Fantastic, Magical Things

"I'll bet a lot of you folks don’t believe that, about a wish coming true, do ya? We'll I didn’t either.
Course, I’m just a cricket, but lemme tell you what made me change my mind.
You see, the most fantastic, magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish!"

 

Yes, Family and Friends, fantastic magical things have happened today.  We went to see Dr. Murphy this morning to get the results of Denny's MRI done Monday, September 16th.  I think we have both come to dread meetings with her.  It seems that after every meeting, we find ourselves in a new battle to fight the war. 

 

Today was different.  She came in and said, "We are going to continue the current chemo treatment.  It is working.  At the tumor board meeting this morning when Dennis' films were shown, several doctors thought they were looking at an MRI after surgery.  The tumor isn't even showing up!" 

 

We sat there in stunned disbelief.  What did she say?  The tumor wasn't showing on the MRI?  What?  The answer is: the tumor has shrunk so significantly that it isn't visible on the MRI.  It is, however, still there and he is not in remission.  I asked, "Does this mean he has been taken off of the "you-only-have-months-to-live-list?"  Dr. Murphy said, "Yes!"

 

This chemo regimen has given him more time.  He had his 4th round today and he will have 2 more of this same cocktail.  After the 6th round, he will have another MRI.  Then, he and Dr. Murphy will decide if they should give it a rest or start with something else immediately.  There is a reason for that which I will tell you in a minute.

 

 In addition to that good news, the Foundation One biopsy report was in.  It identified 3 genetic abnormalities within the tumor.  Genetic does not mean inherited to clarify this for family members.  The first marker has 2 medicines to target.  The second has a medicine that is currently in clinical trial.  Denny may qualify for this one if he is off treatments for 4 weeks.  The 3rd has no known medicine or therapy available.  This is all being set aside for later when all other options are exhausted.  We feel immeasurably comforted in knowing there are "options."

 

After we left Dr. Murphy, Denny went into chemo and I called Dana and Dan.  It was a celebration of unimaginable proportions!  The tears of joy from TheWoodruff4 have filled our glass full.  We wished with all of hearts for this day to happen.  However, contrary to my little cricket friend, it doesn't start with a wish.  It starts with a prayer.  God has shown us his greatness.  All of our prayers have been heard and answered.  We will continue to pray for healing but feel so blessed this day to have more time.

 

Many, many thanks to all of you for all the love, encouragement, support and prayers for Denny.  This day would not be here without the power of those prayers.  I speak for TheWoodruff4 when I say, "Thank you."  Now, let's all enjoy this wonderful day; full of fantastic, wonderful things! 

 

Star light, star bright,
first star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
have the wish, I wish tonight.
We'll make a wish, as dreamers do,
and all our wishes,
will come true.



Peaks and Valleys

Denny saw Dr. Murphy yesterday and started his 3rd round of chemo.  She has been out of the country for a week and has not had time to go through her mail so we still have no news from Boston. She is very pleased with Denny's condition.  His labs are normal and his energy level is great.

The good news is this chemo cocktail seems to be working and she is going to proceed with a 4th round.  In between this 3rd round and the 4th one, she is going to schedule a CT scan or MRI.  We don't know which one it will be. So it seems Superman is riding a Peak right now.

It is hard to describe what it is like living with this disease; as the patient as well as a family member.  The Peaks are always very high and the Valleys are always very low.  There never seems to be a middle ground.  When I say, "TheWoodruff4 fight to be normal", it has to do with this very subject.  We try to find the balance between the two.  We stay optimistic that the treatment is working but always hope that there will be a way around any bad news we might receive.  It is our way of keeping our balance. 

Does this mean we have stopped being optimistic about Denny's future? Does this mean we have given up?  NO!  It just means we have to keep things in perspective and try not to let the emotional rollercoaster wear us down.  This is very difficult to do.  However, for now, Denny is physically stable and the cancer appears to be in check.  We are going to take things day-by-day and just enjoy it. Life is good.  YOLO  :)

This next little while....

It is already the last day of August.  The days are hot and muggy here in Nashville.  It feels like we are all suspended....waiting for answers. We have survived moving Dana into her first apartment for college and Superman's Epic 2-week Birthday Party (that included a Cardinal's Game and the Rolla Gang Food Fest).

Denny's next chemo treatment begins on September 2nd through the 4th.  Dr. Murphy has decided to give him another treatment when the original plan called for just 2.  I am not certain when the next film is but I know we are getting close.  I have to work on the 2nd when Denny sees the doctor but I'm hoping she has some news from Boston. 

