Re: Time for an Update I Guess

[Guest guest]

Donna,

I am so sorry to hear about Rick. The two of you have been a

inspiration to all of us. You can bet the two of you are in our

thoughts and prayers.

Joyce

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute

discussion. He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it

seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He

skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we

would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from

there. He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve

our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT

a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those

scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a

life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough

to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in

the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO

PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before

our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you ..........

even if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that

Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!!

God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna,

I am so sorry to hear about Rick. The two of you have been a

inspiration to all of us. You can bet the two of you are in our

thoughts and prayers.

Joyce

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute

discussion. He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it

seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He

skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we

would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from

there. He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve

our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT

a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those

scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a

life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough

to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in

the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO

PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before

our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you ..........

even if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that

Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!!

God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna --I just wish some of the guys (and gals too) could beat this

thing. Rick has been truly amazing in this battle. He was diagnosed

about the same time as my husband. They are both in very serious

days now. Your courage has been tremendous and you have kept many of

us laughing and cheering with your posts. As our oncologist told us

when the end is is not in our hands but God's. You both will remain

in my prayers. Cheryl

-- In colon_cancer_support , " Donna Sisco "

<cncrsps2002@y...> wrote:

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna --I just wish some of the guys (and gals too) could beat this

thing. Rick has been truly amazing in this battle. He was diagnosed

about the same time as my husband. They are both in very serious

days now. Your courage has been tremendous and you have kept many of

us laughing and cheering with your posts. As our oncologist told us

when the end is is not in our hands but God's. You both will remain

in my prayers. Cheryl

-- In colon_cancer_support , " Donna Sisco "

<cncrsps2002@y...> wrote:

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna --I just wish some of the guys (and gals too) could beat this

thing. Rick has been truly amazing in this battle. He was diagnosed

about the same time as my husband. They are both in very serious

days now. Your courage has been tremendous and you have kept many of

us laughing and cheering with your posts. As our oncologist told us

when the end is is not in our hands but God's. You both will remain

in my prayers. Cheryl

-- In colon_cancer_support , " Donna Sisco "

<cncrsps2002@y...> wrote:

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna,

My heart goes out to you as it is a tough road you two are on. I

will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Sharon

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna,

My heart goes out to you as it is a tough road you two are on. I

will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Sharon

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna,

My heart goes out to you as it is a tough road you two are on. I

will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Sharon

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Dear Jennie, and Donna

First, Jennie, thank you so much for the poem--it is something else to hold

on to as we pass these days, not knowing if chemo helps our loved ones or not.

Donna, I have read all of your posts, but don't usually respond because I

have nothing to said that would help, however, you and Rick have been on my

prayer list since I first started here so long ago. I think often of you and my

thoughts are always with those on the board who are going thru such difficult

times.

Cheers,

Betty

Younger brother in KY. age-62

10/01 CC; resection; TMN stage: pT3N2MX (Stage III) 5FU/Lev-6 months

9/03 PET showed recurrent met (left para-aortic malignant lymph nodes);

Xeloda/Oxiplatin infusions and 25 radiation treatments

Hospitalized 2/04--8 days severe hand/foot syndrome & diahrrea- 30 lb weight

loss; colonscopy-clear. Infection.

Finished treatment after hospitalization.

May 10 - PET scan scheduled

[Guest guest]

Dear Jennie, and Donna

First, Jennie, thank you so much for the poem--it is something else to hold

on to as we pass these days, not knowing if chemo helps our loved ones or not.

Donna, I have read all of your posts, but don't usually respond because I

have nothing to said that would help, however, you and Rick have been on my

prayer list since I first started here so long ago. I think often of you and my

thoughts are always with those on the board who are going thru such difficult

times.

Cheers,

Betty

Younger brother in KY. age-62

10/01 CC; resection; TMN stage: pT3N2MX (Stage III) 5FU/Lev-6 months

9/03 PET showed recurrent met (left para-aortic malignant lymph nodes);

Xeloda/Oxiplatin infusions and 25 radiation treatments

Hospitalized 2/04--8 days severe hand/foot syndrome & diahrrea- 30 lb weight

loss; colonscopy-clear. Infection.

