Test Results

On the 27th I reviewed my PET CT scan results with my Oncologist and found that there was no signs of the disease. I got the blood test results back today and found that my Tumor markers are .5 (normal less than .7) and 3.4 (normal range 0-6), so I am officially cancer-free!! I could not have done it with out the support of my friends and families (I belong to a few). The Lord has truly blessed me during this difficult time and helped me to touch many people's lives.

My wife and I plan to start writing as many Thank You cards as it takes for the people who have donated so generously. I know it doesn't seem like much, but all that we can offer is to thank those people from the bottom of our hearts and to pay it forward when others need it.

Although I am cancer free I still have a lot ahead of me. I will be monitored for 3-5 years. I will be doing blood tests and/or check ups every 3-6 months until that "danger period" is up. This means I will still have need for donations to help with doctor's visits, except this time they'll be more spread out than 3-4 times a week! My church is helping with this aspect and a benefit concert and spaghetti dinner are in the works for such funds. That way you can enjoy more than just a warm feeling for generosity. :) Those of you that aren't in town are welcome to donate however you see fit. Once again, anything that is done in support of my wife and I is more than appreciated. We love all of our friends and families that have kept us in their thoughts and prayers during this journey.

I will post more details as they come available to me in the next few months.

As far as everything else the Oncologist said that I would take a while to get to feeling like myself again. She explained that the chemo that i went through is very hard on the body. It takes a while to rebound from something like that, and can take as long as a year before things will start returning to normal. I can also have other side effects: getting all my hair back and then having my eyelashes fall out, that kind of thing. Although, my eyebrows and eyelashes have been thinning out lately, so that will probably happen before my hair comes back.

I have an appointment with my Urologist to determine the wellness of my glands and to have him pass me off at my stage of post-op post-chemo. Then they will remove my port! I imagine after that, i will start to feel back to normal. What they'll do is give me some local pain killing injections near the incision, then the doctor will reopen the incision and just pull the port out. I'll be completely conscious and they'll do it right there in the doctor's office. They have a sterile O.R. in the doctor's office. That is where Dr. Quaid sutured up my incision when it was having trouble closing. It's finally healed now, which i have to laugh about. It healed just in time for it to be reopened and have to heal again haha.

Then in the end of January i have a follow up with Doctor Brown, the Oncologist. She is a really good doctor, is very likable and fun.

I will try to keep up with more updates as they come but as of now i am in the recovery phase of my journey. I can't begin to express how glad i am for that, it has been a long time coming and the past 4 months have been pretty brutal, but i had a lot of support from the people i love. That gave me a lot of strength, for sure!