week of December and then by the end of the month was back stronger than ever.  We have been just sitting around for the last few days trying to wrap our minds around this news and of course waiting for Oncology office hours to open today.

 A weekend of all of us roaming around the house feeling down and not knowing what the doctors will say come Monday.  Will they tell us, "Sorry, go home my friends?"  Yesterday we sat watching the Broncos/ Stellers game, trying to get our minds away from our recent news. The family team wasn't looking to win.  Of course when the game went into overtime the inevitable "Tebow God" conversation started.

Dad: "Well, it looks like God watched over Tebow again."
Me: "Dad.  I surely hope that GOD has way better things to do than rig football games."
Mom: "Maybe God has chosen to show himself this way."
Me: "Whatever." **eye roll**
Dad: "You never know I guess."

Moments later the OT starts.  Tebow throws the ball to Taylor and he goes.....ALL...THE...WAY!!  80 YARDS for the touchdown.  Mom jumps out of her chair and runs over to dad.  He is yelling "WE WON WE WON".  They are hugging, everyone is out of their seats high fiving.  Minutes later dad is on the phone with Mathew doing the traditional play by play.  Everyone is all smiles in that moment.  A moment we all needed and prayed for.  Maybe God does rig a game or two.  What's the harm.

ONCOLOGY IS OPEN TODAY AND WE HAVE A NEW PLAN B

So, as we speak dad is BACK in the KIMO chair.  He is going to have two rounds of kimo but a new regime.  Gemcitabine and Oxaliplatin.  Say that three times fast.  We are not sure yet if the next and final round will be in two weeks or three weeks.  What we do know is AS SOON AS that round is over dad will go straight to the STEM CELL TRANSPLANT at Stanford using those cells that were harvested a few weeks ago.  The new piece is the possibility of  a   Mini Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant  after the first transplant.  I guess the idea is to "tie him over" until he can get matched with a stem cell donor.

Are you confused yet?  We are just along for the ride ourselves.  Welcome to the boat, grab a paddle.


We have dug out a positive a doctor said today.  Upside, dads cells are fast growing.  Hence the cancer in a few weeks thing BUT also they can get the good guys to grow fast too.  He responded REALLY well to the first 6 rounds of kimo.  Now, we hit it again and then be ready to transplant immediately.


Chin up folks.  Chin up.

Situation Report #17

So it's exactly one month since we last posted to the blog and there is a lot to report. This reminds me that my new years resolution should be to update the blog more often...oh well, I have never been able to stick with a resolution so why start now.

As per the last update you are all expecting that dad is in the hospital beginning his stem cell transplant today. Unfortunately there has been a setback in the time line. To bring you all up to speed, dad caught an infection during his week of stem cell production which landed him in the hospital for a week.

1.  The good news is that they were able to proceed with the stem cell collection during this time period. Oh and dad ROCKED it.  The nurses said they were some of the best they have ever seen.  Not sure what that means but dad is proud.

2.  The bad news is that dad was in the hospital during the Christmas holiday and was delayed in meeting his brand new granddaughter-Mary Josephine. That was a tough one for everyone. Analicia was able to bring Josie up to Stanford for them to meet for the first time.

Grand child number 6 - Mary Josephine

Fortunately he was released on December 28th and we were able to celebrate our belated Christmas with our traditional feast.

Eat your heart out...Polski Style!

So dad was released with the assumption that he would return and proceed with the plan as scheduled. The week out of the hospital he recovered slowly. A persistent rash and chills resurfaced.  It has been concerning since these are the symptoms that dad started with on this AITL journey. Even with this everyone was been looking forward to today and starting this next chapter of recovery.  THE STEM CELL TRANSPLANT!

So Mom and Dad packed up for their month+ stay up at Stanford and headed to Palo Alto on Wednesday(1/4). To their chagrin, the doctors sent dad home with the same concerns over his rash symptoms. There are two schools of thought:

1.  The first school of thought, that dads cancer has presented itself again even though he was in full remission only one month ago.

2.  The second, that the rash continues to be a reaction to antibiotics dad was taking while fighting his infection.

We like number 2.  Doctors say number 1 is RARE.  Let us be WELL DONE I say.  This is going to be resolved by obtaining another CT scan and results of the biopsy of his rash. If the results come back negative dad will proceed with the stem cell transplant as planned. If not, the doctors will put their heads together for plan B.

To sum it all up:

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

This has been a blow to dad and mom's spirits but we remain hopeful that this slow and steady path leads us to dads full recovery.  We will update you AS SOON AS WE FIND OUT!  That should be by this Monday evening, the latest.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy 2012,
Heather