Re: Mark is at Peace

[Guest guest]

Deidra,

It saddens me to read of Mark's passing ........... and my heart

goes out to you. You have both been such inspirational and

informational leaders to all of us on the board. I hope his

transition was peaceful .......... and that you were able to be

there with him. You were, and will always be, a wonderful team. I

am entering into that time of transition with Rick as well .........

although we don't know when ........ we both feel it coming. We

must take stock in the fact that our journey's have somehow

contributed to the chance that, one day, there will be a way to

avoid this disease ............ that the knowledge we pass on here

might help to save someone from the advancing disease by taking

early, aggressive approaches and early detection practices.

I pray that God's strength and mercy will be poured down on you and

that he will carry you through this difficult time. As you

said .......Mark is at peace ................ now I pray that you

may find peace too.

Fondly,

Donna Sisco

S/O Rick, 50, Arkansas

09/19/02 - Diag. Stage IV Colon Cancer with 6 of 6 Pos. Nodes and

60%+ Tumor Burden in Liver

09/24/02 - 10cm Tumor removed from Colon

10/22/02 - Began CPT-11/5FU/LV Chemo - Had some shrinkage in 7

months

06/11/03 - Appt at MD - Suggested changing chemo – failing

current treatment

07/25/03 - Began Oxaliplatin/Xeloda Chemo

10/20/03 - Increased Xeloda – Still failing treatment

11/12/03 - Added Celebrex - continued failure

01/15/04 - Switched to FOLFOX4 chemo

02/23/04 - CEA drops 80 points

02/25/04 - First Symptoms of Brain Problem

03/01/04 - Brain Scan (MRI/CT) 1 " Brain Tumor - Left Parietal Lobe

03/02/04 - Began 10 Whole Brain Radiation Treatments and Decadron

03/15/04 - Last WBR Treatment

03/18/04 – Took last Decadron - extremely fast weaning process

03/22/04 - First Grand Mal Seizure (5 day hospital stay)

03/22/04 - Back on Decadron, added Dilantin & Insulin

04/06/04 - Resumed Folfox4 Chemo with added drug Erbitux

04/20/04 - Switched to CPT-11 with Erbitux

04/23/04 - Brain MRI shows only slight decrease in swelling and in

tumor size

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all

and try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For

now my son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial

service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in

lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Deidra, all the words have already been said but I would like to add

that thanks to and your wonderful husband Mark, I've been able

to make my own husbands journey on this road more bareable and

hopeful with all the useful information that has been shared...and by

the courage and strength to know to stage iv's who didn't throw in

the towel right away.

I'm sure Mark has met and maybe they'll lead the crowd with

putting in a few good words to the " man upstairs " for the rest of us

still down here.

God Bless you and your family and may he give you the strength for

the days ahead.

Hugs and Love,

Monika

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all

and try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For

now my son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial

service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in

lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Deidra, all the words have already been said but I would like to add

that thanks to and your wonderful husband Mark, I've been able

to make my own husbands journey on this road more bareable and

hopeful with all the useful information that has been shared...and by

the courage and strength to know to stage iv's who didn't throw in

the towel right away.

I'm sure Mark has met and maybe they'll lead the crowd with

putting in a few good words to the " man upstairs " for the rest of us

still down here.

God Bless you and your family and may he give you the strength for

the days ahead.

Hugs and Love,

Monika

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all

and try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For

now my son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial

service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in

lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am so sorry for your loss, Deidra. You and your son are in my thoughts.

With love,

Jodi

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all and

try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For now my

son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial service is

tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in lieu of

flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com Sunday April

25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Deidra,

I am so sorry for your loss. Words fail to come that I may express

how much sorrow I feel for you and your son in this time of loss. I

have felt so close to you both during your struggle with all that

this disease brings(both of our husbands are so young to have this

accursed disease and having young boys)

You and your family are in my prayers and I hope that you are finding

comfort in that Mark is at peace now. I pray for God's arms to

enfold you both and hold you close with a peace that surpasses all

that you have gone through and are going through now. My heart

breaks for you both.

