Good news

December 14: More good news. My quarterly review went without any trace of cancer. Blood tumor marker tests and CT scans were clean. The doctor now will move to a four month testing cycle. So, the next tests are in April 2008. The difference is that she wants to do a CT scan every time instead of alternating with a chest x-ray. This is due to the microscopic cancer cell they found in the surgery. After 2008, the cycle will go to twice a year. After five years, it will go to once a year. I'm feeling well - with a few lingering chemo effects; ringing in the ears and some muscle cramps in my feet. Life is good.

Another good report

September 12: Met with the Oncologist today and the tumor markers and chest x-ray were clean. Still have ringing in the ears and some numbness in my feet - it's been 8 months since the last chemo treatment. The doctor said it could take 12 - 18 months for these to go away or they may never go away. Next check-up is in December with a CT scan and tumor marker blood tests.

Clean again

September 5: My colonoscopy was clean - so to speak. No polyps. Next one is ten years out. Next test date is September 7. Blood tumors markers and chest x-ray. Then, meet with the doctor the following Wednesday to review the results.

More good news

June 13: I met with the Oncologist today to review results of the CT Scan and blood tests from last week. The tumor markers and CT Scan were normal. My cholesteral is higher than it should be and up from a year ago. She said there's no connection between the chemo drugs and an elevation in cholesteral. Just need to work on diet and exercise.

Next steps include a colonoscopy in August (because I'm turing 50) and surveilance with blood tests and chest xrays in September. This will be the longest time not seeing a doctor in the last 8 months!

Relay for Life (post event)

June 9/10: The event was very inspirational to me. So many people walking to support others who have been touched by cancer. Our team raised over $3,000 and the event brought in over $130,000. It was a great gathering of my work friends, family and other friends. Some of the participants are shown in the photo.
Relay for Life

Relay for life event

May 21: One of my good friends at work has organized a team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Event. Annette Colombini is the team captain for the event that happens June 9/10. If you are so moved, you can join in the relay or sponsor one of the participants. Relay for Life

The event starts at noon on Saturday, June 9th and ends at 8:00 am June 10th. There are several other teams also participating. I have not attended one of these events before. People who have attended in the past have expressed that the event is very moving (pardon the pun).

I have been doing very well lately. Sitting up for long periods of time and lifting some heavy objects are still a challenge but I'm feeling improvement every day. I have to be careful to not try too much.

Cancer free

May 10: Follow-up with the Oncologist went really well. Tumor markers and chest x-ray results were normal. The doctor declared me cancer free which was really good to hear. She told me that in the tumors that were removed, two different pathologists were able to only find three cancer cells. The cells were so small the type of cancer couldn't be identified. She rates my chance of recurrence at 3%. People are considered "in remission" for testes cancer after two years of normal tests. All other cancer is five years. She wants to be more aggressive with surveilance because of the cells that were found so in six weeks I'll have a CT scan instead of the normal six months.

Back to work

May 7: I went back to work full time today. Everything went well. I wasn't even tired at the end of the day. It was really good to get back to a normal day and see all the people I work with. So many people that really care about me and my health - it's very uplifting!

I'm still dealing with "peripheral neuropathy". This is a side effect caused by the chemo drugs that effects nerves starting in the hands and feet. It can spread to the legs and arms but I haven't experienced that yet. It's a numbness and tingling sensation that at times recruits the muscles to cramp up. Nothing can be done about it. It's just something I have to deal with. It may or may not go away over time.

More progress

April 23: I'm making progress with the recovery. I only take Ibuprofen at night and the incision pain is now reduced to feeling like a bad sunburn. My mom and sister visited us this past weekend. We took an outing to the Everett Home and Garden Show. This is only the second time I've been out of the house in four weeks. It went well - I just had a little pain later in the evening from sitting upright in the car and at lunch. Walking doesn't seem to inflict any pain so I'm up to about a mile a day now.

Progress

April 14: The doctor was very pleased with my progress. I had a follow-up visit with him last Tuesday. He had me switch from Tylenol to Ibuprofen to releive the incision pain. There's about a 3" wide pain path on both sides of the incision. Still no lifting anything heavier than a laptop until six weeks. Yesterday was three weeks post surgery. I was able to tie my shoes for the first time - a real milestone.

