Three month scan

Unfortunately, the news is not great.  The scan showed a new growth in the ascending colon.  I have included the picture for reference.  This growth was roughly about 1/2 inch.  In September, they removed a drug from his chemo cocktail because his liver function was starting to be impacted.  The cocktail had previously worked to shrink his tumors.  They will be adding this drug back to his chemo cocktail in hopes that his liver function has recovered and that is will help the tumor. 

The fact that he had a 6 month period with no growth is pretty amazing.  He seems to continue to be in good spirits.  For now, he will continue to take chemo.  Thanks for all of the continuing thoughts and prayers. And...since the Harlem Shake is the "thing" to do right now, I thought I would throw this in.  Harlem Shake...chemo edition.....

Some catching up....

I apologize that this update is long overdue.  Life has been crazy....sick baby, baseball, work, etc..... Sorry for the excuses, I will try to do better. There hasn't been anything really major to report.

Matthew has been continuing chemo.  He has had to space a few sessions further than two weeks apart because of low counts.  He has had low white counts, which needed a boost, and some additional recovery time between treatments. He went for a 3-month scan at MD Anderson yesterday...results to come. He has been having increased back pain, so that is of some concern. 

He has been keeping busy with his spare time. For Valentine's Day, he made a gift for the nurses at the cancer treatment center in Lake Jackson where he gets his treatments (boy has he learned about being kind to the nurses.)  He made a planter out of recycled materials.  The planter box was made from an old pallet that he sanded and painted.  The pots (I believe) were somehow made from plastic bags that he ironed??????  The "flowers" were boxes of candy.  I thought it was really neat. 

Long overdue

I know that an update has been long overdue.  However, there has not been much to report.  Matthew has continued chemo.  He has struggled with blood count problems.  At one point his red blood count was low enough that the doctor recommended a transfusion.  However, Matthew resisted because he didn't have any symptoms.  His blood counts have come back up.

He was able to come visit (along with the parental unit) for Amelia's baptism a couple of weeks ago.  We were glad to see him, he was tired, but in pretty good spirits.

He had some scans done to check his status this week.  Matthew is considered stable.  The tumors showed no significant change.  One of them may have shrunk a bit, and another might have grown, but the changes were so small it could also be measurement error.  His blood counts were also good.  Right now, the course of action remains the same.  The doctor spoke of the possibility of participating  in some experimental treatments in the future.

For now, we are pleased to hear this news.  All of the crazy noodles will be together for Christmas in just a few weeks.

Not Many Words

I don't have a lot to share, or say otherwise today.  Matthew met with the surgeon at MDA yesterday.  The panel decided he was not a good candidate for the surgery.  He will continue to do chemo.  That is all we have right now.

 Matthew celebrated his 34th birthday this week.  He has been in good spirits which is nice to see.  Mom and Dad closed on a house in Lake Jackson on Monday.  They will be moving over the next couple of weeks.  We are hoping hat they get an offer on their house in New Jersey soon.

Will share more when I have something more.

A New Mascot

Emily recently participated in the Color Run in Matthew's honor (Matthew does like to paint). In case you are wondering, WSHR stands for Wall Street Hood Rat. Do we have a new mascot for The Fighting Noodle?





Matthew had his appointment with the new doctor that performs the HIPEC procedure. http://www.hipectreatment.com/documents/hipec.php
This procedure involves using heated chemotherapy solution during surgery. It is not considered standard-of-care for colon cancer, so there are some hoops to jump through. The doctor has ordered a MRI, which will take place in two weeks. After the MRI, the doctor will take the results to a panel of doctors, who will make a decision about the procedure. We Are expecting the decision toward the end of September.

 Matthew has continued his chemo (minus the drug that was affecting his liver). His platelet counts have dropped a bit, but have remained high enough to continue.  He recently completed round 9.

Matthew's fight continues...please continue to pray.

August update

We are overdue for an update, but previously, there was not much to report. Matthew has completed 7 of his 12 chemo treatments. His platelet counts have been staying strong. He has been feeling ok, but his hair has gotten much thinner. He also doesn't have to worry about shaving. He had some scans this week at MDA and got his results on Friday. The good news is that one of his 3 tumors shrunk, and the other two stayed the same. Shrinking is great, but not growing is good. The only negative is that his liver function was slightly off. Three different measures came back as being slightly high. This most likely means that the chemo is affecting his liver. As a result, they will take one of the drugs out of his chemo cocktail. He also was referred to another surgeon. At this point, this is a consultation to see what the options are. They seem to be optimistic about the fact that they found no more spots, and he only has 3 small tumors currently. In another note, I would like to take this opportunity to wish our parents a very happy 40th wedding anniversary. We love you and wish you many more years together.

Keep on trucking....

Matthew's platelet count was 120 today so he received his 4th round of "Chemo Take Two." He has gotten all chemo on schedule so far this time around. The first set of treatments was really spread out due to low platelet counts, so he only made through 4 treatments in 12 weeks or so. He reports that this "chemo cocktail" doesn't make him feel as badly as the first one did. In other news, Mom, Dad, and Isaac are headed to Jersey to pack up the house. We are hoping for safe journeys and that all goes smoothly.