Good Vibes needed for Danny Medley

Terry and I met Danny Medley and his wife, Rebel, on my very first day of radiation treatment. Danny and I had different kinds of cancer cells, but in the exact same location and just about the exact same treatment plan. We befriended each other and made a pact to keep in touch and help each other through this. We would see each other every once in a while in the radiaiton clinic and compare notes. Terry and I have kept in touch with Danny and Rebel since then. I remember Danny calling me just after I got out of the hospital from my complications after the second chemo treatment. At that time he was coping with the treatments a lot better than me, and he told me to hang in there--it would get better.

Somewhere along the line, my recovery started to go a lot better than his, and it's now Danny who is having the difficult time--and a much more extended one. He had a section of his mouth and tongue removed after they found another tumor and still relies 100% on his feeding tube to get nourishment. I just recently learned that he may need another surgery to allow his tongue to function normally, or he might need the feeding tube for the rest of his life.

Rebel emailed me that Danny his having a PET scan this coming Monday (11/23). She says he needs the results to be 100% good, not just for the obvious reason, but to help with his spirits--he is fighting hard, but has made little progress back to normalcy after nine months. While I know I fought just as hard, the intense part of my fight was much shorter, and I started to see some progress immediately after the treatments stopped. It was every small sign of progress that helped me to work hard on the next step forward.

So, that's a long way of asking Team Mike to send your good vibes to Danny and Rebel this Monday. All of the great news we had this week will be even better with a good outcome for them.

Mike

Team Mike 1, Prairie Dogs 0

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Sorry to keep you on pins and needles, but we just got the word from the ENT doctor today that all of the core samples from Mike's biopsy came back negative! With the combined PET scan and biopsy results he now becomes a cancer survivor, no longer a cancer patient. Given his type of cancer and its location--and the relatively short time since treatment ended, the docs are still in a "wait more and see" mode, but the bottom line is that there is no evidence of cancer cells (aka, Prairie Dogs) anywhere in his body. Every day that he remains cancer free increases the chances of staying that way for the very long term.

They do not issue a "cured" status for this kind of cancer until someone is five years post-treatment and 100% clean all along the way. But, today is Day 1 on that 5-year count!

Once we can process all of this, we will send out Thank-yous to the many people on Team Mike who helped us get through this first (and hopefully last) stage. In the meantime, please know that your love, support, and humor (even the sick humor) played a huge role in this success story. We could not have done it without you. Please pass this news along to anyone you know is waiting to hear.

Mike and Terry

Need Those Good Vibes Again on 11/12

(This photo came on November 11th. This is Mike's brother Jim and his wife Pam at a recent Livestrong cancer awareness and fund raising event in Austin, TX. They traveled all the way from Rochester NY to take part in this. Click on photo to enlarge)

Original post: We were not able to get an earlier date for Mike's biopsy, so it will happen this coming Thursday, November 12th. As so many people have done many other times, we'll need your thoughts, prayers, and general good vibes sent our way again on Thursday.

We should know the results sometime the next day, and we'll post them to the blog as soon as we can.

As always, thanks, again for your support. If all goes well, we will be able to make a full exhale until the next time a test comes around--probably in 6 months.

As a quick update, Mike continues to get better, and stronger. He is totally off the medications he needed from the treatments, and expands his list of safe food choices a little each week. His weight has leveled off and he's looking forward to starting an exercise program beyond the neighborhood walking.

Mike and Terry