And there's more good news...

Glen received a call today from Dr. Yom. She said that there was no reason for him to come in tomorrow because the Tumor Board (the head radiologist had returned) agreed that there was no reason for surgery at this time!!!!!! Glen requested that he have a PET scan 12 weeks after treatment (late November) so he can be sure that he has that clean bill of health that he's been working so hard to achieve.

So...while Glen is not going in to see Dr. Yom tomorrow to hear about the tumor board recommendation, he is going in to see her to discuss the throat pain he is experiencing. He has a constant sore throat. (He says this word "sore" does not adequately describe the pain.) The only thing I can compare it to is a really bad case of strep throat that won't go away. So he's going in to see her tomorrow to discuss his pain management options. He's thinking that as the mucous dissipates, the throat is more exposed and it just will take time for it to heal, but in the meantime he's trying to get back to work and his life and the pain is very wearing on him. "It's just the next phase of the recovery" according to Glen...oh my, he's becoming so patient!

So...this too shall pass, but in the meantime, let's celebrate the big victories!

Thanks to all!
j

October 23, 2008

I will start at the end, then fill in important details below. In Sue Yom's opinion I AM CANCER FREE.

Ever since the end of my treatments (September 2, 2008), October 23, 2008 has been a day I have focused upon. 51 days post treatment and today we received our first difinitive information on the effectiveness of the long hard ordeal called treatment. I appologize for the possible disjointed nature of this email, but I am exhausted both physically and mentally.

When we met with Sue Yom this afternoon the first thing she told us was that the Tumor Board was unable to meet due to the unavailability of the head of radiation oncology. So any prognosis delivered today was Sue's personally. However, she is the most knowledgable of my case and she was the one that has physically treated me. So, she has the most knowledge and will be the one presenting my case to the Tumor Board. Her bias is one of patience versus aggressiveness.

I have also learned in the cancer world that they speak in double negative language versus affimative statements. For instance, they would not state at this stage of my treatment that I am cancer free. They would say something like there is no evidence of cancer in my throat. As an accountant I very clearly get the distinction. It is one that is used in my profession.

And the lst preamble - I will biforcate the two areas that I was diagnosed with cancer; my tongue and the three lymph nodes in my right neck.

So, what was the news we received today. There is no evidence of any cancer in my throat. It is still abnormal due to the swelling that still exists on the right side, BUT NO EVIDENCE OF CANCER. The three lymph nodes have reduced in size to the largest being less than 1 cm.

We spent an hour and a half with Dr. Yom and we love her for that. We were able to get a ton of questions answered, the last of which was did she think I was cancer free and if so when could she tell me diffinitively. Her first answer was she could tell me in 5 years. I said I wasn't looking for "cured" at this point just her opinion as to whether the treatment was effective in eliminating the cancer from my body. She said that she could tell me that at the 6 month stage with relative certainty (March 2, 2009). BUT, IN HER PROFESSIONAL OPINION I AM CANCER FREE. Now there are various caveats, but Sue has always been very honest with us and Joyce and I have learned to trust her. After all, I have put my life in her hands and quite literally they have saved my life. For this I will be forever greatful.

The Tumor Board will meet next Wednesday and we will meet with Sue again next Thursday. It is possible that the Board, as a group, may decide that I should have surgery on both my left and right neck to remove the lymph nodes. Sue does not support this, but they make decisions as a group.

I am overjoyed by the news today and want to thank each and every one of you for your support (in whatever fashion) over the course of the last 5 months (to the day - I was diagnosed May 23, 2008). I am certain that I could not have survived this ordeal without your support. I love you all.

waiting...

We've had comments from people that they don't like checking in and not finding anything new. It's just that there really isn't anything new to tell you! Glen has spent the month of October slowly regaining his strength and "re-entering" the world. He is eating a wider variety of foods, though his throat revolts most of the time. He is spending more time doing things - he's cooked a little, runs some errands, went to the golf course yesterday for about an hour, celebrated with the firm at a "two-fer" baby shower and generally is rejoining us all...slowly.

As you know, tomorrow morning he goes in for his mri and then on Thursday afternoon we get to meet with the incredible Dr. Yom. Glen actually went and saw her last week because he had to have bloodwork done and he wanted to ask about his sore throat. She basically told him to live with the throat pain...it will eventually go away and endure the mucous...it continues to be annoying. Dr. Yom was very pleased with his progress...she scoped him and did the physical manipulation of the lymph node in his neck. That news has made this last week a bit easier to get through.

Now as you know, I've gotten in the habit of filling you in on the kids. Blair found her homecoming dress today so she go to the dance next weekend! She's doing great in school. We are very proud of her attitude and successes. Her job coaching volleyball at the middle school has just ended. It was a great opportunity for her. We hear from Niels - mostly by text - but he seems to be enjoying school. He says that homework is not too bad, he really is enjoying his art history class and he's playing a lot of sports with his friends. He even asked me not to send junk food because they were all trying to live a fairly healthy lifestyle! What have they done with my son???!!! We, of course, can't wait to see him at Thanksgiving.

That's about it. I will tell you that right before I started this post I reminded Glen that everything was going to be great on Thursday. He said, "I hope so" and reminded me that it's okay for him/us to be nervous and sad...we can handle it...it's part of life. So until Thursday...keep those healthy thoughts headed Glen's way...and check the blog late Thursday or early Friday.

