You take the Good, You take the Bad....

...you take them both and there you have 
The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life. 


So we got mixed news on Monday. Scans showed liver was clear, and that the ablations in Feb were successful. However, the scan also revealed that the Tumors in both lungs have gotten bigger. So Dr. Sophecleus, the IR surgeon, has begun scheduling lug ablations in late April, pending Kemeny's approval.

Kemeny is temporarily halting chemo, until we see a rheumatoid doc. Eric has been in crippling, and I mean crippling pain the last 3 weeks. To the point where he literally cannot get out of bed, and when he does he is moving like a 90 year old man. He said the pain in his muscles and joints was insane. He was using a heating pad on his back.

We thought maybe it was an issue with the Xeloda, but Kemeny does not think it would cause this incredible amount of pain. She believes it is actually his eczema. BEcause it is an autoimmune disorder, it can affect joints. His white blood cell count was also pretty high, at 21,000. He didn't have fever or any outward signs of infection, so she also believes it is inflammation related to the eczema (he also has 2 other autoimmune disorders-allergies and asthma). So she wants us to go to a specialist to get it treated...finding one is another story. She suggested we see a guy at Cornell, but I am just so tired of driving to NYC for all his docs. I wish I could find one down here at Penn or JEff, but the wait time is out of control. If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

We do not want him off chemo for long, because we are finally seeing some decent drops in his CEA (tumor marker ) level. It went from 8.7 to 6.2 in a month. Last time his level was was as low as this was April of 2012, right after 2/3 of his liver was removed.  We need to keep the good stuff coming.

Falling into a new "normal"

Well I haven't updated too much. There have been some changes but I felt like there wasn't too much to report. Eric had some tumors removed from his liver in early February. He got through the procedure with flying colors.

Skin breakdown and infections are still a major concern. He was diagnosed with another nasty staph a few weeks ago. As a result he had to go on a mega dose of antibiotics for 25 days. We are having such a hard time keeping ahead of the infections! It seems as soon as one is cleared a new, different, form of staph pops up. He has not gotten MRSA since the summer, but my concern is that every time he gets a new staph it is resistant to more and more drugs. Our fear is always MRSA, as he went septic from it years before his cancer dx, and is very prone to relapses. We also now continue to worry about c-diff from all the antibiotics he is constantly on.

The team has decided to continue with the same Xeloda dosage and frequency for now. 2500 mg 2 x per day biweekly. Although I question the effectiveness of the drug now that mets have continued to form, Kemeny seems confident that it is keeping most of the disease at bay. She says if the meds were not working, we would see much more progressive growth, not the mets popping up that we see now. As long as Eric is still up for surgery, that is the route that we will continue to take. He fears having to go back to systemic chemo (IV), and mentally is much better with the Xeloda. However, recently, we believe exasperated by the cold, Eric has experienced crippling joint pain. Some days he can barely walk. Watching him this weekend was horrible. Sunday he looked like an 80 year old man. It has always made him achy, but now it is really effecting him. We are going to talk to Kemeny on the 18th of March and discuss this. Maybe there is an anti-inflamatory they can give him.

PET and CT scans are on Thursday. Eric's mother is going to go up with him. We will get the results on Monday and find out if there is any new cancer growth since the last scans in Jan and the surgery in Feb. We also meet with Dr. Sophocleaus, the IR surgeon, for follow up.

Eric has also begun light therapy. What looks like a stand up tanning bed was delivered to our home and is set up in the bedroom. The hopes are that daily exposure will help with Eric's skin breakdown and infections. And heck, maybe I will get a nice even tan before bathing suit season :)

As always, your prayers and support and very much appreciated. The past few months have been so hard as I have watched so many of my friends say goodbye to their loved ones, namely husbands, to this horrible disease. I feel like it has taken over our entire lives. Much like history, we now have our own way to describe our history, BC and AD, Before Cancer, and After Diagnosis. Every day we learn something new about ourselves and each other. I am happy to say that finally we are able to really talk. Talk about fears, talk about future, talk about the unknowns and what is going on in the now. For those of you that know me personally, this is a huge thing that took 2 years to happen. A very long 2 years. I think we have finally evolved into a real couple fighting this disease together.

On a bright note Eric celebrated his "37th year on this Earth/19 Months Past The Expiration Date" with a nice little gathering at Maggies on Jan 27th. Thank you to all the friends that made it out that day to help him celebrate. I celebrated my 32nd birthday, and was so very grateful that Eric felt well enough to celebrate with me. We also celebrated the beginning of our 9th year together. Hard to believe we have been together that long. We were babies when we met. Its insane. And finally, thank God, Eric was feeling well enough to attend his son Mark's high school ring ceremony. I know that was a very special day for them both, and Eric could not be prouder of what a fine young man Mark is growing up to be. Especially considering his entire high school experience his father has been sick. Despite that, Mark has done so well. We are both very proud of him, and very grateful that his mother Amy has done a fine job raising him.

Well I guess that's all for now. I am sure I will update when we get the scan results. Keep up the prayers if you don't mind, they are clearly working, even if we don't always see it.

Peace and Love,
Jeaneane

Yes, I understand that every life must end...As we sit alone, I know someday we must go...

SPOILER ALERT:  Eric's Post-Surgical Report, a Thank you, and a Sad Farewell.