Becky Beach

caregiver to Jeff

diag 8/01 recurred 5/03 with liver and abd mets

Oct 03 - cpt11/5fu/leu 5 treatments

Nov 03-present decided to not take any more chemo and just enjoy life

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all

and try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For

now my son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial

service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in

lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Deidra,

I am so sorry for your loss. He has found the ultimate peace. May

you find peace as well. Maeve

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all

and try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For

now my son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial

service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in

lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Deidra,

I am so sorry for your loss. He has found the ultimate peace. May

you find peace as well. Maeve

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all

and try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For

now my son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial

service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in

lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Deidra,

I am so sorry for your loss. He has found the ultimate peace. May

you find peace as well. Maeve

> My Dear Friends,

> It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has

passed away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know

you all understand that.I will soon share the details with you all

and try to get back on the board to help others beat this beast.For

now my son and I are trying to get from day to day.The memorial

service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer Alliance in

lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

>

> Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and

can finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and

this board. I know Mark is at peace.

>

> With great Sadness,

> Mark's Wife (Deidra)

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss...please accept my sympathies. I

lost my husband on April 12th and it is really tough. But something

my minister said to me kind of helped me to feel a bit better (but

not much!). He said if you can only look at this as Jerry had not

really died, he has started a new life in a better place. I know he

was happy to get the ordeal overwith because he died with a smile on

his face as if to say " Thank God it is finally over " . If there is

anything at all I can do to help you get through this, please do not

hesitate to answer this e-mail. You are really fortunate you have a

son..I have no children and only a brother about 2600 miles away.

But I will get through it, it is just that the grieving part is

really hard, but necessary. It is part of the healing process.

My prayers are with you.

Barb

[Guest guest]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss...please accept my sympathies. I

lost my husband on April 12th and it is really tough. But something

my minister said to me kind of helped me to feel a bit better (but

not much!). He said if you can only look at this as Jerry had not

really died, he has started a new life in a better place. I know he

was happy to get the ordeal overwith because he died with a smile on

his face as if to say " Thank God it is finally over " . If there is

anything at all I can do to help you get through this, please do not

hesitate to answer this e-mail. You are really fortunate you have a

son..I have no children and only a brother about 2600 miles away.

But I will get through it, it is just that the grieving part is

really hard, but necessary. It is part of the healing process.

My prayers are with you.

Barb

[Guest guest]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss...please accept my sympathies. I

lost my husband on April 12th and it is really tough. But something

my minister said to me kind of helped me to feel a bit better (but

not much!). He said if you can only look at this as Jerry had not

really died, he has started a new life in a better place. I know he

was happy to get the ordeal overwith because he died with a smile on

his face as if to say " Thank God it is finally over " . If there is

anything at all I can do to help you get through this, please do not

hesitate to answer this e-mail. You are really fortunate you have a

son..I have no children and only a brother about 2600 miles away.

But I will get through it, it is just that the grieving part is

really hard, but necessary. It is part of the healing process.

My prayers are with you.

Barb

[Guest guest]

Hello Barb: I am sorry you lost your Jerry,but at least you were there to

the end

and your minister is right,life is a temporay gift and when we leave it,I

think we

simply go on to another plane. It must be terribly hard to be alone,buy

surely you

have someone,lots of someones,because everybody here will read this and think

of

you and offer two prayers,one for you to help your bear the loss and one for

Jerry

so he can look down upon you and let you know he is ok. Spring is a time of

new

beginnings and now you have to take stalk and take care of yourself. Someone

has a need for you and somehow you will fit that need. It's good to cry,it's

ok

to wonder why me,there are no easy answers,you just have to gather your

strength

and go on one day at a time. Take care of yourself and know that lots of

love

and strength is here just for you. Nick & jane

[Guest guest]