Superman has been doing great.  His energy level is normal and he is doing all the things he has always done.  To look at him you would never know he is in a fight for his life.  That is a miracle. 

It is a holiday weekend and for two special days all four Woodruffs are under the same roof.  For just these moments, we can bask in being normal.  No phone calls to doctors, no treatments, no jobs to go to, no obligations, no troubles, no worries.  We have time to just pull each other closer for this next little while and soak ourselves in "normal".  That is a blessing. 

Thank you for your prayers, phone calls, cards, and emails of encouragement.  Please don't be offended if we can't answer them all.  Please know it is deeply appreciated!

Wishing you all a safe and healthy holiday,

The Woodruff 4

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Birthday Wishes

Today is Denny's official birthday.  We celebrated on August 10th but today is his actual birthday.  What a miracle!  Who would have thought this day would come when we started this odyssey in 2004?  That was the year he was diagnosed with cancer and we were told all the hideous statistics of those that had gone before him.  The statistics told us that 60 out of the 100 known people with this rare form of cancer died within 18 months and none had lived past 5 years.  So much for statistics!

Miracles have happened to TheWoodruff4 and are still continuing.  Denny went to see Dr. Murphy on Monday for a checkup between chemo treatments.  She has the lab check his blood levels so she can keep informed of his progress.  She said he is looking so good she doesn't need to see him on August 26th.  She said this chemo appears to be working so he will be getting another round on September 2,3 & 4th. She will probably do a film around that time to see what is going on.  No word yet from Boston on the biopsy.  However, we will take what we can get.  The fact that the chemo is holding the tumor growth down is a miracle.  I think that is a very fine birthday present indeed.  Happy 60th Birthday, Denny! 

Days of Wonder

I've been getting many messages asking, "What's going on with the blog?"  The truth is I have not had a spare minute to write anything!  This summer so far has been crazy; not lazy for thewoodruff4.

I'll take a minute to get caught up from where we left off in July.  My last post described Denny's trouble with staph.  Since he caught it so early, he was able to get it cleared up quickly.  He is doing very well on the new chemo.  It seems to be working because he is not in terrible pain, his eye is settling back into the socket and it has quit watering.  All good signs.  We are greatly encouraged that this is holding the line for the moment.  We are anxious to get news back from Boston.  Hopefully, when we do, we will have something else to blast the cancer with.

The last week in July was spent scurrying around trying to get Dana packed up to leave for college.  As the day grew closer, the University posted the student receivables information to her account.  We were upset to learn that she would be getting $1500 less than we had budgeted for due to some fees we didn't know about.  We had turned in all of her scholarship applications except one offered through our Church.  Since she was finishing up her last day at work, I drove it in to drop at the church office.  As I opened the door, Mark (Pastor of the Church) met me with a surprise that left me speechless. Dana and Daniel have a mysterious benefactor who opened up a college fund anonymously for them in the amount of $10,000 to help with college expenses.  I stood there in complete shock.  My eyes were watering and I struggled for words.  I still do not know what to say.  "Thank you" hardly seems like enough.  We have a "thank you" card written to this mysterious person that will be given to him/her through Mark who has kindly offered to be the "mailman".  Through the generous spirit of this person, we are already looking for ways to "pay it forward."  Those of you who know us well, know we will find a way.

We moved Dana and Justin's stuff together into two different apartment buildings.  Between them, we had a 6 x 12 travel trailer, 2 SUV's and a car loaded down with Tuscaloosa bound loot. The Woodruffs and the Fergusons spent August 3rd unloading all the stuff.  Denny and Dan left Sunday morning for home because they had to get the trailer back.  I stayed until Monday to help get school and apartment business done.  We also put together 2 BBQ pits and I installed locking doorknobs to their rooms.  It was a full day.  I got home about 11:30pm Monday night.

Then, it was time to put my party hat on.  I had already sent out about 55 invitations to Superman's 60th Birthday party and the RSVP's were rolling in.  The date was set for August 10th.  Over 130 people RSVP'd - 95% were family and friends coming in from Missouri. Denny and I were amazed at the turnout. 

The party wouldn't have happened without help.  I didn't do it as a surprise because it was too hard to coordinate Denny's schedule between work and his treatments.  My mom, my friend Dana, Ben & Ashley, and friends, Ron & John came in early and worked diligently to get this thing off the ground.  Our sincerest thanks to all of you for making Denny's Birthday so very special.

