This past year has been a blur since Jon's diagnosis in August last year. We have seen miracles and blessings every day as we fight the cancer battle and have come to appreciate the gift of life from God, the beauty of the earth, the blessing of family and loved ones, and the love we have for each other.
Last week we celebrated Jon's 55th birthday and his one-year mark from diagnosis. WAY TO GO JON! There was probably 150 dear friends and neighbors here to wish Jon success for another year and to share their love. Thank you for your support and kindness.
In August of last year, the doctors gave Jon 3 months to live but if he had chemo and it was somewhat successful, it would extend his life up to a year. He chose not to do chemotherapy and he continues to fight with the Rife frequency machine, strict diet, natural supplements, and hyperthermia. But his health has slipped significantly the last few months. Most of the symptoms he had last year have returned, i.e. sharp pain, vomiting, diarreah, very tired, and loss of more weight.
We felt the only option at this point was to return to Mexico with Dr. Bradford for more treatment and Jon checked into Hospital Ingles on his birthday, August 11. He will be there for two weeks receiving much of the same treatment he did last year. Actually, as of this date, he's only got a few days left and he will be back home, yeah! Since it's only for two weeks (three weeks last year) the doctors are being very aggressive with his treatments. So here's what's been happening while he's been under the doctor's care.
As soon as he arrived, blood work was done. The blood was in really good shape compared to last year after his session with chemo; everyone was pleased. They inserted the port in his chest and hooked him up to IV, much of the same protocol as last year. Dr. Bradford added two additional treatments to the daily routine.
One is ceesium chloride by IV 10 hours a day. The way it was explained by the doctor is all cells absorb nutrients through the cell lining, cancer cells having larger pores than normal blood cells. The ceesium chloride is absorbed by the cancer cells in much larger quantities and it actually clogs the pores, thereby eventually starving the cancer.
The other treatment is bicarbonate soda added to the blood to increase the PH of the body. There is an additive to the soda to keep it from calcifying in the blood and along the walls of the veins. Since cancer thrives in an acid environment, raising the PH makes the blood very alkaline.
Jon has been receiving the hyperthermia treatments every day. They work him over pretty hard and after the treatment his liver is mad and painful for a few hours. When he went to Mexico, the liver was very enlarged and hard and Jon has not noticed much change at this time. It takes time for the dead cells to shrink and be discarded through the system. We are just hoping it's enough to make a difference since his liver is so full of tumors.
The diarreah is still a big concern as they have been unable to change the lower bowel movements after trying different natural methods. How can a man gain weight if he doesn't utilize the nutrients he's putting in? He has lost another 10 pounds since March, weighing about 135. Hopefully, something will work before he is released.
We have considered staying another week. At this point he will come home, give it a month or so to see how the treatments have set and decide at that point if more treatment is needed right away. When he went to Mexico he was at a critical stage and we are anxious and confident to see improvement.
Jon does not take anything for pain at this point . . . nothing. For us that is a very positive sign and blessing knowing how painful the latter stages of cancer can be. He has a good appetite but just can't eat very much because of the enlarged liver crowding the stomach. He eats a meal about every 2 hours, trying to intake as many calories as he can. We will be trying a new soy protein powder for more calories in addition to a variety of nuts which are high in calories and natural oils. It's hard to find products that don't contain some form of sugar. Even though I've been learning so much about nutrition the past year, there is still so much to learn and I'll be working some different angles for maximum results.
I guess that's why I haven't made a blog entry the last few months because there hasn't been anything new or good to report. After his treatment with Dr. Bradford this month, we are looking for improvement and better days ahead. We are planning for the holidays, look forward to Trent returning home from his mission in May, and a Portlock family reunion in July. There is much to live for in the months ahead with a new grandson being born in December and another coming in February.
Special thanks to all our dear friends and family who have lifted us up and helped us physically, emotionally and financially during this difficult time. We are so thankful and feel your love and prayers daily. I am currently out of town and unable to access pictures of Jon and the party. When I get home I'll add some to this blog so be sure to check back Monday.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
An update on Jon’s condition is overdue and I hope to provide more information for those who look to this site. I’ve spent the last few days assembling a scrapbook of pictures, cards, emails and the notes from this blogspot. Just going over cards and letters of love we have received over the last several months has been such a boost and we are so thankful for our dear friends and family who lift us up.
