Whining Already!

Ok...I have only been at this road trip process to Madison every day for 4 days, and already it is getting old. :) The people and the radiation treatments have been fine, but the weather in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin SUCKS! Kim has been a trooper and got me there every day. We have the routine down...we are up by 6am, breakfast and out of the house by 8am, and home by 12:30ish depending on any stops Kim and I have to make....Starting next week, Kim will have to drop me off on her way to work so that My Awesome Crew of Drivers can pick me up and head north no later than 8:00-8:15 each morning depending on weather...woo hoo. My part of the routine is to either sleep on the way up, or the way back... I am such good company. :)

Health wise, I have developed a couple difficulties. The main complaint is throat soreness. I thought it was a side effect of the radiation until I found out that a good portion of my family that I spent some close time with on Sunday has Strep Throat. :) GREAT...Just what I needed... LOL!!!

So other than bitching about my throat being sore and wishing I could do more to help Kim out around the house, and really feeling bad about how hard my partner Jeff has had to work/travel over the last few weeks because of me, I am doing great.

As for the Chemo process, its a good thing that my wife is an ORGANIZATIONAL FREAK!!! :) Due to the medications, I have to make sure I do not eat anything after 8pm, take 1 pill at 9pm and take the Chemo regime at 10pm. This is in addition to morning and evening meds I have to take. I feel like one of those REALLY OLD people that have pill boxes broken out by hour and day...Oh wait, I have one that is layed out for an entire week. If my wife could find a way to attach a buzzer to it and to my nose-or something more painful, I might actually be able to follow it properly. Needless to say, thank God for her and her organization.

Best Day Yet!

Today has been the best day yet! I have truly felt beter mentally and physically than I have since prior to surgery. Today is the one month anniversary of my surgery. I think starting the treatments yesterday and understanding what it would feel like has released a ton of stress off of my shoulders. I actually woke up this morning and didn't think "oh shit, I have cancer...now what" today I woke up thinking about things going on with my business. What a much more pleasant thought to wake to.

Kim and I went to my radiation treatment scheduled for 10:15am. We arrived about 10:10 and I was done before 10:30 including the following pictures. :) We stuck around to talk with Dr. Mehta and as soon as I told him how I felt, he said Outstanding, I won't keep you...took all of about 1 minute. :)


I thought I would share some pics of my radiation experience to give you an idea of what the experience is like. This first one is my radiation tech team. From Left - Sarah, Susan, Lyndsey. They are super nice and caring individuals who did a great job explaining everything to me, then brought Kim in today so she could take pictures and see the process first hand.




This is a picture of the Radiation machine. It is very similar to an X Ray machine. The machine can move 180 Degrees side to side and front to back. In addition, the table I am laying on moves freely to allow them to put me in the exact position every time. The entire process takes about 10 minutes. The set up includes a ton of mathematical details including the exact size of pillow that goes under my knees. The Techs have to get a specific BS Degree to manage these machines. Pretty amazing.


Here is a pic of my mask from a distance. If you look closely, you can see a piece of tape that is a marking to help the techs line up the machine each time. They target two spots in my head. The right temporal lobe and the top of my head.

I told you in my last post that the mask I wear made me feel like Hannibal from Silence of the Lambs! Today, Kim took a picture to prove it. The purpose of the mask is to help them line up the machine and keep my head in the same position every time. It feels about as funny as it looks. :) I wanted to share it in its raw form because I know my buddies Jeff and Mark are chomping at the bit to put this in Photoshop to have some fun!

As you can see, my attitude is great and I am feeling amazing physically. Here is part of the reason that I feel so great today. Kim took this week off to take me to my treatments which has been great sharing this experience with her, but next week she has to go back to work. We had to reach out to a couple people who offered to help shuttling me up to Madison and back each day. I called Lyle (the sandwich savior from surgery day and one of my closest friends :). And Swan another close friend, and my Mom who would take me up every day if she could....Bless her heart!

Out of the 22 days that we needed help, Lyle and Swan picked up 15 of the days. Blew my mind. It is truly amazing how friends and family have jumped to help me. I can't put in to words how much it means....all I did was tell them what I had open and they sent me a ton of days each that they wanted to do it. I know I have some amazing friends, but this once again just blows me away.

