DeBary, FL.
73 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High near 95F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Jim was still having the side effects from the Opdivo treatments when he went in to see the chemo doctor on the 7th of July, so he didn't get another treatment. The doctor did decided to raise the dose of the medicine that he was receiving to counter-act the side effects and since then, that has done the trick. ::-)
Last Thursday, (the 13th),Jim had another PET Scan and then this Monday, (the 17th), he and Linda went to see the Radiation Doctor to get the results. Again, the weekend was stress filled, waiting to get the results, but it seems like that's just part of this whole process.
So, , , , , , what did the doctor say???
Well, it's all good news!!!!! The spot in the left lung has dissipated and there''s just a little "fogginess" which he thinks is just some scar tissue from previous and latest radiation treatments. and the very small spot in the right lung has all but disappeared. There is just a minute spot that may or may not be something, but at this time he doesn't recommend any treatments. The PET Scan was for Jim's whole body and there is no indication of any spreading of the cancer!!!!
Yeee!!!!! Haww!!!!
Tuesday, Jim had an appointment with the Chemo doctor and after seeing the PET Scan results, she agreed with what the Radiation Doctor had said!!!!
Yeee!!!! Haww!!!! (Sorry about all the "Yee Hawing", but I couldn't help myself) ;-)
So, , , , , , What comes next??? Well, Jim and Linda have already started to make plans to head up to Illinois. Jim has made some reservations at an "extended stay hotel" near Rantoul, and Linda has already set up doctor's appointments with most of the doctors that will need to be seen up there. Jim had already made a "trip plan" that he refined yesterday and it looks like we'll be leaving here on or about the 31st if July!!!!
Traveling by car instead of RV is going to be a big change, but both Jim and Linda seem to have pretty much figured out what they can and can not take along. The extended stay hotel has a refrigerator, microwave and a 2 burner stove, so once we get up there, Linda will be able to make some meals. She has an electric skillet that she'll take along and can make quite a bit in it, even while we're traveling, and I'm sure, some meals they'll eat out at restaurants.
Jim doesn't know how much energy he'll have, so he's figured 5 days to get up to Illinois, (about 4 hours a day, traveling). The little trip to Cedar Key helped them get an idea of how to pack the car to get everything in, and staying in that motel helped with learning to cook some food in just a microwave.
Years ago, Jim and Linda went on "vacations" and managed OK, so it's just a matter of relearning the process. I;m sure that there'll be a few "bumps" but they'll deal with them and I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.
I can't wait ot get on the road again!!!!!
Yeee!!!! Haww!!!!
Did you know that on this date in 1969 - Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. became the first men to walk on the moon?
Woof!!!!
Showing posts with label Radiation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radiation. Show all posts
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Saturday, May 27, 2017
First It Was Nora, Then Lila and Now Big RED!!!!
DeBary, FL.
83 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast tonight = Clear. Lows overnight in the mid 60s.
Forecast tomorrow = Sunny, High 96F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
First, Nora left us when Jim and Linda took Big RED and pulled her down to Palm Beach
where Laura and Lindsey traded her in on a brand new, smaller trailer. (which is really nice, by the way), I
thought that would be the end of it, but then, all of a sudden, this
last Thursday, Jim and Linda went car shopping!!!!!
When they returned, they were driving a different car and Lila had been traded in on it!!!
Friday, Jim had an Opdivo treatment in the morning and a Radiation treatment in the afternoon. Then, Friday evening, Laura and Lindsey stopped by and Lindsey helped Jim clean out the back of Big RED!! That made me wonder what was going on, but I didn't have to wait too long to find out!!
This morning, Linda took the car they had brought back from the dealer on Thursday and Jim got into Big RED. Then, they both drove away!!!
Well, come to find out, they had traded Lila and Big RED in on a brand new car!!!!
So, , , , , , say hello to Lily!!!! She's a brand new Toyota Camry LE and she only had 8 miles on her speedometer when Jim and Linda pulled out of the dealer's lot on Thursday!!
I guess you're wondering why they did this and why they named the new car Lily. Well. Jim decided that Lila wasn't suitable for any kind of longer distance traveling. She was great around town and was just what they needed before Jim decided that he really couldn't handle RVing any longer. But, out on the road, she wasn't very comfortable to drive for longer distances and she was quite small.
Big RED was quite large and hard to get around with. especially in towns and cities. He also didn't get real great mileage and the cost of diesel fuel is always higher than regular gas.
So, by doing some "trading", Jim and Linda traded both of them in on Lily and even got some "cash back" because Lila and Big RED were worth more than the price of the new Camry! ;-)
Now, there is only one insurance bill, one license fee and for the first time in a long time, we now have plenty of room in the driveway!!! And Lily should get pretty decent gas mileage on trips.
Now, why was she named Lily, you ask??? Well, Linda thinks her color looks just like that of an Easter Lily. Hence, the name.
On the way back from the dealer today, they stopped at a Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch and had a great meal. It was the first time they went out to eat, anywhere special, for a long time.
Jim and Linda are both doing fine. Jim is experiencing quite a bit of fatigue but is still able to do most things, just at a slower pace or by resting from time to time. He hasn't had any serious side effects from the Opdivo as of yet and so that's going well. This coming Tuesday he will have his last Radiation treatment, and I'm sure he won't mind not having to go to have them every weekday.
When Jim takes more photos of Lily, I'll post them here.
A Quote to Ponder = "You will never change your life until you change something you do daily"
Mike Murdock
Woof!!!!
I hope Jim and Linda take me for a ride in that new car soon. :-)
83 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast tonight = Clear. Lows overnight in the mid 60s.
Forecast tomorrow = Sunny, High 96F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Friday, Jim had an Opdivo treatment in the morning and a Radiation treatment in the afternoon. Then, Friday evening, Laura and Lindsey stopped by and Lindsey helped Jim clean out the back of Big RED!! That made me wonder what was going on, but I didn't have to wait too long to find out!!
Well, come to find out, they had traded Lila and Big RED in on a brand new car!!!!
I guess you're wondering why they did this and why they named the new car Lily. Well. Jim decided that Lila wasn't suitable for any kind of longer distance traveling. She was great around town and was just what they needed before Jim decided that he really couldn't handle RVing any longer. But, out on the road, she wasn't very comfortable to drive for longer distances and she was quite small.
Big RED was quite large and hard to get around with. especially in towns and cities. He also didn't get real great mileage and the cost of diesel fuel is always higher than regular gas.
So, by doing some "trading", Jim and Linda traded both of them in on Lily and even got some "cash back" because Lila and Big RED were worth more than the price of the new Camry! ;-)
Now, there is only one insurance bill, one license fee and for the first time in a long time, we now have plenty of room in the driveway!!! And Lily should get pretty decent gas mileage on trips.
Now, why was she named Lily, you ask??? Well, Linda thinks her color looks just like that of an Easter Lily. Hence, the name.
On the way back from the dealer today, they stopped at a Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch and had a great meal. It was the first time they went out to eat, anywhere special, for a long time.
Jim and Linda are both doing fine. Jim is experiencing quite a bit of fatigue but is still able to do most things, just at a slower pace or by resting from time to time. He hasn't had any serious side effects from the Opdivo as of yet and so that's going well. This coming Tuesday he will have his last Radiation treatment, and I'm sure he won't mind not having to go to have them every weekday.
When Jim takes more photos of Lily, I'll post them here.
A Quote to Ponder = "You will never change your life until you change something you do daily"
Mike Murdock
Woof!!!!
I hope Jim and Linda take me for a ride in that new car soon. :-)
Sunday, May 7, 2017
More On Jim's Treatments and A "Kicker"
DeBary, FL.
53 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Abundant sunshine. High 88F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
On Tuesday, the 2nd of May, Jim had his first radiation treatment. He will have a treatment every weekday for a total of 20 treatments. He did not however. start the Opdivo treatments on the 5th as we had thought because he had some major concerns about the frequency and the total length of time the whole series of treatments would take. (Possibly taking a whole year)!!!! So instead of a treatment on the 5th, he and Linda had another meeting with Dr. Gupta which lasted for a better part of an hour.
She went into much more detail as to what to expect and also explained what the options were as far as treatment frequency, how some summer travel could be accommodated during the time Jim was having the treatments and how a treatment or two could be handled, even while we would be traveling.
All of this put both Jim and Linda's minds much more at ease and gave them a more positive outlook for Jim's future.
So, , , , , Jim will start the Opdivo treatments on the 12th of May. He'll have them every other week for 2 months and then will get a scan, (either CAT or PET). If the scan is good, he may not have to have any more treatments for at least 3 months. If the scan shows something, he will have to continue the treatments but more than likely, will be able to get a treatment or two at a facility up North during our travels.
It's not ideal, but at least we'll be able to head up to Illinois so that Linda and Jim can go to their doctors and financial adviser up there and possibly get together with some friends and family.
All in all, both Jim and Linda are feeling much better about these treatments and the outcome of them. There's always a great risk with cancer, but it sounds like they may have caught this round very early and it is hoped that the doctors will be able to knock it out. It may come back or spread in the future, but if Jim has scans frequently, they should be able to "control" it for quite some time.
OK now for the "kicker".. Jim and Linda have decided to "hang up the keys" as far as RVing goes. Laura and Lindsey, (Linda and Jim's daughter and her husband), will get Nora. They may use her as a trade-in on a different trailer, (more to their liking and smaller, so they can pull it behind their smaller truck). Jim is thinking we'll keep Big RED for now, to use for travel this summer, and then sell him this fall.
The reason for this???? Well, it doesn't look like we'll be traveling a real lot anymore and the cost of insurance, maintenance and lot rent keeps going up while both vehicles are sitting around gathering dust and rust. Jim has done a lot of research and has concluded that because we won't be traveling as much, it would be less costly to stay in hotels/motels and also save a lot of fuel by traveling either with just Big RED or even more with Lila, (Linda's car). This will also make it much easier on Jim, as he won't have to be hooking and unhooking Nora and there's less stress traveling if you're not pulling a trailer or driving a large vehicle.
I'm planning on keeping this blog going as long as I can. It won't be about RVing any longer, but it will help friends and family keep up on what's happening with Jim and Linda as well as where and what we're doing while on "vacation".
So, keep checking back. I'm hoping to blog about some of our past RVing adventures on the road as well as our travels this summer. If everything goes according to plan, we should be leaving here sometime in July or early August to head up North. In the meantime, I'll be letting you know how treatments are going and on what's happening around here.
A Quote to Ponder: "The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we're ready for it."
Arnold Glasgow
Woof!!!
53 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Abundant sunshine. High 88F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
On Tuesday, the 2nd of May, Jim had his first radiation treatment. He will have a treatment every weekday for a total of 20 treatments. He did not however. start the Opdivo treatments on the 5th as we had thought because he had some major concerns about the frequency and the total length of time the whole series of treatments would take. (Possibly taking a whole year)!!!! So instead of a treatment on the 5th, he and Linda had another meeting with Dr. Gupta which lasted for a better part of an hour.
She went into much more detail as to what to expect and also explained what the options were as far as treatment frequency, how some summer travel could be accommodated during the time Jim was having the treatments and how a treatment or two could be handled, even while we would be traveling.
All of this put both Jim and Linda's minds much more at ease and gave them a more positive outlook for Jim's future.
So, , , , , Jim will start the Opdivo treatments on the 12th of May. He'll have them every other week for 2 months and then will get a scan, (either CAT or PET). If the scan is good, he may not have to have any more treatments for at least 3 months. If the scan shows something, he will have to continue the treatments but more than likely, will be able to get a treatment or two at a facility up North during our travels.
