Happy holidays

Since Dr. Richards says that he uses what I’m able to do on the bicycle as a gauge for my overall condition and because my past two cold weather weekend rides have been so awesome I’m going to make this quick post to pass along some positive vibes.

In short, my past two rides have definitely kicked things up a notch and I’m doing the type of riding that while still quite challenging is really helping to improve my physical strength. I’ve been riding with Dan in the area of the Sourland Mountains and Washington Crossing State Park to tackle some of the more significant climbs we have here in this area of NJ. Last weekend we covered 44 miles and yesterday we did 41 that included two of the steeper hills we climb (Van Dyke and Mine Roads). I couldn’t be happier as it’s been this anaerobic climbing strength that I’ve been struggling to get back.

Meanwhile we’re just a few weeks from our Tour de Hot Chocolate that will be a metric century in that same general area. We have our probable stops all picked out (two hot chocolate and one hot apple cider) and can only hope for no precipitation on the tentative date of January 2^nd. Erin will be leaving for her trip to China on that day but with Sasha and Bailey home and coupled with the gathering of many Mintz’s Mentschen teammates this proves to be a fun day.

Happy holidays!

Gobble Gobble

Time to go to blogging confessional…. It’s been so long that my kids are starting to give me grief about not having posted in such a long time.

First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Best wishes for a joyous holiday.

I did see Dr. Richards on the 8^th and I did ask him to look forward into January and the possibility that we’ll be discussing treatment options in that general timeframe. He said that he is not going to make that assumption and, therefore, hasn’t given treatment specifics a lot of thought. I didn’t want to press it since when we last had a discussion about treatment options back in April I recall that there were several chemo-based protocols to choose from. So I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now I’m happy that my medi-port just keeps right on ticking. My next visit with Dr. Richards is on December 20^th and I’ll get the Rx for my next PET/CT at that time.

Physically, aside from a bit of fatigue I'm feeling quite good.

OK… and now for the cycling update. You knew it was coming.

Thanks to Dan Nies who broke me out of my rut of flat ride after flat ride I’ve enjoyed a bit of hills the last couple of weeks. My long ride reached just over 50 miles a few weeks ago and I’m definitely feeling stronger. Aerobically I’ve been fine but trying to build back anaerobic strength for climbing has been tough.

I did register for the Cycle for Survival spinning event to raise funds for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. The event is in February and I’m expecting to have yet another fun and emotional experience. MSKCC has been part of my personal cancer journey and it will be good to give back a bit to them. For anyone that wants to read about MSKCC, the event, or to consider a small donation here’s the link: http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/jmintz

Meanwhile the Tour de Hot Chocolate is still on the calendar for a date in December that hasn't been decided. One decision that HAS been made is that it will not be a 100-mile century ride. Cooler heads have prevailed and we'll be doing a metric century (that's 62 miles for those of you that are metric deficient, LOL).

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Chemo vacation month 1

Without being in treatment the roller-coaster ride levels off very quickly. The past few weekends have been terrific with regard to bike riding. I had two solo 37 mile rides and then last weekend Amy and I enjoyed a 39.5 mile ride on the tandem. This blew me away given that Amy hasn't been on the tandem in quite some time. Guess she can be a bit badass herself!

My plan is to get out early tomorrow before we get busy with other stuff. Unfortunately the time constraint will limit me to a max of around 30 miles but I'm looking forward to it.

This chemo vacation also brings an opportunity for me to use the remainder of my 2010 vacation days on something other then treatment days. Novel idea, huh? New Jersey teacher's convention is next week so Amy and I will have an opportunity to take a long weekend. Our plans are to head down to St. Michaels Maryland for an oyster festival and a relaxed weekend with good friends. Joe and Elisa Duch will join us and we're going to spend time with my good friend Mark Cheben and his wife who live in that neck of the woods.

That's about all I have to talk about right now. I'll be seeing Dr. Richards on November 8th for a checkup and I expect it to be a very short visit. Basically it will just be a flush of my port but I may also ask him if he has any thoughts for the next set of chemo drugs we might try when the time comes.

Treatment respite for the holidays

Amy and I met with Dr. Richards this afternoon and the punch line on the PET/CT results is that I’ve earned myself a break from chemo for a bit. While the results weren’t pristine the SUV values (standard uptake) were in the range of what Dr. Richards considered to be “background noise”. So I’ll be treatment free for a few months and the next PET/CT will be in mid-January when we get to do this all over again.

In the meantime I’ve already had preliminary discussions with my Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Dan Nies, and we may be adding an event to the 2010 bicycling season. Before I found myself back in treatment this past April I had been eyeing what I hoped to be a year full of challenging cycling events. Now knowing that I have a minimum of 3 months without treatment I want to get assertive about recovering as much fitness and strength as I possibly can. Maybe I'll even be able to lose a few pounds. Therefore, the Tour de Hot Chocolate may squeeze into the mid to late December timeframe as an end of year 100-mile bike ride. I know it sounds crazy to some of you but considering how I felt on the bike this past weekend I think I can pull it off. We’ll have to come up with a mostly flat course but I think that I’ll be able to cover the distance. And to have a miles ridden number that has 3 digits come up on my bicycling computer will be incredible to see again. It's been a while.

As I mentioned, we did have a ride this past weekend that was absolutely awesome. Considering that I was only 9 days out from my last treatment I’m not quite sure how/why I was feeling so good but I didn’t question it and in beautiful weather I covered just over 37 miles with Dan Nies, Steph Tobler, and Jim Grassi.