Hello Barb: I am sorry you lost your Jerry,but at least you were there to

the end

and your minister is right,life is a temporay gift and when we leave it,I

think we

simply go on to another plane. It must be terribly hard to be alone,buy

surely you

have someone,lots of someones,because everybody here will read this and think

of

you and offer two prayers,one for you to help your bear the loss and one for

Jerry

so he can look down upon you and let you know he is ok. Spring is a time of

new

beginnings and now you have to take stalk and take care of yourself. Someone

has a need for you and somehow you will fit that need. It's good to cry,it's

ok

to wonder why me,there are no easy answers,you just have to gather your

strength

and go on one day at a time. Take care of yourself and know that lots of

love

and strength is here just for you. Nick & jane

[Guest guest]

Hello Barb: I am sorry you lost your Jerry,but at least you were there to

the end

and your minister is right,life is a temporay gift and when we leave it,I

think we

simply go on to another plane. It must be terribly hard to be alone,buy

surely you

have someone,lots of someones,because everybody here will read this and think

of

you and offer two prayers,one for you to help your bear the loss and one for

Jerry

so he can look down upon you and let you know he is ok. Spring is a time of

new

beginnings and now you have to take stalk and take care of yourself. Someone

has a need for you and somehow you will fit that need. It's good to cry,it's

ok

to wonder why me,there are no easy answers,you just have to gather your

strength

and go on one day at a time. Take care of yourself and know that lots of

love

and strength is here just for you. Nick & jane

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

I thought I'd try to take a moment to let you all know what happened with Mark.I

will try to be brief.Some of it I hope to share in the future as people need my

experience.I will probably become more of a lurker here for a while because my

grief is still so raw.In alot of ways it still hasn't hit me.I.m trying to

concentrate on my son and creating a new " normal " for him.It is difficult for me

to sort things out because our lives have been driven by the cancer for so

long.As normal as we tried to keep our lives you all know it wasn't.I not only

have the giant void of losing my husband and best friend but also my

purpose...For four years it was all about treatments,research,doctor

appointments,insurance,etc. Now when I get home from dropping my son at school I

truly don't know what to do with myself.

About six weeks before Mark passed away he was having considerable increase in

pain.He tried some radiation for the spine tumors but it only seemed to get

worse.He started to lose his appetite and began sleeping alot and dropping

weight like crazy.He was confused at times and we found out that his blood

ammonia was high(a sign that his liver was failing and perhaps making him

encephalopathic)He started megace for appetite and lactalose to rid some of the

ammonia from his system.

Our new Onc. allowed him to start the Erbitux as a single agent.The first

treatment he could barely walk.

By the fourth treatment he was doing much better eating,walking the dog,ready to

start back at work a few hours a week.(he had been out of work for the first

time since he was dx'ed. For the last four weeks) The morning he was getting

ready for work he came out of the bathroom and collapsed on his chair gasping

for breath.I called 911 right away.He could still talk when they got here but

they couldn't get a pulse ox #.He stopped breathing in the ambulance,at the E.R.

they told me he wouldn't make it,they thought it was a stroke or heart

attack,which didn't make sense.The EMT asked me if he had been sedentary and at

the same moment I said " You think it's a blood clot right " The E.R. team

immediatly changed gears and asked me if he had brain tumors.I told them we had

never done a brain scan because it would have made him ineligible for some

teatments.They wanted to give him the " clot busters " but when they scanned him

they found he had four brain tumors,so they could not. They kept him on the

heparin because without it they told me his chance was zero.All of that info

could be helpful to someone out there.Apparently blood clots are common in

cancer patients not only if they are somewhat sedentary but also if they have

abdominal tumors.We didn't know that.I had been keeping him up and moving.They

could have tried operating on him to remove the clot but it had broken up into

alot of peices.I spoke to two surgeons and both of them thought his chances of

coming through the operation were about 20%.Pulmonary embolism operations

apparently don't have a high success rate

I will share the rest of the story another time.He came off the respirator two

days later and died peacefully with myself,his Mom and Dad and brother by his

side.I had a tape recording of our son singing to him there also.I know he is at

peace and in this I try to take comfort but my son and I are so sad.

Thanks to all of you who have helped us on our journey and peace to you and your

families.

Love,

Deidra(Mark's Wife)

Mark is at Peace

My Dear Friends,

It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has passed

away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know you all understand

that.I will soon share the details with you all and try to get back on the board

to help others beat this beast.For now my son and I are trying to get from day

to day.The memorial service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer

Alliance in lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and can

finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and this board. I know

Mark is at peace.

