Merry medical Christmas letter

First, please don't miss Jody's journal just below mine. It's good that we were both inspired to write today. I guess we both felt the love and wanted to express it today. Also, on my part, I've been waiting for my DSL provider to get a new modem to me so I could get back on the internet.

It was great that so many of us were able to assemble in the little town of Oregon, Il. on Saturday, Dec. 2o. Those who could not come were missed but between a generous luncheon spread (at Maxsons Buffet on the grand and glorious Rock river) and a gathering of the Egan and Rice clans at Michelle's house afterwords it was a day that made my heart feel good. We were very lucky that we caught the only day of good weather in the last week.

I hope that everyone is as well as can be and you are getting what you want for Christmas. I'm sure that for many of us that is the same thing. I know that my current recovery from my symptoms is the best present I could have received for Christmas.


Most of us are celebrating the holidays with all the joy and love of our families. Meanwhile, someone we may not all know, John DeStefano, Bette's husband and Joni Batchen's brother-in-law is recovering from major back surgery having just come home after weeks of physical therapy. They are cousins from the Ronayne family where our grandmothers (and for some of us our mothers) came from. Please give John a thought and a prayer over the holidays as he tries to deal with the pain that can't ever be far from his consciousness.

Family Gathering

Well, we had quite the busy weekend... The Egan clan came from the four corners to see my dad and it was a wonderful time! Jim and Christy were out from Colorado; Jenny came from Maryland; Brian and Sarah drove in from Tennessee; Tom, Tracy, Jake, Max, and Abby came in from up north; Steve and Vicki drove in from Rolling Meadows; Michelle, Al, Krista, Kevin and Marty and I were there of course, as well as the guest of honor, Mike, and my mom. Tracy was there as well, but unfortunatley Matt had to work and was missed... Patty and Harley and Mitch and Brit were snowed in up in Wisconsin and they were certainly missed as well.

We had good news to share as the latest chest x-ray showed no changes in my father's cancer, and that is the best Christmas present any of us will receive!!!

To all who came, thank you for such a lovely day! Please forward any pictures that were taken to my personal email so I can post them on the blog and facebook.

Love to all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Jody

Happy Holidays!

Well, it is officially December and all of the money in the world is still dried up. And it's five months since my big surprise. At least for now I am done with chemo and I am just taking my daily oral medication. I have a message in to Dr. Schultz because my cough hasn't gone away for four weeks. I am eating well, (watch me eat a meal and prove it to yourself) and sleeping well but I still can't get up in the morning and get to the fitness center.

I have joined many of you by signing up for Facebook to receive Jeni's photos. This is a big step for me since I have never joined a social networking site before. What are the advantages and what are the security concerns?

It is December eighth and I am now 71 years old for sure. Getting older is not better, but as long as I am hanging around with Carolyn I am willing to put up with it. She has had to pick up some more of the workload around here where I might have dropped it recently and she has made no complaints. One of these days when my excuses start sounding lame, I will have to take back some of it.

Oh, well, I am sending this missive off to you, one and all; I will check in again after my appointment with Dr. Schultz next Monday, Dec 15.

Love from,

Dad, Gran'pa, brother, uncle

Mike

Mike's triumphant return; ta da! (fanfare)

I'm back! The funny problem I had for about a month was caused by the treatments I've been receiving along with chemotherapy. It's a variant on what they call "Chemo burn" and can cause your skin to break out almost anywhere; which is why I was lucky. I only got infected in my hands. Of course that caused me to miss several pickup basketball games with Barak Obama, but he's old news anyway.

I am gratefull to Jody for keeping everyone up to date and keeping the communications open.

On Monday, Nov. 17 I saw the Oncologist, Dr. Schultz, along with the team (Carolyn, who comes for the moka coffee, Jody, who is my doctor's star visitor and Michelle who is the adult in the team).

Dr. reviewed the results of last Thursday's CtScan and said my condition is "stable", which, I guess, means that the treatment is holding the cancer at bay. For now, I can stop taking chemo and rely on the oral treatment that I take every day to prevent the cancer from becoming active again. Meanwhile, they will take chest xrays every 30 days and Ctscans every 60 days.

But enough about my fun and games, Al has started his new job as a Fire Lieutenant (see pictures below) and Marty is working about 90 hours a week. Krista and Kevin are doing great. Meanwhile, Carolyn and I are enjoying Paradise here in Oregon, Il. If you haven't been to Oregon, you need to stretch you imagination to understand the perfect 1970's beauty of it. Probably, nothing has changed here in 30 years and that's too soon.

Thanks, everyone, for letting me check in with my update. Please stay in touch.

Mike, (dad, gran'pa, uncle, brother), I love you all and look forward to seeing you soonest.

