ONE YEAR After Surgery! Plus Christmas!

Steve and Terry celebrated Steve's good health with their friend, Heidi last weekend. They celebrated  one year being essentially cancer-free after Steve's surgery on January 4th last year.  They went to Lucille's BBQ near their home. Steve had his first ever martini. He tried both an apple and a light, dirty martini  which he seemed to like equally, plus he had two beers over the course of the evening. They had good food, including shrimp, pork sliders, artichoke appetizers, and much silliness and fun.  Steve said he had a very happy evening. enjoying the blues music, but he does not recommended drinking so much on a daily basis, hehe.  Terry drove home as she doesn't drink. The boys stayed home alone (I forget Nathan is fifteen now and is plenty old enough to babysit Adam).

By now, most of you know that Steve's MRI from January 4th came out good and clear again!! Whoopee! Steve had his usual early morning MRI followed by an office visit with Dr. Hu. Dr. Hu continues to be very happy with Steve's progress and said all was great. In honor of Steve's one year anniversary of his surgery, they stopped by his surgeon's office to say thanks. Terry said Cedars-Sinai Neurology department is very different than Kaiser's had been. When they went to see Dr. Patel, they said the receptionist was more like a concierge, and was able to have them see the surgeon within a very short time. Steve and Terry expressed their gratitude and the doctor was very happy for them. He already knew Steve was doing well. Apparently, the brain cancer community is very small and the doctors all keep in touch with each other.

For those of you watching Steve's blood work, I have two numbers to report, since I was late posting the values from New Year's Eve. The blood work from Tuesday was even better. Here are the details with the first number from 12-31-12 and the second from 1-7-13:

wbc 3.6 and 5.0 This one got a lot  better (we don't know why).

neutriphils (no number from 12-31-12) 3.0

rbc  4.59 and 4.64

hemoglobin 14.6 and 15.0

hematocrit 43.5 and 43.3

platelets  112,000 and 113,000

creatinine 1.2 and 1.0 (Yay, 1.0 is the top edge of normal! We decided the extra fluid from the martinis helped it, LOL.)

BUN 20 and 23

Since I haven't posted since the Christmas holiday, here's what you missed :)

Steve and Terry Christmas Eve at our brother's home

Christmas morning 2013.  Steve is the tall one, Terry's wearing the Santa hat, Nathan is next to Steve, and Adam is the small one in front.

Steve and family playing a new board game with Kevin, Christmas afternoon.

We forgot to take a "before" picture. Here's some of the family after Christmas dinner. Yummy food!

This Month's Blood Work Results

Another month has gone by and Steve had his blood drawn to be checked before his next round of chemotherapy. Here's the latest:
wbc 4.4
rbc 4.47
hemoglobin (normal range is 14-18 gm/dl) 14.1
hematocrit (normal is 42-54%) 42%
platelets 119,000
creatinine 1.2
BUN 20

Nothing out of the normal for Steve.
They follow up with Dr. Hu again on Friday.

Here's a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving. We didn't take many :)

Pre-Chemo Blood Work and Starting the Next Round of Chemo

rbc 4.58
wbc 3.9
creatinine 1.2
BUN 15
platelets 118,000 We don't know why it was normal last week and not this week, but it's within the expected range for a man on chemotherapy.

Also, Terry says she will start reporting hemoglobin and a second lab value which measures a part of the red blood cells next month. Those lab tests have been done all along but she hasn't been following them before. Now that we are familiar with these tests, it's time to expand our knowledge.

The above blood sample was taken Sunday morning. It had to be fasting since it is also for his 6 month nephrology follow up appointment.

At 9:30 Tuesday morning, Dr. Hu called Terry to say not to panic due to the platelet number change this time from the normal 150,000 to today's 118,000. He's awfully thoughtful. He also said the numbers showed that it was ok to start chemo on schedule Tuesday night. Steve started his 300 mg Temodar last night after taking two Zofran anti-nausea pills, as usual. He continues to take Zofran daily even if he is not on chemo because he still gets stomach aches, like if he ate strong salsa and had heartburn, otherwise.

