Merry Christmas and Happy Healthy New Year!

Robert and I want to wish each and everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year! We are in Dallas this evening, Robert has chemo early Wednesday morning and then we will head home tomorrow afternoon. Robert and I had a very nice and quiet Christmas. We missed being with our family this year, but we have spent so much time traveling back and forth to Dallas, we just needed to be at home this year. Robert is having weekly chemo treatments and chemo days come around way too often. This terrible disease called cancer takes away so many things from you and changes your life in ways you could never imagine. One of the ways is it creates isolation and loneliness. Robert has to be careful in public places, he can not afford to be in contact with anyone who is sick. The chemo is still making him weak and Robert is still losing weight. He weighed 159 today, I suspect he will be lectured again by his dietitian tomorrow. Robert has been eating as much as he can, but just can not maintain his weight. The procedure he was suppose to have a couple of weeks ago to have his esophagus stretched, did not go as planned, so we are going to try it again next week. We will be back in Dallas next Tuesday, for a PET scan, Wednesday for Chemo and then Thursday he will have the surgery to stretch his esophagus, to help him with swallowing pills. I will try to update the blog more frequently, Robert does read it and he would love to hear from you. I have asked him to get on here and say a few words. Maybe you can encourage him to do so. Thanks again for all your encouraging emails and cards. They really do help with the long lonely days for Robert.

Updates!

O'k it is time for an update! We have received emails wanting to know how Robert is doing and what is new on his treatments, also I need to update this site for me! When I wonder if we are to be in Dallas, Paris or home I can refer back to this..

Last week Robert saw his Oncologist(Dr. Nadler) and we informed him that Robert wants to continue chemo for a couple of months, and then after his next scan we will see where we are. Robert saw his ENT and we discussed with him Robert's difficulty in swallowing. He said there is not much he can due because of scar tissue from all the trauma from surgeries and 67 radiation treatments, but he did refer him to Dr. Burdick, GI,. Robert is scheduled for surgery Monday. We are hoping Dr. Burdick can stretch Robert's esophagus so maybe Robert can swallow meds and will be able to drink water without choking. Robert is anxious and has high expectations this will answer some prayers. It breaks my heart to see Robert just try to swallow a small pill.

Robert's blood count has been low the last couple of weeks. He is anemic, low magnesium and his white blood count has been low. His nutritionist is working with him closely to keep him as healthy as possible, while they inject poisons in him. But good news is Robert will not be receiving the high doses of chemo anymore. Dr. Nadler has changed the chemo treatments to weekly, with lower doses so the side effects are not as bad for him.

We met with Dr. Kerley (Robert's radiation dr.) in Paris today. We discussed possibly starting daily radiation treatments in January. With the findings of the latest CT scan, Dr. Nadler feels that Robert must have radiation if there is any chance of a cure. Dr. Kerley is going to study the ct scans and will determine if the cancer is outside the already radiated areas. If so, then as Dr. Nadler says we will go for broke. Dr. Nadler has been hesitant to start radiation to see if the cancer will respond to the chemo and make sure the cancer has not spread to other areas.

So to recap, this week: Today: Apt. with Kerley, Paris
Thursday: Apt. with Nadler and chemo, Baylor
Saturday: Canton, working for Mimi and Papaw
Monday: Surgery with Dr. Burdick, Baylor
Thursday: Apt. with Nadler and chemo, Baylor

Our specific prayers this week are: Robert continues to get stronger, Robert's blood count is up, surgery is a success and that cancer is outside the already radiated area to give Robert a fighting chance.

Thanks to my Dear Friend Pat, (who knows exactly how heavy a load can be). Pat sent me this today and it is exactly what I need to hear!

The Ant and the Contact lens: A TRUE STORY

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.

‘Great’, she thought. “Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.” She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found.

Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse ‘The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth’.
She thought, “Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and you know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.”

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?”
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there.

Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do; I'll carry it for You. '

I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will. '

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him...I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

Thanks again Pat!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving!

Robert and I would like to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, family, friends, our Church and the Doctors and nurses that take excellent care of Robert. We thank God for putting these people in our lives. We will be home for Thanksgiving and look forward to family coming up, but will miss the ones we are not able to be with.

My Grandmother fell and broke her leg; she had surgery in Little Rock Friday and will either spend Thanksgiving in the hospital or a rehab facility. Either way, she, my Dad and Aunt Sharon will not be with family this holiday. Please pray for a speedy recovery for her and safe travels for them.