More Updates

Lt. Alan and Michelle Greene
Krista retiring Alan's FF badge

Kevin pinning on Alan's Lt. badge

Hi all,

Well, Lizzie's hubby ended up with the sniffles, so we have rescheduled our visit for this coming week.

Michelle said my dad's hands are looking great! I am going out there tomorrow, so I can see for myself. He had a CT Scan Thursday of this past week, and we get the results of the test on Monday. My parents, Michelle, and I will all make the journey to the doctor to hear; it's a family affair.

Hopefully with the continued improvements, he will be typing on his own soon. I am posting some of the pictures from Al's pinning so you can all enjoy.

Love,

Jody

A New Direction

Good morning all,

Liz is on her way out with the boys, I will post some photos later on today or tomorrow. Michelle will be joining us for lunch today as she has not met Will and Charlie either.

Since my dad's hands are still healing and he is unable to type just yet, I would like to invite everyone to post words of encouragement, a prayer, or just a simple hello. I think he would really enjoy reading everyone's thoughts.

He is back on the trial drugs per the doctor, every other day instead of every day like before. This will be closely monitored by the doctor and we have another CT Scan scheduled for next week to see his progress internally. The doctor will be checking on his hands when he goes in for the results. He is also scheduled for an EKG next week.

We look forward to reading...
Love,
Jody

Continued Updates on Dad

His burns are healing, slowly, but that is expected as his immune system is compromised from the chemo. He is alternating cortaid, emu oil, and utter balm to help the dryness and itching. He wears cotton gloves to avoid accidentally hitting his hands and also to keep the moisture in. My best friend Liz is coming out next week to visit with her two boys, Will and Charlie, and we are all looking forward to having that energy in the house. My parents have not met the boys yet, and they are too cute for words, so a great time will be had by all.

Dad has a doctors appointment Monday to see if he is ready to continue the trial drugs, which he most likely will.

Hope everyone is well. Much love,
Jody

Update on my dad

Hello everyone,

I hope this posting finds everyone well. Recently my father experienced some side effects of chemo. He has what is known as "chemo burn". His oncologist believes it to be from the trial drugs he is on, which he takes orally and are also injected with his regular chemo every 21 days. Chemo burn is exactly what it sounds like, painful red skin with open sores and blisters. His hands and forearms look as if they have been "cooked" on a fire. Needless to say, typing is out of the question right now. Additionally, his fingers have swelled like sausages. Luckily, Al was home when it happened (and we were not in Ireland), and he was able to come over and dress it for my dad and between my mom, sister, and I; dad has some lovely caring nurses to get him through.

Just wanted to let everyone know why you have not seen any news posts lately, but I am sure he will be back up and typing soon.

The oncologist has him off the trial drug until the burn and swelling go down, and then he will start on them again every other day to see if the burn returns. It is painful, as I said above, but he is getting through with eveyone's love and support and is not letting it get his spirits down.

Keep sending your messages of hope, prayer, and love... he really needs them more than ever.

Some really happy news for the family... Al has been promoted to Lieutenant at the Lombard Fire Department! He has been working very hard, went back to school to get his Bachelor degree (with honors, might I add), and the whole family is so excited and proud of him. His pinning ceremony is Monday and Kevin will be pinning his father, which is so exciting for Kevin.

So it goes to show, with the bad comes the good. Dad will be attending the ceremony as long as he continues to feel well, and he is so very proud of Al.

Love,
Jody

My Godfather

As my Godparents, you and Aunt Carolyn have been around my entire life.  Since my parents divorced when I was three, we didn't get to see you guys or other parts of the Egan/Rice clan as often as I would've wished.  I do remember cook outs (my dad always cooked-figure that out!!) and birthday get togethers and a few Christmases those years ago.  As an adult, I've realized those were the good times.  Now, because I have my own family, I try to remember as much as I can about the kids growing, places I take them, memories for the future.  This is the stuff that's important.  I try to remember that as long as we are together, that as long as we are a family--the bills, the jobs we've had to endure, the used cars, the bad days--all that is not important.  The weddings, the births, the new puppies, a new house, a family that has grown and prospered so very much in my 37 years......this is what I want to remember.  

Love, Jeni

Thanks for the memories

Dear family, I have just been going over some of the things you have written to me and, also, some of the things I have said in this journal.

Your outpourings of love and regard for me are the most, really! the most important part of this whole misadventure of my illness. It is the most positive part, even though Dr. Schultze's office called to tell us that Wednesday's CTScan showed my cancer is being reduced which is very good news.

Thank you for everything you have said and especially for every memory. You seem to remember things I thought you would be too young to know. Your enthusiasm for life has made every get together, family party, wedding celebration, all occasions more fun for everyone.

More good news for me and Carolyn is that my chemo seems to be working and each time I have chemotherapy its's easier to take and more effective.


