Thanksgiving Hai-ku

Ok its not very good, but it meets the criteria 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. Here goes:

Cancer really sucks,
Many great blessings observed
Love and Friends abound.

So give it a shot and let me know what your thanksgiving hai-ku is.

Merry Christmas and have a lovely Thanksgiving.
Andy

Some Good News, no information just news

This just in......We now have a confirmed appointment with the radiation oncologist. My list of specialists is getting longer and longer. Not a collecting habit I encourage anyone to take up. We will be having a meeting on Dec 1st with Dr. Kokeny, and Dr. Grossman (my original oncologist.) I hope to have a lot of answers from these meetings and a clear path forward for the near future. So there is the news update, and that's about it. so..... I guess....... later..?.?.
Merry Christmas and have a lovely day.
Andy

vegas baby!!

I have to be honest with you all. I have been back and forth on how to update all of you. I am very good at the robotic explanation of things and show little to no emotion (whether verbally or written). However, I have been floating in a bubble of joy and contentment. Here's how the trip went down. Andy and I left after taking Morgan to school on Thursday. We had several stops before really getting off to Vegas. I needed to take a test at Weber (by the way I did excellent)then meet Marion (Andy's mom) in Layton. We then took off like the wind. We made it to Mesquite and stayed the night. Andy decided I needed to try the slot machines. I got a players card and he commenced on instructing me on the how-to's. I must tell you I think playing slot machines is the most worthless thing anyone could do. I can see how people can become addicted but seriously why? You sit there and push a button, while the stink of the casino clings to your clothes. Yeah you can meet some nice people, but that wouldn't bring me in and waste my money like so many do. I sat down next to Andy and after a whole 8 mins. I was done. BORED TO DEATH!! Andy said I needed to go to the tables but that doesn't seem any more fun. Cards have some thought process going on, but not much though. After the joy of gambling, we left to Vegas. On the way we found out that U of U hospital didn't take labs when they did the scans two weeks ago, and we needed to go directly to the clinic to have labs drawn. We then screwed off for four hours until our appointment with the Dr. We didn't go to another casino (thank goodness) we went to the Bass Pro Shop (arghhh) then to the Attic Mall of America (fun).
We were brought back into the room to talk with first Amy (nurse, nutrition)and while in the room a new Dr. came in and was talking with us about diet and exercise. Then the grand man himself walked in. He gave his two bits about the subject then we go to the nitty gritty. Here it goes the information most of you have been waiting for. The scans have show slight growth (less than 3 mm)and no new tumors..... is this good, you are all asking yourselves. Yes, this is a positive step. With melanoma it grows exponentially and clusters throughout the body once it has attached to the internal organs. Andy's tumors are, in Dr. Samlowski's words "stabilized". This is good! Now for more news. The Dr.'s also feel that Andy is a good candidate to have a new form of radiation. The method is different than the standard radiation that the other cancers are treated with. Typically radiation is ineffective with melanoma, and causes more problems than success. They have in recent years tried a new approach of radiation on melanoma patients that have a few small tumors that are isolated to one organ. Andy falls in this category, especially since there are no new tumors from the first diagnosis. Now we don't know if Andy is doing this. There are many factors and we need to meet with the oncologist that is over this treatment. This will be done in Utah and hopefully before the new year. We have no information on this so we are unable to answer questions yet. The next and last thing is Andy will have scans again in another 9 weeks and then do another round of "ippy" treatment in Vegas (even if he does the radiation). All this seems like nothing is different, but it is. We have struggled so much this last little while that we needed positive news, and we feel as we have been given a small opportunity to fight again and harder. It is not much but we are satisfied with it.
I almost forgot. The extra Dr. in the room when we were talking to the nutritionist was not another oncologist or nutritionist, but a psychiatrist. We had a shrink among us and we didn't even know until the end of the appointment. He was a great guy. We asked him if we needed mental evaluations. His reply was that we were well adjusted. I don't think he was listening. Just kidding. Well this is longer than I would normally write, but there was a lot to convey. So I want to remind you all of our love for you and we pray daily for each of you. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Oh, I almost forgot...

There was so much going on this last weekend, I forgot to mention I had a scan on the 29th. I had to be medicated so I didn't have too much of an allergic reaction. So Friday morning Peg and I headed down to the University of Utah medical center. She drove because I was "medicated" on benadryll. We got there and the scanner person asked if I had been following the predose instructions of benadryll and prednazone. I smiley told her I was not supposed to have prednazone so I took zantac instead. She was not happy with it, and kicked me in the head,(not really) So she got the doctor and he had to call my doctor and while all the doctors were talking I was laying on the cold hard table. Any way, I was right neener neener neener, and we proceeded with the scan. Then I went to the MRI room and waited and waited, oh yeah, I waited some more. Then I had the MRI, and it seemed to take forever. Then they let me go and my arm started to get blotchy, so I took some more benadryll, did I mention I don't like benadryll. So I took a medicated forced nap and pretty much that is how my scan day went, the end. I feel like I just did a grade school show and tell kinda thing. Probably not as entertaining or fun, but informative none the less. I will have the results of the scan around the 12th of Nov. So there may not be much activity on the blog until then, but you never know I may supprise you with some crazy adventure or something. So Keep the faith, remember who you are, and get your finger out of your nose. Merry Christmas and have a lovley day.
Andy

As time goes by.....

