Three of Craig's buddies from his growing up days on Dearborn St. came into town last weekend (May 22-23). Ryan Conlon, Glen Williams and Kelly Murdock plus Craig's brother Dave and his wife Marie all stopped by for burgers and some chatting about old times. It was fun for the boys to remember the good old days of homemade bombs, wild girls and secret clubs. Here's a picture of the group before we sent them home after midnight. Thanks to the boys for getting together to reminisce...it meant a lot to Craig.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Old Friends
Three of Craig's buddies from his growing up days on Dearborn St. came into town last weekend (May 22-23). Ryan Conlon, Glen Williams and Kelly Murdock plus Craig's brother Dave and his wife Marie all stopped by for burgers and some chatting about old times. It was fun for the boys to remember the good old days of homemade bombs, wild girls and secret clubs. Here's a picture of the group before we sent them home after midnight. Thanks to the boys for getting together to reminisce...it meant a lot to Craig.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Dr. Visits
On Tuesday, May 26, we had 2 doctor appointments. One with the intervention radiologist (IR), Dr. Burdett and one with the GI oncologist, Dr. Jones. Dr. Burdett will be the doctor overseeing the chemoembolization which is the chemotherapy directed at the liver through the hepatic artery. She explained that a small portion of the liver would be "embolized" which would target the tumors in the liver in that area through their blood vessels and hopefully preserve the other portion of the liver to maintain liver function. Then after Craig recovers from that session, about 4 weeks later they would go in and do it to another portion of the liver. This is really the only treatment available for his type of cancer. We hope to have this scheduled next week so he'll have about two weeks to recover before we go to California for a much-awaited beach vacation.
We then met with Dr. Jones who assessed Craig's current health and how the octreotide is working. Craig relayed his current symptoms which include flushing of the face and neck and hypoglycemia (low sugar 2-3 times/day) and slightly less diarrhea. Dr. Jones decided that the drug is not doing what it should and told him to stop the injections. Craig will see how he feels without the drug as the research is not conclusive as to whether this drug will help with his extensive tumor load in the liver. So now he's back to where he began and not feeling great with a recent cold. We'll see how his body reacts now that he's not taking the shots.
After the appointment Dr. Jones wanted more blood drawn so we stopped by the lab. They drew blood and he felt pretty low suger at the time. When we got home Dr. Jones called to say his blood sugar level was 34! Normal is 100. Very low...he needs to eat and drink every 2-3 hours to keep it up. The tumor must be producing insulin they think...but no one really knows exactly what is going on. Dr. Jones said the cancer is a low grade, neuroendocrine tumor but not the islet cell, more like a carcinoid. It is all becoming very obvious that they are making the best "educated" guess but no one is positive exactly what type of cancer has invaded Craig's body.
We then met with Dr. Jones who assessed Craig's current health and how the octreotide is working. Craig relayed his current symptoms which include flushing of the face and neck and hypoglycemia (low sugar 2-3 times/day) and slightly less diarrhea. Dr. Jones decided that the drug is not doing what it should and told him to stop the injections. Craig will see how he feels without the drug as the research is not conclusive as to whether this drug will help with his extensive tumor load in the liver. So now he's back to where he began and not feeling great with a recent cold. We'll see how his body reacts now that he's not taking the shots.
After the appointment Dr. Jones wanted more blood drawn so we stopped by the lab. They drew blood and he felt pretty low suger at the time. When we got home Dr. Jones called to say his blood sugar level was 34! Normal is 100. Very low...he needs to eat and drink every 2-3 hours to keep it up. The tumor must be producing insulin they think...but no one really knows exactly what is going on. Dr. Jones said the cancer is a low grade, neuroendocrine tumor but not the islet cell, more like a carcinoid. It is all becoming very obvious that they are making the best "educated" guess but no one is positive exactly what type of cancer has invaded Craig's body.
Friday, May 22, 2009
26 years
On May 21 we celebrated our 26th anniversary by staying at The Inn at Snowbird. It was a very romantic night...fireplace, cinnamon bears and a hot tub. What more could you want?
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Family Photo
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Friends
It's amazing how nice being with friends...whether talking in person, talking on the phone, texting, emailing, blog comments, snail mail, whatever...totally makes your day! We can be feeling pretty down and out but just having someone stop by to say "hi", makes our day. One little action can turn it around to be a lot better day than we were previously thinking. We just want everyone out there to know how you all help us get through each day. It would be a sad and lonely day without friends. We are "so seriously blessed". (Check out the blog by that name for some laughs!)
Craig has had calls from friends from the past and present, cousins, aunts and
uncles and everyone in-between that he loves hearing from and gets a boost from each one. It means a lot to both of us and to our kids. Even Scout is appreciating the extra walks with his dog friends (pictured here smiling with Homie). You all have truly lifted our spirits. Thanks. I hope we can return the favor to everyone whether you're in need or not. Craig says how important a smile is and how it can really make someone's day. I totally believe in that. Keep smiling!
