As we wait!

As we continue to wait Traci's next PET scan, we are both very anxious to get to that day,.... that she is cancer free. We are extremely hopeful that this will be the one!

The trails of our life

On top of Traci having cancer to deal with, we still have to live life every day. While we Cherish the ups and trample through the downs in life, we live life day by day. Their probably isn't any news worse than being told you have cancer!

Our Story So Far...

In July 2010, my wife found a small pea size lump under her breast. What we thought was a cyst, or perhaps breast cancer. When biopsied in Sept. 2010, it turned out to be melanoma. Upon her initial pet scan, the Dr's discovered that it had already metastasized and spread to her lungs. Within 2 weeks, she began the IL-2 treatment. IL-2 is an immunotherapy designed to rev the immune system in order to fight off cancer. The side effects of which, include: diarrhea, nausea, excessive weight gain, cold chills, vomiting, skin rash and excessive itching. But needless to say, this is the worst that I have ever seen a human being go through and it lasted and entire week. Two weeks later, I got to see my wife go through it again for another week, 2 weeks after that again for another week, and again 2 weeks later. After which, there were some signs of the tumors decreasing in size.

By Dec. 2010, we moved to Goldsboro, NC. In Feb. 2011, she began GM-CSF treatment and by April, they discovered that the cancer had spread to her small intestines. At which point, she required surgery to remove 12 inches of her small intestine. GM-CSF was discontinued. Two weeks later, she had surgery to remove the original pea sized tumor which was now the size of a golf ball. In June, she began the Yervoy treatment, which is also an immunotherapy. As of Sept. 2011, two of the tumors inside her lungs have increased in size, yet the Dr's are hopeful that they will decrease by Dec.

Throughout the whole battle, Traci has remained strong in her faith and while I remain strong in mine it has caused a lot of stress for me and our families. More to come...