More gigs

The weeks going well. Dave got lab work drawn today. Also got the news that my mom excepted an offer on her house in Florida today. GREAT NEWS! Dave's at practice tonight with Mister Edd. He's still resting frequently... but hanging in there. Tomorrow I go with him to play at Walter Payton's Round House with Bryan Lubeck. I've never been there, so it should be a lot of fun... and pictures. Then it's Czar's with Maxon Struwin on Saturday. Labs and chemo next week. It will be cycle 4 of 6. We remain hopeful and positive.

Another Monday

Dave's hanging in there. Maybe some mouth issues, might have a sore and I really think he's more sensitive to spicy food, even though he still likes it. We ate Thai food....again. He has occasionally bone pain, doesn't last very long. No more bleeding episodes (they were very mild anyway). Very windy here today and we've had several short power outages. Laying in bed watching TV and looking at computers together. What a modern couple we are (haha).

The Day After

Pictures: One table today- the day after; Breakfast this morning at 1 pm.

Didn't get up until 11 am. What a great time last night. Made eggs, pancakes (Dave's job), hash browns and sausage for "brunch". Cleaned up the back yard- wasn't bad. Now another fire and BLTs for dinner. Another weekend of good times with CW. This week Ruthie has to go to the vet on Tuesday- probable ear infection, Dave gets lab on Wed. and I'm going with him to the Chicago area- it's really Aurora at Walter Payton's Round House. And I took Friday off. LOOOOONG WEEKEND!

Another fire at Camp David

Pictures: Kay Stickney and Dave by the fire; Brats cooking away; Danny and Bill Dine- winners of the last to leave contest.

Another great fire at Camp David. 3 nights in a row (Thursday, Friday and Sat.). Dave's been feeling pretty dang good. He's getting some occassional mouth sores and a sore throat... nothing serious. Still tired and resting frequently, but doing more and wanting to cook on the fire. Sat. we had lots of friends over. The YaYas (Julie, Joni, Liz and Sue) minus Catherine, Kay and Bill Dine, Danny Dine, Tim, Dan, Mark (YaYa husbands) and of course us. Dave got brats at Vitale's Market and pre cooked them in some beer. Everyone liked them a lot. Veggies on the grill, a great new dip and crackers and apple crisp from apples picked the same day filled out the menu. We were up until after 3 am. Such a beautiful night and great friends. Dave so enjoys the Camp Dave fires.

Correction on Cigarettes

Well, a friend ordered the fake cigarette I posted a few days ago and it wasn't the same thing I was really talking about. So VERY,VERY SORRY!!! Here's the cigarette that is definitely what I meant to show. The kit is $99. There are 3 levels of nicotine and 1 with none. It looks pretty cool. Pass it on.

TGIF

Well, our followers are back on the page for me. Guess some people could see them when I couldn't. We had a big camp fire last night and cooked burgers over it. They were good. Dave slept in some today, I think he feels pretty good. We may have one tonight, but tomorrow we have another big fire planned for sure. Next week he plays in Chicago and I'm going along. Will take lots of pictures, of course. Glad it's TGIF!

And we're in week Two

Week two of cycle three. Dave is still tired, but keeping up. Practice in Merrillville last night, Mister Edd practice tonight. Lab draw today. I'm interested in what his platelet count is. All and all, Dave is doing pretty good. No gigs this weekend.

I'm having some issues with the blog. Followers disappear.... "poof". Sign up for Benefit isn't working.... "poof, poof". I added a count down to the benefit, it's gone....."poof, poof, poof". Need help with the whole followers or getting a counter...... any suggestions? How?

Best news- meeting someone from Texas whose father starts the study drug tomorrow. Passing some good vibes forward to them! (see comments under last video).

ps- thanks to all who have dropped by snacks and soup. Hope we can have a Camp David fire this weekend. All are welcome.

Dave playing at Bell's Brewery with Mike Struwin and Friends

Bell's Brewery

Pictures(starting top left) Rick Willey playing fiddle; Lori,Julie and Mark; Dave gettin' down; Lori cutting the rug.

