2nd Annual Jake Cartwright Benefit Softball Tournament

Who: Friends, family, coworkers, church congregations, community members.

What: Day of softball and fun to raise money for Jake and the John J. Cartwright Medical Fund.

When: Saturday, November 8, 2008First game to begin at 8 A.M.

Where: Lockheed Martin Recreational Association Softball Fields3400 Bryant Irvin Rd.Fort Worth, TX 76109

Why: We love Jake: to learn more about Jake’s battle with cancer, see http://www.jakescancerupdate.blogspot.com/

Additional Info: Refreshments will be provided on game day for donations. Coed teams encouraged.

Register by November 2, 2008. May register as a team, partial team, or individuals can be placed on teams.

Payments and Donations:Checks made payable to John J. Cartwright Medical Fund, c/o Matt Blackstock, 6621 Cahoba dr, Fort Worth, Texas 76135

Help spread the word, tell all your friends and coworkers!

Registration contacts:
Matt Blackstock Cell: (817) 480-9261
Email: mcblackstock@gmail.com

Blake Bozarth Cell: (817) 688-2872
Email: Blakie85@yahoo.com

Eric Franks Cell: (682 ) 667-2926
Email: Eric.L.Franks@LMCO.com

Ryan Rapisand 817-763-1991 (Work)
817-881-2291 (Cell)
ryan.m.rapisand@lmco.com

Sorry for the lack of posts

Everyone, I am sorry that I haven't been posting. So I guess you all want to know what has been going on for that last month or two. I have had two more treatments and they sucked. I really dislike the treatment I am on. It kicks my butt pretty bad. Ive been getting pretty sick during the week following treatments. I haven't had much of an appetite since beginning these drugs, which has caused me to loose about 20lbs and has brought down my energy a good bit. All in all though I don't feel bad on a daily basis after I recover from a treatment, I just don't feel like I wish I could and do all things I want to. Though I still count my blessings that god has watched over me and gotten us this far for which I am grateful.

Also we are planning the next Benefit Softball Tournament for early November.

God Bless
Jake

Another one is the books

Round two is in the books and I have to say it wasn't any fun. Once again it knocked me down pretty good for about 5 days. I'm over it now and back to feeling like myself again. I will have scans done in a week and half so we will know soon if these drugs are working. I'm going to Denver for a week to help my cousin Ethan move there for LLM tax law program. I'm sad hes leaving for a year but its a great opportunity for him. Anyhow overall thing are good keep the prayers up and and Ill let you know soon what the scans say.

God Bless
Jake

New Treatment Update

I am 3 weeks into my new treatment. This round took a little longer to get over than most of the others I have had thus far. Though I still dont think it gets me like most people. I was down for around 5 days following this last one. I was pretty fatigued and slept a whole lot more than usual and lost my appetite for those days as well. I have to say now I am feeling like normal again, well for the most part. After taking so many treatments of chemo the toxicity is building up in my body and causing a few strange things to happen. My finger tips have a numb sensation and that stinks and gets on my nerves also my feet hurt which feels like I'm walking on hot concrete all time. Its not tough to deal with looking at the overall picture of how well I feel. I hope everyone is doing good. Take care and God Bless.

Jake

Results

I met with Dr. Crim on Friday about the results from my biopsy. It turns out the new spot that looks nothing like my old cancer is in fact the same cancer. I'm not too worried about this news since Ive been dealing with it for so long now and know what to expect. I am going to begin a new treatment here in Fort Worth which is the the original drug that START wanted to use but I didn't meet the study guidelines. Though now the Drug has partial FDA approval so with the go ahead from the pharmaceutical company I get to have it now. I am going to start this treatment in a week or so. God has seen me through this far so I am confident going into this next part.

God Bless
Jake

Had another Biopsy

Sorry everyone for the lack of updates. A good bit has gone on since my last blog. Some good and some undetermined. As of about 6 weeks ago a new spot showed up on liver, while the old spots were still shrinking. The new spot does not look anything like the old spots which has the Dr's wondering what it is, it could be a number of different things including cancer. So I had a biopsy today so we can figure out what it is. I am still feeling really good and have not felt a change a because of it. They have temporarily shut down my treatment until we figure out what it is. I will either start back up in a week or so on the stuff I have been on or move onto a new drug that sounds pretty good to me cause I will be able to have my treatments up here and have the pills shipped to me so that could mean no more San Antonio trips. We will have to wait a for more days to know whats going for sure. I am confident though that it is nothing to worry about. Ill let you know as soon I know something more.

God Bless
Jake

Im Famous!!!

Well hello everyone, I am sorry it has been so long since I last blogged. I know you all tend to worry when I don't update regularly. It has been a good last few weeks though. I am still feeling great and thing are progressing really well. Last week I just finished my 6th treatment and it went good. I was approved for two more treatments which is great cause I was only supposed to have had 6. So I have another 6 weeks in the study. Oh the famous part how did I almost forget that. I was on the CBS news down in San Antonio Sunday night. They did a story over my drug and used me in the piece. Here is the link http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1127733498/bclid1125874529/bctid1549584221

God Bless
Jake

Prayers are still being answered!!

