God is good...

...all the time!!! So my results of the biopsy are in. No sign of cancer or disease in the two spots!!! Instead, it was a false positive caused by scar tissue. Also, the surgery was able to be done laparoscopically which means a shorter recovery time. Such an answer to prayer. Thanks so much for your prayers!!!! My dad came to town to be my driver and fishing partner after the surgery. I can't lift anything so he would do all the work including reeling in all the big fish. Andrea and I were actually driving him to the airport when my Dr. called. There were tears of joy and relief and I'm glad Andrea was driving as I broke down completely. 

So I feel this whole experience was a wake-up call for me. God has been telling me for a while to put down the pole and pick up the cross. HE wants me to be a fisher of men first and a better husband and father second and maybe a fisher of fish somewhere after that. I've been ignoring this calling. When I had this  diagnosis, one if the first things that jumped into my mind is that I can't die, I haven't done enough for God!! I've done a lot for my own enjoyment and glory. Well now I have this chance and don't intend on blowing it. I have a quote from a song that I keep under my visor of my truck. "How can I further Your kingdom when I'm so wrapped up in mine."  Well, even carrying that around for the past few years, I've failed to really change. So my prayer request is that I can find a way to further His kingdom in the remaining time he grants me on this beautiful planet. 

So the morning after getting the great news from my Dr. I turned on the radio. The first song that came on was so awesome I wanted share it with you all. Here are the lyrics:

I've been running through rain that I thought would never end
Trying to make it on faith in a struggle against the wind
I've seen the dark and the broken places
But I know in my soul no matter how bad it gets, I'll be alright

There's hope in front of me
There's a light I still see it
There's a hand still holding me
Even when I don't believe it
I might be down but I'm not dead
There's better days still up ahead
Even after all I've seen, there's hope in front of me

There's a place at the end of the storm you'll finally find
Where the hurt and the tears and the pain all fall behind
You open up your eyes and up ahead there's a big sun shining
Right then and there you realize, you'll be alright

There's hope in front of me
There's a light I still see it
There's a hand still holding me
Even when I don't believe it
I might be down but I'm not dead
There's better days still up ahead
Even after all I've seen, there's hope in front of me

There's a hope still burning
I can feel it rising through the night
And my world's still turning
I can feel Your love here by my side

You're my hope
You're the light I still see it
Your hands are holding me
Even when I don't believe
Oh, I've got to believe, I‘ve got to believe

I still have hope
You are my hope


So the song was perfect. The picture I'm including was taken after a celebratory dinner with Andrea and my two kids (and  Lexy's boyfriend) who are still in town. My California kid was with us in spirit and text!!! Thanks again for all the awesome support. Jeff

Surgery went well

Thanks all you prayer warriors!! I love the notes, thoughts and prayers. God is good!! The surgery yesterday went great. My awesome surgeon was able to take the biopsies of both spots laparoscopically again...no big incision. We should find out the results by next Friday. My dr. gave it a 50/50 chance that it is scar tissue so that's what I'm praying for, knowing that it also could be cancer. My verse this week is from Phillipians 4:6-7

"6  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

My dad is in town helping drive me around in the car and boat :)  We fished the day before my surgery. He lost a big one and I was lucky to catch the one in the picture. 

The results are in.....

The two little spots that showed up in the "halfway scan" were still there. Most likely I have two forms of lymphoma. The NLPHL was probably the large area that showed up in my pre-chemo scan. That is no longer there and was gone after the halfway point. The second unknown entity is still there and wasn't treated by the chemo. 

Somehow my dr. set me up with my surgeon right after my appt. with him so I'm currently waiting in the waiting room to see him. I've already met with his "fellow."  So the plan is to biopsy the two nodes or spots to see what they are before coming up with a treatment plan. The two nodes that were removed in April had two different things going on. The big one was nlphl while the small one had folicular lymphoma insitu. My onc surmised that the two remaining spots could be folicular lymphoma.  The good news is I feel great physically, am only a little upset emotionally, the two spots are small 1.9 cm or less, they haven't spread or grown and everything else was clear. As I was writing this, I just met with my surgeon. He is going to get me in in the next few weeks. So at least it is going quickly. Thanks for the positive thought and prayers AND please keep praying. The picture is a 10 minute charcoal drawing my son did of me before I knew about the lymphoma. When I saw it today, it kind of summed up how I feel. A little down, in thought and prayer. Jeff

8 down 0 to go.

While chemo 8 was terrible, it's so nice to be done with this phase. Hopefully this will be it. I get scanned sometime near the end of the month or early September. I got really sick on Thursday and threw-up several times. It was horrible. Felt a little better on Friday and went to work. Saturday and Sunday were the usual bad days with nausea and gloppy feeling. Taste buds were non existance and GI track is raw. Also, my low grade fever returned last night. BUT I'M DONE FOR NOW!! AND SO MANY BLESSINGS. No weight loss, I weighed 175 on Thursday; no mouth sores; not too much numbness in hands and feet; I never became sick even though I had neutropenia the entire time; I never missed a treatment. Thank you Lord!!! Thank you everyone for thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for complete healing. This is a picture from my senior year in high school...1984. In this picture is a friend who just reconnected with me and sent me an amazing care package. After we both took 1st in state for wrestling, we jumped off a 65 foot tower in the middle of a reservoir in Hawaii. One good thing about illness is it brings old friends back together. 