This experience has already taught me the value of family and friends. I will never be able to take family or friends for granted again. It is truly an amazing feeling. Swan and Lyle, just know how much I appreciate what you guys are doing for me. Thank You.

I want to send another thank you to a close Mentor of mine from my NH Days who I know is reading and keeping tabs on me. As you can see, I have taken your advice and overcome my fear and actually asked for help! Thank you Martin B. for opening my mind to that. :) Cheers.

And Treatment Has BEGUN!!!

Woo Hoo! I started radiation today and will begin Chemotherapy in a few minutes.

We started the day with a meeting with Dr. Ian Robbins, our Medical Oncologist and Diana, the Clinical trial coordinator. They explained the chemo process which is 175mg of Temodar sp? daily. The funny part is that to get to 175mg, I have to take 7 pills. :) You would think they could make that a little easier, but I am not complaining.

We also spent some time drilling Dr. Robbins and Diana on a barrage of questions that we had from exercise, to nutrition. They overwhelminly stressed for us to stay on a normal healthy diet and not go overboard with ANY supplements or special diets. They will be monitoring my bloodwork weekly and will tell me if they want any changes to my diet. They were absolutely emphatic that my diet should stay the same... STARBUCKS STAYS!!!! :) This is a huge relief to me as I had started to READ TOO MUCH and was getting crazy ideas into my head. I much prefer to listen to these doctors, who are significantly smarter than me, and who I have come to trust. They even told my wife to BURN THE DAMN CANCER BOOKS. :) We all laughed. The saying "Being the Smartest Person in the Room" only applies to financial dealings...Let your doctors do what they went to school for 20 years to do. :) I TRULY BELIEVE IN MY DOCS and I am truly comfortable in the treatment environment at UW Madison. I would recommend it to anyone. I actually met some people from Rockford in the Chemo Waiting room that were much further in their treatment and raved about their experiences as well.

Diana said something to us today that really felt good. I asked what the goal of this course of treatment is (again, I have read too much about the stats on Grade 4 Glioblastomas...). Her reply was simple...to make this disease chronic. In otherwords, focus on making this a treatable long term disease like asthma or diabetes. Very realistic goals. Quality of Life will be tremendous and extended indefinitely. That is an excellent goal if I do say so myself!!! Seriously, I really appreciate the way this group/team of Dr.s and Nurses talk to me. They absolutely refuse to quote stats to me because... I am not a statistic, I am an individual. I am Younger than most with this disease and in great general health. Everything is on my side.

They explained that it takes a long time to kill off the cancer cells and that they do not expect any changes and possible even growth immediately after radiation...the explanation is that they are irritating the hell out of my brain for the next 6 weeks and that irritation could look like growth. We will be having occasional MRIs after Radiation, during the 6 to 12 months of chemo cycles. No Growth is what we are praying for. If it stays the same size, that is a good thing. That is important, cause I want to know what I am trying to attain...where am I driving this boat too? :)

After meeing with Dr. Ian and Diana, I went to my first radiation treatment. I will have to get pictures to better explain this process, but the process is similar to a CT Scan or XRay. I lay on a table with a plastic mask form fitted to my face.... (kind of feel like Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs. :) )

They started by taking X Rays with my mask on to ensure they target the right areas. The target areas are the Right Temporal Lobe - where I had the mass removed, and the top of my head where they found the other mass. They marked up the mask, and had the Radiation Oncologist come in to verify the placements of the marks/targets. They then all left the room, I heard a buzzing for about 30seconds... first wave done... Then the table that I was laying on shifted about 90 degrees so they could get the shot at the top of my head. 30 more seconds of buzzing...then I AM DONE. It truly was that easy. Kim gets to come in to the room tomorrow to observe...We will try and get some pics!!! :)

After the radiation, because this was the beginning of the chemo process, I had to go to where the IV Chemo is adminstered and have an antibiotic infused to me via IV. The process took around two hours and I napped through much of it...thanks to the IV Benedryl that they started me with.