Jon continues his daily battle with cancer. Here’s the food situation: in the morning he is starving so he eats a very good breakfast, just not a lot. Then he needs to eat a mini-meal every 2 hours or he gets sick to his stomach. IF he goes longer than 2 hours, say 3-4, whatever the next thing he eats usually comes back up immediately. Weird, I know, but something he is trying to deal with. He continues to take copious amounts of supplements, and his diet is very controlled. Absolutely no processed sugar, cane syrup or corn syrup over the last 9 months!! That would be something we should all try. He usually has no appetite (mornings are best) and he’s lost another 5 pounds since last entry. He continues to use the Rife machine about 8 hours a day generating specific frequency waves to attack the tumors. This is done with the electrical current being sent to pads that attach right to the skin and then passes through the liver.
With the pool business, the summer routine is in full swing. The heat doesn’t help either, and it’s been plenty hot the last week. Jon has been putting in full days and he comes home so tired, just no energy left. A young man came home from college, Christian Rojas, and called to see if he could work for Jon cleaning pools. I was glad Jon hired him, and it will be a blessing once he gets trained. Jon will spend his time running the business instead of pushing the pole!
It’s been great to see family and so many friends over the last 6 weeks. David’s graduation in Idaho with all the family, time with friends and family in Utah, and this weekend Tessa’s husband, Cory, will graduate with his Master’s in Business Management. We are thankful for such precious time that has been given to attend these special occasions.
There have been mostly good days, but when there’s a bad day it’s pretty ugly. Jon has an appointment with Dr. Loyd on Friday for more blood tests and recommendations. There could also be a trip back to Mexico to give the blood a good boost since Jon’s energy levels are falling noticeably. At that time he could have more hyperthermia treatments to the liver. One day at a time! There is still no pain medication at all, and that is a miracle by itself. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. We know God hears our prayers and we are doing all we know, and continue to search for answers through guidance from Him who knows all.
Jon continues his daily battle with cancer. Here’s the food situation: in the morning he is starving so he eats a very good breakfast, just not a lot. Then he needs to eat a mini-meal every 2 hours or he gets sick to his stomach. IF he goes longer than 2 hours, say 3-4, whatever the next thing he eats usually comes back up immediately. Weird, I know, but something he is trying to deal with. He continues to take copious amounts of supplements, and his diet is very controlled. Absolutely no processed sugar, cane syrup or corn syrup over the last 9 months!! That would be something we should all try. He usually has no appetite (mornings are best) and he’s lost another 5 pounds since last entry. He continues to use the Rife machine about 8 hours a day generating specific frequency waves to attack the tumors. This is done with the electrical current being sent to pads that attach right to the skin and then passes through the liver.
With the pool business, the summer routine is in full swing. The heat doesn’t help either, and it’s been plenty hot the last week. Jon has been putting in full days and he comes home so tired, just no energy left. A young man came home from college, Christian Rojas, and called to see if he could work for Jon cleaning pools. I was glad Jon hired him, and it will be a blessing once he gets trained. Jon will spend his time running the business instead of pushing the pole!
It’s been great to see family and so many friends over the last 6 weeks. David’s graduation in Idaho with all the family, time with friends and family in Utah, and this weekend Tessa’s husband, Cory, will graduate with his Master’s in Business Management. We are thankful for such precious time that has been given to attend these special occasions.
There have been mostly good days, but when there’s a bad day it’s pretty ugly. Jon has an appointment with Dr. Loyd on Friday for more blood tests and recommendations. There could also be a trip back to Mexico to give the blood a good boost since Jon’s energy levels are falling noticeably. At that time he could have more hyperthermia treatments to the liver. One day at a time! There is still no pain medication at all, and that is a miracle by itself. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. We know God hears our prayers and we are doing all we know, and continue to search for answers through guidance from Him who knows all.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
KEEP'N ON GOING FORWARD
It has been three months and time for an update to many of you who wonder how Jon is doing. Well, I guess no news is good news and so it goes here. We are fighting the battle, not much different from last December. Here's Jon with beautiful, curly hair seen with his brother Douglas last February.We deal with issues every day so it's hard to see improvement, but when we compare energy level, appetite and other signs to December, there has been some improvement. Hard to imagine liver cancer can see improvement but we think there is some. Jon has a good appetite but will not gain any weight holding at about 147. Maybe because the food is so low in calories being soups, smoothies, whole grains, fruit and vegetables.
