I got some good news today. The CTscan taken on Monday shows the mass on my pancreas is stable. It is virtually unchanged from three months ago and not sending out any "strands" of cancer..... AANNDDDD ... the tumor blood marker is dropping.
How is this possible? ... thousands of dollars worth of chemo and your prayers. Thank you.
I've been a firm believer in the power of intercessory prayer for some time. And now I've become fully convinced that chemotherapy works. It's been proven to me by my situation. The fact that the tumor remains stable after this long is proof to me. Not that I ever really doubted that it does some good. My question was "how much does it help?" My oncologist, of course, has always had a good share of confidence in his cocktail prescriptions, but even he has never been cocky about it or made any claims of success, realizing that different people have different results.
Immediately following today's consult with Dr. Yee I went to the infusion room and started my third cycle of Abraxane — once a week for three weeks and then one week off.
I have some mild side effects but nothing too serious. It does take some zip out of me. So I just keep resting when I get tired. I also have frequent runny nose - lots of Kleenex. Frequent diarrhea. Partially from a compromised pancreas and partially from chemo. Not sure of the proportions. I also still experience occasional neuropathy.
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| The doctor was pleased with this downward trend in my blood tumor marker. So are we. |
The very same minor league AAA baseball team that installed gaming urinals in their ball park mens restrooms recently had a free funeral package giveaway!!!
I was not the lucky winner. I don't have the long-term storage available that the casket would have required. (Just kidding. I never entered this contest.)
Here is the article that was in our local Lancaster Intelligencer/NewEra newspaper.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs putting fun in funeral;
team giving away casket, service and tombstone
The Associated Press
on August 19, 2013 at 10:09 PM
on August 19, 2013 at 10:09 PM
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- From the minor-league baseball club that gave you the world's first urinal gaming system comes a promotion that's more 6 feet under than it is over the top: One "lucky" fan will win a free funeral package.
The Triple A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, plans to announce the winner of its latest, and perhaps most bizarre, fan giveaway at Tuesday night's game in Allentown.
Minor-league clubs are notorious for the wacky promotions they run to help put fans in the seats, and the IronPigs are no exception. Earlier this year, the team boasted about the new gaming system it had installed in men's restrooms at Coca-Cola Park.
But a free funeral? Talk about burying the competition.
"It's one of our best out-of-the-box promotions. Or maybe I should say one of our best 'in-the-box' promotions," quipped IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes.
Fans had to submit an essay describing their ideal funeral and explain why they deserved a free one. More than 50 essays were turned in.
Some of the contestants took a lighthearted approach. A fan of movie Westerns wrote how his funeral would feature the "William Tell Overture" and a photo of the Lone Ranger. A woman joked that she wanted bouncers to remove mourners who weren't sufficiently mournful.
Others were far more serious. One fan, recently diagnosed with ALS, wrote how his family is watching his "life quickly draining from my body. No one was prepared, emotionally or financially, for the loss or to prepare a final memorial."
The winner of the essay contest, to be announced during the sixth inning, gets a casket, embalming or cremation, hearse, headstone, flowers and a funeral or memorial service, all valued at nearly $10,000. A nearby funeral home is the sponsor.
Lest they be accused of poor taste, the IronPigs have opted to call Tuesday night's giveaway "Celebration of Life Night." Grim reapers and tombstones are out, angelic music and a release of doves at home plate in.
"It won't become Halloween," Landes said.
The Triple A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, plans to announce the winner of its latest, and perhaps most bizarre, fan giveaway at Tuesday night's game in Allentown.
Minor-league clubs are notorious for the wacky promotions they run to help put fans in the seats, and the IronPigs are no exception. Earlier this year, the team boasted about the new gaming system it had installed in men's restrooms at Coca-Cola Park.
But a free funeral? Talk about burying the competition.
"It's one of our best out-of-the-box promotions. Or maybe I should say one of our best 'in-the-box' promotions," quipped IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes.
Fans had to submit an essay describing their ideal funeral and explain why they deserved a free one. More than 50 essays were turned in.
Some of the contestants took a lighthearted approach. A fan of movie Westerns wrote how his funeral would feature the "William Tell Overture" and a photo of the Lone Ranger. A woman joked that she wanted bouncers to remove mourners who weren't sufficiently mournful.
Others were far more serious. One fan, recently diagnosed with ALS, wrote how his family is watching his "life quickly draining from my body. No one was prepared, emotionally or financially, for the loss or to prepare a final memorial."
The winner of the essay contest, to be announced during the sixth inning, gets a casket, embalming or cremation, hearse, headstone, flowers and a funeral or memorial service, all valued at nearly $10,000. A nearby funeral home is the sponsor.
Lest they be accused of poor taste, the IronPigs have opted to call Tuesday night's giveaway "Celebration of Life Night." Grim reapers and tombstones are out, angelic music and a release of doves at home plate in.
"It won't become Halloween," Landes said.
.... what next? Stay tuned...
Rick