I've tried to be straightforward and deal with some of my own feelings of responsibility because, sadly, I am not going to be the only one in the world to go through this experience and, maybe, what I say can help somebody, somewhere to know how to react to what happens to them. It's the magic of Google, of the internet. If anyone else ever reads this journal, I guarantee that they will know how you can feel for the first week after your chemo. The doctors can't tell you, there are too many variables.

I hope, by reading our journals people will also see the big advantages of faith, hope and a positive attitude. There is something that happens inside us when we keep a PMA going.


Love from me grandpa, uncle Mike, Dad and all the roles that I am privileged to play in your lives.

Happy Memories

Uncle Mike,

I have many happy memories from my childhood of you and your family visiting our house or us at yours. The time you took me for a ride in your cool blue Mustang, (I actually remember riding the streets of Arlington Heights in that car), you in your Navy uniform and all of us running around the park next to your house. (The house with the water tower next store). I thought that water tower was really cool when I was 10, but now at 50 I am not sure why. The pictures that were posted by Jody reminded me you once had a really thick mustache too. That made me laugh… In more recent times at family parties in my backyard and at the water park in Rockford with Jim, Jenny’s family, you, Aunt Carolyn and some of your family. These were all happy times for me and hopefully for you too.
You have more happy memories to create for a lot of people. Thank you for sharing all you and your family are going through. I hope it is as helpful for you to share these experiences as it is for the rest us to learn.

Steve

Good News!

It's not scientific, but I am seeing a good sign for my health. I've gained 5 lbs in about one week. this after losing 20 lbs in 6 weeks. Why? I can only guess that my chemotherapy is working.

The 2nd chemo was a much better experience than the first, I thought it must be working right away.

Doctor has ordered another CT Scan for this Weds, Oct 1. this will give more scientific, medical evidence for what's happening.

Chemotherapy 3 of 4 is Monday, Oct 6. I am actually looking forward to it. I guess I know how to have fun. Ok, you have to get your "kicks" where you find them

So far, each time has been better. It is more of a routine. The nurses expect us. When my team shows up we just smoothly go through the process. Find a place in the chemo lab, set up, get comfortable, start thinking about lunch and wait for the first injection. There are multiple injections. You get something to make the chemo more tolerable, them two chemo injections.

Four or five hours later, my team has gone and returned from lunch and I am no more than slightly uncomfortable. I know by then that the next few days I will be sleepy, but unable to sleep, lazy and not able to motivate myself and just going through the motions.

Thanks for checking in with Mike Rice's Journal. Next weeks version should be big, very big!

A Letter To My Dad

Dear Dad,

How could you ever "not exist"? You are one of two main elements of how I have become me. I think things through, long and hard, before I make a decision. Once the decision is made, I stick by it and make the best of the situation. Because of you, I know the value of a dollar and how hard it is to earn it. I'm a saver. I watched you write lists on what you needed to do at work and home, so I am an avid "lister" - that's why I'm so organized.

You put everyone else first, yet you know how and when to say NO. Okay, I'm still trying to do that, in that order -gee I love the word NO though, so it's an asset of yours I am nowwhere near a master of.

My complete love and loyalty towards my family is learned from the lessons you teach. Because of the husband and father you are and have always been - I knew exactly what kind of man to look for: honest, gentle, and caring and with a slightly funny sense of humor. When I found him, I married him. You are quite the role model. Notice how our marriage is still strong after 19 years?

Not Here? Not Matter? Not Exist? On the contrary dad - without you there would have never been a me.

I Love You!

Michelle

Lung Cancer Guilt

CBS News Sunday Morning had a special on cancer recently. Comparing incidence, funding, research on Lung cancer, breast cancer and other forms.


On the program, Dr. Harvey Katz of the New York Cancer Institute reported that 5 year survival rate is up slightly and life span is increasing.

The stigma of self-inflicted cancer is attached to lung cancer. The smoker had a choice and made a bad choice either from laziness or ignorance. This has meant that, even with the tobacco settlement, lung cancer receives less research funding that breast cancer, barely a tenth.


With all the progress in education lung cancer is still a result of smoking. Here's what we hadn't been told until now. it's essential to quit smoking as soon as humanly possible, but it's no guarantee of safety no matter how early you quit. I'm not the first to avoid cigarettes for 33 years and get caught in this trap. Women non-smokers are not safe. Children of smokers are not safe. I lived with Carolyn in my house for 15 years before I quit, with Michelle for 9 years and Jody for 2 years. Today, 15% of lung cancer patients are non smokers, but the cause is still smoking.

People live for their future hopes and what tomorrow may bring. Until deliveration day when dreams are ours for the taking. The dreams have to be ready to come true, the hopes to come to pass; all the pieces to fit together. There is always a monkey wrench that doesn't loosen or tighten just right. Those funny little adjustments to the plan; not quite enough money to winter in Florida. Hold the cruise till next year. So many couples I've seen have had to face up to sudden illness or sudden financial surprise.