He had another saliva test in March which showed our first physical evidence that his body is better, stronger, and responding to the supplements and diet for fighting cancer. The saliva test is not usually conducted through traditional medicine because labs are set up for blood tests. Because of the hundreds of tests run through a lab every day there are certain tests they run in a nutshell. Jon had the saliva test conducted at a special lab in Washington testing all kinds of things in his body, such as toxins, fungus, parasites, metals, virus (including all kinds of cancer) and bacteria. There were marked improvements, decreasing more than half in most areas, since the last saliva test in December.
One of Jon's part-time helpers left in January so he is actively working the pool business again. Next week will start the summer schedule and we pray every day for the energy and strength he needs to work. We celebrate 8 months since diagnosis and he is feeling better than he did in August. He takes no pain medication whatsoever although he experiences daily discomfort in the liver, tender to touch. By the end of the day it is more pronounced.
God has granted the time and health to attend our son David's graduation from BYUI next week and we feel blessed for the chance to celebrate with him and be with our family in person. We hold life very precious! Thank you for your continued prayers and love.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER YEAR
We had a great holiday in the Seattle area where Tessa, Cory and Macade live. Kaylinn, David and Lesley joined us there, and we were all together for about 10 days, whew! Actually, it was really nice and we enjoyed being together as a family for all 10 days. We played games, ate, took pictures, cooked more food, day trips, played with Macade now 1 year, ate, visited and laughed, watched movies, played more games, went shopping for more food, and ate some more. I mentioned Jon lost 4 pounds while on the cruise. Well, he actually gained 1 pound back over Christmas. Notice Jon is actually sporting quite a nice hairline again!
We took two interesting day trips. One was to see the Seattle underground. When Seattle was first built it was on very low land which caused all kinds of trouble with drainage. After a major fire destroyed most of the city, they built the road up ten feet, built new sidewalks and the tour takes you down to the old street level. Weird.
Another day trip was to the Boeing manufacturing plant in Everett. It was awesome to see a 747 jetliner being assembled in a HUGE warehouse, wing assembly over here, front nose assembly over there, cockpit wiring next, attaching wings and tail fin, carpet and seats, etc. There were massive cranes that picked up the aircraft from one station and moved it to another station for work. When they finally attach the wings and landing gear, they roll it to the next few stations until it finally rolls out the huge doors for painting and test flight. When the plant is in full production, they can put out a jetliner every three days! It was certainly an assembly line on a grand scale!
Now we're back home and working hard to get back on a scheduled routine. One of the part-time men working for Jon has gone back to school so Jon will be picking up a large portion of the route work again. After such a terrible storm, the pools need a lot of attention.
While in Seattle, Jon met with a new doctor named Loyd. His visit with him brought much needed information about what was the root cause of his cancer and how to begin the long trek back to health. Dr. Loyd was not in the least glib about there being many months or years to real health again. Very encouraging! It seems with much testing and diagnosis, there are 607 different things that are blocking and corrupting his immune system from full function. There will be quite a lengthy schedule of supplements taken that are specific to his need
s along with radio frequency therapy that will go on for many hours each day. He is more full of hope and encouraged by the many stories of cancer benefit by this method. Not that the visit to Mexico was not worth while for building up his immune system and blood. The visit with Dr. Loyd was a much more hands-on approach and very specific to his needs. Dr. Loyd was found with much research by his Brother Douglas. What a good find. We already had plans to visit the Seattle area and we believe we were inspired to find him in such a timely manner to make a personal visit.
One discovery we have found is that Jon has a sensitivity to wheat. That's why he was always sick to his stomach by the end of the day. Quite a challenge to have very little or no wheat. So I made a trip to Harvest House and checked all the bins more carefully and found corn floor, spelt flour, rye flour, oat flour, potato and barley flour. So now I'll be experimenting and looking for recipes for a good loaf of bread.