Time flies.......

I can't believe it's been three months since I started my first chemo treatment on May 1st. Time does fly when you are dreading the next infusion. Number 7 was about the same, but no tossing the cookies thanks to anti-nausea drugs. Vitals were good as I weighed in at 176 and hair is still growing. Two awesome blessings over the past few weeks. First, I reconnected with one of my best friends from Hawaii. It was so good to talk with him. I can't wait to visit him sometime and talk about all the fun we had growing up in Hawaii. Second, friends of my parents (and my friends too) were in town visiting family and they brought my family an entire meal. That was so thoughtful and really helped make for a wonderful night. Andrea continues to treat me like a king. Pray for her as well as I'm sure I'm not easy to take care of. She boils my drinking water and makes ice cubes for me as well as keeping me well fed.

Thanks to everyone that has wished me well, prayed for me, or just made me laugh. It all helps soooo much. Chemo #8 is a few days away. Hopefully, that will be the last. They will do another CT/PET scan around August 20th to see if the cancer has been defeated. 

On a lighter side,  as usual, I was able to do a little fishing. This picture was taken by Jeremy on beautiful night when we both went out fishing on the paddle boards. I'm so thankful to God for special moments he gives me. I enjoy the beauty of His creation!!

Sixth had fireworks.

So the 10 days leading up to #6 were interesting. My body decided that working out was too much. I endured nightly low grade fevers (99.5-100.2) that lasted a couple hours then went away. It was a bit scary as my Dr. instructed me to go to the hospital if I had a fever of 100.5 for an hour. One awesome event was feeling well enough to go out on the boat with Andrea on the 4th of July and watching fireworks!! As for chemo 6, I had my first episode of throwing up. Not fun, but I made it through. Thank goodness for the World Cup as it gave me something to watch. Side affects are a little more severe the last few days, but not unbearable. I continue to praise God in this storm and thank him for all those praying for me. Two more chemos before next PET/CT scan to see what, if anything, is next. I'm praying that August 7th will be my last chemo and everything will look good. One answer to prayer was that after I had chemo on Thursday, the nightly fevers have not returned for three nights. As for vitals, I weighed in at 175, my hair is still growing and I

caught several nice bass over the past two weeks. Finally, I had a surprise visit from my cousin Jeremy on Wednesday. He cheered me up and took my mind off the treatment I was facing the following day. Picture is of cousin Jeremy and me. Thanks again to my family and friends and prayer warriors for prayer, support and love. 

Hanging in there after #5

The PET/CT was not bad, was not great but was good. The nodes shrunk almost in half and the amount of life/light in the cancer was significantly less but not all the way gone as my Dr. had hoped. The 5th chemo went in fine with the usual issues. My weight is 174 which is still great as my target pre-cancer was 170. I've been able to fish and enjoy life after about the Tuesday following chemo. I may try and do a short jog tonight.  The weird thing is that my hair is still growing. I'm not sure I should have buzzed it. The Lord has been so good. Can't wait to see what he has in store for me. The picture is how I spend my good days when I need some peace on the lake. Fishing on the surfboard with the dog... Or in the hammock reading notes my elementary art school teacher sends me. Thanks everyone for the encouragement. 

Fourth One Down

My fourth treatment was the usual except I had my wonderful mom with me this time. My spirits were lifted by my family. Side effects were pretty much the same; maybe a little worse nausea. Weighed in at 176 so no weight loss. My hair is still there and growing a bit. However it seems a bit patchy. I'm waiting for my kids and wife to tell me when to shave my head. It was an exciting week. My oldest graduated from college this weekend and my youngest from high school earlier in the week. Andrea has reached sainthood for being so kind to me. I am reading a book called Hope is Contagious by Ken Hutcherson. Great book. The next big day is June 23 when I have my next scan to see if chemo is working. The pictures are from graduation and a nice smallmouth bass I caught with a buddy. 

Third chemo not a charm.

The third chemo was not terrible, but made me feel real yucky (nausea, aches and just plain tired). I'm just now starting to feel normal (7 days after chemo). Today I was able to run during my lunch, stretch, and do a set of pull-ups. First bit of exercise in a week.  I weighed in at 177 at my third chemo appt. While I don't always feel like eating, I make sure to have 3-4 meals per day. I still have hair which is really crazy because I was told I would lose it after the second chemo. The things I try and do that seem to help with the side affects are: I pray, I use lotion on my skin every morning and night, I gargle with salt water multiple times per day (no commercial mouthwashes that can dry out mouth), I use baby shampoo, use a soft toothbrush, eat pretty healthy, try and exercise three days per week, take antacid, stay away from groups of people, use hand sanitizer, protect my skin from the sun and sleep when my body demands it. So far my weight has stayed up, no mouth sores, no numb hands or feet, no lung issues, no skin discoloration or dryness. I am starting to get strange ridges on my fingernails and my facial hair is growing super slow (no growth on my upper lip and chin). I don't mind that. Once again, thanks to all those prayer warriors. I am so blessed. Thanks to my wife and kids helping me out so much. Thanks to my dad for staying with me for 2 weeks, making me green health shakes, pressure washing the back patio and sprucing up my office. Thanks to my mom for taking some of my pain and listening to me. Thanks to my friends that call or text me and cheer me up. One cool thing was that my high school buddy and one of his sons visited me from Hawaii. I was able to take them fishing. Here is a picture from that fun day. By the way, I did wear a hat, sun gloves, long sleeves and a face cover while fishing. 