Some have adjusted to regular interruptions to their lives for tests, more chemo, ect... Who can tell. More surprises to come, maybe even a good surprise like an increased 5 year survival rate.

Mike you mean so much to us

Mike,

I just signed up for this and for the record, this is my first official blog that I have contributed to. I guess you are never too old to learn something new every day.

Over the last few weeks I have been praying and thinking about you and your family. In looking back at several of the good times in my life, I realized you and Aunt Carolyn were at several of those events celebrating with me and my family, for that I am extremely grateful for your support and love. I watched the pictures that Jody posted from your suprise 70th birthday and I remember some of those places and the pool at your house. Those were fun times.

Through God, I believe that everyday is a gift and I personally am eternally grateful for every day I have to enjoy life with my family and others. Uncle Mike as I look at you and your family and all the things you have accomplished in your life, I can only hope that I look the same someday. All the gifts you have been blessed with are amazing. You should be very proud of your daughters and Aunt Carolyn.

That being said, you still have a lot to accomplish and have a loving family to accomplish it with. By taking each day and making the most of each day, I am confident you will set out a course that will provide you with the strength and hope you will need to get through this time of your life. Talk to you soon, Love Tom

Chemo Day Two

Chemo day two on Monday, Sep 15, was a world of difference from the last one. It was all due to preparation on the part of everybody. Even as we sat down with Dr Schultze, he was already telling us that I would be injected immediately, Tuesday, to help my white blood count recover. In case anyone isn't aware, chemotherapy is devastating to your white blood count, which protects our immune system. So, with low white count you get fevers, chills and less protection against disease and probably a trip to emergency. Our team had already decided to change my diet and improve hydration. That has helped, too.

More good news, I will be getting another CtScan on Oct 1. Are we measuring progress? I hope.

I know I take this dialoge in many directions and through multiple changes. It's important to me to talk about everything to encourage others to talk about what matters to them.

Things to do today: Learn to Pray

A very early saint, St. Augustine prayed as follows "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief". God doesn't give us to know with our brains that He is there for us, He only gives us to know with faith.

Faith, hope and love. Of the three hope is easiest because we can't live without hope. Love is simply to return all the kindnesses that we receive in life. Faith is hardest because it is a gift of God and we don't earn it but somehow we must find it.

Monday is a big day coming up for our team. Jody will stay with us Sunday and we all, Carolyn, Michelle, Jody and I will roll out at 8:00 am and head for the Oncologist in Rockford for chemotherapy # 2. The game plan is for me to lay low for a week after that.

There are advances being made in cancer treatment all the time and I am part of a clinical trial of a new oral medication to supliment chemo and maintain whatever remission that comes from chemo for a longer time. See why hope is easy!

Best regards from Mike and family.

I just caught up on what Jody has been up to!

Wow! Today, Carolyn and I went through everything in the blog, photos, memories and all. There is so much more to this than just "Mike Rice's Journal". I am so pleased. I suspect everyone who shares it will feel the same.

Still my job here is to discover some good in all this that has happened to me and my family. The best thing you can hope for is to find out early. Clues can be a lingering cough, shortness of breath and unexplained weight loss.

We are learning every day. The good weeks are when you feel well and store up calories. Then for a week after chemo, its time to hunker down, watch out for fever, drink Pedia Lite and wait for your white blood cells to recover.

The doctor's are very honest. They are not happy with the tools they have to work with. Chemo gets better when they reduce the side affects, but it's still chemo. That's why research like this new "Stand up to Cancer" plan will help researchers share what they learn faster.

Thanks for reading, more to come. Mike

Thanks for checking on Mike Rice's Journal. The initial schock is past now and I and mine are turning into good cancer patients. What that involves is following routines whose purpose is making simple gains like enough hydration and nourishment to be ready for the next chemo onslaught, coming soon enough, believe me.

I think it's been about six weeks since Dr. Retzer told me "you haven't had a chest X-ray in a long time, you should have one now". This was just after I had complained about a cough that wouldn't go away. The chest X-ray led to a CT Scan of my chest and then to an appointment with Dr. Kullberg who used his skills as a Pulmonologist to take a biopsy of my right lung and found the cancer. Doctors also believe there is some in my left lung, but since we decided on Chemotherapy, which is the 'universal soldier' of cancer and will search my blood stream for the presence of the disease anywhere in my body it isn't necessary to nail down every detail.

For my dad..

I created this blog today so my father can share his stories, keep a journal, and keep in touch with everyone, near and far.

As you may or may not know, he has been diagnosed with NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) and he is currently undergoing chemo.

I am including some of my favorite pictures of my dad by posting a compilation we did for his 70th surprise birthday.