The Temkin Tribune

COMPLETELY CANCER-FREE! CURED. NO CANCER. NONE. NADA.

Just in case you haven't heard the final update about Michael's cancer is that there are no traces of cancer within Michael's body, at all!  Michael doesn't have cancer.  He had a PET scan, which is a whole body scan, last Wednesday and the results are completely normal.  To say that we are grateful, would be an understatement.  Thank you to everyone who made this happen, all of Michael's doctors, nurses, techs and pharmacists, all of our friends and family who said prayers, sent best wishes, and especially all our friends who took care of us in a thousand different ways during the first eight months of this year.  Michael and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Six months.

Hi all - It has been a bit more than six months now since we started this blog up to let everyone know how Michael was doing. I am thrilled to report that we are completely finished with Michael's treatments and Michael is feeling very well!  He does still tire fairly easily but every day he feels better and better. He has been slowly going back to work... his summer hours are a bit fewer than his regular hours (academic year.)  He is still having a few irritating side effects but he assures me that they are very minimal.  One of the funny, newer side effects is an uncharacteristic intolerance to spicy foods...I should say seasoned foods.  Too much pepper or garlic in a dish and he cannot tolerate it...  You may not know what a "pepper-head" my husband can be...well not as big a "pepper-head" as Dr. Ladd (XOXO) but he likes his spicy food a great deal hotter than most normal humans can tolerate.  When sweat breaks out on my upper lip and forehead Michael is usually reaching for the hot sauce... I have to laugh because I am definitely not a "pepper-head" and all I want to eat at the moment is chili!   Michael makes me a nice mild turkey chili over rice that is delicious...he was only able to eat half a bowl of it.   The kids hate it so I get all of the leftovers..he he he....Usually, I am fighting for the leftover food...

SO now we are in the middle of July...it seems like years since last Christmas doesn't it?...I was subpoenaed to testify in front of the Grand Jury about the details of the burglary.  Only two of the boys will be tried in regular court. The other is being seen by a judge in Family court.  The interesting thing about the Grand Jury Summons's that you, as the victim of the crime, are subpoenaed...meaning that if you do not show up to testify about the crime perpetrated against you...YOU will be arrested and possible sentenced to jail time. An interesting feeling to have...It made me very nervous to go before the grand jury...But this is only slightly stranger than realizing that you were/are indeed a VICTIM.  I guess I didn't even think of us as victims per se.  I know that seems ridiculous but I only realized that we were indeed victims when I had to speak to the kind woman in "Victim's Services"  in order to find out what was happening with the trials/and or status of the case if there were to be no trials...Another peculiar thing about the Grand Jury proceedings is that their outcomes are sealed...I will not be notified as to the outcome of the hearing.  If the grand jury decides to recommend that the case goes forward as a trial, I will only know about it if I am called to testify in court at that trial.  If, on the other hand, the grand jury does not recommend that the case go forward then...I will hear nothing.  Yep.  Nothing.  That is not a very good way to hear that nothing is going to happen but it is what it is.  Don't worry about me though.  It's really nothing.

Michael is finished with his chemotherapy!

Dear Friends and Family - I am happy to report that Michael had his last chemotherapy treatment this week and seems to have come through it very well.  He is feeling the usual exhaustion but is as positive as usual.  He told us that he expects to feel better and better every day.  So far he has been relaxing on the couch and watching lots of television with the children.  I think their favorite might be the Justice League Unlimited...I just saw a funny episode where the Martian John received a present from Clark Kent's Mom...It was a sweater and it was too large...but John said..."I can grow into it."  Then he proceeded to inflate to fit the sweater...very funny..

 On the other hand, I have been having some health problems of my own...I guess now that most of the Temkin trouble has mostly cleared up, my body has decided (without consulting me darn it) to get some attention for itself.  I came home from my sister's house in Texas in pretty extreme pain.  I thought it was just the stress of getting so little sleep and facing the last chemotherapy (I get sympathy tummy aches when they are about to pump my dear one full of poison...they go away after he is unplugged.)  I was in gastrointestinal distress all the way home (Isn't that a lovely euphemistic way of putting it?  I though so too.)    The benefit of this is that I do now know almost every restroom and rest stop on the way home from BUSH*** International Airport's Continental Airlines, Terminal C to Newark's Continental Airlines, Terminals C to A and of course Hancock Airport in Syracuse...to Canton, New York.  On the drive, I actually had to pull over and take a nap several times as I was falling asleep as I was driving.  I don't recommend driving while sleeping.  I think it is bad for one's health and my health was already so bad..

