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