We took two interesting day trips. One was to see the Seattle underground. When Seattle was first built it was on very low land which caused all kinds of trouble with drainage. After a major fire destroyed most of the city, they built the road up ten feet, built new sidewalks and the tour takes you down to the old street level. Weird.
Another day trip was to the Boeing manufacturing plant in Everett. It was awesome to see a 747 jetliner being assembled in a HUGE warehouse, wing assembly over here, front nose assembly over there, cockpit wiring next, attaching wings and tail fin, carpet and seats, etc. There were massive cranes that picked up the aircraft from one station and moved it to another station for work. When they finally attach the wings and landing gear, they roll it to the next few stations until it finally rolls out the huge doors for painting and test flight. When the plant is in full production, they can put out a jetliner every three days! It was certainly an assembly line on a grand scale!
Now we're back home and working hard to get back on a scheduled routine. One of the part-time men working for Jon has gone back to school so Jon will be picking up a large portion of the route work again. After such a terrible storm, the pools need a lot of attention.
While in Seattle, Jon met with a new doctor named Loyd. His visit with him brought much needed information about what was the root cause of his cancer and how to begin the long trek back to health. Dr. Loyd was not in the least glib about there being many months or years to real health again. Very encouraging! It seems with much testing and diagnosis, there are 607 different things that are blocking and corrupting his immune system from full function. There will be quite a lengthy schedule of supplements taken that are specific to his need
s along with radio frequency therapy that will go on for many hours each day. He is more full of hope and encouraged by the many stories of cancer benefit by this method. Not that the visit to Mexico was not worth while for building up his immune system and blood. The visit with Dr. Loyd was a much more hands-on approach and very specific to his needs. Dr. Loyd was found with much research by his Brother Douglas. What a good find. We already had plans to visit the Seattle area and we believe we were inspired to find him in such a timely manner to make a personal visit.One discovery we have found is that Jon has a sensitivity to wheat. That's why he was always sick to his stomach by the end of the day. Quite a challenge to have very little or no wheat. So I made a trip to Harvest House and checked all the bins more carefully and found corn floor, spelt flour, rye flour, oat flour, potato and barley flour. So now I'll be experimenting and looking for recipes for a good loaf of bread.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
TIME TOGETHER
Yes, we spend a lot of time together, nearly 24-7 with exception of occasional errands or Jon doing pool work alone. Our days have become very routine but we had something exciting and wonderful to look forward to. We wished for a cruise on our 20th and 25th anniversaries, but something always got in the way. Then with our 30th anniversary coming up, we decided now or never, it's time and it's okay to put ourselves first. We booked a cruise to the Caribbean in April of this year to set sail December 9.
With Jon being diagnosed with liver cancer in August, it looked like again there would be no way to go. In fact, we shared our anniversary last September in a hospital in Mexico. As Jon's health got better and then has stabilized, we got excited that we would actually be able to go even if we just rested on the ship and watched the sunsets.
We had a great time! We even had Jon's favorite doctor, Dr. Fingerstein, and his wife accompany us for moral support and lots of humor. We enjoyed beautiful weather, some Mayan ruins, boating, snorkling, entertainment, museums, music and dancing (Jon is a great dancer), good food and laughs. Each sunset we sat on the balcony, holding hands, taking pictures and reminiscing about the wonderful life we have had and how happy our children make us. We fell in love all o
ver again. I am so glad we could have time together without feeling the nagging presence of that dreaded disease, where we felt almost like normal tourists enjoying life . . . and we did!
Jon was very careful on the ship eating only food on his diet. He didn't have his normal supplements or green drinks and the eating schedule was really bizzare. Where most people gain weight on a cruise, Jon lost about 4 pounds. Not a good sign. We are back on the hard core regiment here at home but it has been somewhat of an adjustment this week with good and bad days. We are looking forward to Christmas with the family and wish all of you a very merry Christmas as well. And don't eat all that sugar; it's not good for you!
With Jon being diagnosed with liver cancer in August, it looked like again there would be no way to go. In fact, we shared our anniversary last September in a hospital in Mexico. As Jon's health got better and then has stabilized, we got excited that we would actually be able to go even if we just rested on the ship and watched the sunsets.