I’ll try to not bore you with the play by play of my biking exploits in the coming weeks but please stay tuned for more information regarding the Tour de Hot Chocolate as it all starts to come together. Maybe we can make this a little more interesting then just a cold weather century ride.

Wait for it.....

Because I know there are folks out there that will be anxiously checking in on the blog this morning for news of the PET/CT results I want to let you all know that I haven't heard anything yet.

The scan itself went well. As always it was nice to see my Princeton Radiology friends Betsy, Nick, and Shane. And then last evening Amy reminded me that Dr. Richards was taking an extended weekend wrapped around the Columbus Day holiday.

So it will be today that I get the news. If he doesn't call me this morning then I will be seeing Dr. Richards in person when I have my post-treatment checkup at 2:00pm this afternoon.

Stay tuned....

LiveSTRONG Day

Here's a better LiveSTRONG Day picture thanks to the Indiana University Volleyball team.

Post #8

Rescheduling treatment #8 so that Amy could take me and having it fall on a Thursday instead of the usual Tuesday has thrown me off a bit. But really my focus right now is on the upcoming PET/CT and the transition that these next couple of weeks will bring. Dr. Richards confirmed that this treatment was my last on carboplatin/taxol and all answers to the question of where we go from here will be based on the PET/CT that is scheduled for Tuesday, October 12.

The scan results could bring any of a variety of outcomes and I’m trying very hard not to speculate. However, I do know that outside of the first week of every treatment cycle that I’m generally feeling quite well. I’m a little tired but otherwise I’m feeling fine and have been able to maintain my weekend bike riding. Last weekend the temperatures here were a bit warm but I rode with Stephanie Tobler and Jim Grassi for a fun 35-mile ride. As the weather quickly turns to fall I’m taking my annual inventory of cold weather cycling gear to see if there’s anything that needs to be replaced. I’m expecting to ride straight through fall/winter as the weather allows and I’m already starting to think about events to plug into my riding/exercising schedule. In February there is a fundraiser for Memorial Sloan-Kettering in Manhattan that some of us may participate in.

The point here is that I’m feeling good and expecting positive PET/CT results.

Yesterday was LiveSTRONG Day… a day to raise cancer awareness, a day of remembrance for those that have lost their battle and also to acknowledge those actively fighting and winning. All day yesterday I received emails, texts, and Facebook posts from friends and family that wore yellow in my honor. Heartfelt thanks to all of you.

While travelling with the Indiana University women’s volleyball team this weekend for games in Iowa and Minnesota Bailey was able to arrange something on the unique side. She was able to have BOTH the Indiana and Iowa teams where yellow ribbons on their shoes for their game. Too cool. LiveSTRONG!!

Tuesday, September 21st

As usual I start with apologies for the time in between blog posts. But really things have been….. well…… BORING. In the big scheme of things right now boring is a good thing.

Treatment #7 on September 7^th was status quo. Same chemo protocol and with manageable side affects. Having Rosh Hashanah two days after treatment was a new experience but I held up fairly well I think.

This past weekend, after a 2-week layoff, I was back on the bike and amazingly I felt very good. I can’t be more thankful for that since the weather couldn’t have been more perfect with bright sunshine and cool temperatures. Dan Nies and Laura Zucconi accompanied me for a wonderful 30.5 mile ride. I’m already thinking about plans for this coming weekend.

I had a checkup with Dr. Richards today and generally there wasn’t too much to discuss. We’ll probably keep the chemo protocol the same one last time for treatment #8 and then see what happens in early October with my PET/CT results. Outside of treatment weeks I’ve been feeling terrific, however, I’m trying hard to not have any heavy expectations so that I can avoid what would be crushing disappointment.

Donations to the Lance Armstrong Foundation collected by our Mintz’s Mentschen team have come to rest at a grand total of $28,553. Spread over 22 fundraising team members that’s an amazing amount.

The PET/CT will be soon after October 7^th and I will post results as soon as possible.

Treatment #7 tomorrow

Sorry for not posting these past two weeks but I’ve been a little under the weather. The day after LiveSTRONG I woke up with a sore throat and thought little of it. I tried to let what appeared to be a simple cold run its course but it didn’t want to go quietly and I even ran a low grade fever a couple of days. Last Monday I avoided the fire drill of going to my primary care doctor and opted to get my antibiotic Rx from the oncologist. My primary care doctor is a teaching practice and from prior experience they don’t seem to handle the whole cancer thing very well. LOL. Aside from a lingering cough I’m as good as new.

But it definitely seems to have taken its toll on me. Since I wasn’t able to ride last weekend there was no way that I was going to let another weekend go by without a fight. I rode yesterday morning and less then 10 miles into the ride, as I said on Facebook, I was singing Jackson Browne “Running on Empty” (Jim Grassi was there with me in spirit). But the weather was too good to turn around and so I rode a slow steady pace through 31 miles. I didn’t feel the best doing it but it sure was good to get out on the bike and to have my body working. Awesome weather this weekend that definitely had me thinking football.

Treatment #7 is tomorrow. I expect that we’ll be sticking with the same chemo protocol since my fingers don’t have any increased neuropathy at this point. As you might expect I’m starting to think more and more about early October and the next PET/CT scan.

By the way, a slow trickle of additional donations has the Mintz's Mentschen total fundraising for our LiveSTRONG event at $28,300. Thanks again to all donors and Mentschen walkers, runners, and riders.