Some great news from Diana and Dr. Ian. They truly do not expect for me to have to deal with many side effects. That is some great news and I truly hope they are right!

So upon finishing the IV, around 4pm, we headed home! In Kim's bag (the size of an overnight bag I might add) is new anti nausea drug, refills of other drugs, and 40 days of chemo pills. All said and done, I spent $63.00. Thanks to this clinical trial, the $50,000.00 worth of chemo meds are free! That is truly a blessing. Dont get me wrong, I am blessed with a great insurance company, but not only do I have an opportunity to get aggressively involved with my course of treatment through this clinical trial, but the meds are free! You can only imagine the amount of stress that has been released from the financial sense knowing this.

So, all in all, a great day. I wrote a new song...it goes like this... 30 Days of Radiation on the Wall, 30 days of Radiation... Take one down, pass it around... 29 Days of Radiation left on the wall... I plan to sing it every day and reduce the number by one until we get to ZERO!!!

Keep your eyes out tomorrow, we will do everything in our power to get some great pics to share, including one of me looking like Hannibal Lecter. :)

Anticipation...

This title sounds like that Ketchup commercial from years ago. My Anticipation today is that I finally begin my journey of treatment tomorrow morning.

I am suprisingly calm and relaxed about the treatment beginning. I have had a great weekend. Kim and I spent this morning with my family which was great and ended the day having dinner with our friends Craig and Sue, which was a blast as well.

My last post was about cleansing tears and saying some things that needed to be said, but I am finding that Laughter is even better therapy. What sent me down this route of thinking is of course Marky P. If you read the comment by Marky P on my last post, you would think that all we did was drink at Franchescos and we really didn't work that hard during our NH Rockford days, but the truth was, we worked 60 hour weeks and only went to Franny's 5-6 nights per week. :) Between the marketing & business planning that we did on cocktail napkins and the stress relieving laughing we did, we made it through some pretty amazing times! I can always count on Mark for keeping things in perspective and always keeping me laughing...One Time at band camp... :)

If you are running short on laughs, ask Mark to tell you either one of the two most classics jokes every played on a sales guy...Mr. Junior Ops. They are absolute classics and are guaranteed to get you laughing... "The Fake Check", and "The Penny in the Urinal". If I thought I could do them justice, I would attempt to tell them here, but I have no talent in that arena and won't even try. :) but I promise you that even thinking about them today has me laughing!!

As for my current business, my partner Jeff also has a knack for making me laugh. He keeps me laughing on a constant basis. Again, for a sample, ask him to see Jake Mako - the interactive flash cartoon he created about a demented landshark.

For the scariest of comedic collisions, put Jeff and Mark together to write comic articles for our fantasy football league- The SmackTalkers. They definitely live up to the league name and keep us all laughing throughout the season! However, BE VERY AFRAID OF WHAT THEY CAN DO WITH PHOTOSHOP!!!

Most of the time, the best laughs come from the simplest things in life...family. For an immediate and quick laugh, all I need to do is hear the latest tales about my youngest nieces and nephews. The stories are always something that makes me smile and consistently brightens my day! I need to start writing some of these stories down so that I can bring them up at the kids 16th bday parties in several years and do my official job as an uncle and embarass the kids!

So, that is the latest on my therapy regime. I think laughter is truly going to be a great way to carry me through the next 6 weeks of radiation and chemo. I am blessed to have so much around me that keeps me smiling and laughing. Don't be suprised if the next time you see me, I am wearing the hat that Kim has already picked out for me. "I have ChemoBrain, What's YOUR EXCUSE? :) As 13 month old Miss Ava puts it... PEACE OUT!! :)

Tears of a Clown

The title is a pretty cheesy thought stolen from the title of an 80's Tune, but it fits my mindset today!