It's not ideal, but at least we'll be able to head up to Illinois so that Linda and Jim can go to their doctors and financial adviser up there and possibly get together with some friends and family.
All in all, both Jim and Linda are feeling much better about these treatments and the outcome of them. There's always a great risk with cancer, but it sounds like they may have caught this round very early and it is hoped that the doctors will be able to knock it out. It may come back or spread in the future, but if Jim has scans frequently, they should be able to "control" it for quite some time.
OK now for the "kicker".. Jim and Linda have decided to "hang up the keys" as far as RVing goes. Laura and Lindsey, (Linda and Jim's daughter and her husband), will get Nora. They may use her as a trade-in on a different trailer, (more to their liking and smaller, so they can pull it behind their smaller truck). Jim is thinking we'll keep Big RED for now, to use for travel this summer, and then sell him this fall.
The reason for this???? Well, it doesn't look like we'll be traveling a real lot anymore and the cost of insurance, maintenance and lot rent keeps going up while both vehicles are sitting around gathering dust and rust. Jim has done a lot of research and has concluded that because we won't be traveling as much, it would be less costly to stay in hotels/motels and also save a lot of fuel by traveling either with just Big RED or even more with Lila, (Linda's car). This will also make it much easier on Jim, as he won't have to be hooking and unhooking Nora and there's less stress traveling if you're not pulling a trailer or driving a large vehicle.
I'm planning on keeping this blog going as long as I can. It won't be about RVing any longer, but it will help friends and family keep up on what's happening with Jim and Linda as well as where and what we're doing while on "vacation".
So, keep checking back. I'm hoping to blog about some of our past RVing adventures on the road as well as our travels this summer. If everything goes according to plan, we should be leaving here sometime in July or early August to head up North. In the meantime, I'll be letting you know how treatments are going and on what's happening around here.
A Quote to Ponder: "The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we're ready for it."
Arnold Glasgow
Woof!!!
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Finally Getting Started With Treatments!!!
DeBary, FL.
74 deg. Partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High 91F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.
Yesterday, Jim had an appointment with the Chemo Doctor, (Dr. Gupta), and so he and Linda finally got some answers!!
You see, Jim took a disk of his PET Scan to the hospital and answered a bunch of questions way back on the 20th. He was told that the doctor would look at the scan and then they would call him and let him know when he should come in for the biopsy.
Well, , , , , he waited and waited. Linda finally called the hospital but never could get an answer. She then called the chemo doctor, (who had ordered the biopsy), but got no answer there either. Both places said that "they'd get back to her", but never did! :-( However, at one point, someone did say that they didn't know if Jim was a "good candidate" for the procedure as the left lung was "compromised" and he does have some emphysema.
Anyway, yesterday, he had an appointment with Dr. Gupta and he and Linda finally found out what was going on. The doctor at the hospital didn't think it was a good idea to do the procedure, but somewhere along the line, there was a lack of communication and that fact was never relayed to Jim and Linda. There was one more option, but it involved surgery and it would be risky as well, so it was decided to just go ahead and treat the new spot on the lung as though it was a worst case scenario.
This next Tuesday, Jim will go to the chemo doctor's office for "Patient Education" and then on Friday, he'll have his first treatment. They will be using the new drug, OPDIVO, and it will be given to him every other week for at least 9 weeks. At that time he will have a "scan" and any further treatment will depend on that.
There are some side effects of this drug, but he was told that most patients were able to tolerate the drug very well. Hopefully, the treatments won't be too bad.
Also, either sometime this next week, or possibly the first part of the next, Jim will start radiation treatments. It sounds like they will be scheduled just like they were the last time. 5 days a week, Monday through Friday.
So, , , , , , now you know just about all of what I know. These last few weeks have been very stressful, but now that we know when and what these treatments will be, it takes a lot of the stress out of it. Hopefully everything will go fairly smoothly and we can get back to a more normal life.
A Quote to Ponder : "Look up to the sky. You'll never find rainbows if you're looking down"
Charlie Chaplin
Woof!!!
74 deg. Partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High 91F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.
Yesterday, Jim had an appointment with the Chemo Doctor, (Dr. Gupta), and so he and Linda finally got some answers!!
You see, Jim took a disk of his PET Scan to the hospital and answered a bunch of questions way back on the 20th. He was told that the doctor would look at the scan and then they would call him and let him know when he should come in for the biopsy.
Well, , , , , he waited and waited. Linda finally called the hospital but never could get an answer. She then called the chemo doctor, (who had ordered the biopsy), but got no answer there either. Both places said that "they'd get back to her", but never did! :-( However, at one point, someone did say that they didn't know if Jim was a "good candidate" for the procedure as the left lung was "compromised" and he does have some emphysema.
Anyway, yesterday, he had an appointment with Dr. Gupta and he and Linda finally found out what was going on. The doctor at the hospital didn't think it was a good idea to do the procedure, but somewhere along the line, there was a lack of communication and that fact was never relayed to Jim and Linda. There was one more option, but it involved surgery and it would be risky as well, so it was decided to just go ahead and treat the new spot on the lung as though it was a worst case scenario.
This next Tuesday, Jim will go to the chemo doctor's office for "Patient Education" and then on Friday, he'll have his first treatment. They will be using the new drug, OPDIVO, and it will be given to him every other week for at least 9 weeks. At that time he will have a "scan" and any further treatment will depend on that.
There are some side effects of this drug, but he was told that most patients were able to tolerate the drug very well. Hopefully, the treatments won't be too bad.
Also, either sometime this next week, or possibly the first part of the next, Jim will start radiation treatments. It sounds like they will be scheduled just like they were the last time. 5 days a week, Monday through Friday.
So, , , , , , now you know just about all of what I know. These last few weeks have been very stressful, but now that we know when and what these treatments will be, it takes a lot of the stress out of it. Hopefully everything will go fairly smoothly and we can get back to a more normal life.
A Quote to Ponder : "Look up to the sky. You'll never find rainbows if you're looking down"
Charlie Chaplin
Woof!!!
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Finally Something To Report
DeBary, FL.
Wednesday 10;00 pm EDT - 72 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast Thursday = Mostly sunny skies. High near 85F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.
Well, I finally have something to report.
In my last post, I told you that Jim had had a CT Scan and the doctors had found a spot in his right lung. Since then, he has had a PET Scan on the 13th of April, and it was determined that in addition to the spot in that lung, there was also evidence of something in the same place that had been treated before in his left lung. He has since been to see the Chemo doctor, and now is waiting for an appointment to have a biopsy on the spot in the right lung preformed at the hospital in Orange City.
There is some evidence that the spot in the right lung looks different than the spot in the left lung. That is actually good because if it is, that would possibly mean that the original cancer has not spread to a different part of his body, but is in fact, a different cancer. If that's the case, it would mean that the original cancer is not in his blood stream and going to other parts of his body.
So, we wait for the biopsy and then the diagnosis. After that, there will be radiation and chemo very similar to what he had a little over a year ago. :-( If that's the case, we won't be traveling at all this summer.
Jim's not doing too bad. He's "down" at times, but for the most part, he trying to keep a good attitude about all of this. He's very disappointed and is dreading having to go through the chemo treatments again, especially since he still has some side effects from the last treatments he had, just over a year ago.
Linda is very worried about Jim but is also trying to keep her spirits up. She knows that she'll have to try to stay strong and be there for moral support for Jim.
So, , , , , that's about all I know for now. As soon as the results from the biopsy come in, I imagine they'll start treatments. At that time, we should find out more about how long the treatments will last and possibly get some idea of what the summer will bring as far as any plans Jim and Linda can make.
Please keep Jim and Linda in your thoughts and prayers. I'll post update here as often as I can to try to keep all of you up-to-date.
Woof!!!
Wednesday 10;00 pm EDT - 72 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast Thursday = Mostly sunny skies. High near 85F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.
Well, I finally have something to report.
In my last post, I told you that Jim had had a CT Scan and the doctors had found a spot in his right lung. Since then, he has had a PET Scan on the 13th of April, and it was determined that in addition to the spot in that lung, there was also evidence of something in the same place that had been treated before in his left lung. He has since been to see the Chemo doctor, and now is waiting for an appointment to have a biopsy on the spot in the right lung preformed at the hospital in Orange City.
There is some evidence that the spot in the right lung looks different than the spot in the left lung. That is actually good because if it is, that would possibly mean that the original cancer has not spread to a different part of his body, but is in fact, a different cancer. If that's the case, it would mean that the original cancer is not in his blood stream and going to other parts of his body.
So, we wait for the biopsy and then the diagnosis. After that, there will be radiation and chemo very similar to what he had a little over a year ago. :-( If that's the case, we won't be traveling at all this summer.
Jim's not doing too bad. He's "down" at times, but for the most part, he trying to keep a good attitude about all of this. He's very disappointed and is dreading having to go through the chemo treatments again, especially since he still has some side effects from the last treatments he had, just over a year ago.
Linda is very worried about Jim but is also trying to keep her spirits up. She knows that she'll have to try to stay strong and be there for moral support for Jim.
So, , , , , that's about all I know for now. As soon as the results from the biopsy come in, I imagine they'll start treatments. At that time, we should find out more about how long the treatments will last and possibly get some idea of what the summer will bring as far as any plans Jim and Linda can make.
Please keep Jim and Linda in your thoughts and prayers. I'll post update here as often as I can to try to keep all of you up-to-date.
Woof!!!
Saturday, April 8, 2017
New Tires For Big RED, Good News and Some Not So Good News
DeBary, FL.
45 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Plentiful sunshine. High 76F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
When I last posted, I mentioned that Big RED needed new tires. Well, Ray, (a man who used to live across the street from us here in the park), e-mailed Jim and told him about a local tire shop (Big T. Tires), a little North of here. Jim took Big RED and headed over there and really liked the place. And, on top of that, they had a good price on a set of tires!!!
So, now, Big RED has a set of nice new tires that should last a good long time. :-)
This past Monday, Jim went in to Dr. Graham's office, (Jim's radiation doctor), for that CT Scan that I told you about a while back. He had the scan and then on Wednesday, he and Linda went back to see Dr. Graham and get the results of the scan. So, what's the results? you ask???? Well, there's good news and some not so good news.
First of all, the scan showed that the left lung that was treated before was clear and looked good. But, , , , , the scan showed a very small spot in the right lung!!! :-(
Now, this spot may be nothing at all, but now, Jim is scheduled for a PET Scan this coming Thursday, April 13th, to find out for sure. Then on Monday, the 17th, he and Linda will go back to get the results.
If it is malignant, it will have to be treated. If it is only that one small spot, Dr. Graham says that he's sure he can treat it with radiation and that because of where it is and how small it is, the treatments should not take long and we should still be able to travel this summer, possibly still leaving during the first part of May.
So, , , , , things have kind of been put on "hold" until we find out more.
On the other hand, Linda had a visit with her surgeon yesterday, and everything looked real good, so there's good news there.
I'll post again as soon as Jim and Linda get the results on the 17th. Jim seems to be doing pretty well with this disturbing news, but as you can imagine is pretty worried. Hopefully everything will come back negative and we can resume out summer plans.
A Quote to Ponder. "He who enjoys good health is rich, though he knows it not".
Woof!!!
