Woohoo! Spoke with Dr. D'Angelica's staff yesterday. Liver resection rescheduled for April 19th!
Chemo to continue and Eric is working hard to prepare for surgery.
He is also preparing for the "Get Your Rear in Gear" Colon Cancer 5k on March 21st.
Eric was featured on the Gear your Rear in Gear website....you can see his story here
If you would like to help Eric and our Team you can do so 2 different ways, you can either sign up to run with our team, Dial's Dooker Troopers, or donate to our fundraising goal of $1000. We are not even halfway there!
You can donate on the Team Dial Fundraiser PAge. Every little bit helps...from $5 to $500. Please help us reach our goal! Thank you those who have already donated!
You can also participate in our team. You can do so by registering with active.com and signing up for the event. The direct link is here . Make sure you sign up as "Team Member" and look for "Dial's Dooker Troopers" as the team.
Thanks again for everyones support!
Showing posts with label good news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good news. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A personal glimpse into the life of a cancer patient.
Ok so may it is not quite a glimpse, but today I feel the closest I probably ever will to feeling 1/3 of what Eric feels like on a daily basis. I have been stricken with the dreaded stomach virus that is making its rounds with all my friends and family. Logan had it for a day, only puked 4 times and felt better by 4pm the same day. Just to be on the safe side I had quarantined him at my parents house so Eric wouldn't get sick. That was a few weeks ago. But alas, it seems that I finally got hit with this monster. 
I looked like this poor little girl all day today. Not nearly as cute, and basically laying on the bathroom room floor. I feel even worse now, but moved to the couch and just run to the bathroom every 5 minutes. This sucks. And I only see it getting worse as the day progresses.
Now I know how Eric feels. He probably feels even worse then this. For almost 2 weeks he feels like shit. Feels nausea and stomach pains that leave him miserable and so worn out. When asked how his day is, he usually responds "tastes like shit". Now I know what that means.
Previously, the best way I could have described the chemo effects is a long lasting hangover. You know the ones were all you want to do is stick your finger down your throat to make it go away?? Yea those kind. But now after less then 24 hours of being tormented with the stomach bug, I can empathize at a totally new level. Now I understand why he doesn't want to go out and just wants to go to sleep. I feel it too right now, and I knew mine will pass in a few days, where Eric has until June to fell like shit, with every treatment feeling worse.
Needless to say I am staying away from Eric. I am staying away from everyone. If what my friends have told me is true, this horrible thing lasts several days to clear from your system. UGH!!!!!! I CANT BE SICK!! I need to take care of my family. GRRRRRR!!!!
Eric's mother Kathy, and her friends and family, are holding a benefit this weekend for Eric. The Beef & Beer for Officer Eric Dial~Our Cancer Warrior is being held this Saturday at Turner's in Roxborough from 7-11. There will be excellent food, baskets, and dancing with music being provided by PJ the DJ. It is really kind of them to do this for Eric. A lot of hard work was put into the event, and we thank everyone who attends.
Eric will be heading up to NY this weekend to prepare for Monday's Portal Vein Embolization. To prepare for this he has gone into an isolation. No going out, no crowds, pretty much staying in the house. It's a tough thing to do when you are used to being active, but the doctor ordered it. According to the oncologist, "If you want to continue to be my patient, then you will follow my rules." I guess it hasn't been so hard this week because he is so sick from chemo, but now, as he prepares for this major procedure Monday, and his upcoming liver resection, he needs to follow her rules.
Monday's procedure is an interesting one. The are basically going to shutdown the right side of the liver by cutting blood flow in
the artery. If you guys remember from previous posts, the right side of his liver still has all the tumors. With the first part of his liver resection in November, Dr. D'Angelica was able to remove all the cancer from the left side. Anyway, when the cut off blood flow this will cause the right side to start to shrink, essentially "killing off" some of the tumors in the process. While this is happening, the left side of the liver will be forced to regenerate (grow back) at a faster rate. This will give Eric the largest liver section possible when liver resection surgery occurs. Hopefully the resection will be in 6-8 weeks, maybe around Easter time. When we met with Dr. Lee on Monday for chemo he was ecstatic over the latest CT results. He has been so supportive of us, and carries out Dr. Kemeny's medical plan perfectly. It's also nice because we get a little more one on one attention from Dr. Lee because he has the time Dr. Kemeny does not have.
