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.