We had a great time! We even had Jon's favorite doctor, Dr. Fingerstein, and his wife accompany us for moral support and lots of humor. We enjoyed beautiful weather, some Mayan ruins, boating, snorkling, entertainment, museums, music and dancing (Jon is a great dancer), good food and laughs. Each sunset we sat on the balcony, holding hands, taking pictures and reminiscing about the wonderful life we have had and how happy our children make us. We fell in love all o
ver again. I am so glad we could have time together without feeling the nagging presence of that dreaded disease, where we felt almost like normal tourists enjoying life . . . and we did!Jon was very careful on the ship eating only food on his diet. He didn't have his normal supplements or green drinks and the eating schedule was really bizzare. Where most people gain weight on a cruise, Jon lost about 4 pounds. Not a good sign. We are back on the hard core regiment here at home but it has been somewhat of an adjustment this week with good and bad days. We are looking forward to Christmas with the family and wish all of you a very merry Christmas as well. And don't eat all that sugar; it's not good for you!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
What's Next
What is your current situation? We have reached a plateau on the road to recovery. It seems every day/week is the same as the one before. There is only so much work that can be done before I nearly pass out from fatigue or maybe it is just not enough fire in the belly to go on. Whatever the reason I continue with work and the needed assignments. I actually had to fire my gardener three times before he got the message that I was well enough to take back the little lawn work there is around here in the winter. If I had been paying him he would have stopped at my first request no doubt, but because he had been such a benefit for so many weeks he didn't want to stop. It is tough to tell people to stop helping me around here when they feel good about it. At any rate, the lawn gets mowed now once a month whether it needs it or not. I'm glad that we don't have snow to shovel.
Do you work out? I have been adding to my exercise routine. I actually bend down all the way and put my shoes on every morning and lace them up too, rather than jam my toes into them and bend the heals down like my teenagers used to do. Then after I catch my wind, I spend a great deal of time exercising my fingers on the keyboard with correspondences. People continually ask me how I feel. I don't feel anything until noon when it is time for my nap. OH! One other thing I have added to my daily routine. I do "in and outs". That's where I get IN my truck and get Out at the next stop. Then do it all over again. It is very taxing and it is just a good thing I can rest in between.
Will I be going back to Mexico any time soon? No, not unless I have a crash of some sort like return of pain, loss of weight, (eat your hearts out) or other obvious changes for the worse. If I actually grow my hair back it won't be because I went there. We can't blame that on them. Besides, my insurance does not cover any sort of alternative therapy so there is a dis-incentive to go unless we fall back into crisis.
What do your doctors say and do for you here? Nothing. Unless I agree totally with them and do as they say they are not in the least able to help me. You see, it is their ball and their field. If I don't play by their rules, then they don't want to play with me at all. Worse, if I prove them wrong (which is already the case) they get a little snooty about it. All warm and fuzzy if I call them and encouraging to the point of nausea. Yet one can easily tell by their desire to do nothing, that it is all show. Funny isn't it? They can't use anything that works for me because they are bound by law in California to only poison, cut, or burn the cancer. There are no other options for doctors. If they do actually start to use alternative therapy, they could easily be ridiculed and mocked by their piers and then eventually lose their license.
So what are you doing and will it work or not? Currently I take a product called Transfer Factor which will increase the strength of my immune system. It is the latest discovery in immune system support to be found in the past 5 years. I also take a series of herbs which will help remove toxic metals and antigens from my system. And I use frequency generation to kill the cancer virus. The last discussion I had with Dale Fawcett, a cancer researcher for the past 25 years, was about what to do next, who to see, and that I would "have a long and productive life". I sometimes hate to embarrass people purposely, but I would just love to do so to those doctors who proclaimed doom and gloom with only a few months to think about it. As I begin to study the facts about cancer cures, not treatment but cures, I find so much more faith and hope than with those who spend their lives poisoning and burning and see the results. They, therefore, become very pessimistic about any cancer course, treatment, or otherwise. They have only to explain the sad situation any patient will be in who undergoes such treatments. I also know the poison they pumped into my vanes for 8 hours not only caused my hair to fall out but sent me sliding down the jaws of death with fangs of fear. I don't want to go there again and I truly feel there is a better way. I am a quack to even state such things according to the pharmaceutical companies. But with $400,000,000,000 a year on the line in chemo drugs alone, we know there is just too much influence to allow for choices that would actually felicitate a cure.
