Merry Christmas!

We are indeed blessed this Christmas. Not only a new son-in-law, but good checkups for Jim and Teri to celebrate too. Though Jim's PSA started to rise again, 7 months after his last hormone shot, the doctor continues to think the hormone therapy is the best option right now, as more options are coming out of clinical trials and being vetted and debated. Though the hormone therapy isn't working for as long as it first did, that was expected, and it is indeed still working. And since Jim runs to battle the side effects (bone and heart problems) he looks great! Teri had a good round of checkups too - all still seems to be clear, and she is talking to the plastic surgeon about possible reconstruction options, maybe in the springtime.  Now she needs to lose weight like Jim to get back into bikini shape for the summer - well, maybe just swin suit shape!

It's amazing the difference a couple years can make. Two years ago my cancer was back, my mom had passed, and our family was feeling a lot like "Job" from the Bible - "really, God, can you send one more bad thing this way?" and of course, he could, but he didn't, and instead he sent healing love, supportive friends, and a path out of the dark times. And tomorrow, we celebrate a pinnacle of GOOD times, as Julie weds the love of her life, Shea McMahon, surrounded by family and friends and our Healing Lord Jesus Christ.

For any who would like to join us virtually, the technology of the times is evident at the church provides a webcast of the service! Who'd have thunk it?

To access the wedding, go to www.saint-max.org and scroll to the bottom where it says ChurchCast (icon), click that and then there will be an opportunity to watch (play) if you want to view live, beginning Sat Nov 3, at 6:30 pm, or if you want to view it after, it will be listed in the archive section. If you have any questions there is a number on the page to call their support team.

 

Please keep Julie and her new family, and us and our everchanging family, in your prayers, and we will keep you in ours as well. Thanks for all the support you all continue to provide!

The Great Prostate Cancer Challenge

It's been about two years since we started this blog, and I guess we are in a pretty good place considering where we were then. Saturday, September 8th, Dad completed his 3rd Great Prostate Cancer Challenge 5K. I ran with him (went last year, but couldn't join because of wisdom teeth surgery!). It was a nasty rainy day that became a beauitful one just in time for the race. Sort of fitting for the last couple of months of news for him. He found out in May that his last round of hormone therapy was not as lasting as we had hoped, and he would have to have another round. This is a treatment with a lot of uncomfortable side effects for him, especially to suffer through all summer. So we are all thrilled that his latest visit to the oncologist in August (the day before his birthday) brought the news that his PSA levels remained undetectable, indicating the last treatment had at least lasted 3 months. We are hoping that each round will last as long as possible, so the news we hope for is that at his next 3 month visit, he will get the same news. The first few rounds of treatment lasted him over a

year, so we are hoping for improved duraiton for the next few.

Dad and I at the Urology Group's 5K in Norwood.
Dad won an Oscar Robertson signed basketball!

This is all a lesson in being an advocate for your own treatment. In the last month, two new prostate cancer drugs were rushed to the forefront for FDA approval due to their tremendous success in clinical trials. One of these could be the next treatment strategy for Dad, though fingers crossed the treatment he is on now will last years and years. In the last month, several studies have also emerged claiming that the intermittent therapy Dad has been on is not as successful as the continuous treaetment with hormone therapy. Unfortunately, the side effects of the therapy make this a difficult treatment decision. He opted to go off of the treatment for the next few months, while the doctors wait for more research to confirm or dispute the current evidence. Keeping abreast of these issues is obviously very important, and the doctors don't always bring these up first, so doing your own research is always a tremendous aid!

So for now, Dad is enjoying the diminishment of the side effects of his last round, Mom is enjoying her current health (though battling some small, continuing issues from her treatments) as well as Dad's lack of hot flashes, tiredness, lack of sleep, etc. And everyone (including me) is trying to exercise and eat themselves into their wedding clothes for my November wedding, where I will feel like the most blessed daughter in the world to have both my parents there.

Hello all! It' been awhile since we've posted, which means good news all around! However, Jim went in for a PSA check-up this week and got some not so good news. The PSA level is increased again, meaning the cancer started to grow again, which means it's time for another round of hormone treatment. This is a little discouraging because the last treatment lasted for 18 months, so we thought that this one would last for 12-15 but it only lasted for 8 months. We knew there was going to be a decline in its effectiveness, but it's a bummer that it happened this quickly. However, with all of the cancer research going on in the area of prostate cancer, we know there are many other options once this one stops working!

So in the meantime, dad will deal with the hot flashes and crankiness that comes along with the treatment. The good side is that this is reaffirming his belief that all his early morning workouts and healthy eating is actually helping to stop the cancer from growing as fast so he will get back into that since the weather is getting nice out again.

Other than continuing to run around like a crazy person, mom hasn't had much medical news going on so that's all the health updates for now. In other news, Julie started a new job at the Columbus affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation so she's busy working on research funding for all those breast cancer patients out there like mom! Well, that's all for now so I better get back to studying for finals this week! Thank you all again for your continued prayers and kindness! We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family in our lives!

