I feel great.....

I want to give my wonderful wife a long awaited sabbatical from posting another blog. She has done a fantastic job describing our cancer experience by detailing daily events over the last 5 months--keeping friends, neighbors, and family updated on my progress.

I feel great! My strength is returning, my hair is growing, and I will be back to full-time work this week (Nov. 29). With the exception of a sore throat and itchy skin around my neck (caused by daily radiation treatments), I am not suffering as I did while being treated with chemotherapy. (THAT was bad...never want to go back there again!) I am excited to rejoin my company, Environment One. They are an incredible company to work for and they have been very supportive while I have been receiving treatment. I want to thank them again for all they have done and I look forward to seeing them soon.

I have to tell you that I know why I have been so blessed. My kids include the following in our family prayer each night, "bless dad that he will get better with cancer" (Brayden's words). I know many of you have done the same and I thank you. I am healing because of your concern and faith.

I hope all of you are enjoying this season of giving.

Bryan

Half Done

Bryan completed his second week of radiation!! He has 10 treatments left.

Side Effects. His throat has started to bother him. Tonight he's having difficulty talking and swallowing. The radiation oncologist warned us about this--she said the esophagus can become irritated from the radiation; sort of like a sunburn. (If the irritation increases, they will prescribe pain medication. Right now we're just trying over-the-counter fixes.)

Getting Back to Normal. Even with the throat irritation, he says he feels great (because after experiencing chemotherapy, this is NOTHING)! We spent a lot of the day cleaning up the yard for winter. Bryan even installed our new gate today (purchased at the beginning of the summer--it's just been waiting for him to install) and is planning to teach a lesson at church tomorrow. (This will be his first time teaching since he was diagnosed in June--many of you know that Bryan wouldn't go to the hospital that fateful day in June until he finished teaching two lessons at church. :) I don't know if they'll be able to hear him tomorrow, but he deserves an "A" for effort.)

Thanksgiving. We're excited for the coming week. We have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving! Know how grateful we are for your support and love for us. We hope you have a fabulous holiday with your family and friends!

Radiation

Bryan is 25% done with his radiation treatments and is feeling great!

Below is a picture of Bryan just before a radiation session. He took the camera to a session last week and asked a tech to snap a picture so we could all see the "off limits" radiation room.

How do you like the "spiderman" mask? (They told him he could keep it once the treatments are over. I'm not quite sure why we would keep it around!?)

I Love November

November is one of my favorite months. I love the weather. I love to wear my comfy sweats and warm socks around the house. I love to make soup in the morning and smell it simmer all day. I love to eat pumpkin anything. I love the calm before the holiday craziness. I love my down comforter. I love wearing my gloves. More than that, I love November because 10 years ago this month our son received a liver transplant. He was six months old and very sick. The morning of his surgery, Ashton's skin was beyond the yellow color you see in jaundice babies--it was more of a greyish/green. While Bryan was in the surgery waiting room all day and into the night, Ashton & I both underwent operations to remove part of my liver and implant it into him. Our miracle boy spent 14 days in the hospital following the surgery and has been the picture of health since that time. He has NOT experienced any complications or been hospitalized in 10 years--his doctors call him the poster child for transplantation.

I've always looked back on November of 1997 as the month of miracles for our family. It was. More than I realized. Also in November of 1997 a new drug, Rituxan, was approved by the FDA to treat Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Rituxan is the drug that makes NHL a potentially curable disease (and is part of the treatments Bryan received during each chemotherapy session). Rituxan has been characterized as the most important therapeutic development of the decade and in 2002 became the number one anti-cancer drug worldwide. (Next time you're around ask me to explain how this drug works--it is amazing!)

I'll say it again, November is one of my favorite months! November of 2007 will also go down in history...Bryan Arndt should complete the last of his cancer treatments!

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Bryan is feeling GREAT! His hair is even starting to grow (just a bit of peach fuzz). He feels better everyday and he's had a great month without chemotherapy. Honestly, he's feeling quite restless and bored being around the house all the time. It is time to move on to the next chapter...

Radiation begins tomorrow!! Bryan will have 20 radiation sessions, one session every weekday. The plan is for him to be done by the end of November. WOOHOO! We've been talking about the end of his treatments for so long--I can hardly believe the end is near--I can almost touch it!

We've spent time in the radiation oncology department preparing for Bryan's month of radiation. They have "mapped" the area they plan to radiate (the entire area the tumor once occupied). They've also placed small tattoos on his chest (to line up the radiation equipment quickly and precisely) and fitted him for a head mask (to hold his head in place and keep it out of the radiation field). When he comes out of his "test" radiation appointments he has marker drawings all over his chest (in various colors) and the skin all over his head has imprints from the face mask. (The doctors describe the mask looking like a Spiderman mask so perhaps you can imagine the markings all over his face. It looks pretty funny.)

We're hoping for the best over the next month. We expect Bryan to be a little tired, but the doctors tell us he'll feel MUCH better than he did with chemotherapy.