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Pumping it UP!

An exceptional good news day today. After quite a bit of debate on making a plan, I had a CT this morning to get a baseline picture of where things are at. We are seeing very positive results despite no treatment for over a month. It’s unclear if the rEsults are due to chemo or the immunotherapy, but they do think the immunotherapy attacked my liver and gave me autoimmune hepatitis which has caused the bilirubin issues. Theses bili levels can be brought down through steroids. The director of the cancer center wrote the below for me because she is so nice and because I’m just terrible at describing all things medical. 

“In comparison to the CT scan done April 17, 2018 these are the findings that I think are most significant:

In the lungs there is a “dramatic improvement” in the size and number of the nodules that we previously saw.

There used to be a large pleural effusion in your left lung, it is now considered small (this is fluid buildup in your lung).

In the lymph nodes, several of them are now “barely perceptible” and others are all decreased in size.

In the liver: the actual size of the liver has decreased by 3cm overall.

In the liver: the size and number of lesions has decreased.

In the nodes: the aortocaval lymph node has decreased almost an entire centimeter.

Given these findings we can assume a couple different things:

The inflammation and cause of the liver problems may have been from the immunotherapy you received on trial.

IF, this is the case, by giving you steroids for the next week we should see an improvement in your bili level.

IF, this is the case, and your bili decreases with the steroids, we know the chemo has been working (based on the findings of the CT) and we can start up again by the end of next week or the following week.”

I’m currently getting a roid infusion, and if all goes well, we might see the numbers start to drop on Monday, and if they really go well, we could be back on chemotherapy week after next. 

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The sun came out!

Jill here with this update, just in case you couldn’t tell. We are seeing spring in Laramie and with that, progress. Yeah!

They are seeing the liver going the right way so it looks like the chemo is working. Not ready to start another treatment yet, so we'll just be watching my labs and waiting for levels to keep dropping and the liver to stop being angry. So, please send happy liver thoughts and let’s hope that these trends continue.

Over the last month as my liver has been acting up I’ve had some incoherent times and don’t actually remember quite a bit of April. If I said anything strange to you, that’s why! Definitely nice to be out of dreamworld - knock wood I’m not jinxing anything :)

Love to everyone and hope it’s beautiful where you are too.

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Cowboy state of mind🐴

Good mornin’ and howdy there pardners ! After a hard case hiatus of 3 weeks and some spare change from our rootin’ tootin’ cancer blog, we decided to make a triumphant comeback return to town today with some good medicine (positive news) to dole out! I think, if I remember correctly, when we last spoke- we may have been in somewhat of a dicey situation, a cliff hangar, a tight jam samwich so to speak-  before we disappeared for a minute after writing that last blog post. During that time, let me tell you- we been through the mill and back- but, we are happy and thrilled to let everyone know that we’re good as a gay cat with some giddy-up- just needed some time under the stars to circle the wagons and fight off some aggressive, intrusive outlaws that had been hot on our trail as of late, and after diggin’ in and letting loose some particularly heavy hell fire artillery on our arch nemesis, things are getting better. Since that midnight showdown in the old ER, Jill’s positive response to treatment has gotten us happy as a horse in a haystack. And while truth be told, its been no bonanza! - we’ll just say we’re better now and we’ve settled in for what’s been and what will always be, some tasty, fluffy honey-butter biscuits. 

If you’re looking more for some fancy medical speak to better understand our present goins on, then maybe this blog post ain’t for you. But in the spirit of full disclosure, we’re back on the chemo saddle again, riding high and tight with our chin up and our hat in the air. The wild horse we found to break is right up Jillsy’s alley. News is there’s been a positive response to this here Taos lighting treatment were revisiting , you remember the one we were prescribed a while back and as a result, Jill’s major organs are now able to play a tune that’s music to our ears (tolerate the chemo).

Let me summerize- We went from possibly being thrown from our horse back on the 23rd of March and that there fancy pants doctor telling us we may never be able to get back on it to ride again to miraculously where we are today, siiting in a chair sippin’ on an iv of wild mare’s milk. Well, not only did that scare the  chap pants off us, it also made us think that the docs prognosis was balderdash and hogwash and we wer’nt gunna have it or let it come to be. And so here we are, 3 weeks later and Jill’s feeling better and the nurses are telling us that we dodged a silver shiny bullet, big time -amigo. 

