Heading towards the Ninth Round

Sorry its been a little while for an update, but we just had our appointment yesterday with the Oncologist. To give everyone a better idea of how well Vann's Cancer has responded to the Chemotherapy (FOL FOX) and Target Therapy (Avastin), we decided to share the current tumor marker numbers. The Cancer Antigen CA 19-9 was at 507.7 (U/mL) at the highest point and is currently at 99.7. The Carcinoembryonic Antigen CEA was at 1798.7 (ng/mL) at the highest point and is currently at 221.8. To give a reference, the normal limits for the tumor markers are: CA 19-9 (0.0-33.0) and CEA (0.0-3.0). So as you can see we still have a ways to go, but considering where we were at the news is great!

Vann was able to receive the seventh round of Chemo a week later than scheduled due to her blood platelets being too low. We are trying to do what we can to keep the blood platelets up and Vann was able to receive the eighth round on the two week schedule. Vann is on schedule for the ninth round of Chemo to start next Tuesday.

Long term wise our Oncologist is expecting Vann to tolerate somewhere around 12 cycles of Chemotherapy and Target Therapy. For now the tracking method will be the tumor marker numbers instead of exposing Vann to the radiation associated with scans. We should know in early November what options we have for surgery and will proceed from there.

Thank you to everyone for the help, love, support and prayers. We have been so fortunate for the meals being delivered, the guys at the fire station working for me, the support from our family/friends and all the help taking care of our girls. Its very difficult to express in words how much this has helped and meant to our family. At times I am left speechless, but please know we truly appreciate everything everyone has done to help us out. Thank you!!

Quick Update

Vann went in on Friday to her Oncologist and things are looking better. Her blood platelet count has rebounded and is currently over 100 now. In addition, it seems the fever has passed, although we never really figured out what was causing it. Who really knows when you have two little ones around you all the time! So now we are looking at starting the seventh round of Chemo on Monday. Vann was given the Avastin on Friday, but due to logistical reasons the Fol Fox will be administered on Monday.

Should have a update coming next week. As usual the questions for the Oncologist are building up again. Thank you to everyone for the support and prayers!

Seventh Round of Chemo

As usual I will briefly discuss how the last cycle, the sixth round, went for Vann. Things were a little bit tougher this round due to the cumulative toxicity of Chemotherapy. Vann has been able to maintain her weight, but her blood platelet count is starting to be low now. She is also having a lot more difficulty in sleeping now compared to the other rounds. Hopefully we will find an alternative to let her get some rest this week.

Prior to administering each Chemo round is when the blood tumor marker levels are checked. Both tumor marker numbers went down again by about one third. Vann has not been able to start the seventh round of Chemo yet due to her blood platelet count being below 100. In addition, for some reason she has had a fever and an elevated heart rate for the last 4 days. Her Oncologist has ran a couple culture tests which came back negative, but as a precaution she is on antibiotics again.

So, in the big picture of things, good news is the Chemotherapy is being effective in controlling the Cancer. The tumor marker numbers continue to decrease and we hope this trend can continue to get Vann to surgery. Her Oncologist is pleased with the results and had discussed the possibility of going to three week cycles rather than the current two week cycles. This would allow Vann's body more time to recover and maintain her blood platelet count above 100 before the next cycle is administered. At this point it is unknown how many more rounds of Chemotherapy Vann will have to do.

We will post an update on when Vann is able to start the seventh round. Right now we need to figure out the fever, the elevated heart rate and get her blood platelet count above 100.

Thank you to everyone for all the support and help! We honestly could not have done this without the generosity of our family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Thank you all for making this tough time manageable and as normal as can be for Ryley and Taylor. We love you all and are blessed to have you in our lives.

Round Six of Chemo

First a quick update on how the fifth round of Chemo went. Vann has been feeling better and her energy level continues to improve. We now realize the Cancer was taking a lot of Vann's energy away before she was diagnosed. So far it seems the toughest rounds of Chemo were when Vann was recovering from surgery and was limited to a liquid only diet. We are hoping Vann can maintain her energy level and minimize the side effects on the future rounds of Chemo. We still can not figure out the hives and some other skin irritations, but this round was better than the fourth round.

