November: Lung Cancer Awareness And Mike...

November was Lung Cancer Awareness month which most people don't know about because sadly it's a negatively stigmatized cancer. Understandably most people think that you must be a smoker or former smoker to get lung cancer, so it's "your fault"! While it is true that smoking does cause not only lung cancer but several other cancers, never smokers are being diagnosed more and more every year! So really if you have lungs you can be diagnosed with lung cancer, as was Mike!!!

Our president declared a public health emergency for the opioid overdose epidemic because it kills 91 Americans daily, but lung cancer kills 433 people per day and no one talks about it!?! I don't know what the answer is but pouring more money into it doesn't seem to be helping! Once again, we need to try and prevent it through lifestyle instead of trying to "cure" it after the fact! We also need to stop stigmatizing those who have lung cancer by asking if they smoked!!! We don't ask other cancer patients if they ate too much, drank too much, sat too much, got too much sun, or not enough sun, etc, etc... because it's not appropriate! I get it, I've done it, because really we are trying to tell ourselves that we won't get "it" because we "didn't do that". Sorry, for the soap box!

Mike is doing well and only has 2 more weeks of his oral Chemo, BUT his WBC was super low as are his neutrophils due to the Etoposide, so he has to take a longer break before starting back up. He also needs to stay healthy and avoid picking up any virus/infection floating around, because you need WBC's to fight off infections! He did have his blood drawn  yesterday and his white blood count was up to 5.1 so much better! but the longer break in between will be nice, especially for his sleep!  Another positive is that the two tumor markers they check are nice and low and we are so thankful for that!!!

High School basketball games started this week, and that helps keeps us busy and our minds occupied. This is the first year since Jack was in 2nd grade that Mike hasn't coached him so it will be a different experience  but hopefully good for both of them!

  With Christmas fast approaching it's important to remember the true meaning of CHRISTmas! We love the song Put A Little Love In Your Heart, and won't write them all out here but a few lines that seem so important now: Think of your fellow man, Lend him a helping hand, Put a little love in your heart, You see it's getting late, Oh please don't hesitate, Put a little love in your heart… And the world will be a better place…

Be Blessed,   Paula

Happy Birthday

It's been a long time since I have blogged so thought since it is Mike's Birthday tomorrow I would get busy and update. Birthdays and Anniversaries make you reflect on the past and even though cancer has been part of our life for the past 16 and a half years we try to forget about it as much as we can and just LIVE! It's not like we can ever really forget because we do things daily to help build our immune system, things like: supplements, stress management, exercise, sauna, eating to lower inflammation, using non toxic/homemade cleaning products, Ozone, EWOT, Bio-mat, E's (more on all of that at a different time). But, we try to enjoy each other, our kids, and grandkids as much as possible.

Mike's blood work that he has done every 2 weeks  looks great! He is however, very tired and since Etoposide can cause hormonal issues they have ordered a hormone panel to see if that is the issue or just part of taking low dose Chemo. We started lifting weights together with Jackson as our "personal trainer" and Mike was really building muscle fast and looking great when he hurt his wrist and chest. Seems like 1 step forward and 2 back… but with physical therapy helping we are getting ready to slowly start back up because it's good for his body and mind, and he was really loving it!

Cancer absolutely sucks!!! It messes with your body, mind and soul! We need to  live in a way to try and prevent cancer instead of chasing a cure once you have it! I'm not placing the blame on the cancer patient but rather encouraging people to educate themselves on the food they eat, the products they use on their bodies, and the things/chemicals they clean their homes with etc…etc… Sorry for my rant, but trust me the "Cancer road" is not something anyone would choose!

Happy 56th Birthday to the love of my life, you deserve all the best that this life has to offer!!!


Just Breathe,

Paula

I…HATE…cancer!!!

I…HATE… cancer!!! Mike is doing great on his oral Chemo and his bloodwork is perfect so we are thankful for that! He is thin and only about 154 pounds (6 pounds less than our 17 year old) but is eating and looking to put on some muscle!

While looking at Facebook this morning two separate posts made me cry. The first from Season Johnson (kickcancer) who's son kicker is a leukemia survivor wrote about the relapse of a little boy named Mateo (Mateo's Journey) who was diagnosed at the same time as her son…so sad, he has to start treatment all over again!  Then the second about a beautiful, sweet mom of two named Rissa who we met in Reno. Rissa was very sick while she was there getting treatments alongside Mike, but we were shocked that she had passed so quickly, and with two kids at home who need her!!!  These kind of things really do put "things" in perspective! Life IS short so we need to do the things that bring us joy, take lots of pictures, laugh, dance, make memories!!!

