The trick...

"The trick is not how much pain you feel--but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live, excuses, excuses." ~Erica Jong

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Bryan is thriving! He is strong and happy (although shoveling the 10+ inches of snow from our front yard on Monday morning proved that he isn't as strong as he thought--thank goodness for neighbors with snowblowers). He is working--traveling quite a bit--and always reports "feeling great!"

Bryan returns to the hospital next week for a scan. We continue to pray for great test results!

No thought spared for cancer in weeks...

It has been dreamy! No doctor appointments, cancer treatments, CT scans, tests, blood draws, trips to the pharmacy OR hospital. Just smiles, laughter, complete joy & relief. I describe the atmosphere at our home as "light;" something we haven't experienced in months (and didn't realize how heavy it was until it felt light).

Bryan's strength is returning (& so is his hair as you can see from the pics). His personality is back for sure! He says he feels GREAT!

As you loyal readers know, Bryan's last scan revealed no sign of cancer (although there are remnants of the tumor, they are NOT cancerous). He returns to the hospital for a CT scan at the end of January. They will monitor (by CT scan) what is left of his tumor every 3 months for a few years. The doctors said the result of Bryan's October scan was GREAT news. At that point, Dr. Glenn gave Bryan a 75% chance of the cancer NOT returning. (I think that is high. Bryan was quick to point out the 25% chance it could return. He said "that's 1 in 4." I prefer to stick with the 75% or 3 out of 4 figures.) Anyway, we BOTH hope for continued good news.

Our life kicks back into high gear in a few days. Bryan returned to work a few weeks ago and will start traveling again soon. The kids will return to school, basketball, soccer and the usual craziness. While in our "cancer" world, we've been sheltered and protected from the "real" world--it will soon come crashing in! I dread and look forward to it at the same time.

As 2007 comes to a close, I want to thank you for your "readership!" I can't imagine what we would have done this year without family and friends. You have been a great support to us! I hope 2008 is fabulous and as a friend said "uneventful" for all of us!

Over!

THE GREAT NEWS! The last radiation treatment was completed on Tuesday. "It" is finally over! Hallelujah!

THE MEDICAL REPORT. Bryan is still uncomfortable because of the "burn" on his chest & back (where the radiation was targeted), but expects his skin to heal now that the radiation treatments are over. His skin is very red--he says it burns and itches at the same time (difficult symptoms to satisfy at the same time).

WEEK IN REVIEW. We just returned from a quick weekend trip to New York for Bryan's company Christmas party. We had so much fun! It was great for me to meet so many of the good people who have supported Bryan over the past 6 months. Bryan was very happy to be back "at work" although he was exhausted by the end of the trip. His body doesn't have the same endurance it used to & he now has a yucky cough (which I believe he picked up on the airplane). His doctors started him on a strong antibiotic yesterday and also ordered a chest x-ray--we were relieved to find out he doesn't have pneumonia! He worked all day today, even making sales calls in Park City with a local distributor, but he is completely exhausted tonight. Even with a cough, he is happy to be back and work and done with cancer treatments!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thanks again to all of you who have helped us through this tough time. We are filled with hope and gratitude and we're enjoying this Christmas season a little more than usual--it is extra special!

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.