A year later

A year ago, I was still trying to recover from that intense treatment UCLA put me through. I sure hope it was worth it. I am now getting a PET scan every 3-6 months to insure that my lymphoma has not returned. I still have my port-a-cath which they flush out monthly to make sure that it could still be used if necessary. My stamina has not come back fully - not sure if it ever really will. However, I am able to do basically anything I want. I just can't do it for very long. We spent a weekend in Mexico last month building a house for a needy family. What an awesome experience. I posted some photos on facebook, so you can probably find them if you are interested.

Status Report

Anita has finished her treatment and is doing great! As of today, we are both doing well and are free of cancer. We will both have occasional testing in our future to monitor any possible relapse. Owen's cancer is expected to return, but we hope the UCLA treatment will have helped to put that off for a long time. Anita's cancer is not expected to return at all. Without anything new to report, we will probably not be posting anytime soon.

Very Good News

Anita did have her lumpectomy on February 19th, but we did not have the results of all the tests until now. She has been declared clean of all cancer cells and does not need any chemotherapy. They will do some radiation (still to be scheduled) to help prevent any possible relapse. Owen had a PET scan last Wednesday which again shows no signs of cancer. So, as of now, we are both free of cancer and praising God. The main reason we praise Him is because of you - thank you for your friendship, prayers, and support.

Cancer Contagious??

As Owen was being released from UCLA about 3 weeks ago, we received news that a biopsy (which Anita had done due to spots in a mammogram) came back positive. We have met twice with her oncologist, Dr. Harness. He is an excellent doctor and assures us that this breast cancer is very low grade and very treatable. In his words, this is not life-threatening and probably would have taken a couple more years to be detected by finding a lump. He will treat her by removing a small amount (lumpectomy) and then giving her a few days of radiation. The lumpectomy will most likely occur on February 18th or 19th. In Anita's words, our bodies are falling apart, but our souls and spirits are doing great. Thanks for your support.

Home

Yesterday Owen was released to come home after the doctor pulled out the catheter. Our friends Randy and Rose Howard made the trip to UCLA and assisted him with that. How great to be home together! Although Owen is a little weaker than when he went in, he really feels great and will soon be ready for nearly anything.

Progress

Today, we saw the doctor and were given the good news that Owen's numbers are great! The white blood cell count has come up from 0.02 to 3.5 where 5 is about normal. The platelet count was 3 and is now 43 where 150 is about normal. They are slightly concerned about the platelets, but not much. We have been given the OK to return home, but Owen still has an IV and needs the catheter removed on Wednesday before he goes home.

The Holidays

Christmas Day was spent together in the Ronald Reagan Hospital at UCLA. I did have a hospital gown then, but no camera. A couple days later, our friends Bud and Millie Shipman came to our rescue and helped move Owen to the Tiverton House - a sort of convalescent facility about 2 blocks from the hospital.

New Years Eve was special with our friends Jim and Betsy McCarty as they drove up to play bridge and fellowship around takeout food.