Robert had a CT scan last Wednesday. The results are some lymph nodes were unremarkable (which means they are too small to measure) and no change in the larger mass. Dr Nadler discussed 3 options for Robert. He told us to enjoy our Thanksgiving, discuss our options and let him know what we decide when we go back December 1st. and then he will let us know what his recommendation will be when he hears what we have decided. Robert has an apt. with his ENT Tuesday, and we are anxious to hear Dr. Oxford’s opinion on what our choices are.

Robert has been feeling really lousy past couple of weeks from the really strong chemo. But the good news is Dr. Nadler told him he would never have to take the high doses of Cistplatin again. The side effects are just too much for him. Robert’s weight was 167 last week and his energy level is very low. In another week, Robert should start feeling better with more energy. His white blood count was low, so they gave him another booster shot. Unfortunately it does not give him any energy, but does help with the blood count. Cancer sucks and I hate it! It is really hard to watch my husband suffer, but we have to trust all this will be worth it and better days ahead. Robert reads the blog, so please feel free to drop him a line. Happy Thanksgiving to all and safe travels.

Love,
Robert and Judy

Update!

I realized it has been a while since the last update! Well let's see. Robert has had 4 treatments of Cistplatin and Taxotere and 5 treatments of Vectibix. His last treatment was yesterday. He usually starts to feel bad about 4 or 5 days after the treatment and the side effects are lasting longer each time, but he has had a bad day today. He says he just feels lousy. We have discussed with his Doctor what Robert's future treatments may be. We have agreed that the Cistplatin chemo he is receiving is just too strong to continue. Dr. Nadler has ordered a scan next week, so we will find out Wednesday how the treatments have done the past 5 weeks and will then discuss how we proceed from here. Before today Robert was feeling pretty good and has been able to eat. We were hoping that he would have gained 5 lbs. but he only gained 1 lb. Which is better than losing, but he needed a little more cushion heading into the next couple of weeks. Robert weighed 170. I am asking our family and dear friends to pray for Robert's continued strength, mentally as well as physically. Right now he is struggling mentally. I think the pain he has constantly is taking its toll. He really needs the scan to show the treatments are working and hopefully that will revive him again.

Happy Anniversary Roberto!

Robert and I have been married 9 years. In some ways I can not remember my life without him and in some ways I can't believe it has already been 9 years.

Robert you have changed my life so much for the better. You got me back in church and because of you I can say I have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior. I wish I could do something as equal as that for you. It does not get any better than that. I wish I could take your pain away for a day. I am so in awe of your strength. Happy Anniversary honey. I love you!

GREAT NEWS!

Scan Results:

August scan showed Right paratracheal lymph node measured 1.9 x 1.1 cm, today’s scan now measures 0.8 x 0.4 cm. A lymph node in the aortopulmonary previously measured 1.7 x 1.0 cm and now measures 1.5 x 0.7 cm. Subcarinal lymphadenopathy previously measured 3.9 x 1.9 cm now measures 1.6 x 0.8 cm. All this means the disease has shrunk by 60%. This is better news than Dr. Nadler expected. We can not tell you how we feel right now; there are no words at all. All praise goes to God. There have been so many prayers for us and they have been answered today. We feel like we have been given a miracle. Dr. Nadler said he can now say this is potentially curable and he is giving all the credit to Robert and God. Dr. Nadler said “I have not done this", but we know without his treatment plan, well we we know his part in this...

Robert had to be at Baylor at 6:00 AM for the scan and we did not see Dr. Nadler until 12:30, we were not happy to say the least at the 4 1/2 hour wait in Dr. Nadler’s waiting room, but after that news we received we told him that we forgive him. We are now waiting for chemo and it will be a long afternoon before we get to go home and celebrate, but the wait is not so bad anymore. Robert has thrush again, but he said as soon as it's gone he will be headed to the nearest Mexican food restaurant. Robert will not have to come back to Baylor until October 19th, the plan is to continue with this plan since it is working, more chemo, but hopefully it will be more tolerable for him now.

Robert - I want you to know you are my hero, I am in awe of your strength, determination, patience and Christianity. You are truly an inspiration to me.

I Love you,
Judy

One more chemo treatment done!

