~LARRY'S UPDATE PAGE~

WELCOME FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND NEW VISITORS!!

THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN CREATED TO KEEP YOU UP TO DATE ON MY HUSBAND LARRY’S JOURNEY THROUGH CANCER TREATMENT.

LARRY WAS OFFICIALLY DIAGNOSED ON OCTOBER 1, 2003 WITH STAGE III SEMINOMA TYPE~GERM CELL “TESTICULAR CANCER” AND WAS DECLARED TO BE IN REMISSION AND DONE WITH TREATMENT ON JANUARY 20, 2004.

LARRY’S PRIMARY TUMOR WAS IN THE LEFT TESTICLE. HIS CANCER HAD SPREAD TO INCLUDE AN 8CMx2CM TUMOR ATTACHED TO HIS LEFT ABDOMINAL WALL, AND HAD A SMALL SPOT ON HIS LEFT LUNG THAT WAS CLEARED UP WITH CHEMO.

HE HAD 2 TUMOR-REMOVAL SURGERIES AND IS FULLY RECOVERED FROM THE 4 ROUNDS OF HIGH-DOSE CHEMOTHERAPY HE RECEIVED (BLEOMYCIN, CISPLATIN(PLATINUM), AND VP-16).

OUR JOURNEY ISN'T OVER YET SO PLEASE SIGN THE GUESTBOOK BEFORE YOU LEAVE AND THANK-YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHECK ON US TODAY!

(YOU CAN GO TO “LOOK AT PAST JOURNAL ENTRIES” IF YOU HAVE MISSED ANY ENTRIES)

Journal

SATURDAY, APRIL 2ND, 2005
UPDATE #25
1 YEAR, 2 MONTHS, 7 DAYS POST-TREATMENT


I know, I know, it has been waaaaaaay toooooo long in-between updates! I want to keep this website going to not only inform everyone on how Larry is doing, but this website also brings awareness to Testicular Cancer and has given people that have been diagnosed with it HOPE! I know one person that was diagnosed with the exact type of testicular cancer as Larry and two more that were diagnosed with different kinds of testicular cancer, and all 3 people in the last year have contacted me after reading our website. I guess it is one of my many ways of trying to give back!

Larry has had two sets of scans done since I updated last May! He had scans done last July and this January! Both sets were great and they are still monitoring a few lymph nodes in his pelvic region in the same area as his large tumor was. The tumor was actually a huge lymph node that had cancer in it! If Larry were to relapse it would be in his pelvic lymph node area. He would have NO symptoms unless the tumor got really large and started pressing on a nerve like it did when he was first diagnosed. As far as I am concerned, we will scan every 6 months for as long as possible. As far as I know, the next scans will be in July!

Larry is doing GREAT!! He takes no meds. and lives each day to it’s fullest! We still go to the movies a lot but we don’t go out to eat as much! My stomach (actually my whole GI track this time) has been acting up again and it’s just not worth it to spend the money and then get sick or end up eating something I regret later! I have had stomach problems before and was lucky that they seemed to go into somewhat of a remission for about 2 years and they are now back but at least we know what is wrong and didn’t spend 3 months and three doctors/hospitals trying to find a diagnosis like the first time. What I have causes me to get dehydrated easily and I have to go in for fluids and electrolytes. I have great doctors who happen to care so we are working as a team to keep me out of the hospital and working. I have only been hospitalized twice in the last 6 months, once a few weeks ago! I do most treatments on an outpatient basis. Larry went through this with me the first time I was in the hospital for 8 months out of a year and he has been great this time around also. He is so caring, I know most of you that know him personally haven’t ever gotten to see that side of him, but believe me, that is one of his best qualities! So don’t worry, I am taken care of! The only good thing about this is that I have lost weight and have had to break out my “skinny clothes”! Girls, you know what I mean! I have also been working out and that has helped me maintain my strength.

I went back and read my last journal entry to seen what was going on then and what I had updated about! Larry’s urologist seems to be happy with his testosterone level so we haven’t had it checked again. He still has a hernia and it seems to be stable at this point. Larry’s oncologist, Dr. Baltz, aka “THE MAN”, when asked his opinion (which I value to be as good as gold) thinks that Larry should lose some weight before having the surgery. Hernia-repair surgery involves putting mesh in to close up the “hole” in the muscle layer. The human body considers the mesh “foreign” and therefore about 30 percent of the time tries to reject the mesh. When this happens, your body can actually go into shock and you have to have surgery immediately to have the mesh removed. This surgery has yet to be perfected and for people that their body has rejected the mesh, they are living with their hernia’s until their surgeon calls them some day and tells them there is another way that has been invented to do this surgery. (I know all this because the unit I work on at the hospital handles all of these surgeries done at our hospital) I know of about 10 people that are waiting on “the call”. Don’t get me wrong, if you make an appointment and go to a surgeon and show him a hernia, you will have a surgery appointment scheduled for you as soon as you can bet they have an opening! They WILL do the surgery regardless if you are “at your best” for the surgery or not! So, with Dr. Baltz’s “good as gold” advice, that is where we stand at this point on that subject! Larry does enjoy the fact that he can’t be the family mover until he has his surgery! He loves telling people he can’t move this or that because he has a hernia! They just look at him and say, “Oh yeah” and get this big look of disappointment on their face and then scratch their heads with this look like, “What am I going to do know?”

