And the Doctor Says...

The test results are in again, and one of the tests that Dave has (24 hour urine) showed an improvement in the number of protein cells. That's good news. The MRI, however, still shows some dark spots on the spine and the Doc says that they look a little bigger to him. He also stated that it could be a bone in the way or a shadow on the film, but in Dave's case they will err on the side of more treatment. So, his Velcade has been upped, and he will start a new drug called Revlimid, which has had some very encouraging results in recent studies, but unfortunately, comes with the price of having to take Coumadin to deter blood clots. Dave is a little disturbed about having to add more drugs to the already cumbersome regimen, but he will, however, do what he always does and face it like the positive dude that he is. He spends a few days feeling blue when he hears news that isn't great, and then he gets right up off his duff and shifts into 'DRIVE'. He is such a positive person, Kathy too. We can all learn a few things from the both of them. They are MY heroes!!
Keep them in your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn

He Still Looks Great!

As you can see by the new photo, Dave is doing great, despite the setback. He said he feels pretty good, except, of course for the fatigue that comes with Chemo. And the pain in his back. But for the most part he is well, physically and mentally.
It's all good.
Happy thoughts, please.
Thanks
Marilyn

Treatment is Going Well

I just spoke with Dave yesterday, and he said so far his treatments are going well, aside from the fatigue and the nausea from the Velcade (chemo). But he expected a little of that so it was no surprise. Today he went for his treatment and the nurse told him that he would be starting his vaccines for all those childhood diseases. He was a bit surprised that they intended to give him about 9 vaccines today. I will let you know how that went when he calls to tell me. Still no word on the amount and severity of the relapse, but he is feeling pretty good, a far cry from when he was first diagnosed, so the Myeloma must be at a low count. His cage does not seem to be rattled much, and for that, I think we can all be grateful.
Keep him in your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn

The Results Are In

It's not the news we were hoping for. After looking at all of the test results for the past year, and the blood tests that were taken at Dana Farber, the docs have put him back on Velcade, which is chemotherapy. Dave was a little surprised this morning when he went into the Cancer Center for his Zomeda injection. They told him that the Velcade was ordered and they may as well get it started. He will be having the chemo twice a week for two weeks with a week off in between for probably about 3 months. Dave really didn't indicate how bad it is, but the Myeloma is back enough to warrant chemo. Although this form of chemo is fairly mild, he still has some side effects. He has been on this before. No hair loss, though.
He may be in the 'early' stage of the Myeloma, which means that the chemo will knock it back. Dave still feels pretty good and is hopeful about the treatment. He's just a little be-miffed at how he came to this point after feeling so well for the past year. He was so close, having been cancer free from the stem cell transplant. But Multiple Myeloma is a sneaky, stubborn from of cancer.
Let's all keep those Happy Thoughts for Dave, that his treatment goes well without too much discomfort.
I will try to keep you as informed as I can.
Thanks for checking in.
Marilyn

Dana Farber Docs Say 'Relax'

Dave's visit at Dana Farber went pretty well. He was sure that they would want to do another painful bone marrow biopsy and to his delight the Doc said 'not necessary'. They drew blood and are looking over all of his records from the past year from the Cancer Center and they said that they would get back to him on Monday with the results.
So far what we know is that Dr. Anamur was concerned about the spots on the MRI and the protein in the urine, the blood tests from the Cancer Center showed no change. The Doc at Dana Farber told Dave that the spots on the MRI could be just a bad reading. So Dana Farber at this point is going to look over all of those records and check the results of their blood test and let Dave know what the next step would be. The visit was very upbeat and it looks as though, IF, they find anything they will start him on some oral medication for now.
The Dana Farber staff wants to look into his bone issues to see if they can't do something more permanent to help with the pain. The bone discomfort that he is currently experiencing is different than what he had before. Dave, actually, feels soooo.. good right now, physically and mentally. That is a very good thing.
I will keep you as updated as I can.
Thanks again for your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn

Dave Needs Your Happy Thoughts

Unfortunately, I must report some 'not so happy' news to all of you. The routine tests that Dave has been having for the past year have been, obviously, to check the status of the stem cell transplant progress. Up until the last tests that were taken everything was fine. There was no sign of the Myeloma. The MRI that he had done just a week ago has shown two spots on his vertebrae, and the urine test came back with a high protein count. This could mean that the Myeloma is back, but we will not know for sure until he goes to Dana Farber on Thursday, October 2nd for more tests. He probably won't have any answers on Thursday, but I will let you know as soon as I do.
After the initial shock, and the all day cry fest, he and Kathy have an extremely positive attitude towards this set-back. Dave is going to do whatever the Docs tell him to. He still has enough good stem cells 'on ice' to have another transplant, and he really has felt good for the past year, so he may do that again. We will have to wait and see.
When I spoke with him, he said that he feels great, and is a little surprised by the results of the tests.
So.....we wait, thinking Happy Thoughts for him.
Marilyn

