Cure Kevin

We were so glad that our oncologist allowed Kev to go to Utah to see our daughter and son-in-law graduate along with lots of Webster family celebrations. Kev’s bloodwork looked good and said we were good to go.  I borrowed a wheelchair from my place of employment which was the best thing I did. We switched airlines and had to go to another terminal in Denver. The wheelchair moved faster than the people mover. We were booking and Kev just came for the ride. We loved being with our daughters Ashley, her husband Pat, Mallory, and her fiance Wendell and Marlene. They came and visited us at our hotel while Kev rested. Marlene even got a taste of BYU life by witnessing Mallory’s roommate announce that she just got engaged.

As I waited for Mallory to get her cap and gown, memories just flooded in my mind because this is where Kev and I met. We walked many halls and sidewalks together. I drove by the park where we had our first kiss. Mallory lives next door to the complex that Kev lived in when I met him. I pointed out to the girls which apartment he lived in. We drove by the apartment complex I lived in and also where he proposed to me. I can’t believe it’s almost 27 years ago when these significant events occurred.

The graduations went well. Kev did not make the main convocation due to the amount of time he would have to be there. Vice President, Dick Cheney, was the main speaker and we had to go through security two hours before it started. So we arrived about 1 pm for the 4 pm program. There was entertainment and snacks for all to make the wait easier. We were able to make the college convocations the next day. Because Kev had a wheelchair we were able to sit up front and Mallory passed by us after she received her diploma. I felt very lucky that we got a close up picture and a hug. We were able to do the same for Pat also. Wheelchairs have their perks. Yet, I noticed that Kev was getting more tired than usual and having a hard time sustaining through the programs. We left after Pat’s graduation and rested in the hotel while the kids did some things.

That evening Kev said that another abscess has appeared. He said it wasn’t too bad and he hoped to get through the trip without having to do anything till we got home. Well, the next morning he was in quite a bit a pain so we had to forgo our neice’s wedding and take a trip to the ER. They lanced it and  gave Kev some IV antibiotics and we were in the hotel within four hours. Kev felt good enough to attend our neice’s wedding reception that night. We were able to see family and friends we have not seen in years. We also got a chance to be with Kev’s family which was wonderful.

The next day the Webster family filled three pews in the church to witness and participate in another niece’s baby’s blessing. Baby Natale wore the blessing dress I made her Mom when she was blessed 24 year ago. We did family pictures and socialized for a while. Then Kev and I went back to the hospital to get another IV antibiotic, had dinner at Kev’s sister’s home along with his parents in Salt Lake City and hopped on the plane that evening.

Then we got home at 5 am and slept the entire day. Whew!! We were so blessed to be able to go.  Kev got to be with his parents and sisters and nieces and nephews.  Our girls had a chance to be together again and we were able to witness a proud accomplishment for our daughter and son-in-law.

Now we are in the middle of trying to get the right chemo mix since he was allergic to the last one. We will find out Monday what the plans are. I have also had to change my lifestyle a little bit and ask for help in certain situations. I find that Kev needs a little more support from me so I am going to have to forgo doing everything myself.  So, I have made a small list. Then I have made a very hard step for me to do and ask for help (sometimes).

Now cancer has become “Just one of those things” that’s part of daily life. Dad doesn’t feel good, we go to the hospital, don’t sleep for a few days and come home. It’s just one of those things. You face it, hopefully figure out a solution,(if not then  you just deal with it), carry it out and move on. As I have learned time and time again, it’s not worth considering every part of a Cancer Life the end of the world because it’s “just one of those things” a bit like breaking your arm or doing badly on a test or not getting that promotion, etc.

Formula for living with “Just one of those things”

1.Figure out what the issue is 

2. Face it dead on with a generous supply of faith, prayer, and spiritual renewal

3.Try and fix it(If this cannot be done then suck it up and trudge while still trying to figure out another solution)

Note: This is where your support network comes in, including all of the “If there’s anything I can do”’s and the prayers said on your behalf.

4. Once a solution or semi-solution has been met, move on. and be sure to show appreciation toall those included in steps 1-4.

Note: Faith, prayer and fasting(for those healthy enough) is included in all of these steps.

Yeah I’m being repetitive, I know, but this seems to be a super abbreviated version of what works for us. Why am I not wallowing in misery or hating every bit of heaven, earth, and anything related to cancer? Well-it’s just one of those things that you just deal with.

~Marlene

Well, we headed off to the Cancer Clinic today to see if we could make my new chemo work with a different mix of pre-meds; a mix that’s worked well in the past for patients that have had the same reaction that I had.

They started the Taxotere flow and at almost exactly the same dosage as yesterday, the pain in my back hit again. Luckily, everyone was waiting and they had all the stuff they needed to counter-act the reaction at hand. I only had to put up with the pain for a few minutes while we waited for the drugs to kick in, so it wasn’t too bad.

The doctors are going to put their heads together this week to come up with some ideas and will present them to us next Monday to see where we go from here. At this point, I have no idea what’s next, so we’re in a holding pattern again. It is nice to have a rest from the chemo, though. I wonder how long its going to be before my body gets back to normal!

Yesterday (Monday), I was scheduled for my second infusion of Taxotere, but the doc has decided to cut back the dosage to 25ml and do the infusions once a week so I’ll be visiting the transfusion room every week… well, maybe.

It turns out that I had a pretty nasty reaction to the Taxotere yesterday… I remember just after they started administering the chemo the world starting to get fuzzy, I had a hard time breathing, there’s excruciating pain blasting through my back, I started turning beet-red and I was asking my father-in-law (who was with me that day) to go get a nurse (trying to put a sense of urgency in my voice). The next thing I know, there’s a huge flurry of activity around me; Oxygen is flowing, Benadryl is being administered, tubes are being unplugged… it was a bit crazy. After a few minutes the drugs started to take effect and things started to settle down; the pain disappeared, it was easier to breath, and everyone started to relax a bit.

Needless to say, it was all a bit scary. They say that this happens fairly regularly and all they really need to do is change the pre-med mix. We’ll find that out today when we give this another shot. In any event, I’m bit anxious to see if the pharmacy guys are right about this “just another pre-mix” thing.

This is just a quick note to say that we are back from Utah and enjoyed watching Mallory and Pat get their graduation diplomas. We are so proud!!  We spent time with Kev’s family and he did well through the trip with lots of planned rest and wheelchair riding. Hopefully Kev will write up some details because we did end up going to the ER in Provo to take care of his ever present medical needs. I am so grateful of the strength he was given to be with his family. I will write more later.

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