Treatment #6 and LiveSTRONG Event

A lot has happened since my last post.
I guess I’ll keep things in chronological order and start with status of treatment #6. I did get in a nice 25-mile ride on the weekend prior to treatment and then the treatment itself was, as usual, uneventful. So there’s actually not a whole lot to say about it which is nice. Our game day decision kept the drugs and dosage as is for now but we’ll come back to that same decision for treatment #7 that is scheduled for September 7th.

The physical affects of treatment #6 were as per usual so last Thursday/Friday were a bit of a challenge. The pick me up that helped me drive through that though was that the long awaited weekend for the LiveSTRONG Challenge event in Philly had finally arrived.

I took Friday off from work so that Amy and I could get over to the event site and take care of registration while getting into the whole LiveSTRONG vibe early. I was like a kid on Christmas eve. Another Mintz’s Mentschen team had convened for this year and with our new cycling jersey design sporting the “3rd time is a charm” theme I was ready for what I like to call a lovefest. The abundant positive karma that converges with our team and these events makes it impossible to not get excited. And for me it’s yet another opportunity for 15 minutes of very surreal fame. With team members that included some of my closest friends from high school…. Well, you get the point. An incredibly emotional and humbling experience for me.

A couple of quick statistics…. My fundraising total was $5,175 and our Mintz’s Mentschen team raised over $27,470 for this event alone. Total monies raised by over 5,000 participants was over $3 million. This is the largest annual LiveSTRONG Challenge event that even exceeds the event held in Austin (Lance’s home town). Mintz’s Mentschen has existed since my diagnosis in 2008 and our 4-event total is now over $100,000!! I have no words to express my gratitude.

The weather was nice on Friday and since that is the toughest post-treatment day for me I needed to take a couple of zofran to get through the day. It didn’t matter really because we were having fun already as we were engulfed in the LAF yellow and black. Amy and I picked up Erin in Trenton on Friday night and prepped for the walk/run events that were held on Saturday morning. The weather was nice and I spent the day taking pictures.

On Saturday night those of us that fundraised over $3,000 were able to attend a recognition dinner. Dhani Jones (Cincinnati Bengals) and Lance Armstrong spoke. Dan Nies, Bob Wiener, and I attended the dinner with our lovely wives.

And then the cycling event was on Sunday. AND IT RAINED!! For those in our group that trained for the very difficult 100-mile route it may have been disappointing but we all still had a very fun day. Most importantly everyone stayed safe by riding shorter routes and there were no mishaps on the wet roads. Bob Wiener, however, did hold to his plan and was the only one that rode as far as 70 miles. Such a stud. I was feeling quite badass myself with the cooler temperatures and I went for the 20-mile route. With re-routing due to road construction the actual distance was 24 miles and I could easily have gone farther. Finishing side by side with a posse of 6 close friends is an indescribable feeling that was only exceeded when I crossed the finish line and entered the cancer survivors chute where I was given a survivors rose. No words… only tears of thanks for all of my blessings.

Please know that the Mintz’s Mentschen group doesn’t fold up shop when the LiveSTRONG event is finished. If you’d like to ride with us just let me know. We’d love to have you with us.

One week until LiveSTRONG event

I had my check-up with Dr. Richards today. With treatment #6 scheduled for next Tuesday the big topic of discussion from my perspective was the neuropathy that is starting to linger in my fingertips. We didn't come to a final decision today but he did say that we'll be needing to either dial back the dosage or choose some different chemo drugs to use.

Gameday decision on Tuesday for that one.

Hey! The Mentschen total team fundraising is now at over $22,400!! With 23 team members that's roughly a nice round average of $1,000 per person. Too cool.

On that note, my personal fundraising has taken a leap up to $4,820. Since I'm knocking on the door of $5,000 for what would be the 3rd year in a row I really want to try and get over that level. I'll probably make up the difference to make sure that I get there but if anyone out there can consider a small donation to help it would be terrific. Click here for the link to my fundraising page.

This weekend has a good weather forecast and I'm looking forward to getting out on my bike for something in the 30-mile range. I'll be meeting with other Mentschen team members at Washington's Crossing. They'll literally "head for the hills" while I'll be staying mostly flat to rolling and for far fewer miles.

Great weekend

What a terrific weekend.
After a 2-week hiatus I was back on the bike and coupled with spectacular weather I thoroughly enjoyed a 23-mile solo ride. The Mentschen crew participated in a local organized event and rode mileage that was well out of my reach. But it's clear that Dan Nies and others that will be riding the 100-mile distance at LiveSTRONG are ready. Overall Dan covered something in the ballpark of 110 miles on Saturday.

Mentschen fundraising is at $19,475!! Amazing. Thank you everyone for your generous donations and continued support.

Yesterday Amy, Sasha, and I ventured down to Long Beach Island to meet up with some special family that we haven't seen in far too long of a time. There's never enough time but it was another terrific weather day and catching up with Melissa and Pam Kassel while sitting on the beach was very nice. Yes, we also got to spend time with uncle Ed and aunt Cathy as well as Melissa's family. Too bad these moments don't happen more often.

Tuesday, August 2, 2010

I'm one week out from treatment #5 so I'm in the clear from the worst of this round of chemo. With that said I'm definitely having some lingering numbness in my fingers so I think there will be some things to discuss with Dr. Richards when I see him for my checkup next week. As I've mentioned, this is one of the side affects of taxol that has been mentioned but the real kicker is that the neuropathy would be permanent. Although we're now talking something on the order of 8 treatments we may need to change things up a bit before going too much further so stay tuned.