I went back and reviewed some of the blog entries and comments that have been posted and I was completely blown away - AGAIN. It amazes me the impact that I have had in my professional career on individuals. I have always believed that you need to treat each person with respect and motivate them individually. When I first started NH Rockford, Mark P and I spent alot of time - at a local pub of course- discussing how we wanted to motivate and build our team of employees. NH Rockford was a pretty amazing organization. We still hold records on revenue development from startup and per capita sales. All of that had to do with the team that we built. As Marky P puts it, it was the first organization that any of us have been involved in that truly had everyone rowing the boat in the same direction. :)

The thing that really stuck with me today was a post from MJ Wilcox, one of the best instructors that I have ever worked with. I can't seem to get it out of my mind today, so I will share it with all of you.

mjwilcox said...
Steve, I remember clearly the day at New Horizons that I failed my first (and only) Microsoft exam. I remembering walking into your office feeling like I had been defeated, but when I walked out I felt like I could conquer the world. Your encouraging words gave me confidence that has stayed with me, and I haven't failed a single test since that day. You had such a positive effect on me and gave me the confidence to know that I would succeed with whatever challenge I was faced. Put simply, you believed in me. I see this positive and inspirational attitude being returned to you a hundred times over. You have a large circle of friends who are here to support you, walk with you during this journey, and believe in YOU. You are in my thoughts and prayers often.

To even think that I have had the ability to touch people like that makes everything that I have done in my life worthwhile. It makes the fight that I am facing now worth it. In reading the book by Lance Armstrong that I mentioned in an earlier post, he says something that originally floored me "Given a choice between cancer and winning the Tour de France, I'd choose the cancer. What I mean is that I wouldn't have learned all I did if I hadn't had to contend with the cancer. " - Lance Armstrong "It's Not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life"

After thinking about MJs post and the mental review of what I have done in my life and what I still plan to do, I finally understand. My forthcoming battle with cancer has forced me to appreciate the outstanding life that I have led, and more importantly have left to lead. From my professional life and the individuals that I have helped grow their careers to the lifelong friends I have made, to the family that I am so thankful for, to my wife who is my life and keeps me going every day!

With that in mind, I have a big thank you that I want to share. This is for my Father- Bill. He adopted my sister and I after marrying my Mom when I was around 12-13 yrs old. I was a little shit of a preteen at that time and he was firm with me. This I can promise you. If it wasn't for him, I would have never gone to college, finished college, or gotten my Masters Degree. In other words, I owe much of my professional career to him for the way he raised me and I will forever be thankful to him for that. I have never been able to express that to him verbally, but I truly hope he knows it. Dad, Now that the jello that was my brain when I was 13 has been removed, I am able to understand the value of what you gave me. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! :)

It goes without saying that the rest of my family has had a huge impact on me as well, such as my Mom who has laughed with me, cryed with me, and slapped me upside the head helping me get my head out of my ass. :) I have always had a special relationship with her and it has carried me through so many key events in my life. My brother Kevin who helped me so much as a teen understand what the hell my Dad meant with some of his punishments (the jello was definitely in the way at that time) to giving me someone to look up to and push me to achieve more. To my sister who put up with me mercilessly torturing her while I babysat her and who now I am so proud of the woman and mother that she has become. Thank you and I love you all.

I apologize for the sentimental post today, but between MJs post and the Armstrong book, I have spent alot of time thinking about my life. I can promise you this. I am more committed than ever to doing everything within my power to survive this battle!

They tell me tears are cleansing...after this, I should be pretty well cleaned out. :)

The Healing has begun!

Ok...here is a pic as of this morning of my surgery scar. As you can see, you can hardly tell that a little over 3 weeks ago, they removed a 3" tumor from my temporal lobe.

It just blows me away how quickly this has healed! I figure that if I can heal this quickly from a 12 hour surgery, that I can definitely handle this Radiation and Chemo stuff!!

Just a quick note, one of the side effects of the radiation is that I will lose my hair. Keep in mind, I haven't started the radiation yet. :) That would be the side effect that I am least worried about. Kojak, here I come! :)

As life has begun to return to normal and the waiting game has begun for my treatment (starts 1/28) I have been thinking about what normal life was like. My mind immediately jumps to two areas, one is getting back to work, which keeps me challenged and the other is the vacation that Kim and I were on 2 weeks before this all happened. We went on a cruise with 3 other couples. Our longtime hockey friends and us went on a 7 day cruise to the Southern Carribean. It was an amazing vacation. We went to Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Thomas/St. Johns. We snorkeled at one of the most beautiful places in the world, Trunk Bay, St. Johns, in addition to Aruba. Kim was able to make a new friend Sandra at her new favorite jewelry store in St. Maarten, and we spent a week constantly laughing with our great friends. Before the trip, I got a new digital camera. I took 138 pictures and have about 4 good ones. :) I am not a strong photographer.

