Note from Joe

Hello everyone,

This is my “good week” so I wanted to personally write and tell you how amazing you have all been in supporting me in this “little detour” of my life. Your love, prayers and support mean so much to me and gives me the boost to keep fighting this thing until we knock it out.

Life has obviously changed dramatically in what we do and experience now, but my goal is to try and get back to our “normal” routine as quick as possible after each session. I have tried to eat healthier, but you have to know that you are dealing with a guy who lived at the 7-11 store since I was old enough to ride a bike. Yes, I am 53 and I still like candy and Mt. Dew. Just so you know, I did give up three things for Lent - -candy, wings….and CANCER!!

I have been able to eat and do most things I used to do on my “good weeks”. One thing I was never good at was dancing…. I recently went to a practice with Sherrie and our daughter Shelli , to learn how to do the waltz for a special event we are going to on March 10th. I learned that cancer did not help my rhythm deficiency! A simple 1,2,3 box step and I am losing count! My daughter said I did great…until I tried to talk or look around…lost focus very easy! The reason I was looking around was to try and find at least one other Dad who was as bad as I was! Needless to say, lots of laughs. Of course, I am laughing, but my daughter will probably need therapy after the dance.

Thanks again for all you have done for me. I am a very lucky man to have such a wonderful support group.
I love and appreciate you all, more than you know.
Joe

p.s. here is Shelli and I with our "Peeps" - thanks Brook's Family!

Round 4

Round 4 has been the worst one to date. Joe was extremely sick - more than usual. The Doctor said it will probably be this way until he's done with chemo. This is due to the build up of chemo that remains in his system from the previous treatments. The new chemo is being added each time to a "leftover base" of chemo - hence, worse side effects. Unfortunately, they last longer too. It's OK though, because we know there are 2 more rounds (March 5th and March 19th) and then, hopefully a break to prepare for the surgery. Joe's surgeon is Dr. Evan Ong. This is a link to a news story they did on him and the surgery.

http://www.hipectreatment.com/videos/general/evan_ong.php

Joe remains upbeat and thrilled with his support group. You guys are truly amazing. When asked how he is doing, Joe's response is always, "good, I have a great support group." I feel the exact same way. It's our support group of family, friends, co-workers and people we don't even know that are helping us through this. What a beautiful thing!!

Our granddaughter, Quinn, is doing great and Candace is recovering from her c-section and cracked pelvis. Amanda is still in therapy for her back, but slowly getting better and my mom is slowly getting better too. Things are looking up. The power of prayer is amazing.

Thanks again to all of you,

XOXO
Sherrie (and Joe)

Feb 19th

Its the night before round four. Joe had a really tough go-round. He has been sick for most of his non-chemo week. Despite that, he worked, made it to Teakwoods, road the bike, went to the movies and saw friends. I could not be more proud of him. We aren't sure if he was sick the whole time because of the extra mix, the chemo building up, his immune system dropping or all of the above. He is also very anxious about learning more about the hot chemo surgery and getting it scheduled. Hopefully we'll learn more tomorrow, but it may be too soon. On a good note, we had a good week with friends and family. Quinn is lighting up our life and little Edison is keeping us laughing. My long time friend, Anna has been here for a long weekend and we've really enjoyed spending time together. We also received some wonderful gifts and cards. Thank you all so very much for continuing to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Your thoughtfulness is unbelievable and keeps us going. Joe continues to fill his box and continues to reach in the box for strength on a daily basis. Thank you all so very much.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Sherrie

It's A Girl!

The miracle of life has arrived. Candace and Doug had a little girl, Quinn Beverly (named after Doug's Gma) Campbell. She was born 3 weeks early on Friday, Feb 10th, 11:37PM, 6 lbs 6 oz, 19". She is beautiful. Joe has been having a difficult "chemo week", but was definitely not going to miss this event. We were so excited he was there to celebrate the arrival of our beautiful granddaughter.

Just a quick update on Joe - - this has been his most difficult chemo week yet. The 5th mix is tough. He's been amazing and does everything he can to push through. I'm so proud of him.
Quinn's arrival is definitely helping!

He's off for a week, so we're really hoping the side effects will stop. Next treatment Feb 20th.

XOXO to all,
Sherrie

Hot Chemo Report

I just got this link from a friend at Honeywell. CBS did a report on the procedure. A little scary, but encouraging. Thanks Sue for forwarding this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57336043/hot-chemo-baths-get-a-fresh-look-in-cancer-fight/

Just an update on Joe - he's in day 2 of Round 3. He's been very sick and fatigued, but doing OK - considering. Same side effects, sensitivity to cold, nausea, face inflammation, extremely tired, loss of appetite, stomach pains... He still has an amazing attitude and knows these side effects will get better.

Keep the prayers coming!

Round 3

Joe started round 3 today. They added the new mix (after arguing with the insurance company - a constant battle) and we'll have to wait and see if he has more side effects. His treatment this week will go from 52 hours to 55 hours. We met with the Dr. today and he said the UofA Dr. confirmed that Joe is a candidate for the hot chemo surgery/treatment. The plan now is to continue this treatment (5 mixes for 12 weeks-one week on, one week off). Joe will finish in April. We will go to Tucson in April and they will begin a series of tests to determine when they will schedule the surgery. The chemo he is on now has to shrink the tumors enough where they can operate. Right now, he has too many tumors to operate. Hopefully, we'll get good news in April and they will schedule the surgery. The surgery consists of opening Joe, removing the leftover tumors, heating a chemo mix to 108 degrees and "flooding" and scrubbing his abdominal area. There is a whole lot more to it, but we'll learn more when we go to Tucson. After the surgery, he has several weeks of recovery and then they will start his current chemo treatment back up, because they can't be sure they will have killed all the cancer cells. We don't know how long that will be. He did say this hot chemo is fairly new (2010), so they don't have a long history with this procedure. We're just so happy they have a procedure!

On another positive note, the Dr. was amazed by Joe. He has been losing 5-7 lbs each chemo week, but has been able to put it back on, so he's only down 15 lbs in total. He also said his white blood count is excellent. He keeps reminding Joe - you're young and healthy (and has an amazing attitude). And Joe added, "and I have a great support group". It's all a great combination to beat this thing. So, as always, thank you "support group". We couldn't do this without you.

XOXO
Sherrie

p.s. I'll be updating the blog at the end of this week to let you know how Joe is doing after this round.