45 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Plentiful sunshine. High 76F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
When I last posted, I mentioned that Big RED needed new tires. Well, Ray, (a man who used to live across the street from us here in the park), e-mailed Jim and told him about a local tire shop (Big T. Tires), a little North of here. Jim took Big RED and headed over there and really liked the place. And, on top of that, they had a good price on a set of tires!!!
So, now, Big RED has a set of nice new tires that should last a good long time. :-)
This past Monday, Jim went in to Dr. Graham's office, (Jim's radiation doctor), for that CT Scan that I told you about a while back. He had the scan and then on Wednesday, he and Linda went back to see Dr. Graham and get the results of the scan. So, what's the results? you ask???? Well, there's good news and some not so good news.
First of all, the scan showed that the left lung that was treated before was clear and looked good. But, , , , , the scan showed a very small spot in the right lung!!! :-(
Now, this spot may be nothing at all, but now, Jim is scheduled for a PET Scan this coming Thursday, April 13th, to find out for sure. Then on Monday, the 17th, he and Linda will go back to get the results.
If it is malignant, it will have to be treated. If it is only that one small spot, Dr. Graham says that he's sure he can treat it with radiation and that because of where it is and how small it is, the treatments should not take long and we should still be able to travel this summer, possibly still leaving during the first part of May.
So, , , , , things have kind of been put on "hold" until we find out more.
On the other hand, Linda had a visit with her surgeon yesterday, and everything looked real good, so there's good news there.
I'll post again as soon as Jim and Linda get the results on the 17th. Jim seems to be doing pretty well with this disturbing news, but as you can imagine is pretty worried. Hopefully everything will come back negative and we can resume out summer plans.
A Quote to Ponder. "He who enjoys good health is rich, though he knows it not".
Woof!!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
The Scan and The Results
DeBary, FL.
87 deg. clear, NW wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = tonight, Partly cloudy skies. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday, Lila took Jim and Linda over to the same place where Jim had his radiation treatments so that he could get a PET Scan. The scan went off without a hitch and in about 2 hours, they were on their way back here to the house.
Today, they again headed over to Dr. Graham's office to talk to Dr. Graham to learn about the scan results. This last 24 hours has been quite stressful, wondering weather or not the cancer is gone or not.
The appointment was at 10:00, but of course, Jim and Linda didn't get in to see him until about 10:30. :-( When he came in, he informed Jim and Linda that the scan still showed something in the lung, but he said that he didn't agree with the diagonis of the person that wrote the report.
The spot where the tumor was, showed no tumor at all, but there was another spot lower in the lung that the person who wrote the report thought might be a problem. Well, Dr. Graham, showed Jim and Linda the scan pictures that were on his computer, and proceeded to explain why he didn't agree!!
The spot lower in the lung was not solid, but rather spotty on hazy in the photo. He explained that if it was cancer, it would be a solid spot and not spotty and hazy. In stead, he thinks that what it shows is scar tissue that was caused by the high doses of radiation that Jim recieved. He also believes that if it were cancer, it would show up where the orginal tumor was located and not way down in the bottom part of the lung.
So, , , , , his diagnosis is that the cancer is gone and he expects that in the next PET Scan, to be done this fall, will show that he is correct. :-)
Oh, and also, he doesn't have a problem with us heading North for the summer and seeing him when we return in October or November!! ;-)
Did you know that Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who started Mother's Day celebrations also filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialisation of Mother's Day? She lost her fight. Anna had hoped for a day of reflection and quiet prayer by families, thanking God for all that mothers had done.
Woof!!!
87 deg. clear, NW wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = tonight, Partly cloudy skies. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday, Lila took Jim and Linda over to the same place where Jim had his radiation treatments so that he could get a PET Scan. The scan went off without a hitch and in about 2 hours, they were on their way back here to the house.
Today, they again headed over to Dr. Graham's office to talk to Dr. Graham to learn about the scan results. This last 24 hours has been quite stressful, wondering weather or not the cancer is gone or not.
The appointment was at 10:00, but of course, Jim and Linda didn't get in to see him until about 10:30. :-( When he came in, he informed Jim and Linda that the scan still showed something in the lung, but he said that he didn't agree with the diagonis of the person that wrote the report.
The spot where the tumor was, showed no tumor at all, but there was another spot lower in the lung that the person who wrote the report thought might be a problem. Well, Dr. Graham, showed Jim and Linda the scan pictures that were on his computer, and proceeded to explain why he didn't agree!!
The spot lower in the lung was not solid, but rather spotty on hazy in the photo. He explained that if it was cancer, it would be a solid spot and not spotty and hazy. In stead, he thinks that what it shows is scar tissue that was caused by the high doses of radiation that Jim recieved. He also believes that if it were cancer, it would show up where the orginal tumor was located and not way down in the bottom part of the lung.
So, , , , , his diagnosis is that the cancer is gone and he expects that in the next PET Scan, to be done this fall, will show that he is correct. :-)
Oh, and also, he doesn't have a problem with us heading North for the summer and seeing him when we return in October or November!! ;-)
Did you know that Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who started Mother's Day celebrations also filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialisation of Mother's Day? She lost her fight. Anna had hoped for a day of reflection and quiet prayer by families, thanking God for all that mothers had done.
Woof!!!
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Last Radiation Treatment and A Fish Fry?
DeBary, FL.
39 deg. clear,, no wind.
Forecast = Abundant sunshine. High 68F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night = A clear sky. Low 39F. Winds light and variable.
Nothing special happened since I last posted except, yesterday, Jim had his last Radiation treatment!! :-) That means that he won't have to be getting up and leaving here by 8;15 every weekday morning and hopefully, some of the side effects such as the fatigue Jim has been experiencing, will start to fade away.
He also had his last weekly Chemo treatment yesterday. The next treatment will be in about 21 days, although, he will still have to go in to get a blood test every week, in-between the treatments. The Chemo treatments Jim has been receiving, have lasted about 3 hours, but these last 2 treatments will last about 5 hours, so it will be a longer day and who knows what the side effects will be from the heavier dose of the medications.
To celebrate Jim's last Radiation Treatment, He and Linda went to Gram's Kitchen for dinner last night. Jim ordered the Prime Rib Special that they have every weekend and Linda ordered meatloaf. As usual both dinners were very good.
Oh, speaking of food!!! The other day, Jim received an e-mail from Dave, (one of the Illinois bunch), and they are having their annual "fish fry" over at their home at the Southern Aire RV Park in Thonotosassa, FL tomorrow.
If you are a long time reader of this blog, you may remember that the whole Illinois Bunch used to spend the winter at that RV Park and we used to spend a couple weeks each winter camping over there and visiting with them. Well, we lost Gordy a couple years ago and Dorthy sold their Motorhome. Denny and Bev have not been coming down to Florida for the last couple years, so that just leaves Dave and Dee Dee who have bought a Park Model Home over there.
Anyway, every summer, Dave does a lot of fishing up in Illinois. He and Dee Dee freeze the fish and bring them down here for a "fish fry" for their friends. Most everyone brings food along, so they end up having a Pot Luck Dinner with the fish as the main dish. If I remember right, there were about 50 people there for the last fish fry that Jim and Linda were able to attend, 2 years ago.
If Jim is still feeling well, Lila will take them over there tomorrow. They're planning on eating around 3:00 but if they can, Jim and Linda will head over there earlier so that they can spend tome time visiting with Dave and Dee Dee, before they get too busy with meal set-up, preparation and cooking.
Should be a fun day, and it will be a good excuse for Jim and Linda to get out of here for a day. ;-)
Did you know that today is International Sword Swallowers Day?
Woof!!!
39 deg. clear,, no wind.
Forecast = Abundant sunshine. High 68F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night = A clear sky. Low 39F. Winds light and variable.
Nothing special happened since I last posted except, yesterday, Jim had his last Radiation treatment!! :-) That means that he won't have to be getting up and leaving here by 8;15 every weekday morning and hopefully, some of the side effects such as the fatigue Jim has been experiencing, will start to fade away.
He also had his last weekly Chemo treatment yesterday. The next treatment will be in about 21 days, although, he will still have to go in to get a blood test every week, in-between the treatments. The Chemo treatments Jim has been receiving, have lasted about 3 hours, but these last 2 treatments will last about 5 hours, so it will be a longer day and who knows what the side effects will be from the heavier dose of the medications.
To celebrate Jim's last Radiation Treatment, He and Linda went to Gram's Kitchen for dinner last night. Jim ordered the Prime Rib Special that they have every weekend and Linda ordered meatloaf. As usual both dinners were very good.
Oh, speaking of food!!! The other day, Jim received an e-mail from Dave, (one of the Illinois bunch), and they are having their annual "fish fry" over at their home at the Southern Aire RV Park in Thonotosassa, FL tomorrow.
If you are a long time reader of this blog, you may remember that the whole Illinois Bunch used to spend the winter at that RV Park and we used to spend a couple weeks each winter camping over there and visiting with them. Well, we lost Gordy a couple years ago and Dorthy sold their Motorhome. Denny and Bev have not been coming down to Florida for the last couple years, so that just leaves Dave and Dee Dee who have bought a Park Model Home over there.
Anyway, every summer, Dave does a lot of fishing up in Illinois. He and Dee Dee freeze the fish and bring them down here for a "fish fry" for their friends. Most everyone brings food along, so they end up having a Pot Luck Dinner with the fish as the main dish. If I remember right, there were about 50 people there for the last fish fry that Jim and Linda were able to attend, 2 years ago.
If Jim is still feeling well, Lila will take them over there tomorrow. They're planning on eating around 3:00 but if they can, Jim and Linda will head over there earlier so that they can spend tome time visiting with Dave and Dee Dee, before they get too busy with meal set-up, preparation and cooking.
Should be a fun day, and it will be a good excuse for Jim and Linda to get out of here for a day. ;-)
Did you know that today is International Sword Swallowers Day?
Woof!!!
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Long Time Since Last Post
DeBary, FL.
52 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Saturday, Sun and clouds mixed. High 76F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
It's been a long time since I've up-dated this blog, so I thought I'd better try and do it this morning. There's really nothing earthshaking to report, all of us are doing well. Big RED is bored out of his mind!! :-( He's really getting tired of just sitting under the carport and plugged into the battery tender that Jim bought to keep his batteries charged up. He says that he'd rather be out on the road charging his batteries himself!!!
Nora seems to be doing fine out at the CG. Last I heard, she was also getting pretty tired of just sitting there, although she says that she's enjoying watching the people walk by.
Linda and I continue to just do daily things. 5 or 6 days ago, Linda took Lila and headed over to Winn Dixie and bought a bunch of groceries. (About wore herself out), and then a few days ago, made a run to Walgreen's to buy some much needed items. I continue to guard the house while Jim and Linda are gone to Jim's medical treatments and watch the people walk by on the street.
Jim continues to do pretty well, but some of the side-effects of his treatments continue to take their toll. Fatigue continues to be a big side-effect. Both the chemo and radiation contribute to fatigue and the accumulative effect keeps getting worse. He only has 5 more radiation treatments though, so maybe that will help a little.
This last Monday, Jim was scheduled for his normal Chemo treatment, but his bowels were giving him all sorts of problems, (another side-effect of Chemo), so he called and told them he couldn't make it. That was fine, but the next available time when he could receive a treatment was yesterday. That wasn't a problem but now all the appointments for the rest of the treatments that he'll be getting are switched to Thursday or Friday, as they like to keep the treatments as close as possible to 7 days apart.
I guess it really won't matter, but you do get used to doing a certain thing on a certain day.
