Cure Kevin

Well I held on real tight to my roller coaster bar and what a ride it was. 

Kev is home from the hospital after a four day stay. Monday night he had a hard time getting out of the chair on his own and he had a chronic headache for three days. When I got him to bed he had shortness of breath. We went to the ER and after many tests they found a small blood clot in his lung. So he was admitted. Kev can confirm all the tests he had along with the torturous MRI on Tuesday. He got through it all. His home teacher came by a gave him a blessing. I stayed with him the whole time except for about 11 hours total. He greatly improved through the night on Tuesday while I tended to his care. Nurses and staff did a great job, but he likes having family around. Wednesday night he received a blood transfusion, which brought his red blood count up too. The doctor said that the MRI had suspicious spots on his hips which they were thinking of cancer, but they did a bone scan and found the bones clear. We were very happy about that. 

He is now home walking slowly on his own. He did his own shower after we went to the hospital to get his shot to boost his white blood count. We are going to bring Anya to the park today so Kev can relax in the beautiful spring weather a  watch Anya play. What could be better than that?

We have an important decision to make. We had made plans to go to Utah for Mallory’s college graduation this coming week with lots of Webster family activities. All of Kev’s family will be there for graduations, a wedding, a baby blessing, etc. Our doctor said if his blood counts are up he can go. We won’t know till Monday if we will go yet.

Kev will post his version too. I left some details out so you don’t get too bored but we are back and fighting!!!

Wow! When we got the e-mail from John at PanCAN we were so surprised and honored. Rachel and Marlene made the cover of the April 2007 PanCAN newsletter that is sent out nationwide. What a great photo!! We are so pleased with the efforts that Marlene and Rachel put forth to accomplish the half marathon. Many thanks for all of your support and donations to PanCAN so Marlene and Rachel could accomplish this. The monies you gave will help support the fight for pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer comes so silently and is such an aggressive foe that the first thing anyone on the online support groups say when someone is first diagnosed is “Call PanCAN”. PanCAN has the resources and information to quickly provide the newly diagnosed with up to date information. Now they can make better choices for their care.

I’ll have my cute computer geek husband put a link on the website so you can see the newsletter. April PanCan Newsletter

Update: Kev and I went to Yale for treatment Thursday. His liver functions are normal. He started his next flavor or chemo. This is his fourth. We were so elated that he is able to have chemo again.(I can’t believe I am saying that) We are waiting to see what kind of effects this will bring. That day of chemo he did not seem too worn out this time but, I know the effects can be cumulative.–Melanee

Hello Readers

I am a captain of a Relay for Life team which consists of all youth(highschool age). For those of you who don’t know, Relay for Life is a big fundraiser for the American Cancer Society held all over the country and I registered online so that you all can donate online-just like you did for the Half Marathon I ran with Rachel(and we thank you intensely for that)

I don’t need $3,000 but we’re still looking at the sky as the only limit concerning funds. As for time, we only have until June 7.

Please tell anyone you know about it. This is not specific to any particular cancer so if anyone wants to honor someone with whatever cancer they can do their part this way.

Thank you all for your support, your prayers and your words(including your comments) really do mean a lot to me.

I think Dad may put a link in the site but for now the address you can copy into your browser is

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=190342&supId=172043653

Again thank you, and if your company is or may be interested in matching our funds and/or contributing in any other way please let me know.

~Marlene

Well, we got a call from the doctor’s assistant Meghan last night (at 8:30 no less.. don’t these guys ever sleep?!?) telling us that my liver numbers are in MUCH better shape and we’ll be ready to hit the chemo trail again on Thurs.

In one aspect, I’m glad we’ll be back on the trail of killin’ cancer, but on the flip side of the coin, with this being a new mix, I have no idea what side effects it will bring, how long the infusion will take, or any other “fun” little surprises to expect.

Don’t get me wrong… while I don’t miss having to deal with the effects that the chemo brings, I DO miss the fact that while I’m off the chemo, my tumors have free reign (at least it feels that way). I’d rather have the icky chemo feelings knowing that we’re working to keep the tumor under control than feel “almost normal” without any chemo effects, but have the tumor be growing unchecked.

The object of the game is to kill cancer, no matter what it takes to do it.

The holiday means so much to me now because this is the time for family and friends to gather and celebrate the life of Christ. Kevin did well with his talk at church about the Healing Power of the Atonement and Marlene spoke about The Love Christ has for us. Our new life has really changed our perspective on gospel teachings and created a deeper meaning for us. I woke Easter morning bathed with a deep feeling of strength, loving guidance, and a renewing of my spirit to carry on with the journey. I consider this a special experience to me and grateful that this was experienced on Easter morning.

We shared the holiday with family. Of course, our Anya was with us. I hid some eggs around the living room. She woke up that morning and picked up one of the eggs. My two and a half year old grand daughter came to ask, “What is this?” I told her they were her eggs and she can find the others that were hidden. She picked them up in about 3 minutes and I enjoyed watching her open them and put the goodies in her basket. Anya also shared her place with Kevin snuggled in his sleeping bag as his feet as they watched television together on Saturday morning. Anya’s energy energizes Kev. I will have to post a picture of this.