With great Sadness,

Mark's Wife (Deidra)

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

I thought I'd try to take a moment to let you all know what happened with Mark.I

will try to be brief.Some of it I hope to share in the future as people need my

experience.I will probably become more of a lurker here for a while because my

grief is still so raw.In alot of ways it still hasn't hit me.I.m trying to

concentrate on my son and creating a new " normal " for him.It is difficult for me

to sort things out because our lives have been driven by the cancer for so

long.As normal as we tried to keep our lives you all know it wasn't.I not only

have the giant void of losing my husband and best friend but also my

purpose...For four years it was all about treatments,research,doctor

appointments,insurance,etc. Now when I get home from dropping my son at school I

truly don't know what to do with myself.

About six weeks before Mark passed away he was having considerable increase in

pain.He tried some radiation for the spine tumors but it only seemed to get

worse.He started to lose his appetite and began sleeping alot and dropping

weight like crazy.He was confused at times and we found out that his blood

ammonia was high(a sign that his liver was failing and perhaps making him

encephalopathic)He started megace for appetite and lactalose to rid some of the

ammonia from his system.

Our new Onc. allowed him to start the Erbitux as a single agent.The first

treatment he could barely walk.

By the fourth treatment he was doing much better eating,walking the dog,ready to

start back at work a few hours a week.(he had been out of work for the first

time since he was dx'ed. For the last four weeks) The morning he was getting

ready for work he came out of the bathroom and collapsed on his chair gasping

for breath.I called 911 right away.He could still talk when they got here but

they couldn't get a pulse ox #.He stopped breathing in the ambulance,at the E.R.

they told me he wouldn't make it,they thought it was a stroke or heart

attack,which didn't make sense.The EMT asked me if he had been sedentary and at

the same moment I said " You think it's a blood clot right " The E.R. team

immediatly changed gears and asked me if he had brain tumors.I told them we had

never done a brain scan because it would have made him ineligible for some

teatments.They wanted to give him the " clot busters " but when they scanned him

they found he had four brain tumors,so they could not. They kept him on the

heparin because without it they told me his chance was zero.All of that info

could be helpful to someone out there.Apparently blood clots are common in

cancer patients not only if they are somewhat sedentary but also if they have

abdominal tumors.We didn't know that.I had been keeping him up and moving.They

could have tried operating on him to remove the clot but it had broken up into

alot of peices.I spoke to two surgeons and both of them thought his chances of

coming through the operation were about 20%.Pulmonary embolism operations

apparently don't have a high success rate

I will share the rest of the story another time.He came off the respirator two

days later and died peacefully with myself,his Mom and Dad and brother by his

side.I had a tape recording of our son singing to him there also.I know he is at

peace and in this I try to take comfort but my son and I are so sad.

Thanks to all of you who have helped us on our journey and peace to you and your

families.

Love,

Deidra(Mark's Wife)

Mark is at Peace

My Dear Friends,

It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has passed

away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know you all understand

that.I will soon share the details with you all and try to get back on the board

to help others beat this beast.For now my son and I are trying to get from day

to day.The memorial service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer

Alliance in lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and can

finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and this board. I know

Mark is at peace.

With great Sadness,

Mark's Wife (Deidra)

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

I thought I'd try to take a moment to let you all know what happened with Mark.I

will try to be brief.Some of it I hope to share in the future as people need my

experience.I will probably become more of a lurker here for a while because my

grief is still so raw.In alot of ways it still hasn't hit me.I.m trying to

concentrate on my son and creating a new " normal " for him.It is difficult for me

to sort things out because our lives have been driven by the cancer for so

long.As normal as we tried to keep our lives you all know it wasn't.I not only

have the giant void of losing my husband and best friend but also my

purpose...For four years it was all about treatments,research,doctor

appointments,insurance,etc. Now when I get home from dropping my son at school I

truly don't know what to do with myself.

