Chemo and Radiation

Scott has completed 19 of his radiation treatments and has 14 left.  His last one is scheduled for June 16, and let me tell you, we are going to CELEBRATE when they are over with.  The first couple of weeks, Scott did great.  He had mild symptoms of nausea, fatigue, and a headache here and there.  However, these last 2 weeks or so he has been very tired.  He usually goes to bed pretty early and tries to nap every day.  He's also been doing his best to exercise and maintain a healthy diet.  The dietitian at Huntsman recommended he follow a plant-based diet, with lots of variety in fruits and vegetables, 100-140 grams of protein every day, little or no sugar, and red meat only once a week.  He's been doing awesome, especially with staying away from the sweets.

Dr. Cohen visited with us today to check in and see how Scott is doing. We also discussed a little bit about the chemotherapy that will follow this initial 6.5 weeks.  After Scott has a month off, he will continue to take the chemotherapy pills for 5 consecutive days each month.  When he starts doing that, the dosage will be about double what he is taking now, and they will evaluate in the future if they will up it even more after that.  During those 5 days every month, he will most likely be experiences the loss of energy and fatigue he has been dealing with right now.

Even though this has been hard on him, Scott doesn't complain.  He is doing awesome and has had a great attitude.  He's also been so helpful to me with the two kids.  Even though he is exhausted, he still offers to take the kids for me, etc. when I'd like a break.  He's an amazing husband, and there's no one else I'd rather have by my side.

Scott's hair started falling out last week.  He is only suppose to lose his hair where the radiation goes in and out of his head, but since he's been losing big patches on the left side, he decided it would be best to shave the rest of his head.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think he looks pretty amazing as a bald guy :).

Many of you have asked how we are doing with all of this.  Honestly, it's a whirlwind.  We have good days and bad days, but we are doing our best to move forward and live life.  For the most part, we are trying to have courage, faith, and hope, but sometimes it's hard not to feel overwhelmed and sad by the thought that our time together may be cut shorter than we would like.  We know that miracles can happen, but we also know that Heavenly Father has a plan for what is best for us, and we don't know what his will is or what our future will hold.  We have strong faith and trust in Heavenly Father, so we're just going to continue to live a day at a time to the fullest of our ability.  Scott plans to try to go back to work after he completes his radiation.  He will most likely still be experiencing fatigue for a while after his treatments, so he's going to do the best he can.  He is still working on his language, reading, and writing skills and they gradually continue to get better.

Lastly, I want to say THANK YOU.  I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to sit down and write each of you personally a thank you note.  I finally came to realize there is no way I could thank everyone who has done something for us over the last 3 months.  There are so many of you that have given us your time, support, babysitting, meals, money, love, e-mails, texts, etc.  I honestly don't know how we could be making it through all of this without the many of you who have been so generous.  I am in awe of the wonderful examples we have around us, and am humbled to be the recipient of so many selfless acts of kindness.  We are truly surrounded by amazing friends, family, and ward members.  So, thank you to each one of you.  Even though we haven't been able to respond and thank all of you individually, we truly appreciate everything and the burden of this trial has truly been made lighter because of so many of you.  We love all of you!