The surveillance program starts in early May. I will have a blood tumor marker test, chest x-ray and a check-up with the Oncologist. This will happen every two months for the first two years. I will get a CT scan six months from the surgery date and another one at the year mark. In years 3 and 4, the schedule extends to every four months for the tumor marker/chest x-ray and once a year for the CT scan.

For Nicholas and others

April 8: Many times during my treatment and experience with cancer, I've gotten into a frame of mind that this is pretty bad for me. But I always catch myself and think about Nicholas. Nicholas is my cousin's 4 year old son who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia a few weeks before my diagnosis. Not all cancers are alike and his treatment is much more intensive than mine and much longer. While I complained about a 12 week chemo cycle, his is about three years. Read Nicholas' blog. My cousin (Nicholas' mother) is raising money for cancer research through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program. She will run in the San Diego Marathon on June 3. She is driven by the hope that some day no parent will ever have to hear what they did. Team in Training

Other worthy cancer research organizations:
American Cancer Society
LiveStrong Foundation

While cancer may not be eliminated in my lifetime, I have hope that it will be brought under more control for Nicholas' generation.

Hospital Experience

April 7: My stay in the hospital lasted 6 nights. It was the first time I've ever stayed in a hospital. Overall, it went well. But I learned if you need sleep, don't look to get much in a hospital. With every shift change, the techs checked my temperature and blood pressure. In addition to that, they checked blood sugar levels at least once a day and drew blood every morning. The wake up call at about 5:15 am each morning was to have some blood drawn - not a pleasant way to wake-up. I found the hospital to be generally very noisy especially at night. I moved three times during my stay. The first night I was in the intensive care unit. Then, the next afternoon they moved me to the 15th floor where I stayed one night. Finally, bed space opened up on the 17th floor which is where the Urology patients were located and where my doctors wanted me to be. I was lucky enough to get a window spot and had a good view of downtown Seattle and regions south. My first roomate on the 17th floor was recovering from pneomonia and complicated by a weak heart condition. He had a rough night and next morning became unresponsive. The medical emergency team was called to our room and they transported him to intensive care. Never a dull moment. When it came time for me to leave, I was all too happy to get out of there.

Staples removed

April 2: I had the staples removed and despite what I heard from other people, it really hurt! They were left in a little too long and the skin started growing over some of them. 10 days was too long. But it's done now. They put strapping tape type sutures to hold the incision together. Recovery is going okay but it's really slow. I tried eliminating the pain pills but it's too soon. Sherry and I walk 2 - 3 times per day just down the block and back. Walking doesn't seem to bother me as much as getting up and down from sitting or laying. Patience is the key.

Incision

My apologies if this is too graphic. The incision is about 13" long plus the jog around my belly button. They used 40 metal staples. Looks like someone stopped at the hardware store before the surgery. They are really long and heavy gauge. One doctor called it a "trophy scar". Every doctor and nurse that examined me commented on it. But they were also quick to comment that it appeared to be healing really well. No ab crunches for awhile.

HOME

March 28: I was released this afternoon and now I'm home on the road to recovery. One of my doctors put it this way: "After we take out everything we put into you, we no longer have a reason to keep you here." The passing tests were: can you pass gas?, can you pass urine without the catheter?, can you eat solid food without any nausea? It feels really good to get home. I was trying to beat the 7 - 8 day expected hospital stay by a few days and ended up spending 6 days there. We received results of the biopsy and they did find some microscopic cancer cells in the largest tumor but they were so small they couldn't tell what kind they were. In general, this is good news. It means no more chemo and a regimen of surveilliance.

They will take out the staples on Monday and then there's a follow-up visit a week or so later to see how the incision is healing. I am feeling pretty good but definitely need to keep up with the pain medication. I let it lapse last night and was in a lot of pain this morning when I woke up. Can't be tough here. Need to keep the pain in control. I'll write more about my hospital experience in the coming days. I'm really happy to be home.

Progress

March 27: Doug continues to improve. He is sitting, walking, and now is free of the irritating tube that was down his nose, throat and into his stomach. This allow him to enjoy the freedom of getting in and out of bed without calling for help. The Doctor is very happy with his progress. Tomorrow he hopes to be put on food (though it will be liquid only). He has not eaten a meal since last Thursday morning. One more step towards going home.