For awhile, Jim's appetite wasn't too good and he wasn't eating well. (Yet another side effect of chemo) He was starting to lose weight which didn't sit well with either of his doctors. That's one of the reasons that Linda went to the grocery store as she and Jim sat down and talked about what he thought sounded good to him. They came up with a list of foods and now since Linda has been preparing those items, he has started to put a little weight back on. ;-)
So, life goes on. Like I said, Jim only has 5 more radiation treatments left, so by next Friday, he should be finished with them. He actually only has 3 more chemo treatments left, but the last 2 will be stronger and will be spaced out at 21 day intervals, so it will be sometime around the 22nd of April before he's finished with the treatments, follow-up blood tests and doctor's appointments.
Oh, and of course, there will be another PET Scan sometime before then to make sure the treatments have been successful.
A Quote to Ponder : “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Joshua J. Marine
Woof!!!
52 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Saturday, Sun and clouds mixed. High 76F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
It's been a long time since I've up-dated this blog, so I thought I'd better try and do it this morning. There's really nothing earthshaking to report, all of us are doing well. Big RED is bored out of his mind!! :-( He's really getting tired of just sitting under the carport and plugged into the battery tender that Jim bought to keep his batteries charged up. He says that he'd rather be out on the road charging his batteries himself!!!
Nora seems to be doing fine out at the CG. Last I heard, she was also getting pretty tired of just sitting there, although she says that she's enjoying watching the people walk by.
Linda and I continue to just do daily things. 5 or 6 days ago, Linda took Lila and headed over to Winn Dixie and bought a bunch of groceries. (About wore herself out), and then a few days ago, made a run to Walgreen's to buy some much needed items. I continue to guard the house while Jim and Linda are gone to Jim's medical treatments and watch the people walk by on the street.
Jim continues to do pretty well, but some of the side-effects of his treatments continue to take their toll. Fatigue continues to be a big side-effect. Both the chemo and radiation contribute to fatigue and the accumulative effect keeps getting worse. He only has 5 more radiation treatments though, so maybe that will help a little.
This last Monday, Jim was scheduled for his normal Chemo treatment, but his bowels were giving him all sorts of problems, (another side-effect of Chemo), so he called and told them he couldn't make it. That was fine, but the next available time when he could receive a treatment was yesterday. That wasn't a problem but now all the appointments for the rest of the treatments that he'll be getting are switched to Thursday or Friday, as they like to keep the treatments as close as possible to 7 days apart.
I guess it really won't matter, but you do get used to doing a certain thing on a certain day.
For awhile, Jim's appetite wasn't too good and he wasn't eating well. (Yet another side effect of chemo) He was starting to lose weight which didn't sit well with either of his doctors. That's one of the reasons that Linda went to the grocery store as she and Jim sat down and talked about what he thought sounded good to him. They came up with a list of foods and now since Linda has been preparing those items, he has started to put a little weight back on. ;-)
So, life goes on. Like I said, Jim only has 5 more radiation treatments left, so by next Friday, he should be finished with them. He actually only has 3 more chemo treatments left, but the last 2 will be stronger and will be spaced out at 21 day intervals, so it will be sometime around the 22nd of April before he's finished with the treatments, follow-up blood tests and doctor's appointments.
Oh, and of course, there will be another PET Scan sometime before then to make sure the treatments have been successful.
A Quote to Ponder : “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Joshua J. Marine
Woof!!!
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
More Improvement But Also More Side Effects
DeBary, FL.
59 deg. clear, West wind with gusts to 20 mph.
Forecast = tonight, Clear skies. Low 33F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
The day-to-day happenings around here have been pretty boring. Just normal living.
Monday, Jim had a radiation treatment at 8:45 in the morning and then headed up to DeLand to have his weekly chemo treatment which always includes a chemo doctor's appointment.
When Jim goes for chemo treatment, the first step is to get weighed, have blood drawn and then see the doctor. They have a lab right there, and by the time he sees the doctor, (Doctor Saferali), she already has the results of the blood test. So far, Jim 's weight has been stable and the blood test results have been pretty good, but this time, he had lost some weight since last week and some of the numbers on the blood test were out of the "normal range".
Jim's appetite has not been real good lately and so he has not been eating as much as usual, thus the weight loss. And, his white blood count is getting low and this can be a very serious thing. You see, if your white count gets too low, you loose your resistance to any infections, such as colds, or other bugs you may pick up by being with other people or eating any fruit or vegetables that are raw and not washed thoroughly or not cooked properly.
So, what does this mean? Well, the doctor recommended that for now, Jim stay away from crowded places, like busy restaurants, stores or any place where there may be a lot of "germs" floating around in the air. She also said that washing produce was very important and being very careful to cook things completely. She also said that if the white count hasn't improved by next week, the best thing to do would be to skip a week of chemo and then resume treatment after the bone marrow has a chance to bring the count up some.
Jim is also starting to have more side effects from the chemo. He's noticed more fatigue, loss of appetite, some weakness, and some bowel problems. He pretty much expected these things to happen eventually so wasn't too surprised. Oh, and he's also noticed a lot of hair in his comb when combing his hair, so that means soon he'll be losing all his hair. :-(
But, , , , the good news!!!!
Jim's lung is working very well!! In fact the chemo doctor said that she couldn't tell any difference between the left and right lung when she listened to his breathing with her stethoscope!!! That means that the lung has completely re-inflated and the tumor has shrunk enough to allow good passage of air in and out of the lung!!!! :-)
Yesterday morning, Jim had his usual radiation treatment and then saw the radiation doctor. (He sees Dr. Graham every Tuesday after his treatment), He confirmed Dr. Saferali's diagnosis about the function of the lung and was very pleased with the results. If everything goes a planned, Jim has just 12 more radiation treatments. That means that on or about the 26th of this month, he'll be finished with the every day treatments.
He also only has only 4 more chemo treatments left, but that will stretch out into April as the last 2 treatments will be at 21 day intervals. (More on that in a future post).
The weather around here has been bouncing around all over the place. We've had high temps in the 80's with lows at night in the 60's. But we've also had high's in the 50's with low's near the freezing point. We've had quite a bit of sunshine, but also some very stormy days with very heavy rain. I can't complain though, it sure has been better than the weather up north in Illinois!! ;-)
A Quote to Ponder : “Every man dies. Not every man truly lives.”
Braveheart
Woof!!!
59 deg. clear, West wind with gusts to 20 mph.
Forecast = tonight, Clear skies. Low 33F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
The day-to-day happenings around here have been pretty boring. Just normal living.
Monday, Jim had a radiation treatment at 8:45 in the morning and then headed up to DeLand to have his weekly chemo treatment which always includes a chemo doctor's appointment.
When Jim goes for chemo treatment, the first step is to get weighed, have blood drawn and then see the doctor. They have a lab right there, and by the time he sees the doctor, (Doctor Saferali), she already has the results of the blood test. So far, Jim 's weight has been stable and the blood test results have been pretty good, but this time, he had lost some weight since last week and some of the numbers on the blood test were out of the "normal range".
Jim's appetite has not been real good lately and so he has not been eating as much as usual, thus the weight loss. And, his white blood count is getting low and this can be a very serious thing. You see, if your white count gets too low, you loose your resistance to any infections, such as colds, or other bugs you may pick up by being with other people or eating any fruit or vegetables that are raw and not washed thoroughly or not cooked properly.
So, what does this mean? Well, the doctor recommended that for now, Jim stay away from crowded places, like busy restaurants, stores or any place where there may be a lot of "germs" floating around in the air. She also said that washing produce was very important and being very careful to cook things completely. She also said that if the white count hasn't improved by next week, the best thing to do would be to skip a week of chemo and then resume treatment after the bone marrow has a chance to bring the count up some.
Jim is also starting to have more side effects from the chemo. He's noticed more fatigue, loss of appetite, some weakness, and some bowel problems. He pretty much expected these things to happen eventually so wasn't too surprised. Oh, and he's also noticed a lot of hair in his comb when combing his hair, so that means soon he'll be losing all his hair. :-(
But, , , , the good news!!!!
Jim's lung is working very well!! In fact the chemo doctor said that she couldn't tell any difference between the left and right lung when she listened to his breathing with her stethoscope!!! That means that the lung has completely re-inflated and the tumor has shrunk enough to allow good passage of air in and out of the lung!!!! :-)
Yesterday morning, Jim had his usual radiation treatment and then saw the radiation doctor. (He sees Dr. Graham every Tuesday after his treatment), He confirmed Dr. Saferali's diagnosis about the function of the lung and was very pleased with the results. If everything goes a planned, Jim has just 12 more radiation treatments. That means that on or about the 26th of this month, he'll be finished with the every day treatments.
He also only has only 4 more chemo treatments left, but that will stretch out into April as the last 2 treatments will be at 21 day intervals. (More on that in a future post).
The weather around here has been bouncing around all over the place. We've had high temps in the 80's with lows at night in the 60's. But we've also had high's in the 50's with low's near the freezing point. We've had quite a bit of sunshine, but also some very stormy days with very heavy rain. I can't complain though, it sure has been better than the weather up north in Illinois!! ;-)
A Quote to Ponder : “Every man dies. Not every man truly lives.”
Braveheart
Woof!!!
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
The News Continues To Be Positive
DeBary, FL.
64 deg. rain, no wind.
Forecast = Showers and thundershowers likely. High 71F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
The news about Jim's lung problems continue to be good. Last Wednesday, ( the day of my last post), Lila took Jim and Linda over to the Imaging Center in Orange City, where Jim had his MRI. Jim says that unless you've had an MRI it's hard to describe what it's really like. He says it's lots of loud sounds while you're head is encased in a mask type thing and then inside of a tube.
Not real pleasant, but do-able!!! :-o
Then, in the evening, Jim went in for a radiation treatment, (with major machine setting changes), and had his treatment. As they were leaving and already out into the parking lot, Dr. Graham came running out and told Jim and Linda that, indeed, the lung had mostly inflated. The Dr. was surprised that this had happened so early in the treatment, and said that this would make zeroing in on the tumor and thus, making treatment much easier and more precise. He was very pleased, to say the least! :-)
Yesterday morning, after another radiation treatment, Jim and Linda again met with Dr. Graham and he went into more detail of the findings of the last CAT Scan. He showed them views of the lung, before and after, and explained how now the radiation treatments could now be more precisely directed to the tumor. He also noted that Jim's lung was now almost completely re-inflated and functioning quite well.
From Dr. Graham's office Lila took Jim up to Deland for a chemo treatment. Before the treatment, they met with Dr. Saferali who confirmed Dr. Graham's findings and also stated that she felt the lung was functioning quite well. :-)
Other than radiation treatments once a day, 5 days a week and chemo treatments once a week, nothing much else has been happening around here, just day-to-day living. Laura has stopped by a few times and Jim and Linda have called Joe, Mike and Jeff with the good news.
So, rather than just ramble along here, I'll leave you with this Quote to Ponder.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Woof!!!
64 deg. rain, no wind.
Forecast = Showers and thundershowers likely. High 71F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
The news about Jim's lung problems continue to be good. Last Wednesday, ( the day of my last post), Lila took Jim and Linda over to the Imaging Center in Orange City, where Jim had his MRI. Jim says that unless you've had an MRI it's hard to describe what it's really like. He says it's lots of loud sounds while you're head is encased in a mask type thing and then inside of a tube.
