Ben’s Chemo started October 30th, 2010 Gemzar and Cisplatin
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Hi Tom,
Good to hear from you! Sounds like you and Ben had a great time in Europe! I went to Paris for a week when I was 13 on a school trip. Great city and so much to see and do, especially for a 13 year old!! And yes you are so right in that one night there is not enough. Did you and Ben go up the Eiffel Tower?
Pity that we weren’t able to meet up in Edinburgh this time. Hopefully if you come back in July or any other time then things will be a lot less hectic work wise for you and then we can meet up. My offer of being your tour guide and chaffuer for a scenic drive through my country always stands, so I hope you like fish ‘n chips down by the harbour!!
Yes the nervousness regarding the scans and the results is something that we all can relate to. My fingers are crossed for the best possible outcome for Ben’s results. Please let us know how they go and I am sending you a ton of my best and positive thoughts.
My best wishes to you and Ben,
Gavin
PS – I’ll start you on the fish ‘n chips, then we’ll go for the Haggis!!!
Many, many postitive thoughts being sent your way!!!Sounds like Ben is doing excellent! You are a great team! Our team, Doug and I, are doing well too. Doug goes for the last of round 7 on Wednesday, then a week off, then on to round 8 – going for the knock out!!! We are close behind you. I too noticed each session brings more fatigue but Doug’s health is better, so hoping after chemo the fatigue subsides. Will be thinking of you two on Thursday. Hugs. Nancy
I MISSED you but so very happy you guys had such a great time. Hope you get to meet Gavin the next time. I know what you mean by pre-Scan jitters. Boy, we really learn to be strong here don’t we? My thinking is that since Ben fared the trip so well and that is a strenous trip, what could be wrong? Maybe you guys will have discovered that the best RX is a trip to Europe! Best wishes for good news!
Hello Everyone,
I’m back from my 2.5 week work/vacation travels. Unfortunately, my schedule was too packed to meet up with Gavin on my trip to Edinburgh – we tried, but I just couldn’t make it work – so hopefully Gavin we will meet on my next trip there!
We had a great time on vacation with our friends in Luxembourgh and we managed to “sneak away” and took the train to Paris for a night – which was very fun (but too much to see in a day). But, it was great to get away – Ben held up very well during the whole trip….the last day or so in Paris he did get a slight fever and he felt some bloating (so both of us got a little worried), but we put him on some Cipro we had taken and his fever went a way fairly quickly (and we kept him on it for a few days).
So this is the big week for us – today he went in for an MRI and CT scans of his chest and liver to see what the last 4 cycles of Chemo has done. I will definitely say I’m incredibly nervous but hopeful as well. We meet with the Doctor this Thursday to review the results so we will know very soon.
Positive thoughts everyone and I will report back on results after Thursday.
take care,
tom
Tom,
Glad to hear that Ben made it through no worse for the wear. I am looking forward to the end of chemo and the beginning of summer. Sending positive thoughts on any upcoming news and have a great vacation.
ShariHi Lainy,
Wish that you could be there too! But you and I will meet and I guess I need to think about getting a passport sorted out very very soon!
Best wishes,
Gavin
Hi Tom,
Yes that would be great if we could meet up and lets hope our schedules allow for this. I could jump through in the evening if you are working and that would be no problem for me, would only take an hour so from here as all the traffic is heading out of Edinburgh early evening. Edinburgh is a nightmare for traffic with all the commuters from the surrounding area! Looking forward to hearing from you soon and so hoping that we can pull this off!
Best wishes,
Gavin
OMG! I am so highly jealous and wish I could be there too, to meet Gavin and Tom. You guys just have no idea yet what it is like to meet one of our family! The feeling is like the biggest high in the world! Sure hope you can pull this off.
Gavin,
I would be thrilled to be able to meet you if we can make our schedules work. I have received so much support from you and the other moderators here, it would be my honor. I will let you know the details of my visit and see if we can connect.