I am back down in San Antonio for my 5th treatment. I had scans done this morning and when I went in for my afternoon pre-treatment check up the latest results were in. The cancer is still shrinking. I would say now that in total it has shrunk close to 60-70% since I started. It is amazing how far we have come in only 12 weeks. This would not have been possible without your prayers and support. I still have some work to do if we are going to get rid of it but I cant complain about the progress so far. I will have treatment tomorrow morning and be on the road home in the afternoon. Thanks again for you prayers keep'em up.

Something to think about.

I head back to San Antonio tomorrow for my fourth round. I am still feeling great which I cant be more happy about. Though it is a strange feeling. After almost a year now of dealing with this it is hard to comprehend how far things have come. For the first time I looked back all the way at my blog. It really set in how lucky I am to be blessed by god and to have such wonderful people surrounding me. As I read some of my first posts I remembered how it was to live every day in pain and not be able to do the things I wanted. It was just weird to think this has been going on a whole year now since I first started feeling bad. I don't really know how to put into words what I feeling, I'm not sure if its a sense of relief or what it is, but its a great feeling. I got to thinking about a lot about how lucky I am. A good family friend of mine died this week many of you know who I am talking about. She died before any of us expected. My prayers are with her family that god will help them find the strength necessary to deal with it. It was her death that made me think again how easy it is for god to take anyone of us at anytime, whatever the cause. I said in an earlier blog that my goal/hope through this was to help people to build a better relationship with god, family, or whatever they need, if I did that then I did my job. I pray that I am still able to do that because her death reinforced my belief how important those things are to a good life, and that our time here is limited and valuable to those around us. So please take the time to tell those important to you love them.

God Bless
Jake

Quick Update!

Met with Dr. Crim yesterday he was excited to hear the good news as well. All of my blood counts are holding up well. No real side effects to note that are bothering me. I am still just ecstatic about the news. I am going to start working again here really soon at Lockheed it should all be finalized by the end of the month. I am excited it will be the first time in almost 11 months I will have worked. I guess you can look at cancer fighting as a full time job but it will be nice to have one that makes money. Other than that not much else is going on here.

God Bless
Jake

Still Smiling

I don't think I have quit smiling since Tuesday afternoon. I got to see my scans yesterday morning when I met with Dr. Patnaik before I started my chemo. It was a cool trip I was the talk of START. Everyone new before I even got to the clinic Wednesday morning and they all wanted to see pictures of the changes. It is almost impossible to put into words the changes my liver and other areas went through in only 6 weeks. Its no wonder I was hurting pretty bad before starting this drug, my liver was taking up the majority of area in my my chest and was probably 1/3 larger than its normal size. Now its the size of a normal liver again and you can see a number of large clear areas in it which before it was nearly completely cover in spots. There were also 5 other spots else where in my chest area 4 of those are gone and the other is nearly gone. It is great news and I am extremely happy but there is still work to be done cause there still a number of large and small spots still on the liver but it looks so much better than before, and I feel a million times better. I got to come back last night so my stays in San Antonio are getting shorter the better I get, which makes me happy. Oh other good news...I get to start running , working out, and PLAY SOCCER again, its been way to long. All I have to say is GOD is GOOD, keep on praying cause he is listening. Thank you and I love you all.

God Bless
Jake

Just a little bit of Good news!!!

I had my scans done early this afternoon and before I had time to settle back into the hotel room my phone was already ringing. It was Dr. Patnaik calling to see if I wanted my results. I was like this has to be good if she is calling only 30 minutes after I left her office. So I said "yeah sure but it better be good news". She replied "oh it is". It turns out this drug is working awesome. The cancer has shrunk by 30%. Its hard to believe that it is this good after just 2 treatments. Thank you all for your prayers because God surely did answer them. I have treatment tomorrow morning and I will update again tomorrow afterwards with a more complete description of what she says then.

God Bless
Jake

Back to S.A.

Its back to San Antonio tomorrow for round three. I am really excited yet nervous about this trip. I get scans done on Tuesday to show if this drug is working as well as we think it is. i hopefully will know something by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. I am still feeling wonderful and ready to get this round out of the way. I had an awesome birthday couldn't have asked for a nicer day. We had a big crawfish boil and had a great time. Not much else to say Ill update again as soon as I get the results from the scans. Everyone say an extra prayer or 10 for some good results.

God Bless
Jake

Still kickin A**

Its been a week now since the last treatment and the side effects were much more tolerable this time. I still had few but all in all I think my body is just in a lot better condition to with it now than when we began. I met with Dr. Crim today and he is impressed with how well I have progressed since he last saw me right before I started. He said he could see also see signs that point toward this drug doing some real good besides the obvious, me feeling good. I am getting very excited about this weekend since I am turning the big 25. It will be great to see a lot of family and friends and hang out. Thats all for now take care.

