Jeff's Updates

2009-12-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

It looks like I have bad news this time. My cancer has spread to my abdominal lining. This has caused a lot of problems the last two weeks. It is causing me to vomit a great deal and it is secreting a liquid into my body which has to be drained. My feet are so swollen that I cannot wear shoes.
Since the cancer has spread, I had to discontinue my current line of treatment. We have not made a decision on what to do next. I will post it as soon as we do.
Thank you all for everything you have done for me and my family.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.
Love,
Jeff

2009-11-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

Great news! Just got the results of my ct scan and it shows everything to be stable. I will continue my current regimen and have another scan in 8 weeks. If anything changes before then I will post it. Take care and thank you all.

Love,
Jeff

2009-11-12T00:05:00.001-08:00

I had another scan today and should have the results no later than Monday. I promise I will post the results as soon as I get them. I've been slack about posting but I'm going to do better.
September 26th marked one year since I was diagnosed and I'm still going strong. This is in no small part thanks to ya'll. I can't tell you how much all the prayers, phone calls, notes, visits, and thoughts mean to me.
I hope all of you are doing well. Take care.
Love,
Jeff

2009-07-16T23:40:00.001-07:00

I had a ct scan today. Not sure when I will get the results but I will post them as soon as I get them. Headed to the beach with the family in the morning. Praying for safe travel. Love all of you.

Jeff

2009-06-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Good news! The scan showed no change and my tumor marker number has gone down even more. Everything seems to be going good. I feel so blessed. Thank you all for the prayers, notes, cards, calls and emails. Glory to God!

I recently attended my college fraternities (Pi Kappa Alpha) annual alumni reunion at Hilton Head Island. It was good to see some old friends and make new ones. These guys have been so supportive of me and my family I can't thank them enough. I love you guys. ppka!

Here are a few pics from that weekend.

Love,

Jeff

2009-05-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Not much to report right now. Everything seems to be going ok. I have another scan scheduled for Wednesday May 27th and I'll have more to report when I get the results the following Monday. Thanks.

Love,
Jeff

2009-04-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

I got the results of my latest ct scan today and got good news. The cancer is still contained and has not spread. The doctor does not expect the cancer to ever decrease but he is encouraged by my treatments so far. The longer we can contain it the longer I may live and the longer I live the better chance I will be around for possible advancements in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. At the very least, I get to spend more time with my family which means as much to me as anything. I know God is working in my life and He hears all of our prayers. If you do not believe in God and prayer or just have doubts, please contact me. I would love to sit and talk to you about what He is doing in my life and what He can do in yours if you let Him.

I started my seventh round of chemo this week and will have another ct scan in 8 weeks. I've been doing pretty good. I have my share of bad days but lately my energy level is up which has allowed me to help more around the house and do more with the girls. In fact, we went to Braves spring training weekend before last and had a great time. Here is a pic of Lauren and me at the ballpark.

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Jeff

2009-03-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but there hasn't been much to report. I will get a scan next week so we will know more then. I will be sure to post the results.
I do have one good thing to report, Claire is finally walking! She is all over the place and in to everything. She has also learned to wink and blow kisses. Needless to say, she has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. I am truly blessed to have two beautiful daughters.

Love,
Jeff

2009-02-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

The scan showed no new growth but no reduction either. This is good news because the chemo seems to have stopped the cancer which means I can continue on the study drug. Once there is signs of growth I will have to stop the study and change course. Overall this is great news and I thank God for it.

We had a great time a the Daddy Daughter Dance. Here is a picture we took at home before we left for the dance. I know I'm biased but aren't my girls beautiful?

Thank you for the prayers.

Love,

Jeff

2009-02-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

I had a ct scan today, 2-4-09, but I won't get the results until Monday when I go in for my next treatment. I will post the results sometime next week.

Love,
Jeff

2009-01-10T02:07:00.000-08:00

I hope Santa was good to everyone this Christmas and you had a fun and safe New Year. When I first learned I had cancer I asked the Lord that if it wasn't His plan for me to be healed that He at least let me make it to Christmas and Claire's first birthday, December 28th. We're still working on the healing part but I am thankful that I was able to spend at least one more Christmas with my family and see my youngest turn one.(this is Claire in the pic) My next goal is to make it to February for our annual daddy/daughter Valentine's dance held by the Habitat for Humanity. Lauren loves to dance and looks forward to this every year. I'm not much of a dancer but I cherish any time I can spend with my girls.

