Merry Christmas!!

The very happiest holiday wishes go out to all Stanus followers! This is guest blogger, Sister Suzie.

Mom, myself, and Jesse drove up two days before Christmas to spend the holiday with Nick and Sally. It has been many years since we have all been together so it has been a Christmas Miracle!!

All is well and we've really lucked out with bluebird skys and mild temperatures. Presents were opened in the morning and tonight we will have a huge feast with guests, Chendy.

I'll be sad to leave, but looking forward to making plans to get back up! Love to all and may your NEW YEAR be happier and healthier!!

Thanks Dominally!

Ct Results

Hello all,

Just wanted to pass along the latest information from yesterday's CT scan. After 8 rounds of chemo, there is no new evidence of cancer. A couple spots that were on the liver have disappeared and what is left are one small spot on the liver and one slightly enlarged lymph node. According to the scan, those two spots appear to be calcified, basically hardened cells that are not multiplying as normal metastatic cancer cells would. So, it could be said that there is no evidence of active disease, which is great news. Therefore the plan, is for me to finish my chemo with another two rounds, and in the meantime consult with the liver surgeon to decide how to deal with those two spots and from there I might be lucky enough to say goodbye to stanus and resume normal pooping procedures. Like usual we'll keep posting the cancer news, as well as the usual regarding our daily lives. Thanks for continuing to check in on us and take care.

Nick and Sally

Charger Power

Hey All,

I got down to San Diego a couple weekends ago for the Chargers 50th Anniversary Celebration. Not only was it a fun football weekend, but I also got to spend some quality time with the family. Dan, Jeri, Ryan, Shannon, Suzie, Jessie, aunts, uncles, and cousins all got to do some catching up. Sunday we watched as the Chargers beat up the Chiefs. On Saturday we took a little driving tour around town, visiting some of the old haunts, prior to a Suzie Boozy Floozy Birthday dinner. On Friday night we were down in the gas lamp at the Chargers block party, hanging with some of
Pop's old teamates, cheerleaders and Captain Morgan. Enjoy the pics.

Thanksgiving

Just wanted to share some pics from Thanksgiving. We had quite the feast with Chad, Wendy, Torrey and Katy. Also - thanks Wendy and Katy for looking in on Pi while we were gone! You guys are lifesavers...

Ty's Dirty Thirty

Katie was the mastermind behind Ty's epic thirtieth birthday party last weekend. The day started with a scavenger hunt of sorts. Ty was picked up by a super stretch Lincoln Navigator Limo, and given a clue - or a memory, rather - provided to Katie in advance by one of his friends (Nick and I were first, actually). Ty had to figure out where we were waiting for him, based on the clue. When he made it to our location, we joined him in the limo and gave him the next clue - we drove throughout the city, drinking champagne and picking up friends all afternoon.

Then we ended up at The Seeker - the boat Ty and Katie went on a sunset cruise on following their engagement two years ago. We cruised Lake Washington, snacking and enjoying the stormy views of the lake, and then finished off the night with dinner at Agua Verde.

Nice work on an epic party, Katie. And happy birthday Ty! Here are some pics - enjoy:

Ty found us!

Karin and Matt (nice beard, man)

The cousins!



I'm on a boat!





Ty and his dad





The Imperati siblings

Imeratis and Rogers

Let me make a toast!...to Katie...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi friends and family,

We just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Safe travels for those of you who are driving or flying anywhere.

Nick and I will be with some Seattle friends - Chad and Wendy are hosting, and Torrey and Katy will be there (whoop whoop TorKat!). This is three Thanksgivings with both TorKat and Chendy. Glad we can make our own little tradition here you guys:) Chi Chis? We will post some pics tomorrow before we head out of town.

Nick will be leaving for San Diego on Friday and is planning to spend the weekend with his fam and at the Chargers game. I'm headed to Phoenix on Saturday for some broadcast media stuff - watch those morning shows on Monday!

Happy holidays everyone and more posts and pics to come.

