Sid Bacon

It is always nice to come to a Friday, and for ASU we have a 3-day weekend coming up (we celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday).  We’ll have company in town through Monday, so I won’t be writing again until next Tuesday. 
 

Cathy and I went to Piper this morning.  I’ve been having a side ache for the past few days, and we wanted to make sure there wasn’t something wrong with my lung.  My lungs are fine, although it appears the pain may be originating in the area of my spleen and pancreas (and referred to my side). The pain could be caused by any number of things, but I was told that there is no reason for alarm.  That is always good to hear.  We are so lucky to have my care being coordinated at Piper.  Today, for example, they saw me as soon as I could get there.  There are not many medical places where you can call, talk to a medical professional, and then be seen shortly thereafter. 
 

It is time for me to have a CT scan.  That is being ordered for next Tuesday. I have one scheduled at Mayo the following Tuesday, though presumably it will suffice to send the results to Mayo, as I’m sure my insurance company will not want to pay for two CT scans just one week apart.  It is amazing how much my insurance company has paid for my care this past year.  I am lucky to have good insurance.
 

The CT scan should give us information on how I am doing in terms of tumor size and any spread of disease.  Thus far I have had no spread, and in fact the tumors on my liver have essentially disappeared.  It has been a while since I’ve had chemo or radiation, so I might expect to see some tumor growth. I certainly hope not, but it would not be surprising if there were.  If there is tumor growth, I am confident that my chemo will take care of it!
 

I continue to feel well and eat pretty well.  I gained a couple pounds since Tuesday … it helps to eat and keep your food down.  I have to eat frequently in order to gain weight, as I can’t quite eat a really large meal just yet.  It is hard for me to gain weight, but I’ve done it before, so I’m certain I can do it again. It just takes time.
 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I am expecting to have a fun 3-day weekend with family.
 

Thanks for all your support!

I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. We had a great 3-day weekend with our company, but now it is back to just Cathy and me and our usual routine (I enjoy that, too, so I’m not complaining).  Laura left Sunday evening and went back to her house because she had to work yesterday. Mary and Kevin flew back to San Luis Obispo late Monday morning and Dan flew back to San Diego mid afternoon on Monday.  Dan, Cathy, and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden for lunch and a stroll prior to dropping Dan off at the airport.  The weather was perfect, as was the company. 
 

After we took Dan to the airport, Cathy and I went to the movie “Flight”, starring Denzel Washington.  It was a very good movie … Denzel was excellent in his role. 
 

Cathy and I will be going to Piper today.  I have a CT scan scheduled for this afternoon, followed by blood work.  We then go back on Thursday to get the results and have an exam.  I have some relatively new pains, so I’ll be anxious to hear the results of the scan.  Here is to hoping that the new pains don’t reflect a growing tumor.
 

The weather has been great for taking desert strolls, with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the 40s. It was only a little bit harder to get my walks in when we had company; I only missed one day (yesterday), which isn’t too bad.  Plus, I got to walk around the Desert Botanical Garden, so I got in a bit of a walk.  I need to keep walking, as I need to be as strong as possible to face and beat this awful disease.
 

College basketball is in full swing.  My Kansas Jayhawks are ranked 4th and are doing quite well.  I got to watch them play Texas on TV this past Saturday.  They came from behind and secured their victory near the end of the game.  It was a little too exciting!
 

As always, thank you for your love and support. It means a great deal to Cathy and me.  

I had my CT scan yesterday afternoon, followed by some blood work (including the tumor marker CA19-9).  I have an appointment tomorrow morning at 10:00 to hear the results.  We’ll be anxious to know where things stand. It has been awhile since we have had any form of treatment (the radiation ended in the early part of December), so it would be surprising if the tumor hasn’t become active and increased in size. I, of course, hope it has not, but I’m braced to hear that it has. I really hope that the cancer hasn’t spread, and that the tumors that were on the liver are still absent. Regardless of the outcome of the tests, the treatment option will be the same: a combination of the drugs abraxane and gemcitabine. This is the combination I had at the beginning of this journey, and it was very effective.  I have to believe that it will be effective once again.
 

