Summertime

Happy Summer! How I love summer and wish I could spend the entire time at the beach! It's funny how with each season you spend your time differently. Summer days are longer but somehow I still can't fit in everything I need to get done. Maybe it's because I want to spend all of my time outside, but things like cleaning and groceries still need to get done. Oh well, enough about that.

So I've heard from 4 of you that you read this blog! I guess I can't let down ALL my fans and not continue to keep this blog updated. Of course, most of you are reviewing this to get updates on how Ed is doing with his cancer treatments. The good news is that there's not much to report.

Ed had his biweekly chemo treatment this week. This is the second one without Irinotecan and all continues to go well. His appts are much shorter without the Irinotecan and so this week after his appt he got my car inspected and the oil changed and then he went to play golf (he's in a golf league and plays every week). Still the occasional body aches, but don't we all experience those? And he thinks his hair is getting thicker which makes him quite happy.

And that's my cancer update! No news is good news and we're certainly not complaining. In other random news...

On Memorial Day weekend, Ed and Dan replaced the slider in our kitchen. It's been on the list for a long time so I'm excited that it's finally done. Of course, this picture doesn't show it all done with the trim, but that's done now as well.



And while the boys worked on that, I made my flag cake since Dan requested it.



Last Saturday, Dan and I stopped at my sister Cathy's. With the help of Momma Jean, Cathy, Nick, and Amanda, we picked some fresh, yummy, sweet strawberries.



I then stopped at Atkins and got some rhubard and tried out a new Strawberry Rhubard Squares recipe. Something special for Father's Day. The boys loved it and something different from the traditional pie. (Thanks Theresa for the pan...it was the perfect size!)



And for Father's Day, Ed enjoyed the Lemon-cello and Chocolate Rum that Dan brought back from Italy.







So what can I say. We're boring! But I'll continue to keep you updated and share our boredom with you. Drop me an email or leave a comment to let me know you're still out there! Enjoy the summertime! We certainly will!

Blog Updates

Okay, so somehow it has become mid-June and as my sister has pointed out I have not provided an update since May 1. (I'll let you figure out which sister pointed this out!!) Anyhow, there are a number of reasons I could use for not providing updates...been too busy, nothing to report, just not motivated, and also wondering whether anyone actually reads this thing!

I started this blog as a way to keep you all posted on Ed's condition at the same time--so I wouldn't have to repeat myself many times and you wouldn't have to always ask how things are. The reality is that things are going just fine and therefore I don't find that I have much to report.

I know, you're wondering how the heck can things be going "just fine"--but that's the truth! Ed continues his biweekly chemo treatments and has few, if any, side effects. His hair is his biggest complaint because it's thinning, but I keep reminding him that he should be thankful he hasn't lost all of his hair. Other than that, with the exception of some leg pain--which I attribute to his old age and not cancer!--he is doing well. He continues to work his regular schedule and only takes time off for the treatments themselves. His appetite is fine, he eats what he wants, he doesn't get too tired, and he has started to put on some weight. His golf league started up in April and he's been playing in that every week.

On June 7th he had another CT scan and although we were hoping to hear that the tumors are continuing to shrink, the results instead were that there has basically been no change. The reality is that this is still good news. The chemo is keeping the tumors at bay and no new tumors are present. So things are stable and that is nothing to complain about.

After some discussion with Dr. Bowers, we did decide to cut back on the Irinotecan for 2 months. This will give Ed and his body a break for a while and will cut back his IV treatments from 2.5 hrs to .5 hr. Dr. Bowers was clear that he did not want to go any longer than 2 months without then doing a CT scan and re-evaluating.

Other good news is that Ed no longer needs to take his iron pills. Back in December, he was slightly anemic which accounted for why he was so tired. A couple months ago, Dr. Bowers said he could cut back on the iron if he wanted. This month, he said "stop taking them, you don't need them."

Of course, everyone's question is "what's the prognosis?" With stage IV colon cancer, there is not a "cure", at least not at this time. Instead the chemo prolongs a patient's life and for some patients this could be 10 yrs or longer!

Bottom line, Ed is stable. Tumors are stable. And, although we still hope and pray for a miracle, we are thankful that things are going as well as they are.

So that's the latest! I can certainly do a better job at updating this blog, but I guess I need to know "Is anyone even reading this thing?" If you are, leave a comment and let me know and then I'll try to be better about writing.

In the meantime, Happy Summer and Happy Father's Day!