Good Afternoon!

Chad finished his first cycle of his 3rd round of chemo this week. He will have 2 more infusions before he has another set of scans done. He was very tired but his nausea seemed to be under better control during this treatment. We think that we are seeing a slight improvement in nausea and eating since he started the new medication but it's still a little soon to be able to tell for sure if it's the medication or if he's just been on an upswing. It can be hard to judge because he cycles up and down so frequently and without any real pattern. I am very thankful that Chad's weight held steady through both infusions this cycle. He didn't gain any weight but he didn't lose any weight either which is a huge victory since he has lost weight every week since mid-July. Chad is experiencing the same side effects that he always has, they just seem to get louder with each treatment. His neuropathy has increased and he is experiencing numbness for the first time. It is something that we knew could happen but it had not appeared until now. It is happening in his feet and we are monitoring it closely as we don't want him to experience permanent nerve damage. Overall, he's doing as well as can be expected and continues to amaze us everyday. [...]

Good Evening Everyone!

As you can imagine it was a long, nerve wracking 10 day wait for the radiology report to come back but we finally have the results. After going over it with a fine tooth comb and asking a ton of questions, I can now share what we've learned with all of you. Chad had 2 Cat Scans done on September 6th, one of his chest and one of his abdomen. The chest scan came back completely clear with no change from the previous scans. This is good news as we can celebrate that the cancer has not moved outside of the already identified areas of the body.[...]

Hello all, we are anxiously awaiting news from Chad’s scans but we are still waiting to connect with the doctor, which may not happen until next week.[...]

Hello!!

I am stopping by tonight for a swift update. Chad had his 10th infusion last week which completed his second round of chemotherapy. He will have CT Scans Friday morning to evaluate the effectiveness of this most recent round of treatment and I will update you all right away. Please continue to pray and send good vibes, energy and juju in support of our hopes that the scans will show no further progression. You all are wonderful! We feel your love and support and are so thankful for all of you! [...]

Good Evening!

I have realized that when there is an irregularity in journal updates many of you become worried and fear that something serious has happened and I'm so sorry. I want you all to know that Chad is doing the best that he can and the reason for not posting more frequently is simply because I have a lot of balls in the air, not because of any change in prognosis. We do appreciate your concern, you are all wonderful and the fact that you all care so deeply means so much. I returned to work last week after 5 months away and while I am truly happy to be back with my colleagues and students, as you might imagine I had to do a lot of prep work over the last couple of weeks to feel comfortable leaving Chad. (I had to miss my first appointment since Chad's health problems began and while I was strong on the outside I was a mess on the inside!) In short, I've been emotionally preoccupied with this transition and it's been hard for me to sit down and write but you will continue to hear from us at least every couple of weeks or so unless we have a new development to share. We love you all and are thankful that you are on this journey with us.[...]

Greetings Friends & Family!

It's been a few weeks so I thought that I should check in with you all and give an update on how things are going.[...]

Good Afternoon!

Please forgive the delay in updates, we have been busy, busy, busy! Chad has taken his medical team's advice to get out and live it up quite literally and his energy and zest for life is immeasurable. I'm having a hard time keeping up with him. He is really grabbing life by the horns! In the last week alone we've watched the Tribe vs Reds for the battle of Ohio in Cincinnati, the Home Run Derby & visiting family in Cleveland and the always awesome up close fireworks experience at Lake Choctaw. We want to thank everyone that helped us with all of these events. It is truly because of all of you helping us out and pitching in that we are able to get out and do all of the fun things that we are doing. Even though this is the toughest time in our lives, by choosing to keep going we are also finding some of the most special moments we've shared together and we are thankful. [...]

Hello! Hello! Hello!

It's been awhile since we checked in with everyone and I want you all to know that things are going well, we have one of those 'no news is good news' situations. Our summer is off to a nice start and we've been enjoying time with family and friends.[...]

Good Evening Everyone!

We are back from sunny southwest Florida and are happy to share with you that the results from last Sunday's scans are in and we are pleased with the findings! Chad showed improvement in all 5 of the areas where cancer was found previously and there is no evidence of progression of disease or new areas of concern. The most significant improvement was in the omentum/upper abdomen area where the largest of the nodules decreased in size going from 1.7 x 1.4 cm to 1 x 1 cm. Three other lymph nodes were measurably smaller and there were quite a few nodules on the last scan that were no longer visible on this one. The chemotherapy and your prayers and support are working!! [...]

Aja and Chad are officially taking a break in Florida this week.  Chad had scans done on Sunday with no issues and will get the results next week.  We will update everyone at that time[...]