Round 3 and the number 14?

Round 3 was supposed to have started on Wednesday but a nasty cold put it off until today. Nothing serious, just some sniffles and a bit of a cough. My first dose was administered this morning at around 10 and I'm feeling a bit foggy this evening, but again, nothing serious. I've got five more days and I'll be done with chemo! I can't believe it. It's been such a huge part of my life for the last 3 months and I feel just great about never having to do it again (hopefully). One of the big drags of chemo is that for the six days plus two afterwards, I have to put drops in my eyes every four hours. The ones in the middle of the night can be a bit trying! But, we'll make it through and I'll be back to full strength by the middle of July.

That brings us to the number fourteen, which my mom and I discovered has been popping up everywhere during my treatment. I was diagnosed on the 14th of March (my father's birthday); I was discharged from the hospital on the 14th of April; I had my somewhat scary fever on the 14th of May; my final day of chemo will land on the (you guessed it) 14th of June and I should be back to good counts and feeling fine by the 14th of July, which also happens to be my birthday. Pretty weird eh? As long as I don't see a 14 on my scorecard other than the hole numbered that way I'll be fine!

I hope to get through this final leg with the same ease as my second round, but there are never any guarantees in life or in cancer treatment. Thanks to all who call, write, e-mail, visit, pray, think of and support my family and me.

-Mark

Sleeping babies and golfing hubby

The kids are sleeping and Mark is golfing. Yah, unbelievable! We are both so thrilled with Mark's energy and reaction to the second round of chemo we just can't believe it. We got word last night that Mark will do another bone marrow biopsy on Monday morning. Following that, the 3rd and (hopefully) final round of chemotherapy will start. After the 3rd round they will repeat the bone marrow biopsy again and maybe we can be done with it all.

We are eagre to assume that Mark is in remmission because he feels pretty good. Tired at times but overall he's doing amazing. But it's hard to get your hopes up when a test can smash them back down again. Highs are high, but the lows are terribly low - so for now we'll just think about the weekend. What should we barbeque? It's supposed to be nice.

We are really loving having Mark home with us. It's almost like a vacation except for the whole fighting Cancer thing. Mark is still travelling into town every second day for bloodwork and tests now that he is recovered from his infection last weekend. Up until Sunday, he was at the outpatient clinic every day for a few hours recieving IV antibiotics. A little taxing on him I think, lots of waiting around but all is well now.

Keep your fingers crossed and we'll post as soon as we know Mark's results.

Livestrong Day is today!

Hello all. A quick update as I'm just waiting for my ride in to the clinic. Today is Livestrong Day (the Lance Armstrong Foundation rally day) and plenty of events and rallies to raise awareness and funds for cancer research are going on all over the states. While I don't know if any of the events are in Canada, I do know that what changes in the US generally happens here too. If you've got a Livestrong wristband, wear it and wear anything yellow to show support. If you don't have a wristband, you can always go to www.livestrong.com to order your own. All the money goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

As for me, I'm doing pretty well. We hit a bit of a bump in the road over the last few days. I developed a bit of an infection and spiked a fever for a while. It was as high as 38.8 C. Don't ask me to convert that to Fahrenheit, my math is horrible! My blood counts are right at the bottom and I can't fight off infection myself so I'm on a week of IV antibiotics. Unfortunately this means I have to go into Vancouver every day instead of just every second day. It's a bit tiresome especially when I don't feel great to begin with.

Luckily my fever broke 2 nights ago and I'm starting to feel better. The biggest hurdle is fatigue. I get winded just walking up the stairs! As my counts rise I'll see my energy level return, I'm sure. I can't believe I have to do this all over again. The only good thing is that it will be the last round and hopefully will go smoothly. One day at a time though.

If you're reading this, why not post a comment? There haven't been any for a while and we'd love to hear from you. Bye for now, and don't forget to wear yellow today!

Day 50!

Six days of chemo are behind us now and Mark is feeling pretty great considering. Lucky for him the nausea and physical side effects were minimal this time around... so far... fingers crossed.