One more chemo treatment done! Robert lost a 1/2 pound this week weighing in at 170.5. That does not give him any extra weight going in to this round of chemo. This is the bad stuff that will make him really sick, but hopefully now we will be better equipped if the thrush sets in, which I suspect it will. Seems he gets it every time he takes the Cystplatin and Taxotere. His hair is still falling out and after yesterday's chemo it will not be long before he looks like the butternut squash I bought yesterday at the Farmers Market. Good news, Dr. Nadler will scan him in 3 weeks to see how the cancer is reacting to the chemo.

Robert got a very nice surprise yesterday. His cousin Keith showed up during chemo for a visit. It really made Robert's day pass very quickly and he said it was just the boost he needed to lift his spirit. Keith, we can not tell you how much that meant to us for you to take the time out of your long drive to stop by and spend a couple of hours, hope you made it to Odessa safely.

Michael came yesterday and him and I spent the day together running around. He took me to a Mediterranean restaurant for lunch. It was alright, but it would not be my choice again. I was not real sure about most of the things we ate. When we got back to the hospital, he was telling Robert what we ate, and he said "we ate Lamb", I said "no I did not" and he assured me I did. Well then I was sick the rest of the day.. Yuck. I told Michael I felt like I was jipped out of a meal.. Michael and I went over to the the Farmers market for fresh vegetables and fruit, I love that place, except for everyone trying to shove samples down you that they have cut up with those nasty old rusty knives.. Neither one of us was brave enough to try anything. I am looking forward to going back next week for more goodies. Thank God for the little things, huh?

Thanks to all for your support and prayers. Love to all, Robert and Judy

Sigh!

Wow what a GREAT day! Robert had one of his best days he has had in weeks.. He actually felt good enough to go to church this morning. When he mentioned last night that he was going to try and go, I prayed that he would have enough energy to go. I can not tell you how nice it was, I told him that I actually felt like we had a normal life for a couple of hours. I think it is gonna be a good week for Robert.

We want to send out a big thank you to our church family. You really made Robert feel so good with your excitement to see him walk in the door. We are so blessed to have each and everyone of you in our lives. Hope everyone has a blessed week.

I'd rather not mention that his day ended great also, but his driver won today. If I knew how to change the font size before I had to mention that I would have.


Love,
Robert and Judy

Nascar, Football and cooler weather this Saturday!

I forgot to add Coconut Pie. Robert mentioned yesterday he wanted a Nanny coconut pie. I made him a Judy coconut pie and he had one piece and said there was too much coconut in it...

Robert has had a decent week. He is struggling with fluid intake and nutrition. He has no appetite so not getting nutrition means no energy at all. He completed his 2nd Vectibek chemo treatment last Tuesday and will have his 2nd treatment of the nasty chemos Cistplatin and Taxotere this Tuesday. Robert's hair is now starting to come out, he is not happy about that, even his eyebrows are coming out. Can you imagine how bad that poison is to make all your hair fall out?

Robert said he was going to try and go to church with me in the morning. I sure hope he can.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and thanks so much for all the prayers and words of encouragement this past week.

Love,
Robert and Judy

Relief for me and hopefully Robert.

Cassie got here last night. What a relief for me, she came in took inventory on all Robert's meds and took over his care for me. She is taking him to the doctor for me, and Coley had her stop and buy a juicer for his dad. When I left this morning she had already had Robert take his meds. and was making him some juice, apple, grapes and was going to throw in some vegetables in there. I really hope he will drink it, at this point we have no other choice. My cold is not much better, but I did get manage to have a good nights sleep, fist in a long time. Thanks Cassie, we love you. Judy

Better days!

Robert is looking forward to better days. He has had a hard day! He is having a hard time keeping up with all the medicines and trying to get fluids not to mention nutrition down. I have a cold and feel terrible, so my patience level is very low right now. The last thing Robert needs is this cold. Cassie is on her way up to stay with us this weekend. She is going to take Robert to the doctor for me tomorrow and that will be a big help. I am going to hide out at the cabin rental office all weekend. If you are wanting a cabin at Beavers Bend it would be a good time to call, I'll be on cold medicine.

Walking on the Beach one day to possibly be admitted to the Hospital the next!

Let me just start with I HATE CANCER AND I HATE THE DRUGS IT TAKES TO KILL IT!