We’d like to say thanks for all the support we received from our Laramigos when we sent out some smoke signals to say we might be in a predicament a full moon ago, when we thought the river was rising faster than the time we could take to cross it, thanks kindly for the meal trains, the chuck wagons, and to the fam/amigos/ and co-workers at the saloon who once again came through in a big way.  As of today, our wagon wheels are back in the ruts , our wagon is re-upped with love, and we are on the move again, back to the old promised land of health, happiness, and hi-faluten’ ho-downs. We’re not ready to ride off into the sun set just yet, but know if you don’t hear from us for a minute,  its always ok for you to holler. Most likely we’re out here doing some good, fighting the good fight like kilkennycats drunk on firewater, and always on the mend, making hay while the sun still shines.

Well, that about does it- we got some business to attend to, some things to say to some people, and there might be a purty high stakes card game in the next town up ahead.

What I’m trying to tell ya is it’s time for us to highyah and high tail it outa here, we’ve got a ways to go still and the nights getting cold. We’ll catch you on the way back through town ❤️

Much love- lock, stock, and smoking barrel,

 Calamity Jill, Tangle-footed Tim, and Huckleberry Hank

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Good News!

After 6 weeks on the immunotherapy train , Jill was able to get back on the gemcitycarboncounty chemotherapy regimen route and we are excited to be back on track, and a day early to boot. Not to mention a few strings pulled, a couple close calls, and some much appreciated love and support.

Not to brag about our local hospital but Ivinson Memorial was recently ranked in the top 20 in the whole US of A for rural medical centers and over the last 29 hours they didn’t disappoint and came through for us big time- nothing but net.

Jill came in alittle dehydrated Wednesday afternoon and needed some extra TLC and a few IVs. That did the trick and when 3 or 4 forks came up in the road , each time the RN’s gave us the right directions.

Jill came up huge, super strong, graceful under fire and no matter what came her way she always put that smile on her face fighting with beauty, confidence, and what we call ‘true Wyoming grit’. She basically COWGIRLED UP! 🐴

The Gray family broke and shattered the child care record they had already set previously by super parenting Henry through it all and to school and back. Much love to emmitt and julep with the multiple assists. 5 more minutes and 100mL of 0.9% Sodium Chloride IV drip and we are home free on the range.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Also we lost our old sweet soul today, RIP Willetta Geagley you will be missed ❤️this one was for you.

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Treatment Change

Hello there , we wanted to update everyone on a few treatment changes that have taken place recently .

The immunotherapy trial we were in for the last 6 weeks did not produce the effects we wanted so we decided to go back to the chemotherapy we were were using prior to the immunotherapy study because it worked super well and the side effects were manageable. We’ll be hoping for some of that love as we come back for round 2.

With Henry in Spring Creek’s Kindergarten duel immersion language program we decided awhile back to take him on a spring break field trip to the ole’ mexico and expose him to la buena vida .

We’ve been gone for about a week and have had a nice and relaxing time which has helped us pass the time that’s necessary between treatments and we’ll be leaving soon to make the trip back to Laramie, where 10 inches of snow fell just yesterday.

Henry got an A++ on our viaje de estudios. He enjoyed the cenotes and ruins , got to practico un poco de espanol , and had some fun at the beach and in the jungle.

We hope to start chemo this upcoming week and are looking forward to sharing some good news resulting from the treatment ASAP. After we get some positive effects from the chemo we’ll be on the lookout for other possible clinical trial options that are effective.

Paz y amor,

Timo, Lillian, y Enrique

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Treatment #1

Fourth time was a charm! Coulda been because Punxsutawny Phil saw his shadow, or perhaps it had something to do with the blue blood super moon on Jan 31st, or maybe the study coordinator finally coordinated the study the way she was supposed to but after 3 last minute cancellations over the past 4 weeks , Jill was finally able to start an immunotherapy study yesterday. Long story short , Renee accompanied Jill down Thursday night and they spent all day Friday getting the therapy done. Jill’s side effects were minimal and she’s feeling good. We are very thankful the doctors took good care of her, the treatment went well and big hugs to Renee with the asssist and for the love and support! Now only if the immunotherapy will cure Jill’s, hank’s and my cold, we’d be having a pretty darn good weekend . Hope you’re having a good start to February, keep your heads up, only six more weeks of winter!

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Henry’s New Years Res: swim bdr and exercise more.