Surgery

March 23: Surgery went well; they removed all tumors. It was completed in 6 hours. I will be spending the night in the intensive care unit and will be transferred to a regular hospital room tomorrow.

Getting ready

March 19: I completed my pre-anethesia clinic last Friday. This consisted of an EKG, blood draw and answering some general health questions. It also included meeting with a different Urologist than the one who's doing the surgery. I think this is a check and balance step on the part of the hospital. I can't eat any solid foods past breakfast the day before surgery. Then, I have a self-service kit to make sure my intestinal tract is empty. Not looking forward to that procedure but all necessary. Anxiety is building and I'm finding myself working to make sure I have everything done that I won't be able to do for awhile.

Surgery

February 9: I was finally given the surgery date: March 23rd. A bit further out than I would like but the doctor wants my white blood cell count to be higher. This gives me more time to recover from the chemo treatment. Some of the details of the surgery are a little different than we heard. The doctor expects it to take between 6 - 9 hours. He also told me to expect to be in the hospital for 7 - 8 days. After that, full physical recovery could take up to 6 weeks. I was expecting the recovery time but the surgery time and days in the hospital are double what I was prepared for. It's still sinking in but I'm ready for this next step.

Next Step

February 6: I had a full day of tests. Blood draw, CT Scan and hearing test. The hearing test indicated some hearing loss in the higher frequencies. But not enough loss in the conversation range to warrant hearing aids. The Oncologist later told me that the ringing may get worse before it gets better. She also told me it may be up to 18 months before the ringing lessens and it may be with me the rest of my life. The blood test - tumor markers were negative. The CT Scan still showed at least three tumors that haven't shrunk much since the last CT Scan done one month ago. Because of the teratoma element in the original tumor (that's not treatable by chemo), I need to have the surgery. An exact date hasn't been decided but should be by tomorrow. My white blood count is still low and the surgeon wants to let some more time for my body to recover from the chemo. The surgery will happen in the next 3 - 5 weeks.

Sea of yellow support

January 30: My co-workers at Fluke and Fluke Networks suprised me with a show of support by wearing yellow Live Strong shirts today. This really lit up my day! Support from people I work with, friends and family has helped me get through my situation. This was overwhelming!

Post treatment

January 14 - January 27: Each day has been progressively better than the day before. I still have ringing in my ears and it doesn't seem to be getting better. The muscle pain in my lower left leg and foot comes and goes. I can't walk for more than about 5 minutes before it starts to tighten. Hopefully these two lingering problems will go away soon. Other than that I'm feeling so much better than I have in the last 6 weeks. 1-1/2 weeks to go before the tests and meeting with the doctors.

Cycle 4, last treatment days

January 10 - 13: The treatment has gone really well. And now it's over which feels really good. I'm experiencing a lot of fatigue, constant ringing in my ears plus some stomach queasiness. But for the most part it just feels good to be done with the four cycles of chemo treatment. Now, the waiting period until February 6th to find out whether surgery is the next step or not.

Cycle 4, Day 1

January 9: Treatment went well today. I had a high enough white blood cell count to do the treatment. We met with the doctor and she had the results of the CT Scan from last Friday. The tumors are shrinking - some went down about 40% and another one about 50%. This was good news. It means the chemo treatment is working. Surgery still sounds like it will happen though. The tumors would have to shrink away to nothing and even then, she thinks because of the number of tumors that surgery would still be necessary. But she wants to consult with the surgeon after this cycle is over. So, after this cycle is completed (four more days of treatment plus 16 more recovering) on February 6th I go in for another tumor marker blood test, CT Scan, hearing test and consult with both the Oncologist and the Surgeon. At that time, they'll review the latest scan and markers and we'll talk about surgery.

Continuing on

Dec. 26 - Jan 4: It's been going okay. There are good days and not so good days. I'm continuing to have a fair amount of muscle pain in my left calf and foot. Walking up stairs is a challenge. There's more fatigue after this last cycle compared to after the first two cycles. Tomorrow, I get a CT scan. This will be the first one since November 2nd - before treatment started. I'll get the results of that next Tuesday when I meet with the doctor at the beginning of the last cycle. I'm hoping that the scan will reveal shrinking tumors.