It is with much thought, research, and study, that I have chosen the better course. Only time will tell. Lots of time! Lots and Lots of Time!!!!
Do you work out? I have been adding to my exercise routine. I actually bend down all the way and put my shoes on every morning and lace them up too, rather than jam my toes into them and bend the heals down like my teenagers used to do. Then after I catch my wind, I spend a great deal of time exercising my fingers on the keyboard with correspondences. People continually ask me how I feel. I don't feel anything until noon when it is time for my nap. OH! One other thing I have added to my daily routine. I do "in and outs". That's where I get IN my truck and get Out at the next stop. Then do it all over again. It is very taxing and it is just a good thing I can rest in between.
Will I be going back to Mexico any time soon? No, not unless I have a crash of some sort like return of pain, loss of weight, (eat your hearts out) or other obvious changes for the worse. If I actually grow my hair back it won't be because I went there. We can't blame that on them. Besides, my insurance does not cover any sort of alternative therapy so there is a dis-incentive to go unless we fall back into crisis.
What do your doctors say and do for you here? Nothing. Unless I agree totally with them and do as they say they are not in the least able to help me. You see, it is their ball and their field. If I don't play by their rules, then they don't want to play with me at all. Worse, if I prove them wrong (which is already the case) they get a little snooty about it. All warm and fuzzy if I call them and encouraging to the point of nausea. Yet one can easily tell by their desire to do nothing, that it is all show. Funny isn't it? They can't use anything that works for me because they are bound by law in California to only poison, cut, or burn the cancer. There are no other options for doctors. If they do actually start to use alternative therapy, they could easily be ridiculed and mocked by their piers and then eventually lose their license.
So what are you doing and will it work or not? Currently I take a product called Transfer Factor which will increase the strength of my immune system. It is the latest discovery in immune system support to be found in the past 5 years. I also take a series of herbs which will help remove toxic metals and antigens from my system. And I use frequency generation to kill the cancer virus. The last discussion I had with Dale Fawcett, a cancer researcher for the past 25 years, was about what to do next, who to see, and that I would "have a long and productive life". I sometimes hate to embarrass people purposely, but I would just love to do so to those doctors who proclaimed doom and gloom with only a few months to think about it. As I begin to study the facts about cancer cures, not treatment but cures, I find so much more faith and hope than with those who spend their lives poisoning and burning and see the results. They, therefore, become very pessimistic about any cancer course, treatment, or otherwise. They have only to explain the sad situation any patient will be in who undergoes such treatments. I also know the poison they pumped into my vanes for 8 hours not only caused my hair to fall out but sent me sliding down the jaws of death with fangs of fear. I don't want to go there again and I truly feel there is a better way. I am a quack to even state such things according to the pharmaceutical companies. But with $400,000,000,000 a year on the line in chemo drugs alone, we know there is just too much influence to allow for choices that would actually felicitate a cure.
It is with much thought, research, and study, that I have chosen the better course. Only time will tell. Lots of time! Lots and Lots of Time!!!!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Normal Life??
So what is "normal"? Busy with work, church, family, holiday preparations, planning for future, even retirement? Well, we're trying to have a "normal" life even day to day. But normal has become more intense with every effort to maximize each hour. Life is short for us all and we all need to value our time here on this earth, even if today or this month or this year is our last. What would we say different? What would we include in our routine?
Of course, we have had much cause to reconsider our priorities and to count our blessings. One is the blessing for the ability to work. Every day Jon expresses his gratitude to be able to work and actually get his hands dirty. He is anxious to get up early in the morning and get going while he has the energy. We are blessed to still have a working business.
We have enjoyed the blessing of friendship and service. We have received love and support from friends and loved ones near and far. Through the years of raising families, working and becoming so busy with our daily routines, there were so many we grew distant from and who somehow slipped away. How precious our relationships are! And how fortunate to be able to still enjoy those associations!
The blessing of our beautiful world. Just out our back gate we have the blessing of the beautiful trails of Mt. Diablo, and the peace and serenity enjoyed there. A few months ago, Jon didn't think he would be able to hike those trails again and it brought tears to his eyes. He makes every effort to walk in those hills 3-4 times a week as he regains his strength.