Craig has had calls from friends from the past and present, cousins, aunts and
uncles and everyone in-between that he loves hearing from and gets a boost from each one. It means a lot to both of us and to our kids. Even Scout is appreciating the extra walks with his dog friends (pictured here smiling with Homie). You all have truly lifted our spirits. Thanks. I hope we can return the favor to everyone whether you're in need or not. Craig says how important a smile is and how it can really make someone's day. I totally believe in that. Keep smiling!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Black cloud
Craig and I went to a wedding reception tonight of the daughter of a cute girl that lived in the basement apartment of our house in Sugarhouse many years ago. We haven't seen them in years and have only kept in touch mainly by Christmas cards. They were excited to see us and us them. When she asked what was going on with us, the first thing I thought of is of course the cancer. But Craig and I had decided before we went to the reception that we wouldn't talk about it at this happy event. It's hard to not talk about it when it's the first thing always on our minds. As we walked out Craig said, "it's like a black cloud that follows us around". So true, I can't imagine that when we're at Home Depot picking out plants or at Zupas eating soup tonight, that everyone else isn't thinking about cancer too.
I've been giving the octreotide shots to Craig again since Tues. night. On Wed. I left for a lunch downtown before Craig got his shot so he had to administer it himself for the first time. He hates shots...but who doesn't? He's trying just 2 shots a day for the first 4-5 days to help his body get used to them again. He really feels the affects of the shots some days and other days he seems to tolerate it better. Today hasn't been the best of days, his stomach hasn't felt great, he's bloated and he is tired. I'm not much better with a bad cold myself. He can't get my cold...he does not need that!
Craig has an appointment with Dr. Burdett, an intervention radiologist, on May 27th. This is the doctor that will administer the chemo through the liver-directed therapy or chemoembolization. It's still frustrating that treatment isn't moving along at a very fast pace. Dr. Jones says that this is a slow growing cancer and it isn't necessary to rush into treatment. Maybe not for her...
I've been giving the octreotide shots to Craig again since Tues. night. On Wed. I left for a lunch downtown before Craig got his shot so he had to administer it himself for the first time. He hates shots...but who doesn't? He's trying just 2 shots a day for the first 4-5 days to help his body get used to them again. He really feels the affects of the shots some days and other days he seems to tolerate it better. Today hasn't been the best of days, his stomach hasn't felt great, he's bloated and he is tired. I'm not much better with a bad cold myself. He can't get my cold...he does not need that!
Craig has an appointment with Dr. Burdett, an intervention radiologist, on May 27th. This is the doctor that will administer the chemo through the liver-directed therapy or chemoembolization. It's still frustrating that treatment isn't moving along at a very fast pace. Dr. Jones says that this is a slow growing cancer and it isn't necessary to rush into treatment. Maybe not for her...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The treatment plan
Now for what we've all been waiting for...the treatment plan! Craig and I showed up to Dr. Jones' office today and she quickly revealed the plan for treatment. Craig has pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and it is most likely islet cell tumors which is rather rare. Dr. Jones has seen about 10 cases of this type of cancer. Most pancreatic cancers are adenopancreatic.
The liver is extensively involved or a "significant tumor burden". For now, he will go back on the octreotide injections 3X day to hopefully slow the growth of the tumors in the liver. If he tolerates that ok, then he'll receive monthly injections. The tumor on the pancreas is where the cancer originated but the concern now is more with the liver and the need for the liver to function properly. Amazingly his liver is working fine right now so we're thankful for that. The doctor also plans to have Craig see an interventional radiologist, Dr. Carlisle, who will perform liver-directed therapy or chemoembolization to hit the liver with chemo directly through the hepatic artery. This is a procedure that will occur about once a month with an overnight stay in the hospital. They will infuse the liver with chemo to hopefully stunt the growth of the cancer in the liver. Dr. Jones says this is a slow growing cancer and we will do whatever we can do to slow it down even more. We are finding that dealing with this cancer is an ever changing thing and not for the impatient (that would be me!). We think we have a solid idea of what cancer Craig has but the treatment is far from an exact science. It may change in a week or a month. The treatment all depends on how Craig tolerates it and how the cancer reacts to it.
We are thankful for all the amazing medical inventions that exist to aid us with his treatment. Thanks to my dear brother, Craig Harmon, for his love and concern throughout this process. His knowledge and willingness to consult with Dr. Jones on Craig's treatment is calming and helpful to us to know we are receiving the best care available. Thanks to everyone else for prayers, thoughts and positive energy you are sending our way.
The liver is extensively involved or a "significant tumor burden". For now, he will go back on the octreotide injections 3X day to hopefully slow the growth of the tumors in the liver. If he tolerates that ok, then he'll receive monthly injections. The tumor on the pancreas is where the cancer originated but the concern now is more with the liver and the need for the liver to function properly. Amazingly his liver is working fine right now so we're thankful for that. The doctor also plans to have Craig see an interventional radiologist, Dr. Carlisle, who will perform liver-directed therapy or chemoembolization to hit the liver with chemo directly through the hepatic artery. This is a procedure that will occur about once a month with an overnight stay in the hospital. They will infuse the liver with chemo to hopefully stunt the growth of the cancer in the liver. Dr. Jones says this is a slow growing cancer and we will do whatever we can do to slow it down even more. We are finding that dealing with this cancer is an ever changing thing and not for the impatient (that would be me!). We think we have a solid idea of what cancer Craig has but the treatment is far from an exact science. It may change in a week or a month. The treatment all depends on how Craig tolerates it and how the cancer reacts to it.
We are thankful for all the amazing medical inventions that exist to aid us with his treatment. Thanks to my dear brother, Craig Harmon, for his love and concern throughout this process. His knowledge and willingness to consult with Dr. Jones on Craig's treatment is calming and helpful to us to know we are receiving the best care available. Thanks to everyone else for prayers, thoughts and positive energy you are sending our way.
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