The Port is In Place!

We’ve been asked over and over if there were any signs or symptoms of Colon Cancer that we could have noticed? I asked the doctor how long this has been going on, for it to be at Stage 4 without really any warnings.  He said the polyp could have been there for years.  SCARY. A lot of people have asked us if Steve had any signs or symptoms.  According to Cancer.org the signs and symptoms of Colon Cancer are: A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation, or narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that is not relieved by doing so Rectal bleeding, dark stools, or blood in…

We saw our 2nd opinion doctor today who is the best in RI and came HIGHLY recommended by many.  He agreed with our current Oncologist and thinks this chemo regimen is really the best way to start.  And then see what happens in 2-3 months when they do the first scan.  At that point he said if it isn’t working, we should think about something else.  He’d be more than happy to talk with us then but sees no reason to do anything else right now. Knowing he feels the same way makes us even more confident that this is the best thing for Steve.  And we really like our current Oncologist so we’ll be staying with him.  However, our 2nd opinion doctor also said…

I haven’t posted in a while.  Sorry about that.  I’ve talked with most of you in person rather than updating this site.  The reason why I haven’t updated, honestly, is because it hasn’t been news I wanted to share.  The news I want to share is “The tumors are shrinking!”  or ” the tumors are gone”.  But I haven’t been able to share that news because that’s not what has happened. Two months ago when Steve had a CT Scan there was a little bit of growth in his lungs.   The doctor believed that at the beginning of the year when he changed drugs and went a couple of cycles without one of them, the growth happened.   At the same time his CEA number went…

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…

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…

We received the results of the CT Scan today.  The doctor says that after looking at the ct scan himself, there has been a small reduction in the tumors.  It’s not as big as the last time but he feels they are all slightly smaller.  He did point out that they are measuring them in mm and not cm so we are looking at something very small in size. Tomorrow is Steve’s first treatment in the next chemo regimen and it will be less the Oxaliplatin.  The doctor is going to monitor his CEA number closely and if he sees any change then he’ll likely change up his entire chemo prescription and use some different drugs. At this point the doctor is looking at it…