We shared an Easter meal with my family that Sunday afternoon which rivaled Thanksgiving. The tastes and smells of the variety of food were wonderful. The bounty filled the large dining table. My sister in law even brought rolls that were the Easter colors of yellow, purple, pink, and green. Each time Anya came in from the dining room she had a different color roll in her hand. Being able to talk to family and enjoy their company meant a lot.

Now I feel like we are rounding the bend of our roller coaster and ready to take another uphill climb. The last drop of the roller coaster was a doozy. Now I am holding tight of my bar ready to climb up again because of the reassurance and comfort I have received on Easter morning.

~Melanee

Last night, Marlene really wanted pizza, so off to our local pizza place we headed and ordered one of our standards: 1/2-Cheese ‘n 1/2-Pepperoni. I really like pizza, but let me tell you that I’m discovering pretty quickly that what I used to be able to eat is not what I can eat these days. I had a couple of pieces of Cheese pizza and man, did I pay for that decision. I was really uncomfortable the rest of the night.

It’s amazing how quickly my digestive system changes. Stuff I can eat just fine one day is a killer the next. The really depressing thing is that I really like to eat (hey, I’m GAINING weight on chemo!); food commercials on TV have no appeal for me anymore and going out to eat just doesn’t have much of a draw for me. I hate eating large quantities now because I feel so miserable when I’m bloated or stuffed. The most depressing part is that I’m never sure what foods or spices will turn into my latest enemy.

Yes, we finally got my ERCP procedure done today. I’m still a bit light-headed from the drugs, but feeling a lot better. The pain in my side is nearly all gone (which is wonderful! Now I might be able to get a good night’s sleep) and Melanee says my skin color is starting to get back to normal. I go in for blood tests on Monday to see how my liver is responding to the stint, but I expect that things will be in pretty good shape by then.

If all is well with my blood tests, then I should be back in the chemo loop by the end of next week (I’m assuming I’ll still be on the every-other-Thurs. schedule). As much as I hate chemo days, I want to keep on that track to keep things under control. I know that as long as we keep trying chemo mixes, the chances get better and better that we’ll find the “right” mix to give me the best possible chance to beat this monster.

Well…. we tried. I was scheduled Monday morning for an “ERCP”, which is an endoscopic (tube down the throat) procedure where they look at the bile ducts and can do minor procedures. The plan was to verify what the ultrasound showed and then to put a stint in to open up the clogged duct.

In the pre-op interview, the resident said it would be OK to take my blood thinner the day of the procedure. My oncologist said I shouldn’t. Now I had a 50/50 shot at listening to the right person and gambled wrong and took my blood thinner. It turns out that the the doctor doing the ERCP didn’t want to make incesions with my blood thinner running through my blood stream, so they went in and verified the ultrasound findings but decided to reschedule the stint procedure for Wednesday.

Soooo… back to square one and re-enter the waiting game. We’re slotted for the first procedure on Wednesday, so hopefully we’ll get in and out, and it will clear up how icky I’m feeling (and get my skin tone back to normal… I’m gettin’ pretty yellow these days).

All is well, just not as well as I wanted it. We’ll let you know how things progress after Wednesday.

This blog has never sugar-coated anything and presents things as they really are (however graphically). As I write this I’ll be exposing my heart to you and the things that have gone through my mind. Don’t be afraid either, my imagination tends to exaggerate the situation. Here it goes.

 As Mom posted last, Dad’s liver has been freaking out and I’ve seen him in a lot of pain. It’s pain that comes with living with cancer and is routine, but it doesn’t change the fact that hardcore painkillers are now part of every day life. We joke around that our house would be a drug dealer’s paradise, but the sad part is that those drugs are necessary for dad to be comfortable. It’s all part of a Cancer filled life, a life that we now live.

While Dad’s chemo was working I almost forgot that he had cancer, and that all he has is gray hair and not much energy. When I found out that it no longer was working and that his liver wasn’t doing as well as would be pleasing it reminded me that time really is short. I suppose that as my defense mechanism or my way of dealing I simply didn’t recognize that Dad has cancer and that our days together are numbered, and while I should be cherishing every moment we have I find that I spend less time with him than before. I’ve started to change that even if I find it easier to live upstairs all the time.

This isn’t just about doom and gloom. I have plenty of hope for the future, and plenty of gratitude for the past and for today. In fact, I am so grateful that I have so much time to come to terms with it and to try and make things better and to make up for lost time together. I know that although I may not see him, he will be at every monumental event in my life and will be involved in other minute moments that I experience. It is times like these that shape my character and make me stronger when I open my eyes and work for it. Right now I’m escaping from my denial or numbness and I hope to make each day worth living.

I hope I didn’t alarm anyone, I didn’t mean to, but there is more to the experience than the ‘every days’ and medical procedures. I hope you all appreciate each other as we are learning to appreciate our own family and friends.

~Marlene