I am sharing some of these pictures for a couple reasons. 1. They truly make me remember great times, and 2. I thought you all might enjoy something other than my scar. :)



My wife, Kim looking stunning (as usual) on one of the formal nights on the ship. Just one more time, this woman has been absolutely amazing throughout this entire ordeal. Between her, my family, and my friends, I am truly the luckiest guy in the world.










The Sunset as the ship leaves Aruba. WOW! Not a bad pic for a hack of a wanna be photographer. :)













The wanna-be photographer, studying hard!!!















The entire crew enjoying the beach at Curacao! Thank you guys so much. Remembering the laughs and the good times of this trip keeps me going. Not to mention, that Kim and I have to go back to visit her new jeweler friend in St. Maarten!!! I vote for a return trip in late 2008 after I have kicked this cancer crap into remission!






Here is the last pic I will force upon you. :) This is truly the best pic I took during the entire trip and is what I believe to be one of the most beautiful places in the world! It is Trunk Bay on St. Johns U.S.V.I. It is an amazing place and is now the background on all of my computers. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for listening/reading my babble today!

New Day, New Attitude

After my downer post yesterday, I wanted to share my great day today.

Now that my health is improving post surgery, my biggest challenge is keeping my head straight. A couple things have happened recently to help me get my head around things. First was the meeting yesterday with the radiation techs. They really helped my fears alot. Then during dinner with Jeff and Mendy, they gave me a gift for my Birthday. It is a Book by Lance Armstrong "It's Not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life" I started reading it today and what a great story! Thank you Jeff and Mendy.

Today, Kim and I wanted to get out of the house for a while so we went into town to do a little shopping and decided to stop by to see Lyle, Laura, and their adorable Daughter Ava. What a great way to lift your spirits. Hang out and play with a 13 month old little princess. On top of that, they gave me a gift of some great books and an Angel of Prayer. Now, to receive this from Laura really means alot. This will probably only make sense to a few of you but, Laura and I used to work together many many years ago and religion used to be a common discussion. I have never been a very religious person, but Laura has always been a devote Catholic. We used to have debates and it made for some great conversations- I actually learned alot. After an experience like what I have gone through, it does test your faith. I have had a ton of people tell me that they are praying for me and that truly means alot to me. And after knowing Lyle and Laura for all of these years, recieving that gift from them really touched me. Thank You!

So, overall, I had a great day. Kim and I spent alot of time together, bought some curtains, and we got to spend time with Ava and our friends...what more could I ask for.

1st Treatment Scheduled

Had a tough start to the day mentally. It is my birthday, which had me a little down to begin with, then my wife gets me the most beautiful card that literally made me breakdown and cry.
In addition, I had an appointment scheduled at UW Madison today to get "fitted" for the radiation treatment, which had me anxious and a little scared. However, my day got significantly better as it went on. It started with an absolutley hilarious ecard from my friend Mark P. That was followed up by a trip to the chiropractor that really helped my back, and a stop at Flatlanders for a Coffee and chat with Rocco, Sally, and Jan.

Kim came home around 11am and we began the trek to Madison. Once we got there, I met with the Clinical Trial Coordinator who informed me that I am in the trial! Yeah! She then had to give me a cognitive battery of tests as part of the trial...My memory has always sucked but she said I did well anyway. :) I was then fitted for my "Radiation Mask" which is a mask that I wear during the radiation to ensure they target the right spots. The process was pretty simple and the radiation techs were great. They did a great job of addressing my fears and giving me a lot of good information on side effects, etc..

I am now scheduled to begin my radiation and chemo treatments 1/28/08. I will be in radiation for 5 days per week for 6 weeks and be taking oral chemo every day for 6 weeks. We then take a 4 week break to heal and then begin the Chemo Trial for 6 months. I will be able to do that from home and only have to go to Madison about once a month. That's when we kick this thing into remission and resume the rest of my LIFE!!!! As you can see, my attitude has definitely improved since meeting with the Techs. I am feeling good and looking forward to getting this process started.

