Getting Stronger Everyday!

Robert is getting his strength back a little everyday. He has a 4 week break from Chemo and then will have to decide if he will stay on chemo for 3 more months, indefinitely or stop it all together and pray that all the hell he has been through has been enough to kill the cancer. Dr. Nadler said the decision is up to Robert and feels which ever decision Robert chooses is the best for him. The studies they have done are patients that have been on this type of chemo for 12 months, and some are still on it after 3 1/2 years with no sign of cancer. He can not tell us if the chemo is just suppressing the cancer or has killed it once and for all. Robert really wants to go back to work and Nadler said he could do that as soon as his strength returns and some of the side effects from the special cocktails he served Robert were subsided.

We are looking forward to this weekend, my Dad is coming up and Robert's birthday is Monday! Happy 55th honey, I love you,

Judy

Robert and his certificate!

This makes Robert's third certificate from Paris! FYI.. He does not wish to continue his education in Radiation therapy! The certificate reads:

Paris Regional Cancer Center
Radiation Oncology Therapists
Certify that Robert Goodner is a
Certified Radiation Oncology Graduate
For completion of your treatments
and the way you stuck to it.
For being here on time
and not telling us how to do it.
For lying still on tables cold
and laughing at the jokes we told

We salute you!

I also salute you Robert. You are truly an inspiration to me. All my love, Judy

No Aprils Fools! Radiation is over!

Robert finished up radiation Friday, April 1st. He was so happy to be done and he did really good. He has had to use his feeding tube for some of his meds. Ensure and Gatorade. Benny was making fun of him saying he only uses it for the stuff he can not stand. Well it is true, he can not stand Ensure, but who can blame him. He has held his weight the last couple of weeks and his blood pressure has been really low and also his blood sugar level. Not sure what is going on with that, but we will see his Oncologist Wednesday and find out if Robert will continue chemo until his next scan which will be in 6 weeks (I am saying he probably will want Robert to and Robert is saying no, he is done). Robert told the radiation staff he was going to get the feeding tube out next week, and he talked all the way over to Paris yesterday about going back to work by the first of June. He is so optimistic, me I am a little more reserved. We were wanting the radiation to be over with and now it is, I am starting to get a little anxious, it will be a long 6 weeks before we find out if all he has been through since last August has killed the cancer.

Mary, who you can see in the picture is Robert's radiation tech. She told him yesterday after his last radiation treatment as he was lying on that hard cold table that Dr. Kerley had just ordered 10 more treatments. He took it very well, and just said I don't think so. She then told him April Fools. The staff at Paris were so nice, after a total of 97 treatments in the past 4 years, Robert has developed a personal relationship with all of them. Mary,'s husband, Wendell has Thyroid cancer, by the time they caught it, it was too far gone for treatments. He and Mary need prayers. Can you imagine her helping patients all day everyday, and not being able to do anything to help her husband. She is a very strong woman and our hearts go out to her. Please put them on your prayer lists. Robert has to go back in 3 weeks for a check up with them, and we will let you know how he is doing. Marie's granddaughter was visiting her yesterday and she wanted to help Robert ring the bell. She is so precious. Thanks again for all your prayers, support and love. We will let you know what the Oncologist says Wednesday. Love to all, Robert and Judy

13 Radiation Treatments Done and Chemo in the new building!

Robert has completed 13 radiation treatments as of today and he had his first chemo treatment in the new Texas Oncology building at Baylor. The new building was opened Monday, wow is it really nice, it will have a lot to offer. A small cafe and what looked like a nice sit down restaurant, which will be opening sometime in March. I think just about everyone of Robert's Doctors at Baylor will all be in the new building. We will not be using the new parking lot though, 4 hours of parking is $12.00. My question is "isn't treatments expensive enough"? $12.00 for 4 hours, and we are never there for less than 4 hours. Anyway, Robert is doing good on radiation so far. His chest is turning red a little, but he is still able to eat and drink on his own. We pray that he will continue to do so. He lost a little more weight this week, so his nutritionist has put him on Ensure. He hates the taste so he is using his tube for that and Gatorade. He will be halfway through radiation treatments this Friday, and we pray that the last half go as good as well as the first half and it will kill the cancer once and for all.

Has it really been 2 months since our last post?

I can not believe it has been 2 months since the last post. I guess we have been hibernating, well Robert has anyway. I have been running around the house in shorts. Robert's last PET scan in January showed the tumors were the same, maybe a little smaller. Robert is still receiving weekly chemo treatments and has not started daily radiation treatments. He is to have 30 or 35 and he had his 7th treatment today. When we met with Kerley, (Robert's) radiation doctor he talked Robert into getting a feeding tube. Robert has told Dr. Nadler this whole time that he would never get another one. Well Kerley is the only one that could convince him to get one. We have a great respect for all Robert's doctors and have a really good personal relationship with all of them, in fact Dr. Nadler called us from his personal cell phone last Friday to discuss a matter that came up with his staff (we'll just leave it at that) from the airport waiting to catch a flight to San Antonio and now I have Nadler's cell # and I really don't think he would mind me saving it in my contact list. Where was I going with all that? Oh yeah, well Robert has a special bond with Kerley, and has since the first day we walked in his office scared too death in January 2007. He took Robert under his wing and has kept him there every since. We see so many doctors specialists of every kind, but Kerley knows what Robert needs without Robert telling him. I feel better knowing Robert sees Kerley everyday.

The surgery Robert had to stretch his esophagus worked a little but he did not get the results he was hoping for. He is having to use the feeding tube for medicines now, my good friend Lisa was up weekend before last and we were out sight seeing and Robert was home alone and took one of his pills, it got lodged in his throat then the capsule burst and he aspirated it in his lungs. It was a very scary moment for him, being alone, but Thank God it dislodged and he caught his breath.

Nadler's plan is for Robert to do the daily radiation and weekly chemo treatments, follow up with a few more chemo treatments and kill this Cancer once and for ALL. We trust that this will be the end result. I feel like I am rambling. I am home alone tonight. Robert is at Cassie's spending the night with her, he has to be at Baylor first thing in the morning to see Nadler, then chemo and then rush off to Paris for radiation, so I have a clean house now, had banana's that got too ripe to eat, so made Banana Nut bread, did laundry and took Oscar outside for a walk, now I am blogging and realize I am rambling. So I will end this but before I do ...

I want to say I love my family! They are the best anyone could ever ask for. Each one has such a special place in my heart. I know we would not be where we are today without each and every one of them. All the support each one offers is more than I deserve and I hope that someday I will be able to pay back a portion of what they have given me. This includes our friends also, which are like family to us! Hope everyone has a great week, and I promise I will do better on the updates. Thanks for all the prayers, cards and letters. We are so blessed to have each and everyone of you in our lives.

Love,
Robert and Judy

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.