Week after chemo 2

Disclaimer: The reason the writing is short is that I use my phone to post. The past 10 days were better than the last post chemo week. Taste buds seemed better, no hiccups, no mouth needles. Had nausea and constipation ... Never tossed my cookies and constipation wasn't too bad. I had more tired moments where I felt like a zombie took over my body. I ran a few times and continued with push-ups and pull-ups. I gargle many times a day with salt water, use lotion twice a day on my skin and take antacid pills.  My family continues to be super helpful.  My friends have been great too, calling me every few days. My high school buddies and my college roomy from Taylor keep me up-beat. Also, my mom and dad have been awesome. My dad and I have been able to go fishing a few times, energy permitting.  Here is a picture from yesterday at Riffe Lake. We caught a bunch of nice ones. These are the four biggest smallmouth bass of the day. They were all released back alive.  The overcast day made it nice. What a blessing from God. I feel like prayers are being answered hourly. Thanks so much! I continue to praise him in the storm. The picture is cut off as we had no one to take our picture. The cat picture is for a fellow blogger and because Luna the cat has been extra nice to me lately. Please pray for my next treatment on Thursday and that I won't catch any germs as my immune system is dangerously low. Finally, pray for Andrea as she has been working so hard to keep me healthy. 

Second Chemo A Quick One

The week leading up to my second chemo treatment was a good one. I ran a few times and continued with push-ups and pull-ups. Didn't miss any work. Felt pretty normal. Andrea has been such an amazing supportive wife. My dad flew in Wednesday and on our way to Seattle, I decided to buzz my hair short to get ready for the fallout. The chemo went in twice as fast as they weren't worried about alergic reactions. It didn't seem to affect my taste as much. The nausea came as usual. I feel like God is answering so many prayers. Thank you all so much and don't stop. If you have a prayer request let me know too. Sorry, no  body reveal this week as I didn't want pops to show me up. My dad cut his hair short for support. :) Weighed in at 175 so weight loss not a problem so far. 

First Week Down

Well, thanks to all your positive thoughts and amazing prayers, the first week went well. I am so fortunate to have prayers coming in from all over the world, Thailand, Hawaii, Ohio, Wasington.... Thanks so much. I was able to make it to work Friday through Thursday. As for side effects from the chemo, food tasted awful the day of chemo and for the next two days. I had uncontrollable hiccups the day after. Super tired days two and three. I was nauseated, but didn't throw up for 3 days after, off and on. The second through fourth day my mouth felt like I had needles in it when I ate. The third through sixth day had heartburn. Most of the time I had a slight headache. I won't mention constipation. What was really tough is that I can't be around sick people. This past week everyone in my family had a bad cold and a couple people at work were also under the weather. So I spent the week dodging germs. With all that being said, this week I was able to work, go to a soccer match with a friend, jog three times, average 50 push-ups and 20 pull-ups every other day!! My weight is 174.  Andrea has been an angel. Pray for her strength. One huge answer to prayer is that my dad is coming to town and will be here for chemo 2-4. While I feel so lucky and blessed, I have to remember that faith is not about everything turning out ok, it's knowing you will be ok no matter how things turn out. 

Day 1 of chemo

First treatment is over. I had a bed next to a window where I could see Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier. My nurse was great. The chest port worked perfectly. Took 9 hours to get all of the chemo

in. They had a menu where I could order lunch and dinner. I had salmon for dinner with a salad and soup and sandwich for lunch. Had minor alergic reaction to first bag (itchy throat). I listened to a book (Pillars of the Earth), slept, read my Bible, prayed, watched some tv. I'm a little nauseated now. The only bad thing was the last bag gave me the runs. :)  One other thing, food started tasting strange within a few hours. :( Weight today was 176 lbs. Swam twice in last 4 days and ran once. Hard to believe how fast things are going. Stomach surgery and port placement surgery over last five weeks. Here is my day 1 after chemo picture. I'm going to try and post once per week. 

Pre chemo

4/30 Just one day before I start my chemotherapy for Nodular Lymphocite Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NLPHL). Yesterday, came home from work and there was a sign in the yard that read "No Barriers!" The saying of Lexy and Jessi's high school soccer program. Confirmed it was support from Coach Summers. Pretty cool. Andrea has been awesome treating me like a king. My friends, family and co-workers have been great. I'm also thankful for support from a group of cancer survivors on the Cancer Survivor's Network. I need to workout today and read my Bible. Need to be ready for the battle! Need to praise Him in the storm! My pre-knowledge picture from Boyz Trip 2013.