I'm already thinking forward to cycling and exercise this weekend. I did manage to get a 30-mile ride in with Dan Nies on the very hot and humid weekend preceeding this past treatment. But the heat and physical affects of chemo really made it a struggle. It was a flat route but for some reason felt like we were going uphill! What's up with that!? LOL. I think that we'll be riding in the Princeton Freewheelers annual event on Saturday so it should be a good time.

Hey! The Mentschen fundraising total is on the cusp of $15,000. Very cool. And the excitement continues to build as we approach Philly LiveSTRONG weekend. New cycling jerseys and shirts have been designed and ordered. Will we win best jersey again? We'll do our best to stuff the ballot box again. Ha!

I made mention of this on Facebook and because it bears repeating I'll comment here as well. This past weekend I had a surprise tearful moment (happy tears) when I received a significant donation that brought me to the $3,500 total that I had set as my fundraising goal. When I started cycling with the people that now make up the Mintz's Mentschen team I was able to experience firsthand the incredible caring and compassion that does still exist in people as we worked together to support cancer-related organizations. The support and love that has come my way from so many directions has been, at times, very humbling to say the least.

Oh the lessons I've learned since January 2008.
Thank you all.

Pre-treatment post

Treatment number 5 is tomorrow. I have already started my pre-meds and as usual I have some mixed emotions in anticipation. As is typical I'm excited to see Dr. Richards for the opportunity to talk specifics of the coming weeks/months. But at the same time this roller coaster of a process does get to be a bit monotonous. Just when I'm starting to feel good again I'm right back in the chair for another round.

That's not a true complaint... just a bit of whining that isn't entirely justified. As I've said before, so far I have no horror stories to tell. My body is responding to treatment, once again, and many others aren't nearly as lucky as I have been in that regard. I'm truly thankful but longing to do some things that the treatment prevents.

I'll keep you all posted on any notable info from my conversation with Dr. Richards.

As expected this final month that is leading up to the LiveSTRONG event in Philly has started with a bang. Our Mintz's Mentschen ranks have grown and our total fundraising is over $12,000. Thank you all for your continued generosity.

Yesterday I experienced my first triathlon. NO!! Not as a participant. I volunteered to help with the event and lucked into a "crowd control" and traffic cop role at the busiest spot on the course... the transition area. Such fun!! What was also cool is that I saw two old friends from cycling events we've done with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Carolyn "Stella" Stellatella and Tina Duda. After seeing this olympic distance triathlon in action on a day where it was within a degree or two of 100 very humid degrees I now view these two women as true SUPER women. All I can say is WOW! And also that I'll NEVER do a triathlon!! Rock on Tina and Stella, I'm in awe.

Status quo

Hello. This will be short and to the point since at the moment things are status quo and, therefore, there's not a whole lot to say.

On Friday I had my 10-day post-treatment checkup and my blood counts are just fine. My visit was with Dr. Desai and we spoke generally about how many treatments I'll be having. As I've been saying here it seems clear that we'll be doing at least 6 treatments. From there the plan going forward will be dictated by scan results and whether I develop any neuropathy from the taxol and/or allergic reaction to the carboplatin.

This weekend being the end of week #2 it was my chance to get out on my bike. I rode solo yesterday and enjoyed a nice early morning 34-miler. It was a nice quiet and sunny Saturday morning at 7am so it was nice being back on the bike.

And the usual week #3 schedule will prevail for me this week where I'll be going into the office. I don't enjoy the earlier wake-up time but it's a nice change to be back around people at work. Although the long commute takes it's toll toward the end of the week and invariably I'm ready for bed by 8:30pm.

We're now entering the final month of preparations for the Philly LiveSTRONG weekend. The Mintz's Mentschen team has a number of walkers this year as well as riders that will be participating in a variety of the available route distances. Now that the timeline is getting short I can see that I will be having a treatment the week of the bike ride. Not great timing but at worst I'll fight through the 10-mile distance and I know that I'll have a bit of a posse with me so all will be fine. Our collective team fundraising total is at $10,900 and I expect in the coming weeks that the total will jump up significantly. Our 2010 custom Mentschen cycling jerseys and t-shirts have been ordered so we'll be sporting a whole new look this year. The vendor for the jerseys will be at the LiveSTRONG event this year and there's been talk of a team picture by them. More to follow on all things LiveSTRONG as the event gets closer and as the excitement continues to build.

TGIFriday

Before I go hit the couch to totally crash let me see if I can give a quick recap for what has been a wild week.

The July 4th weekend was terrific. Yes it was hot but without rain at least we were able to try and enjoy the time outdoors. There was a Mentschen training ride at Washington’s Crossing on Saturday that I enjoyed spending with Laura Zucconi as it was just the two of us on the shorter route. Everyone else headed for the hills and higher mileage. Sunday was a beach day that Amy and I enjoyed with Cheryl and Jules. Despite my using Neutrogena SPF 70 I was still very afraid of getting too much sun given the roaster of a day that it was. I stayed under the umbrella the entire day. I know that doesn’t sound like fun but I did enjoy the beach and the time with good friends. Monday brought an early morning solo 38-mile ride before heading down to Brick for family time.

That’s exactly what I was hoping to accomplish leading up to treatment #4 on Tuesday which brought nothing out of the ordinary. What was a bit of a surprise is that insurance approval and scheduling for the PET/CT came together very quickly.

I spoke to Betsy on Wednesday for final arrangements and lucked into an 8:15am appointment for Thursday. I jumped at the chance to get the scan done sooner rather then later even though I also had an afternoon appointment for my neulasta injection. Just another fun day of poking and prodding.

Shane and I shared some laughs with the PET prep but I’ll leave the details as an inside joke between the two of us. I’m just glad that I can make the visits with my friends at Princeton Radiology as memorable for them as it is for me. Ha!

