We are home

We were able to come home yesterday! Yahoo! He is on oxygen and wheezing some so we have to do breathing treatments every 4 hours around the clock but we are so grateful for the progress he is making. Again, thank you all for your fasting and prayers. We love you!

So Much Better

Thank you to all of those of you who fasted today and for all of your prayers. The Lord has answered them. Bruce feels so much better. His wheezing is pretty much gone, his strength is returning slowly. He will be coming home tomorrow. We are so grateful to all of you and especially to the Lord for answering our pleadings and prayers. The blessings have been amazing and are continually working in our lives. We love you all!

A curve ball

Bruce is in the hospital. He is at Huntsman. His asthma has kicked in in a major way and they are doing everything the can but it doesnt seem to be getting better. We are fasting tomorrow for this specific blessing that his asthma will clear. Please join us in this fast.

Super Lab Results Are Back

Yeah the results are finally back and they are good. First of all it is not uncommon for them to see multiple mutations in one cancer cell but Bruce has the most they've ever seen in a patient. They great part is 2 of the mutations are targetable with targeted Chemo Therapy Drugs. This is what we have been hoping for and is great news for Bruce's prognosis. The Dr. is going to talk to some Geneticists about Bruce because of the number of mutations they saw. There may be other studies being done on some of the other mutations so our appointment on April the 7th will be interesting.The wait is finally over for the test results Yahoo!
Also, Bruce was unable to have the Chemo he was supposed to have today because his platelet count was too low by one point. This is not unusual and will not affect the overall effect of the drugs that he is being given.
Its after the trial of your faith that you see miracles - so true!

Rough Day

Today has been a hard day. We just could not keep Bruce's asthma under control. He was doing breathing treatments often and taking all the meds he could and still was wheezing very badly. We checked his oxygen and it was at 85-88% - too low. We called the on call Doc at the University hospital and he told us tobring him in. They gave him several breathing treatments with some better results but he was still wheezing. They decided to keep him at least over night. He is staying in the Hospital tonight and then we will see where he is at tomorrow. We will also be able to talk to his own Oncologist tomorrow. Thank goodness!
It takes 2 - 3 weeks for the Chemo to start working.
We will have the results of the super lab test this week - finally HAPPY DAY!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts

I have been so worried about how I was going to get the yard in shape all by myself. Because of my allergies Bruce takes care of the outside with very little help. This year obviously that could not happen. Then yesterday many wonderful friends came over and spent 3 hours weeding, pruning raking and just getting our yard in general in shape for the coming spring and summer. I don't know how to thank you for such a selfless service! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
Thank you also for the delicious soups, and wonderful meals that have been so helpful to us in this trial! We love you all and appreciate you more than we can express!

Chemo treatment #1

Today Bruce had his first Chemotherapy treatment. They infused him with 2 drugs and an anti nausea that is supposed to last for 3 days. That should be the amount of time that he will be nauseous. These are amazing new drugs that help with the side effects of chemo. He has a major headache tonight (on a scale of 1-10 he said they are a 7.5) and he is very tired! Our mantra is "we can do hard things".
The baseline scan results are back and the cancer has grown a little bit but nothing major, so that is good!
The super lab test results are not back yet but will be by the 25th of this Month. They finally got a large enough piece of tissue from St. Marks. These test results are huge for us as is the new drug which the FDA released 2 weeks ago. Either or both could improve Bruce's prognosis. Wow, there are so many wonderful advances being made in modern medicine and it is a miracle that we are extremely grateful for. Thanks to you all for your thoughts, prayers, and service!

An Easter Surprise

What wonderful friends we have! My BFF brought this darling basket to us as a welcome home from St George. She is so kind and thoughtful! It is such a blessing to know that we are loved!
We went to St George last week to visit family and to just get away for a couple of days. Bruce's brother has a home in St. George that he let us stay in. It was great to be able to relax and enjoy family. Bruce went golfing with his twin brother but found his energy level was not conducive to that activity. That will be his last game until he feels better.  Bruce has a twin brother who lives in St George. He has not seen him for some time. It was great to go to dinner with them and spend some time catching up.

Baseline CT scan today

Today we are going to Huntsman for a baseline CT scan. This is to determine where the cancer is before they start Chemotherapy tomorrow. This will help them to see how well the Chemotherapy is working. Bruce has been very tired and weak since the radiation. His forehead looks burned, because it is, from the Radiation. His skin is very sensitive. Just walking around the house and up and down the stairs is exhausting for him. He should be seeing some improvement in a week or two. We are a little worried about what the chemo will do to him though. Scary times.

Another thought - we are so grateful to good friends!

Last week a wonderful friend of ours who had been through cancer brought us a bag of the foods that she could actually eat and tasted so good to her while she went through chemo! That was so thoughtful and Bruce (and I) love the drinks and bagels that she brought. It was so kind of you to think of us!

Today some wonderful friends brought this sunshine basket to us! It just lifted our spirits and brightened our day so much! Thank you so much - you know who you are!!

Another friend has brought soup several times and we so appreciate this thoughtful kindness!

My dear BFF checks on us everyday and has brought dinner 4 times! She has sent plants, brought treats and so much more! I love you girl!

There have been so many other acts of kindness that have helped us so much through this really hard time. These are just some of the tender mercies we have received and we are so grateful. Thank you to you all!!  We love you!!

Well this is a Miracle!

We all know how slow the FDA is. Well this week they actually approved the new immunotherapy drug that is effective on Bruce's type of lung cancer! This approval is at least a year ahead of schedule. We are so excited to hear this great news. The protocol is that if  after 1 round of chemo the cancer is not responding they will give Bruce the new drug. The doctor thinks immunotherapy is the replacement for chemo in the future, that is how promising it is. Jared's home teaching companion is a Lung Cancer Doc in Boise. He said this is the biggest breakthrough in Cancer treatment EVER. Immunotherapy has been shown to be very effective.  Basically what it does is allow your own body to see cancer cells as foreign cells and your own body kills them!
Due to stem cell research there are great strides being made in cancer therapy these days. In the last 3 years treatment has changed dramatically. We are so grateful for those brilliant minds that are learning so much and making these treatments possible. We are especially grateful to the Lord for his hand in all of this!

Side Effects

We are seeing the side effects of radiation. Bruce is really tired. He walks very slowly and just has no energy. Sometimes it is hard for him to find the words he wants. It is hard on him and hard for me to watch. Just 2 treatments left and then he will have a couple of weeks to rest and heal. Jen is coming to town today and we are excited to see her! Yeah! We are so grateful for family!

No test results yet.

Yes we did go the Dr. on Thursday. The only problem was that the super lab test results are still not back yet. We are still waiting but feel confident that things will come back positively for Bruce. That means that we have hope that his genes have a genetic mutation that will result in better chemo therapy results.
This week Bruce will have his last 3 treatments of radiation. Radiation has made him extremely tired and he has pretty severe headaches because it makes your brain swell. He has some good medication to help with the swelling and the pain, thank heavens for the miracle of modern science!
After radiation he will have 2 weeks off of treatment to give his body a chance to recuperate and then on the 16th of March he will have another CT scan so that they can get a new base line before they start Chemo therapy. Then on the 17th of March he will start Chemo therapy. He will have 2 treatments a week for 3 weeks and then he will have a week off. We are not looking forward to the Chemo. We know how rough it can be after watching our granddaughter go through it but we have also seen her recovery as a result so please keep us in your prayers. We are so grateful for all of you and the love you have shown us. May the Lord bless you all for your kindness.