One More Try

Last May, I had a radical procedure done in Milwaukee to remove tumors from the area around my stomach, and then warm chemotherapy was applied directly to the affected area. The doctors did the surgery laproscopically, finding few tumors. Unfortunately, however, the treatment didn't work with the cancer coming back within two months. This was sad news because this treatment represents the one chance for a total cure of the disease. Traditional chemotherapy, if it's the right kind, has the ability to stop the disease from spreading and can kill some of the disease, but eventually it stops working. Not to mention, it's side effects are terrible and get worse as things progress.
I've been going through chemo again since October. We tried a new regimen, but it didn't seem to work, though it did give me a nasty rash, among other things. In November, we switched back to the chemo I was undergoing last year. It turned out to be a difficult transition as my digestive system seemed to slowly shut down. I lost 30 pounds in the weeks after Christmas and spent 9 days in the hospital.
Last week, however, we got a glimmer of hope. My surgeon in Milwaukee said he would like to try surgery again late next month, but this time use a different agent (one that seemingly has worked in me before as part of normal chemo). So, I'm going to go through the big "shake and bake" procedure again next month. This one will be more invasive because there is more disease. But I'm lucky I'm a candidate for the procedure in that the cancer hasn't spread outside the area surrounding the stomach. It's an exciting and scary time. The way things were going, a cure almost seemed out of the question. And, though the odds are very slim that the surgery will provide that cure, it does offer a glimmer of hope. That is really meaningful.
Over the coming weeks, I'm going to try to eat a lot and get back to exercising so that I'm in good shape going into the surgery. We'll need all the help and positive thoughts you can send, especially in the weeks after the surgery when Melissa must become even more of Supermom and Superwife. The amount of suppport we've received over the past few weeks has been amazing! Thanks to everybody, Shaun

Update on Shaun

Well its been a scary couple of weeks, but we think we are over the hump and Shaun is on the mend. The week after Christmas, Shaun went into the hospital because of severe pain that the pain killers could not control. What it turned out to be is the pain killers causing an unbelievably painful side effect which I will call "blockage" to try to keep this clean and not totally disgusting. After lots of time in the hospital with IV fluid and many other drugs and mechanical means to dislodge the "blockage" nothing seemed to be working. Yesterday, Shaun had a procedure to look at the problem with a scope and it was deemed non-obstructed, which is good. Just need some time to heal and let nature take its course. He is back on a regular diet, just taking it easy with more frequent, smaller meals. We are all concerned with how much weight he lost through this ordeal, but hopefully when he is back to eating my mom's home cooking, the weight will come back on quickly. Now that isn't a dig at mom's cooking, its actually a compliment at how good it is! So the goal now is to gain weight and increase his energy level then proceed with the chemo regimen. We are all so glad that he is starting to feel better and hope things continue to go up from here. Special thanks to our parents for all the support and help given now and always. We love you!