As a matter of fact, Kim and I are even going out to dinner for my birthday with my business partner Jeff and his wife Mendy who have been awesome throughout this process except for his smart ass comment from the other day. :)

Have a great weekend everyone and thank you so much for the positive thoughts and prayers. They are truly helping!

We Have a Plan!

We went back up to UW Madison today to meet with Dr. Minesh Mehta. He is a world renown expert in my type of tumor. We met with him last week and he wanted to run a bunch of tests. Today we went over the tests and determined a course of action.

1. UW reran the pathology of the tumor and confirmed the original findings of a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme.
2. The MRI Confirmed that Dr. Crute did an excellent job removing the bulk of the tumor, but due to the nature of the tumor, there is abnormalities in other parts of my brain that have to be attacked with Radiation.

THE PLAN

1. We will start with a 6 week (5 days/week) course of radiation focused on my entire brain to attack any remnants of tumor.
2. In conjunction, I will be taking an oral course of chemotherapy (a pill) every day (7 days/week) throughout the course of the radiation 42 days.
3. We decided to enter a clinical trial for the chemotherapy. The clinical trial will begin 4 weeks after my first course of chemo and radiation. Depending on which "arm" of the trial I will be in (random) I will get one of two courses. Course 1 is 5 days of Chemo per 28 days for 6 months, course 2 is 21 days of chemo per 28 days for 6 months. We decided and the doctors encouraged us to consider this trial because of my age and general good health. I make a good candidate and I am committed to taking an aggressive course to attack this disease!

I go back to UW Madison for the Radiation Planning Session on Friday. This is where they set up the machine and create a special mask for me to wear. Once we complete that, we will schedule the first sessions of Radiation. I will be going up to UW every day M-F at the same time every day. The radiation takes only about 30 minutes, with about 1 hour each way commute. We have had a ton of offers to help with travel, which has been wonderful and after we figure out how I react, we will take people up on some of those offers.

My back has improved dramatically and I am feeling generally better. I am excited that we finally have a plan of attack and are going to start soon. I have started reading up on side effects of both the radiation and chemo, and am a little nervous about them. However, everyone reacts different and the Dr.s have lots of options to help me deal with them. The most common one will be fatigue. Luckily I work from home and can take breaks often.

SOME THANK YOUs

I have to take a minute to thank a few people that have been amazing for me throughout this process.

First my wife, Kim...she has been my ROCK. She has been amazing. From helping me get up to managing my drugs, to getting me to and from appts, to just sitting with me and helping me through the pain, to helping me cope with my overall mental health.

Thank you to my parents who have been with me every step of the way including multiple trips to UW. Thank you to my Brother and Sister who keep me sane with phone calls. It is great to have the support that I have. I am truly blessed.

Thank you to my business partner Jeff and his wife Mendy! They have been awesome. From taking care of the dogs to babysitting me to most importanly keeping our business running! I could not have lucked out with a better business partner.

Thank you to Mark Patrick! He has been my communication conduit to the world! Not only does he keep me laughing, his positive energy and relentless drive to notify people for me is amazing. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Thank you to the entire crew who spent the majority of 12 hours at the hospital during my surgery. You know who you are and I really appreciated it! From what I understand, Lyle truly saved the day with Jimmy Johns for the entire group to make sure they ate! Thanks!

Thank you to everyone that have sent cards and baskets...Thank you all!!!

And really thank you to each and every one of you that have sent me your thoughts and prayers. I have not been able to thank you all individually, but I truly truly appreciate it.

I have had such an amazing outpouring of positive thoughts and prayers that it is truly impossible to thank everyone. Just know that I really appreciate it and your thoughts and prayers have fueled my recovery and continue to fuel my attitude and mental health to allow me to tackle the disease!

Almost Back to Normal!

Great day today! Kim went back to work after being home with me for the last 2 weeks. My back has improved 1000% and is almost back to normal. A few more days and I think I will be in great shape.