Not real pleasant, but do-able!!! :-o
Then, in the evening, Jim went in for a radiation treatment, (with major machine setting changes), and had his treatment. As they were leaving and already out into the parking lot, Dr. Graham came running out and told Jim and Linda that, indeed, the lung had mostly inflated. The Dr. was surprised that this had happened so early in the treatment, and said that this would make zeroing in on the tumor and thus, making treatment much easier and more precise. He was very pleased, to say the least! :-)
Yesterday morning, after another radiation treatment, Jim and Linda again met with Dr. Graham and he went into more detail of the findings of the last CAT Scan. He showed them views of the lung, before and after, and explained how now the radiation treatments could now be more precisely directed to the tumor. He also noted that Jim's lung was now almost completely re-inflated and functioning quite well.
From Dr. Graham's office Lila took Jim up to Deland for a chemo treatment. Before the treatment, they met with Dr. Saferali who confirmed Dr. Graham's findings and also stated that she felt the lung was functioning quite well. :-)
Other than radiation treatments once a day, 5 days a week and chemo treatments once a week, nothing much else has been happening around here, just day-to-day living. Laura has stopped by a few times and Jim and Linda have called Joe, Mike and Jeff with the good news.
So, rather than just ramble along here, I'll leave you with this Quote to Ponder.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Woof!!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Good News, and The Last Step Become Floridians
DeBary, FL.
36 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High near 65F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight, Mostly clear. Low 42F. Winds light and variable.
Yesterday turned out to be a very interesting day. Not at all like Jim and Linda had envisioned.
It started about 7:30 in the morning when Dr. Graham's office called and told Jim that he shouldn't come in for his scheduled appointment to have a radiation treatment at 8:45. Instead, he was asked if he could come in at 2:00 in the afternoon to receive a cat scan?
The reason was that they had looked at the results from Monday and determined that the lung had indeed started to re-inflate and move around, and being that the tumor is on the lung, the location of the tumor inside of Jim's body had indeed moved.
So, being that Jim and Linda didn't have to go to get the treatment, they decided to head over to the DMV and see if they could get their Florida Drivers Licenses. The original plan was to get FL licenses as soon as we returned here in November, but being that Jim was having all those breathing problems, it just didn't happen.
Anyway, they've built a new DMV office just a little North of here, so they headed over there, When they arrived, there wasn't anyone waiting so as soon a couple of the many stations, (10 or 12), became empty they were called right in and in about 1/2 hour, they were walking out of the facility with their new Florida drivers license!!!!
We're now officially Floridians!!!!!!!
At 11:30, Jim had an appointment with the pulmonary doctor for a follow up visit so they headed over there. Her office is also in Orange City, so it was a short drive. After a successful visit, they headed over to Bob Evans to have breakfast for lunch, and then headed over to the radiation place to get Jim's cat scan.
The tech at the radiation place told Jim that there had, indeed, been some major changes with Jim's lung and that evidently the radiation treatments have been working as planned and the tumor was starting to shrink!!!!! :-)
Today, at 9:45, Jim has to head over to Deltona to get an MRI. That's a scan of the brain to make sure that no cancer has spread there. (evidently that sometime happens when you have lung cancer). Then this evening at 5:45 he will head over to Dr. Graham's to get a radiation treatment. Then on Thursday and Friday, he'll get his radiation treatments at the normal time of 8:45 in the morning.
So, , , , , a very interesting day, to say the least, but all around the news is good and Jim's lung is starting to return to it's normal shape and function. They'll have to keep an eye on it and adjust the radiation machine to match the changes, so he'll probably be having more cat scans so they can make the correct adjustments. And, it's good that Jim and Linda got their new Fl. license as that was the last step to officially make us Florida residents.
Jim is feeling better and his mood is better with the good news. In fact, life is pretty darn good right now!! ;-)
Did you know that on this date in 1985 - The most-watched Super Bowl game in history was seen by an estimated 115.9 million people? The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins, 38-16. Super Bowl XIX marked the first time that TV commercials sold for a million dollars a minute.
Woof!!!
36 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High near 65F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight, Mostly clear. Low 42F. Winds light and variable.
Yesterday turned out to be a very interesting day. Not at all like Jim and Linda had envisioned.
It started about 7:30 in the morning when Dr. Graham's office called and told Jim that he shouldn't come in for his scheduled appointment to have a radiation treatment at 8:45. Instead, he was asked if he could come in at 2:00 in the afternoon to receive a cat scan?
The reason was that they had looked at the results from Monday and determined that the lung had indeed started to re-inflate and move around, and being that the tumor is on the lung, the location of the tumor inside of Jim's body had indeed moved.
So, being that Jim and Linda didn't have to go to get the treatment, they decided to head over to the DMV and see if they could get their Florida Drivers Licenses. The original plan was to get FL licenses as soon as we returned here in November, but being that Jim was having all those breathing problems, it just didn't happen.
Anyway, they've built a new DMV office just a little North of here, so they headed over there, When they arrived, there wasn't anyone waiting so as soon a couple of the many stations, (10 or 12), became empty they were called right in and in about 1/2 hour, they were walking out of the facility with their new Florida drivers license!!!!
We're now officially Floridians!!!!!!!
At 11:30, Jim had an appointment with the pulmonary doctor for a follow up visit so they headed over there. Her office is also in Orange City, so it was a short drive. After a successful visit, they headed over to Bob Evans to have breakfast for lunch, and then headed over to the radiation place to get Jim's cat scan.
The tech at the radiation place told Jim that there had, indeed, been some major changes with Jim's lung and that evidently the radiation treatments have been working as planned and the tumor was starting to shrink!!!!! :-)
Today, at 9:45, Jim has to head over to Deltona to get an MRI. That's a scan of the brain to make sure that no cancer has spread there. (evidently that sometime happens when you have lung cancer). Then this evening at 5:45 he will head over to Dr. Graham's to get a radiation treatment. Then on Thursday and Friday, he'll get his radiation treatments at the normal time of 8:45 in the morning.
So, , , , , a very interesting day, to say the least, but all around the news is good and Jim's lung is starting to return to it's normal shape and function. They'll have to keep an eye on it and adjust the radiation machine to match the changes, so he'll probably be having more cat scans so they can make the correct adjustments. And, it's good that Jim and Linda got their new Fl. license as that was the last step to officially make us Florida residents.
Jim is feeling better and his mood is better with the good news. In fact, life is pretty darn good right now!! ;-)
Did you know that on this date in 1985 - The most-watched Super Bowl game in history was seen by an estimated 115.9 million people? The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins, 38-16. Super Bowl XIX marked the first time that TV commercials sold for a million dollars a minute.
Woof!!!
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
"Bad Dog" Has A Gripe!!!
DeBary, FL.
43 deg; clear, no wind.
Forecast = A few passing clouds, otherwise generally sunny. High 56F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight, clear. Low near 35F. Winds light and variable.
I've got a gripe!!!!!! It's about Jim's cancer.
You see, a few days ago, Jim got his current medical records off of an Internet site. I don't know what many of those things mean, but when it come to patient's "Social History" it only says one thing!!!!
Now, throughout most of Jim's adult life and even as a teenager, he worked on cars and became a mechanic at a car dealership at the age of 19. During these years, he preformed many brake jobs and clutch replacements, dealing with asbestos dust. No one knew how dangerous this dust was so there were no masks or any other type of protection used. In fact, they used to use compressed air to blow the dust off of the brake parts as they disassembled the brake system. He was also exposed to all kinds of fumes, including gas fumes, solvent fumes and other cleaning and lubrication fumes. And, I'm sure he also inhaled gas and diesel fumes from the running cars, trucks and heavy equipment that he worked on.
Also, from the time he was 13, he worked on farms in the area around the small town he was raised in. Even as an adult, he worked on the farms on weekends and evenings, as a hired hand doing all types of chores including spraying insecticides, weed killers and general work out in the fields breathing in a lot of dust dirt, fertilizers and whatever else was in the soil.
Then, a few times during his adult years, he remodeled some houses, dealing with fiberglass, plaster, lead paint and asbestos shingles and asbestos house siding.
Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's no one even though about what was in all of the above chemicals.
Also, throughout most of these years, Jim smoked cigarettes. In fact, he started at a very young age and didn't quit until he was in his late 50's.
Now, can you guess what was listed under "Social History" on his medical records?????
Yep!! Smoking!!!! Nothing about farming, working as a mechanic breathing asbestos dust, breathing fiberglass or asbestos during home remodeling!!!!
So, , , , as you can probably guess, my question is why is everything blamed on smoking??? He may or may not have gotten the cancer from smoking, but why couldn't he have gotten it from all that brake dust and clutch dust that he inhaled or all those chemicals out on the farm!!!!
It's popular right now to blame smoking for a multitude of ailments and so I'm thinking that they didn't even really listen to Jim when he told at least 4 doctors about the jobs he had throughout the years. It was easier to just blame "smoking"!!!!!
Jim is doing fine, he now has had 2 chemo treatments and 9 radiation treatments. He had kind of a bad night this last Saturday when he was kept awake because of coughing. But by Sunday, he was feeling better and his breathing seemed a little easier. During the night, he coughed up a lot of "junk" and that probably means that the Radiation is working and has shrunk the tumor a little, allowing some air in and out of the collapsed lung. At his radiation treatment, yesterday morning, he told the techs what had happened and they said that although they didn't know for sure, that was what happened many times when the lung opened up. :-)
They did a scan and this morning, Jim will see the radiation doctor, (Dr. Graham), and maybe he'll be able to tell Jim and Linda if that's the case.
A Quote to Ponder: “One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.”
Jack Penn
Grrrrrrrr!!!! Woof!!!
43 deg; clear, no wind.
Forecast = A few passing clouds, otherwise generally sunny. High 56F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight, clear. Low near 35F. Winds light and variable.
I've got a gripe!!!!!! It's about Jim's cancer.
You see, a few days ago, Jim got his current medical records off of an Internet site. I don't know what many of those things mean, but when it come to patient's "Social History" it only says one thing!!!!
Now, throughout most of Jim's adult life and even as a teenager, he worked on cars and became a mechanic at a car dealership at the age of 19. During these years, he preformed many brake jobs and clutch replacements, dealing with asbestos dust. No one knew how dangerous this dust was so there were no masks or any other type of protection used. In fact, they used to use compressed air to blow the dust off of the brake parts as they disassembled the brake system. He was also exposed to all kinds of fumes, including gas fumes, solvent fumes and other cleaning and lubrication fumes. And, I'm sure he also inhaled gas and diesel fumes from the running cars, trucks and heavy equipment that he worked on.
Also, from the time he was 13, he worked on farms in the area around the small town he was raised in. Even as an adult, he worked on the farms on weekends and evenings, as a hired hand doing all types of chores including spraying insecticides, weed killers and general work out in the fields breathing in a lot of dust dirt, fertilizers and whatever else was in the soil.
Then, a few times during his adult years, he remodeled some houses, dealing with fiberglass, plaster, lead paint and asbestos shingles and asbestos house siding.
Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's no one even though about what was in all of the above chemicals.
Also, throughout most of these years, Jim smoked cigarettes. In fact, he started at a very young age and didn't quit until he was in his late 50's.
Now, can you guess what was listed under "Social History" on his medical records?????
Yep!! Smoking!!!! Nothing about farming, working as a mechanic breathing asbestos dust, breathing fiberglass or asbestos during home remodeling!!!!
So, , , , as you can probably guess, my question is why is everything blamed on smoking??? He may or may not have gotten the cancer from smoking, but why couldn't he have gotten it from all that brake dust and clutch dust that he inhaled or all those chemicals out on the farm!!!!
