Wonderful News

Jeff is doing great now. His last fever was Wednesday morning and it only got as high as 99.1. His pain is less frequent. This morning when the hospice nurse came Jeff had no pain!!! Yes, I said no pain. He has not taken any short term pain medication since Monday. He was taking it 8 to 12 times a day. My theory is the high fevers burned the cancer :) He is eating more, although his appetite is still small.
He stopped taking one of his antibiotics. Hospice took a stool sample to check to see if the antibiotics suppressed the good bacteria. If this comes back positive then they just put him on another pill for a little while.
No one knows what happened when he got sick, but maybe he just caught a bug and is better now. The hospice nurse told us that she was scared that he was getting near the end, but Jeff fooled them!!!! Keep up the positive energy and prayers. Take care everyone.

KUMED Visit and Other Health Stuff

The oncologist at KUMED said that there are no trials open for Jeff at this time. They are compiling the research from their Phase I studies. She said that he would have probably been excluded from all the studies anyway as he has an open wound and an active infection. She said if he wanted treatment that he could try the FOLFOX6, which was his original chemo, but without the complementary drug Avastin. She based this on how long it was from his chemo until his recurrence. This didn't seem any more optimistic because Jeff's back pain started halfway thru this chemo treatment and he did not get relief until the tumor on his ureter was removed. The thought we have is that the cancer was progressing, but it just was not visible on any imaging tests.
Yesterday Jeff started to feel really sick. He was weak, nauseous and spiked a fever that got as high as 103.1. We were able to bring it down with ibuprofen and tylenol to 99.7. This morning it was 102.6 when he woke up. Right now he does not have a fever, but he is not eating and does not have the hunger cravings. He is sleeping most of the time. This all just onset yesterday and the oncologist seems to think the infection is spreading. The hospice nurse, Anna, says that it looks like this is disease progression and that this is when it gets more difficult. Jeff is scheduled to see the Infectious Disease specialist, Dr. Penn, tomorrow at 10:30am. I am not for sure if Jeff will be able to make it. The oncologist wants to see about switching Jeff's antibiotic as she thinks he might have built up a tolerance to the two that he is on.
I want to thank everyone that participated in the benefit for Jeff by donating or helping put it together. It was a great turnout and Jeff was able to see his friends and hang out for most of the nite. Everyone take care and I hope all is well.

The Story is Getting Out There

Well, some good news. Jeff has made his debut on television. You can go to www.ljworld.com and there is a story about Jeff and a video clip that should be or already aired on Channel 6 news. They did such a great job of capturing our message about earlier screening and detection. Click on the link and check it out. You can see a shot of his KU Basketball.
Jeff health update is that his appetite is doing pretty good now and his pain is managed for the most part. He has some pain spikes that kick him the rear now and again. Also we got a transport wheelchair that weighs only 33 pounds so it is easier to lift in and out of the car and Jeff feels a greater sense of mobility. His legs are still staying very swollen, but he is walking and standing more often. I am going to ride this wave of positive events.

Everyone take care.