I was happy to be able to sit down in my home office and spend some time cleaning up my email. I had almost 300 messages in my inbox. Thank you to all of you that sent me positive thoughts and prayers. They are definitely appreciated!

Tomorrow, we head up to UW Madison to meet with the Oncology Team again. Last week they ran some tests, including a new MRI and new pathology. They wanted to recheck everything before giving their recommendations. So tomorrow they should be able to give their recommendation. We have a couple options including a clinical trial that involves the dosage of chemotherapy and frequency. The trial has some pretty impressive early results and it sounds like a viable option, but, we will learn alot more tomorrow.

I can't start therapy (radiation or chemo) until 3-6 weeks post surgery. The earliest that I will start will be Jan 21, but more reasonably it will be Jan 28th.

I am feeling absolutely great today both mentally and physically! Looking forward to hearing what the Drs have to say tomorrow and even more excited to get started on the treatment. The sooner I start,the sooner I can knock this into remission!!

I will try an update everyone tomorrow with what the Drs say. Wish me luck! :)

Getting out of the House!

I was able to go on an excursion Saturday! YIPPEE!! Little things excite you when you are immobilized from back pain. :)

Kim and I went up to her Sister Lori's house to attend my niece Stephanie's 16th Birthday Party!! It was great to get out of the house and reengage in some normal life activities. We were only able to stay a couple hours, but it was great to be able to visit with family outside of clinics and hospitals.

As for the back pain, it is slowly getting better. I was able to get some decent sleep last night, only waking up 3-4 times. As long as I walk often without overdoing, the spasms stop. If I spend too long in one position, the muscles lock up.

In general, I am feeling really good. It is amazing to me that my biggest complaint after 12 hours of brain surgery is back pain. Thankfully, I can feel it getting better every day!

Today, Kim and I are going to do our Grocery Shopping and CostCo Trip! Believe it or not, I am excited about it! :) It gets me out of the house! The best part is I get to drive one of those electric carts around the grocery...(If you are in the area of Woodmans in Algonquin today, be very afraid!) - I am an Excellent Driver....NOT. -Rainman I am not. :) )

Week 2 - Post Surgery Review

Today marks 2 weeks since my surgery. I have been home for a week and recovery is well underway.

The week started with some terrible back pain. Apparently 12 hours on an operating room table and 6 days in a hospital bed can be detrimental to you back alignment. :) I have gone to the chiropractor several times this week and for the first time since I have been home, I had a reasonable night's sleep and was able to get up, shower, and get my breakfast by my self. Its nice to be able to let Kim sleep a little. She has been getting up 4-5 times a night with me to address issues with my back.

Last Tuesday, we had our first Dr. Appointment with the local radiation oncologist. Dr. Das Gupta. He walked us through his recommended treatment plan. The standard plan would be 6 weeks - 5 days a week of Radiation on the entire brain area in conjunction with Oral Chemo. The chemo would be 5 days of pills followed by 4 weeks off for 6-7 months. Dr. Das Gupta was very good. We talked to him about second opinions, and he highly recommended that we get one. His recommendation was Minesh Mehta from UW Madison, who is world-renowned expert on brain tumors.

UW is ranked very high in the Oncology Community as a center of excellence. Dr. Das Gupta studied under Mehta and was able to get us an appt on Thursday of last week (which was amazing).

So, Thursday - my Mom, Dad, Kim and I trekked up to UW Madison to meet with Dr. Mehta. The drive was actually not too bad only about 1:15.

UW Madison was very impressive. They have a pretty amazing team of drs. Dr. Mehta was awesome. He had reviewed my case and agreed with Dr. Das Gupta on the plan of treatment. He did have an alternative solution that we are exploring as well. Apparently there is a clinical trial involving the Oral Chemo that I may be eligible for. It would basically entail a lower dose, longer term pill. The initial results have been impressive 2 years post treatment.

Dr. Mehta wanted to dig more into my case and ordered an MRI and a review of the pathology of my Tumor. We went back to UW last night to do the MRI and have a follow up appt with him on Tuesday.