So all in all, we are still fighting the good fight. We keep our faith and sense of humor. Eric keeps pushing the bar because he knows he will beat this. Only a few more months and all of this will just be another obstacle that we overcame. Here's to laughter, love, faith, and courage!
I looked like this poor little girl all day today. Not nearly as cute, and basically laying on the bathroom room floor. I feel even worse now, but moved to the couch and just run to the bathroom every 5 minutes. This sucks. And I only see it getting worse as the day progresses. Now I know how Eric feels. He probably feels even worse then this. For almost 2 weeks he feels like shit. Feels nausea and stomach pains that leave him miserable and so worn out. When asked how his day is, he usually responds "tastes like shit". Now I know what that means.
Previously, the best way I could have described the chemo effects is a long lasting hangover. You know the ones were all you want to do is stick your finger down your throat to make it go away?? Yea those kind. But now after less then 24 hours of being tormented with the stomach bug, I can empathize at a totally new level. Now I understand why he doesn't want to go out and just wants to go to sleep. I feel it too right now, and I knew mine will pass in a few days, where Eric has until June to fell like shit, with every treatment feeling worse.
Needless to say I am staying away from Eric. I am staying away from everyone. If what my friends have told me is true, this horrible thing lasts several days to clear from your system. UGH!!!!!! I CANT BE SICK!! I need to take care of my family. GRRRRRR!!!!
Eric's mother Kathy, and her friends and family, are holding a benefit this weekend for Eric. The Beef & Beer for Officer Eric Dial~Our Cancer Warrior is being held this Saturday at Turner's in Roxborough from 7-11. There will be excellent food, baskets, and dancing with music being provided by PJ the DJ. It is really kind of them to do this for Eric. A lot of hard work was put into the event, and we thank everyone who attends.
Eric will be heading up to NY this weekend to prepare for Monday's Portal Vein Embolization. To prepare for this he has gone into an isolation. No going out, no crowds, pretty much staying in the house. It's a tough thing to do when you are used to being active, but the doctor ordered it. According to the oncologist, "If you want to continue to be my patient, then you will follow my rules." I guess it hasn't been so hard this week because he is so sick from chemo, but now, as he prepares for this major procedure Monday, and his upcoming liver resection, he needs to follow her rules.
Monday's procedure is an interesting one. The are basically going to shutdown the right side of the liver by cutting blood flow in
the artery. If you guys remember from previous posts, the right side of his liver still has all the tumors. With the first part of his liver resection in November, Dr. D'Angelica was able to remove all the cancer from the left side. Anyway, when the cut off blood flow this will cause the right side to start to shrink, essentially "killing off" some of the tumors in the process. While this is happening, the left side of the liver will be forced to regenerate (grow back) at a faster rate. This will give Eric the largest liver section possible when liver resection surgery occurs. Hopefully the resection will be in 6-8 weeks, maybe around Easter time. When we met with Dr. Lee on Monday for chemo he was ecstatic over the latest CT results. He has been so supportive of us, and carries out Dr. Kemeny's medical plan perfectly. It's also nice because we get a little more one on one attention from Dr. Lee because he has the time Dr. Kemeny does not have. So all in all, we are still fighting the good fight. We keep our faith and sense of humor. Eric keeps pushing the bar because he knows he will beat this. Only a few more months and all of this will just be another obstacle that we overcame. Here's to laughter, love, faith, and courage!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
How do you Spell relief: S-H-R-I-N-K-A-G-E!
Well we received some fabulous news on Monday at Sloan, Eric's chemo treatments are working!!! The smaller tumors seem to have all but disappeared, and the larger ones have shrunk to almost 1/2 of the original size. Praise be to God!
Dr. Kemeny was very pleased with these results, and decided to consult with Dr. D'Angelica the liver surgeon. As of Monday he wanted Eric to continue with treatments, but Eric received a call Thursday that D'Angelica wants to start testing and prepping him for the next surgery. This is HUGE!!!!
