Our Journey of Hope

I have not posted anything in a while because things keep changing. The last time I posted, we were looking into radiation and also seeking a second opinion. I have done both. I found out Barnes in St. Louis is #10 on the list of top Cancer Centers in the US. I have since contacted 6 of the top centers starting at the top. These centers will not take our IL Health Insurance or Scott doesn't qualify for their program for various reasons. In particular, I researched proton therapy and he does not qualify because of the location of the tumor (in the transverse colon) and protons do not respond well to gas or air. Evidently, his tumor is surrounded by gas and air.  This was a big let-down for us. After weeks of researching all of our options, we decided to pursue traditional radiation at Barnes...until yesterday. 

A recent CT-scan revealed some unfortunate news. The tumor is back to the original size after shrinking 4 cm since he began chemo in November 2011. The doctors have stopped further chemo treatments at this time. We are unsure if radiation is still an option until further tests are performed. I cannot speak for Scott, but being off chemo and the grueling side effects gives him and his parents a well deserved break. He has an endoscopy (down the throat) scheduled for tomorrow (9/13) and multiple biopsies of the tumor will be done. They are looking for a "KRAS non-mutant wild type gene" and he may qualify for a new chemo drug that falls under clinical trials. I am aggressively doing my research on these new terms that have been thrown our way, as we just received this news yesterday.

Many have asked how Katherine is doing. She loves school and is thriving. She loves learning math and loves reading to us at nite. Art is a new class for her and her teacher remembers having Scott in her class back in the day! She thought that was pretty darn cool.  She is excited about her upcoming birthday and turning the big 7. She refers to kindergartners as "the little kids" since she is a BIG 1st grader this year. She is resilient and I continue to educate myself on how to raise an emotionally healthy child when a parent is sick. We are still mourning the loss of our beloved doberman Haus (pics attached). He was 14 and had bone cancer. He was a huge part of our family and was the smartest dog I have ever known. There is definitely a void in our lives with his passing.  Dog lovers can relate. Scott and I have raised dobes for over 20 years.

Scott continues to remain positive and we do not dwell on the negatives. We continue to celebrate that the tumor has not spread to his lungs, liver or pancreas body. The doctors at Barnes have not closed the door on us and we will continue to pursue all options.

I do not believe we could keep up the fight without our family and friends surrounding us. It has been a long hard year and has affected everyone around us. As always, thank-you so much for your love and endless support.

Please pray for good test results.

Hugs to All...Kelly