Anyway, I will let you know more about my health as I get more information.  I did go to the doctor and then for an ultrasound and a CT scan...So here is what I know so far.

I will be having my evil gall bladder forcibly removed from its current home.  That damned thing has been partying all night long...like certain irritating neighboors on my street...and keeping me up.  I also know that gallbladder attacks are NOT any fun.  I haven't been enjoying it at all...and having no appetite is not like me at all.  Seriously,  I feel hungry even when I have the stomach flu... In addition to the Gall bladder issue, it appears that I have some sort of tumor on one of my adrenal glands...Don't panic.  Most of these things are benign but we will be looking to have it removed either way as it could be causing many of my metabolic/digestive issues...And to top off the list, my blood sugar has been a little out of whack so the doctor and I will be working on that issue together.  My doctor is actually somewhat of an expert on diabetes and this will be a very helpful thing.  SO as the poem goes:

Marianne Sprat sould eat no Fat.

And then she could eat no Sweets.

Mike put her in a Pumpkin Shell

And her Gall Bladder put her in Hell.

OK. That was more than a little weak.  Indulge me...I am feeling ill.  XO Marianne PS.  If you like poems and songs I will be posting some "News Stories" and my interpretation into lyric or poetry soon. 

*** "I am guessing that one Republican President is pretty much the same as another in your book...but I am compelled to tell you that you left Houston from Bush International Airport...not Reagan.  Reagan Airport is in Washington DC.  Grin."  From my Mom...Thanks Mom!  I certainly blew that one...I wrote to tell her that I need a fact checker AND a spell checker on my blog staff...Ooopsy!

Chemotherapy #4 Update

Today has been a beautiful, beautiful 70 degree day...another day spent in the Winter Cancer Center at Claxton-Hepburn Hospital in Ogdensburg.  The staff there is terrific and they make us laugh as the poke Michael and empty bags of poison into him.  Today the usual side effects appeared as if on cue.  Starting with the pre-treatment nausea...I think this must be a pretty common phenomenon.  The weird cold sensitivity and the pain upon first bite of any meal are back.  We will return to the hospital for the "disconnect" of the 5 Fluorouricil (or 5FU  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorouracil ) which is diffusing into his system at this very moment.  Just two months down and two and a half (five more treatments) or four months (eight more treatments) to go!  [That will be a total of nine to twelve treatments depending on how he does on these medicines] 

As we go through the week I will add more to this post rather than creating a new one to describe how we are doing with Michael's treatment this time.  Hopefully, there will be nothing more to report and Michael will have a nice boring, easy week.

Installation Day

March 1, 2008

So yesterday we went to the North Shore University Hospital in Plainview (also on Long Island, only about 25 minutes from Dad's house) to have Michael's Mediport put in.  The hospital itself is under construction   not anywhere as nice and plush as SK but really who cares when you are going down to the basement for you procedure anyway.  And why do they keep the radiologists down in the bowels of the hospital anyway?  Who did the radiologists offend? It is sort of creepy down there and there are patients in their hospital beds, on gurneys and in wheel chairs lined up along every corridor and in every room waiting for their tests and procedures. 

The doctor (a medical radiologist, for those of you who are keeping score) who did the procedure was a very funny, almost silly person.  He had a terrific bedside manner and his easy going personality seemed anchor the entire staff.  He was very highly recommended by all of the staff at the SK clinic at Mercy Hospital.  If fact our oncologist said they refer all of their patients who need a mediport to him because he is so good at doing it...His own nurses told me that he is THE doctor on Long Island to whom patients are sent when there is a problem with their ports.  Pretty cool huh? But I think the thing I liked best about him was that he answered all of our questions...(and as you know, biologists can have some seriously difficult questions and expect seriously technical, and above all, correct answers to those questions)  This guy was unphased and seemed to really know his stuff (biologists can also talk a great game in the hopital sometimes scaring the wits out of the doctors.  I have seen doctors who were giving the "Readers Digest Abridged Answer" to a question snap to attention with a well phrased, terminology rich question posed by one of us.  And amazingly, sometimes the answers given have been wrong!!  Not here though.  And that is a good thing...I want the doctors to be much smarter than I am or at least as smart as I think I am. (For Mom, M and N - "On the modified test!" at least!)...and (I know it has been a long aside :) ) when I noticed the monitor with the ultrasound image of Michael's heart and the placement of the catheter and port, the doctor and his nurse invited me into the OR and answered all of my questions there too.  Clearly this guy loves what he does and is very proud of the work he does. As my Mom says it is always good to have a doctor who is pretty pleased with himself...in this case I think he was justified.