Just a few words about improvements. Each step seems so small and insignificant but when viewed as a whole over a period of weeks, they are notable improvements nonetheless. I mentioned he is walking several miles a week. He eats very well, enough where most of us would be gaining weight. But he has stayed the same weight over the last month. His diet doesn't allow for the normal weight gain with sugars, high carbs and fats.
Last week Jon had an Octreotide scan. The day before the scan, he was injected with a radioactive solution to illuminate parts of his body. This radioactive material will be in his body for at least a month and cannot even get through airline security without a doctor's medical note. The Octreotide scan which takes two different visits on two separate days, did not show any signs of cancer anywhere else in his body! Darn. We still can't locate the source of the cancer. This scan also shows other markers as to where the cancer may or may not be lurking. If it shows positive in any perspective then they would want to treat with further Octreotide. If it was negative the treatment would be further chemo. Fortunately these markers were right in the middle so there are no further things they want to prescribe at this time
Next week Jon will have an EchoCardiogram. They want to see if there is any stress on his heart from the round of Chemo or all the other things he has been subjected to. Midst all of this his oncologist called and suggested another CT scan. Jon is worried about all the radiation he has been subjected to and opted to wait until January. This will also give him time to really see if all the other things he is doing will have any affect.
We are sorry but no pictures at this time. Jon says he doesn't want to subject all his friends to so much ugly all at once and they will have to wait until his hair is long enough to see. It's growing but he's not combing it yet. Last week was his three-month mark. The doctor only gave him three months to live if he didn't do chemotherapy. Well, he feels better now than he did three months ago and we enjoy each day that we have together.
Of course, we have had much cause to reconsider our priorities and to count our blessings. One is the blessing for the ability to work. Every day Jon expresses his gratitude to be able to work and actually get his hands dirty. He is anxious to get up early in the morning and get going while he has the energy. We are blessed to still have a working business.
We have enjoyed the blessing of friendship and service. We have received love and support from friends and loved ones near and far. Through the years of raising families, working and becoming so busy with our daily routines, there were so many we grew distant from and who somehow slipped away. How precious our relationships are! And how fortunate to be able to still enjoy those associations!
The blessing of our beautiful world. Just out our back gate we have the blessing of the beautiful trails of Mt. Diablo, and the peace and serenity enjoyed there. A few months ago, Jon didn't think he would be able to hike those trails again and it brought tears to his eyes. He makes every effort to walk in those hills 3-4 times a week as he regains his strength.
Just a few words about improvements. Each step seems so small and insignificant but when viewed as a whole over a period of weeks, they are notable improvements nonetheless. I mentioned he is walking several miles a week. He eats very well, enough where most of us would be gaining weight. But he has stayed the same weight over the last month. His diet doesn't allow for the normal weight gain with sugars, high carbs and fats.
Last week Jon had an Octreotide scan. The day before the scan, he was injected with a radioactive solution to illuminate parts of his body. This radioactive material will be in his body for at least a month and cannot even get through airline security without a doctor's medical note. The Octreotide scan which takes two different visits on two separate days, did not show any signs of cancer anywhere else in his body! Darn. We still can't locate the source of the cancer. This scan also shows other markers as to where the cancer may or may not be lurking. If it shows positive in any perspective then they would want to treat with further Octreotide. If it was negative the treatment would be further chemo. Fortunately these markers were right in the middle so there are no further things they want to prescribe at this time
Next week Jon will have an EchoCardiogram. They want to see if there is any stress on his heart from the round of Chemo or all the other things he has been subjected to. Midst all of this his oncologist called and suggested another CT scan. Jon is worried about all the radiation he has been subjected to and opted to wait until January. This will also give him time to really see if all the other things he is doing will have any affect.
We are sorry but no pictures at this time. Jon says he doesn't want to subject all his friends to so much ugly all at once and they will have to wait until his hair is long enough to see. It's growing but he's not combing it yet. Last week was his three-month mark. The doctor only gave him three months to live if he didn't do chemotherapy. Well, he feels better now than he did three months ago and we enjoy each day that we have together.
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