What a great night at Bell's Brewery. First the beer.... and they still have Oberon. YEAH! Very good burgers. Mike Struwin and Friends played out on

the patio - the weather was great but it started getting cool after 10 pm. Julie and Mark Lester were in attendance- which of course means we had a lot of fun. And our friend Lori (sorry I'm not sure of the spelling), who is band member Josh's wife, was there too. Fiddle and Sax added a different "flavor" to the night. The band played until 12:30ish, so after tear down and driving home we didn't get to bed until 3 am. Dave wasn't too tired, which makes it all okay for me. Friday after chemo is when his nausea starts. Zofran is helping with that. Today we have to go in for his Neulasta shot which helps keep his WBCs from dropping too low. Now the week of recovery and rest.

Chemo #3

Well, besides the awesome news yesterday, Chemo went well. Dave did not have a reaction to the Taxol and the infusion were done around 4 pm, a little earlier than the past. Labs are doing pretty good. His platelets are dropping the 2nd week and we will have to watch that. Platelets have to come back up to near normal to get full dose of Chemo on time and that is the goal.

Tonight we'll be a Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo. Will post pictures and maybe a video tomorrow.

Check out the Camp David Benefit October 24th at Czar's 505 (left side and bottom). I'm trying to get the picture bigger so you can see. Will provide links asap. Can't get over the wonderful friends and family we have.

CP 751.871 ROCKS

This will be a long post. We are so excited. Today at Dave's appt. before chemo, we saw the results of the CT scan and got pictures to take home. It was the very first thing we talked about. Dave had a 73% decrease in his tumor burden (their words not mine). So here it goes:

1- the left lung tumor (thought to be the original) went from around 6.4 cm by 1.5 cm to sm areas that can't be measured.

2- the right lung tumor went from 5.5 cm by 5 cm to 1.9 cm by 1.7 cm

3- the adrenal gland tumor went from 3.1 cm by 3 cm to 2.3 cm by 1.8 cm

We could not see the kidney tumors or the brain tumor on the scan. The Nurse Practitioner said we'll assume the kidneys are responding as well. The brain doesn't get as much of the chemo, but we will only check it if there are symptoms.

A big sigh . We are half way through chemo and Dave has done such a great job. My new nickname for Dave is CW, which stands for CANCER WARRIOR. All of you surrounding us with your love, positive thoughts and prayers are so appreciated. Now being a nurse I have to say, we are not out of the woods. The side effects can get severe and we may get to a standstill. BUT WE WILL NOT SURRENDER!

Pictures (left to right) Dave just after chemo; CT scans (left is new CT of right lung mass, right is CT from ER in July)

First a quit smoking story

Today I saw a friend who has smoked for years and when I told him about Dave's cancer I asked him if he would consider quiting. That was 5 weeks ago. Now, I'm not saying it's just because of me and Dave, but he showed me his artificial cigarette and said he quit 4 weeks ago. I almost cried. If there's anyway we can encourage someone to try to quit it feels like a victory against the evil habit. Not that I blame the smoker..... at all. Pass the word.

Can't beat that Thai food

Ate at Ban Thai.... again. One of our faves and a frequent Dave request. Check it out: Ban Thai

Thinking about tomorrow.

CT scan

So, today Dave had a CT Scan at 8:25 this morning. Well, you may know, this is way early for him. He made it and was asked if he had his "drink" at home. Dave didn't know about it so they sent him home with instructions to drink it down and come back at 11. Dave said he was sorry to which the person replied "no problem, welcome to health care". All worked out in the end. Dave went back, got the CT of his chest and made it to his hand doctor appt. GOOD news, his finger is healing well. Now he has lab work tomorrow (fasting for 4 hours) and Thursday is the big day: results of the scan and chemo #3.

Also on the schedule- Mister Edd practice tonight, Maxon Struwin practice tomorrow night.

I have the pleasure of getting a root canal next week! :)

Fishin' with the Kings

Fishin' at Diamond Lake Saturday. Dave borrowed one of Tim's fishin' hats. I made sure he had 50 sunscreen and he didn't get a sunburn, which is great. What a fun afternoon. Tim was the official tour guide and worm man (Dave couldn't bait his line because of his finger). We caught a lot of fish, but only 4 were keepers and Joni got the most. Dave caught the biggest fish, a 13 inch wide mouth bass..... they have to be 14 inches to keep, so we threw it back. Got home about 7 pm and Dave took a quick nap. Then great dinner ala Tim, Joni, Suzanne and Tom and another fire. Thanks for the great food!