Yaaayyy, Another Good MRI!

Steve had his MRI this morning to look for signs of recurrent tumors. It was NEGATIVE! Whoopee!

It's been almost one year since we learned about the onset of this awful brain cancer. I know it has been a trial for Steve and his family and all of us who love him. I'm so pleased with how he is doing at the one year mark. He is feeling well, working productively and loving his family.

We will be at his home for Thanksgiving again this year. I think we have a lot to be thankful for. I know Steve and Terry are thankful for all the support from you, their friends.

Happy Thanksgiving in two weeks.

Recent Labs and Next MRI Scheduled

From blood taken 11-5-12:

wbc 4.9 (normal)
rbc 4.53
platelets 212,000 Yay, normal!
creatinine 1.0 !!!! Normal! We didn't expect that :)
bun 17.7 (normal)

rbc is microscopically, slightly low (4.6 is normal)

Steve is tolerating his chemo very well and is planning to start his eighth round next week. His original dose was 140mg of Temodar and the dose increased regularly to the current dose of 300mg.

His 4th MRI is scheduled on Friday 7:15 am followed by a Dr Hu appointment at 8:30 am. Please continue to cross your fingers and toes.

The Latest Doctor's Appointment

It's time again for Steve's monthly lab work. Here are the results of his blood test taken during week 3 after the last round of chemotherapy. As of Tuesday, October 9th:

wbc 4.5 (normal range 4.3-10.8)
rbc 4.19 (normal range for men 4.7-6.1. Steve is just a little low.)
creatine 1.19 (Still technically high but within what the nephrologist thought would be his new normal range).
platelets 121,000 a little low (normal 150,000)
bun 19

Dr. Hu says the numbers mean Steve is fine, there is nothing alarming, Steve is doing great. They will continue the same dose, 300 mg Temodar as last month. Temodar is dosed according to body mass. At Steve's size the very highest dose would be 370 mg. Due to how sick Steve was during the initial, intense delivery of chemotherapy, they don't expect him to reach the 370 mg level. The doctor is happy with the 300 dose. As usual, Steve will have another round of blood work soon, just before the next round of chemotherapy begins.

Earlier this month, Steve had a mild reaction after his flu shot was given. He felt chilly, shivery and nauseous for a short while. We think his reaction was worsened because of the chemotherapy. Normally, Steve feels fine with regular anti-nausea medications. He has been maintaining his 245 pound weight. He started at 306 pounds before his diagnosis. He is walking their dog, Amber, on weekends. He stopped using the treadmill since he's too tired after work.

Their family went to Disneyland one Sunday through Tuesday and had lots of fun and some good quality family time. Steve didn't require any more rest periods than any one else as they took an afternoon break back at their hotel before returning to the park in the evenings. Good times!

MRI Results

This came in an e-mail from Terry today. She also mentioned that Dr. Hu will be increasing Steve's Temodar dose to 300 mg this month. I hope he doesn't feel too nauseous with the stronger amounts:

 

Hi all....Summer flew by and the kids are back in school. Hope this finds everyone well. Steve had his bimonthly MRI today, and it came back CLEAR!!!!!!, So far the maintenance chemo is going well, and his creatin levels have stabilized at 1.2 (Kidney)..

 

He’s starting his 5th round of the Maintenance chemo, so for those who are keeping track, 3 Mri’s and 5 rounds of Maintenance chemo. The maintenance chemo will last through next May, then we will discuss what’s next.

 

Steve’s been back at work since April, and we took the boys to the Grand Canyon this June, and are doing a three  day Disney trip at the end of September.  Lots of family time, and our new normal. We are hoping we keep on this track.

 

Thanks to all for your love and support. Will update again Just before the holidays.

 

With love,

 

Terry