Also, happy belated birthday to Ty (dirty 30! - what a fun party!) and happy upcoming birthday to Rebecca. Love you guys.

Sally and Nick

P.S. - Chad and Wendy, can you make your turkey look llike this?

Posting from an itouch is kind of difficult.

Now taht I'm bcak on the tstruy lotpat I can fanliy cut out all tsohe tpyos.

Shout-outs

UPDATE: We now have a pic to post from L & J's wedding! Gorgeous...



We haven't had a lot of news to post lately. But in the world of cancer, no news is good news.

Nick had his 7th infusion today and is now rocking the fanny pack for the next couple days. One more infusion and he'll be ready for his next CT scan (currently scheduled for Dec. 9).

In other news, we went to one of the funnest weddings of all time last weekend...Jake and Lauren, well-played. I can't believe there are no pics on Facebook yet! Nick and I have been waiting to post a "congratulations shout-out" til we had some photos but I caved. Thank you for letting us share in that awesome occasion. It was such a personal, warm, stylish, dance-tastic time! Hope you are having fun in Belize!

I also wanted to give a shout-out to our friend Miss Casey Keasler. Casey is the style and substance behind http://thekidcollective.com. Casey - I freakin love your blog. Thank you for entertaining me:) Are you and Jevan in NYC yet? Just remember...momofuku noodle bar pork buns.

Dedication

Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen,

For those of you who are reading this, I salute and dedicate this post to you; for you are one of the true fans of stanus as I have been testing your resolve and patience by not posting an update for quite awhile. Yes following stanus is akin to a quest, a spiritual journey where the reader enters the wilderness a boy and emerges 15 days later a man. How else could one describe the arduous task of reading my gobbledegook? Perhaps I give myself too much credit, for what am I but an individual going through a challenging processes just like all individuals go through, whether health, work or relationship in nature.

Let me see, I think I had a point; however, since I have already flumoxed myself let us take this post in a new direction. Today I had one of those eerie instances in which an issue shows up in multiple ways. First I read an article in the NY Times regarding the chances that certain NBA players have to dunk in a game. It interstingly pointed out that several players although tall enough haven't dunked in a game. And by what can only be described as the most ironic twist of fate, I witnessed a facebook post about a short NBA player who recently dunked twice in a game. With two such signs from God, I can only assume that it is my destiny to build up my calf muscles to the necessary strength and condition that will allow me to rise to the rafters and slam home a two-handed bad mamajamma. Since I am currently spending quality time with the doctors perhaps I can procure a stregthening aid to hasten the process. Because if I can dunk at least once then I can die a happy man.

The Mercer Island Half Marathon to Beneft Colon Cancer Organization

Hi friends and family,

I learned today that the 2010 Mercer Island Half Marathon will benefit (in part) the Washington Colon Stars, an organization that supports treatment, awareness and screening for colon cancer. It is also a 5k and 10k so there’s a little something for everyone.

The race is March 21st and here’s a link: http://www.mercerislandhalf.com/

This was actually the first half marathon I ever ran 6 or 7 years ago. It’s hilly but beautiful.

If you are interested in any of the runs, let me know. I’ll be planning something festive for race day once it gets closer!

Love,

Sally

Rocky Mountain "Hi"

Denver has been super fun - some snow on the ground but lots of sun. Lots of eating and visiting too. And a trip to Red Rocks.

Breakfast with the Keaslers this morning:


Red Rocks with the girls:




Dinner with T and friends tonight and then home tomorrow...

Baby Funk!

I think most of you already know that T&A are expecting a little one. A little baby Funk.

Tracy is due in early May. Here is the first belly shot:



We went maternity clothes shopping yesterday. Not gonna lie...it was weird.

Here's a first photo of the little guy (so far, consensus is that it's a boy - feel free to add your opinion)...


("High-five")

Andy and Tracy, we're so happy for you. And we can't wait to be E's favorite aunt and uncle (Sorry Jonas, Rebecca, Dave and Sadie).

XOXO,

Sally and Nick

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.