About six weeks before Mark passed away he was having considerable increase in

pain.He tried some radiation for the spine tumors but it only seemed to get

worse.He started to lose his appetite and began sleeping alot and dropping

weight like crazy.He was confused at times and we found out that his blood

ammonia was high(a sign that his liver was failing and perhaps making him

encephalopathic)He started megace for appetite and lactalose to rid some of the

ammonia from his system.

Our new Onc. allowed him to start the Erbitux as a single agent.The first

treatment he could barely walk.

By the fourth treatment he was doing much better eating,walking the dog,ready to

start back at work a few hours a week.(he had been out of work for the first

time since he was dx'ed. For the last four weeks) The morning he was getting

ready for work he came out of the bathroom and collapsed on his chair gasping

for breath.I called 911 right away.He could still talk when they got here but

they couldn't get a pulse ox #.He stopped breathing in the ambulance,at the E.R.

they told me he wouldn't make it,they thought it was a stroke or heart

attack,which didn't make sense.The EMT asked me if he had been sedentary and at

the same moment I said " You think it's a blood clot right " The E.R. team

immediatly changed gears and asked me if he had brain tumors.I told them we had

never done a brain scan because it would have made him ineligible for some

teatments.They wanted to give him the " clot busters " but when they scanned him

they found he had four brain tumors,so they could not. They kept him on the

heparin because without it they told me his chance was zero.All of that info

could be helpful to someone out there.Apparently blood clots are common in

cancer patients not only if they are somewhat sedentary but also if they have

abdominal tumors.We didn't know that.I had been keeping him up and moving.They

could have tried operating on him to remove the clot but it had broken up into

alot of peices.I spoke to two surgeons and both of them thought his chances of

coming through the operation were about 20%.Pulmonary embolism operations

apparently don't have a high success rate

I will share the rest of the story another time.He came off the respirator two

days later and died peacefully with myself,his Mom and Dad and brother by his

side.I had a tape recording of our son singing to him there also.I know he is at

peace and in this I try to take comfort but my son and I are so sad.

Thanks to all of you who have helped us on our journey and peace to you and your

families.

Love,

Deidra(Mark's Wife)

Mark is at Peace

My Dear Friends,

It is with great pain that I report that my wonderful husband has passed

away.To say it was sudden may sound silly to some but I know you all understand

that.I will soon share the details with you all and try to get back on the board

to help others beat this beast.For now my son and I are trying to get from day

to day.The memorial service is tomorrow and I have listed the Colon Cancer

Alliance in lieu of flowers.The obituary can be found at www.sun-sentinel.com

Sunday April 25th.

Thanks to all of you for your constant support and I hope he and can

finally meet,because we owe the last two years to him and this board. I know

Mark is at peace.

With great Sadness,

Mark's Wife (Deidra)

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing this. It is good to have the information. I will keep

you and your son in my prayers.

God Bless

Narice

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing this. It is good to have the information. I will keep

you and your son in my prayers.

God Bless

Narice

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing this. It is good to have the information. I will keep

you and your son in my prayers.

God Bless

Narice

[Guest guest]

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your husband. I have no

words of wisdom. All I can say is that you and your family are in my

thoughts and prayers.

Cliff H.

[Guest guest]

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your husband. I have no

words of wisdom. All I can say is that you and your family are in my

thoughts and prayers.

Cliff H.

[Guest guest]

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your husband. I have no

words of wisdom. All I can say is that you and your family are in my

thoughts and prayers.

Cliff H.

[Guest guest]

Deidra: You are fortunate you have a fine son and that he was involved and

here at

the end. I am glad you wrote. WE(nick & I) went to his onc. today. They had

reread the

feb 27 scan,compared it to a dec. P.E.T. & SSCAN and there was little change.

his markes are up. His mets to the liver are not resectable accoring to the

surgeon.

he has four small sopts on the lung,a peritoneal mass in the abdominal region

and

a large mass on the pancreas. Right now he is on Xeloda,today his onc says

after

he gets the results of the blood tests he may put him on the Erbitux. he had

been

on Avastin. he has done the camptosar,5FU,Lecovorin,Oxi bit in tandem and

solo.

he has a Bared port (his third) He takes a pain pill sometimes one and a half

twice

a day. megace may have helped because for the first time he did not lose

weight.