And… the punch line is…. Dr. Richards gave me a call earlier today with the results. Long story short, “there is no new growth and what was there is shrinking”. I guess the 3rd time will indeed be a charm.

3rd time's a charm

About a week ago we passed into a timeframe where the Philly LiveSTRONG Challenge event on the weekend of August 21-22 is less then 2 months away. Therefore, it's the bell lap and we need to go into our kick with a bit more energy on our Mintz's Mentschen fundraising effort.


As if I needed a reminder for why my friends and I continue to raise funds for organizations like the Lance Armstrong Foundation I learned earlier this week that someone I know via the internet, Cal MacDonald, lost his cancer battle on Tuesday of this week. Cal and I shared a special connection with our individual cancer battles and I'll undoubtedly have him in mind as I get on my bike in August to ride in his memory as well as to honor the many that continue to fight.



First, please consider joining us this year. We have team members that are walking (5K or 10K) as well as cycling distances anywhere from 10-miles to a full 100-mile century ride. We're working as a team with organized training so it's not too late to join us and we can help to make sure that you have a successful and thoroughly enjoyable event.


Our Mentschen team cycling jerseys have nearly completed their design stage. For a $250 donation we will be able to put your corporate logo on the back of the jersey for all to see. Last year our Mentschen jersey won first place in the jersey contest. If you're interested please let me know right away. Here's the preliminary design. Funny... as I just imported the image I realized that Coach O'Dell is going to enjoy seeing the shamrocks on the jersey. Ha!



Of course any and all donations are greatly appreciated. You can donate online at my personal fundraising web page by clicking here.

The weather for this upcoming holiday weekend looks like it's going to be terrific. Last weekend Amy and I joined in on a Mentschen team training ride and enjoyed a nice 25-mile tandem ride through the backroads of Burlington County, NJ. This weekend I will probably ride solo and I'll be shooting for as much mileage as my body can stand. Chemo treatment #4 is on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll get word on the insurance pre-certification for the PET/CT and I'll be able to go ahead and schedule it.


Have a terrific holiday weekend everyone!

The schedule is set

OK, the plan is in motion. At least the plan for the next few weeks anyway. I had my regular office visit with Dr. Richards yesterday and after my blood chemistry check revealed nothing out of the ordinary we focused on discussing the plan as it relates to coordinating treatment and my upcoming scan.

We are going to proceed with treatment #4 that is already scheduled for Tuesday, July 6th. I am very happy that it comes AFTER what I’m sure will be an enjoyable 3-day holiday weekend. Dr. Richards then wrote the prescription for a PET/CT scan to start the ball rolling for insurance approval. As Dr. Richards explained to me, while we’re interested in knowing tumor size our primary concern is whether there’s cancer activity. Sometimes tumors “die” and still exist while no longer supporting active cancer. So we’ll start with the PET/CT and take it from there. I assume that with this lead time that we’ll have no trouble getting the scan done very early on the week of July 12th.

So get ready Betsy, Shane, and Nick I’ll be seeing you soon over at Princeton Radiology. I sure wish I could get some frequent flier miles from these visits. I guess that I’ll have to settle for a nuclear “glow”. Ha!

The new excitement though is definitely related to insurance coverage. Our insurance carrier is changing on July 1st so how that does or doesn't play into generating some new entertainment remains to be seen. Stay tuned.

Smell the Roses

Gotta love this Mary Chapin Carpenter lyric from "The Long Way Home" on Time*Sex*Love

"Or you could be the one who takes the long way home
Roll down your window, turn off your phone
See your life as a gift from the great unknown
And your task is to receive it
Tell your kid a story, hold your lover tight
Make a joyful noise, swim naked at night
Read a poem a day, call in well sometimes and
Laugh when they believe it"

Treatment #3 and counting....

Sorry about that… I knew that I needed to make a blog entry but lost touch with exactly how much I had fallen behind.

Yes, chemo treatment #3 was last Tuesday. About all I can say on that subject is that I think the cumulative aspect of chemo is starting to take hold. During the 3-week cycle for treatment #2 I was badass enough to be able to cycle each of the 3 weekends. But despite nice sunny weather there was no way that cycling was in the cards for me this past weekend. I may try to get to the gym tomorrow evening for some easy elliptical spinning to clear my head but I’m really hoping for some flat/easy riding this coming weekend.

Treatments 2 and 3 have had successive increases in the carboplatin dosage. The big impact there is supposedly on my blood counts so we’ll see what the blood chemistry is when I see Dr. Richards on Wednesday afternoon. My expectation is also that we’ll talk about specifics for this next scan. Scheduling craziness had me seeing Dr. Fein for both of my office visits last week and he thought that we might do the scan BEFORE the 4th treatment. I hope to find out scheduling as well as MRI vs. PET/CT info on Wednesday.

As promised, following are a couple of pics from the Union High School alumni reunion where I was surprised with the annual Lifetime Achievement award.

Coach O'Dell and I striking a quick pose

Class of 1977 with Coach O'Dell (l-r Al Schweikert, Coach, Mike Halloran, and me)

Oh yeah? Well I guess I'm a little badass myself

Yesterday morning I happened to notice the following link on the cnn.com website regarding the benefits of exercise during cancer treatment. Obviously this hit close to home so I had to take a look. Click here to read the article. Marika's comment that she "felt a little badass being on my bike during treatment. I was giving cancer the middle finger" was perfect. Of course my thinking is that if she's badass that I must be too! I'm getting a kick by thinking of myself as "badass".... LOL. When I mentioned this to Stephanie Tobler she got a laugh when putting "mentsch" and "badass" in the same sentence.