It's popular right now to blame smoking for a multitude of ailments and so I'm thinking that they didn't even really listen to Jim when he told at least 4 doctors about the jobs he had throughout the years. It was easier to just blame "smoking"!!!!!
Jim is doing fine, he now has had 2 chemo treatments and 9 radiation treatments. He had kind of a bad night this last Saturday when he was kept awake because of coughing. But by Sunday, he was feeling better and his breathing seemed a little easier. During the night, he coughed up a lot of "junk" and that probably means that the Radiation is working and has shrunk the tumor a little, allowing some air in and out of the collapsed lung. At his radiation treatment, yesterday morning, he told the techs what had happened and they said that although they didn't know for sure, that was what happened many times when the lung opened up. :-)
They did a scan and this morning, Jim will see the radiation doctor, (Dr. Graham), and maybe he'll be able to tell Jim and Linda if that's the case.
A Quote to Ponder: “One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.”
Jack Penn
Grrrrrrrr!!!! Woof!!!
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
3 Firsts
DeBary, FL.
43 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 64F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
The weather change came through as expected and it truly was shock to the system, the first cold weather of the season. Anytime you get a 25 degree drop in the temperatures after having record high temps for quite awhile, you feel it all the way through to your bones. Actually, the weather now is more like what it's really supposed to be like in January down here.
Monday morning, Jim and Linda took Lila and headed over to get Jim's radiation treatment and then headed up to DeLand for Jim's first chemo treatment. Everything went well and it was pretty much as expected. They first met with Dr. Saferali's PA and then Jim was taken into the chemo room. The worst thing about the treatment is that it takes a long time to administer all the different medications through the IV. Some of the meds are preventative to help counteract reactions of the treatment and of course the rest are the treatment meds themselves.
Jim got into the treatment room at about 10:30 and it was right at 3:00 when he and Linda returned to the car.
Jim was feeling fine, so on the way back here so they stopped and bought Lila a well deserved drink of 87 octane. This was the first time she had been filled since she was purchased and both Jim and Linda were well pleased with the 26.7 MPG that she attained, especially since all the miles were driven in town, :-)
For dinner, Jim and Linda again took Lila and headed over to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City. Jim had a fish sandwich and Linda an open faced beef sandwich. Both were very good. :-)
Yesterday, after Jim's radiation treatment the day was spend just kicking back after the busy day on Monday.
So, here's the schedule as of right now. Every Monday through Friday Jim will go to get his radiation treatment at 8;45 in the morning. Every Monday, after his radiation treatment, he will head up to DeLand and receive a chemo treatment that will last until late afternoon. This will go on for about 7 weeks and then, after the last radiation treatment, there will be 2 additional chemo treatments at 21 day intervals.
The treatments should be over by mid- April, but then there will be a recovery period and I'm sure another Pet Scan.
Side effects from chemo are accumulative, so by the end of the treatments, it's hard telling what kind of, or the severity of the side effects will be. As of now, no travel plans are being made for this summer. If we do get to travel, it may only be a short trip up to Illinois, but we'll have to see if that will even be possible.
Did you know that on this date in 1979 - The Y.M.C.A. filed a lawsuit against the Village People over their song, "Y.M.C.A."? The suit was later dropped.
Woof!!!
43 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 64F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
The weather change came through as expected and it truly was shock to the system, the first cold weather of the season. Anytime you get a 25 degree drop in the temperatures after having record high temps for quite awhile, you feel it all the way through to your bones. Actually, the weather now is more like what it's really supposed to be like in January down here.
Monday morning, Jim and Linda took Lila and headed over to get Jim's radiation treatment and then headed up to DeLand for Jim's first chemo treatment. Everything went well and it was pretty much as expected. They first met with Dr. Saferali's PA and then Jim was taken into the chemo room. The worst thing about the treatment is that it takes a long time to administer all the different medications through the IV. Some of the meds are preventative to help counteract reactions of the treatment and of course the rest are the treatment meds themselves.
Jim got into the treatment room at about 10:30 and it was right at 3:00 when he and Linda returned to the car.
Jim was feeling fine, so on the way back here so they stopped and bought Lila a well deserved drink of 87 octane. This was the first time she had been filled since she was purchased and both Jim and Linda were well pleased with the 26.7 MPG that she attained, especially since all the miles were driven in town, :-)
For dinner, Jim and Linda again took Lila and headed over to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City. Jim had a fish sandwich and Linda an open faced beef sandwich. Both were very good. :-)
Yesterday, after Jim's radiation treatment the day was spend just kicking back after the busy day on Monday.
So, here's the schedule as of right now. Every Monday through Friday Jim will go to get his radiation treatment at 8;45 in the morning. Every Monday, after his radiation treatment, he will head up to DeLand and receive a chemo treatment that will last until late afternoon. This will go on for about 7 weeks and then, after the last radiation treatment, there will be 2 additional chemo treatments at 21 day intervals.
The treatments should be over by mid- April, but then there will be a recovery period and I'm sure another Pet Scan.
Side effects from chemo are accumulative, so by the end of the treatments, it's hard telling what kind of, or the severity of the side effects will be. As of now, no travel plans are being made for this summer. If we do get to travel, it may only be a short trip up to Illinois, but we'll have to see if that will even be possible.
Did you know that on this date in 1979 - The Y.M.C.A. filed a lawsuit against the Village People over their song, "Y.M.C.A."? The suit was later dropped.
Woof!!!
Sunday, January 10, 2016
More Dr. Appointments, Starting More Treatments and A Change In The Weather
DeBary, FL.
67 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy. High around 70F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight, Mainly cloudy. Low 41F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Friday morning, after Jim's radiation treatment, Lila took Jim and Linda up to DeLand and to Dr. Saferali's office. They had never been to her office up in DeLand, but it was easy to find and is a much nicer facility than the one in Orange City, where Linda was treated.
The meeting with the Dr. went smoothly and it was decided that Jim would start chemo treatments on Monday. (tomorrow). The treatments will be once a week on Mondays and will last as long as the radiation treatments continue. Then, there will be a 21 day "rest", a treatment, another 21 day "rest" and then a final chemo treatment. Now, by just roughly figuring this out on a calendar, that would mean that if everything goes well, Jim would be finished with treatments somewhere around the 1st to the 15th of April.
It was also decided that even though the facility in Orange City is closer, the treatments would take place at the DeLand office. The reasons for this is that the Deland office is not as busy as Orange City, and the facilities are much nicer. Actually the additional distance isn't that bad. It will take about 1/2 hour to get up to Deland versus the 10 to 15 minutes to Orange City.
Jim's feeling well. He now has a nebulizer and is using it 4 times a day. This helps with clearing the lungs and makes breathing a little easier.
We're in for a big weather change down here in Florida. The temperatures have been in the upper 70's and low 80's, and today, the high is only supposed to be in the upper 60's with lows tonight down into the lower 40's. I know that's not really cold, but I'm betting that it will feel really cold to us after having all those 80 degree days.
Did you know that on this date in 1911 - Major Jimmie Erickson took the first photograph from an airplane while flying over San Diego, CA?
Woof!!!
67 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy. High around 70F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight, Mainly cloudy. Low 41F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Friday morning, after Jim's radiation treatment, Lila took Jim and Linda up to DeLand and to Dr. Saferali's office. They had never been to her office up in DeLand, but it was easy to find and is a much nicer facility than the one in Orange City, where Linda was treated.
The meeting with the Dr. went smoothly and it was decided that Jim would start chemo treatments on Monday. (tomorrow). The treatments will be once a week on Mondays and will last as long as the radiation treatments continue. Then, there will be a 21 day "rest", a treatment, another 21 day "rest" and then a final chemo treatment. Now, by just roughly figuring this out on a calendar, that would mean that if everything goes well, Jim would be finished with treatments somewhere around the 1st to the 15th of April.
It was also decided that even though the facility in Orange City is closer, the treatments would take place at the DeLand office. The reasons for this is that the Deland office is not as busy as Orange City, and the facilities are much nicer. Actually the additional distance isn't that bad. It will take about 1/2 hour to get up to Deland versus the 10 to 15 minutes to Orange City.
Jim's feeling well. He now has a nebulizer and is using it 4 times a day. This helps with clearing the lungs and makes breathing a little easier.
We're in for a big weather change down here in Florida. The temperatures have been in the upper 70's and low 80's, and today, the high is only supposed to be in the upper 60's with lows tonight down into the lower 40's. I know that's not really cold, but I'm betting that it will feel really cold to us after having all those 80 degree days.
Did you know that on this date in 1911 - Major Jimmie Erickson took the first photograph from an airplane while flying over San Diego, CA?
Woof!!!
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Back To December 31st and Treatments Begin
DeBary, FL.
57 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 73F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Well, lets see if I can get this all straight!!!! I'm going to go back to December 31st and try bring you up-to-date on what has happened since then.
So, lets begin!!
As I wrote in my post on December 30th, Jim had an appointment with the Oncologist, (Dr. Saferali), on the morning of the 31st to get the results of the Pet scan. Well, Jim and Linda headed over there and the news was good and bad. The good news is that the growth, (probably cancer) was all located in one part of the lung, (the inlet), and there were no other indications of any unnatural growths in the rest of his body.
Now the bad news. From the time Jim had received the Cat scan on the 4th of December and the Pet scan on the 29th of December, the opening of the lung had closed and Jim's left lung had collapsed!! This sent up an immediate alarm and Dr Saferali said that she thought is was very important that Jim head straight over to the hospital for treatment.
So, that's what they did.
Now, you have to remember that this was New Years Eve day and there were a lot of people off for the long holiday weekend. That meant that it was hard to get people together for some of the tests that the pulmonary doctor wanted to preform. And, I might add that it was not where Jim and Linda wanted to be to bring in the New Year either. :-(
They did an electrocardiogram in the ER and then immediately put Jim on heavy antibiotics because there is a high risk of infection in a collapsed lung. They also administered other medications to help him breathe easier. Then, on Saturday, the 2nd of Jan, Jim received an echocardiogram.
All showed no heart problems.
Monday, the 4th, they did a bronchoscopy which involved sedation and then running a scope down to his lungs where photos were taken. It was during this procedure that a biopsy was also taken and sent in for diagnosis.
Tuesday morning, Jan 5th, Dr. Ahuja, the pulmonary doctor that had been looking after Jim since he entered the hospital, and who is also the Dr. who preformed the bronchoscopy, came to the room and informed him of what she saw from the procedures. She is 99% sure it is cancer (no biopsy report yet), and showed Jim and Linda photos of the blocked area of the left lung and said that she thought that Jim could go home later in the day and should start getting radiation treatments to start shrinking the growth as soon as possible, preferably the next day.
Calls were made and an appointment was set up to see the radiation doctor, (Dr. Graham, the same doctor that gave Linda her radiation treatments) yesterday morning. (the 6th), by 10:00 AM, they were talking to the doctor, and by about 11:00, they were finished measuring Jim and deciding on just where the treatment needed to be directed. After that, they came home for awhile and rested, only to go back to Dr. Grahams for Jim's first radiation treatment last evening at 6:15 PM.
You see, Dr. Graham also said that it was of great importance to get that tumor shrunk down to get air entering and exiting the lung as soon as possible to head off a possible problem of the lung not wanting to start working on it's own again, which could be the case if it was blocked off for too long.
