Happy Anniversary to Us!

On Saturday, June 21st, Denny and I will be celebrating 23 years together.  This has been quite a journey.  We have so many great memories since our wedding day so long ago.

Let me catch you up on the latest developments.  Denny and I met with Dr. Murphy on Monday, June 16th.  She was going to start him on the Everolimus.  However, when she got the results of the MRI, she changed her mind.  The MRI said there was no significant change between the latest MRI and the one that was done in April.  Dr. Murphy feels that because the Topotecan is still has a response, she wants to keep going with it until Denny can't tolerate it or the cancer becomes totally resistant.  Even though the Topotecan cannot hold him completely from treatment to treatment, she wants to exhaust it totally before moving on to the Everolimus.  We have no idea if the Everolimus is even going to work.  So this is the plan for now.

While we were with Dr. Murphy, Denny brought up the driving restriction again.  Dr. Murphy is scheduling a driving test.  If Denny passes the test, he will be able to drive.  If he doesn't, he will not be able to drive at all.  As of right now, he can drive locally and but not on the highway. 

His next chemo begins June 23rd.  Dan and I have to go to Auburn for his New Student Orientation called "Camp War Eagle".  We will be leaving on June 22nd.  Denny's sister, Anita and our brother-in-law, Jim, are coming down to take Denny to his treatments.  Dan and I will be back late Tuesday night or Wednesday.

I have to work on June 21st so Denny and I will be celebrating our anniversary tomorrow night.  We are going to go out to eat at Cheddars.  Considering where we were last year, who would have thought we would be celebrating another anniversary?  It is one more miracle to add to the list...

Happily Everolimus

We have been very busy since my last post.  Let's see...where did I leave off?  Oh, yes..I was telling you about how the Topotecan wasn't working.  Denny went ahead and finished the week of chemo ending with a shot of Nulasta on Friday.( Nulasta helps his white cell count). He was feeling tired and somewhat nauseous through the days of chemo.  However, he seemed to perk up on Saturday.

Our friends, Bob and Linda Buechel, flew in Saturday morning to spend the day with us.  Bob and Denny went to college at Rolla and were in different fraternities together. Haha!  They have remained the best of friends all these years.  When I married Denny, they adopted me into the crowd and here we are.  They are hilariously fun and we enjoyed every moment with them.  We made bets on the Belmont horse race and used the winnings to have a great dinner at Famous Dave's. (Pictured above)
The day went by so quickly.  They flew home on Sunday morning but the memories we made that day are wonderful!

Denny ate more in the hours we were with them than he had in a week.  When we saw Dr. Murphy this morning, he had to weigh in.  He has already lost 5 pounds since the beginning of June. I said, "Denny, this is not good.  You are losing too much weight."  He said, "I can only eat so much.  I feel bloated all the time." He has lost a total of 25 pounds since the beginning of May.

As I mentioned, we met with Dr. Murphy today.  She is taking Topotecan off the table now.  It is no longer working. She has also scheduled him for an MRI tomorrow night at 7pm.  This is to get a baseline on where the tumor is now.  If his labs come back good on Monday, June 16th, she will start him on the chemo identified through Foundation One through the biopsy.  Since it is not approved for head & neck cancer, she will have to get it through the samples pharmacy.  Our insurance will not pay for a non-FDA approved therapy so she said she was going to see what she could do.  It is very costly but I know she will come up with something.  The name of the drug is "Everolimus". (Pronounced: Ever-o-lime-us)  Brand name is Afinitor.  She said we need to pray that this works.  It is our last line of defense.  She will keep looking for other therapies but doesn't have any possibilities in the horizon.

Yes, this is a very scary time for TheWoodruff4.  In Church on Sunday as I was listening to the sermon, I was surfing through the pew bible.  Isn't it a coincidence that this verse caught my eye?

Proverbs 17:22 - "A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones."

I take this to mean that we should stay positive and not get pulled under by fear.  So, TheWoodruff4 will continue to live each moment; savor the time and cherish the memories.  We will not lose hope until the last minute of the last breath... 

Graduation Goal

We celebrated Daniel's big day on May 31st.  He graduated high school with honors and distinction.  Guess who was there to see it?  Superman met his goal!  Here he is with his son on Graduation Day!  I remember when he was first diagnosed in 2004.  His one wish was to get to see both of his children graduate from high school.  He has fought very hard to make it happen. You have no idea how happy I am to be able to post this picture!

We have gone straight from graduation to chemotherapy this week.  We saw Dr. Murphy on Thursday, May 30th.  She felt the chemo was still working and decided he should go through chemo this week.  She said he was looking great!  She said as long as the Topotecan is working, we will keep using it.

Sadly, by Saturday night, I saw Denny's left eye start to water.  That is the beginning symptoms of the tumor becoming active.  By Sunday afternoon, his face was starting to swell.  The bulge in the roof of his mouth has returned.  I sent Dr. Murphy an email yesterday telling her of the return of the symptoms. Denny said the chemo is failing.  He is waiting to feel better but that time hasn't come.  Dr. Murphy sent a reply to my message that we will be coming back in on Monday to talk about another type of chemo.  I'm guessing it is the one she has found in the sample pharmacy.

Denny is not feeling very well.  The chemo gets tougher for him every time.  He has not been eating much but has been drinking Ensure and Boost.  Hopefully, this will help him through the rough spots until he feels like eating more solid food.  Superman is still fighting!  The courage and tenacity of this man is just amazing.  I am so, so proud of him.  You are awesome, Denny!

TheWoodruff4  are doing everything we can to help him with his battle.  Dana and Daniel have helped with the trips for chemo.  I'm coordinating doctor appointments and dealing with the insurance. Denny is doing all he can to keep his body going.  Please continue to say prayers for him.  They are much appreciated!