A Positive Boost

Chemotherapy Treatment #5 is currently being pumped into Derek.  We met with his oncologist beforehand to discuss the results of the CT Scan that was done on Friday.  The administration of the scan itself was fairly traumatic for a host of reasons, but it looks as though the results are positive.  We weren't sure what they would say because when the specialists looked at Derek's initial CT Scan before his surgery in January, they didn't really see much.  They put question marks by spots they thought they might have seen in his liver and by some lymph nodes that seemed a little swollen, but after the follow-up PT Scan they determined that the cancer had remained localized to his colon area. Then, of course, the surgeon saw otherwise when he was doing the surgery.  I wondered if they would be able to make any real comparisons between the two scans, but apparently there was enough shown in both to evaluate the success of the chemo.

Dr. Breyer said that two spots were compared and both had shrunk by about a third.  I thought it interesting, although maybe it is really not, that Derek was supposedly a third of the way through the initial 6 months of chemo when the scan was done... probably irrelevant, but interesting:)  One of the measurements went from 1.5cm to 1.0 and the other from 1.3 to .09. We were all happy to see that there doesn't appear to be any new spots of cancer and the spots that were previously detected appear to be responding to the therapy.  Yay!  It helps to know that you're not making yourself sick and uncomfortable for nothing, right?

Today Matthew is competing in the District Jr. High track meet... running the 800.  He's nervous but excited... Yay for Matthew! Tanner, Matthew, and Haddie will all be playing in the Band Concert tonight as well... Yay!  Savannah was almost kicked out of school today because some of the immunizations she received in Washington didn't make it onto her Colorado records, but I knew she had received them on the same days that Normandy received hers (convenient, eh?!).  I was able to call the Covington office and they verified that she didn't need to have the shots again.  Yay!  I had to take all 6 kids into the clinic here when we got here for a shot we didn't have to have in Colorado to attend the schools.  That was an experience I am not anxious to repeat (until October, when they receive dose #2).  Savannah was also relieved to not need any more shots!!  Austin misplaced a book that he was supposed to be reading for school.  We haven't found that copy yet, BUT, the city library had one copy and we got it.  He caught up on two weeks of reading in one day... Yay!  I am scrambling around to finish up paperwork on the Utah house as well as trying to figure out how to replace a window on our Colorado house... Yay for helpful friends!  Derek's first expression as he walked in the door from work yesterday was, "Lehi is so cool!"  He had just toured the new Adobe campus as well as the new Outlet Mall being built and he is excited to be a part of it all.  "Another Yay!"  We'll celebrate as many of those as we can find:)  We love you all!  You have no idea how much your prayers and encouraging comments help us... Thank you!