As the party came to a close on Sunday, we had to regroup for the coming week.  I was not feeling so well by Sunday night.  Being in the heat and humidity on Saturday got a staph infection going.  If you have ever had one, you know how painful this is. 

Denny went to get his chemo treatment early Monday morning and I took the rented tables, chairs and tents back to the rental company.  Dana and Justin returned to college. Dan went to school. I went to work Monday evening and Denny came home; relaxed and said he was doing well.

By Tuesday, the staph thing had gotten worse so I went to the doctor to get some medicine before going to work.  She didn't want to lance it because she was afraid that with a boil that size, it would get in my bloodstream.  I am trying oral antibiotics first.

While I went to the Doctor, Denny went in for his second chemo.  He is tolerating it very well and just went to work afterwards.  He gets home around 5:30pm and is usually in bed by 9:30 or 10.  He woke up at 1am and noticed I was not home yet.  He thought I was working late.  By 2:30am, he was really worried.  So was I.

I was in the ER.  I had gone to work and at 9:30pm started having some symptoms that were of concern:  pain down my left arm, shoulder, and neck.  We were short-handed, so I stayed until the end of my shift at 11pm.  I debated about whether to go home and take an aspirin or go to the ER and find out what the heck was going on.  The ER won.  It was 2:40am before the ER doc decided he was going to keep me overnight for "observation".  I texted Denny where I was but didn't go into details. I did not want him coming down to the Vanderbilt ER and getting exposed to all the sick people in there while he was going through chemo.

They ran all kinds of tests and finally discharged me with the diagnosis of "Acute Tension". The good news is my heart is 100% okay.  Denny was waiting in my room when I came back from the last test around 11:30am.  He had just finished up his last chemo for the week.  What a pair we are!  I told him he could go to work if he wanted since it would take a couple of hours to get all the results and I would call when I knew something. That's what we did.

After leaving the hospital, I went home and changed clothes.  I had to take our old beagle dog in to have him put to sleep.  He was suffering and starting to fail badly this past week.  He died in my arms.  The comfort to me is that he didn't die alone or unwanted.  I buried him out behind the house next to other old friends who have passed: Peeps (Dana's 9 year old chicken), Hunter and Stewie-Woodle (the kid's hamsters).

I have looked at these days with wonder: wonder at the response and the crowd drawn to Denny's party, wonder that it had to be now that I get a staph infection when I never do, wonder why the "Acute Tension" is surfacing now when this has been going on for almost 10 years, wonder that Denny is doing so well on this chemo that our hope for time is getting stronger, wonder if our Woody Dog is in heaven yet, and last but not least, wonder WHO IS THE MYSTERIOUS BENEFACTOR?  I wonder....

Monday Morning Staph Meeting

I'm exhausted so this entry will be short and sweet.  Denny had to go to an Urgent Care Center on Sunday morning.  We were getting ready for church when he said, "I think I'm getting another staph infection."  That is bad enough in a normal situation.  In his case, it could mean that he couldn't receive chemo.  The Urgent Care doc put him on an antibiotic so he could be on it 24 hours before the chemo was set to begin.  We didn't make it to church, needless to say.  I had to work so we were able to see each other for a little before I went in.

I got home around midnight and tried to switch gears to sleep mode.  Finally, at 1pm I went to bed.  We were up again at 5:30 am to head down to Vanderbilt.  After the usual check in routine, we finally saw Dr. Murphy.  She decided to proceed.  We felt a big sigh of relief at that.

Denny was given his chemo today.  Tomorrow and the next day, at 9:30 a.m., he goes in for an hour to have a little more chemo.  Then, he is done until August 12th.  He will be monitored weekly through blood work to make sure he is doing okay.  We are still waiting for the biopsy information.

Nausea seems to be a major concern with these chemo drugs.  We filled 4 prescriptions; two deal with the nausea aspect.  I have no doubt that superman will handle this well.

He appreciates all of the encouragement and the "get well/thinking of you" cards he has been getting in the mail.  Thanks for checking in .  I'll try to get the info on here as soon as it happens. 

Extinction of a Rare Bird

After the last week we had, these Woodruff's decided to go play for awhile.  Denny bought a used Sea Doo that we took on a maiden voyage.  The Sea Doo looks like it is brand new and runs great.  We had such a good time.  Lots of sun, fun and relaxation! 

Today, Denny and I went to see Dr. Murphy at Vanderbilt.  After the failure of the Erbitux, we were wondering what was in store for us today.  "What is the plan?", we asked Dr. Murphy.  She said, "First of all guys, you have to realize that this cancer is a rare bird.  There are maybe 500 people in the entire world that have it."  As those words left her mouth, I felt the icy grip of fear wrap it's fingers around my heart. 