Funny as it may be I'm going to stick with this badass thing for a while. We rode 31 miles in 90+ degree heat last weekend out of Washington's Crossing and then yesterday I rode a 30-mile loop from my house. The weekend warrior approach to exercise isn't the easiest but I'm enjoying the riding and definitely feeling a little badass about it.

Treatment #3 is Tuesday and since we're rapidly approaching the end of the school year for Amy I'm going to be chaperoned to chemo by Sasha. It'll be fun having her there with me. And with this treatment taking place in the Somerset office she'll get to meet all of my old friends there.

NOTE.... for all of the fans of the COMMENT feature on this blog please be aware that I have turned it back on. Last night while at our Union High School track team reunion I was lucky enough to receive some free consulting from Mike Halloran. Silly me to not focus enough on the fact that when I, as owner of the blog, sign in that there's a trash can icon that allows me to delete unwanted comments. I will take care of any stray comments that happen to appear.

Our 8th annual track team reunion was a lot of fun. It always is. Our alumni group presented our $2,500 Robert O'Dell scholarship to a very worthy graduating senior and then I got surprised when I was presented with a "Lifetime Achievement" award. To receive this award from Coach O'Dell and to be surrounded by so many old friends means a lot to me. To have been able to experience an evening such as this is just one more in a growing list of blessings that is so easy for me to see. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I take NONE of it for granted and feel very very lucky. I am incredibly humbled by the love that continues to come my way.

The words seem so inadequate but, thank you one and all. (I may post some pictures from the reunion sometime soon).

TGIF

10-day checkup today and both my white blood cell count and hemoglobin were good. 10 days of normalcy until treatment #3. Hopefully the weather will cooperate enough this weekend and I'll be able to get some bike riding in.

My thoughts this Sunday will be with Dan Nies' sister Erin who is out in Lake Tahoe with Team in Training. It's her first Tahoe experience. I vow to get back there for that event... next year would be awesome.

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

OK… OK…. I’m way overdue with this and I’m already catching a bit too much flak about it so here goes….

The trip to Colorado was fun and way too short. That’s probably a description that can be applied to all of my trips to Colorado as I always wish I could stay longer. It was a unique trip though because in addition to having the chance to hang out with the Quinn family I also had Sasha there as well as Bailey and her boyfriend Trevor. We got up to Fort Collins a couple of times with moving Sasha’s stuff out of her dorm and the always fun loop through the mountains was not only a winter wonderland of snow but also chock full of elk as we passed through Rocky Mountain National Park and the town of Estes Park.

Bailey has enjoyed the first few weeks of her time with the Colorado Rapids MLS team. She was on the field for her first home game last weekend and I think that it’s already given her some memories that will last a lifetime.

A week after my return from Colorado Amy and I rode our tandem on May 22nd in the MS Coast the Coast bike ride along with Dan Nies, Stephanie Tobler, and Grace Capato to support our friend MaryEllen Gervasini. Our original plan was to do the 170-mile two day ride but Amy and I scaled it way back and enjoyed the 25-miler. I’ve done this ride before but I think that Amy got a kick out of riding along the ocean and past familiar towns and beaches.

I then had treatment #2 on Tuesday, May 25th. Treatment week in each 3-week cycle has been a bit tough bit I also haven’t had to deal with anything ridiculous yet. Nausea has been very manageable and the worst of it has been aches/pains that are only difficult for 2-3 days. I do feel like I’m plodding through these treatments with a focus on our next scan since that will be the first opportunity we’ll have for knowing how the chemo is doing. Treatment #3 is on June 15th and I expect that we’ll discuss general plans for the scan that will come in July.

This past weekend was my 51st birthday. Three in a row with chemo, am I a lucky guy or what!? The weather was good and I was just coming out of my treatment week funk so it actually turned out to be a fun Memorial Day birthday weekend. There was a local township bike ride that some of us ride in annually and I pushed it a bit to participate. Amy and I rode the tandem and did the 20-mile route along with friends as well as with Erin who was home for the weekend. The weather was fantastic and a good time was had by all.

Brianne's birthday is the day after mine so in this pic she's the lucky one with the hat

Our Mintz’s Mentschen 2010 campaign, using the slogan “Third Time is a Charm, F-Cancer, We’ve Had Enough Tour.”, is well underway. We’ve established goals of raising $30,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and with 40 team members. We currently have 19 registered walkers and riders with a cumulative fundraising total over $4,500. You can join us and/or donate to our fundraising effort via the links on the left margin of this blog. Or, you can click here to make donations on my fundraising page. As always, thanks for supporting our team effort to raise money for cancer research and support services.

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Hello all.... yep, chemo was Tuesday and I've been thinking that I need to make a blog post but to be honest I don't think that I'd do a very good job of it right now. Nothing that a couple days of solid sleep can't cure though. I promise to catch up with info on my trip to Colorado as well as current status.


For now just enjoy the picture of me wearing the t-shirt that BJ and David Swingle gave me. I wore it to chemo on Tuesday and it remains one of our battle cries, "more cowbell"!

What a difference a day makes

Well, as Dr. Richards said might happen the aches/pains, etc. started to set in last night and today was just not a lot of fun. I took my first zofran this morning and it helped with the mild nausea I was feeling. The rest I think is just going to have to run it's course and I'm hoping that happens overnight tonight.

Compared with what I've had to deal with before this is nothing so I'm not complaining... not too much anyway. But it definitely brings an added challenge while trying to stay plugged in and productive at work.