This morning, (the 7th), Jim will go back in for another radiation treatment and will continue getting treatments 5 days a week for the next, 5 to 7 weeks. (I can't remember just how long the doctor said). During this time, Jim will also see Dr. Saferali and get started on once a week chemo treatments. That means that for quite awhile he'll be doing both radiation and chemo at the same time.
It won't be easy and I'm sure it'll take a lot out of Jim, but because he's very healthy otherwise, the outlook is good. Dr. Graham also said that Jim has a good chance of full recovery, but as many of you know, cancer is a very hard thing to completely eradicate.
Jim and Linda both have very strong hopes and believe that this is just another one of those large bumps in the road that one has to go over. And besides, we still have places to go and things to do before hanging up those RV keys. ;-)
I don't know how much I'll be posting, but I'll try to keep all of you informed of anything important happening.
Jim also wants to thank all of you that have already called, e-mailed or commented. It really means a lot to know that so many of you out there are thinking and praying for his full recovery.
A Quote to Ponder : “All the really valuable things you own are things you can't photograph.”
Author Unknown
Woof!!!
57 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 73F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Well, lets see if I can get this all straight!!!! I'm going to go back to December 31st and try bring you up-to-date on what has happened since then.
So, lets begin!!
As I wrote in my post on December 30th, Jim had an appointment with the Oncologist, (Dr. Saferali), on the morning of the 31st to get the results of the Pet scan. Well, Jim and Linda headed over there and the news was good and bad. The good news is that the growth, (probably cancer) was all located in one part of the lung, (the inlet), and there were no other indications of any unnatural growths in the rest of his body.
Now the bad news. From the time Jim had received the Cat scan on the 4th of December and the Pet scan on the 29th of December, the opening of the lung had closed and Jim's left lung had collapsed!! This sent up an immediate alarm and Dr Saferali said that she thought is was very important that Jim head straight over to the hospital for treatment.
So, that's what they did.
Now, you have to remember that this was New Years Eve day and there were a lot of people off for the long holiday weekend. That meant that it was hard to get people together for some of the tests that the pulmonary doctor wanted to preform. And, I might add that it was not where Jim and Linda wanted to be to bring in the New Year either. :-(
They did an electrocardiogram in the ER and then immediately put Jim on heavy antibiotics because there is a high risk of infection in a collapsed lung. They also administered other medications to help him breathe easier. Then, on Saturday, the 2nd of Jan, Jim received an echocardiogram.
All showed no heart problems.
Monday, the 4th, they did a bronchoscopy which involved sedation and then running a scope down to his lungs where photos were taken. It was during this procedure that a biopsy was also taken and sent in for diagnosis.
Tuesday morning, Jan 5th, Dr. Ahuja, the pulmonary doctor that had been looking after Jim since he entered the hospital, and who is also the Dr. who preformed the bronchoscopy, came to the room and informed him of what she saw from the procedures. She is 99% sure it is cancer (no biopsy report yet), and showed Jim and Linda photos of the blocked area of the left lung and said that she thought that Jim could go home later in the day and should start getting radiation treatments to start shrinking the growth as soon as possible, preferably the next day.
Calls were made and an appointment was set up to see the radiation doctor, (Dr. Graham, the same doctor that gave Linda her radiation treatments) yesterday morning. (the 6th), by 10:00 AM, they were talking to the doctor, and by about 11:00, they were finished measuring Jim and deciding on just where the treatment needed to be directed. After that, they came home for awhile and rested, only to go back to Dr. Grahams for Jim's first radiation treatment last evening at 6:15 PM.
You see, Dr. Graham also said that it was of great importance to get that tumor shrunk down to get air entering and exiting the lung as soon as possible to head off a possible problem of the lung not wanting to start working on it's own again, which could be the case if it was blocked off for too long.
This morning, (the 7th), Jim will go back in for another radiation treatment and will continue getting treatments 5 days a week for the next, 5 to 7 weeks. (I can't remember just how long the doctor said). During this time, Jim will also see Dr. Saferali and get started on once a week chemo treatments. That means that for quite awhile he'll be doing both radiation and chemo at the same time.
It won't be easy and I'm sure it'll take a lot out of Jim, but because he's very healthy otherwise, the outlook is good. Dr. Graham also said that Jim has a good chance of full recovery, but as many of you know, cancer is a very hard thing to completely eradicate.
Jim and Linda both have very strong hopes and believe that this is just another one of those large bumps in the road that one has to go over. And besides, we still have places to go and things to do before hanging up those RV keys. ;-)
I don't know how much I'll be posting, but I'll try to keep all of you informed of anything important happening.
Jim also wants to thank all of you that have already called, e-mailed or commented. It really means a lot to know that so many of you out there are thinking and praying for his full recovery.
A Quote to Ponder : “All the really valuable things you own are things you can't photograph.”
Author Unknown
Woof!!!
Friday, January 23, 2015
Shopping For Clothes, More Furniture, Big RED Gets Recalled and A Neat Web Site
DeBary, FL.
62 deg. overcast, SE wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers this afternoon. High 81F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Wow!!!! I can't believe that it''s been 10 days since I've last posted!!!!! But, as they say, "No news is good news". ;-)
There's been the normal things going on, like grocery shopping, going to Walgreen's and going out to eat once in awhile at places like Arby's and Gram's Kitchen.
Tuesday, Jim took Big RED to a local mechanic, (Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center) and had his oil and filter's changed. They also checked him over real well and declared that he was "good to go"! :-)
Then, Tuesday afternoon, Jim and Linda too Big RED and headed over to the Used Furniture Store and purchased a nice end table and Lamp to put in the Florida Room next to the Glider.
I think I like it. It makes the Florida Room look more like a room, rather than a porch.
Yesterday morning, Laura picked up Linda and they headed over to the Mall in Sanford where they bought Linda a whole bunch of new clothes. You see, it all started when Linda was undergoing the Chemo and Radiation treatments. She didn't have much of an appetite, so she didn't eat much. Well, she lost quite a bit of weight and since then, she has been very careful about what she eats and has lost even more. So, , , , most of her clothes no longer fit!
I guess that was one of the good things that came her from being sick!!
While Linda and Laura were shopping, Jim took Big RED and headed over to the CG to check on Nora. She's doing fine over there at Paradise Lakes. From there he went to an ACE Hardware Store and bought a few things and then headed to Bob Evans for breakfast at lunchtime. (Laura and Linda ate at Cracker Barrel). From Bob Evans, Jim went to Home Depot where he bought a board for a project that he has in mind and then headed up to the Dodge Ram dealer in DeLand.
You see, Big RED has been recalled. Yep. he's been recalled for that air bag thing and they're going to have to replace some of the air bag parts. So now, he has an appointment next Tuesday at 8:00 AM to have the work done. The service manager told Jim that it would take about 3 hours to preform the work, so that'll take up most of the morning. :-(
Nothing much planned for today or this weekend. The weather guessers on TV are saying that it will start raining here this afternoon and continue until tomorrow, around noon. After that, it's supposed to be quite a bit cooler but sunny, so maybe Jim can get going on that project he's thinking about.
Oh, I wanted to share a web site with you that I found the other day. It's called Weatherbase and it gives you all the weather data for almost every city in the United States as well as many cities in other countries.
Here's the link to the site. Weatherbase
Jim says that it should be real handy when planning a trip to different parts of the country, so check it out and be sure to check the links for "features" also as there's some good info there too.
Did you know that today is "National Pie Day"?
Woof!!!!
62 deg. overcast, SE wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers this afternoon. High 81F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Wow!!!! I can't believe that it''s been 10 days since I've last posted!!!!! But, as they say, "No news is good news". ;-)
There's been the normal things going on, like grocery shopping, going to Walgreen's and going out to eat once in awhile at places like Arby's and Gram's Kitchen.
Tuesday, Jim took Big RED to a local mechanic, (Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center) and had his oil and filter's changed. They also checked him over real well and declared that he was "good to go"! :-)
Then, Tuesday afternoon, Jim and Linda too Big RED and headed over to the Used Furniture Store and purchased a nice end table and Lamp to put in the Florida Room next to the Glider.
Yesterday morning, Laura picked up Linda and they headed over to the Mall in Sanford where they bought Linda a whole bunch of new clothes. You see, it all started when Linda was undergoing the Chemo and Radiation treatments. She didn't have much of an appetite, so she didn't eat much. Well, she lost quite a bit of weight and since then, she has been very careful about what she eats and has lost even more. So, , , , most of her clothes no longer fit!
I guess that was one of the good things that came her from being sick!!
While Linda and Laura were shopping, Jim took Big RED and headed over to the CG to check on Nora. She's doing fine over there at Paradise Lakes. From there he went to an ACE Hardware Store and bought a few things and then headed to Bob Evans for breakfast at lunchtime. (Laura and Linda ate at Cracker Barrel). From Bob Evans, Jim went to Home Depot where he bought a board for a project that he has in mind and then headed up to the Dodge Ram dealer in DeLand.
You see, Big RED has been recalled. Yep. he's been recalled for that air bag thing and they're going to have to replace some of the air bag parts. So now, he has an appointment next Tuesday at 8:00 AM to have the work done. The service manager told Jim that it would take about 3 hours to preform the work, so that'll take up most of the morning. :-(
Nothing much planned for today or this weekend. The weather guessers on TV are saying that it will start raining here this afternoon and continue until tomorrow, around noon. After that, it's supposed to be quite a bit cooler but sunny, so maybe Jim can get going on that project he's thinking about.
Oh, I wanted to share a web site with you that I found the other day. It's called Weatherbase and it gives you all the weather data for almost every city in the United States as well as many cities in other countries.
Here's the link to the site. Weatherbase
Jim says that it should be real handy when planning a trip to different parts of the country, so check it out and be sure to check the links for "features" also as there's some good info there too.
Did you know that today is "National Pie Day"?
Woof!!!!
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Worrying Works
DeBary, FL.
66 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 82F. Winds light and variable.
Worrying Works!!! 90% of what you worry about never happens!!!! When asked yesterday, what the scan looked like, the radiation doctor said, "Boring"!! In other words, the scan contained nothing unusual and it looked like just a normal scan of a healthy person!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big RED said that he thinks that Linda smiled all the way from the doctor's office to the house. ;-) She was so excited that as soon as she got home, she called most of the family and told them the great news!! Then last evening, she and Jim went to Gram's Kitchen for dinner. They both had the Friday "all you can eat fish special" and said that it was just as good as they remembered, when they last went in July. :-)
The doctor told Linda that he wanted to see her again in 6 months, but when he found out that Linda and Jim had travel plans for next summer, he said that he'd see her in early April, (just before we'd be leaving), and then again next November when we return.
So, as of now, we're "good to go"!!!! :-) Jim will start making some more definite travel plans and he and Linda can get back to more "normal" living. Linda still has an appointment with the surgeon who did the cancer surgery and also the Chemo doctor, but those are just normal follow-up visits and should not be a problem.
Oh, and Nora will be going to the new RV Park in about a week and a half. Jim and Linda went to Highbanks the other day and Jim told them that he'd be taking her out of the park on the 16th or 17th of this month.
Did you know that three quarters of fish caught are eaten – the rest is used to make things such as glue, soap, margarine and fertilizer?
Woof!!!
66 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 82F. Winds light and variable.
