Round 1 completed

Ryan has completed round 1 of his chemo. He has had good days and bad, but overall has done better than expected. Yesterday he got out of the house to take a drive with his mom and the kids. He didn't do so well on the drive so we ended up going in yesterday for fluids and change in his anti-nausea medications. His Dr is hopeful that next week will be better and he will be able to resume some of his regular activities.

Today he is doing well so we are looking forward to spending some time in the backyard catching up on yard work. Hopefully spending some time in the sunshine relaxing in his favorite camping chair supervising will be just what he needs to jump start a great week. :)
We made a deal that I would be in charge of all yard work-JUST THIS YEAR- but next year it's returns to being his baby!! He laughed and agreed.

We have all learned that laughter is the best medicine and helps us get through the bad days. I am so thankful for the wonderful man that he is and how strong he has been through all of this. We continue to appreciate each and every one of you everyday and talk about how lucky we are to have such wonderful friends and family to lean on.

April 13th is the day to starts the next round! We have had lots of questions and hesitations about visitors and want you all to know that we welcome visitss and calls anytime. We all enjoy the company, so come ANYTIME. The only stipulation is no sickies! :):)

Love to you All!

Day 2 down!!

Ryan had his first dose of chemo yesterday and tolerated it well. They gave him 2 different kinds and lots of other meds in the mixture. We spent most of our day there.
Today he went in for his 3rd type of chemo. He will go back in tomorrow and Friday to get this kind again and then they have him resting the weekend and Monday. He will return again Tuesday to get the first 2 types again. Wednesday is an injection to boost his blood count, and then he rests until April 13th and starts again with the same cycle.
So far he hasnt had much for symptoms besides being extremely tired. He did wake up this morning and tried to drink a cup of coffee- notice I said tried. He said it was terrible. Very unusual since we both enjoy our coffee alot.
We continue to thank our blessings. Today we are thankful for the minimal side effects. Thank you Lord!!
~Until tomorrow :)!

The Port Is In

Ryan had his port put in this afternoon and is home resting now. He did very well- Dr said his skin was very thick- I wanted to be smart and tell him that it has to be to handle all of this, but instead I smiled pleasantly and nodded. :) I'll update after Tuesday when he starts his first dose of chemo.
We want to again thank all of you who have been so concerned, and so helpful to our family. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Update

I apologize for not posting anything for the past few weeks. We have been busy adjusting to being home, dr appts and enjoying the nice spring weather until today- it was chilly!
We had our appt with the oncologist today to get results from Ryans CT he had yesterday. The results show that Ryans cancer has grown in his liver and on his adrenal bed. He will be starting the Italian Protocol regimin of chemo on Tuesday. This will consist of 4 different types of chemo given on a set schedule. We will know more on the schedule after Tuesday. Tomorrow he goes in for surgery at 12noon to have a port placed in his chest. This will allow easier access when they give him his doses and to give fluids and other meds as needed.
We will let you all know how things go as we know more.

Treatment Plan

We are still unsure of the treatment plan that we are going to do. Today we were given 2 options, both of which do not give a chance of cure or remission, the purpose of these would be to keep his cancer from spreading further. As of today, there is no cure, but we are determined to raise awareness on ACC and treatment options. We keep reminding ourselves that there once was limited options for breast cancer too. The first option is a pill most commonly given for pin worms (so not funny) I told Ryan if he took that and started scratching his butt on the carpet we were gonna have big problems-tear - tear :( The other option is systemic chemo called the Italian Protocol. This is a combination of 3 different chemo drugs given together. Both have definate pros and cons. Ryan started the pills tonight to start with until we visit with our oncologist at home on Tuesday. This was a lot to take in today and we definately need some time to ponder.

CT Results

Ryan had his CT done this morning in Michigan City instead of Chicago since the weather has been so bad here, and the staff of University of Chicago has been a nightmare. The mass on his adrenal bed has not changed in size. The radiologist confirmed that Ryan has metastisis to his liver and the 3 lesions have increased in size since his last scan 6 weeks ago. They also found 2 additional lesions on the liver. Thanks to the great staff at University of Michigan, they were able to scramble and get us in to see Dr Hammer and Dr Worden tomorrow at 12n. We will leave first thing in the morning to head to Michigan. We will then know what the plan is for treatment. What a relief to know that we are again back in competent caring hands.

We are looking forward to coming home on Saturday! As soon as we know the treatment plan we will update you all.

Counting Down the Days

We are scheduled to come home one week from today, and we are sooooooo excited. Ryan has his CT in Wednesday, and we will return to the Dr on Thursday to get the results. We are hopeful that this treatment will work and life will continue on hectic and wild :) with trips back and forth from Idaho to Chicago every other week!
We sent Diane off yesterday to head home. We all have missed her today, but are so glad she was able to come and see us. Oprah was awesome!! The show will air on Wednesday. We didnt see the cameras pan into the audience, but if you watch we are sitting behind Oprah 3 rows up in the aisle seat. What an amazing experience. Celine was amazing and Oprah and her staff truly seem to be of the giving type. We were not able to personally meet them, but the experience was awesome!
We are both looking forward to being able to return back to work with all of you that we enjoy so much. Life has not been the same without our extended families-we miss you all!!!
Ciao for now! I will post results as soon as we have them. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we move forward into this week. It is definately nerve racking, but we are taking one day at a time and praying that Thursday will bring us good news!
Love to you all!