Robert and I decided to run down to Port Aransas with our dear friend Lisa for a few days before the Chemo started taking its toll. We left Saturday and just got home this evening. We had a good trip, it was so nice to just kick back on the beach. Robert was pretty weak and his appetite was almost null, but he was able to just rest, and I had the company of my best friend.

Robert noticed Sunday that he started getting thrush on his tongue. I called the doctor's office Monday morning for them to prescribe something. We loaded up and headed to the beach, when we got everything set up I went back into town to pick up Robert's prescription. While I was gone a school of Dolphin were swimming just a few feet from Robert and Lisa. They were so excited, neither thought about grabbing a camera, so unfortunately for you and me we missed it.

Also Sunday morning when Robert got up he was covered in a rash. Dr. Nadler had told us to expect it and that if he did get a rash that meant the chemo was working. The rash is very annoying for Robert, but he can deal with it and a welcome sight for us.

Robert started getting weaker and Lisa started missing her grand baby, so we decided to come home Tuesday. By then the thrush was in full force and the medicine was not helping. Robert could not drink or eat anything Tuesday, so dehydration set in. On the road home we were trying to get the doctor's office to call in some medicine that would numb his mouth long enough to get some fluids down, but it did not work out so we spent the night with Mother and Benny and were at Baylor first thing this morning. Thrush is a side effect of the chemo, so they will have to stay on top of it for the next round of chemo. Robert lost 12 lbs since last Wednesday. He is 6'3" and weighing in at a 170 lbs. Dr. Nadler is very concerned with Robert's fluid intake and nutrition. He told Robert today that he may end up having to have a feeding tube. Robert has said all along, he will not do that again. Dr. Nadler's response to that was, "he was not in the business of killing people, cancer does that and at this point he was killing Robert". If Robert does not show a big improvement in the next couple of days he will hospitalize him to get him over this hump. Our prayers are that this medicine Robert has now helps get rid of the thrush and numbs his mouth so he can get fluids and nutrition on his own.

Grand Pa Tucker's surgery..

My dad had surgery today, everything went well. Praying for a fast recovery for him! The sooner he gets better the sooner he can come keep Robert entertained. Love ya Deddy..

Chemo underway!

Robert had his first chemo treatment yesterday! First chemo drug they administered was Vectibix. This drug is not approved by the FDA. There was some confusion on the insurance as to whether they approved the drug. Dr. Nadler was told it was approved, after inquiring twice, he even told us that he was very surprised it was approved without him having to prove the necessity. Anyway, they started the drug, and then found out that indeed the insurance company denied this drug. They will of course appeal and Dr. Nadler feels he can get it approved. We hope so because the cost of this drug is $11,000 and we had to sign a form stating if the insurance does not pay, that we will have to cover the cost. I laughed and said yeah just show me where to sign. Next they administered Cisplatin and Taxotere. The treatment lasted 6 hours. My BFF Lisa came up and sat with us, after what happened to Robert last week I did not feel comfortable with leaving him alone. Because of Lisa the hours flew by.

Robert will get the Vectibix once every two weeks and the Cisplatin and Taxotere once very three weeks. The side effect will be pretty bad, because of the high doses he will recieve. He has already experienced stomach aches and weakness.

Lisa made it home just in time before the storms hit and we were running out of Baylor at 6 with reports of tornado's everywhere. It seemed we were dodging them until we got to the East side of Rockwall. But we were determined to get back home.

We are going to see how Robert does the next couple of days and if all goes well we may head down to Port Aransas and spend a few days on the beach at Mother and Benny's beach pad. I think a nice sea breeze will be just what the Dr. ordered.

Try Try Again!

We will be heading back to Dallas bright and early Wednesday morning. We are anxious to find out what Dr. Nadler's treatment plan will be now. Robert has had a bad week, he has been feeling really weak. A dear friend was able to get him out of the house yesterday and we went for a boat ride. It was really nice, we were out on the lake for about 3 hours and when we got home Robert was pretty wiped out. We are not sure why he has been feeling so bad, maybe we can get some answers tomorrow.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Harold and Pat Starbuck. Harold is also battling cancer right now and needs healing prayers. We would like to thank everyone for the cards, emails and phone calls. I am sorry it takes me a while to return calls, I will try to be better. Looking forward to seeing my BFF tomorrow.. I think Chemo is suppose to take about 7 to 9 hours and am so glad I will have company. Don't forget your pine needles Lisa, with all the patients there we should be able to wipe out about 50 baskets.