We are going to make some memories this weekend as we watch our son Jordan, and son in law Isaiah compete in a Crossfit competition called the Granite games, and enjoy time together. We will probably be more motivated to get in the weight room after seeing all the Crossfit athletes 😉💪🏼🏋️‍♀️🏋️

I like this quote from Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Victor Frankl: "Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time."

Just Breathe,

Paula

Eat-PRAY-Breathe…… the PRAY part

We waited a few extra days before starting Mike's oral Chemo due to a lingering cough, which thankfully is now gone, so he's only taken it 9 days but, has been feeling well and has had no side effects. He hasn't lost any more weight and his appetite is good. Thank you for all the prayers!

It seems like every day we hear of some kind of tragedy, either terrible violence in the US or abroad or someone being diagnosed with cancer or losing their life to it, (we have 1friend diagnosed, and 1have surgery just last week) or a child dying too soon in an accident.  Life just doesn't seem fair so we usually ask why. Our family is going through this now with the sudden and unexpected death of our daughter Julia's sweet 29 year old sister-in-law Alicia. She was a lovely person and mama to 4 children. Why would God allow things like this to happen? Why do tragedies happen? Why do people get sick? Why is our world so divided, and seemingly out of control? I don't have the answers, but I know that we need to trust our Lord and continue to believe that His ways are better than our ways.  Our world needs prayer, hurting people need prayer, we all need prayer! We have had so many people tell us they are praying for Mike and we can't tell you how much that means to us.


Most of us know the verse from Philippians 4:13… I can do all things through him who strengthens me. I believe it is so true!  I don't know how people get through hard things without the Lord giving them strength, and I am so thankful that even though we don't know the "why's" of life we do know the one who does and He is strong enough to  carry us through!!!


Be blessed, and PRAY,

Paula

Oral Chemo

      Mike had to go on an antibiotic because he was coughing up lots of stuff and they didn't want it to turn into pneumonia. He still has a bit of a cough but is feeling much better, thankfully.

    Mike and I celebrated 35 years of marriage on August 7. We were just baby's when we said "I do" so many years ago. We have had so many ups and downs, so many adventures and have been blessed with great friends and an awesome family! God knew what he was doing when He brought us together at Ellsworth Community College! We stayed at Riverside Golf and Casino for two nights and had a great time, but now it's back to reality! Mikes oral Chemo drug, Etoposide  is in the refrigerator double contained because it is after all a poison. He will start that today and take it daily for 2 weeks then off for 1 week, lasting for 3 months. Although we are not excited about more poison going into his body, we know that these drugs they are using showed high response in his Chemo sensitivity testing. Praying he doesn't get any side effects from this! Not gonna lie, sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. You want to have a "normal life", not think about cancer all the time, but we have a "new normal". There is life before cancer and life after, and it will never be the same, but we will continue to live life to the fullest and treasure our time with each other and our family, and that is how it should be anyway! You don't want to take ANY days for granted!

Be blessed,

Paula


 

Upper respiratory gunk…

The bad news is that Jackson's team lost their first game on Friday, but the good news is that we got to head home! This was really good news because Mike developed an upper respiratory infection probably due to his immune system being knocked down from the Chemo. He is feeling a little better today but coughing quite a bit and has a sinus headache. I guess considering what full dose Chemo does to people he is fairing pretty well.  So although we all hated the boys losing their game and being done for the season we are thrilled to be home!

James 1:2-4…Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  We love the book of James and go to it when we need direction in life. So although we know we will all face trials/difficulties in life we also know we need to keep persevering. So whether it is big things like death or cancer, or smaller things like an upper respiratory infection or a lot smaller things like dropping a glass container or carton of almond milk shattering both on the tile (yes, I had one of those days yesterday) we need to try not to question why but press on knowing that we are maturing and becoming complete!


Be blessed and… Just Breathe

Paula

Bittersweet

We have been looking forward to this day for 3 weeks, the last day of IV Chemo/supplements and on to oral. It is however a bittersweet day, because we grew to love the staff at Century Wellness Clinic as well as the fellow patients and caregivers! So many people with so many different cancers and their loved ones coming from all over the U.S. with a common goal...to heal from this dreaded disease! We shared stories, encouragement, healing strategies, "diet" ideas, exchanged phone numbers and made sweet friendships.  We feel great about our decision to follow our hearts and go to Reno NV for cancer treatment, and we enjoyed our time there. Our new affirmation: EVERY DAY, IN EVERY WAY I AM GETTING BETTER AND BETTER! We believe Mike is on the road to true healing!