Happy Re-Birth Day

I was just looking back to a year ago in the posts and it was almost every day we had a little something to say. And now here we are at the one year anniversary (already)-September 13th-of Dave's stem cell transplant. It's hard to believe. He has had an up and down year, but for the most part better than last year. And better than most people expected, including the Docs. He still continues to get the usual tests done; MRI's, blood work, etc. And because of bone damage, he still needs to rest during the day. I heard tell that brother Ray is coming for a visit at the end of September.
Other than that, not much news, only that our Dave has made it through this past crucial year.
Happy thoughts for a healthy life.
Marilyn

I Miss Posting...

I'm going through withdrawals from Blogging (giggle), but it means good news when I don't have anything to say. So, here I am and I am going to say something. We are approaching the one year anniversary of the very successful stem cell transplant. And so far so good. Woo-Hoo! When the year is up, Dave will be able to stop taking the antibiotics, but will have to be vaccinated for all those wonderful childhood diseases. That should be interesting. He is still doing great, and they are both enjoying the summer so far. It's still hard to believe what they have been through.
Sign the guest book when you can. Dave still looks at it.
TaTa for now. I will update you all as the 'one year' anniversary becomes a reality and let you know how he is doing.
I still have to say it-Keep a Happy Thought.
Marilyn

This is Quite Fabulous

Davids' last visit with Dr. Anumar was very much a wonderful thing. Dr. Anamur is quite pleased with the way things are in respect to the Multiple Myeloma. As of this date, they can find no signs of the cancer in his urine, blood, or MRI scans. The Doc actually used the word remission. This is fantastic news. It means that the stem cell transplant was a definite success. However, his bones (his poor bones) are still quite fragile. They are no worse than they were, but they are no better either. The Doc is expecting that they will get stronger, but it will take some time. So what that means for Dave is that he has to listen to those bones and rest when necessary. He was telling me that when he wakes up in the morning, he feels great and he has good posture, and then after about an hour of puttering around his posture starts to droop and he gets a tight feeling in his ribcage and his muscles start cramping. So he needs to lie down for about an hour. And that's what he does all day. Up for an hour, down for an hour. But he said, he'll take it compared to what he was dealing with. He is still going to need anti-biotics at least until October.
So, life at 2 Flying Rock Road has changed. Dave is a very strong willed person, as we have learned in the past year and a half. He does do what he is supposed to do in order to stay on the right track. And he will prevail. Thanks to the love and compassion of his family and friends, and the knowledge of his medical team.
Thoughts of Happyness to all.
Marilyn

A Nice Surprise

Moe and I had the pleasure of a visit from Dave and Olivia a few weekends ago. It was so nice to have Dave drive to our house, get out of the van and hang around. Life is good again. Isn't Olivia a cutie. We all had a blast, checking out the fish in the pond, playing with the cat (Olivia's personal favorite!), and just getting a chance to yak about nothing in particular. I wanted to share the image of him out and about.
Enjoy!
Happyness is in our thoughts.
Marilyn

Yikes!

I had another David sighting today. It's a miracle. (for me, that is!) It's a blast bumping into him. He still looks and feels great. He did good, we did good!
Later,
Marilyn


Happy thoughts should never stop-give them to someone, somewhere!!

It Was A Pleasure

I had the pleasure of bumping into Dave at the Cancer Center. He was on his way up to see Dr. Anamur to get the results of his last MRI. He was actually running a little bit because he was late. That was nice to see. He looks fantastic!! His hair has grown back in (a little darker), and, like I said, he was running. A far cry from where he was just a year ago. His visit with the Doc was good, but there is still bone damage. The Doc likened some of his vertebrae to that of 'swiss cheese'. Dave wasn't bummed, he said that he just needed to figure out how to strengthen his bones. All things considered, he is doing well. I hear that Kathy's Mom is back in town, as well. She is feeling much better.
That's all folks!!
Happy Thoughts to You!
Marilyn

'New' Life

As Jim puts it so well, no news is good news! Dave and Kathy are enjoying there 'new' life together and that's all that matters. He gets a little stronger every day. He actually visited the 'guys' on the job recently and had a blast. The guys were happy to see him as well. As much as I miss 'blogging' every day, like I did a year ago, I am happy for Dave that I have very little to report. With Spring around the corner, hopefully?, I am sure that Dave is looking forward to getting out in the yard, changing screens on the porch, etc. It's nice to see him doing so well. We were all a little flipped out when he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, 'how could this be he takes such good care of himself?' And what I think we have all learned is that taking good care of yourself doesn't necessarily mean that you won't get sick, but it does mean that you will prevail over the illness and get better.
Until next time, keep thinking happy thoughts.
Marilyn


I would like to thank Wendy Marshall-Hudzik for always remembering to put a blip about Dave in the Lion's Pride. She is the Class Agent and she writes a very nice article for each publication. Thanks, Wendy.