We are happy to be enjoying the things that were so hard the first time around. With Mark in the hospital for over a month he missed doing stuff that we totally took for granted before. Like, being able to sleep in his own bed (beside me!) Napping when the kiddies nap (that's our favourite). Having home cooked meals, putting the kids to bed and reading them stories (and watching them sleep too). Smelling Noah's little head after a bath. Now that we've been home together for two weeks things are starting to feel a bit normal again. Mark is still commuting back to Vancouver every 2 days now but it's sort of like he's going to work. Just not "selling steaks" as Audrey says, it's his new job - fighting the big C.

We are so overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and kind words these last few weeks. It's been hard, but we have never felt alone thanks to all our amazing family and friends. We feel lucky to know you all.

As we wait for Mark's numbers to drop this week and then start their steady climb again back to health, we will be staying close to home as the risk of infection is at it's greatest for the next 10 days or so. Mark checks his email daily and loves to hear from everyone so keep us posted as to what's going on with all of you. And send pictures of your cute kids too!

Day 43, sort of...

Today is Mark's 43rd day since this whole ordeal started. The doctors refer to you by the number of days since your very first day of chemotherapy. It certainly feels longer than 43 days but things are looking up.

Mark is on his second day of his second round of treatment and is feeling pretty good. Doing it as an outpatient has it's benefits and drawbacks. He is happy to be home with us but the long commutes into VGH are tough. Mark also gets the comforts of home but along with them comes the daily routine of having two small children to feed, bathe and get to bed. Fortunately for us, our family has been here to help. Phew! Up till now, Mark has been coping with the physical side effects pretty well. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this will hold out for the 4 remaining days of this treatment and beyond. Sometimes the effects are felt once you're done. Let's hope not!

For now, we've got 43 days behind us and 4 more "treatment days" ahead of us.

Well, we got good news yesterday...I'm in remission! No need for a transplant yet, thank goodness. My new Hickman line will be put in tomorrow morning and my 2nd round of chemotherapy will most likely begin on the weekend. We're all so relieved, especially after waiting almost 4 days for the biopsy results. Just when my hair has started to grow back it's time to start the whole process over again. We are all very hopeful that my 2nd chemo session will be as succesful (though not as nauseating) as the first. Fingers and toes crossed. Thanks for everything.

-Mark

Biopsy tomorrow

On Friday I'll be going in to the leukemia clinic to undergo another bone marrow biopsy to determine whether I'm in remission or not. I'll get some blood work done and that will be it until they figure out my next course of treatment. If all goes well with the biopsy and it shows I'm remission, I will most likely start another round of chemotherapy some time next week. It won't be until after Thursday since I'm having a new Hickman line put in that day (the line in my chest that allows direct access to my blood stream without having to jam a needle in my arm). If the biopsy shows that the cancer is still in my marrow I will most likely need a transplant from an unrelated donor. That poses a whole new set of problems with what is called Graft versus Host Disease. This set of complications arises because the donor blood has T-cells which can attack my cells, organs and tissue. Some people have no signs of GVHD, some people have mild symptoms and others have severe problems. Let's all hope we don't even have to go down that road.
I've been feeling great and I'm really enjoying being back at home where I get lots of hugs and kisses from Audrey and drool from Noah. The rest of my treatment should be on an outpatient basis which is good and bad. While it will be nice to sleep in my own bed and see Leslie and the kids every day, chemo may be tougher at home without a handy call button linked to a nurse who can administer all kinds of fun drugs! Hopefully they'll send me home with a few different anti-nausea drugs to help out. We should have more answers by the end of the weekend at which time we will be sure to update everyone.
My brother, Chris, flew home on Wednesday and my father, David, is now here to help out and to bond with his grandkids too. Chris and I managed to get out and play a round of golf on Monday which was so amazing. It was nice to be outside playing my game and not really thinking about this stupid disease. I even played well, and soundly thumped Chris by 11 shots! Sorry Chris, if you're reading this. For now I'm going to enjoy the bit of freedom I have before the next round of treatment begins. Keep your e-mails and comments coming as they are always so much fun to read. Thanks to everyone who has donated. We can't put into words how appreciative we are for the help it lends us. Stay tuned, more to come soon.

-Mark