Worrying Works!!! 90% of what you worry about never happens!!!! When asked yesterday, what the scan looked like, the radiation doctor said, "Boring"!! In other words, the scan contained nothing unusual and it looked like just a normal scan of a healthy person!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big RED said that he thinks that Linda smiled all the way from the doctor's office to the house. ;-) She was so excited that as soon as she got home, she called most of the family and told them the great news!! Then last evening, she and Jim went to Gram's Kitchen for dinner. They both had the Friday "all you can eat fish special" and said that it was just as good as they remembered, when they last went in July. :-)
The doctor told Linda that he wanted to see her again in 6 months, but when he found out that Linda and Jim had travel plans for next summer, he said that he'd see her in early April, (just before we'd be leaving), and then again next November when we return.
So, as of now, we're "good to go"!!!! :-) Jim will start making some more definite travel plans and he and Linda can get back to more "normal" living. Linda still has an appointment with the surgeon who did the cancer surgery and also the Chemo doctor, but those are just normal follow-up visits and should not be a problem.
Oh, and Nora will be going to the new RV Park in about a week and a half. Jim and Linda went to Highbanks the other day and Jim told them that he'd be taking her out of the park on the 16th or 17th of this month.
Did you know that three quarters of fish caught are eaten – the rest is used to make things such as glue, soap, margarine and fertilizer?
Woof!!!
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Shopping Finished, Anxiety and Is There A Move In The Near Future?
DeBary, FL.
63 deg. partly cloudy, light fog, no wind.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph.
As of this last Sunday, all the Christmas shopping is finished and as of yesterday morning, Linda has all of the presents wrapped. Now, most of them need to be boxed up and sent off to family in VA, NC, WI, IL, and OR.
Other than day to day living not much has been happening around here. Yesterday, Linda had her first medical appointment since we've been back here in Florida. It was a scan at the Imagining Center at the Florida Hospital, (where she received her radiation treatments). Then, tomorrow, she'll go to see Dr. Graham, (the radiation doctor), to find out the results.
Linda has been having a lot of anxiety about going to get the scan and then going to the doctor to get the results. I can understand that. The outcome is going to make a huge difference in her life.
So, we wait. She's trying to stay busy, so she not always thinking about it.
Oh, and one other thing. As some of you know, Jim is not happy with the site that Nora is in over at Highbanks. Well, I think it was last Saturday, when he and Linda were out and about, buying Christmas Presents, that they spotted a Campground over in Deltona, that they didn't even know was there. They stopped in and talked to Beverly, (a lady that works for the CG part time). She was very nice and let Jim and Linda drive around in the park and see which sites were available. She also suggested that they come back on Monday and talk to Kelly, the manager, to get more information and the monthly rates, etc.
So, Monday morning they went back, talked to Kelly, (a very nice young lady that is the grand daughter of the original owner of the park). Jim and Linda were very impressed with her. The park doesn't have all the amenities that Highbanks has but it is quite a bit less expensive. It's about 15 minutes from the house here in DeBary, so it's not too far away, there are some nice shady sites available, the people in the park seem very friendly, the park is on a very nice lake and the park is gated, so it's not easily accessible to the public.
On the down side, the roads are not paved but do seem well maintained, there's only 30 amp electric in the park, it's farther from the house than Highbanks, it's in a more "rural" setting with not as many businesses nearby and probably about 80% of the sites are filled with permanents. (Highbanks also has a lot of permanents though).
I haven't seen the park yet, but Big RED says that he likes it. I think Jim and Linda like it also. And, from what I can gather from listening to what Jim and Linda have said, it sounds like on the 16th or 17th of this month, they'll be moving Nora over there.
A decision will have to be made very soon.
Did you know that today is "National Cookie Day"????
Yumm Yumm!!!!!
Woof!!!
63 deg. partly cloudy, light fog, no wind.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph.
As of this last Sunday, all the Christmas shopping is finished and as of yesterday morning, Linda has all of the presents wrapped. Now, most of them need to be boxed up and sent off to family in VA, NC, WI, IL, and OR.
Other than day to day living not much has been happening around here. Yesterday, Linda had her first medical appointment since we've been back here in Florida. It was a scan at the Imagining Center at the Florida Hospital, (where she received her radiation treatments). Then, tomorrow, she'll go to see Dr. Graham, (the radiation doctor), to find out the results.
Linda has been having a lot of anxiety about going to get the scan and then going to the doctor to get the results. I can understand that. The outcome is going to make a huge difference in her life.
So, we wait. She's trying to stay busy, so she not always thinking about it.
Oh, and one other thing. As some of you know, Jim is not happy with the site that Nora is in over at Highbanks. Well, I think it was last Saturday, when he and Linda were out and about, buying Christmas Presents, that they spotted a Campground over in Deltona, that they didn't even know was there. They stopped in and talked to Beverly, (a lady that works for the CG part time). She was very nice and let Jim and Linda drive around in the park and see which sites were available. She also suggested that they come back on Monday and talk to Kelly, the manager, to get more information and the monthly rates, etc.
So, Monday morning they went back, talked to Kelly, (a very nice young lady that is the grand daughter of the original owner of the park). Jim and Linda were very impressed with her. The park doesn't have all the amenities that Highbanks has but it is quite a bit less expensive. It's about 15 minutes from the house here in DeBary, so it's not too far away, there are some nice shady sites available, the people in the park seem very friendly, the park is on a very nice lake and the park is gated, so it's not easily accessible to the public.
On the down side, the roads are not paved but do seem well maintained, there's only 30 amp electric in the park, it's farther from the house than Highbanks, it's in a more "rural" setting with not as many businesses nearby and probably about 80% of the sites are filled with permanents. (Highbanks also has a lot of permanents though).
I haven't seen the park yet, but Big RED says that he likes it. I think Jim and Linda like it also. And, from what I can gather from listening to what Jim and Linda have said, it sounds like on the 16th or 17th of this month, they'll be moving Nora over there.
A decision will have to be made very soon.
Did you know that today is "National Cookie Day"????
Yumm Yumm!!!!!
Woof!!!
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
10 Months and 14 days and FL To GA
Thomasville, GA. (City of Roses RV Park)
75 deg. overcast, no wind. humidity 96%
Forecast = Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 88°F. Heat index around 97°F. West wind to 6 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 35%.
Yep!!! 10 Months and 14 days. That's how long we were in Florida to get Linda's cancer treated. If you count the days from the day she was diagnosed till the day we arrived, you have to add another 9 days onto that, making it 10 Months and 23 days, a total of 327 days.
Anyone who has gone through the diagnosis and the cancer treatments knows what it's like.
First, there's the "I can't believe this is happening to me" stage when you are diagnosed. Then there's the "fear" stage where you realize you have this thing inside of you that may very well kill you!!
Then, you start researching specialist who poke, prod, take X-rays, CAT scans or PET scans, run a myriad of other tests and finally, after what seems like forever, give you the diagnosis that you were scared to death to hear!!!!
In Linda's case, an exam under anesthesia was needed, then, after multiple doctor's visits, surgery. This would then be followed by Chemo, Radiation and more Chemo treatments. These treatments all have serious side-effects, so there were many many days of emotional up's and down's, dizziness, fatigue, the change in appearance, (hair loss and skin changes) and feeling completely miserable.
If course, there are many doctor's appointments throughout the whole procedure.
And then, there's the family. They're scared too and the main caregiver, in this case, Jim goes through the whole process with the person who actually has the illness.
Finally after all the treatments, you get the final diagnosis, (and hopefully it's a good one), you can start the recovery procedure and start getting back to some kind of normalcy. The recovery from the surgery is long past, but there are still the side effects from the chemo and the radiation treatments that the doctors say may last as long as 1 1/2 years!!!
I'm sure there will be many more doctor appointments throughout the years ahead and I'm sure there will be emotions to deal with before every one of them.
There'll always be that fear that the cancer will return.
Linda's emotions are still right on the edge and when we left the CG in DeBary Monday, she broke down and started crying. I don't think she really knows why, but thinks that it was probably because we were finally RVing again and at times, during her illness, she wasn't sure that we'd ever be on the road again.
________
Yesterday, we left Chiefland about 9:40 and headed North on US 19. 19 took us up through Cross City and Perry where we hit some serious thunder storms. In fact, at times we were down to about 40 MPH because even Big RED couldn't see where he was going. By the time we crossed I-10, the rains had subsided and it stayed dry the rest of the way to Thomasville, GA., where we pulled into the City of Roses RV Park.
We have been to the City of Roses RV Park many times before. It's another Passport America park. ($15.00 per night) It is an old park with quite a few "permanent" RVs but the owner is very nice and always welcomes us back to the park.
It was 12:05 when we arrived, so it took us 2 hours and 25 minutes to travel the 130 miles up here.
As Jim was putting down the stabilizer jacks and hooking up the electric, it started sprinkling again and just after he came inside the trailer, it started raining hard and rained off and on for the rest of the day.
Did you know that you see your nose at all times, your brain just chooses to ignore it?
Woof!!!
75 deg. overcast, no wind. humidity 96%
Forecast = Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 88°F. Heat index around 97°F. West wind to 6 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 35%.
Yep!!! 10 Months and 14 days. That's how long we were in Florida to get Linda's cancer treated. If you count the days from the day she was diagnosed till the day we arrived, you have to add another 9 days onto that, making it 10 Months and 23 days, a total of 327 days.
Anyone who has gone through the diagnosis and the cancer treatments knows what it's like.
First, there's the "I can't believe this is happening to me" stage when you are diagnosed. Then there's the "fear" stage where you realize you have this thing inside of you that may very well kill you!!
Then, you start researching specialist who poke, prod, take X-rays, CAT scans or PET scans, run a myriad of other tests and finally, after what seems like forever, give you the diagnosis that you were scared to death to hear!!!!
In Linda's case, an exam under anesthesia was needed, then, after multiple doctor's visits, surgery. This would then be followed by Chemo, Radiation and more Chemo treatments. These treatments all have serious side-effects, so there were many many days of emotional up's and down's, dizziness, fatigue, the change in appearance, (hair loss and skin changes) and feeling completely miserable.
If course, there are many doctor's appointments throughout the whole procedure.
And then, there's the family. They're scared too and the main caregiver, in this case, Jim goes through the whole process with the person who actually has the illness.
Finally after all the treatments, you get the final diagnosis, (and hopefully it's a good one), you can start the recovery procedure and start getting back to some kind of normalcy. The recovery from the surgery is long past, but there are still the side effects from the chemo and the radiation treatments that the doctors say may last as long as 1 1/2 years!!!
I'm sure there will be many more doctor appointments throughout the years ahead and I'm sure there will be emotions to deal with before every one of them.
There'll always be that fear that the cancer will return.
Linda's emotions are still right on the edge and when we left the CG in DeBary Monday, she broke down and started crying. I don't think she really knows why, but thinks that it was probably because we were finally RVing again and at times, during her illness, she wasn't sure that we'd ever be on the road again.
________
Yesterday, we left Chiefland about 9:40 and headed North on US 19. 19 took us up through Cross City and Perry where we hit some serious thunder storms. In fact, at times we were down to about 40 MPH because even Big RED couldn't see where he was going. By the time we crossed I-10, the rains had subsided and it stayed dry the rest of the way to Thomasville, GA., where we pulled into the City of Roses RV Park.
We have been to the City of Roses RV Park many times before. It's another Passport America park. ($15.00 per night) It is an old park with quite a few "permanent" RVs but the owner is very nice and always welcomes us back to the park.
As Jim was putting down the stabilizer jacks and hooking up the electric, it started sprinkling again and just after he came inside the trailer, it started raining hard and rained off and on for the rest of the day.
Did you know that you see your nose at all times, your brain just chooses to ignore it?
Woof!!!
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