We met with
Dr. Karen Brown to discuss the next procedure Eric will receive to prep for part 2 of his liver resection. In the next few weeks Eric will be getting a Portal Vein Embolization. Basically the will be cutting off blood flow to the entire right lobe of the liver. This is where the remaining tumors are located. This will force the left healthy lobe, to regenerate at a faster rate to prepare for surgery. After this is done, we could be looking at liver resection in about 6-8 weeks....around Easter. God truly is blessing us with this news.
Eric is tolerating treatments well, but with every new treatment his symptoms get worse. His minor setback 2 weeks ago, has resulted in Eric having to have limited contact with people. He has to be super vigilant, as his immune system is SHOT! Especially if he might be having surgery in the near future.
Keep those prayers coming! Thank you all so very much!
~J
Dr. Kemeny was very pleased with these results, and decided to consult with Dr. D'Angelica the liver surgeon. As of Monday he wanted Eric to continue with treatments, but Eric received a call Thursday that D'Angelica wants to start testing and prepping him for the next surgery. This is HUGE!!!!
We met with
Dr. Karen Brown to discuss the next procedure Eric will receive to prep for part 2 of his liver resection. In the next few weeks Eric will be getting a Portal Vein Embolization. Basically the will be cutting off blood flow to the entire right lobe of the liver. This is where the remaining tumors are located. This will force the left healthy lobe, to regenerate at a faster rate to prepare for surgery. After this is done, we could be looking at liver resection in about 6-8 weeks....around Easter. God truly is blessing us with this news. Eric is tolerating treatments well, but with every new treatment his symptoms get worse. His minor setback 2 weeks ago, has resulted in Eric having to have limited contact with people. He has to be super vigilant, as his immune system is SHOT! Especially if he might be having surgery in the near future.
Keep those prayers coming! Thank you all so very much!
~J
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Well its been building up inside of me, For oh I don't know how long....
I don't know why
But I keep thinking
Something's bound to go wrong
But she looks in my eyes
And makes me realize
And she says "Don't worry baby"
Don't worry baby
Don't worry baby
Everything will turn out alright
Eric's PET Scan was performed the wed before christmas. This was the first scan that was being performed and would really determine how much cancer was in Eric's body. yes we already knew Eric had Colon Cancer that had spread to his liver. And his liver contained multiple tumors (too many to take out in one liver resection).
And yes he had already been diagnosed as Stage IVa (Stage IV is as far as this train goes just for a frame of reference, and IVb is the last station you can get off at). But this was going to determine how extensive the damage is OUTSIDE of what we know.
Well needless to say they made us sweat it out over the Holiday weekend. Eric was anxious and thought this was bad news. We had the Pet Scan performed in Princeton, as opposed to Memorial. They told us a preliminary report would be available within 24 hours, and alas it was not. So automatically he took this as bad news. I on the other hand, took into account the holiday...but that's a whole other story....
Anyway back to the PET. On Monday Eric has his systemic chemo treatment, which includes bloodwork and a visit with Dr. Lee.
Dr. Lee is a super sweet doc, who really takes the time to talk to his patients. Usually we wait forever, but lucked out because of the blizzard, many people cancelled. Speaking of which, that blizzard really made it a bitch to get to Princeton, but I digress...
So Lee did his normal assessment, and looked at Eric's blood levels. HE platelets are back to normal, and the only negative in the bloodwork, if you could even consider it a negative, is that Eric is SLIGHTLY anemic. But this is to be expected with liver surgery. So he is getting ready to send us to Chemo, and I kindly remind him, "Don't we have PET scan results?" He honestly forgot to tell us. At that point I knew it was good news.
Essentially the scan found that the Cancer is contained to the liver. The lungs, lymphnodes,spine, and other organs were all clear. The only area that "glowed" was an extremely small inflamed area under the armpit. And they honestly think that has to do with Eric's Eczema, and would not be following a natural pattern of disease for Colon Cancer. So they are not too concerned about this area. The tumors also appear to have shrunk slightly, so Chemo is working. We were elated!!!!! And it is a weight off of Eric's shoulders. This gives him yet ANOTHER reason to keep kicking the shit out of this cancer!
