New Car, New Armoire, New Treatment Plan

It was a very busy weekend.  I know many are on pins and needles waiting for an update on our latest PET scan results. Thanks so much for the concern and I am sorry it's taken me all weekend to update you. It was a very busy weekend.

New Car:  Well  Brandon is almost ready to get his drivers license.  So we have been looking for cars for several months.  We wanted to get him a Toyota Tacoma.  I just LOVE those little trucks.  I was thinking it would be a great vehicle for him and because I love the Tacoma I was planning to steal it on occasion.Well darn the Tacoma holds it value so well a used one is almost as much as a new one.  So guess he will have to wait til he has a great paying J-O-B.  So we decided to go with a much cheaper option. 

Brandon went on an overnighter camp and while he was gone we bought him a Ford Focus that he had chosen as his second choice at Car Max.  So when he got home from the camp of course he looked on the website and saw that the car was gone.  We was very frustrated and wondering if he was ever going to get a set of wheels.  So we told him "hey let's go see what else they have"  We walked around the lot for several minutes and then asked him to hold out his hand.  Fred dropped the Ford Focus keys in his hands.OHHH gosh it was a priceless moment.  I could not believe we were playing him that entire time. 

Well he is one happy boy right now.

New Armoire:  Next thing on the agenda was to go get my new computer armoire  I have been looking for a computer armoire for several months.  After lots of searching we finally found one that was the perfect color, perfect size and it seem to fit all my needs.  Problem is that it had to be special ordered of which we did.  However, much to my surprise it came in this weekend.  Two months ahead of schedule.  I love new furniture.  My computer has been unplugged most of the weekend as it took us some time to get all the electronics transferred over and the armoire completely organized.  So far I love it.

New Treatment Plan:  Now for the not so fun part of the weekend.  We meet with our Oncologist on Friday to discuss the results of the PET scan we had done last Monday.  I was hoping for better results, but at the same time it could have been much worse.  The PET showed that the small tumors in the lungs are trying to grow and the CEA went from 38 to 41.  The lung tumors are still very small , but if we don't do something they will probably grow fairly quickly.  The rectum tumor is still there but because of radiation is stunned and not trying to grow at this time so that is definitely good.
So to treat this we are going back on the same Chemo drugs we were on this summer. UGGGHHHH  Avastin, Oxaliplatin and 5-FU.  The treatments will be every two weeks.  How long we are on this regimen will depend on how long Fred can tolerate the treatments.  Oxaliplatin can cause neuropathy (numbness) after 8 treatments and this summer we had 6 treatments so it is possible that we will only be able to tolerate no more than two treatments.

We will start this Friday with the first treatment.  I am hoping by having the treatments on Friday he can pretty much sleep all weekend and hopefully we will be able to beat the fatigue a little better.  We are grateful for the small miracles we receive everyday.  Dr. Whisenant told us that the normal regrowth time of  these types of  tumors is 6 months.  We made it to 9 months so we are blessed and grateful we made it above and beyond the normal and as long as possible. 

As always thanks so much for the many prayers and thoughts sent our way.  They are so needed right now and we can feel each one and are so grateful for all of you.  The climb is very difficult and still feels very much uphill and long, but we WILL make it to the top.  Love you all