We just got her blood tumor marker results back yesterday while the sixth round of Chemo was being administered. This cycle will be the fourth round that Vann also receives the Avastin. We are very happy to let everyone know the Cancer Antigen CA 19-9 and Carcinoembryonic CEA markers have been cut in half once again! The tumor marker numbers are actually lower now than they were when Vann was first diagnosed. We feel very fortunate for the response we are getting and are doing everything we can to ensure Vann keeps on track.

We also want to express how much we appreciate all the support from everybody. A lot of Vann's success during her treatments have been made possible by all the help from our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Its amazing how helpful the delivery of the meals have been and have enabled us to keep up with all the appointments and to have quality time with the family. Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of support and love!!

5th Round of Chemo

Vann tolerated her fourth round of Chemo very well and has been able to enjoy more time with our family. During this round there was no more fever and Vann's energy level was definitely up compared to the previous rounds. A couple new side effects have been hives and nausea. We are trying to pinpoint the cause of the hives, but it has proven difficult. We were able to enjoy July 4th as a family which was a great feeling! Thank you to our family and friends for making that all happen. Attached is a great picture of Ryley visiting Big Bear with her friend Luke.

Today we got the tumor marker results back from Vann's blood draw. We are extremely happy to say that the Cancer Antigen CA 19-9 and the Carcinoembryonic CEA numbers were cut in half from the last blood draw. We have not discussed anything with our Oncologist yet, but at least we know the Chemo is doing exactly what it is designed to do. We hope this trend continues and ultimately pray for surgery later this year.

Thank very much to all our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers for all the help and support. We really appreciate what everyone has been doing for us and want everyone to know how much it has helped.

Fourth Round of Chemo

Just a quick update on how Vann is progressing along. We had a week that was full of opposite emotions, but ultimately came out looking very positive! When Vann went in for her fourth round of Chemo we were told some depressing news from her blood draws. Apparently the CEA numbers had dramatically increased during her third round of Chemo. This pointed towards the Fol Fox Chemotherapy not being effective for Vann's particular Cancer. At this point it was determined to stop the Chemo and perform a CAT Scan to get a better idea of what was occurring.

Upon the review of the CAT Scan, by our Oncologist and the Radiologist, it appears the tumors in the liver are responding by shrinking. In addition, the CAT Scan did not show any spread of the Cancer in any other areas. According to our Oncologist the CEA numbers are elevated at this point due to the Cancer actually being cut off from its blood supply and ultimately dying. Of course the discussion about this was explained in much more detail, but for most of us we just want the bottom line.

Vann received the same Fol Fox Chemotherapy treatment after the meeting with the Oncologist and will be receiving Avastin this week. We also got some very encouraging news in all of Vann's liver enzyme numbers. All the liver enzyme numbers have been roughly cut in half since Vann's diagnosis. Her liver is functioning better now than it was when she was diagnosed in early May.

The game plan from here will be to focus on gaining some weight and doing some mild exercise. Vann needs to keep on a two week cycle for the Chemotherapy to be most effective. Hopefully we can get the liver tumors and colon tumor to shrink enough to make surgery a possibility. At this point everything is pointing in the right direction to accomplish this.

Thank you for all the prayers, love, and support!

Quick Thanks To All

We want to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting us, in one way or another. Vann's second family at Costco has been such a help to us. With Vann's treatment schedule and taking care of our girls, we are finding very little time for our normal routine. The meals being delivered and the supplies being brought by have made things a lot easier on the whole family and we really appreciate the support.

To all our neighbors, thank you for constantly watching our girls and helping out whenever needed. We are very lucky to have such great neighbors to help us out in this time of need. It is such a comfort knowing the girls are in good hands when we are not able to be with them.

Also, Vann and I, are very thankful for the support from LACoFD. We can't imagine how it would have been without them. They have helped give me so much needed time to be with Vann and our girls, Ryley and Taylor. It has been a huge relief for both of us. We could not have done this without all of you stepping up to help us out! In addition, The Firefighter Cancer Support Network has helped Mark and Vann through this tough time.

Lastly, we must mention our beloved friends, The Watson's for all their support and help. Gordon and I have been friends since the third grade and have experienced a lot in life together. Although we never ended up working on the same Fire Department, we truly are brothers! Thank you Gordon and Heather for the tremendous support!