The weather has been perfect for our walks.  This morning Cathy went on a short (30-min) run and then went on a walk with me. I so enjoy those walks and all the time I get to spend with her. She is my best friend, and her unwavering support is so important to me. We are clearly going through this together. The importance of being with family is heightened by my disease. Although Dan is in San Diego, we get to see him fairly frequently and, moreover, he calls almost every day just to touch base. And we get to talk with Laura quite frequently as well.  I am so lucky to have such attentive children. I am fortunate to spend as much time with them as I do.
 

My weight has been holding relatively steady of late. Cathy and I set an ambitious goal of gaining one pound between Tuesday (yesterday) and Thursday (tomorrow).  I can’t eat large meals, so I need to eat frequently in order to get those calories in me and the pounds on me.  We started trying to reach our goal by having a Blizzard from Dairy Queen immediately after our appointment at Piper on Tuesday.  I’ll take the calories from wherever I can get them!
 

Speaking of KU basketball … my Jayhawks beat rival K-State in Manhattan last night.  Depending upon the poll, K-State is ranked 11th or 13th, whereas KU is ranked either 2nd or 3rd, so this was a nice victory in what must have been a hostile environment.  It is too early to think about March Madness … I’ll just enjoy the regular season for now.
 

I am fortunate that things are going pretty well for me. I am, of course, anxious to hear the results of the CT scan and tumor marker, but my symptoms are not too bad.  My pain level is controlled by my fentanyl patches (75 mcg/h), I have more than enough energy to go on walks, and I am starting to eat better. All these are good signs … I should focus on these positive aspects.
 

Another positive aspect is the love and support we receive from all of you. Cathy and I really appreciate it.  We feel better knowing that you are helping us fight this dreadful disease in whatever way you can.  Thank you!

I am sorry I did not post yesterday, but we needed to get a hold of our family to tell them the results of the CT scan and tumor marker test … I didn’t want them hearing about the results for the first time in this context.
 

I am afraid the results were disappointing.  The CA19-9 is up significantly, to 255 (at one point it had been as low as 16, well within normal limits).  This value is as high as it has ever been.  The CT scan showed that the tumor on the pancreas is unchanged (good news), although now it appears the cancer has spread to my lungs and liver (the two previous lesions on the liver are still not well defined, but now there are new ones, and one of them is fairly large). This is the first time we have seen evidence of spread to my lungs. We need to start chemotherapy as soon as possible, although it may be another week or so as I have a procedure scheduled at Mayo for next Thursday, and we need to get that done before starting chemo.  We’ll see if we can get that procedure moved up, but I am not optimistic that we will be able to do so. We’ll see.
 

It is hard to find hope in the face of this news, but I know it is important for me to keep a positive attitude, and I will find hope in the fact that these chemotherapy drugs worked wonders before, and there is a good chance they can and will again.  I know I am fighting for my life.  I am just glad I am not fighting alone.

Thank you for the outpouring of responses to my post last Friday.  Cathy and I were truly overwhelmed.  It was hard to read through them all with a dry eye.  You truly are helping me in this fight.
 

I have a surgical procedure scheduled at the Mayo Hospital on Thursday, although we are trying to get that moved up to today or tomorrow so that I can start chemo on Wednesday.  The procedure shouldn’t be done once I’m on chemo, so that is why we are trying to move things up … the folks at Piper want me on chemo ASAP. (The procedure, as I understand it, is to completely internalize the biliary drainage tube. Right now, part of the tube comes out my side. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they are able to internalize the tube. The interventional radiologist will need to review my recent CT scan first to make sure they can do the procedure. I assume they’ll do that this morning and we’ll go from there.)
 

We had a rainy weekend, which made it nice to stay inside with a fire in the fireplace.  It was cozy.  Cathy and I just wanted to be together … it was great that we were able to be together the entire weekend.  We’ll continue being together as much as possible. It just feels right, plus I get a great deal of strength from Cathy.
 

The rain on Saturday kept us from our walk, but we had enough dry time yesterday that we were able to go on a nice long walk.  Weather permitting, we’ll go on a walk today as well. As much as possible, I have to keep the walks in my daily routine. I need to be in the best shape I can possibly be in as I begin this new phase in my fight against this awful disease.
 

Again, I want to thank you for your love, support, prayers, thoughts, etc.  I clearly have the best Team around. 

P.S. Mayo just called. I am scheduled to have the procedure done tomorrow.  That is great news. Chemo isn’t scheduled yet, but I suspect it will be Wednesday.  We’ll need to start worrying about platelets again …