Today was our much anticipated re-visit to Duke University's Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Center to gain additional insight into what we thought was going to be Brad's next step to recovery...a bone marrow transplant. Well, that's not what we walked away with.
After spending some time with Dr. Rizzieri and sharing his list of recurring symptoms, Brad was told that the symptoms he's experiencing, do not match the type of cancer he has been diagnosed with. Follicular Lymphoma affects the "B Cells" in one's body however, the symptoms Brad is experiencing are more commonly found in "T Cell" type lymphoma. This has Dr. Rizzieri somewhat stumped and raised some concern that something else could be going on. As a result, he ordered about 12 different blood tests for Brad to test his liver, kidneys, thyroid, allergies and several other things that could be impacting the way Brad is currently feeling. Those results will be back at the end of the week. If everything comes back normal, Dr. Rizzieri suggested that another lymph node be removed and biopsied, because it's possible that his body is developing a secondary cancer. I asked whether it's possible that a B Cell Lymphoma develop into a T Cell Lymphoma and he indicated that could not happen. So that's where the "no news" part of the blog comes in.
The good (in my mind GREAT) news is that Brad will not move forward with the transplant right now. Although his cancer has returned much sooner than anticipated, what we found out today is that the transplant is the last ditch effort to a cure AFTER all other treatment options have been exhausted. We were quite frustrated with this (not only because Duke is a 3 hour drive each way!) but because we have been told Brad is a great candidate due to his health, age, donor match, etc... and was even told again today that he will indeed need the transplant at some point in his future.
Why wait? That was EXACTLY what we were wondering and so frustrated about. If you know that a transplant is coming, can't/shouldn't we do it now? What we didn't know is that the type of transplant Brad would have has about a 20% mortality rate. However, chemotherapy, regardless of the type one is having, has a much lower mortality rate. If chemo keeps a patient in remission for a couple of years at a time, the quality of life is still much higher than that of most transplant patients. Once a transplant takes place and should another relapse occur, there are really no remaining treatment options. So yes, this is the "good news" and it also means we don't need to get rid of our puppy dogs, so Avery is quite thrilled at the moment!
We will return to Dr. Fintel here in Roanoke on February 7th and will hopefully be able to discuss the blood test results and whether we should move forward on chemo, radiation or both to treat the existing cancer.
Bless Brad's little heart...I know he wants answers, we all do. We will get them, but it's just not going to be today. We'll keep everybody posted on our next visit to the Dr. From the bottom of our hearts, thanks for all the prayers and positive thoughts you're sending our way.
Love,
Brad, Sandy & Avery
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
God Gave Me You...
Dear Brad -
Even though I'm in Atlanta, I want to wish you (us) a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I can't believe that 10 years ago today, I had the most amazing opportunity to not only marry my very best friend, but the most incredible loving father. I feel so blessed to have you right next to me each step of our crazy journey together. I'll need your music skills to get it up on the blog, but the Blake Shelton (or Dave Barnes) song, "God Gave Me You" describes exactly how I feel. I love you with my entire heart and soul - thank you for being such an amazing husband.
I've been a walking heartache
I've made a mess of me
The person that I've been lately
Ain't who I wanna be
But you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need you
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I've lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you
There's more here than what we're seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You'll always be love's great martyr
I'll be the flattered fool
And I need you
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I've lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you
On my own I'm only
Half of what I could be
I can't do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I could baby, never undo
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I've lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you, gave me you
Gave me you.
Even though I'm in Atlanta, I want to wish you (us) a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I can't believe that 10 years ago today, I had the most amazing opportunity to not only marry my very best friend, but the most incredible loving father. I feel so blessed to have you right next to me each step of our crazy journey together. I'll need your music skills to get it up on the blog, but the Blake Shelton (or Dave Barnes) song, "God Gave Me You" describes exactly how I feel. I love you with my entire heart and soul - thank you for being such an amazing husband.
I've been a walking heartache
I've made a mess of me
The person that I've been lately
Ain't who I wanna be
But you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need you
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I've lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you
There's more here than what we're seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You'll always be love's great martyr
I'll be the flattered fool
And I need you
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I've lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you
On my own I'm only
Half of what I could be
I can't do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I could baby, never undo
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I've lost my way
There are no words here left to say, it's true
God gave me you, gave me you
Gave me you.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Take Courage. Do not be afraid.
If you have followed our blog from the beginning, you may remember an entry from December 2009, where I mentioned Avery had received a Max Lucado "Fearless" flip calendar as a Christmas gift. The calendar has daily biblical verses and inspirational thoughts to help one be strong during times of uncertainty. Well, since Avery didn't pay too much attention to the calendar, it has lovingly found a home on my desk at work. Yesterday's reading was simply this from Matthew 14:27: Take courage. Do not be afraid.
Wow...what a "hit me in the gut" moment as it was the perfect match for what I was feeling. I read that verse as I was preparing for my usual Monday morning staff meeting and mentally preparing to go to Brad's oncology appointment to discuss his upcoming treatment plan that will take place due to his relapse.
During the past 10 days, Brad and I had truly spent some quality time discussing the options we thought would be presented to us. More chemo, maybe radiation, maybe both, maybe a bone marrow transplant...you know, the typical husband/wife coffee talk.
What we found out yesterday is that Brad's cancer is much more aggressive than we originally thought. He has some pretty significant "activity" below his waist (get your mind out of the gutter) as well as in his neck on the right side. When Brad was diagnosed 2 years ago, a large lymph node was removed from his neck, but on the left side. Because we are fortunate enough to have been down to Duke 2 years ago for a discussion of a bone marrow transplant and found out that Brad's brother Chad is nearly a 100% match, Brad's Oncologist has suggested that we move forward on the transplant process.
This is a very scary time for us. We now wait to hear when Brad's appointment at Duke will take place, likely by the end of February. Due to ensuring that Brad's body is ready to accept Chad's bone marrow, a series of preparation procedures will be done, including pre-transplant chemo to put his cancer back into remission. He will have his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and many other tests performed as well as again going through a psychological evaluation to see if Brad has the support system in place to manage the transplant.
Because the transplant process is one which will require some significant time for Brad to recover, as well as the need for him to have easy access to the transplant center at Duke, Brad will need to "move" to Durham while he recovers. For most patients, this is typically about 100 days, although full recovery time for a transplant patient is about a year.
We know that a long, emotional road lies ahead for us. I ask that you pray specifically for Brad, Avery, Brad's parents and brothers and me to have the strength and courage to travel the road in a way that will ultimately be the healthiest for Brad. Several of you have already asked "what can I do to help?". To be honest, we don't know at this point in time. What we DO know, is that we have the most amazing support system in place, including our family, friends, a loving church and Sunday School class, as well as a loving God who knows what lies ahead and will lead and guide us. Yes, we are doing our best to take courage and not be afraid.
Wow...what a "hit me in the gut" moment as it was the perfect match for what I was feeling. I read that verse as I was preparing for my usual Monday morning staff meeting and mentally preparing to go to Brad's oncology appointment to discuss his upcoming treatment plan that will take place due to his relapse.
During the past 10 days, Brad and I had truly spent some quality time discussing the options we thought would be presented to us. More chemo, maybe radiation, maybe both, maybe a bone marrow transplant...you know, the typical husband/wife coffee talk.
What we found out yesterday is that Brad's cancer is much more aggressive than we originally thought. He has some pretty significant "activity" below his waist (get your mind out of the gutter) as well as in his neck on the right side. When Brad was diagnosed 2 years ago, a large lymph node was removed from his neck, but on the left side. Because we are fortunate enough to have been down to Duke 2 years ago for a discussion of a bone marrow transplant and found out that Brad's brother Chad is nearly a 100% match, Brad's Oncologist has suggested that we move forward on the transplant process.
This is a very scary time for us. We now wait to hear when Brad's appointment at Duke will take place, likely by the end of February. Due to ensuring that Brad's body is ready to accept Chad's bone marrow, a series of preparation procedures will be done, including pre-transplant chemo to put his cancer back into remission. He will have his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and many other tests performed as well as again going through a psychological evaluation to see if Brad has the support system in place to manage the transplant.
Because the transplant process is one which will require some significant time for Brad to recover, as well as the need for him to have easy access to the transplant center at Duke, Brad will need to "move" to Durham while he recovers. For most patients, this is typically about 100 days, although full recovery time for a transplant patient is about a year.
We know that a long, emotional road lies ahead for us. I ask that you pray specifically for Brad, Avery, Brad's parents and brothers and me to have the strength and courage to travel the road in a way that will ultimately be the healthiest for Brad. Several of you have already asked "what can I do to help?". To be honest, we don't know at this point in time. What we DO know, is that we have the most amazing support system in place, including our family, friends, a loving church and Sunday School class, as well as a loving God who knows what lies ahead and will lead and guide us. Yes, we are doing our best to take courage and not be afraid.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
A Relapse...
Yesterday, Brad went for his 6 month PET scan and we were able to get the results yesterday afternoon. Sadly, the news was not what we wanted to hear and we have been told that Brad's cancer is "active" again. We were really hoping to get past July 16, 2012. Why do you ask?
If you haven't followed our story from the beginning and are just catching up, when Brad was diagnosed with his cancer in December 2009 and started getting information from his Oncologist at the beginning of 2010, one key piece of information that stuck with us, is that if Brad could make it past 2 years without a relapse, it would significantly decrease his chance of needing a bone marrow transplant. Because his cancer has again become active prior to the 2 years, we're not quite sure what this means regarding his treatment options.
We will meet with Brad's Oncologist (Dr. Fintel) on Monday, January 23rd. Please keep him and all of us in your thoughts as we explore the options that may be available and make the best decision possible. We're nervous, anxious and emotions once again run high for all of us. Thank you for your prayers and positive energy - we'll keep you posted on what happens next.
Much love,
Brad, Sandy & Avery
If you haven't followed our story from the beginning and are just catching up, when Brad was diagnosed with his cancer in December 2009 and started getting information from his Oncologist at the beginning of 2010, one key piece of information that stuck with us, is that if Brad could make it past 2 years without a relapse, it would significantly decrease his chance of needing a bone marrow transplant. Because his cancer has again become active prior to the 2 years, we're not quite sure what this means regarding his treatment options.
We will meet with Brad's Oncologist (Dr. Fintel) on Monday, January 23rd. Please keep him and all of us in your thoughts as we explore the options that may be available and make the best decision possible. We're nervous, anxious and emotions once again run high for all of us. Thank you for your prayers and positive energy - we'll keep you posted on what happens next.
Much love,
Brad, Sandy & Avery
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