Hey Now!

Hey everyone! It's been a long time since we have posted. Coming back from NYC we got right back to chemo and work. Brian has been feeling relatively well and started physical therapy in order to get full motion back in his arm. He's also done two rounds of chemo and turned 40!!!!  

That being said Brian finished his most recent round of chemo on the 10th then this Wednesday night after just returning to work and feeling totally normal all day, he ran a fever which sends us to the ER. It's always not during our doctor's business hours when these fevers strike! So Brian has been in the hospital since Wednesday night. 

He is doing well and being totally inappropriate with the nurses. We are just waiting for his neutrophil counts in his blood to go back to a safe place so he can come home and we can return to normal.

Love you all! 

P.S. Enjoy the answers Brian gave to the nurse when he was finally admitted at 3AM. (By the way nurses are our favorite people).

Heading Home!

We are so happy. This experience has been great but long.  Brian and I had some great together time with fun experiences before surgery. It is amazing that surgery went so well. Brian is healing nicely with no surprises.  His pain is minimal. We got to stay the amazing American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge for absolutely FREE. We had Brian's mom and Roger here for a week too.  We got to see family in NJ.   The requirements of me as Nurse Karen were easy and doable.

That being said we CANNOT wait to be home! 18 days away from our baby is 18 days too many.  We are thankful that my mom and dad were able to stay with her and keep her in her happy environment. Once again Wings of Hope has provided us with free flights!

Things I will miss about NYC:
-mass transit, I love the subway and not having to drive!!
-walking!
-awesome runs with a lot to see...even if it is the same route ever night
-being able to run late at night because everything is so lit and there are always so many people around
-all the food choices
-$10 manicures

Things that I will not miss about NYC:
-having only 1 pillow
-no ice in my water
-no free refills for Brian
-everything costing at least $30 no matter what it is

Overall WE ARE BLESSED. We continue to be reminded of this. From our friends and family to the nurses and doctors, we are loved and well cared for.

The Plan Now
Brian will begin chemo again on Tuesday (this makes us happy, we don't want to give it a chance to grow). He will do two rounds, about 2 months worth.  Then we will come back to NYC for a check up and scans. At this time they'll determine if it is time for surgery on the adrenal masses or if they are still responding so well that more chemo is a better option. Surgery will happen again and we are at peace knowing that this surgeon knows the best timing for it.
In about 4 weeks Brian will start physical and occupational therapy to get full range of motion back to his arm that they operated on (they took some muscle and a nerve).
In the meantime I will head back to work but most importantly we will be HOME!!

We cannot wait to see everyone. We love you all and are always amazed at the amount of support we receive.  We will get home after bedtime tonight so stay tuned for the video of us reuniting with our baby in the morning. Tonight we will snuggle puppies and be in our own bed with a million pillows and one less tumor!

Surgery is a Go!

Hey everyone. We got the news we have all been praying for.  Brian will have surgery on the mass under his arm on Monday, June 27th.  We are beyond excited to finally get this out.   They will remove the main mass and the tiny masses surrounding it and clean out the whole area. The procedure should take about 3 hours.  We hear over and over again that our surgeon is the best of the best and we believe it!

After surgery Brian will be in the hospital for a few days then when we are released we will be staying in American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge. It is a completely free service which we have been so blessed to get a reservation! We will be up here for at least 7-10 days post-op (until his drains can be removed).  Pray for us as I practice my nursing skills and Brian recovers.

After this will be more chemo and eventually a second surgery on his adrenals.


We love you all and continue to be overwhelmed with the love and support! Pray for little pain, quick healing, and patience. Also pray for this mommy and daddy who miss their sweet girl who is at home having a blast! Pray too for all the medical staff. Since having Harper and dealing with cancer, I have the utmost respect for nurses! If you are a nurse. THANK YOU!

Love you all!

More News

Hi!

We officially heard from Sloan today. The surgeon himself called us at 7:30pm! Here's the deal. Surgery is a maybe. They discussed Brian at their big meeting. They want a better MRI. Depending on what they see in that MRI they will determine if surgery is a good idea at this point. They want it to be as safe as possible without affecting mobility or function of his arm/hand.  So we will fly up Tuesday, do MRI and CT scans Wednessday, and meet with the surgeon and hear his determination on Thursday. If they say no it means a reevaluation and surgery at a later point. Last time we weren't prepared when they said no. This time we know that is isn't certain. Please pray for us as we wait some more. Also pray that the surgery is a go! 

Love to you all! 

Update time!

Hi everyone! It's been a while. We've had a nice six week break full of vacations, work, and facial hair!! It was super nice having Brian at full strength!  During that time Brian had and MRI and CT scan. They are currently in NYC being reread by their radiologists. Because we don't want to go too long without doing anything Brian will have chemo again starting the 7th. We are still waiting to hear what Sloan decides after reading the scans. 

Love to you all!! 

Here We Go Again

Great news. Brian is starting a new round of chemo tomorrow but needed one new med cause another one he was on has a lifetime limit. We were concerned about insurance approval but found out today that it was approved. Therefore another round begins tomorrow.

It's tough when plans change but we are happy for little victories!

We are Heading Home

Brian is special. We all know that!
That being said here is what happened today. First we had scans. Then we ate a fast lunch and headed to our appointment with the surgeon. There is always lots of waiting.  After waiting forever,  he said the scan showed small, mildly suspicious somethings in the lungs but both the underarm mass and the adrenal masses have shrunk. We believe these lung things are from Brian's cough and nothing cancer related.  After meeting with him we were sent to see the oncologist.  She does not want to rush surgery until we know the bigger plan.  The adrenals are the most complicated part in all of this.  No need to remove the arm mass until we know what to do with the adrenals. Brian's case is super rare and they need to present it with all the other doctors, surgeons, and pathologists up here at MSKCC. So the plan now is to come home, do another round of chemo (she says normally you keep treating until you get no response), wait three weeks and get an MRI and more scans. We will then send those to MSKCC and they will regroup. We will then go from there.

Cons:
-I like plans and don't like when plans are changed.
-This process will be longer.

Pros:
-The oncologist said only 1 out of 10 people with Brian's type of cancer respond to treatment, so it is a miracle that he has not only responded but that they have all shrunk so much.
-WE GET TO SEE OUR BABY TOMORROW!

We love you all!
K & B