Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Big Day for Father/Son Team!
Gary had been diagnosed with stage II Hodgkins Lymphoma on the Cape. Monday, April 30, he had his appt. in Boston with a lymphoma specialist at Dana Farber and also received results for the pathology which the Cape team had sent to Boston to be read by one of the top specialists in the country. The reason that there had been some confusion is because people generally have either classical or non-classical Hodgkins Lymphoma and it is now confirmed that Gary has signs of both. The recovery/cure rate is still very high but it means that he will definitely be treated with radiation after he completes chemo which started today and will continue once every other week for four months. It also means that he will be followed up after treatments for a ten year period. The treatment center is only a few miles from our house so we stopped by and visited him during treatments this morning. He is now home following his first four hour teatment and feeling a little nauseous . He is very faithful about updating everyone through his blog so check it out at http://www.gmsheehan.blogspot.com/
Mark confessed yesterday that he has been spitting up blood for the past few weeks. He has also been short of breath so between that and his loss of energy in the past month, we did not expect good results from his tests when we visited the oncologist this afternoon. However, he was relieved that he does not have to go back to radiation or chemo right now. The nodule in his mid-chest, right lung area has grown since his last CT scan so Dr. Aviles (who is now Gary's oncologist as well and assures us Gary will be absolutely fine after treatments) wants to be proactive and attack it before it grows anymore. It was decided that he would start intravenous treatments of Erbitux for at least the next few months. His once a week treatments start tomorrow at the same place he and Gary go for chemo. Coincidentally, Erbitux is the drug that initially had poor clinical trials so Martha Stewart sold her shares in the company. However, when she was serving time, more recent clinical trials proved to be more promising and Dr. Aviles believes it is the right drug to attempt to stop the growth of the tumor growing in Mark's lung. The primary side effect of Erbitux is that it may cause facial rashes. There are a few other possible side effects but they are very minimal compared to chemo.
Meanwhile, we are all trying to remain optimistic and focus on Mike & Steph's wedding June 22 and arrange treatments so that Mark and Gary will be feeling well that week. It is an off week for Gary and Mark will stop treatment beforehand and be reevaluated after the wedding to see how effective the Erbitux is and whether he should continue, discontinue or switch to another treatment. Gary, Mike and Kevin had an incredible, fun filled trip to Vegas with about a dozen friends last weekend for the bachelor party while a few of my close female friends and family members gathered for Steph's wedding shower in Norwalk, Ct where she grew up.
As always, we appreciate your support, prayers and positive vibes. We remain very optimisitc about Gary's complete recovery and Mark's ability to keep stopping those cancer cells in their tracks! I will update you in about a month to let you know how they are both doing.
Mark confessed yesterday that he has been spitting up blood for the past few weeks. He has also been short of breath so between that and his loss of energy in the past month, we did not expect good results from his tests when we visited the oncologist this afternoon. However, he was relieved that he does not have to go back to radiation or chemo right now. The nodule in his mid-chest, right lung area has grown since his last CT scan so Dr. Aviles (who is now Gary's oncologist as well and assures us Gary will be absolutely fine after treatments) wants to be proactive and attack it before it grows anymore. It was decided that he would start intravenous treatments of Erbitux for at least the next few months. His once a week treatments start tomorrow at the same place he and Gary go for chemo. Coincidentally, Erbitux is the drug that initially had poor clinical trials so Martha Stewart sold her shares in the company. However, when she was serving time, more recent clinical trials proved to be more promising and Dr. Aviles believes it is the right drug to attempt to stop the growth of the tumor growing in Mark's lung. The primary side effect of Erbitux is that it may cause facial rashes. There are a few other possible side effects but they are very minimal compared to chemo.
Meanwhile, we are all trying to remain optimistic and focus on Mike & Steph's wedding June 22 and arrange treatments so that Mark and Gary will be feeling well that week. It is an off week for Gary and Mark will stop treatment beforehand and be reevaluated after the wedding to see how effective the Erbitux is and whether he should continue, discontinue or switch to another treatment. Gary, Mike and Kevin had an incredible, fun filled trip to Vegas with about a dozen friends last weekend for the bachelor party while a few of my close female friends and family members gathered for Steph's wedding shower in Norwalk, Ct where she grew up.
As always, we appreciate your support, prayers and positive vibes. We remain very optimisitc about Gary's complete recovery and Mark's ability to keep stopping those cancer cells in their tracks! I will update you in about a month to let you know how they are both doing.
