Round 2 complete

Joe just finished his second round of chemo. Overall, it went better then the 1st round. We were able to keep his nausea under control by taking the meds immediately and he kept taking them throughout the week. He did have other side effects (like spiking a fever and some others) that we did not see the 1st time. Every time is different and they will be adding something new to the mix next time, so who knows. He did say he'll be back at Teakwoods next week, so look for us towards the end of the week. That's when he's at his best.

The cards continue to come in. I think we've received one from every Honeywell site out there, in addition to cards from family, friends and old acquaintances. What a constant reminder of how much Joe is loved. He reads cards daily to give him strength. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts as well. We feel them working! You are all amazing.

Just a quick update on the rest of the family: my mom went back in the hospital for a third time due to complications from the surgery. She developed an infection and some other problems, but is home today. She spent her birthday in the hospital, so we owe her a nice birthday when she gets well. Amanda is still in therapy for her back. It's a long road, but hopefully she'll get relief soon. Candace is getting closer to her due date. They have set the c-section for February 24th, so she's hanging in there too. My sister-in-law Mary, had her 4th hip replacement (first 2 were bad). She's walking with a cane and will hopefully be completely healed soon. We are grateful that everyone is getting treatments and are slowly recovering. We hit bottom, so it's only up from here!

Next week should be our "normal" week and then chemo, round three on Feb 6th. As always, we thank you and love you all for your support.

XOXO
Sherrie, Joe and family

They found the source

We got all the tests reports back and they confirmed that Joe has Metastic adenocarcinoma from the terminal ileum. Basically thats a rare, fast growing cancer from the part of the small intestine that connects to the colon. The Dr. is teaming with another Dr. from the University of Arizona who specializes in these rare cases. Together, they will further develop Joe's treatment plan. For now, we know he will continue his current treatment (he is adding one more to the mix next session) for a minimum of 12 weeks. After the 12 weeks, we will be in consultation to either continue with this treatment longer or begin a "hot chemo treatment plan". This is a surgery where they heat the chemo and swab it in his abdominal region. We are grateful that there are plans, there are many doctors helping with Joe's case, we know what we are dealing with now and we are surrounded by family and friends. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.

XOXO
Sherrie

It's a Good Day

Just a quick update to let you know that Joe is having a really good day - and weekend. He is eating, going out, enjoying family and friends. It's so good to know that just within one week, how much better he can feel from the chemo wearing off. We are SO encouraged by it all. He still has stomach pains and cold hands and feet, but it is completely tolerable from where he was last week. The bad news is he starts the treatment again tomorrow. We will meet with the Dr. and hopefully get some tests results back before he starts his treatment. I'll be posting tomorrow night to share with you what we learn.

I'm attaching a couple of pictures of Joe and Edison, the amazing basket that our friends at Honeywell did for us and the beautiful quilt that Amanda, Debbie and Mary Jane all did for us. I know I've said it before, but we are completely overwhelmed by the thoughts, prayers, cards, emails, phone calls and generosity of all of you guys. The impact this makes on Joe and the strength it gives him to fight this battle is undescribable. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives.

XOXOX

Sherrie

Today is better than yesterday

As you all know, Joe had a very difficult week. We just had no idea how difficult the side effects were going to be. I am happy to report that he is doing better each day and trying to get stronger before the next treatment. He is eating a little, but has lost more weight. We got Ensure today, so hopefully that will help. The nausea and severe stomach cramps have stopped (yeah!!), but he still has fatigue, some stomach pains and a terrible sensitivity to cold. I think the worst part this week is the fear of not knowing what we are dealing with. Hopefully we will find out something soon.

We continue to receive cards, emails, phone calls and lots of support. When the girls were young, we used to have them say prayers and their favorite thing of the day before they went to sleep. Joe and I have discovered it works for adults too. So thank you all for your continued support. It gives us a lot to talk about before we go to sleep:)

With love,
Joe and Sherrie

Chemo Round 1

It's horrible - I don't know how else to say it. Watching someone go through this is heart wrenching. All the terrible side effects you hear about, came true - plus more. We refuse to let it get us - we know if it's this bad, it's this bad on the cancer cells too. And the good news is, Joe should start feeling a little better each day. His pack was removed and he doesn't have to start again until Jan 23rd. They tell us the side effects will carry on through the week, but should subside somewhat. He got his small intestine tests done today and we should get the results on the 23rd. The tissue samples won't be back for a few weeks.

Good news is my mom is finally out of the hospital. After 2 weeks, she looks like she is on the road to recovery. They also figured out what was wrong with Amanda's back, so she starts treatment as well. Good things are coming our way.

Thanks to all for the support. The cards keep coming and the smiles are plenty at the Kahler's thanks to all of you.

We most sincerely appreciate the outpouring of support. You guys are the best.

With all our love,
Joe and Sherrie
XOXO

Chemo day 1

Joe started chemo today. He's doing good considering everything. He was there from 10:30-2:45. He has the pack on him for the next 48 hours. It's called the wolf pack. It's worse than a Hangover :) He is nauseous, has tingling in his hands, has sensitivity to cold and any food that is not fairly bland (even tried mustard and couldn't take it) and is "just out of it" as Joe says. They told us it will get worse for the next few days, but hopefully start getting better after that. Thursday he will have the small intestine test and his tissues are heading to California for extensive testing. They said it will take weeks to get the results. We'll just keep praying this chemo treatment starts to work while they figure out the source. He still has that amazing attitude thanks to all our family and friends. The letter box is overflowing, we received an amazing basket of all his favorites from Honeywell and the most beautiful picture quilt I've ever seen. He just can't believe the outpouring of kindness. This world is a wonderful place.

Thanks again to everyone for all your love, support, prayers and generosity.

XOXO
Sherrie & Joe

Next steps

We had a 3+ hour visit to the Dr./Cancer center today. All the tests came back and unfortunately, they still can't pinpoint the source. They know it's not colon or stomach cancer and they know it's all contained in the abdominal region. We also got good news that he does not have pancreatic cancer. It seems to be on the colon (not in it), on the stomach (not in it) and stomach lining, intestine, appendix and liver. They are going to run more tests to see if it's originating from the small intestine. If it is, we know exactly what we are dealing with. If it's not, they suspect it is a rare form of abdominal cancer "that only a hand full of people have". They are sending his biopsies to San Diego, where they can test for this type of cancer. If that comes back positive, we will learn all the different things he will be going through to treat it. Basically, more chemo and surgeries. He will probably be going to UofA for treatments if that is the case. If that comes back negative, we don't know where we go (we didn't think to ask today - just a little stunned from the discussion). He did say Joe must start chemo as soon as possible. With that, they are setting up an abdominal chemo plan. He has his port put in tomorrow, intestine test Thursday or Friday and chemo Monday. He will have a 4 hour chemo treatment in the office on Monday and then come home with the chemo pack on him. He'll get 48 hours of straight chemo and then the pack will be removed. He'll wait a week, get tested and start over the following week. We spent an hour learning about all the side effects today. Hopefully it's like the pharmaceutical commercials where they tell you everything that may happen, but only a few of the side effects actually occur :) Thanks to everyone for the offers to assist. I don't know what help we will need, but will definitely call upon you. We are so blessed with such a great family and group of friends. We love you all so very much, Joe and Sherrie XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX