Bobaloo Musings

I can't say enough about the effort of my cousin Gay. She put together a 'picnic' at my mother's house in Ohio, on a 3 day notice, where about 45-50 people showed up. It was a Carico reunion and it was Outstanding. My cousin Roger even flew in from Florida for the 3 hour party. Diane's husband Clyde gave the prayer and we had much to eat. Gay, her husband Dick, and I have a secret about the tent but we decided to only tell our great grandchildren so I won't share it here :) Thank you all who came. It was outstanding and I enjoyed seeing people I hadn't seen in many years.

Love you all
Bob

Certaily a rough 24 hours for my family for sure :)

Today I had a dose of radiation on the left hip. The intent is to try and jolt the tumors and keep them from growing more. This is a temporary effort so that I can visit my mother and relatives for a week. In addition, the doctor is giving me 3 units of red blood cells and I will take neupogene for about a week after I get out. These should help boost my white and red blood cells. On Friday I will be released. I am going to Ohio Sunday for a week to visit relatives and should return the 4th of June. Charlotte will go with me to ensure nothing happens. I will keep the blog updated as events warrant it. Charlotte will probably return to work on the 6th.

I had a number of visitors today, in addition to my children, and I really appreciate all of you taking the time to stop by. It is a joy to realize how many friends one really has!

In John 17 Jesus prays for his disciples. One verse, the 15th, is notable in that Jesus doesn't pray to keep his disciples from experiencing death but rather that the disciples be protected from evil. It is the evil of the world that we should fear and defend against. Death is only a transtion for the saved from this world into what God has has promised us through his son. Eternal life.

God be with you all.

Bob

Any healing will be totally God's from this point forward. My chemo was disconnected at 3:00 pm and I am being referred to social services for hospice and end of life issues. There will be no bone marrow transplant. Charlotte and I plan on visiting Ohio the first week of June and will be out at the house after that. Charlotte will be taking FMLA in order to care for me at home. Some people have suggested they can help with the chimney and that will be my first item for completion. I will also call someone to replace the garage doors. I will update again on Thursday but I am a little tired tonight. God is supreme and always in control.

Cheers
Bob

The doctor has visited and she had a smile on her face. That is always a good sign! The cancer is not spreading. More correctly, the lymph node in the neck is a little larger and the tumors in the belt line are larger than initially noted. Praise God that the cancer has not spread. It is only where we knew it was before.

As many of you know, cancer reacts differently to different chemicals so it is possible that the areas noted will respond to the second round of chemo. Methotrexate is a powerful drug so we will see how it goes. I am going to get Round 1 of protocal B. I also had a biopsy done of one of the hip tumors. We expect results in a couple of days and will deal with what they are later. It may be that we need to change the protocal. The requirement is that the tumors MUST be beaten to continue with the bone marrow option. Three candidates have been found that UNMC would like to pursue further. I will update this blog not later than friday but certainly when I hear about the results of the biopsy.

Read Romans 6:23

Bob

Tentative is the operative word here. Yesterday my left hip developed another area of sensitivity to the touch. Additionally, I took off the 50Mcg Fantynal patch and put a 100 one on. The doctor and I also discussed my lymph node getting larger in my left neck. Together these changes suggest the Chemo is NOT working this round. I underwent an MRI and a CAT scan today but have not talked with the doctor about the results. In the morning I go into minor surgery and have a biopsy on the 'suspected' tumor. From the beginning we took for granted the growth was a tumor but it could be a hematoma or some other type of growth. IF the growth is a tumor, and we are unable to eradicate it, there will be no bone marrow transplant. Treatment will be stopped and I will have about 2 months to enjoy this world. Prayer works. While it has been commented that I am handling this situation well, death is NOT my first choice. However God is supreme and righteous. Regardless of the outcome it will be His soverign decision and with his approval. God has blessed me for 57 years and He can bless me for many more years. Psalms 105:2-3 Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget all his benefits: Who forgives all your inequities and heals all you diseases.

God be with you
Bob

Today my counts were still too low. On Monday we will be checked again. The nurse said to show up with my bags packed and ready for admittance. The white count is 2.5 and the red is 10 so we will see. I will update Monday.

Bob

I was lying here in the hospital bed thinking what a great view I had. I can look east, down Dodge street from this 6th floor room, and watch the traffic and stores. It is really nice and I have always enjoyed this side of the hospital when I was fortunate to get it. However, Romans 8:28 says that "..we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Thus there must be a reason I am being sent home :)

In order to get chemo one must 'recover' enough. My white blood count has dropped to 1.1 (4.0-13.0 is normal) and my red count is only 8.8 which is at the lowest end of normal. The doctor was surprised at the drop. I will receive the Rituxin today, in about an hour, and then go home tonight. After resting a couple of days and taking more neupogen I will return to the doctor office for blood tests and consultation on Thursday the 19th. If the counts are up the chemo will be started.

I will update the blog on the 19th.

What an outstanding day! Thank you Lord for allowing me to share it with my family!

Bob

On monday I am to complete a couple of pulmonary/heart exams for the bone marrow transplant and then on tuesday I am scheduled to enter the hospital for Cycle B, Treatment 1. It is expected that this cycle will also take about 5 days. In general, don't hold me to the time frames, but I will start with rituximab and methotrexate the first two days. With check in sometime Tuesday, and getting everything ordered as well as the usual period of fluids required prior to starting the chemo, I will be lucky if the methotrexate drip begins before midnight Tuesday. The methotrexate will be 200 mg/m2 for 2 hours and then 800mg/m2 for the next 22 hours. The methotrexate will be allowed to work for another 12 hours and then Leucovorin will be administered every 6 hrs over the next 8 or until the methotrexate level falls to an acceptable level. Cytarabine will then be administered for 4 doses, 12 hours apart. Then I start taking neupogen until my white blood count rises above 1500. I added a link to the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group for those who might be interested. As an aside, my hair is beginning to come out again. Bummer! It was looking pretty good! I will next update after I get into the hospital.

See you in church Sunday!

Bob

Heard yesterday from the Lied Transplant center that the initial database review yielded 1789 possible matches on 6 of 6 criteria. Apparently they do 6 and then scan for 10 on the results. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this, another person had only 4 matches. So, there will be testing for myself on a whole host of items. Remember this thing involves how strong my heart and other organs are to withstand a successful procedure. I even need a dental exam to ensure no infections or other issues might cause problems in that area. The search will be redone on the 1789 possibles looking for a good 10 of 10 criteria match. Then those persons need to be contacted and screened to ensure there is an interest in participating and they will have to have some medical examinations as well. This process can take a number of months, especially with summer here, and I may begin some of my testing as early as next Monday. In the meantime, I am sure the person who had 4 of 4 could use some prayer.

I will update later today after I go to the doctor's.

Cheers
Bob

My white blood cell count is up to 2700 so we are still working on the red cells and platelets. The nurse told me not to be playing with knives :) But I am not restricted anymore so that is a blessing. On Friday I go in for another blood test and a procrit shot. I will also stay on neupogen until then. If the counts are good, I am tentatively being scheduled back for the next in-patient chemo session next Tuesday. It will be the usual regimen and I will post again on Friday as to what the status is. Please note that I turned on the comment posting feature as well as the e-mail option for the posts. You may comment here if you wish and it can be read in a pop up box. Just click on the selection below this post.

A few days ago it was reported that a sarcophagus was found somewhere in the Middle East. The reporter made quite a thing about the beauty and richness of color used on the material. Here indeed was a very famous person who could afford such finery for burial. Of course the reporter noted that they had no idea who this person was or why they were famous. Fame is so fleeting and of no value beyond this earth. James 4:14 says that our life here (on earth) is a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away. While eternity is forever, how much time do we truly prepare for that period. Should we be focused on the shortest time, the period of the vapor, or where we shall be for eternity?

Cheers and thank you for reading my posts. God be with you.

Bob

I went into the office today for my blood test and to get followup treatment. Today I was scheduled for Vincristine, Decadron, Procrit and Anzemet. Only the Vincristine is a cancer fighting drug while the others attempt to ameliorate the effects of the chemo. I had hoped to put some flowers out this weekend but my white blood cell count is 300 so I am being restricted. Normal is 4,500-10,000 white blood cells/mcl (cells per microliter). This means no church Sunday either. I will go in on Tuesday for another blood test to see if I am building up the cell count. As Charlotte noted, if I had been in the hospital they probably wouldn't let me out :)

A number of people have asked if they could do something for Charlotte and I during this period. I have tried to come up with some thoughts and have a few items I would like to accomplish this summer and would if it were not for the illness so volunteer labor would be appreciated. I have a free standing chimney I need to take down (I am taking out my wood burning furnace) if a couple of guys would like to help with that on a saturday. I need to replace both my garage doors on another saturday and could use assistance to do that.

Just like this weekend, I get restricted from working outside periodically. In addition during August and September I am "tentatively" scheduled to be in residence at UNMC for the bone marrow transplant so lawn work would be very helpful during these summer months. I figure about every third week should be more than enough. Then in late October perhaps a "leaf and walnut" day? We have a lot of walnuts to pick up each fall :( While I should be home in October, under the tentative plan, I will be restricted from yard work during the fall as well.

I have someone coming out next weekend to help with the lawn but other than that, pick a chore and month from my suggestions and e-mail me at nicatt1_2@yahoo.com if interested. I will work with you on the particular weekend. My next update will be Tuesday May 10th.

Psalms 30

Cheers
Bob