Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Very Good News!

I had a meeting with my doctor today to go over the progress of the treatment so far. To date I have had 5 treatments and in between 4 and 5 I had a CT scan to compare against the baseline which was done prior to the first treatment. The doctor was very pleased with the results so far the 3 measurable tumors on my liver have shrunk in size significantly, some of the smaller nades have disappeared and the original tumor has also gone down in size too. They use a blood test called CEA. Before I started treatment my CEA was 93 today it was 5.3. A normal person's CEA is below 5 a smoker's range is between 5- 10. The CEA levels tell how active the cancer is growing the lower the number means that the cancer is under control and not progressing. What does all this mean? Basically I am responding to treatment better than expected.

I have been feeling good and the chemo side effects have not really been that bad. I am working full time at Treo Solutions as the Lead Quality Assurance Engineer. They have been really cool with my schedule of doctors appointments, treatments, labs, scans etc. I work from home 2 days during my treatment week and the rest of the time I spend in the office.

Olivia turned 2 on May 22 and she is quite a kid. She is very smart and has already learned the alphabet, counting, colors, and shapes. She is also speaking some basic Chinese words that we have been teaching her along with the help of a children's show called Ni Hao Kai Lan. She also counts to 5 in Chinese. We always show her the pictures we took while in China in hopes that she will remember her time there.


In closing I would like to THANK everyone who has kept me in their thoughts and prayers and ask you to continue to do so. We may not always have direct control of the world around us but we are always free to choose how we think and feel. It’s not what happens that makes the biggest difference but how you deal with what happens. No one can take this inner freedom, this inner power, unless we choose to give it away. I am optimistic that I will beat this disease and be around for a long time to come.

peace & PTL--

1 comment:

  1. Fred and I just read this post, and it is such fantastic news! You and family will always be in included in our prayers. Can't wait to see you guys next time we are in town...

    ReplyDelete