Snippet of News

Wow! Very impressed by the number of friends who answered the call to make the Guestbook hit the 100 mark! Thanks everyone and keep your entries coming. They are your Happy Thoughts in print. Dave and Kathy like reading them. Well, there is not much new news to report on Dave's condition other than the Docs continue to be very pleased with his progress. He still experiences back pain which puts him down for a few hours, but he is learning to listen to his body and take the break. Kathy's Mom has recuperated nicely. She is doing alot better, but her sister, Lynn, was sick and still no diagnosis. So we should keep her in our thoughts. Hopefully, it is just a passing thing. If I hear anything, I will let you know.
So, life at 2 Flying Rock Road has changed, and changed again. A bit more normalcy has returned to the happiness of the occupants.
Bye for now,
No slacking on the Happy Thoughts, if Dave doesn't happen to need them, someone can use them.
Marilyn

Good News

Well, here it is. For the last few weeks Dave has been having some trouble with back pain. Indicative of exactly a year ago and scaring the beejezes out of him and Kathy. So they called the Doc and asked to move up the tests that they were planning to take anyway. Last Saturday he went in for an MRI, blood work and urine testing. And it is all great news. He has not had any additional compression fractures, no additional tumors, and no increase in the Myeloma. He really couldn't be at a better place, considering the circumstances. So, he has now decided that his pain must be caused by overdoing, which is typical. And what he is doing to combat the pain is to do whatever he is doing, at smaller intervals and resting in between. Hopefully, this will help him with the pain. He's feeling pretty good otherwise.
Hope you all enjoyed the "Love' holiday.
Happy Thoughts got him this far.
Marilyn

P.S. Just a reminder that the ads on the blog do generate a little bit of income for Kathy and Dave. If you see something that interests you, please have a look at it. Thanks.

Getting His Life Back, A Little at a Time...We'll Take It!

I sure do like opening the blog and seeing those happy faces of Kathy and Dave! Perhaps, that's the reason why I haven't written in two weeks. I am working on bringing that photo to a more permanent place on the blog, so that we can all see it as soon as we log on.
Well, my friends, it has been nearly a year since Dave was diagnosed and last year at this time he was pretty miserable, as I recall. I remember Moe coming home from work almost every day and telling me how awful Dave was feeling. Debilitating back pain, and working all the while, thinking that it was nothing. He has been through more in one year than most of us in a lifetime. When I spoke with him the other day he gave me the 'run down' of his daily activities, and it is mounds better than the daily activity schedule that he has been keeping in recent months. He has been working out, adding a little something more to his routine when he feels that he can handle it, (anyone out there think that he wouldn't get back to that?!); he has been driving himself all over, he actually popped in on the guys at the job one day last week. They were all very excited, as was Dave. He has been tooling around in his garage, putzing with this and that. Even the snow blower, I believe. And, of course, he is still cleaning and cooking! He seems to know when he has overdone it, but not until the next day when he wakes up and can hardly move. For the most part, his life is getting a little bit more normal. He held down the fort while Kathy was away helping to take care of her Mom, who is not out of the woods yet. I haven't heard much, but I will keep you in the know as soon as I hear. I know that she is home from the hospital, recuperating. Thanks once again for pulling those 'crazy New England vibes' together for a lady that deserves it. She was a huge part of Dave's recovery, and as I said before, Kathy's sanity.

There's never a good enough reason to stop thinking Happy Thoughts!
Marilyn

Kathy and Dave Start the New Year for Us!

12/31/07
Happily, this is the 100th post to Dave's blog and all is well. I have asked Kathy and Dave to ring in the New Year properly, and be the ones who send out this post to everyone who reads this blog. What a joy it is to have this message from them:



Wow! What a year it’s been! We went from fear, sadness, pain and uncertainty to happiness, joy, relief and hope. The year 2007 began as our worst nightmare and has turned out to be the biggest miracle we could have hoped for.

All of this would not have been possible without the overwhelming show of love and support and without each and every prayer we have received. We have been fortunate to have had the best Doctors and Nurses, Friends, Family, Neighbors and Co-workers. For that we will be forever grateful. Because of your generosity, we have been able to concentrate on healing and recovery instead of financial worry.

Dave is getting stronger with every day. Exercise is part of his daily routine. His hair is growing back, slowly but surely. His positive attitude is an inspiration to all who know him. He is the best Christmas gift I could ask for.

We wish everyone good health for the New Year.


Love,

Kathy and Dave