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Jill flew down to UC Denver yesterday morning hoping to start treatment but unfortunately clearance had not yet been approved through the study to begin the immunotherapy sessions so she flew back in the afternoon. She has to redo some scans now on Monday because those have now passed the “window” that they had to be done before she started treatment. The good news is the doctors think Jill qualifies for the study, they just have get through all the red tape. So please send these people get your work done vibes and hopefully we’ll be all set for Feb 2. 

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Immunotherapy postponed for one week

We got a call yesterday from the study coordinator that Jill will need to wait a week to start treatments due to the doctor needing extra labs , so she left this morning for Denver to get those taken care of and the plan is now that we will start next Friday, once the labs are analyzed next Wednesday. If you are keeping track, yes, this is the second time we’ve had to postpone getting started on things, so hopefully once Jill gives them updated lab work we’ll be good to go and have the green light to start next friday January 26th . We originally were approved to be in the study in Nov. and some of those qualifying levels apparently expire over time in order to stay within the study’s protocol . So for those of you sending positive vibes our way please wait until next week to do so and if you’ve scheduled an inspirational message to be sky written over UC ‘s Ann Schutz’s Medical Campus then please try and cancel that and reschedule for next Friday because today is looking like a quick in-n-out 4 hour round trip for a blood drawl. Jill is feeling great, in good spirits, and super excited to get the immunotherapy show on the road starting ASAP or next Friday. We’ll keep you posted , have a great weekend!

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Cheers, Happy New Years, and Here’s to Things Looking Up in 2018!

Happy New Year! 2017 was a rough one, but we got through it and are happy to share some good news going into the new year. Jill finished her 4th chemotherapy session at Ivinson Memorial Hospital here in Laramie and aside from a few unpleasant side effects along and fatigue, usually occurring the day of and 24-48 hours after each session, the treatment was a huge success and did what it was supposed to do. We feel like we won the match after losing the previous one so now it’s onto the next challenge. I think it’s safe to call this a comeback.

Quick flash-back- before we decided to do chemotherapy, we were hoping to get into an immunotherapy trial at UC in Denver but the day before we were supposed to start, Jill’s Liver enzymes were a bit too high and that prevented her from enrolling in the study at that time. So we started the chemo here in Laramie and after the 4 sessions Jill was feeling ALOT better and met with the doctors in Denver for follow up scans and to be retested for the immunotherapy study this past Friday . The scans showed positive effects and results against the progression that her previous scans had indicated and her liver enzymes were measured to be in range for the study, which allows us to get started with this new immunotherapy treatment at UC Denver that will start on the 19th of January. The frequency and duration of the study will be related to our response and it’s effect. In a nutshell, the new plan going forward looks like it will entail a 3 week cycle of 2 immunotherapy drugs combined with the purpose of increasing effectiveness . (Immunotherapy has not been approved as of yet for treatment of bc, so being accepted into this trial provides an opportunity and a great chance to try a promising new therapy that we hope will lead to a more positive and stable outcome.)

We are hopeful that the results will be enhanced by just having finished a successful month and a half of the gemcitabine and carboplatin chemotherapy. Also its good news to us that we can always go back to this chemotherapy infusion combination if need be. We are not sure why it worked so well but we think it may have had enchanted effects because Gemcitabine  sounds like Laramie’s nickname- The Gem City, aka The City Of Sparkling Little Lights and CarboPlatin contains partial names of two neighboring counties to the county we live in- Albany County, – Carbon County is our neighbor to the west where we often go for outdoor recreation opportunities and Platte County, which we border to our northwest happens to be the county where we watched the 2017 solar eclipse . Those minor coincidences along with the powerful positive vibes, prayers from family and friends, combined with Jill’s super powers and amazing fighting spirit allowed for a positive response and a final result that avoided many of the common side effects associated with chemo. That said, its a good plan to fall back on, because of what it was able to do and we are confident that we could go back to where we left off on this treatment at a later date if need be. Immunotherapy will be the plan going forward.