Oh, and as an aside (Another one? I am on a roll tonight!), my Mom has moved to my sister's home to help her through the rest of her pregnancy.  Unfortunately, that puts Mom in a time zone just one hour behind ours here in New York so as I told her...the hours of my middle-of-the-night-call-in-cancer-support-line have been severely cut back.  With a three hour difference, an insomniac has so many options as to when she will have that final panic attack of the day. Now there is only a one hour difference between us and my Mom actually wants to go to sleep at a reasonable hour so she can be up to help Sis.  How inconsiderate!  I suppose I should get up earlier...but when you don't sleep till the next morning the body is somewhat resistant to getting out of bed.  Today I got up at the crack of 10:00.  And did I mention that my sister is feeling a little better, her blood pressure has gone down and everyone is healthy.  Let's hope that everything is smooth and easy for her from here on out. XXOOXXOOXXOO to my sister's family (You know who you are!)

So back to the mediport installation team...The doctor works with 3 wonderful registered nurses and one very tall radiology tech.  They had us laughing the whole time we were there.  I think we were there for at least 3 hours (1hour and 15 minute procedure and another hour in recovery.)  We liked them all so much that we are still talking about what a great experience it was to go there for the procedure.  The nurse who walked Michael out to the car even gave him a huge hug!  I am pretty sure it wasn't just standard procedure.

Oncology Appointment

Hi all.  I have been hesitant to get back on the computer since I managed to wipe out all of my email in one click...yes, permanently...yesterday morning.  Yes, I wiped out all of Ben's school assignments.  All of my online bills too.  You can see why I am feeling a little nervous...I could accidentally wipe out the blog if I am not careful...I feel like I could take down the entire world wide web...You know the Blackberry blackout last week...I might have been responsible for that...I simply don't know what happened.  One minute I was reading my email from Maegan and the next I was wondering what happened to all of my folders.  SO if you have mailed anything to me within the last,say, 48 hours and I have not responded...well, you had better resend it.  I will do my utmost not to erase it before I respond.

SO the real news is that I should have some actual news about Michael's Chemotherapy on Monday.  Some one canceled their appointment and so we have one in Rockville Center (Long Island but still Sloan-Kettering affiliated but not IN the city...yahoo) on Monday morning at 8:00 with a MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST.  Sounds sort of ominous doesn't it?  This will be a consultation appointment and we should find out which chemotherapy protocol Michael will be following and for how long etc.  This is terrific news because as I mentioned our appointment at Sloan-Kettering proper wasn't for another month and it would have involved trcking all the way into the city for more appointments.  That is all the news I have...so see you tomorrow.

Doctor's visit for removal of staples...

We went in to the city today to have a visit with our surgeon and to have the 23!!! surgical staples removed so that Michael could stand up straight. I think Michael has healed up so quickly that the staples were an irritation and becoming somewhat uncomfortable at this point.  The incision is healing very nicely and the doctor is very pleased with Michael's progress.  We have started to make appointments for the consult with an oncologist so that Michael can start chemotherapy within the next 4 or so weeks.  Our surgeon wants chemo to start within 6 to 8 weeks after the surgical date (Feb 7th)  so we have a tentative appointment in about a month but are looking to change it for one which is sooner.  Hopefully, we will be able to get into Sloan-Kettering's satellite clinic in Comack, NY on LI and start chemo there.  When we get home we will need to find ourselves a good oncologist  and then we can coordinate the chemo protocol so it can be done closer to home.  Our surgeon assures us that she will remain the primary physician on Michael's case and we will work together to get the right chemo back at home.  So we may be able to come home as early as next week depending when we get our appointment date...should be withing the next 48 hours. Thanks for keeping up with us as we do all of this.  It is really wonderful to have all of you at home thinking of us and we can't wait to be back home with you soon.  M

Another good day...

