Half-Way There!

Nick had his 6th infusion of FOLFOX + Avastin today. Still no major side effects. Total chemo warrior!

A typical course is 12 infusions so we're half-way there! It's so hard to believe it's already been almost 4 months since his diagnosis.

After the next two infusions, he'll have another scan so we should have a CT update in early December.

I'm actually headed to Denver tomorrow (if it ever stops snowing!) because Tracy has a couple well-deserved days off work. Nick will be home alone on Halloween so feel free to swing by and trick or treat.

Happy Halloween!

Sally

Liver Updates

Hi all,

We're reporting back after Nick's liver surgeon consult today...

All in all, it was a LOT of waiting around, a lot of reassuring info and a little bit of new info as well. We met with a resident in the morning and Nick answered some basic questions. Then the "tumor board" (surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, etc.) met to discuss Nick's and the other patients' cases for the next hour and a half or so.

They called us back in and we waited another hour and a half in the exam room before Dr. Yeung finally came in. He said that they were in agreement with Dr. Back that because Nick is doing so well on his chemo regimen, he should continue without interrupting treatment for surgery.

One of other reasons (in addition to the effectiveness of the chemo) that Dr. Yeung recommends waiting on the liver resection is that the cancer spots that are there are so small, there is a risk of not being able to see them once the surgeons get in to do the surgery. It makes it more complicated when the spots are small or have disappeared.

The board also recommended radiation to the original tumor site following the systemic chemo. This isn't something we've discussed in any length with Dr. Back and because of the side effects associated with radiation, it will be something that Nick will have to carefully consider over the next few months.

We also learned that of the spots that are visible, they are almost entirely on the left lobe. There is one that is sort of in the middle but for the most part, they all fall on the same side of the liver, which is good news.

None of this was a surprise but it was good to get another opinion (or a whole group's opinion, really) on next steps, and it's reassuring that they are in agreement with Dr. Back on everything.

So, Nick will have his next infusion on Thursday. Feel free to stop by SCCA on Thursday afternoon if you're in the neighborhood!

Cheers,

Sally

Quick Update

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update to let you know that Nick is meeting with Dr. Yeung, his liver surgeon, tomorrow. We should have an update for everyone then. I know Nick and I are both anxious to hear what Dr. Yeung has to say about this next step in Nick's treatment plan.

Also, Nick has infusion #6 on Thursday. It's hard to believe he'll be half way through his first treatment course. Hopefully the second half will go as well as the first so he can get a very long, if not permanent break from chemo!

Love,

Sally

Sup

Hey peeps,

Work was fine, thanks. Got my haircut today, too. It's thinner but still cutable. In fact, cutting it helps disguise the thinning. Got a jog in with the dog as well. Man I'm out of shape. Well, I guess I should go, oh yes the weather was nice today. Okay, you too. Bye bye now.

Congratulations Law School Friends! (and an update)

Hi everyone...sorry we haven't posted in awhile. After hearing the great news last week, we celebrated with friends and have been breathing a little easier since.

Nick started chemo again this week. He went in on Friday and has been wearing his pump since then. He'll get detached today. The funny part is that he decided to go to a bachelor party in Portland this weekend - pump and all. He doesn't let it get in the way of anything and I'm proud of him for that.

Doctor Back (Nick's oncologist) stopped by when we were in the infusion room on Friday. He said he talked to Nick's liver surgeon, Dr. Yeung, and that based on Nick's scan, Dr, Yeung is ready to start meeting with Nick about a potential liver resection. This is exciting news. A lot of people don't qualify for resection and/or they have to go through many more rounds of chemo before they can do the surgery. So this is very good news, whether they decide to do the surgery now or not.

We'll meet with Dr. Yeung in the next couple weeks and we'll keep everyone posted.

We want to give a shout out to all of our Seattle law school friends who passed the bar this weekend...Lauren, Jake, Ty and Jeremy...nice work you guys!

While the boys were in Portland, the girls got together for some wine and good food last night. Ladies, thanks for the wonderful evening.

For those of you who aren't in the Northwest right now, the Fall colors are AMAZING this weekend. Pirate and I are going to the dog park in a little while so I'll try and get some good photos to post.

Love,

Sally and Nick

Good News

In today's segment of the war on Cancer, we bring you a story that has been dubbed unusual by medical experts. It is the story of an individual whose personal situation is defying the usual statistics. If this person were to be ranked on a bell curve depicting the success of chemotherapy treatment on shrinking metastisized cancer cells, he would fall above the 90th percentile, figuratively speaking of course.

Our medical expert, University of Washington Oncologist, Tony Back (pronounced Bock) relayed the situation to our subject and his trusty sidekick, Sal. He said that the chemo had shrunk his liver mets significantly over the recent 8 week period. Two spots have disappeared completely and the rest have gotten smaller. This type of shrinkage represents what the experts refer to as, "really good news" and "best case scenario."

So then, what does this mean for our subject? Well, he will continue to undergo chemotherapy until either all the cancer disappears or it stops working. And then there is a handful of options to consider beyond the current regimen. But for now, this appears to be a story of goods news. We're off to celebrate!

Thanks I'm Dom Burgundy and stay classy Seattle.

Back in Seattle

Nick and I are back in Seattle and back to our normal routine.

Nick had a scan on Monday. Unfortunately, his meeting with his oncologist was moved to Friday so we won't know the results until then. We'll make sure to let everyone know how it goes.

Just to cap-off the Hawaii trip, here are a few pics from Stacey and Ryan's wedding. These pictures don't do it justice - it was an absolutely gorgeous setting and a wonderful evening.

Congratulations Stacey and Ryan! Hope you're having fun on Maui...

Island Life

Well, the wedding day is finally here and we're about to go get cleaned up but thought we'd post a few pics from the last couple days. We've been hanging out at our hotel, alternating between the pool and the beach. Fruity cocktails in-between. Not much to complain about here!

We also had a great time at the rehearsal dinner last night. Kahlua Pork, Mai tais and hula lessons. Mahalo Keller family!

Poolside

Beachside

Poolside

Hula lessons for the girls.

Hula lessons for the boys.