The chemo still sucks. HE is starting to really feel the effects of it. HE is extremely sensitive to cold. Cold weather, cold drinks, cold surfaces. HE has to drink room temp liquids, or it feels like hards of glass are ripping apart his throat. He has to wear gloves to open the fridge, he got out of shoveling in the blizzard (although I think that was planned). Eric is having constant pins and needles feelings in his hands. Thats the neuropathy, and it gets worse with every treatment. His spirits are good though. He handles it like a champ! He still has a head full of hair (knock on wood) after 4 chemo treatments.
This is Eric at Monday's treatment. He may still lose his hair, and that's ok. I am hoping that while he loses his hair, he will pick up a Scottish or English accent and I can finally bring to reality my fantasies about boinking Sean Connery or PAtrick Stewart. Yes I has a thing for older men who are bald with Accents. They are just so hot! I'm weird I know.
Eric's treatment Progression:
As always, thank you for your continued support and prayers. And remember Keep BELIEVING!!!!!
But I keep thinking
Something's bound to go wrong
But she looks in my eyes
And makes me realize
And she says "Don't worry baby"
Don't worry baby
Don't worry baby
Everything will turn out alright
Eric's PET Scan was performed the wed before christmas. This was the first scan that was being performed and would really determine how much cancer was in Eric's body. yes we already knew Eric had Colon Cancer that had spread to his liver. And his liver contained multiple tumors (too many to take out in one liver resection).
And yes he had already been diagnosed as Stage IVa (Stage IV is as far as this train goes just for a frame of reference, and IVb is the last station you can get off at). But this was going to determine how extensive the damage is OUTSIDE of what we know. Well needless to say they made us sweat it out over the Holiday weekend. Eric was anxious and thought this was bad news. We had the Pet Scan performed in Princeton, as opposed to Memorial. They told us a preliminary report would be available within 24 hours, and alas it was not. So automatically he took this as bad news. I on the other hand, took into account the holiday...but that's a whole other story....
Anyway back to the PET. On Monday Eric has his systemic chemo treatment, which includes bloodwork and a visit with Dr. Lee.
Dr. Lee is a super sweet doc, who really takes the time to talk to his patients. Usually we wait forever, but lucked out because of the blizzard, many people cancelled. Speaking of which, that blizzard really made it a bitch to get to Princeton, but I digress... So Lee did his normal assessment, and looked at Eric's blood levels. HE platelets are back to normal, and the only negative in the bloodwork, if you could even consider it a negative, is that Eric is SLIGHTLY anemic. But this is to be expected with liver surgery. So he is getting ready to send us to Chemo, and I kindly remind him, "Don't we have PET scan results?" He honestly forgot to tell us. At that point I knew it was good news.
Essentially the scan found that the Cancer is contained to the liver. The lungs, lymphnodes,spine, and other organs were all clear. The only area that "glowed" was an extremely small inflamed area under the armpit. And they honestly think that has to do with Eric's Eczema, and would not be following a natural pattern of disease for Colon Cancer. So they are not too concerned about this area. The tumors also appear to have shrunk slightly, so Chemo is working. We were elated!!!!! And it is a weight off of Eric's shoulders. This gives him yet ANOTHER reason to keep kicking the shit out of this cancer!
The chemo still sucks. HE is starting to really feel the effects of it. HE is extremely sensitive to cold. Cold weather, cold drinks, cold surfaces. HE has to drink room temp liquids, or it feels like hards of glass are ripping apart his throat. He has to wear gloves to open the fridge, he got out of shoveling in the blizzard (although I think that was planned). Eric is having constant pins and needles feelings in his hands. Thats the neuropathy, and it gets worse with every treatment. His spirits are good though. He handles it like a champ! He still has a head full of hair (knock on wood) after 4 chemo treatments.
This is Eric at Monday's treatment. He may still lose his hair, and that's ok. I am hoping that while he loses his hair, he will pick up a Scottish or English accent and I can finally bring to reality my fantasies about boinking Sean Connery or PAtrick Stewart. Yes I has a thing for older men who are bald with Accents. They are just so hot! I'm weird I know. Eric's treatment Progression:
As always, thank you for your continued support and prayers. And remember Keep BELIEVING!!!!!
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