Finished treatment after hospitalization.

May 10 - PET scan scheduled

[Guest guest]

Dear Jennie, and Donna

First, Jennie, thank you so much for the poem--it is something else to hold

on to as we pass these days, not knowing if chemo helps our loved ones or not.

Donna, I have read all of your posts, but don't usually respond because I

have nothing to said that would help, however, you and Rick have been on my

prayer list since I first started here so long ago. I think often of you and my

thoughts are always with those on the board who are going thru such difficult

times.

Cheers,

Betty

Younger brother in KY. age-62

10/01 CC; resection; TMN stage: pT3N2MX (Stage III) 5FU/Lev-6 months

9/03 PET showed recurrent met (left para-aortic malignant lymph nodes);

Xeloda/Oxiplatin infusions and 25 radiation treatments

Hospitalized 2/04--8 days severe hand/foot syndrome & diahrrea- 30 lb weight

loss; colonscopy-clear. Infection.

Finished treatment after hospitalization.

May 10 - PET scan scheduled

[Guest guest]

Donna,

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Rick during this

difficult time. Please know that I think of you often and try to read

all of your posts, and thank you for taking the time to keep all of

us up to date on Rick's status and condition.

Here is a poem I found that gave me a little solice in the hard times.

THANKS TO GOD

I pray that this will bless you as it blessed me.

Hello God,

I called tonight

To talk a little while

I need a friend who'll listen

To my anxiety and trial.

You see, I can't quite make it

Through a day just on my own...

I need your love to guide me,

So I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep

My family safe and sound.

Come and fill their lives with confidence

For whatever fate they're bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face

Each hour throughout the day,

And not to worry over things

I can't change in any way.

I thank you God for being home

And listening to my call,

For giving me such good advice

When I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one

That answers every time.

I never get a busy signal,

Never had to pay a dime.

So thank you, God, for listening

To my troubles and my sorrow.

Good night, God, I love You too,

And I'll call again tomorrow

I will continue to look up to you and Rick for your courage and

strong hold on life. Please tell him I think of him.

Thanks,

Jennie

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna,

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Rick during this

difficult time. Please know that I think of you often and try to read

all of your posts, and thank you for taking the time to keep all of

us up to date on Rick's status and condition.

Here is a poem I found that gave me a little solice in the hard times.

THANKS TO GOD

I pray that this will bless you as it blessed me.

Hello God,

I called tonight

To talk a little while

I need a friend who'll listen

To my anxiety and trial.

You see, I can't quite make it

Through a day just on my own...

I need your love to guide me,

So I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep

My family safe and sound.

Come and fill their lives with confidence

For whatever fate they're bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face

Each hour throughout the day,

And not to worry over things

I can't change in any way.

I thank you God for being home

And listening to my call,

For giving me such good advice

When I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one

That answers every time.

I never get a busy signal,

Never had to pay a dime.

So thank you, God, for listening

To my troubles and my sorrow.

Good night, God, I love You too,

And I'll call again tomorrow

I will continue to look up to you and Rick for your courage and

strong hold on life. Please tell him I think of him.

Thanks,

Jennie

> First, I apologize for not being " present " much to support others

> ...... both in celebration and sorrows recently. Guess we all hit

> that place where we need a little space ...... and I seem to be

there

> lately. Things have continued a slow decline with Rick and I've

been

> VERY busy trying to keep up with working as much as possible,

staying

> in communication with all his Docs (3 active ones) ...... and just

> trying to find the best way to physically and mentally deal with

Rick

> from day to day.

>

> I guess I have mixed news ......... but then that is normal for us

> ...... because Rick is such a contradiction to all one expects when

> dealing with cancer anyway! ) First, I met with his Oncologist

> ....ALONE..... on Thursday. Had a very nice 30 minute discussion.

He

> strongly believes Rick is in his last 4 months ...... maybe less.

Not

> real sure if the brain tumor or the liver tumors will be the final

> blow ....... but it's obvious his body is tiring of the fight.