Pictures(top to bottom) Dave ready to fish; The biggest fish; One of Joni's catches; Tim the fishin' man

Friday night cook out

Chuck, Dave and Cookie- sitting by the fire after dinner. That's Nikki and Ruthie (aka Baby Ruth) checking things out.

Weekend

What a beautiful weekend! Dave is feeling pretty good. His finger doesn't hurt much, which is great. Trying to find a bandage that's just right and not so bulky. Chuck and Cookie came over last night for chicken and baked potatoes cooked on the fire. It was perfect weather for a camp fire too. Today we're going fishing with Tim and Joni and Tom and Suzanne. We need to make sure Dave doesn't get too much sun. I'm thinking one of Tim's large brimmed fishing hats and lots of sun screen. Hope someone catches some fish so we can have a fish fry at Camp David tonight.

Oh Boy

Oh boy, we went to the hand surgeon today. Dave has paronychia. MD gave Dave a block (the needle went right into the top of his hand almost all the way through, don't tell him 'cuz he didn't look) and removed the edge of his nail and then drained the infection. The block should last for 12 hours and he's doing really well. It just sounded so...... icky. MD thought it would get better in a week. Dave has band practice and a gig next week, so cross your fingers. FYI Sept 18th he plays with Maxon Struwin at Bell's Brewery in Kazoo.

Another thing

Dave has a finger nail infection. The oncologist office says it's pretty common, started him on antibiotics and he gets to have it lanced by a surgeon. Geez! He's had more medications and tests/procedures in almost 2 months than I bet he's had is his life. More than I've had too....maybe together. Not sure if Mark's reading these, but Dave did have some low blood pressures after the last chemo and he's down to 1/2 dose of BP pill and checks BP daily.

Next Tuesday CT scan (early in the morning), next Thursday Chemo number 3 and report from CT scan.

Playing with Maxon Struwin at Wally's in Saugatuck

Playing at Wally's. Beautiful night and a great crowd. Rick Willy filled in and it was interesting to have violin. It got pretty cold.... for me. Another great gig time wise, 7 to 11 pm ish. Plus they have great perch. It's the end of the season, at least for the 6 piece band. Fun night.

Fire number 2

Another fire. Lindsey and Sue came over. Dave made beef stew, cooked for 5 hours and it was delicious. Also had some okra from our garden, bonus. The dogs have missed our nights in the back yard. Can tell they are so happy. Great night with friends. Priceless. Now if I can just make Dave help make the beds.

Fire at Camp David

We had a fire last night. What a beautiful night for one. Cooked shrimp and steak on the fire and sat around with the neighbors (Kevin and Kris), the Kings and the dogs. Perfect. Hope we can have another one this weekend. It feels good to get outside. Dave is still pretty tired but I think he's starting his upswing. :)

One of Dave's bass solos

Here's one of Dave's solos at Krasl last Friday. Great short gig, 5:30 to 9 pm. Beer and pizza. What more could you ask for?

Playing Jazz at the Krasl Art Center

Dave played with Friends Jazz Quartet last Friday night. It was a fund raiser and pretty fun.

Funny Boy

I married a comedian. This is Dave before the second hair cut. LOL

Dave cooking

Here's Dave after his first hair cut. He made a wonderful dinner. I think he looks younger too!

Still experimenting with how this all works.

Second Chemo

Dave had his second round of chemo last Thursday. At the beginning of the first drug, Taxol, Dave started have a reaction. They stopped the drug and gave him Benedryl and a steriod, had him rest for 30 minutes and started again. He tolerated the rest of the dose at a slow rate. This means they will have to give it slow from now on, which just makes the day a little longer. Joni shaved Dave's hair to about 1/4 inch on Sunday. It's been falling out and Dave says "that means the drugs are working". Yesterday the Oncologist called to say a Chest Xray on Friday showed the tumors are smaller. We have to wait for the CT Scan in 2 weeks to tell the exact size, so we are cautiously ecstatic. Dave is tired but doing pretty well.

So, there it is. Our first blog. Wow.

Starting a Blog

Good evening! Our blog is called Camp David because that's what Dave calls the backyard when he has campfires and I'm out of town. The purpose of this blog is to communicate how Dave is doing with his cancer treatment. We will update as often as we can and you can check in whenever you want. Feel free to pass the address along to others. Hopefully you can comment too (I'm new to this whole blog thing).