This week has flown by, the title this post, is in reference to a BBC tv show. I feel like I have been given a new chance at life. No real reason, but most of my pain has gone away. The only thing I have lingering around now is a splitting headache that seems to randomly appear. I am working on triggers to see if something I am eating is causing it. No luck so far. But, there is a possibility that it is from the treatment and I will just have to work around if for a while. (that's not a fun idea)

We had a Halloween party this weekend. It was a lot of fun. While the weather could have cooperated a little better, we made due with what we had. I hope everyone that came had a good time too. Here are some photos of the donut on a string eating contest. They are pictures of my nieces and nephews, and they all did their best to eat the whole thing without their hands. It was hillarious, and we even had a couple of them eat the whole thing. They even bobbed for apples between rainstorms. They did it quick and I was unaware, so no pictures, sorry about that, but I heard it was funny.

So this weekend we had a great time with friends and family. I have had a chance or two to talk to some of you this past while, I have enjoyed our conversations and appreciate your concern on how my family and I are doing. Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts. We pray daily for blessings to find you and yours. Merry Christmas and have a lovley day.

Andy

I was actually sick, can you believe it?

The irony is I am receiving immunotherapy drugs that boost my immune system. But for the last few days, I have been sick. Today finally I feel really well. I am still having the pains in my abdomen, not as frequent as I was, so this is an improvement. Before I forget, Peggy finished the bathroom, and some pictures are attached. I think she did an awesome job.

Ok back to the goings on, I have been sick most of this week, the first part of the week was from the treatment last Friday. The end of the week was, I think, from me actually being sick. I am feeling a lot better this evening.

I went with my daughters to "standards night" tonight. I was glad to accompany them. It was a lot of fun. Also I was able to be reacquainted to a mission friend. Chad Lewis was the main speaker, I served in Taiwan the same time as he did, in fact my first apartment was with him. We spent 2 months in the same apartment when I first started my mission. I learned a lot from Elder Lewis about hard work and pushing through the hard times. Later on he passed me off on my memorization of the Chinese discussions. I have always looked up to him, and it was a pleasure to listen to him speak. He was as eloquent and passionate as he has always been. If you get a chance to read this, Chad, thanks for taking the time to speak to the youth. It helped me to remember a few things that I had forgot. I need to focus harder on a couple things in my life that lately I have let lax. Carry on, Persevere, and always do your best.

As a side note, I will be having my scan on Friday. But I won't know anything until mid November. But don't worry, I will let you all know what we find out. Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts. Also thanks for all that you all do for us. The little things make a big difference. Merry Christmas and have a lovely day.

Andy.

Sin City, it is what it is.

I just got back, and boy am I tired. The treatment went off without a hitch. I was able to talk to Clyde again, and he has had some trials this last three weeks, he had a tumor in his bowels grow so much that it blocked everything off. (Clyde also has metastatic melanoma and is on the same schedule of treatment as me.) After some surgery and some recovery time, he is doing really well. So if you could keep him in your prayers too, I would appreciate it.
Ok, Dad, Scott, and I had a great time in Vegas. Kallee and Ashley are still awesome as ever, thanks again for letting us stay there. And if you are in the area, Ross jr hawiian, is the place to eat, man was it good. And the next day at the Eureka, Hi Lizette, in Mesquite was good and funny. There was a seafood buffet with crab legs. Don't tell Dad I said this but he was a Crab leg virgin. So Scott and I had to show him the intricacies of the fine art of eating crab. Scott uses the forkin approach, while I on the other hand use the crush crack and pull method. Both are effective and have pros and cons. Scott's way is much cleaner, but mine is a lot more fun and faster. It was fun to watch Dad try the different methods, and possibly ruin a fork.
Saturday we went shopping so Peggy could get some finishing stuff for the Bathroom. With any luck it will be finished this week. Hooray, no kids in my bathroom.
Sunday, I went to my meetings in the morning. By 10:30 I was not feeling well. It was expected but a little earlier than the last few times. So I went home to a sick Morgan, and we both vegged on the couch. The Doc, told me to have some Tea for my pain, and when it is made properly it works. On the same lines as my Dad, I am a tea virgin. I am learning, I still think it tastes like crap, but if you put enough honey in it, it is tolerable. On a good note, they gave me some medication that has also helped with my abdominal pain. So this weekend I have been able to eat real food without too much pain. So for now, all is well and my next thing to happen is a scan on the 29th. But I will not know anything until mid November. So no real news until then, but I will probably blab some more when I get the chance. So until then, Merry Christmas and have a lovely day.
Andy.