> Although Rick has handled all the chemo exceptionally well, it seems

> that it's much harder on him when put on top of all his brain tumor

> meds and the weariness of his body. He is supposed to be on

> CPT-11/5FU/LV with Erbitux ....and should be doing the CPT-11

mixture

> 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off, while having Erbitux weekly. He skipped

> it this week, because he felt miserable for three days following it

> the last week. In talking with the Onc about this, he said if he

> takes Rick off of it, he will go fast. Rick is NOT finished

fighting

> ) ...... so I asked if we might go to every other week, so that

Rick

> can still get the benefit of possible life extension ... yet not

> waste it feeling miserable every week. He agreed and said we would

> run another brain and abdomenal scan (haven't scanned the abdomen

> since 1/9/04) and we would try to make that adjustment from there.

He

> said he would just tell Rick that " he felt like we could achieve our

> goal by just having the chemo every other week " ..... which is NOT a

> lie ....... our goal is to give him the best " Quality " life for the

> longest time possible. If for some reason the liver tumors have

> doubled in size ... or anything close to that ...... he will advise

> Rick to discontinue chemo altogether, as it obviously isn't working

> and isn't worth suffering through. So, I guess we'll do those scans

> in the next week. We have an appointment with him Monday morning.

>

> Now ..... with all that said ...... believe it or not .....Rick has

> STILL been going in to work for about 2-3 hours almost every day

over

> the last couple weeks!!! Bless his heart, it takes every ounce of

> energy he has just to get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for

work.

> But he is NOT going to quit trying to live as close to normal a life

> as possible! The truth is, most days he only sits up long enough to

> eat his meals, then he's either asleep on the couch or crawls in the

> bed. So when he does go into work ...... after a couple hours of

> sitting in a chair, he's just drained. But you have to admire him

for

> going to the trouble of doing that much! He's such an inspiration

to

> everyone around him. His Doctors are astonished that he is still

> going in to work that often. But ............ there is no doubt

each

> day gets harder and harder for him, and that it's only a matter of

> time before he isn't able to do that.

>

> So ..... all in all, the picture is very bleak ...... however, we

both

> realize how very blessed we've been in this fight. Do you know he

> STILL hasn't thrown up once, had diarrhea, and has had NO PAIN??!!!

> That's unbelievable to me!! I understand that may change before our

> fight is over, but it's still a miracle we've come 20 months into

this

> journey and have done this well. For that we are thankful.

>

> Please keep us in your prayers, as I do each of you .......... even

if

> I'm not posting or replying regularly. I'm happy to see that Monika

> and Bert are on a nice vacation!!!! That's what it's all

about ......

> spending quality time with our loved ones ....... all of them!! God

> bless each of you, and I'll check back in after I have the results

of

> Rick's scans and have more info.

>

> With Appreciation for this " Board-Family " !

> 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

> 04/13/04 – Not metabolizing Dilantin – adding Keppra

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

> 05/04/04 – Beginning weaning from Dilantin, will stay on Keppr

[Guest guest]

Donna: You and Rick are both exceptional people and you have a unique way of

looking at things. Sometimes the effort hurts but the rewards are great. Who

knows

but God is rewarding you with the no symptoms because you have cared so much

for everyone else. I guess you have to take every day as a gift and thank God

for

it,Rick evidently feels he still has a task to complete,so he keeps on going.

We

have so many people praying for us and we will just add your names again to

the list.

Miracles come in both great and small means,we don't always recognize them

but I think the grace imparted gives us the sustanence to keep on going. I

hope

you take a few moments for yourself and that you are taking care of

yourself,too.

God bless you both. Nick & Jane

[Guest guest]

Donna- I am so sorry to hear about the increasing difficulties Rick

has been having, but am glad to hear that he is not painful.

You both are such an inspiration. My thoughts and prayers are with

you both.

Take care,

Kris

[Guest guest]

Donna- I am so sorry to hear about the increasing difficulties Rick

has been having, but am glad to hear that he is not painful.

You both are such an inspiration. My thoughts and prayers are with

you both.

Take care,

Kris