She said there were 3 options at this stage of Denny's journey.  1) Using the four 1st-line of defense drugs to combat the disease; 2) Waiting for the tumor to be evaluated at Foundation Medicine in Boston for the genetic abnormality; 3) Do nothing and let the disease take it's course.  However, Denny has already been treated with 3 of the 1st-line drugs and could not tolerate the 4th.  The tumor hasn't been sent out yet to Boston as it had to be properly processed by Vanderbilt's pathology lab first. The delay will probably be about 2 more weeks.  Denny doesn't have the luxury of time.  The tumor is a fast growing one.  As for the last option?  Well, he is not ready to give up.

We have settled for working with the 2nd-line of defense drugs.  He will begin chemotherapy with 2 of these drugs on July 22nd.  We have a 5% -10% chance of success with these.  Denny and I are mainly hoping that these drugs will hold the tumor from growing until the Foundation Medicine report comes in.

Dr. Murphy then said, "We will try to do all we can with what we have to work with.  The difficulty in treating this cancer is that there is NO DATA.  There is very little information known about this cancer.  Right now, it is like we are looking at medicines on a shelf and saying  "Pick one".  She said it was time to talk realistically, 

The Foundation Medicine evaluation may reveal an abnormality that a drug exists to treat it with.  It may also reveal an abnormality with no known drug available or one that is still in clinical trial phase.  He will not be able to use the drugs still in trial, if that is the case.  In order to get into a trial, he would have to be without treatment for 4 weeks and Denny does not have that kind of time.

We sat in her office, side-by-side, gripping each other's hand like a lifeline as she laid out this information for us.  I watched her lips move as a bit of a song flashed through my mind.  I felt so angry that Denny; strong, courageous Denny, is fighting such a ferocious battle with limited weapons.  I'm sure you have heard the Eagle's song, "Hotel California"? Isn't it odd that just this part came to my mind?
"They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast;
Last thing I remember,
I was headed for the door,
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before...."

Then, her words came back into focus and I heard her say that we are fast approaching the time when all we will be able to do is make Denny comfortable from pain.  This is known as "Palliative Care".  He is already barely able to take the edge off with 2 Lortabs each night.  She gave him some stronger medication to help control the pain better. 

She said now would be a time for him to do the things he wants to do; see the people he needs to see and say the things that need to be said.  He asked what to expect as this cancer progresses.  She said, "Typically with head and neck cancers, the patient gradually gets more tired and stays in bed longer periods of time.  As the patient becomes weaker, they lose their appetites.  Each day, they get more tired until one day they don't wake up."  I think the horror of this visual overwhelmed us both.

She said that time is limited even with the Foundation Medicine evaluation.  She spoke of time in months not years.  Dr. Murphy said, "I don't have a Crystal Ball.  I cannot tell you how much time is left.  This tumor may grow slower in the next few months or it could speed up.  No one knows.  You need to speak with your kids and tell them time is limited because teenagers need time to process."

We left her office battered but not broken.  Denny said, "I am not ready to give up yet."  "That's good because I'm not either", I thought.  We both dreaded telling the kids.  Picture this scene: The little family gathered around the old oak table in the kitchen of their cozy log home. Then...BAM! A bomb drops in the middle of the table.  Denny did most of the talking; explaining to the kids what Dr. Murphy told us.  If battling this disease was not bad enough, watching the pain on the faces of our children tore our hearts out. 

However, TheWoodruff4 has rallied once again.  When Denny finished explaining the news, I said to the kids, "Look at your Dad.  See him?  He is the strongest, most courageous man I know.  He doesn't quit.  YOU come from that.  That is your heritage.  You need to keep focusing on being successful and not give up.  By succeeding, you are putting a stick in cancer's eye.  If you lose your focus, the disease wins.  Don't let your Dad's fight be in vain.  We can do this...together."

So, family and friends, we are asking for your prayers.  Pray for the extinction of the rare bird.  I hope we annihilate it and it never raises it's ugly head again.  Pray for another miracle.  The doctors said that Denny would probably not live through the surgery in 2010 either.  I think God demonstrated his power through the miracles we have seen.  Pray for strength to help TheWoodruff4 keep their unbreakable bridge strong. Pray for Denny to have relief from pain.  Most of all, pray for Denny to be given a weapon to fight this battle with.  The battle is still on.

Thanks for checking in.  We will keep you informed of any news as soon as it becomes available.