Yesterdays surgery went beautifully. Surgery last a little over 1.5 hours. Dr. Solomon was able to ablate all visible disease in the left lung. There was one point where they were concerned his lung was collapsing, but more time, oxygen, and meds ensured this did not happen. But more then that, I think at that near that exact moment, an Angel was watching over him, you will read about that below.... Eric had to have 3 post surgical xrays and stay in the PACU until 4pm. Surgery started at 8am. It was a long day but he did awesome. his body responded so well to the surgery that Solomon ok'd him to have the second surgery on the right lung in a mere 3 days. The right lung is a little more concerning, as he has had fluid in that lung very recently.

So back we go again to NYC for an appointment Monday and surgery on Tuesday. I think to save some time and stress, we are just going to send Monday night in the city.

                               Eric Right before being wheeled back to surgery...
          I told him the hair net reminded me of the opening of Laverne & Shirley



Also, I would like to say thank you to those who attended the last min benefit at Maggies on Thursday. Eric had a fantastic time, and was really surprised and happy to see so many friends there to support him. It was just what he needed to gear up for surgery the next day. I want to share with you a message he put about the night on his Facebook page. Please ignore the spelling errors and grammatical errors, Eric wrote this last night when he couldn't go to sleep.

Eric F Dial
8 hours ago via mobile

Ugh can't sleep again. But anyway had giving me good time to think. About how to put into words about lastnight at maggies. Sorry for the late responds. The last 24hrs have been very crazy. For those of u that know me I'm not big on speeches and I'm a shy guy. But here goes. I would like to thank Maggies john Nagele and I'm not sure of the others that put lastnight benefit thing together. I greatly appreciate it. But you didn't have to do that for me, I'm sure there is more deserving people people out there more then me. I can't out into.words how i feel. With the love and support everything has giving me and my family. Its was a great surprise coming and seeing all.the support of good friends and people i didn't even know. It was really heart warming. Especially since i had no clue what was happening. And glad i was able to.attend. but anyway don't want to bore anyone with along message. Just wanted to.say THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart. Love u all. And may god bless each and every one of u like he has blessed me. ♥ ...u know what this cancer is the best thing that could if happen to me in a sick way. It was a reality check to me. To not take things fir granted. And appreciate the things in life u have. And it actually made me a,better person then i was. I take every day in stride one day at a time and live life to the complete fullest. And i think the world be a,better place if everyone did the same.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to pay my respects to another Cancer Warrior who lost her battle with Breast Cancer yesterday. I never had the opportunity to meet Linda Furlong Hill personally. She was a coworker/friend of my friend Jenn. Her husband is a Philly police officer too, so Jenn thought we would have a pretty good connection. Linda was a nurse at Arias Torresdale who found out she had breast cancer while pregnant with her now 2 year old son. Jenn suggested I "friend" Linda, and I am so very glad I did. She became a DAILY inspiration to me. Her spirit and determination to live left me in awe. After her diagnosis 2 years ago, surgery and treatment, she enjoyed several months of remission before cancer reared its ugly head and spread to every part of his body. Even when it hit her brain she STILL WOULD NOT GIVE UP!!! Linda didn't lay in bed and feel sorry for herself, she pushed herself to make the most of what time she might have left.

She wrote the following on her Facebook about me section, and I think it pretty much gives you an idea of what an amazing person Linda was:

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I am a wife and mother of 3 beautiful children. I lost my Dad to colon cancer in 2004..I myself was diagnosed with Stage III Triple Negative Breast Cancer this year. It was found during my pregnancy in my left breast. I also had a benign mass in my right breast...that also had a 25% chance of turning into cancer so on top of having a radical mastectomy with 7/14 nodes positive removed I also opted to have myright breast removed as well...to be proactive in my treatment. Plus my breasts were so large I would have been very lopsided. My double mastectomy was exactly one week and a day after having my son, due to the aggressive form it was. And I was allowed 4 weeks to heal prior to starting my chemo. 8 rounds...4 with Adriamycin and Cytoxan...and the next 4 with Taxol. So far 5 rounds complete and 3 to go.I also tested + for the BRAC 1 gene..so the removal of my ovaries are also in my future due to the high risk of Ovarian Cancer. And my fear is that my children now have a 50% chance of having the mutated gene. But the GREAT Part is...is that they are now 10 STEPS ahead of cancer and now they can prevent it. Due to the POWER of Knowledge!!! I no longer look at Cancer as something all bad...cause as I see it...it may have attacked me...but it will NEVER take my children or their children...ALL because the POWER of knowledge. My Breast Cancer has SAVED my legacy!! I had my head shaved by my hubby after the 2nd round. Had fun wig shopping....but for the most part I rock my bald head at home and pretty nice hats out in public....and the wig sometimes. It has been a whirlwind of emotions in the short time since I was diagnosed on June 17 2010. The Life Events I have experienced in this short time...I know most people don't in a Lifetime. But I know that is what makes me a strong person and soon to be a survivor. I know the war will never be over but I expect to win the battle over and over again. I try not to think of the "what if's" anymore because I have no control over them....but I do try to just live my life and do me. I have alot to LIVE for...and I refuse to let cancer take that from me. Afterall I am one Tough Bitch....

Linda T. Furlong Hill

3/12/77- 7/20/12

"Fuck Cancer"

Linda, you fought long and hard, and now you are free. Cancer can no longer hurt you...

My Chemical Romance

Eric started his 2nd round of xeloda. We have to monitor him for some pretty serious side effects that could cause him to have to go to the ER and stop the chemo. But so far he is doing ok. The worst effect he has had is the Hand-Foot Syndrome, which is causing astronomical amounts of pain for his already dry and sore skin. We have pre-surgical testing coming up to remove the tumors in the lungs... One day at a time.

We WILL be the 3%!!