His hair thinned,but did not fall out. He does have a rash,but thats a common

side effect. he is 73,drives,short distances,can't walk more then 15 minues

without resting.

Lately he has begun sweating at night. He has no fever,he stays on the sofa

but gets

up,walks,goes out for a few minutes and putters around. One of the tests that

was

ordered oday was taking a sample of he orignal tissue from the first

operation and

doing the blood work that may tell his onc.,whether or not the chemo will be

effective.

Today we had read in our local newspaper(Miami Herald) an article about the

progress

made in laproscopic surgery for colon cancer. It has improved with use and

time and

as more surgeons get certified. One of the original grou of surgeons who did

his

initial operation,a Dr. Gustavo Plasencia says he and a partner assocated

with the

Cleveland clinic have had good success and the results are about the same but

with much less hospital time and pain to the patient. His oncologist has seen

all

the things we write about,and investigated the procedures and I guess we will

have

to be satisfied with that. I think by keeping busy,and being involved there

is more

chance for success. I knw some very qualified sources say attitude is not

that important,but I disagree with that. Today we me a husband and

wife,briefly,the husband had been operated on about two weeks ago for breast

cancer,and his

wife was a three year survivor. very time we think we have a problem we find

out that ours

are small in comparisom and we thank God daily for his blessings(even though

we

intercede for a miracle-I don't find that strange,just part of the natural

process) We

are always amazed that so many people have been through so much and.like

you,still

want to ease the burden but still bear your own. Thanks for being you,for

caring and

for sharing..You will never know how good it feels to know that you arenot

alone. Thanks and God Bless you all Nick & jane

[Guest guest]

Deidra: You are fortunate you have a fine son and that he was involved and

here at

the end. I am glad you wrote. WE(nick & I) went to his onc. today. They had

reread the

feb 27 scan,compared it to a dec. P.E.T. & SSCAN and there was little change.

his markes are up. His mets to the liver are not resectable accoring to the

surgeon.

he has four small sopts on the lung,a peritoneal mass in the abdominal region

and

a large mass on the pancreas. Right now he is on Xeloda,today his onc says

after

he gets the results of the blood tests he may put him on the Erbitux. he had

been

on Avastin. he has done the camptosar,5FU,Lecovorin,Oxi bit in tandem and

solo.

he has a Bared port (his third) He takes a pain pill sometimes one and a half

twice

a day. megace may have helped because for the first time he did not lose

weight.

His hair thinned,but did not fall out. He does have a rash,but thats a common

side effect. he is 73,drives,short distances,can't walk more then 15 minues

without resting.

Lately he has begun sweating at night. He has no fever,he stays on the sofa

but gets

up,walks,goes out for a few minutes and putters around. One of the tests that

was

ordered oday was taking a sample of he orignal tissue from the first

operation and

doing the blood work that may tell his onc.,whether or not the chemo will be

effective.

Today we had read in our local newspaper(Miami Herald) an article about the

progress

made in laproscopic surgery for colon cancer. It has improved with use and

time and

as more surgeons get certified. One of the original grou of surgeons who did

his

initial operation,a Dr. Gustavo Plasencia says he and a partner assocated

with the

Cleveland clinic have had good success and the results are about the same but

with much less hospital time and pain to the patient. His oncologist has seen

all

the things we write about,and investigated the procedures and I guess we will

have

to be satisfied with that. I think by keeping busy,and being involved there

is more

chance for success. I knw some very qualified sources say attitude is not

that important,but I disagree with that. Today we me a husband and

wife,briefly,the husband had been operated on about two weeks ago for breast

cancer,and his

wife was a three year survivor. very time we think we have a problem we find

out that ours

are small in comparisom and we thank God daily for his blessings(even though

we

intercede for a miracle-I don't find that strange,just part of the natural

process) We

are always amazed that so many people have been through so much and.like

you,still

want to ease the burden but still bear your own. Thanks for being you,for

caring and

for sharing..You will never know how good it feels to know that you arenot

alone. Thanks and God Bless you all Nick & jane