Mike with Dr. Forsythe

Mike's blood work (especially his WBC & RBC)  has remained great throughout the treatments and he has felt well except for a little fatigue so he never had to take any extra medications, so we are thankful for that! He is ready to get back to work, play some golf and hang out with family and friends. We are both ready to get back to Charles City but… first we are super excited to see and hug Jackson and watch him and his Martin Brothers teammates play their last AAU basketball tournament in Kansas City these next few days.

Thanks for all the prayers, love and support, be blessed!

Paula

Mike with Dr. Maged Maged

With Chemo Nurse Manon

Mike with Chemo Nurse Manon

Mike with nurse Stephanie

With nurse Stephanie

Why?

On the app: iDisciple Pastor Greg Laurie says that when tragedy strikes we often ask God why. He says this isn't wrong but it doesn't mean that God owes us an answer! In Isaiah 55:8-9 it says Gods ways are above our ways.

I'd be lying if I said Mike and I never asked why… why would a young, athletic, never smoker get lung cancer? Why if we are believing and praying for healing hasn't Mike been healed? So many whys with so much heartache around us. Maybe someday will will have an answer for our why's but for now we just have to trust our creator! Maybe our journey with lung cancer is to help and encourage others with cancer, maybe it it is to teach us to be more loving, compassionate people, maybe it's to help us and others to live healthier more fulfilling lives?!? Only the Lord knows the answer and that is okay because like the scripture says, His ways are higher than our ways.

We are believing that the Lord brought us here to Reno to provide the answers we have been searching for and for complete healing for Mike! Thank you Lord for giving us peace and contentment. Thank you for holding us and everyone who is hurting and asking "why" in your loving, comforting healing arms! In Jesus name, Amen.

Mike is still doing great and we are so thankful that he is feeling so well and that we only has three more treatment left next week, and then he will be on to a different oral Chemo.

In His love and ours,

Paula

Sometimes it's hard to see the beauty beneath the "smoke"

California fires are not only devastating people's lives, but also making the air quality in around Reno very unhealthy and also covering up the beauty all around! Life is like that at times. Sometimes we see/notice the beauty all around us and sometimes we struggle to see anything beautiful or good, but it is always there!

Today is another Chemo day and it seems like "groundhog day"… get up, do our morning routine (more on that in a later blog), get food ready for the day, drive down the mountain trying to be early and beat all the other patients to get treatment 😜…wait… get vitals, blood work, IV, check blood sugar, more IV, more blood sugar checks, eat to get blood sugar back up, check blood sugar again, more IV then get a big jug of alkaline water and drive back up the mountain. It could get easy to overlook the beauty but we have had so many words of encouragement, love and prayers sent to us, so we choose to see the good…the beauty!

Mike is handling this all very well and is feeling good except for being tired/fatigued. We do see the light at the end of the tunnel and we will again see the mountains through the smoke (both literally and figuratively).   There has been so much pain in our small community lately and we pray that the smoke clears and the beauty of life returns!

Thank you and perfect peace to you all! (Thanks Chris)

Paula

Thank you & Happy 16 year Cancer-versary

16 years ago today our life changed forever! Mike had been having rib pain and Mayo couldn't figure out why so they finally did a CT scan which revealed that the tip of one of his ribs was broken off and embedded in the cartridge between the ribs (he used to swing really hard at the golf ball). The CT also revealed a small nodule in Mike's right lung so on July 18, 2001 Dr. Nichols performed the first of Mike's 3 thorocotomies. The diagnosis of Stage 1 non small cell adeniocarcinoma was shocking as Mike was a life long athlete and non-smoker!!! After a long recovery with a set back and another week in the hospital due to MRSA (resistant staph infection) we went back to our "new normal" with CT scans every 3 months, then every 6 mo., then finally yearly until the 5year mark when a new nodule was found growing in the left lung. Another thorocotomy removing another lobe of the left lung with the same protocol… living life as normal as possible thinking surely "it" wouldn't come back… until it did once again at the 5 year mark. Another thorocotomy was performed but this time they took a wedge section out of the right lung.

After Mike's second surgery I read every book I could on Cancer and healing, some of my favorites include (Radical Remission, Cancer Killers, Cancer Step Outside the Box, Knockout, Tripping over the Truth). Anyway we have done a lot of things to try to slow down or stop these nodules from growing and if you look at the survival rate of lung cancer you'd see that Mike is beating the odds!!!

I will say more on what we have done over the years to beat cancer but for now we want to say "thank you"! A lesson on iDisciple this morning titled "Gods answer for Anxiety" was perfect for today telling us to stop looking at the circumstances and instead thank Him for all He does, for our family and friends, the beauty around us, our beating heart, breath in our lungs! Mike and I thank God for this journey and for helping us become better people because of it!

