2nd Opinion at Huntsman's

We made it to Huntsman Cancer Institute yesterday and met with the pancreatic cancer specialist. She was very nice and informative and explained a lot of things to us. She went over a few options for pancreatic cancer treatment, the most effective being Gemzar chemotherapy which is what Rick has already tried with no success. Any of the other things they could try would make Rick terribly sick and not offer much benefit at all. Basically, pancreatic cancer laughs in the face of every known treatment.

There is one clinical trial that Rick may be eligible for which is basically 2 oral medications taken once a day and the good thing about it is that it shouldn’t make him any more nauseous than he is already and he would only have to visit the doctor once a month. The down side is that he would have to have another PET scan before he could start the study and he would have to visit the doctor once a month.

Before we can even decide about whether or not to participate in the trial we have to wait for some blood results. However, as of 2 weeks ago his numbers were borderline for the clinical trial criteria so I would be surprised if they haven’t gone up too high for the trial since then.

Of course Rick and I both want to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to fight this. However, visiting the doctors and having the procedures done is really taking a huge toll on Rick. He is getting more exhausted and incoherent daily. He’s sleeping more and more each day, around 15 or 16 hours a day. He seems to be much more comfortable at home and is very confused about why I keep dragging him out of the house for all these doctors and hospitals. That is why, after a lot of thought and advice from people I deeply trust, I’ve decided that we need to start home health care. It was a very, very hard decision to make but one that I absolutely think is the right decision. I don’t feel like we’re giving up, but rather surrendering so that we may have peace.

I know that a lot of you aren’t sure whether to call or not, come visit or not, but I would like to let our friends and family know that our doors are open and if you would like to come say hi to Rick please feel free to stop by for a quick visit. He may be asleep, but then again he may be awake just long enough to say Hi :)

FYI - Rick’s phone is turned off and temporarily lost, so if you’ve been calling him and he’s ignoring you, please don’t take it personally. Call me instead and I’ll answer if I can.

Love to All

Friends

Nerve Block Update

Rick had the nerve block procedure done today.
It was just a quick little 10 hour trip to the hospital. When we got there at noon, they got him right into a room and started a saline drip in his port. When I commented that I was glad that they were able to get this procedure scheduled so quickly, they said "Oh yeah, we have a slow day today." Then they tested his blood for clotting factor and it came back high, which sounds good, but is really bad. A normal level is 1.0 and his was 2.5, which means that it would take his blood 2.5 times longer to clot than normal. So the nurse came in and told me that it was too high to do the procedure.

But since Rick was so dehydrated, the nurse wanted to keep him long enough to re-hydrate, which I was all for. In the meantime, they discovered that it was actually a little patient mix-up, and that Rick could have the procedure after all. Rick was having a "Celiac Plexus Block" and not a "Cervix Block", which another patient was having done. Apparently you CAN have the Celiac block with thin blood but NOT the Cervix block. I was just happy that he could get the procedure!

So we were back on.

Then an emergency patient came in, so we waited. Then the Cervix block patient went in, so we waited. Then at 5:30 Rick went in and came out just after 7:00. Then we waited some more. And I'm happy to report that we are now home and Rick is resting. The surgery went well and his initial report of his pain level is that it went from an 8 before the block and about 4 or 5 after. FINALLY, some good news!!

I'm tired...I'm going to sleep for a week now! Love to you all!

Nerve Block

Rick's pain level has increased dramatically in the last week, so he is taking more and more pain medication, which leaves him tired and incoherent all the time, which is annoying the crap out of him. He gets so frustrated because it takes him so long to say what he wants to say or do even the simplest task. Then it only frustrates him more (and me) when I try to help. It's gotten to the point that I can't leave him alone.

Today we met with a Radiologist who will perform a procedure called a Celiac Plexus Block or Neurolysis on Rick sometime later this week or early next week. It is a fairly low risk outpatient procedure that will permanently damage the nerve cluster that is near his pancreas. With any luck, this nerve block should reduce his pain in the abdomen.

I really hope this procedure works well so that he can be more clear-headed AND more comfortable at the same time, instead of choosing one or the other.

We are meeting with the new Oncologist at the Huntsman on Thursday.
Sorry to be so brief, I'll add more later.

Cancer Update

When we first looked into the Cyberknife about 6 or 7 weeks ago we had high hopes that maybe it could somehow be a cure for Rick's cancer. When we first met with the doctor he seemed optimistic that after 3 or 6 weeks of chemo followed by radiation with the cyberknife that Rick had a chance of fighting this.

The latest news is that the Radiation Therapist feels that at the rate the cancer is spreading the cyberknife would not be effective enough, fast enough. As he explained, treating the tumors in the liver or lungs is not even an option because there are just too many. Treating only the the large tumor in the pancreas in hopes of shrinking it in order to ease the pain it is causing, would not be fast enough for Rick to see much pain relief, basically it would be too much too late.

Also, Rick's Oncologist has no plans for any further treatment at this time. He wants Rick to "Be at peace with his maker". So basically two of our doctors have given up.

However, we are not quite ready to give up just yet. Rick still has a whole list of "honeydews".

We have an appointment with an oncologist who specializes in pancreatic cancer at the Huntsman Cancer Institute next week for a second opinion and a different oncologist at The Utah Cancer Specialists for a third opinion the following week. We are also going to see a radiologist who could perform a nerve ablation in the area of the largest tumor that would provide some much needed immediate pain relief.

Even though this isn't encouraging, we still have a little fight left in us! Keep us in your prayers and send any extra good energy you have our way and we'll put it to good use!!

Rick and Bev No Kids - heheh

Christmas at Wade And Amys!!


At the NHRA Races in Las Vegas, That was the year we
hit the big jackpot...I think it was about $200...Woo Hoo!!


Golfing at World Class Bear Lake Golf Course


Bevvie - Happy at Snowbird- probaly drinking beer
at Oktoberfest!


More Snowbird - God I sure like that Rick Dude!


Even when he looks like a drug dealer...hahaha...
more bear lake

Casino Night Success

Casino Night was a big success!
18 days ago these 5 guys hung out, in this garage, drinking beer, and decided they needed to do something for their good friend and Peacemaker Brother Rick...a.k.a. Nympho :o
SO...The idea of a poker game was brought up and it ballooned from there.

Thanks again to Dave, Scotty, Jay, Jake and Brian, and Rick the CUTE yellow man in the middle there and wife Bev. Peacemakers Forever (I'm only a peacemaker wife so I'm not really allowed to know what the codes are all about...lol...but it is evident that the Peacemaker Brotherhood is strong)


Their creative efforts and hard work resulted in contributions from friends, family, coworkers and even a few people who don't even know us, and will make our financial situation throughout this difficult and stressful time just a little bit easier to deal with.

Because of the generosity of our wonderful friends we have a little less to worry about where medical bills and short paychecks are concerned.


I want to express how much Rick and I appreciate all the support we recieved and the overwhelming emotion that we felt on that night!

It is impossible to put into words just how much love and caring we felt that night and we're still feeling almost every day from our friends.

There are so many people to thank that I couldn't even begin to acknowledge everyone who contributed, however I do want to say that the "Thank you" list is at least as LONG as the GUEST LIST and for those of you who didn't get an opportunity to show up and/or to fill out the guest list at casino night...Please Please Please know that you are very much loved and appreciated. And we'd absolutely Love to have you stop by and sign it, it WILL mean ALOT to us someday!

Once again I would like to thank EVERYONE who showed support and is still giving us so much hope and encouragement in these difficult times. Keep the good karma flowin our way :)

CANCER SUCKS.!!!!!!!!!!
RICK ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!