Best to all,
j

A Little Update Before the Scan

I thought I would take a minute to provide a brief update. As you all know I have an MRI on Monday (20th) followed by a meeting with my doctors on the 23rd. The UCSF Tumor Board meets on Wednesday mornings, thus the reason for the 3 day wait between the scan and the meet. I know it will be hard wait, but I do think I have acquired some patience through this process. Frankly, I find that my mind does not stray to far from the 20th/23rd. Thanks you for all your wonderful thoughts toward the scan. We will do our best to post the evening of the 23rd to let everyone know what we believe will be great news.

My life has started to return to me. I hestitate to use the world normal, as normal for me pre and post May 23, 2008 will likely share very little resenmblance to each other. Sure, I will do many of the same things, but this illness has had a profound effect on me and I sense that the way I view the world has changed in a fundamental way. I view this as a tremendous gift. I hope I am courageous enough to utilize this gift.

I am now spending a little time back at TY. It has been wonderful to be around the TY team again. I have been focusing on cleaning up various stuff that accumulated in my absence. I hope to return to client based work as my health allows.

We'll chat again soon,

Glen

News?

I am blown away by how many people are checking Glen's blog. (Or could it be that a few of you are just hitting it to mess with me??!!) What an incredible testament to Glen that so many friends, family members, colleagues and associates are keeping up with him. Would it be redundant for me to reiterate...we are blessed?!

I wish I had some really exciting news, but we are just sort of in the "take it day-by-day" holding pattern. Glen continues to make progress toward "perfect health." One exciting thing (and this will tell you about the level of excitement in our lives right now!) is that the irritating hang nails he has had for months seem to be clearing up! The doctor has told him that he just has to deal with them until his body begins to heal itself. So we take the fact that they are healing on their own to be a good sign that the rest of his body (the inside) is healing as well. WoooHooo!

I don't think that I have mentioned some of the wonderful remedies people have shared with us during these months. A good friend of Glen's brought by a large jar of pure coconut oil. It had been recommended by a friend of his as the only thing that saved his skin during radiation. All I know is that every time I open that jar I want a pina colada on a beach! The dear Vietnamese custodian at my school brought me a newspaper article from his community recommending that Glen drink pure aloe vera. Obviously, Vietnameses is not my first language, so Hien read the whole article to me and told me that he would find the stuff if Glen would drink it. Glen has been using aloe vera, but externally. Recently I saw that Trader Joe's carries 2 different styles of aloe vera to drink. I guess Hien had a viable remedy! Glen has also received tools for pain relief (use your imagination or perhaps think back to college) tons of reading material to help him spiritually and emotionally. Some of it just good plain fun reading, others were more serious in nature. Videos, magnets with "isms" to cheer him up, plants, flowers, meals, meals, meals, a homemade blanket, diet supplements...the list goes on and on...At the beginning of this I kept a list of all the wonderful things people had done and brought so that we could write thank you notes. I must admit that not only did I not keep up on that list, I lost it. So...please know that we are ETERNALLY grateful for your support throughout this entire 6 month blip in our lives.

Another group I feel that I have not thanked is the wonderful people I work with at Cambridge. My friends/colleagues have been incredibly supportive and understanding of my personal situation these last few months. At one point I walked into a meeting thinking that I had my act together and I burst into tears. Everyone in the room just wanted to know what they could do to help both at home and at work. No "sorries" for some of the stuff I let slip through the cracks. They all just figured out what needed to be done and kept everything moving forward. I must especially thank my friend/principal, Marie. She has been so forgiving and supportive. She has made it easy for me to do what I have to do to take care of Glen and the family. I know that it has made her job even more challenging to "cover" for me from time to time. She is truly a wonderful amiga. I cannot think of any school I'd rather work at than Cambridge. We have the best kids, families and staff. A HUGE Coyote Howl to you all! Thanks from the bottom of my heart...

I should probably update you on Niels and Blair. Niels seems to be loving UO. He called Glen the other day to check in. It appears that he's attending class and spending lots of time playing soccer, basketball, and beach volleyball. We're trying to give him his space, but we do miss him around here. Less than 8 weeks till we see him at Thanksgiving! Blair is doing well with her volleyball team. They record is 1 and 1, but she points out that the loss was to an 8th grade "A" team (they are a 7/8 "B" team) and they took them to 3 games, so it is a moral victory! She also would like us all to know that she has the highest grade in geology! (I hope our geologist friends, the Quillins read this!) She has moved into Niels old room (it's bigger and brighter) and is getting ready to paint it...purple...help me please! Niels will have her old room when he returns. I guess we should probably repaint it too! The work never ends. Oh...you're asking about Fred? Yes, he is "wonderdog" and keeps us all laughing. The other night I sat on the couch next to Glen to cuddle and congratulate him on his shrinking hangnails. Fred was outside, but saw the "move" and came bounding in the door, leapt up on the couch and planted his butt firmly on my lap, facing away from us. He's such a mama's boy. Okay...enough about the children...

Okay...anything else you want to know? Don't hesitate to check in and ask. Enjoy the wonderful fall weekend. I'll see if I can get Glen to post soon.

XXOO
j