Hallelujah!!!

Wahoo! Rob had a scan on Monday. We saw the doctor yesterday.

I suppose this wacky chemo has been doing something! (Well, we knew it was because Rob is not on oxygen and he can breathe and he doesn't look like he is on Death's door anymore.) I guess, feeling nauseated 90% of the time and wanting to sleep all the time is worth a little poison.

Dr. Litton came in to the exam room smiling. He said that it is really nice delivering good news. (I guess in the cancer field, good news is a rare commodity. Imagine that?) Dr. Litton gave us these pictures of these scans he printed. (I thought that was very nice of him. Now, we have our very own show-and-tell!)


Take a look at the scan on top. (Jacob said that his lungs look like a steak.) Take a look at the "steak" on the top right. All the white splotches in the black area is cancer. The image on the top was taken in January. Do you remember January? We thought he was going to die that month. It was indeed a bleak month in so many ways!

OK. Now, take a look at the "steak" at the bottom right. The white stuff is smaller, not as pronounced. You can see the cancer on the left side of the picture has decreased a little as well.

Rob's brother, Gregg, had a great question: If the cancer is smaller, what happens to the space where it once occupied?

The answer: The cancer was growing into the aveoli (lung's air sacs), now instead of containing cancer, it is filled with air. This means that more air is getting into his lungs: he is breathing better.

We have a plan after viewing the scan and report:

• Go in for the chemo drug Alimta every three weeks (rather than doing the Carboplatin & Alimta as we thought before).
• He will not need to go in for nader visits 10 days after chemo (this is where they take a look at his blood levels to make sure that he is not too sick and can continue with chemo).
• His side effects are not supposed to be as severe as they have been with only the Alimta.
• He will continue with the Alimta until it no longer shows its effectiveness.
• He will continue to have CTs every three months.

Rob hasn't worked full time since the middle of January. His short-term disability is now coming to a close. His long-term disability will start toward the end of April. He is only able to get in few hours of work here and there. This has been difficult for him not to work full time. He misses his association with his co-workers, he loves his job, and what he does.

Thanks, Sarah & Nate, for your understanding! Thanks to the rest of the awesome Engineering team at Otto Bock for picking up the pieces and helping with Rob's projects while he has been 'away.' Rob appreciates all of you and the support you have given him! He is hopeful that he will gain a little more energy with this new regime (we will find out in the next few weeks...he has chemo next Thursday). He is looking forward to seeing everyone again!

I love and appreciate that we have people coming out of the woodwork to give notes of encouragement and love, phone calls, and so many other gifts. Thank you so much. It sure makes this awesome roller coaster much more enjoyable (is that the right word??).

We love you!