Brian's first attempt at an Update

Well folks, you are in for a treat as I get my first chance to write my own update. I can't promise to write as well as Amanda but she asked if I would give it a shot.

First, I have to congratulate my wonderful bride for giving blood for the first time last week. I was very proud of her for doing this for me. That being said she also wanted the T-Shirt that you get when you donate, but hey, everyone needs a reward. Of course I had to tease her a little bit by saying that if I can get stabbed, poked, and prodded at over 500 times she can give a little blood. Now we are comparing bruised arms. She thinks hers looks worse. :)

We finished up with Round 6 on Tuesday and it went pretty well. This was a B treatment round which in the past has been quite tough on me from being able to hold down food and dealing with various tastes. However we worked with the doctors and nurses to get the nausea medications working together appropriately which limited the amount of discomfort I felt. I was able to hold down all of the cafeteria food without any special requests. M.D. Anderson actually has a decent selection of food but when you have ate off of the same menu for over 4 months everything gets old. Amanda and I both can order from memory without looking at the menu. A lady came by to ask how I was liking the food and I just had to laugh, asking her to change it up once a quarter.

In addition to what I would consider a good chemo round I also had a good lumbar puncture procedure... which is like saying that the doctor stabbing me in the back did his job well. :) Actually after 10 lumbar procedures we have worked out many of the issues related to the procedure and have mitigated most of the discomfort. We have a specific doctor (Dr. Kumar) who knows me by name and a nice little drug called Verced. The biggest concern we still have is if I will get the dreaded lumbar headaches after the procedure. The headaches seem to happen more after the second procedure than the first so we will have to see. We are going in tomorrow for the second lumber puncture for this round of chemo.

Other than the lumbar procedure tomorrow, Amanda and I only have NCAA Basketball to watch and for me to rest up. Next week will mostly consist of lab work to make sure that my blood work is staying up. The Physician's Assistant today indicated that Round 6 recovery is notorious for a patients blood work to drop. So they have us coming in every other day. Currently we are scheduled for another round of testing on April 14th with a PET and CT Scan. Our prayers are that the spot under my left arm is gone. Regardless I will still have to complete the next two rounds of chemo but it would be a prayer come true if it is mostly for protection purposes instead of trying to continue to reduce the remaining spot.

Also, I wanted to just take a moment and thank everyone for their support over the last 4 months. The support has just been awesome!!! You learn very quickly in times like this how you might have impacted people over the years and I just have to say thank you for your blessings. I have been amazed how God has provided friends and family, even total strangers, to help Amanda and I through this challenge and I have to give God everything. Yes, Cancer Sucks!!! However, I was never promised an easy life but one that God could provide everything that is needed. I would appreciate your continued prayers for Amanda and I. We both need your continued prayers for patience, strength, and that stubborn cancer spot to go away.