July | 2014 | Dan's Life

Just thought I would update a little after this last round.

First up a trip recap…
Had a really nice time in the Okanagan. The first four days which included my 40th birthday, we spent just the two of us. We had two nights at Sparkling Hill Resort just outside Vernon and another two nights at Tinhorn Creek in Oliver. All around it was a great time but two things stood out to me. One was our dinner at Miradoro (Tinhorn Creek’s Restaurant). To put it simply, this may have been the best meal I have ever had. The scallops were perfect and my Wild Boar Carbonnara was unmatched. I have always been a sucker for Carbonnara, but this was unbelievable!! Maybe I just never had it right, but I have been craving it daily since we have been home. It also didn’t hurt that the company, setting and wine was perfect too ;). The second notable moment was our lunch at Grapevine Restaurant (Gray Monk Estates). The lunch was good, but it wasn’t so much about the lunch as it was about midway through it. I suddenly stopped eating and looked at Renee. I had just realized that not only did I have zero pain that day, but I hadn’t thought about my illness at all (Probably a first!). Understand, that in over a year, I have not been able to shut it down for more than an hour or two. This was a really cool moment for me. Relaxing and interesting at the same time and I couldn’t stop smiling inside.

After our adult holiday, we met our family and friends for some camping at Haynes Point in Osoyoos. Dad rented a large trailer for me just so I could have a few more emenities and comfort. It was a relaxing holiday, but as I aluded to before, relaxing doesn’t exist much for me. However…it was almost there this time! Mostly Ups and just a few downs. And it was too hot that the heat took a toll on me physically. Sleeping was rough and your body is working overtime trying to keep cool. That is twice this year we have been in a place that hit the 40’s! Not comfortable please.
But heat aside, we have been visiting Haynes Point since I was a kid. We have lots of fond memories with our family and friends. If you have been to Haynes Point you know what a great spot it is. It is on a sand spit right out into the middle of Lake Osoyoos. So almost every campsite has their own private beach! However, this may be the last season for this sought after campsite. Back in early spring they were in the process of digging up and updating the washrooms. During the construction, they discovered an Indian Burial site. Upon testing confirmation, the land now shifts back to the Osoyoos Band. Not sure what they will do with it, but fortunately they did allow Parks Canada to operate for this season. They honoured all the reservations campers had made for their summer holidays – pretty classy if you ask me. So, they sectioned off the discovery site and they officially take over October 1st. Hopefully they keep it a campsite and a historical site together!

We got back on the 13th and right into Chemo round 16. I did take an extra week off, so that felt good, but realized I need a lot longer than a week to feel normal inside. It’s funny, every round is generally the same, but there is always something new and prominent added in. However, this time may have been the least harsh round I have had. But it seems when I have a “good” round it comes at a price. The price…it drags. The gripping insides stay tighter longer, naseau lingers and energy is more sapped. Although with the energy, that is a cumulative effect with multiple chemos. So, what’s better? Not sure. Felt good to be able to move around a bit the first week, but now I want it to beat it. I miss being able to wake up in the morning and get going on the day. That feeling of excitement when you have something to tackle or look foward to. It just isn’t there anymore. One thing I am hoping is to see either more shrinkage (obviously) or multiple scans showing stable disease. If so (which could be 9 months) my Oncologist would consider taking a month or two off chemo. A little far away to think about that and my body may decide sooner. As ultimately it is all my choice.

All in all, things are not bad. Mentally I am pretty good, but the physical is more my concern. Pain is up and down and no one knows why. The first 10 days after chemo I feel very little pain, but then slowly ramps up the further I get from chemo. Weird eh? But it isn’t the pain that is on the forefront, it is just the overall constant crappy feeling. I told you before than chemo is like the WORST hangover you have ever had that won’t go away. After that part, imagine eating 6 slabs of butter, 4 quarts of heavy cream, 12 loaves of white bread, 3 portehouse steaks covered in a rich red wine demi, a DQ ice cream cake (solo), a field of raw broccoli and a tree of unripe bananas. Do it in a hour and then punch yourself in the stomach repeatedly! I am just guessing that might feel the same as I do sometimes. Hahahahaha!!

I hope everyone is having an awesome summer! I have been very lucky to be able to spend time and holidays with family and friends. I have had a holiday to look foward to for some time but that was our last planned one. I do need something on the horizon to look forward to, but as you know I don’t want it to ever get there…

My best,
Dan

Let’s get right to the point. It’s POSITIVE news!

I haven’t seen the report, only talked with my Oncologist about it. The scan showed “Stable Disease”. Nothing new and nothing grew. Obviously, everyone wants to see a reduction in their tumor size, so that really would have been the only better scenario. I have attached an article that talks about stable disease – click on the link and have a read as it explains stable disease .

My tumors are still visible in my liver, but they don’t know exactly what is happening within them. My Oncologist said that tumors can still show, but are completely void of any living cancer cells. Its just scar tissue remaining. So, we still push on with my current chemo unless we see disease progression. There were a couple of other things on the scan, but there wasn’t too much concern about them. I have some fluid build up around my bowels and there is another spot where they see scarring – in both scenarios they don’t know what it is, but they elude that it could be disease related. The other small concern was that my CEA (tumor marker) has gone up slightly. I discussed this before about not being an accurate tool and for some people, like me, it isn’t much of an indicator at all. When they discovered my lesions in October my CEA # was 2.3. However, on my March scan, which showed tumor shrinkage, my CEA went up to 4.1. Now on this last scan my CEA was 5.2. A little weird, but there are so many things that can affect your CEA its tough to know what is causing it to rise. One thing I found is that your CEA can go up as tumors die. Yep, sounds good to me! Also, the average person has a CEA between 2 and 5. When I read cancer forums, people report having CEA levels around 6000! So, I am not too concerned about this or the two mystery findings.

Right now, I am in the same position I was back in March and maybe even better if more cancer cell death happened within the tumors. More time – that’s what I was given today – and I WILL TAKE IT!!

Here is a picture of two of my biggest fans. They cheer me on daily and live first hand all the ups and downs we go through. I cannot express how incredible Renee is to be able to look after me (its difficult) and Audrey, manage the house and daily routine, work her event planning job and to still go through all the emotions I do as we ride the worst rollercoaster ever created. She doesn’t get a lot of down time and relaxing is something she rarely “fits in”. I love you both and for the first time in over a year, my wife and I are spending 5 days together in the Okanagan to celebrate my 40th!