Sunday, March 27, 2011

Another little update...

There are just a few updates from our last entry. I had the MRI on my head and it came back clear, so that was a relief and one less thing to worry about! They did find a third type of cancer called Cariocarcinoma which explains the rapid spread and will be treated with the same type of chemotherapy as prescribed before. Things are looking very positive still and we are on track to start treatment tomorrow. I feel like normal Shane and haven’t dealt with any “symptoms” of the cancer. I know chemo will affect this a bit but I’m not too worried about it:) The Lord has been so gracious on our family and He’s where I’m working on finding my strength and peace. Thank you all for your steadfast prayers and encouragement.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU!!!

We have been so blessed with all the wonderful food and groceries brought over! We can't thank you all enough! It has been the last thing we have wanted to think about these past couple weeks=) After meeting with the Oncologist, and discussing Shane's diet, we are switching to as much organic as possible=) And also NO sugar, fats or anything processed. We don't want to "feed" this cancer at all! Shane is juicing multiple times a day and eating tons of "raw" foods. We are going to be shopping in the Fred Meyer organic section and Marlene's Market from now on. We can't thank you enough for all your continued prayer and support!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Game Plan....

Ok, today we met with the Oncologist and figured out what my treatment is going to look like. After a few more tests next week, I’ll start 4 cycles of chemotherapy on March 28th. 1 cycle looks something like this: 1st week, 5 full days of chemo at Swedish Hospital, then over the next 2 weeks I go in for some 1 day treatments and check-ups. Now, multiply that by four and I guess that’s what it’s going to look like, but much more precise then I’m explaining:). After that, I’ll most likely have surgery to remove the lymph nodes (don’t know how many) that were infected or at risk I think. After that, the hope is that I’ll be cancer free. I’m sure I missed some important steps in there, but will get better educated on this I’m sure pretty quickly! Like always, can’t thank every one enough for their love and support.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Biopsy...


Hello all, we just got back from the Urologist and went over the biopsy results.  They came back saying that of the tumor tested, 85% was Teratoma, 15% Seminoma.  The good news is that these are treatable/curable cancers, the concern the doctor had was that it's not characteristic of them to spread the way my cancer has up into my lymph nodes.  So, he had the tissue samples sent to UW Medical Lab for more extensive testing because he thinks there may be another type of cancer that was not detected in this first biopsy.  Though the information today was good, we now need to wait another 4-5 days for this new biopsy report to come back.  
In the mean time, he did want me to see the Oncologist right away.  I have an appointment tomorrow at Swedish Hospital.   I’m also feeling much better since the surgery and am planning on going back to work until they decide when chemotherapy treatments will start, which I’m hoping to have a better idea of after tomorrow's appointment.  
Again, Amy and I can’t thank everyone enough for the overwhelming amount of prayers, words of encouragement, and help with needs that we’ve received this past week. 

Thursday, March 10, 2011

...and the journey begins....

Shane had his surgery at the Good Samaritan Hospital's new surgery center that opened 2 weeks ago.  The surgery went well and he will be recovering at home for the next few days.  He is in a lot of pain, but the medicine is helping a ton.  We should get the biopsy results sometime next Tuesday or Wednesday.  We will then meet with the oncologist to go over the results and then Shane will begin further treatments.

It is so hard to be strong and we know this is going to be a rough battle.... God is taking care of him and we are incredibly blessed for all the prayer and support from you all!  We NEED it!

...Tuesday, March 8th 2011...

After the CAT Scan results came, major concern arose with the doctor and he then sent Shane to have an  ultrasound done.  We then met with an urologist to go over the results.  We were told that Shane has some sort of Testicular Cancer and that he would need surgery asap and then a biopsy would be done to figure out what "type" of Testicular Cancer it was.  The lump that was on his neck was one of a hand full of lymph nodes in his neck, chest, stomach and kidneys that have been effected by cancer cells.

As you can imagine our world was shaken as this was a complete shock to us.  Lot's of tears, fear and every horrible emotion was running through us:(

Monday, March 7th 2011

Shane stopped by Dr. Mark Grubb's office to have this "lump" looked at.  Right away, Dr. Grubb was very concerned and recommended he be seen by another doctor that same day.  Shane went to the 2nd doctor and was told that this was serious and he would need blood work and an CAT Scan done immediately.

Where it all began....Sunday, March 6th 2011

For 2-3 weeks, Shane's neck has really bothered him.  I would massage it, but it just seemed to have a constant ache.  Sunday night, Shane was looking in the mirror and noticed a golf ball sized lump near his collar bone.  Both of us agreeing that it should be checked out...but also thinking it was just a pulled muscle or something that didn't bring either of us too much concern.