Tom
Hi Tom,
I just noticed your post, that is great news that Ben is coming to the end of his chemo and that he is feeling and doing so well, excellent news indeed!! And that is great as well that Ben has such an incredible attitude and I do like the “it will be what it will be”.
That sounds like you will both be having a lot of fun in the coming weeks with the 2 of you going on your travels. How long will you be in Edinburgh for? Edinburgh is about an hours drive from Dundee, so if you want I could come through and meet up with you if you like. Sounds like fun to me. I take it you will be staying in Edinburgh and have you been there before? Let me know if you are up for it and we can take it from there.
My best wishes to you and Ben,
Gavin
Marion – we will be in Europe in a couple of weeks, so looks like we will miss you while you are there in June. I definitely plan on catching up with you at the conference so keep me posted!
tom
Tom & Ben – Wonderful news. I visited Luxembourg 35 years ago while on my honeymoon. Your message made me smile in so many ways. Best wishes – Nancy
Tom…fantastic news. Certainly you will enjoy your trip abroad? When are you leaving? I am mentioning it because; I will be in Germany for one month beginning June 16th. Luxembourg is not far from where my mother lives and neither is Frankfurt. Possibly, in addition to meeting up with Gavin we could also meet.
If not of course I am still hoping to meet up with you in September at the conference.
Most of all: enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
All my best,
MarionYEA! TOM and BEN!!!! You have made my day, week and month. I am beaming with happiness for you both. In fact I am laughing as in my mind I picture Ben “jumping” in to the Chemo room in tights and a cape and yelling out, “never fear Super Chemo Man is here”! What a nice trip you guys will be taking. Oh, I so hope you can meet up with Gavin that would be wonderful. We forgive you for not writing often but not if you don’t keep us posted. Have a wonderful and safe journey!
Round 8 Completed!! As I sit and type this, Ben is about one hour away from being done with his last chemo treamtent in Round 8. He made it all the way without a break.
After round 7 he started feeling numbness on his skin for a couple of days, but it went away and was minimal during the first treament of round 8. Other then that – pretty much status quo, just the usual “bothersome” fatigue but it really never did get too bad. Actually, once the doctor started giving extra fluids the following day after round 6, the fatigue wasn’t quite as bad.
What’s most amazing is this past week is about the Ben has looked since he started chemo. He even feels good, he stopped taking naps during the day because he thought they made him more tired. On Tuesday he was up at 8 in the morning – had a busy day around the house, we had friends over for dinner then he was up until almost midnight rearranging the office – go figure! Maybe he is Super Chemo Man!
Today, the doctor said his blood work was still very good, his Neutrophil (white blood cell) count was very close to the border of not getting chemo, but he was right above so he went forward. Amazing!
So, here I sit – with mixed feelings knowing that the Chemo is ending – hurray!! But, knowing that it seems to be keeping his CC at bay – so wondering what happens when it’s over, so that fills me with anxiety.
Next steps for us??!!??
I am traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland for work on April 6th and Ben is going to meet me in Frankfurt Germany the following week where we will drive to Luxembourgh to stay with friends and travel around in that area for about 10 days. We are definitely both looking forward to that – the break from doctors, needless and fatigue will be nice.When we return the week right after Easter Ben will have an MRI and CT scan of his chest and liver to see what the last four rounds of chemo have done. We are hoping for the best of course – and based upon how he feels now we are optimistic. He has really had an incredible attitude through the whole thing – and even with the upcoming scan he says he’s not going to think about it: “it will be what it will be”.
So, that’s the status for now – just more of the same (which of course is the best we could have hoped for).
I still try to keep up here (not doing very well), but as always I promise to post anything as status changes (HOPEFULLY IN THE GOOD NEWS SECTION)!!
If any of you out there are near Edinburgh, Scotland (Gavin if you are reading this I’m not sure how close Dundee is), or Frankfurt, Germany or Luxemburg let me know and I will try to stop by to meet you on my travels.
Take care everyone!!
tom
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