The M&M Story

Originally uploaded by Maynor .

Originally uploaded by Maynor .

Having cancer these days carries with it the hope of a cure in the next few years. Cancer research really is moving faster than it ever has, and the National Cancer Institute, funded by our government, has a goal of ending all suffering and death from cancer by 2015. It's cool things like this that might make that happen: "A nanocell that can burrow into a tumour, cut off its blood supply and detonate a lethal dose of anti-cancer toxins has been developed" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4715739.stm

Niece Lily turns 3 in September. Her prayer last night: Dear Jesus, Heal Uncle Brian! Amen. Amen to that, my sweet niece, amen to that.

Good news from New York: Dr. Bob Maki, the sarcoma doc here, thinks we're on the right track with treatment. He's encouraged by the good results Dr. Adkins (St Louis) has had with the adriamycin/taxol (chemo) combination in the past, and so he would recommend following that track. But first, he thought it might be a good idea to enter the Rapamycin clinical trial and see if it works. Rapamycin is another form of chemotherapy, and it has had some interesting effects on sarcoma (like bone tumors) that have not responded to traditional means. It would have the same side effects as the other chemo (nausea, hair loss) but they may be milder. If I am to enter the trial, I have to try it before any other chemo, so we'll try it for eight weeks and see what happens. If it works, then great! we'll stay on it. If not, we can switch at any time. My St Louis doc suggested this trial, too, so he can administer it there. The fact that the tumor shrank so much during radiation has give...

fun with tupperware Originally uploaded by Maynor . M is a performer, but B is the comedian.

Lil' Cousin Lil Originally uploaded by Maynor . Brother Pete's gonna have a field day with high school boys in a few years.

Apologies to those who have received this update in another form, and were looking for something newer and wittier here... This morning we heard from Dr. Bradley, my radiation oncologist, who met with three surgeons, three medical oncologists, and a radiologist last night. In a nutshell, my surgeon (Dr. Patterson) is strongly opposed to surgery. He feels like the spot on the left lung (the "good" lung) is tumor, and so to do a proper surgery, he'd have to take out the right lung AND dig around quite a bit on the left. You just can't do surgery on both lungs at once and expect the patient to survive, he said. The radiologist did say that the multiple "nodules" are so tiny that we shouldn't be concerned--that they could be almost anything right now. So that seems like a solidly closed door at this point. We've been praying for God to direct our paths, and that's about as clear a direction as we can get. All involved in the meeting were strongly in ...

Okay, so some good news and some so-so news. The big tumor on the right side has shrunk by half so far, and may shrink more as radiation effects continue over time. There's a big grey area on the CT scan that is a lot smaller now than it was two months ago. Hallelujah! The little grey spot on the left has shrunk some, but it's still there. We were hoping it would be gone so that the surgery might be a stronger option. And there are a few small spots that could be nothing, could be something. So all in all, we don't know much more than we did this morning as far as treatment options. The surgeon and the radiation oncologist were to talk tonight and I'll hear tomorrow whether they recommend surgery (right lung removal) or not. We also heard today a couple of options for chemo--one of which is an experimental drug (an mtor inhibitor). The other option would be a combination of adriamycin and taxol. Apparently my oncologist has had a lot of success with sarcoma and that com...

Pre-haircut comb-over Originally uploaded by Maynor . The B-man lost his comb-over a couple days ago. He also lost his mullet. Here's hoping he'll have neither one for the rest of his time here on earth.

Potty update: Last week M sat on the potty almost nonstop for two days, and peed once. Well, once on the potty. Anytime he got up and put on one of his 12 new pair of underwear, he'd pee. After two days of this, we went back to the drawing board. Our friend Marjorie suggested letting him run nekkid outside and "water the grass"--which worked for her son--but it's 95 degrees and VERY humid, and it wasn't very pleasant--even when nekkid. The pediatrician suggested the following technique: "Hey, kiddo, when you pee three times we'll go up to the QT and you can pick out whatever you want!" The QT?? QT is a gas station. Besides that, knowing M right now, I wouldn't trust his choices anywhere. So if you have any good suggestions, and they don't involve walking up to the nearest gas station and picking out some beef jerky or cigarettes, hit that "comments" button at the bottom of this entry and let's hear it.

Today we've been waiting on results from the post-radiation CT scan, and we've also been praying for my cousin Wendy, who had surgery today to remove a brain tumor. Our prayer today has been from Philippians 4-- Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say it--Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I love "the Lord is at hand." One of the things that makes God's peace so incomprehensible is that it blossoms into an even more amazing joy. And to have a heart filled with joy and guarded with peace--how incredible is that?? A week or so ago, we visited Grace and Peace, Peter and Melanie's church, and we sang "We come, O Christ to You"(okay, G&P uses "Thee," but I'l...

Daddy: Hey, M, what are you doing in there? M (from other room): Please don't ask what am I doing in here.

Lest you think, dear reader, that M&B are perfect little angels, I'll clear that up for you right now. M has been pushing every button he can, stretching every rule, and sometimes openly defying mommy and daddy. We've had a rough week. Yesterday, for example, our friend Amy was taking care of the kiddos while I was in the back room. M threw a fit when she told him he couldn't throw the pillows off the couch (a rule with which he is already familiar). I took over for a couple minutes as the heavy, but as soon as we went back to the living room, he walked straight over and pulled off the pillows again. He and I went back to his room for a few minutes and he seemed okay, but when we walked back to the front room, he blocked the door so I couldn't enter: M: Daddy, please leave the living room. D: Do you want me to leave so that you can disobey Amy? M: Um, Yes. Later, during his "nap," he took a poster out of its frame (a big, very old, very cool Los Angeles po...

Nothing much to report today except for the fact that my sister-in-law cooks a mean crawfish pie. Tonight's Louisiana cooking made gaining that 30 pounds back look easy, y'all.

"Once upon a time there was a shoe. And he wanted to live in a sock! So he asked the sock if he could live there, and the sock said 'yes.' So the shoe lived there and they went on 'ventures. The End."

Daddy: Want to go to Kinko's with me? M: Where did you say we are going? D: Kinko's. M: Did you just make that word up?