25. Matt's LAST Chemo treatment (#12)

Sunday, January 16th, 2010

Matt and I went to his last chemo treatment on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010. We visited with the oncologist first and I was surprised when he said: "Well, I'm scratching my head a little on how to proceed from here. I think we'll schedule a visit with me for a month from now and then do a PET scan in 6 months." Hm, when we first started treatment, the Dr. said that we'd have a PET scan 3 months after his last chemo... which would be nice, because confirmation that everything is still "negative" in 3 months from now would be better than having to wait 6 months. So, I asked him about the change, and his response was: "that was before he went into remission in only 3 months. That doesn't usually happen. I'm not expecting to see anything come back in only 3 months from now." I'm okay with that, I guess. I understand that exposing Matt to PET scans is not a good thing, since it exposes him to radiation that could cause cancer... So, the verdict is to retest in 6 months unless any symptoms (i.e. night sweats, weight loss) re-appear, then we'd scan immediately. The port will stay in for a year, and needs to be flushed every 6-8 weeks. That means they have to access it and push some anti-coagulants through it.

So, it's Sunday after Matt's last chemo. He is feeling quite well and for the first time in about 8 months, we can look forward to him feeling better and better as each day goes by without having to start over in 2 weeks. NO, now he really will be getting better and better and in 3 weeks and in 5 weeks and in 8 weeks from today he'll be better and better and better yet. What a relief!

Again, come join us at Wally's in Saugatuck on Saturday, January 30th. We'll be there at 8pm enjoying a fun night out with family and friends, celebrating Matt's awesome recovery.

Hope to see you there!

24. Chemo # 11

Monday January 4th, 2010

Matt had chemo treatment # 11 last week Tuesday as scheduled... we were expecting New Year's eve to be a bust since it was on Thursday. However, Matt handled the treatment really well and we were able to celebrate New Year's with my mother and Roger. Mom made her famous homemade Pizza and we played Wii with the kids until it was time for them to go to bed. Matt took an hour to rest in bed before we played cards up until midnight and a little past. It was a very nice low-key New Year's eve.

Matt has had an awful cold for the past two weeks now. It's his first "sickness" since he started chemo about 6 months ago, which is a miracle. He's hanging in there. It is getting better, but only slowly. He hasn't had a fever and was able to continue with chemo last week.

Next week Tuesday is Matt's last chemo treatment!!!! YEAH!!!

We will be celebrating his awesome recovery on Saturday, January 30th starting at 8 pm downtown Saugatuck. Meet us at WALLY's for some drinks and fun! We'd be very happy to see you all there celebrating with us!