So a lot has gone on with Ty and his treatments for Cancer in the last few months. In stead of type out everything I am going to go ahead and copy and paste the last couple emails I have sent out to people,
Written on November 4th, 2010
Today we sat down with Ty's Doctor, Dr. Wahl for a meeting. Ty has received a total of 8 treatments on the current cycle of Chemo that he was on. One of the drugs that he has been on has caused him a lot of Neuropathy. Such side effects from this are sensitivity to cold touch, sore throat, not being able to drink cold drinks because of the pain it causes, very numb feet like they feel asleep all the time, and bland taste in his mouth. Basically nothing tastes really good. This has been very hard on Ty. Last week Ty got some PET and CT scans done and they showed some activity and so we met today with his doctor to go over the results and what is next. We were worried that the Tumor might of grown more and such so we were a little nervous. When we went in today though it was opposite then that. We were able to look at the results of the scans and Ty's main Tumor in his Colon area is down to half it size then back in June. Were the slight problem was, was in his Liver. Back in June the levels were around a 9, in September they were around a 5 and now this are just up about .2. So in the long run that isn't to much of a big deal. They are still better then they were back in June so Ty has made some really good progress.
So, after hearing all this news, Ty's doctor has given us some options. First Ty has no Chemo for the rest of November. She wants this drug that gave him the Neuropathy to wear off and get out of his system. She doesn't want to continue with it because of the harsh side effects Ty was having. We have a couple of options to choose from in treatments starting in December. We could stay with Ty's doctor and start a new drug of Chemo in December. This drug doesn't have a severe side effects. One big one would be that Ty would loose his hair. I think he will look great not matter how his hair is!:) He would continue every other week with treatment for the next 3 to 4 months. These drugs would continue to fight the Tumor and try to work against it. By March we will then reevaluate again.
Second, next week Ty and will be meeting with Doctor Gold who is a GI Cancer specialist at Swedish Hospital. He has a Clinical Trial that Ty might be a canadite for. We don't have much info about this and we aren't even sure if Ty would qualify because his scans came back more positive then negative. We will be gathering all the info we can from him before we make any final decisions on Ty's next form of treatment.
We are very happy that things are better then they were 4 months ago. We feel so blessed for the doctors and all the medicine that is out there to help Ty and others who are suffering from cancer. We are so grateful to all of you who have prayed and fasted on Ty's and our families behalf. This has been a challenging time but at the same time our Faith in Heavenly Father and his plan for us has grown deeper and deeper. Our love for our little family has grown deeper. We feel so blessed to have Issy who has been our joy through these hard times. We know we still have a long road ahead of us but we know the Lord will continue to bless us. Ty is very happy to get a month off from Chemo to enjoy time with our family and friends. He is also excited to be able to eat and have more energy.
Written on December 2, 2010
As many of you know Ty had the last month off from treatment. We all enjoyed the break especially how the last treatment round beat Tys body up pretty good. After meeting with the specialist in Seattle that we consulted, we decided to stay with Ty's doctor, Doctor Wahl at Overlake Hospital to continue the course of treatments she had for Ty. We decided to hold off on any clinical trials right now because the one that was offered was in its early stages. We didn't want to gamble right now since Ty has had positive results with the last treatment.
Yesterday we went back into meet with Doctor Wahl after Ty's month off. She decided to go ahead and start Tys new treatment plan. He is on some of the same drugs mixed in with a new drug. He is not taking the Nueropathy drug anymore that gave him all the side effects as before. The new drug Irinotecan does not have a severe side effects. There could be a in crease in bathroom use or some nausea. Ty has been given some drugs to help counter this so is hasn't been to bad so far. After a few treatments he will start to loose his hair. So, after the new year we are going to have a Ty head shaving day. I will let everyone know when that is and those guys who would like to join, he would love to have join him. The other side effects are Fatigue and some lack of appetite during the treatments. He will go in every other week like before and take home a pack that pumps the Chemo through his body for 46 hours. He then will go back in two days later to get that removed. After this his Fatigue and appetite should slowly get better and he should be able to enjoy a good week and a half of feeling good. Doctor Wahl was also very nice in telling Ty that he will have treatment on the 15th of this month and then he doesn't have to be back in until after the new year. He will be able to enjoy the Holidays. We all will! Ty will stay on this treatment as long as he can. Ideally she likes to try and go 6 months. If things look good, then there might be some Radiation down the line. Overall we felt good after leaving yesterday. Ty is doing well today, just trying to get use to being on Chemo again.
During this time, I wanted to invite all of you to join us in Fasting for Ty this coming Sunday. We are fasting to help this treatment to do its job and help Ty get through these next few months. We appreciate all the love, support and prayers we have received. Thank you to all of you! We pray that you will be blessed in your lives for the quiet service you have given to us. We know that the Lord is with us. We feel his guidance and he has helped us sustain our Faith through these hard times.
We love you all and we pray your Holiday season is a great one!:)
Ty has started his new treatments and we are hopeful and prayerful they will continue to work against his tumor. Ty is such a strong man! I am grateful to have him as my husband and grateful for all the support we have been given!:)
Later that night we gathered at my neighbor Jens house for a good by get together for Hailey. I know she appreciated getting to say good bye to everyone.
We are so grateful to have made such true and long lasting friends in the Richards. Hailey, Dan, Preston and Oliver we will miss you! Love you guys!!!!
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