Almost Done

Hey guys, just wanted to give a quick update on my treatment.  I've finished my last chemo treatment and I'm feeling great!  No more nasty side effects EVER!!!  I'm now working on my strength and stamina and in just a few months I'll be sporting around a stylish (very) short hair style, I can't wait!

I recently had a consult with a radiation oncologist and he as well as my medical oncologist highly recommended radiation therapy now that I've completed my chemotherapy.  Radiation is needed because I had very bulky cancer tumors, a few that took longer to get rid of. Radiation will target these areas to get rid of anything left over that can't be seen on the PET scan.  I get a nice little break before I start treatment on August 4th.  I'll have treatments every weekday for 3 or 4 weeks.  Good news is that there should be very few side effects.

Thanks again for all your well wishes and prayers!

Holly

Last Chemo Treatment Delayed

Just wanted to let everyone know that because of my little side trip to the hospital, my 8th chemo treatment was delayed one week.  It will be on June 23rd.  This will be my LAST chemo treatment!!!  I'm hoping recovery will go a little smoother :).

Holly gets a hospital stay... but is home

I got a call from Holly last Wednesday that she had a fever and the doctors wanted her to go to the hospital since her levels were near zero.  Unfortunately she was home alone with me in Baltimore and the girls in Chattanooga.

Fortunately, Laura next door was able to get her to the hospital that night, as well as take care of Holly's new best friend, Boone.  The girls were able to get home the next day and I was home the next day after that.

Her fever dropped, but her levels were very slow to fight back, so Saturday  Dr Herzig gave her a "growth factor" shot that jumped her levels up overnight.  She went from a 0.8 to 7.4 overnight (she started at a very low 0.3) and was sent home Sunday, after 4 nights.  Normal range is 4.5 to 10.0

Currently, she's doing well, but still feels weak and drained.

The Scan is Clean!

Holly got confirmation from Dr Rodriguez today that her latest scan is clean.  Its hard to say that she's cancer free however.  She needs to do 2 more chemo cycles and then another scan 3 months after that.  If the scan is clean after that, it will be considered in remission, and hopefully it won't return.

The doctor said no need for radiation, or bone marrow transplant.  Whew!

So we are all very pleased in the Johnson household, that I can assure you.  Now we just need to get Holly through 2 more cycles and get her health back to 100%, which can take awhile.  Chemo does horrible things to your body, and it will take awhile for her to get back to her old self.

Jeff

Scan Results......

Holly got a preliminary copy of her latest scan, and it appears to be very good news.  We will report more as we get more news once we talk to the oncologist on Tuesday.  Keep your fingers crossed and prayers coming.  

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Holly had her 5th treatment on Monday (yesterday).  We also met with Dr. Rodgriguez regarding her latest scan.  The results were not what we were hoping.

The Good:  The cancer is receding, and progress is being made.  Her neck is pretty much clear of cancer.

The Bad:  She still has some cancer showing in her abdomen that is shrinking at a much slower rate, and the doctor suggested that perhaps they were a different mutation that grows slower and isn't responding as well to the R-CHOP treatment as other tumors did.

The Ugly.  Another 3 cycles will be needed, bringing the total to 8.  We were hoping to do a total of 6 cycles, but it looks like we will have 8, with the strong possibility of a a bone marrow transplant.

The bone marrow transplant the doctor suggested isn't the type that requires donors.  In this instance, Holly's marrow is fine.  Some stem cells are harvested from her bone marrow and stored.  Once the bone marrow treatment is completed it will kill off of her good bone marrow. Afterwards, her good stem cells are implanted to restore her bone marrow to full function.

The next set of plans are getting through cycle 6, then get a new PET scan to re-evaluate further treatment after the 8 cycles of R-CHOP.

Please keep her in your prayers.  We'll beat this thing, but it will be a longer road for her.

Also, let's hope this doesn't happen.

4th Chemo complete.

Hi all, sorry for the lack of posts.  There really hasn't been much to report.  Holly's fatigue continues to get a little worse each session, which is expected but hard to endure sometimes.  She has good days and bad.

On the progress front, we got the 4th session of Chemotherapy in the books.  In another 2 weeks, there will hopefully be a PET scan that *should* reveal no more cancer.  According to the fine folks at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center that is typically the case.  IF it is clear, then there will be 2 more Chemo sessions followed by radiation to hopefully fully eradicate the cancer.

Your continued support and prayers are appreciated.

Thanks.
Jeff