So, assuming that all goes as planned I'll be on a flight to Denver on Monday morning! I can't wait!

Treatment #1 Status

Treatment #1 went very well yesterday. Actually it was so uneventful I don’t have a whole lot to fill you in on. I had doubts when I was told that these chemo drugs would not have me feeling much nausea but I’ve been VERY pleasantly surprised so far to find that as accurate. However, Dr. Richards did say that over the next two days I would start to feel something ranging between joint ache and joint pain. We’ll see what happens.

I made new friends since this treatment was in Dr. Richards Monroe office. All of my treatments and office visits through 2008-2009 had been in Somerset. Monroe is much easier for us to get to from our house so we changed the next treatment appointment so that it too is in Monroe. Tomorrow I’ll be back there for my neulasta injection.

Aside from a nice flush from the taxol I’m feeling pretty good today. With a bit of luck maybe I’ll even get on my bike this weekend.

Oh, and thank you for the donations that have started to come in already for the LiveSTRONG challenge event in August. Just to make it handy click here to access my donation website. Thanks!

T minus 1

Just to catch everyone up on status, etc. on Thursday afternoon I did receive the results from the MRI and these confirmed what had shown up on the PET/CT. So the fun will begin on schedule tomorrow at 8:30am.

It'll be better once I get this first treatment under my belt since I'll then know exactly what I'm dealing with as far as these new drugs are concerned. And just to weird me out a little more I'll be having this first treatment in Dr. Richards Monroe office. I've actually never been to this office so it will be an entirely new experience. I guess in some ways this is appropriate with my fresh start at this latest battle but it will also be short lived as I return to Somerset and familiar digs for the remaining treatments.

With my sights firmly on NEXT week where I will be in Denver for a week of R&R I'm expecting this all to go very smoothly.

5 decadron tablets tonight, 5 more in the morning and we'll be off and running.
I'll post follow-up as soon as I can.

Sorry... READ only from now on

I'm sorry to say that due to some unsavory comments that have been posted by total strangers in response to my entries (yep, the internet can be a big, bad, ugly place) I have decided to turn off the comments feature.

If you want to reach me please just send me email at jhm100@gmail.com or you can find me on Facebook as well.

Mintz's Mentschen 2010

Dan Nies started the ball rolling for Mintz's Mentschen 2010 and we're starting to build some momentum already. While the whole Mentschen phenomenon has meant a great deal to me I already told Dan that he's a glutton for punishment for putting the call out to all Mentschen alumni and for cranking up the engine yet again. As I've said before, I can't find a way to adequately thank Dan and everyone who has been involved with and/or supported the Mentschen. Stay tuned since there's even a possibility that we'll have an entirely new cycling jersey design. Maybe it too will be an award winner!?

Assuming that at the very least I'll be able to cover the 10-mile route I just registered for the Philly LiveSTRONG event. You can join the fun and walk/run/ride with the 2010 Mintz's Mentschen or you can support my fundraising effort with a donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

With that said we've already had Sasha representin' the Mentschen at the Colorado State University American Cancer Society Relay for Life just this weekend. Are my daughters incredible OR WHAT!?

Can't make this stuff up...

My fortune cookie from lunch on Wednesday.
I'm still managing to laugh about this stuff.

Third time's a charm

The waiting is over.
Amy and I discussed the PET scan results today with Dr. Richards and we’ve agreed on a plan of attack. We will be rushing to get an MRI done so that we have a baseline on the size of the lesions that have shown up on my liver and we’ll be starting chemotherapy immediately thereafter. Today being Monday this should all start to happen by mid-week next week.

We discussed other treatment options but since my cancer has proven to be responsive to chemotherapy we’re going to continue down the chemo path and utilize two drugs that I haven’t been on yet. This time around will be carboplatin and taxol. As chemo drugs these drugs have their own unique and unpleasant side affects, however, they avoid toxicity issues related to other drugs that we have already used. Anxiety leading up to the first treatment will be centered around the unknown of how I will handle these new drugs. We stopped at the drug store today on the way home to drop off our handful of prescriptions for anti-nausea drugs. But no EMEND this time around. I’m a bit nervous about that but I trust Dr. Richards and his explanation for why it’s not typically used with these drugs.

One thing that I won’t have to be concerned about is the anticipated hair loss that these drugs are supposed to cause. LOL.

My anxieties at this point are specific to plans that are now unsettled and of course all of the unknowns…. Such as, how I’ll handle the treatments, I assume that I won’t be able to risk (due to compromised immune system) going to Colorado to help Sasha move out of her dorm at the end of the semester, I don’t know what level of exercise I’ll be able to handle so the May MS bike ride, day-to-day exercise, and even the August Philly LiveSTRONG event will have to be left in wait and see status. My assumption is that 5,6, 7 treatments down the road I’ll be in remission yet again and counting on this 3rd go round with chemo/cancer to be the charm.

I’ve said this so many times before but it never seems to be enough, therefore, I’ll say it again. With bits and pieces regarding my status making the rounds on Facebook, etc. over the past few days our phone and email has been very busy. A call this evening from my high school track coach, Bob O’Dell, with words of support and encouragement just warms my heart. And the daily emails from new European friends Anne Chen and Chris MacDonald, that I met through the Lance Armstrong Foundation, have really touched me. Mintz's Mentschen is now global! And, of course, the continued cycling with Dan Nies, Stephanie Tobler, and Grace Capato complete with extra hugs this past weekend.

Thank you all.