"Stumbled Out Of The Gate!"

Robert picked himself up and is right back in the race!

It has been a very hectic/scary couple of days to say the least. I will start from the beginning.

We left Monday morning for Robert's PET scan at Baylor, (well, let me go back to Friday, after the medi-port surgery and on our way home we got a call that the insurance company did not approve the PET as of yet. After a very tense conversation with customer service rep, we were not sure they would approve the scan. After speaking to our doctor he assured us we should go ahead with the scan, he felt confident he would get it approved and we could always appeal.) So back to our trip to Dallas Monday morning, the insurance company called and said they did approve the scan, big sigh of relief until Baylor called and said the machine was broke and they were not sure it would be fixed Monday. We told them we were already halfway there so they said to go ahead and come on in. When we arrived we were told that the machine would not be fixed, but they were going to fit us in at the Medical Pavilion building. They said there was a golf cart outside waiting to rush us over and that they did.

Tuesday AM

Robert has Lab work and then appointment with Dr. Nadler to get the scan results.. Our prayers were answered, the scan showed that the cancer had not moved to any other areas. Dr. Nadler congratulated us 3 times, he was very encouraged by the scan. He told us as much as Stage 4C cancer being curable, this was curable. Then they take Robert up to start chemo. He is going to be receiving 3 chemo drugs, one is a new drug he had not had before, the other 2 he had last time, but in small doses. The first drug they administered was called Erbitux, it was to be administered over a 2 hour period and then he would receive fluids for an hour before the started the 2nd chemo drug. The nurse (Lea) gave Robert all his pre-meds. Benadryl and steroids and then started the Erbitux, and had just stepped out of the room for just a minute when Robert had a reaction to the drug. He was having anaphylactic shock due to the drug. It all happened so fast, Robert lost conscientious and was unresponsive for quite some time. The called Dr. Nadler in and when he got there he said push EPI. They did and he told me "Judy, people die from this type of shock everyday, but Robert is not going to die on my watch" I had not even thought about him dying until that moment and said "you mean he could die from this" After the EPI shot he started coming around in about 2 minutes very long minutes. After the EPI shot he still was not responding like he should so they rushed him over to the ER, which was only across the street. Robert was complaining of chest pains and in their words his vitals "tanked". Robert spent the rest of the day in ER, they pushed so many drugs down him there were nurses not even assigned to him coming in just to see the patient who had received all those drugs. He started feeling and looking alot better after a few hours. They ran tests to make sure there was not any damage to his heart from the shock. Robert was released Tuesday night.

Dr. Nadler said that Erbitux was 1/2 mouse and 1/2 human. After consulting with colleagues they are going to try another kind of Erbitux which is 100% human. It is not FDA approved yet, and he thinks the Insurance company will deny, but he feels he will be able to build a very strong case as to why he needs this drug. So we will try this all again next Wednesday. Robert does not have any side effects from all the trauma and drugs yesterday other than he is having a hard time talking. He feels very blessed to be with us today. He said he felt like he was going to be spending Labor Day with Jesus yesterday. Also his words were, "you know I might have stumbled coming out of the gate, but I am still in this race".

Mid Week Report!

Not much to report yet. Robert's surgery for the medi-port is scheduled Friday. He will have his PET/CT scan Monday and then if all goes well with the scan he will start Chemo Tuesday. He has been staying busy this week with getting his truck cleaned out. I have a list of chores to keep him busy. My dad is coming Friday and should be here by the time we get home. We are anxious for him to get here. Maybe him and Robert can work on my list together. We'll see... Hope everyone has a good week.

Dr. Nadlers Treatment Plan!

August 19th - Thursday - Robert's oral surgeon was able to grind down the exposed jaw bone after 9 numbing shots and 10 stitches. His mouth is doing much better.

