Half Way There!

Well Ted had his 4th chemo treatment. 4 more to go. Things went well on Friday. We started the Avastin. Another targeted drug. It is thought to help block a signal that the cancer cells give off to promote growth of blood vessals and veins. So this pretty much starves the cells to death. I don't have any blood counts because I forgot to ask. We didn't see the doctor, persay, he came out and said hi while Ted was getting treatment. He is an awesome doctor! Thanks Dr. Lee.....

Well Nan and Poppie are visiting. It is great having them here. Actually stopped at the Beach today. YUP, Poppie went to the beach. :) It was beautiful there. A little breezy on the boardwalk but on the beach it was warmer. It was probably about 75 today and the sun was toasty. The fogginess from the Chemo didn't kick in till about 7pm. So we had a great day. Hopefully he will snap out of it quickly this week. Well hopefully it is getting warmer where you all live. We will send some sun shine your ways too.

feeling great

hi everyone. wow the response to this blog has been great for us. thanks to all who drop us notes. we love you all so much, Amy you rock girl....running is hard enough but to do it for like 10 miles your either dedicated or sick.and knowing you maybe both.im so proud to be a member of your family. i have always felt welcome into karens family and now 20 years later we are closer then ever. thanks for all the support, i feel incredible and just got done working out with the weights. been awhile but maybe i can fit into the shorts this summer without my gut hanging over. all well. hugs and kisses...Ted

Even the Doc Was excited!

Some good news! We went in to get the fluids and nausua medicine and the Docter came out and said..."Did Allison tell you about the counts?" Then Allison got excited and was like yeah wait till you see this. Well if you remember the counts were up way up 1/24/07(before chemo)51.3. Then the day Chemo started on 2/16 and the counts were up again at 58.2. Then one months and two chemo treatments 3/16/07 they dropped to 23.3!!!!!! Yeah...it makes me want to cry. If you remember it's only a marker but the less protein given off means the cells are dying off. My pharmacist was telling me today that sometimes the sicker you are means that it is working. Well It looks like it. But hopefully he will snap out of the yucky feeling soon. Till at least the next treatment. Love ya all, Karen

Feeling yucky

Hi everyone. Just wanted to update. Ted did farely well after chemo on Saturday and Sunday. But yesterday and today has been a little tougher. Seems that the Chemo is kicking more then the cancer's butt. Today we are going to get some fluids and anti nausua iv meds. Hopefully that will jump start him a little and get him back on track. Overall though he is doing good, we have had the 3 chemo treatments and the next one we will be half way there. Send us some good thoughts, hopefully he can draw some strength from ya all. Love ya...Karen

4th Treatment

Things went well. His blood counts only sank a little. I think 34.5, white blood counts were also good They changed him to aransp. Which is similar to procrit but last longer in his system. I know there is some controversy with those drugs but while on chemo its better for him to be on them then off. It was another long day and today he is just a little tired and feeling yucky. Overall though he is doing good. We feel like the chemo is working. He leg is much better and they say the acne is a good sign. We got medicine to treat his acne so hopefully he won't look like he is seventeen. Next treatment they are going to add the avastin in. So it will be even a little longer of a treatment. Ya know besides sleeping it's the only time Ted stays in one place for that long. haha. We pack lots of snacks and I stay some for awhile but there is a walmart close by, and he usually shoos me out. But I usually bring him back some sort of treat. Well I hope everyone is good. Miss ya...Love ya....Karen

Getting ready for next treatment

HI Everyone. Things are good. We have had more good then bad days and that's a nice switch for a change. I myself not doing too good with this cold ughh....first a head cold now in my chest. The doctor thinks its more a sinus and just allergies. Who knows, trying not to get ted sick. Also wanted to Wish my MOMMY a happy birthday! Love ya.....Karen

good feelings

Hi all! yep its me. feeling pretty good these days I must say. the chemo kicks my but in a hazy kinda way for a few days. I'm getting used to things and the new feelings but I think I have things well in hand. I am working out again and remembering to eat my vitamins every morning. That is one thing that keeps me going I can see the results and feel pumped. my side effects are mild except for the fact I am going through puberty again. seems acne is one way they can tell the drugs work well. the more you get the better the effect. and well I look like I'm 17. sorry no pics I'm really a mess but using sea breeze and that seems to help. time for me to sleep talk with you all later...hugs and kisses..Ted

Third Treatment

Today Ted had his 3rd Treatment. Second with the Cpt11 (chemo) As of right now the next treatment will be in two weeks. So a little break after another really long day. We saw the Doctor and his counts are good. Hematacrit was only slighty down from last week. 36.4 and his white blood count went up a little. (can't remember the number, sorry) Will probably go back down after this treatment.
What is CEA Level - These are proteins that the cancer gives off. They are harmless sorta speak. But they use these proteins as a tumor marker. It has been progressivly getting higher since last summer. January 24 it was at 51 and February 16th (first day of chemo) it was 58.4. This doesn't mean anything other than that them cancer is giving off this protein. 58.4 is our starting number. This test was taken on the first day of chemo before treatment. So the idea is that as the chemo dies, it won't be able to give off this protein and the number should go down. So I will give the number again but it will be about a month before they test him again and then it takes awhile to get the results back. Unfortunatly its Kinda like losing weight you don't want to weight yourself everyday. You want to wait to see the big numbers. Other then that, i'll leave the rest to Ted. He is resting now and just feeling kinda yucky. If you any qustions email me or ask them here. I'll reply here too. Love to all, Karen