I guess it’s safe to say that I’ll be posting here with a bit more frequency then I have been in recent months. I’ll try to keep the posts as current as possible.

Preliminary results

For those of you that might not already be aware I did receive some preliminary PET scan results and unfortunately the news wasn’t good. While I continue to feel good, even riding 52 miles on my bike Saturday, there were some spots that showed up on the PET scan that seem to indicate a cancer recurrence.

I was able to call Mercer County on Friday to get out of jury duty that had been scheduled for this week and I have an appointment with Dr. Richards this afternoon. When I spoke with him last week he mentioned that we’d likely be scheduling an MRI for another view and to confirm the PET results.

To be continued….

Still waiting....

Maybe we can all hum the Final Jeopardy music in unison?

I'm not stressed but thinking/waiting is definitely consuming some brain cycles that I can't really spare right now. LOL.

And really, PET scans!? PET scans?!

We don't need no stinkin' PET scans!!!! I feel just fine.

Milestone

While this week has other events that will wind up to be more significant milestones you know how I like to gauge my fitness level by my cycling exploits so I consider the ride that I did yesterday (by myself) to be a big one.

It's been a while since I've ridden more then 50 miles but with a forecast of good weather my plan for yesterday was to get out early and to shoot for a 60-miler. The last 3rd of the ride got a bit breezy but it was such a nice day that there was no way I wouldn't make it. As you can see below I covered 61.25 miles.


Tommorrow I have a follow-up with Dr. Dhar who is one of my two gastroenterologists. Since my PET/CT isn't until Wednesday we won't have too much to discuss but I needed an Rx renewal for Prevacid and since I couldn't get an appointment for later in the week this will have to do. Yes, the PET/CT is Wednesday. I know that most won't understand but I always look forward to seeing my friends at Princeton Radiology and, therefore, I'm only slightly nervous regarding the scan itself. Betsy, Nick, and Shane have been with me through this entire journey so to me it's very much like going to visit old friends. As I said, I know that sounds weird.

Dr. Richards is on vacation this week but I've been assured that I'll still get the results as soon as they are available. I'll post the results here as soon as I can.

Game on redux

One of the more notable things that has happened since my last blog post, two full months ago, is that I decided it was time to say good-bye to Mr. Fuzzy (I’m ignoring the other creative names that people had been using to describe me). It was fun for a while but it was time to try and get back to being the old Jack. The old Jack with no hair but I guess that was going to happen soon anyway. LOL.
The weather during February and March was a lot of fun here in the northeast, huh? Not! After some cold weather cycling during January we were forced into a 6 week hiatus from the bikes. When the weather suddenly and temporarily jumped into the 70-degree range a couple of weeks back we seized the opportunity and rode 80-miles over the course of the weekend. I hadn’t done anything like that in a very long time and needless to say we all enjoyed it immensely. This past Saturday I came close to reaching the symbolic 50-mile threshold when I rode with Dan Nies and Steph Tobler on a 47-mile ride in the rolling hills around Washington’s Crossing. Yep, I’m feeling terrific and hoping we can continue this quick ramp up in mileage so that we can prepare for the 170-mile two day ride for Multiple Sclerosis in late May.

I had hoped to get my next PET/CT scheduled and completed last week but that was really just wishful thinking. After the usual game of having the insurance company first reject the scan I got the word yesterday that it was approved and I gave my friend Betsy at Princeton Radiology a call right away. Game on… we’re scheduled for April 7th. I’m viewing this scan as a big one because depending on the results Dr. Richards seemed open to discussing having my medi-port removed. Yep, I still have it. I get it flushed at every 6-week checkup and the good thing is that it is still working. It comes in handy because we’re able to use it for checking blood chemistry during these checkups. I guess this will all come together when I see Dr. Richards in late April and I wonder too if we’ll be able to move to a less frequent schedule of PET/CT scans.

Sunday, January 31st 2010

OK, 5 weeks of silence is a bit much so I’ll try to pull some of the thoughts I have right now into something semi-coherent.

I guess the best place to start is with Amy’s observation that in a couple of weeks it will be my dad’s birthday and Valentines’ day and the first time in three Februarys that those dates won’t coincide with me starting chemotherapy. A sobering thought for sure and one that I, of course, am very grateful for. I feel terrific physically and have enjoyed the steady recovery of my bicycling strength. It’s fair to say that I’m handling all of the area climbing quite well and as long as I keep doing what I’m doing that I’ll be able to handle the 2-day 170-mile ride I’m doing in May in support of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and my friend Missy Gervasini. My craving for the physical/emotional benefits I get from cycling has had me riding the past two weekends in the coldest temperatures I’ve ever ridden in. I’ve enjoyed every second and consider the 40 miles last weekend and the 34 today as a bonus since we usually don’t ride that kind of mileage in January. I do wish though that this would start to translate into just a little bit of weight loss… Ugh. LOL.

I admit to still be working on the psychological side of survivorship. I remain as positive as ever and strive for as much of a LiveSTRONG mindset as I can. But there are the reminders that happen from time to time that bring me right back down. The classic situation is where I bump into someone that I know but haven’t seen in a while and when they have no clue who I am. That happened to me this past week. I’m totally OK with my new fuzzy look but it is definitely on the awkward side when I have to break the ice and identify myself.

I have a 6-week check-up with Dr. Richards on Wednesday and my next PET/CT scan will be in early March. I prefer to deal in reality and have, therefore, avoided asking Dr. Richards any crystal ball type questions. But I think that I’ll be asking him some general questions about the future so that I can have a better idea about PET/CT scans through 2010 and also about when my medi-port may get removed.