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.

Chemo take 2

Matthew had his 3rd round of chemo today. His platelet count was 85, which is definitely lower than we would like. They have been up and down quite a bit. Last week they were 124. He is doing fairly well with the treatments. His hair has thinned, but it hasn't all fallen out. Now it is just more like the thickness of most people. :-) His spirits are pretty good in general. I will post more when I know it.

185

I had lots of ideas for a brilliant blog post yesterday. However, if you aren't aware, I have a baby that is 4 weeks old today, and she had other plans for me. So I apologize for the delay. Matthew had his follow up at MDA yesterday. His platelet count was 185! That was higher than we have seen since this all began. He still is suffering from some abdominal and back cramping, but overall is improving. He is supposed to start a new regime of chemotherapy as soon as possible...most likely next week. Thank you for all of the continued prayers.