Brandon is home again, although he’s still dealing with the intestinal issues. They released him yesterday and told him come back if he experiences worsening pain or nausea. He really hasn’t been able to eat much and does still have the full feeling in his stomach, but that should start to subside in the next day or so if it’s going to resolve itself. He feels better than he did when he went into the hospital, but he’s not feeling as well as he was last week. Please keep sending healing energy his way so he can get over this hump soon and get back on track with his recovery!

Brandon’s oncology surgeon thought waiting two months for the next scan would give him more time to recover from his last surgery and more time to “feel good” before facing the challenge of another surgery. Brandon’s body had other plans. He went to the emergency room last night with stomach pain and nausea and was admitted with an intestinal blockage. They believe the blockage was caused by adhesions left behind from the prior surgeries. The doctor said this is common after abdominal surgery, and it can resolve itself in many cases. They plan to keep him under observation and monitor the situation. He is hooked to an IV and can’t have anything to eat or drink at this point. Luckily, they brought the pain back to a manageable level fairly quickly. Once they see improvement, they will start to introduce liquids and then solid foods to make sure he is able to tolerate them again. If this doesn’t clear on its own, the first treatment plan would be to use a NG tube inserted through his nose and running down into the stomach to break up the obstruction. The final option would be to do surgery, which we are praying isn’t necessary. It seems to be a good sign that they are doing observation first and not going straight to the NG tube, so keep your fingers crossed!

Please say a prayer that this clears up on its own – QUICKLY – so he can be home with his family. And thanks once again for continuing to check in on him!

We heard back from Brandon’s oncology surgeon at 10:00 last night. One thing you have to say about the guy, he puts in long days! He and the New York oncologist talked through their options and came to the conclusion that waiting two months, then doing another PET scan would be the best plan for Brandon. They think the metabolic activity in the scan could be disease progression, but they don’t see enough evidence to do another major surgery right now. The CRS/HIPEC surgery is a procedure that can be performed a limited amount of times on one person, so waiting until there’s a definite and significant amount of disease is the thing to do. If they do see progression in the next scan, they will schedule him for that surgery again.

Kristen found some information on another oncologist who is doing clinical research on methods to eliminate the cancer-sustaining proteins to prevent mesothelioma tumors from growing. He is working on assessing the molecular profiles of the tumors that stem from mesothelioma. One thing this says is that there is hope. People are out there looking for ways to cure this disease! Brandon did have tissue from his surgery sent for molecular profiling, but his insurance company will not cover the cost of this (to the tune of $50,000+), so we haven’t been able to get the results. But we haven’t given up on that, and his oncology surgeon is still appealing to the insurance company to make an exception in his case.

Brandon only has to fight this disease until there is a cure/treatment. Please keep praying for his health and strength to do so!

Brandon got the results of his PET scan this morning, and it wasn’t what we were hoping to hear. The surgical oncologist said he did see some metabolic activity in the peritoneal membrane that looked to be thickening. He can’t be positive that it is a recurrence of the cancer, but he can’t be positive that it’s not. He is placing a call to the oncologist Brandon saw in New York to get his opinion on what the next steps should be. He said the doctor in New York has more experience with treatment protocols for peritoneal mesothelioma, and he wants to discuss it with him before making any further plans. He’s placing the call and sending a copy of the PET scan today, and he hopes they can confer by Friday. If treatment is recommended, we don’t know if that will be in Kansas City or in New York. He will call Brandon as soon as they decide where we go from here.

Please continue sending your prayers!

Brandon had a CT scan this morning, followed by an appointment with his oncology surgeon. Of course, we all wanted to hear the oncology surgeon say everything looked good and that he would see him in 6 months for his next scan. That’s not exactly what he said, and we are still trying to figure out how we feel about what he did say.

He came in and said right off that the CT scan from his point of view looked pretty good. He said the radiologist who read the scan did note a thickening of the peritoneal membrane. He said that he feels that is because Brandon is still recovering from major abdominal surgery, and it makes complete sense to him that the thickening could be related to that. The radiologist also noted a little bit of fluid in his abdomen. So just to play it safe, he ordered a PET scan to study that area more closely, which will be done next Tuesday. After that, Brandon will see him again on Wednesday to talk about the results. The CT scan also showed some enlarged lymph nodes in his chest, which he wasn’t too concerned about. They are still within the normal range, just larger than before, and he feels they could be “reactive” to either the surgery or to Brandon’s recent bout with the flu. He urged Brandon not to worry too much about that. They were not in the lungs, which could have perhaps been concerning.