Jenny

Just checking in....

Nothing much new here health wise, which is good. Teri had checkups with three different docs every 3-6 months (thank heaven for good health insurance!!), and they say assume the cancer is gone, keep checking in case it isn't, and oh, by the way, loose some weight- have heard that message before so trying really hard to eat less and exercise more. No scans or blood tests or other indicators, just physical exams hoping to not find anything. And my hair keeps doing interesting things, which is fine with me since it looks SOOOOO much better than last year this time, especially since I didn't have any at all last year!
Jim has to work hard to find time to keep running in the cold winter weather, but he manages pretty well. His latest hormone treatment worked pretty well, as noted earlier in the blog, so now he is off it until his PSA starts to go back up, hopefully not for another 12-18 months.

So we are keeping busy thinking about and planning for Julie's upcoming wedding, Nov 3 here in Cinti, counting our blessings, hoping everyone stays healthy, and trying to enjoy every day in the middle of the business that makes up life!

Some more good news

Happy new year to all of you! 2012, like 2011, comes with good cancer news for the Deans. As good as it can be anyways. Dad had another round of androgen deprivation therapy back in the early fall. ADT comes in the form of a shot, which goes around and starves all the cancer out. We know its worked when his PSA is lowered enough to satisfy his oncologist. So, for Christmas, Santa/God gave dad a PSA reading of " undetectable ", meaning the ADT had starved the cancer down to microscopic levels. (mom also had surgery the same day for trigger finger, unrelated to any cancer treatments we think) So that means Dad can go off the ADT until his PSA begins to go up again. Thus far he has had two rounds, and both worked in just one treatment, which is great because eventually each round can become less effective as time goes on. He's gotten the best out of each one so far, and being on the treatment less also means less of the hot sweats and negative heart and bone effects. He's still running like a champ, too! Only bad news this time was that his white blood cell count was down significantly- which the doctors didn't seem worried about but he is making sure to have double checked.

Meanwhile, 7/8 of the Deans traveled to Florida for Amy's Disney Soccer Showcase. Amy was tough and had a very impressive tournament (at least in this big sister's eyes- that girl is a tank!). While there, we went to Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter where we sipped on some delightful Butterbeer, and reminisced about how nice it was (at least for our feet) to have a wheel chair exactly a year before while mom was on chemo. And at the same time- how absolutely not worth it all that was for a wheelchair to rest in! We are very happy that God has brought us in the direction He has since last years' trip, which seemed to kick off a new year with much better health outlooks for our parents. We loved that trip last year, but this year to be doing it with a cancer free Mom and clean PSA Dad was fantastic.

Best to all of you for a healthy and happy year!

Time for an Update

Gosh, I can't believe its been 2 months since I've posted anything here. We had a great time at the Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk - Jim and Becky couldn't walk with us as Becky was playing in the soccer State Cup final that morning, but we stayed in touch with her game through Jim's text updates - they lost in penalty kicks as we were walking down Pete Rose Way. But it was a great morning for a walk, with lots of friends joining us - I know I was pretty tired afterwards, and we came home and had ribbon bagels for brunch. Thanks to all who walked, but especially Julie Heine who joined us from Columbus for the weekend (and smiled through all the soccer games we dragged her to along the way).

A little update on Jim this time - as expected, his PSA count started rising a bit, and he received another hormone shot to kill off the prostate cancer - the doctor wants to keep the volume of it down. Jim is wishing the hormone treatment didn't come with hot sweats that wake him in the middle of the night, but he's a trooper and doesn't complain about it. The soccer schedule this fall kept him from running as much as he'd like, but he'll get back into it (I wish I could be as optimistic about getting into an exercise routine myself. I picked a rowong and cycling machine for my 30 year anniversary gift from P&G this year, and they are both still sitting in the box in the basement - one of these days......) 

I'm having a little trouble with swelling where there isn't supposed to be any - not lymphedema, but edema, and so I have to start wearing a compression vest under my clothes  - glad it's winter and its not too hot. Just a little inconvenience given everything else.

Thanksgiving was SOOOO much better this year than last - last year it was the first holiday without my mom, and I still remember my dad looking across the table at me that day (I felt lousy, and probably looked it, and was wearing my wig) and he teared up, which of course caused me to do the same. THIS year on Thanksgiving we were grateful for lots of things - though we still miss Mom everyday, Jim and I both seem to have warded off the Big C, at least for a little longer, Jim is working, and the biggest news of all - Julie and her boyfriend Shea became engaged right before Thanksgiving. After Christmas they plan to get down to some serious planning, so no date yet, but some very good news that I know Mom is enjoying from her new view - and she doesn't have to worry about what to wear to the wedding!

Love,
Teri