50th birthday picture.... as promised

The Mintz family birthday tradition requires the hat....

Treatment #6 and a birthday

Treatment day +2 and I’m doing pretty well. I’m a bit tingly and tired but that’s about it. As advertised we skipped the epirubicin for this treatment and possibly for treatments #7 and #8 as well. But that decision will be driven by the results of the MUGA scan I’ll be having this Monday morning at 10am.

One small surprise that came in conjunction with omission of the epirubicin is that Dr. Richards felt a neulasta injection wouldn’t be needed with this cycle. I’m going to be sure to stay home this entire next week until my blood counts are checked at my next office visit on Monday, June 8th.

Other then that background I guess the only other bit of news is that yesterday was my 50th birthday. I’m one of those that views age as just a number but there’s definitely something about this one that feels a bit different. Considering the convergence of major life events such as my miracle #2, Sasha’s high school graduation, and then the birthday does justify a bit of pause.

I’ll be posting some b’day pics that I’m sure you’ll all get a kick out of.

Miracle #2.... "complete treatment response"

For those of you that haven’t already heard, the PET/CT results came back as “complete treatment response”. Chalk up miracle #2!! I know that I’m pushing my luck with asking but how many of these do we get? LOL.

As far as other details are concerned, Dr. Richards wants to do 1-3 more treatments before we shut down the treatments altogether. On one hand while I’m both mentally and physically past needing these treatments to be over I also know that I’ll get peace of mind by knowing we went the extra mile to drive every last cancer cell into remission.

One twist to the treatments, however, is that we’ll be proceeding with only 2 of the 3 chemo drugs. The epirubicin will be omitted going forward. This is because one of the potential side affects of epirubicin is heart damage. I’m trusting that the other two drugs will be able to finish the job just fine and I’m glad to be able to have the epirubicin stopped at this point. I’m scheduled for a MUGA scan on June 1st and that will shed some light on any affects that the epirubicin may have had on my heart.

Finally, and as I’ve said several times before on this blog, thank-you to each and every one of you for all of your prayer and words of encouragement and support that came via email, text message, cards, letters, Facebook comments, etc. There is no doubt whatsoever that I am a very blessed and wealthy man.

I will continue to post information here through these next few treatments and I look forward to keeping you all informed as I transition to trying to get my girlish figure back while actively cycling with the Mintz’s Mentschen.

BIG day

Tomorrow is a BIG day. I’m trying to not say VERY big (for obvious jinx reasons…) but this particular PET scan has taken it’s time in getting here.

As is the case with chemo it has a cumulative affect. And with that said things have been noticeably different in recent weeks. No, not ugly as the weight loss was for me last year but some of the side affects of this EOX protocol have definitely become a bit more pronounced. The Hand-and-Foot syndrome from Xeloda with it’s constant tingling, and even mild swelling, has been a bit uncomfortable. And this protocol is also taking a lot out of me. I typically pass out on the couch after dinner and/or go to sleep for the night by 9pm.

So, after battling to get the insurance pre-certifications this week I was finally able to call and schedule the PET. When Betsy (yes, I’m on a first name basis with even the staff at Princeton Radiology) asked me when I wanted the PET scheduled I quickly responded with “as soon as possible!”. I was shocked when she offered first thing tomorrow.

So 8:15am it is. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have high hopes. But either way, at least we’ll know where we stand once we have these results.

Thanks for all of the prayers and words of support.

Pre-treatment hello

Well tomorrow is treatment #5.
I’m raring to go but admittedly hoping that this treatment is either the last one or very close to it. We’ll be starting the process tomorrow to schedule the PET/CT scan and I expect that it will fall sometime the week of May 18th.

Aside from that there isn’t too much new to report on the medical front.
As far as family goes there’s a lot happening. Bailey finished her spring semester at Indiana Univ. today and will be home next week. And as you can imagine Sasha is counting the days to high school graduation, summer vacation, and her adventure at Colorado State come late August. She registered for her classes last Friday and is all set to go. The only big decision that is pending for her is whether or not she gives the CSU RAM marching band a go.

And as for Erin... well, she's still living in Fairfax, VA and working at the Canadian Embassy just a stone's throw from the White House.

Tough for Amy and I to get our heads around the fact that Erin is 23, Bailey is 20, and Sasha is 17. We're going to be empty nesters in a few short months! OMG.

It’s been a little while since I posted a picture so below is one that Gary Vencius was able to take of the small Mintz’s Mentschen crew before we started on our ride and before I totally bonked to the point of having to call Gary to come rescue me. There actually was a good side to the sag and that was having the chance to chat with Gary and Joanne’s incredibly cute sons.

To be continued…..

Joanne Vencius, me, Doreen Dunnigan, Dan Nies, and Dan Gerstenhaber all Jacked Up!