SO boring.  Michael continues to recover from the surgery and is doing very well. The incision is healing well and is nice and itchy...so we know it is healing up.  The staples are pulling a little and I think Michael will be very glad to see them go on Wednesday when we go in to the city to see or wonderful Dr.. (Huh? Do you put a period at the end of a sentence if the last word of the sentence is an abbreviation?  It looks very dumb there.  I probably should not have abbreviated doctor.  Surely, there are times where you might do this?  Bob, my writer and all around smart friend, will have to weigh in on from FRANCE! as my copy of Strunk and White is at home.)  So we are shmeering the staples with Neosporin and will soon switch over to straight vitamin E...although why you'd want to reduce the appearance of a scar/trophy such as this one is beyond me.  I LOVE that damned scar.  I told Michael we should say he was stabbed during a bar fight defending my honor...or well, maybe we should have a contest to see who comes up with the best story for Michael to tell when we are at the beach or the pool this summer.  Submit your entries here.  I'll have my Mom be the judge of the best one and the winner will receive a prize...No purchase necessary to enter.

I am still so scattered.  Lets get back to Michael and see if I can stay on track this time.  Michael has reduced his pain medication still further and only seems to need a little help with pain in the late afternoon and evening.  I hope he is not just being macho and moving too quickly.  I guess his body will let him know...and hopefully Michael will listen.  I do think the recliner is the key.  You know how men can be about their favorite places to sit.  Michael's Dad has been sitting in the same place on the couch for as long as I've known him...nearly 20 years now...And that spot on the left hand side of the couch has a behind-shaped  "divot" in it.  In fact, the divot has become so deep that Dad now has a pillow in the "divot" so he doesn't fall in and a pillow behind his back so he can be more comfortable.  I am sure I mentioned, and none of my girls will be at all surprised that I have been spending Dad's own money on his own house.  It is a little hobby of mine to spend other people's money by picking out paint colors, garden decor and furniture etc. for their homes.  I can't help it...I can be pushy like that.  So Michael and I picked out a brand new couch and love seat with lots of support and a recliner at each end and we can't wait to see Dad in it.  He was pretty happy sitting on the couch in the middle of the showroom, so much so that he agreed to purchase the whole set after less than 10 minutes.  I can't wait to see him sitting in his new/old spot when the new couch and loveseat get here.

I did it again.  I went completely off topic.  SO anyway...we will know much more about when we are coming home, what the chemo schedule will be and where we will do the chemo after our appointment on Wednesday.  This weekend we also hope to see My Uncle (he is the radiologist) and Aunt in Connecticut.  I am sure that we will go over all the details and if there are any medical decisions to be made they will help us.  My Aunt and Uncle are very wonderful people in so many ways, last time we had a medical crisis (Toxemia during my pregnancy with Ben) they took me in to live with them for weeks and weeks while Michael drove back and forth from Canton.  My Aunt and Uncle are also terrific cooks!  I LOVE cooking with them at the holidays and when we visit...but even more than that I love eating with them...Yummm!

We are also looking forward to a couple of visitors this week.  Michael's third grade teacher (she adores him...isn't that sweet?) will visit on Thursday, and we will probably go out to one of our favorite Long Island diners with Dad's oldest friend from childhood (they have known each other since they were three years old!) and his wife and daughter.  Should be a great week. I hope all of you are enjoying the week off from school!  We are working on catching ourselves up so tomorrow is a school day for us home schoolers...xo 

Happy, Happy, Happy Valentine's Day

Who wants a dozen roses when you can have a pathology report with OVER TWO DOZEN CANCER-FREE LYMPH NODES in it?  Not me.  I have just had the best Valentine's day ever!  Actually, I have always thought that Valentine's day is rather a stupid holiday.  After all, if you love someone you don't need a day, specified by the people who designate these things to show someone you love them.  I also think you really should be showing the people you love that you love them every single day...and not by purchasing presents.  And while I am on the subject...who was the guy who decided that that the only acceptable gifts for "Valentine's Day" are a dozen roses, candy or uncomfortable underwear that will barely be worn???  Frankly I am very picky about flowers (One year Michael bought me a baker's dozen cacti...loved them...but that is just me), candy and especially the underwear I prefer.  I think any gift should be specific to the person for whom it was intended.  It turns out that this year's gift is something I have wanted for over half of my life (I am 41) and intend to keep for a very long time. This year I got the PATHOLOGY REPORT which basically says that the surgical margins are free of cancer and that all of the 28 lymph nodes Dr. removed are completely-cancer-free.  That means that what I really got for Valentine's day is my wonderful husband for many, many more years.  Good! I planned on keeping him.

The Eagle Has Landed!

Michael is safely home at Papa Ed's and giving out lists of specific foods and amounts he wishes to have.
Hooray!

More from Marianne and Michael soon!