Some may be asking, “What is immunotherapy?”. Long explanation short andover simplified-the treatment will involve boosting Jill’s immune system to target, fight, and eventually defeat the cancer. We are well aware of the risks associated with the treatment and are eager to increase the success rate by fighting through this with everything we have. Different therapies have different side effects and results for different people. We are hoping to take the positive results from the chemo we just finished and using that as a 1-2 punch combined with the new immunotherapy to achieve results that are no less than stability and regression. The doctors in Jill’s corner have said that there is research to support a greater effectiveness for immunotherapy after coming off successful chemotherapy , so we will be doubling down on that with high hopes for positive results. (I feel a forced mixed martial arts combined with a vegas blackjack metaphor developing here.) Jill has been training, taking her vitamins, and is ready to beat the odds by putting this diagnosis in a submission hold using a signature Ronda Rousy-like Armbar with one arm while using the other arm’s hand to win all house chips while playing video blackjack on her phone, all from the comforts of her immunotherapy treatment chair.

Anywho,  so I guess that brings us to 2018, and Jill has started the year feeling better than she has felt in months. We are feeling strong and more prepared for the upcoming treatment and we believe we’re going to get positive results. We couldn’t have made it to this point without the support the doctors, family, co-workers and the friends we have in our corner. You have all been there throughout this battle at our side in our minds with love, support, encouragement, positive thoughts and prayers. We want to thank everyone for being there when we have needed you and your understanding when we haven’t and your advice and best wishes have always been appreciated as we’ve made it through successful and  unsuccessful treatments, looked for new ones after old ones stopped being effective, and as we’ve waited for new discoveries and cancer treatments and cures that will be available in the future. Happy New Year and best wishes, happiness, and health from us to you for 2018.

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Treatment #2: Side Effects

There are a lot of tricks you can utilize to help fight undesirable side effects when you’re fighting cancer that aren’t in the - ‘You Have Cancer Now What?’ pamphlet. I should probably preface this disclosure by saying that we have never actually read that pamphlet, but we’ve read other pamphlets for a wide range of reasons and based on those pamphlets , we’re pretty sure we could guess what would be in that specific pamphlet also.

We once did a clinical treatment in Colorado and the possible side effect list was a mile long and contained every life threatening warning and horror thought imaginable rangining anywhere from the sudden onset of compulsive gambling to the inability to operate light machinery, and with the exception of that one time Jill woke up at 3am to cash in all of our loose change around the house so she could buy 47 Count Cashula scratch off tickets then proceeded to overflow the coffee maker all over the floor while scratching them off with her fingernails because she forgot to use a filter and spent all of our coins, we made it out ok.

My point is this, there are side effects to pretty much anything , including cancer treatments and most of those can be loosely described as ‘feeling crappy ‘, but what matters and what can best help you make it through these treatments with the least amount of possible side effects are the ‘tricks’ you use. These are no secret , some you figure out on your own , others are told to you by the nurses that take your vitals. Boxes and boxes of candy, rice pads you heat up in the microwave, Gatorade, soup , ice water, exercise, scent free air , etc are all little things you can do that can make a big difference. But there is one thing that can help you get through this that is more important than anything else. That would be family.

The Gray’s are our next door neighbors and also happen to be our brothers and sisters both by mother and by law. Everyday they go over and beyond the call of duty for in-laws that just so happen to live next door, whether it’s bringing over soup , home cooked meals that we can freeze , letting their dog Rowan hang out with Jill to keep her company when she’s working, not getting mad when they need a cup of sugar and we’ve borrowed it all, walking Henry to school or picking him up when we need to rest , or any of the millions of other favors or therapeutic support services they provide. They have allowed us to lean on them like no other. And while our little corner on 5th and Garfield isn’t exactly reminiscent of the set of Ozzie and Harriet due to the semi-permanent perceived, real or imagined rain cloud parked over 404 S. 5th, our symbiotic relationship is not exactly that of the unseen neighbor, Earl Hindman peeking through the fence on the set of Home Improvement either. Matt, Renee, Emmitt, and Julep have been the best neighbor family we could ever ask for and we are forever indebted to them for the love and support they provide for us without notice whenever we need them. Which is why I’m writing the American Cancer Society attention to the pamphlet writing department and telling them to add - move halfway across the country to live next door to your inlaws -to the tricks section of the ‘I Have Cancer Now What?” pamphlet because the love, support , and encouragement that are the side effects of living next door to the Gray family are the most important treatment that we could ask for. Thank you for being there and fighting this with us.

Jill has had minimal side effects after week 2 of treatment from Friday. Renee spent the treatment with Jill and that was super awesome in helping Jill get through the day. Two down and only 5 more treatments left. If this round of treatment was a Chess Game , Jill has been putting on a clinic for her triple negative challenger, and it’s just a matter of time before she’s declared a complete and total anniliation , obliteration, and victory over this opponent and then we’ll have this situation in a checkmate and I’ll be on to a better metaphor that helps explain the comparison between a treatment that is much less harsh that has long term positive effects that promotes stability and/or remission in relation to Jill’s determination to always be winning.