So after our next appt with Dr. Mehta on Tuesday, Kim and I will be making some decisions on which treatment plan we will do. Treatment can't start until 3-6 weeks post surgery (they want you to be fairly healed from the surgery before beginning the radiation and chemo) I expect that treatment will begin either the 21st or 28th of January.

So, in general, I am feeling better and am mentally ready to tackle the treatment plan. Kim and I were definitely impressed with UW Madison and are looking forward to the next appt.

How this saga began

12/27/2007-

For the last couple weeks I had been having lightheadedness/dizziness when I would stand from a sitting position. It was occasional, so I wasn't too alarmed by it. I have occasional back problems and thought it was related to my back, so I set up an appointment at a local Chiropractor in Marengo. It was my first appt with this Dr, so he went through a thorough assessment of my back. It took about an hour. When I left, I went home. I was not feeling that great, so I layed down to see if it would get better. As soon as I layed down, nausea took over and vaulted me to the bathroom. Dizziness and Nausea was a big clue that I needed to go to the doctor immediately. I went to the Dr. Office and told them my symptoms. They immediately thought I had a common inner-ear infection. To confirm this, he wanted me to go to the ER and get a CT Scan. Obviously, I couldn't drive so the Doc had to call my wife at work in Rockford (about 25 miles away).

Kim came and picked me up and took me to the ER at ST. Anthony's Hospital in Rockford. After about 3 hours of waiting, we finally got into an ER room. Per the Doc's order, I had a CT Scan around 6pm that night. This is where it gets interesting and surreal...

The ER Doc comes into the ER Room about 30 min after I had the CT and the Radiologist had read the CT Scan. With the bedside manner of a Toad, he starts the conversation with " I Have Some Really Bad News....You Have TUMOR! and we are admitting you". Let me tell you, hearing that was like getting slapped in the face with a frying pan.

The doc paged a Neurosurgeon Dr. Crute to consult on my case. It took an additional several hours for her to come in, but she has been amazing. I spent the rest of Thursday night getting admitted to a room in Neuro and having a barage of tests including MRIs taken on me.

Friday Morning, Dr. Crute came through on rounds to explain what they found. They found a 7 centimeter (3 inch) mass in my right temporal lobe. The mass was called and AVM or A Vascular Malformation. Without treatment, the mass would have killed me. We decided the only option was for Dr. Crute to do a craniotomy and transect the mass. They also found a secondary smaller mass on the top of my head, but decided against transecting it due to the risks of key motor issues in the brain. The Surgery was scheduled for Saturday Morning and I began the process of "Getting my Affairs in Order".

I went into surgery around 8:30 Saturday Morning and 11 Hours, 38 minutes later, I woke up to the beautiful site of my wife and family! I was conscious and lucid. In my mind a complete success. My biggest fear was not being lucid.

January 11, 2008 - Beginning Post - Who am I?

Welcome to my Blog. My name is Steven Talbott. I am a 38 year old sales consultant that up until 2 weeks ago was reasonably healthy individual.

Before I get into the chronology of my cancer fight, I will give you a little background on me.

I am married to a wonderful women, Kimberly Talbott, we have no kids, but 3 wonderful dogs. We live in Marengo, IL. Marengo is about 50 miles west of Chicago, IL. Kim is a special education administrator for a local school district west of us, and I co-own a business called Caveo Learning & Performance.

My extended family is fairly close to home.
Kim's parents, and her sisters, live in the area as well. We are blessed with more than a dozen nieces and nephews on her side of the family and enjoy spending time and spoiling the kids whenever possible.

Kim and I are pretty career committed individuals and enjoy our jobs and what we do. Our main hobbies include anything boating or water related and golf whenever we are able. We have been married for 10 years this last June and our life in general is very blessed and Happy.

The purpose of this blog is to give a chronological documentation of my fight with Brain Cancer. My goal is to fight this disease with positive attitude and humor. I will post as often as possible with updates on my progress and my fights. I am sure I will have some amazing challenges ahead, but am committed to going after this with all that I am. I welcome your comments and hope to feed off of the positive energy from this exercise. Ultimately in the future, I hope this blog will be able to inspire others to fight this disease and win! I am incredibly competitive, so I don't know how to give up or stop fighting! I will beat this disease and I welcome you along for the ride.