Hi Everyone:
It's been awhile since I posted! We have had a VERY busy October.
On the Cancer/SGN-35 front, there is not much news. Andy is still doing well. He had scans a few weeks ago which really didn't help much as far as telling how he is doing. The CT scan was completely clean. However, a week later, they did a PET scan and it did show increased uptake in some areas. However, the levels were not particularly high, and PET scans are notorious for lighting up over nothing. Our experience has been more that the PET scan is an early indicator of cancer activity. However, the prevailing medical view is that the PET scans are not a diagnostic tool on their own. We have a "friend" on the trial (Zach Rongers) who went on the trial a few months after Andy and achieved a complete remission for the first time ever. He will get a few more cycles and then come off the trial. So far, it seems to us that the best outcome anyone could have on SGN-35 is to show gradual improvement. As long as you do not go into remission and not to have progression, you can keep getting this fantastic drug that reduces your cancer with ZERO side effects and allows you to live a fairly normal life.
Olivia and Calvin had a great "birthday weekend" on October 17-18th. Olivia had her party on the 17th, and Calvin had his on the 18th. It was really fun. Both sets of grandparents were able to attend, and my sister-in-law April was even able to come on Saturday with cousin Hunter (and the one on the way!). We chose to do "pizza, cake and a movie" at home as opposed to a party outside the home. All in all, I'm not sure it saved any money or effort but it was so much fun that I could see doing it again. In five years maybe. The kids received a lot of GREAT gifts and our next project after Halloween is to take care of our backlog of thank you notes.
The only other news is that I have made some progress on the school front. I was accepted to Kennesaw State University's Master of Accounting Program less than 24 hours after I applied. That was great for my ego, but what I really want is to attend Georgia State University. Their Master of Accounting Program is ranked 14th in the nation and they have an incredible reputation as far as career services. I applied to their program, and within 24 hours they called me on my cell phone and asked me to come down to meet with them to discuss my education path. I went last week, and they pointed out that there was no reason to pay Graduate level prices for the Undergraduate classes that I need to take as prerequisites to the Master's Program. They said that they really wanted me as a student, and that if I do well in the prerequisite classes they will be happy to admit me to their Master's Program. So, I am starting in January at Georgia State and I'm very excited about this next step in my life. I can't get financial aid until I enter the Master's Program, so I have started looking into grants, etc. to help finance the prerequisites. If anyone is experienced in this area, I would be happy to have help. I am also excited about going downtown for classes. It's a nice change from the suburbs. And I definitely feel thankful for the SGN-35 trial, which has allowed us to have a semi-normal life and is the only reason I can even think about something like this.
Well, I should probably get back to sewing Olivia's Halloween costume. I hope everyone has a great Halloween and doesn't feel too guilty about eating all that leftover Halloween candy. I myself can't wait for the Reese's Peanut Butter cups.
Please sign our guest book if you have stopped by to read our update. It sounds corny, but it means a lot to us to have this contact with all of our friends and family. It lets us know that eveyone cares and has not forgotten about us!
Love,
Kimberly
