Chemo #3...and SNOW!

Hey Everyone!
  On Tuesday, October 25th, Ken had his third round of chemo.  All of his blood work came back looking good.  He is not anemic and his white and red blood cell counts are up.  This means that currently he is not at risk for infection, his immunity is high and there is iron in his blood to keep him energized.  Apparently, all of these things can be affected by chemo.  We again met with the oncologyst and received more uplifting news.  The tumor shrunk again!!!  What a relief it is to know that all of these toxins are doing some good!  According to the doctor, we will do another round of scans in January.  Then we will know exactly how much the tumor has shrunk and exactly what the staging of this cancer is.
  Chemo treatments continue to be an amazing way to meet new people and hear their fight stories.  This week we met a cute couple, Don & Marion who had been married for 47 and a half years.  She is fighting melanoma...and is hopeful that on one of her off weeks she will be able to go on a cruise...cute! She was also telling us about another couple who drives all the way from Nebraska to attending this particular oncology office.  I forget how fortunate we are to have this state of the art facility literally right down the road! And there was a man named Bob, who was also battling colo-rectal cancer.  He went into the doctor thinking he had pneumonia, but it turned out to be a tumor the size of a grapefruit in his intestines.  The tumor was pressing on his diaphragm and was causing his respiratory system to shut down.  The body is an amazing machine...make sure you're listening to yours and taking the very best care of it!!

Here is a picture of Ken's portable pump and pack.  It is connected to an IV that is inserted directly into the port in his chest.  And this is what it looks like while he wears it out of the office.  It is inconvenient, to say the least, but fortunately it is only on for 48 hours. 

Many thanks to Maryann, who made Ken this kale salad...she and her husband Sean have been so gracious in helping us learn about what foods Ken should be eating. 

Needless to say...Ken is still Ken and craves such things as cheeseburgers and fries.  I guess everything in moderation...right?!







Shortly after we left chemo...it began to snow! It seems WAY too early for this to be happening!!  On Monday it was 80 degrees...and on Wednesday this is what we woke up to...

Well...at least the dogs are happy!! :)

One side effect that Ken has pretty severely is his sensitivity to cold.  His hand and feet get numb and his throat feels like it is about to close up.  We're not sure what this is going to mean for the winter...but in the meantime I will continue to amuse him with my awesome "Caretaker" fashion! In case you weren't sure where I live...it's Colorado! :)
Well...we hope this post finds you all happy and healthy...and warm, wherever you are!  We love and miss you all dearly!  Love, Ken & Nicole