Phillipians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heats and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Thank you,  Paula

You can count on me

As we head to Mikes second week of treatments listening to our favorite band Need to Breathe, and one their new songs "Count on me", I am so thankful for all our friends and family that I know we can count on!  One of the verses says "when you don't feel strong enough, everybody needs a pick me up, you can count on me".… this is so true! Some times we don't feel strong because this cancer journey is not easy and Lung cancer is a beast! Doctors are continually amazed that Mike has had it for over 16 years because the prognosis for lung cancer is not good! (More on that in a different blog)  It's easy for people (myself included at times) to forget that Mike is "sick" because he looks healthy! But the fact that we are here seeking treatment in Reno proves that he is not as healthy as he looks.

Everybody gets down at times so we all need to be there for each other, and we appreciate all the prayers, offers to help with things and encouragement!!! We know we can count on you, and we know we can count on God to be with us in this journey!

Today is a day of "good stuff" like IV's of high dose vitamin C and other immune boosters. As we see and talk to people from all over the country who are here seeking treatment, we see some who look very sick and others who don't, and we realize that all of them/us need someone they can count on! Thanking God that although we don't know why we have this/cancer as part of our journey He does and we are going to be better people because of it!!!

Feel like a lot of rambling today!  Guess what I'm really trying to get at is that whether we can see people's struggles/sickness/fears/etc… or not we all need to be aware of each other and help each other out even if it's just a kind word!  Thanks for listening!

Love,

Paula

"Keep fighting man"…Aaron Rodgers

Mike is feeling great except for not being able to sleep (wide awake at 1:30am) due to some steroid they use to help fight Chemo side effects (several other patients also said they didn't get a lot of sleep last night). Today was another day of talking with the Doctor, Immune boosting protocol and Poly MVA, which took about 4 hours. All blood work  looks great, so that is good!

We took advantage of a beautiful day and drove to South Lake Tahoe to watch some of the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament which was fun. We missed seeing Steph Curry but did follow Aaron Rodgers and I played the #Stupidcancer card and got Aaron to take a picture with my Packer loving guy! Aaron was super nice and leaned into Mike and said "keep fighting man"! Mike thanked him and said "God bless" He even remembered us several holes later and said "hi" again. 💜

God bless,

Paula

Face the facts but fight your fears!

Face the facts but fight your fears! (Pastor Steven Furtick) Although we would like to "stick our heads in the sand" and pretend that Mike's body is as healthy as he feels, the fact is that for some reason his body grows lung nodules. He has Multi-focal non small cell lung cancer and a few small nodules that have been growing in his right lung the past few years. So we are fighting our fear of what people will think and starting a blog to let people know what we are doing. Our kids actually helped us set the blog up a few years ago but... we never blogged!

After having a lobe of the right lung removed in 2001, a lobe of the left lung removed in 2006 and a wedge of a lobe removed from the right lung in 2011, surgery is not an option at this time. The doctors at Mayo gave us several different options including Proton beam radiation but that is still not ready to use on the lungs, Cryoablation which is freezing or burning the nodules which causes "collateral damage " to other lung tissue or Chemotherapy (Vadetanib, Alectinib or Cabozantinib). Mike already has decreased lung capacity due to all his surgeries and the Chemo drugs didn't seem to have enough research for lung cancer, so we decided to go a different route.

I have been reasearching "holistic/alternative cancer treatments since Mikes last surgery in 2011 and that is how we ended up seeking treatment in Reno, NV. There are many great Cancer facilities around especially in Mexico but we liked the protocol here the best. We know a lot of people will think we are crazy for not following Mayo's standard protocol and we are okay with that, we just ask that you not judge us for our decision.

In May Mikes blood was sent to Greece for the RGCC test. There they tested his blood against all Chemo drugs and natural substances to determine what will work best for Him! (Why don't we do that in the US?!?) The doctor then picked the best Chemo drugs along with natural vitamins and supplements. Mike will get high dose Vitamin C along with other supplements 3 days a week and Low Dose Chemo with Insulin 2dys a week with weekends off for 3 weeks. Insulin potentiation therapy (IPT) is done because cancer feeds off sugar so the theory is that the cancer cells open up thinking they are getting sugar but instead get Chemo.

On Monday Mike had a pic line put in at St. Mary's hospital here and had his first Vitamin/supplement IV's. Tuesday was supposed to be his first Chemo but……due to wild-fire Farad we could not get to Reno from Lake Tahoe. So, today he is having his first Chemo treatment (Taxotere and Vinorelbine). Thanks for your love, support and prayers, we so appreciate it!!!


Courage doesn't mean you don't get afraid; courage means you don't let fear stop you!!!