August 20th - Friday - We met with Dr. Nadler for the results of the CT scan. The scan showed that the cancer is in the large bronchial stem in the Left lung same as the lung scope showed and also has affected Lymph Nodes in the center of the chest. Therefore surgery is not an option for Robert. We will go back to Baylor next week and Robert will have a medi-port put in his chest for easy access for blood work and Chemo. Dr. Nadler is also scheduling a PET scan next week, if the scan shows that the cancer has spread to any other areas, then Robert's cancer will incurable, if it is just in the areas the CT scan showed, then Dr. Nadler is going to treat it aggressively with high doses of Chemo. The Chemo drugs will be: Taxotere, Cistplatin, and 5-FU. Robert has already had these chemo drugs, but in lower doses to enhance radiation. Chemo will start August 31st there at Baylor and he will have 6 weekly treatments and then he will have another scan to see if the cancer is responding to the Chemo. It if is, then they will continue with 6 more weekly Chemo treatments and then follow up with 7 weeks of daily radiation treatments. Dr. Nadler feels this is the best approach to this. The pathology report showed this is indeed the same type cancer that initially started at the base of Robert's tongue. Dr. Nadler is not completely convinced. He has never seen nor heard of this happening in a non smoker. He said this would be the first case that he knows of. Robert said he feels special.

We are glad to be home today and will try and gather ourselves. We are so blessed to have such an awesome support team of family, friends and doctors. Our specific prayers this coming week will be that there will be no change in Robert's cancer and he is allowed a fighting chance.

Love,
Robert and Judy

Dr. Nadler and Dr. Burch

We met Dr. Nadler, an Oncologist who specializes in Head, Neck and Lung cancer, Dr. Burch, who has completed medical school, and 4 years of residency and (before you can be an Oncologist you have to shadow with a Dr. for 4 years, which is what his is doing with Dr. Nadler) and Dietitian Andria and the office staff today at Baylor. We feel blessed to be in their care right now.

Dr. Nadler pulled strings and got Robert in for a CT scan yesterday at 5, after his office staff was told NO twice, and a personal call from him. He was quite proud of himself.

Their main concern of course right now is Robert coughing up blood and to figure out if this is the same type cancer (Squamous Cell Carcinoma) as Robert had before or is this a new cancer. Dr. Nadler said that because of the location of the tumor it made it very rare and if it is Squamous Cell it will be the first case he has seen where it has spread into the bronchial something something stem.. If this is the same type cancer Robert will probably have surgery Monday or Tuesday to scrape the tumor to help him breath better and try to control the bleeding. If it is a new type cancer, he said we will take a step back and go from there.

We will be going to Texarkana today to see Robert's Oral Surgeon, his jaw bone is splintering from all the radiation he had back in '07 and pushing through his gum and therefor has caused a sore on his tongue. This is the only thing Robert cares about right now, he is in so much pain from this that he really can not do anything. If it wasn't for Robert seeing Dr. Duke today, Dr. Nadler wanted to admit Robert to the hospital yesterday. We are hoping Dr. Duke can remedy this problem today so we can shift focus on lung issues.

Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouraging words. Will keep you posted!

Love,
Robert and Judy

No news WAS good news!

Well we are blogging again, which means we have bad news to report. Robert for the last couple of months has been feeling lousy. In April he had to do 20 Hyperbaric treatments to promote good blood flow for when he had 2 back teeth pulled. Treatments did what they were suppose to, when they pulled the teeth he had good blow flow and the Doctor says it is healing as best as it can. Due to all the radiation to Robert's face and neck his jaw bone has been deteriorating, so the roots of his back teeth did not have anything to hold on to. He has had to see his Oral surgeon a few times after surgery for more procedures due to the jaw bone still splintering.

Now to present day, as I said he has been feeling pretty lousy the last couple of months. The weather has gotten to him so he decided to take a vacation this week. We met with his ENT last Friday for a check up and we informed him of some of the symptoms Robert was experiencing. He has been coughing up blood, weight loss and wheezing. He told Robert everything looked good down his throat, prescribed antibiotics and an inhaler and told us to follow up with his primary doctor. So we set up an apt.

Robert went to Canton Monday to visit Coley and his brothers. When Robert was in Tyler yesterday morning meeting Coley, he began to cough up alot of blood, so he went to the ER at ETMC and they said the blood was coming from the lungs and they needed to scope him. The scope showed a tumor on his left lung, they did a biopsy, but from the looks of it they say it is most probably cancer. The doctor advised Robert to get in to his Oncologist as soon as possible, which is what we are gonna do. We have an appointment at Baylor today for our first opinion of treatment and then will follow up with Robert's oncologist in Paris. The only thing Robert says he needs right now is prayers! Will update again after our visit today.

On a good note, since we have not blogged in a while, just wanted to let everyone know Cassie has opened up her own office and working on her PHD. We are so proud of her and and you can check out her website: http://www.sperocs.com/index.html