All in all, the oncology surgeon’s demeanor was upbeat, and he said more than once that he felt good about what he saw. That being said, it’s difficult for Brandon not to let that bit of uncertainty cloud his thinking. We all still feel like we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We can be very thankful that the doctor didn’t see/feel any new tumors and that he had a positive attitude, unlike when he talked to us after the scans last October. We didn’t walk out of the appointment with another surgery looming. Now we just have to continue to pray that his instincts about what they did see are right and that Brandon will hear the words he’s waiting to hear when we go back next Wednesday.

Please keep praying!

Brandon is still getting over the flu, but he’s feeling better. The nagging cough is what holds on the longest, and that’s not fun when your stomach still hasn’t completely healed from a major reconstructive surgery.

He has his next scan on Wednesday. Please pray like never before that his scan comes back clean. This has been weighing so heavily on his mind (and ours as well). You don’t realize how just how much the uncertainty changes your day-to-day life until you face something like this. This cancer came out of the blue. There was nothing Brandon did to cause it, and there were no lifestyle changes he could have made to prevent it. We’ve lost family members and loved ones to cancer before, and while it was difficult, we’ve been able to wrap our minds around it. Brandon lost his grandma to lung cancer. She had smoked since her early teens. That didn’t make losing her easier, but we all understood what caused her cancer. We don’t understand with Brandon. It just needs to go away the same way it came. This scan has to be clean. Living a long, healthy and productive life is not an option for him. Having two major surgeries in one year is enough, and he needs a break. He needs to live his life like any other 37 year-old young man with a family to care for and share his life with. He needs to look forward to tomorrow, next week, next month with anticipation of what good might come and not with fear of this dreaded disease coming back.

Please send prayers and hold him close in your heart!

Hard to believe almost a month has gone by since our last update! Things have been somewhat uneventful up until the last week, which is a good thing. Brandon had a follow-up appointment with his plastic surgeon last week, and he was released to stop wearing his binder and begin some light jogging. That was good news!

Avery came down with the flu last weekend, and it hit her pretty hard. She is still getting over it, but her fever is finally gone. Even though the whole family had flu shots, she managed to share it with Brandon. He tested positive for the flu on Friday and has been feeling progressively worse since. Since he’s limited on the medications he can take due to the kidney problems, he didn’t get tamiflu. His doctor did give him a kidney-safe cough medicine and told him he’d need to let it run its course. He could use your prayers to kick this flu.

Next up is his follow-up scan and appointment with the oncology surgeon. That is scheduled for February 21. It’s weighing heavily on his mind, and he needs all the prayers he can get as the date draws closer. Thanks for checking in on him and for sending good thoughts and prayers!

Brandon has been back to work for a few weeks now, and the routine seems to be kicking in. All in all, he feels good and is getting back to most of his usual activities. His kidneys are hovering around the same levels they’ve been at for while, but we are staying positive that they will improve. He will see the plastic surgeon again in a couple of weeks and hopes to be released to do some light exercise. He doesn’t have the stamina he had before all this, which isn’t surprising, and he more than likely won’t be able to push himself the way he could before. His body has been through a lot, and he’s getting older.

Speaking of getting older, we will be celebrating his birthday this weekend! How things have changed since his last birthday. Brandon has definitely learned to refocus his priorities, as we all have. Our birthday wish is that this year is full of health and happiness for him!

Thank you all for continuing to check in on him and for keeping him in your prayers!

Today is Brandon’s first day back to work. This feels like a step in the right direction, a step toward “normal” life again. He still has restrictions as far as lifting and activity/exercise, and he still gets fatigued, but he’s making progress. Being around his good friends at Teva should go a long way toward making him feel better.

His kidney numbers did go back in the wrong direction just a bit when he had his lab work last week. Not a huge change, but not the change we were wanting to see. They had gone down at the time of his surgery in early November to a point where we were optimistic, and they have crept up since. We need to get that trend reversed.

At the end of the day, we are thankful for the healing that has taken place and pray that we are finished with this cancer and that his kidneys improve. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers heading into 2018! We wish you all a happy and HEALTHY New Year!

Sorry it’s been so long since the last update! At least no news means no bad news, right? Brandon is continuing to recover from surgery. He still battles fatigue and has some pain and swelling, but he’s been able to get back to a point where he can enjoy some of the holiday activities with his family. He and Kristen took the girls to see the holiday lights on the Plaza. Avery visited Santa at Crown Center and rode the holiday train at Union Station. We were able to go out to eat this week for Kristen’s birthday. He has to watch that he doesn’t try to do too much in one day, but at least he’s able to get out of the house and live a little. Meals are sometimes a challenge for him because he tends to have pain in his stomach after eating half the amount he used to be able to eat in one meal. He did make a follow-up appointment with his surgeon to ask about that, and the surgeon didn’t find anything concerning, so it must still be a part of the healing process.

He is looking forward to going back to work in a couple of weeks and seeing his “work family” again. That’s a huge part of his support system.

Please keep praying and holding good thoughts that 2018 will be a much better year for Brandon!