First Scope after Treatments

Bob went in last Wednesday for a scope to see what his bladder looked like after doing the 6 weeks of BCG treatment. It was a nervous day, always hoping for the best but bracing for not so good news.  Bob's doctor is really a great guy. He takes a situation and just seems to make you feel right at ease. Surprisingly to Bob, the procedure wasn't as bad as the first scope, when they found the cancer in October. He has learned how to breathe properly and relax as much as possible. As the doctor was looking in the scope, he saw what he called a "slightly raised bump" next to the original site of the tumor (which was removed during surgery). He said he wasn't overly concerned but wanted to make sure it wasn't something to deal with. He felt it was probably "a healing bump". He was able to stick a biopsy tool through the scope (amazing) and take a biopsy right there. We were told the results from pathology would be back by Monday. To say the least, we left feeling a little disappointed, but still hopeful that it wasn't anything to worry about.

Friday around 5:00pm the phone rang with the caller ID telling us it was his doctor. We were both very surprised. It was the nurse and she let us know the results were already in and it was NOT cancer. We high-fived and thanked her then got off the phone and started dancing! lol. What a nice Friday gift.

Now Bob has to do maintenance therapy for this which is one BCG treatment every month for 3 months. On May 21st Bob will then have another scope to make sure things are still ok. As time goes on, it will go from every three months to every 6, then once a year - for the rest of his life. That's ok as long as this darn stuff stays away!

So now, we smile, breathe, plan and simply enjoy life everyday. Thanks to everyone for their concerns and hopefully this blog has allowed you to stay up to date with our news. Stay tuned for normal everyday blogs from now until May!  

Normal Life Post

Hello Everyone!
Now I thought I'd put out a regular blog! We are on to the second month of the new year, where did January go??? We have a feeling this semester is going to go by very fast. We don't have a lot of plans in the next few months, perhaps going to Malibu to see a few places Tiff and Kyle are looking at for their wedding,  but other than that, just staying put. We have been keeping pretty busy on the weekends, just regular stuff, nothing exciting. We do get together with Tiff and Kyle every weekend - spending time with them is always enjoyable. We will miss them terribly when they leave this summer. Mo - what can I say - he has my heart and knows how to pull each string. I don't even want another dog, I want them to give me their dog. lol. Then I look at him with his mama and daddy and he loves them so much, I could never take him away from them. I know - it's a dog, but he's one of the coolest and sweetest dogs I've ever met.

Tiff and Kyle will be graduating this May. We will have a party at our house of course - probably on Friday and Saturday and then Saturday night we will be going out on the town like we did for Jenni and Justins graduation. You are more than welcome to celebrate with us! The Whitesides will be staying at our house so the Casita will be full but we have some brand new and close by hotels and we'll send that info out the closer we are to this date. Hope to see you all here!

Have a wonderful month of February and Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

BCG Treatment #6 - Last one!

The final initial BCG treatments were officially done today. It wasn't too bad, he got through it just fine. He is experiencing a little side effects, but not enough to dampen his spirit. Now he has two weeks off to rest up the ole bladder and then we go back to the doctor on February 17th for another cystocopy to see if these treatments worked. If it did (2/3 of the time it works and thats what we are banking on!) he will have to have a few more "maintenance" BCG treatments, then (we are guessing), but probably once every 3-6 months for awhile just to make sure all bad cells don't come back. If the doctor sees anything more on the 17th we will be back at square one and its back to surgery. Please keep Bob in your prayers and send positive thoughts our way! We'll keep you all posted!

BCG Treatment #5 - ONE to go!!

Today was another Tuesday and another treatment. A little more on the side effects today, but again nothing that he is complaining too much about. We had a different nurse and I will say she wasn't nearly as good as Wendy. Wendy has been awesome, very understanding, very nice and well, we only would request her. She was out today, hopefully she'll be back next week. After next week he gets two weeks off. Then another scope on February 17th to see if this worked. Positive thoughts, lots of hope and strong prayers continue to be requested.

BCG Treatment #4

I thought he was going to have to go it alone, but at the last minute at work I was able to get someone to cover for me (thanks Sheila!), and that was the first of the good news.  All is well with Bob today! This is actually the easiest treatment so far. I think he was extra lucky since the doc/nurse said they would probably keep getting worse with each one, he feels like he was given a gift today! 2 more and counting.

It's a rainy day here in Phoenix - something we are just not use to, that's for sure. So tonight we hang out, making sure to listen to the rain and be thankful for a good day.

BCG Treatment #2 & 3

01/12/10
Last Tuesday was BCG treatment 2 and today was BCG treatment 3 - we are halfway over now. Last week was a little more difficult than week one - uncomfortable but definitely side effects, it didn't keep him down for long though. Today, for treatment #3 - a little more side effects, we are definitely upsetting the bladder! Good, kill all bad stuff in there! He's handling them fine, just following doctors orders.

Our attitude is staying strong. Nothing you can do about it so you've got to just go with the flow. You know, before this happened to Bob, I never knew what to really say that would be meaningful and to some small degree helpful to people I've known that have had cancer. It's that dreaded word everyone is fearful of. My thoughts for the day to anyone reading this is that when you know someone with cancer (even knowing them quite well), that when you talk to them, it's ok to ask about it. It's actually better to talk about it than NOT talk about it when having a conversation. I used to feel that MY fear will show if I try to talk to them about their cancer - and yes we do see other people's fear when they ask. BUT not asking is even worse. So ask! It's ok. It's our reality not our fear any longer. I've had two or three friends say to me "I'm not sure what I should say to Bob". I feel really bad for them because I remember that feeling. Now unfortunately I know the answer - and the correct answer is just don't change the way you are - ask away if you want to know, let him know you are thinking of him and you know this isn't fun, crack a joke - give him a really hard time, he's still the same Bob that we all love.

I'll keep you posted next week!

BCG Treatment #1

A little over 6 hours ago Bob had his first BCG treatment. It was a bit uncomfortable, as expected, but he was a trooper and got through it with no problem. He did the required "basting" (rolling every 15 minutes) for 2 hours after the treatment with no problem also. Right now he feels great - like nothing new happened at all today, that's great news! He will continue to do this every week for the next 5 weeks and then have another scope to see what the bladder looks like. Thanks to all of you for the kind thoughts and prayers, they are working!