March 5th is Dress in Blue Day

Help us raise awareness about colorectal cancer and the importance of screening by wearing blue on national Dress in Blue Day! It is celebrated on the first Friday of March so this year it's on March 5th.

• Colorectal cancer is the #2 cause of cancer death in the U.S.
• Over 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year.
• Colorectal cancer often has no symptom at all until it's at an advanced stage.
• Colorectal cancer is 80% preventable when detected early.
• You can reduce your risk through regular screening.
• Beginning at age 50 (or earlier if you have a family history), everyone should be screened for colorectal cancer.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Spread the word!

Chemo Treatment #6

This past Tuesday, February 23rd, was chemo treatment #6. Ed is still doing well and not having any serious side effects. He has had some pain in his right leg so Dr. Bowers did want to have this checked out. There were three possibilities--(1) a strain, (2) a baker's cyst, or (3) a blood clot. Since clotting can be a side effect of the Avastin, Dr. Bowers wanted to rule that out. He was very doubtful, but needed to be diligent and at least check. So after the chemo treatment, we headed downstairs to the lab to have a Doppler ultrasound done on Ed's leg. We waited while the radiologist reviewed the results with Dr. Bowers so they could do additional tests while we were there if needed. It was, thankfully, not needed. The doppler was clear! Glad to have that ruled out! So rest and heat was ordered to relieve the pain.

The infusion itself, though, we pretty routine. Saw Augie and some of the other regulars that we are getting to know and learn their stories. They are all fighters and I give them all a lot of credit. Many are going through more frequent treatments and radiation and we realize how lucky we are that Ed is responding so well with few, if any, side effects. We are blessed.

Although it does seem strange because, with the exception of biweekly chemo treatments and pills on the kitchen counter, things are not much different around here. Sometimes it doesn't seem real..."are you sure he has cancer?"...because we say the word, we go to treatments, Ed takes his prescriptions, but it doesn't seem real most of the time. And I'm reminded to be thankful about that.

Other good news is that both Ed and I have finally gotten our passports. So now we can seriously look into booking flights to Italy. Our plan is to schedule a trip between treatments while Ed is feeling good. I mean, who knows where we'll be in a few months...look where we were 2 months ago.

March 8th, Ed gets a CT scan and on March 10th we meet with Dr. Bowers to review the results (and also for Ed's next treatment). It will be good to see what this shows and what Dr. Bowers has to say about it. So keep us in your thoughts that day and I'll be sure to update you on the results soon thereafter!

May you all stay healthy and warm. Be sure to hug your loved ones today!!

{{HUGS}}

Chemo Treatment #5

At some point I will stop titling these entries with treatment numbers. At some point it will be difficult to keep track of exactly which number treatment we're on. It's like when you have a newborn child. At first you track their age in days and weeks (he/she is 7 days old...3 weeks old...), then it's months (8 months), half years (2 1/2 years old) and finally we just remember the year (7 yrs old, 20 years old).

Since we are "only" at treatment #5...it's clear we're still in the early stages of this battle. At some point we'll count months and, God willing, years.

But back to treatment #5--which was on Tuesday, February 9th. Once again it was "routine". Got there in the morning for blood work, then met with Dr. Bowers. Ed has finally gained some weight! The scale was up 4 lbs...haven't seen any weight gain in months. So that was good to see. His blood pressure continues to be slightly elevated. This can be a side effect of the Avastin so we will monitor this.

Dr. Bowers said the blood count looks good. His external measurements of the liver continue to show that it is shrinking. On December 15th, he measured 14 x 15; today he measured 4 x 10. What this means is that it appears the chemo is shrinking the tumors.

A CT scan has been scheduled for 3/8 with a follow-up appointment with Dr. Bowers on 3/10. This will give Dr. Bowers a look at the tumors in the colon, liver, and the lump they had previously seen outside the esophagus. Hopefully all the tumors are shrinking and the CT scan will enable us to take a closer look at this.

Still no serious side effects--running nose, some achey, swollen feet/legs on occasion. But, thankfully, nothing serious. We did finally apply for our passports in case we decide to squeeze in a trip to Italy. In December, when we first received the news, we totally wrote it off and didn't even apply for our passports. But with the lack of any bad side effects, a trip may be possible. We'll see.

Speaking of Italy, Dan is doing well. I still nag him to update his blog. He has posted some photos on Facebook but for those of you not on Facebook, you can't see these. Last weekend he went skiing for the first time in Abetone, Italy and is hoping to go again. He just got done making his plans for spring break which will include Berlin and Barcelona. Oh, and somewhere in there he is attending class (I hope)!

Okay, now about that X on the back of the doors...I like to say it's for "Bang head here", but we asked Dr. B and for those of you who guessed it is for emergencies so they can indicate the room has been checked/cleared--are correct! Of course, Dr. B told me to get a life when we told him why we were asking and how we asked this question on our blog!! Told you we liked this guy!!

And, for those of you who have been waiting, I finally got some pictures of Augie, Dr. B's "therapy" dog. They aren't great pictures because I try to be subtle about taking the pictures, but you'll get an idea of how cute Augie is.

Here's Augie making his rounds greeting everyone in the waiting room.

Came over to visit Ed.

Visiting us in the Infusion Suite.

Coming to see if there are any treats in my bag.

Our next appointment is on February 23rd. We'll certainly try to keep you posted. Thankfully things are going very well so there's not much to report. But we're not complaining! May you have a Happy Valentine's Day!!