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.