We still haven’t gotten Larry’s sperm tested to see if it recovered any after chemo. I had posted in my last entry that that was going to happen sometime soon. I guess it is a “mental” thing on my part! I guess just having it confirmed on paper that Larry doesn’t have a sperm count would put a stop to my “wishful thinking”, “hopes and dreams” or whatever lame terms one can come up with about my longing desire to have a child born made from the two of us! We WILL have a child one day, we WILL adopt, and we WILL consider it “our own”, I guess it is just a “Motherly Thing” to wonder what a baby would look like coming from us. Would the baby look like me or Larry, have blond hair like we both had as kids, have blue eyes like us, how would the baby be built? Muscular like us? I could go on and on and on! Yes, I am very lucky that my husband is still alive and as an added bonus, HEALTHY, after battling cancer and the horrid treatment to fight it. But, there will always be buts, I WANT TO BE PREGNANT AND HAVE LARRY”S BABY! I guess one can’t have everything! I do know that I don’t blame Larry and would rather have him here on this earth with me and healthy! See, I told you it is a “mental” thing!

We still live on the golf course and are still loving it! It is 20 minutes max to work for us! We have free workout access, tanning, and swimming! I love looking out the office and living room windows at the greens when the sun is shining! My sister lives 3 minutes from us and my parents live less than 10 minutes from us. Larry’s sister and mother both live about 20 minutes away. We are very centrally located to everyone!

We are enjoying watching our many nephews’ and our one niece grow like weeds! They range from first year college to being two on Tuesday! We are actually going to Maci’s birthday party today! These little precious angels are what keep me sane and focused until one day when it is time, (we can afford it and Larry has fulfilled the adoption law that states you have to be cancer-free for five years before you can start the adoption process) we will have a little bundle to call our own! For those of you that know me and know me well, I already have names picked out! All of the names I have written down have something to do with New York and/or Patriotism! I know Larry’s relatives will LOVE this idea! No “Country” names for us! I know coming from Arkansas it is expected but just because I wore white cowboy boots at our wedding doesn’t mean anything!



I know this update has been long but it has been a year’s worth of stuff! I’m sure the spoken version for those of you that know me would be MUCH longer! Thanks for taking the time to still check on Larry and a BIG THANKS to a few people that have taken it upon themselves to start checking in on other people’s Caringbridge sites! It warms my heart to see this! We are all touched by cancer somehow, me personally, two times too many!

Also, anyone wanting a Cleveland Indians wristband needs to e-mail me with how many and if you want red or navy! They charge $1.00 on the Cleveland Indians website (the money goes to their charities) but I will waive the fee if you want one/some. My e-mail address is: ashleym@indiansmvp.com. (For those of you that don’t know the connection, my sister’s husband (Jaxon’s Dad) is Cliff Lee, he is a starting pitcher for the Indians!)

One more thing: March was Colon Cancer Awareness Month! If you have turned 40 or are under 40 and have a history of Colon Cancer in your family, it is time to get a colonoscopy! It is painless, you are totally asleep, and it takes just a couple of hours out of your day! If polyps are detected, they can usually be taken out at the same time as the colonoscopy. If you don’t have a colonoscopy and do have polyps, they will for sure turn into colon cancer at some point. COLON CANCER IS ONE OF THE MOST PREVENTABLE CANCERS! Bet ya didn’t know that! So, standing on my soapbox, go to your PCP, have him recommend a GI Doctor to you and go get your colonoscopy! Having the GI problems I have, I have been having them at least twice a year since I was 12. Also, Larry is having his done on Wednesday of this week! So, I’m not telling everyone to do something that we haven’t already done ourselves! GET IT DONE! THERE IS NO EXCUSE TO NOT! Get this, Larry’s oncologist, Dr. Baltz, is healthy as a horse and does triathlons. He just had his colonoscopy done and he had 3 POLYPS! So, I don’t want to hear the excuse that you are perfectly healthy! That doesn’t mean ****! The unit I work on at the hospital takes care of people after colon cancer surgery! It is SAD to see people go through this everyday when it is preventable! Enough on that! For people locally, e-mail me if you want the name of a GREAT GI DOCTOR! Yes, for Vestcom people, he IS In-Network!


Ashley

Proud Wife to Larry~http://www.caringbridge.org/ar/larry~Dx Stage III Seminoma (Testicular Cancer)~In remission 15 months

Proud Aunt to Jaxon~http://www.caringbridge.org/ar/jaxon~Dx AML M5 at 4 mths. Old~Bone Marrow Transplant at 9 mths. Old~3 years In-Remission~4 years old on 4.29.05

Read Journal History

Hospital Information:

AT HOME!-MAILING ADDRESS:
912 WHIRLWIND STREET
BRYANT, AR 72022
501-847-9110

Links:

E-mail Author: ashleym@indiansmvp.com

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Note: The foregoing information was authored by the patient, parent or guardian, or other parties who are solely responsible for the content. Such announcements or their content are not necessarily endorsed by CaringBridge, Inc. or any sponsoring agent. This information does not confirm that anyone is or was actually a patient at any facility.