Jill said last night that she felt better this weekend than she’s felt since June, so I think that’s something that words in a blog post can’t express or address and it goes without saying how thankful we are for that.

Jill and Renee doing the treatment. Henry’s candy gingerbread house will come in handy if Jill gets the metallic chemotherapy taste in her mouth and needs hard candy to get rid of it.

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Time to dust off the old cancer blog.

Username and password retrieved , new password created.

One strategy to fighting cancer that’s worked well for our family over the past few years has been to pretty much go about our everyday lives and have as much fun or more fun and excitement than we would have had say if we never had received a cancer diagnosis to begin with. That strategy combined with clinical trials , doctor appointments, bi and tri monthly drives back and forth to Denver, scans, radiation treatments, medicine combos, and a healthy dose of vitamin d from the outdoors and nature etc. had done us pretty well for the last 5 years , but as one oncologist who is somewhat of a putz once told us, fighting cancer is sort of like a game of chess with long pauses between moves- and when that russian bastard cancer metaphor does make its move, then it’s time to change up our strategy and aggressively move to unmercifully attack that commie piece of garbage, pushing that cancer into a retreat, or something to that effect.

So , long story short and a few different treatments later, we’ve decided to go on the offensive with a tried and true plan of attack affectionately known to us as “old faithful’ using our oncologist’s recommended chemotherapy regimen highlighted by a few powerful cancer killing weaponrys including but not limited to gemcitabine and carboplatin. The plan is 7 treatments going into February for this toxic cancer targeting combo treatment to have its desired effect and at that point this cancer progression will be wishing it never popped it’s ugly , annoying jackasshattery out of the shadows and into our most recent CT scans.

What we know is that the first chemo therapy followed by the enzalutimite treatment worked well without major side effects for over 4 years and that in itself means that Jill responded in the top percentile for its effectiveness. And that predicts that it is likely that Jill will respond to the next treatment with similar or better success if we get things under control with our present predicament and chose the correct follow up companion treatment . We are older, wiser, and stronger now and we are going to channel that experience into cancer fighting expectations that are no less than stability and no greater than a cure. We appreciate the love and support we’ve enjoyed from our family and friends and we look forward to sharing positive news and developments very soon, as soon as we take a few of our opponents pieces off the board, of course.

Xoxo Jill and Tim

Jill gets tator tots, tim gets to eat lunch with hank at school , and the view from over the hill and across the street.

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March Scans look real good!

Jill and I had our first scans since we went from a bi-monthy to a tri-monthly schedule and the doctor said that things are looking stable and overall are going very well with the BC treatment and Jill has responded wonderfully to the clinical trial and is feeling great. That along with the side effects from the Barium and the scans were the most manageable for Jill yet to date,  so to quote Ice Cube- Today was a very good day.

We have been trying to let people know that we planning for a move soon. We are looking to add a little adventure to our lives in the form of 7,200 feet of higher altitude, snow, and 300 sunny days of vitamin D a year. In case we haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, I’ll break it to you by blog-we have been given the green light by our doctors and Jill’s work to move out to Wyoming this June. I turned my notice in a few weeks ago so I’ll be looking for a new teaching Job for next school year in Albany County which is in southeast Wyoming. Our clinical trial and treatment plan can all be transferred to Denver, which is 2 hours away from where we’ll live so we have made the decision to try something new in a search for cleaner and fresher air, less traffic travel times, and an increased opportunity to make a reality of the so called and highly elusive magical dream concept of what some call ‘easy living’. 

We have found a little house with a yard in downtown Laramie that is close to family and although we will miss the city of Chicago and the friends, family, and jobs that we love, we are excited for the adventure that lies ahead for us in Wyoming. We hope that you know that if you ever find yourself drifting the high plains on Interstate 80 between the Laramie and Snowy Mountain Ranges, that you’ll always have a place to visit and stay for as long as you’d like. 

We thank everyone for helping us get through the diagnosis and treatment of the last few years and for all of the love and positive power you’ve sent our way, we love you all very much and will always here and there for you if you ever need anything. 

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Great news again yesterday, a full year of good scans!