Chemo #17 today!

Today we saw the Oncologist again with an update on Steve’s CEA Number.   And we got some really good news! Steve’s CEA (tumor marker number) is down to 64!!!  On June 4th it was 536.  Then a few weeks later it was up to 834.8. Four weeks ago it was down to 263.1.   And today it’s 64!!! The doctor said not all cancers can measure the tumors with this marker, but Colon Cancer is one of them so this does tell us that the tumors are shrinking.  But we can tell as well because of some little differences that we see that I’ve mentioned before.  (His dry cough is gone and his night sweats are gone for the most part and his bowels are better. …

As a parent, the last thing we ever want to do is see our children hurt. We’ve raised our girls with so much love and protection in the hopes that they would always feel safe with us. As a family, we’ve been through a lot the past 23 months and we’ve tried to be as honest as we could with the girls, letting them know along the way how much we love them and that everything would always be “okay”. Today we had to do the hardest thing ever… today we told the girls that the chemo isn’t working and the tumors are still growing. And even though daddy was going to continue on chemo the next 6 months, ultimately it’s just to get more…

This morning I did the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I said good bye to my husband Steve. He peacefully passed away at 6:20 am and is no longer suffering. His soul is free from cancer, so he won! Thank you all so much for your prayers, friendship and love over these past 2+ years. Steve’s Obituary    

I just wanted to post an update since I haven’t in a while.   I realize some people are afraid to ask, but seriously you can always ask us how Steve is doing.  We don’t mind talking about it.  It’s our life now. The girls went to camp the last week of August, right before school started.  It was a camp that is only for children who’s parents have battled cancer/ have cancer.  It’s called Camp Kesem and it’s a free one week overnight camp. When we first heard of it, I immediately thought how great it would be for the girls to meet other children who have a life like theirs and to hear their stories.  But I figured they would NEVER go away for…

Today was Steve’s 3rd Chemo Treatment.  It’s crazy how fast the last 6 weeks have gone by since we first found out he had cancer. Last time there was no issue with the port and the IV went right in with no problems.  This week we had a problem again.  Not getting the IV in, but getting the blood to flow out of the IV.  You see, when they put a port in, sometimes your body realizes this foreign object is in there and doesn’t like it.  So it sort of forms like a blood clot so nothing will flow.  I’m not sure of the exact terms they use but basically it blocks it.  When this happens you can get stuff into the IV, like…

Well friends…..It’s with a very heavy heart that I have to write the post I never wanted to write, nor did I expect to be writing it anytime soon. Steve came home today with Hospice. Unfortunately the tumors in his lungs have spread more and have taken over about 80% of his lung capacity, which leaves him with about 20% to breath. The doctor doesn’t really know how much more time he has, but from the looks of how much of the cancer that has grown in his lungs over the past month, his guess is about 2 weeks give or take. He’s on oxygen and Morphine to help him be more comfortable. He’s happy to be home and in a place where he can…