God Bless
Jake

Round 2 is done

I just got back from San Antonio again and got my second round of treatment to begin this second cycle. I am feeling better following this round than I did after the first I hope that keeps up. I took me about a week to get fully over it the last time. But a week is a small sacrifice to feel as good as did the last 2 weeks. I cant even put into words how good this study has me feeling. My liver on paper and in physical exams appears back to normal at least functionally. It is back to normal size and my liver function which was not good is back to proper working order. Dr. Patniak was almost brought to tears on Wed. at how well I seem to be responding. I will have scans in 3 weeks which will tell for sure how well its working. I also no longer have to go down there every single week. They are letting me get all my labs drawn and have my weekly exams done up here by Dr. Crim. I am really excited about that. All in all I just feel truely blessed to feel so good again and to have found Dr's willing think outside the box of convential treatment and hopefully have me on the right path. I hope everyone is doing good as well.

God Bless
Jake

Best week in a long time!!!

Another trip down to San Antonio is in the books. My white blood cell counts are still down and we aren’t sure if they will be high enough for me to get my normal treatment next week. For those of you who don’t know a lot about it, chemo attacks all the cells in body both good and bad it cant tell the difference. My drugs that I’m on have lowered the white cells which are your immunity cells they help to fight off bacteria and sickness that kind of stuff. If I get treated before the counts have come back up to safe a safe level it could be very dangerous. So we just have to wait and see on that.

However we did get some pretty good news on this trip. While Dr. Patnaik was examining me she noticed that the size of my liver has decrease significantly. I hadn’t said anything about it but my liver had become inflamed and enlarged due to the tumors in it, and for the last month had been causing me a lot pain. But since last Thursday I have been feeling better than I have since before I left for Europe, which is saying a lot. So we think the drug is working but we wont know for sure until we do more scans in a month or so.

A little story about how god listens and shows his mercy. About 3 weeks ago I was laying in bed hurting pretty bad and just feeling down, which doesn’t happen often at all, I prayed and turned over all my worries and asked god to take the pain away. Two days later I was accepted into this study, and now I am back to feeling great. Just ask and it will be given, maybe not right but as he sees fit.

God Bless

Jake

Starting to pick back up

Its been a week now since my first treatment on my new drugs. It wasnt the best week of my life thats for sure. I was pretty fatigued from it and slept alot, there were some other not so fun side effects but those are starting to go away. I had another appointment back down in San Antonio yesterday it was just a check up for labs and to go over every little thing I feel while Im on this drug. My white blood cells were low but thats ussual when on tougher types of chemo's. I am really starting to feel alot better though. I have to go back down to San Antonio next week for another check up, I think I will be pretty tired of driving down there before to long, so if anyone wants to buy me a plane that would be awesome. I hope everyone is doing well.

Jake

Quick Update!!

I started on my regimen of this chemo this morning. Its not a walk in the park but its better than I thought it would be. I haven't had any bad side effects just sleeping a good bit, which I do a lot anyway so no big deal, I hope it stays this way. I was there most of the day, I think they took a whole gallon of blood from me today. These studies are are very meticulous about how they do thing things and its on a strict schedule. I don't mind it I really like all the nurses, and my Doctor at the clinic is Dr. Patnaik and she is wonderful, I truly feel that if there is a place to help me this is it, I feel its the right place. So tomorrow I get more blood drawn, a another skin biopsy (I still have no clue why), and I get the Oral chemo drug (the one we are so excited about). Hopefully I will be on my way back home by noonish but we will see.

God Bless
Jake

Im in the Study!!!

After two days of being a pin cushion for a number of tests, I'm in the study. I should be starting tomorrow barring any unforeseen setbacks. I am pretty excited about it as are the doctors to the potential of these drugs. Thank god for leading us to opportunity and gracing me with the continued health to be accepted.

Jake

We have good news!!!

I got a great phone call late Friday afternoon from START, the cancer research center in San Antonio. A few weeks ago Dr. Crim and I had decided that one of the studies at START was best possible treatment for me at this given time. It includes drugs that he was going to use in my next treatment but more importantly drugs that he could not get his hands on that are potentially a great fit for my cancer. We contacted START at that time but they told us unfortunately there were no openings and didn't expect a spot to become available until late Feb. That was until yesterday when they called to see if I could be down there on Monday to meet with Dr.s and have a number of tests and scans run to see if I am eligible based on my health. If everything checks out I could start as early Wed. It is all sort of surreal not thinking you going to get a call for a few months then all of a sudden they want you down there ASAP. So Ill head down there Monday morning with my dad and hope I get approved. I am so grateful to god for providing me this opportunity sooner than expected, it shows he does answer prayers.

God Bless
Jake

Done with my Travels!!

I think I am finally done traveling, at least for a while. I have blessed to have seen the things I have over the last two months. I want to take a minute to thank those that mad it possible, My Uncle Kip, thank you for Europe. Sarah thanks for you New York, and the Franks Family thank you for Hawaii. I had more fun than could ever be imagined and it is impossible to ever show my full gratitude for these opportunities.

On the cancer front its business as usual I had chemo today and met with Dr. Crim to go over the results of the CT scan I had a few days ago. The cancer has slowed some, but he thinks we can do better with more aggressive drugs. So we decided to meet again in about a week and a half to go over a couple different options and see which one we think will be best for me. I will know more in few days so lets pray we find one that works. I hope everyone had a great holiday season.

God Bless
Jake