Not much to report as far as the cancer goes. This past week was an off weak and then I have 3 more weeks of treatment and then I'll get another ct scan. My feet are starting to go numb and my legs hurt. This is a side effect of the treatment drug and my diabetes is playing a role in it also.

As always, thank you for all your support and kept the prayers coming.

Love,

Jeff

Potentially Good News

2008-12-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

My blood test yesterday showed the tumor marker (a substance, released into the circulation by tumor tissue, the detection of which in the serum indicates the presence of tumor) has decreased a good bit. What this means is that, although the ct scan did not show it, there is a good chance that my tumor has decreased in size. This does not mean that it has just that it could have. That being said, this is potentially good news and I'll take it.

Love,
Jeff

2008-12-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my daughter Lauren donating the dog food she collected at her birthday party to our local Humane Society. I am so proud of her for doing this. If you can't tell, she is dressed like a veterinarian which is what she wanted to be at the time of her birthday but she told me yesterday she wanted to be a teacher like her mother. She has such a good heart that I'm sure whatever she chooses will involve helping people or animals in some way or another.

2008-12-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

I got the results of my ct scan on Monday. The cancer has not decreased but the good news is that it has not spread at all. The plan now is to continue on the same regimen for now, six more treatments and another ct scan. Thank you.

Love,
Jeff

2008-12-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Once again, I am sorry for taking so long between updates. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I now have had 6 treatments and I go in Wednesday Dec. 10th for my first CT scan since I started treatments. Please pray for good news. Except for being weak and the occasional pain, I have been doing pretty good. My blood counts have stayed high enough for me to continue to receive full doses of my chemo drugs and I've gained 3 lbs. back of the weight I've lost. I will get the results of my scan on Monday so I will post again Tuesday or Wednesday. As always thank you for the prayers, emails, calls and cards.

Love,
Jeff

2008-11-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

I am sorry for taking so long to update this blog. I will try to do a better job in the future. I am 3 weeks into my treatment and seem to be doing well. After my first treatment I got pretty sick and it took almost a week to recover but they started giving me a steroid before my last 2 treatments and it helps a great deal. The protocol calls for 3 weeks of treatment followed by an off week so I won't have to go to Atlanta on Monday which will be nice.

I've got a big day I'm looking forward to tomorrow. My oldest daughter turned 6 Nov. 1st but her party isn't until tomorrow. The theme she chose for her party is "Rescue Vets". Everyone is supposed to dress up like vets and bring a stuffed animal. They are going to take turns treating and operating on these animals. In lieu of gifts, everyone is supposed to bring a small bag of dog food which she is going to donate to the Humane Society.

I'm also looking forward to Saturday night. Some very dear friends are holding a benefit for me in Milledgeville at the Velvet Elvis. I can't wait to go and spend some time with good friends. If your interested here is the website they started for the event:
http://mooselodge.weebly.com/index.html

Thank you all for the prayers, cards, calls, emails and donations. I can't tell you how much they mean to me.
Love,
Jeff

New Game Plan

2008-10-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

We are in our third day here in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America and boy are we exhausted. They have put me through the ringer. I have seen several doctors, education specialists, liaisons, schedulers, a nutritionist and Nicole's personal favorite, a naturapathic specialist, Markiam Babij (Nicole refers to him as McDreamy). We have received a lot of interesting and useful information here, but we feel more comfortable with Dr. Henderson in Atlanta. Therefore, we have decided to continue treatment with him in Atlanta. We will hopefully begin treatment in Atlanta on Monday morning (10-20-08). We hope to be flying home today to get home to our babies whom we have missed so very much. I will try to update more after my treatment on Monday. Please keep the prayers, calls, and emails coming. I look forward to them even though I may not be able to return them right away. I want to thank everyone for what they've done and are doing to help me and my family. I look forward to seeing you soon.

love,
Jeff

Stumbling Block

2008-10-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

I found out this past Wednesday that I was no longer a candidate for the experimental drug I was supposed to start on Monday because my blood sugar was to high ( I am also diabetic if you didn't already know) I went back to Dr. Henderson today to see what else was available. He has another trial he is doing but not as good as our original plan of action. I am meeting with Dr. Kauh (pronounced Coe) from Emory on Monday to see what he has to offer then I'm flying out to a clinic in Oklahoma on Tuesday to check them out as well. Hopefully we will have a new game plan by the end of next week.

Thank you again for all your prayers, phone calls and cards. If you have called me and I have not gotten back with you, I will be soon I promise.

God Bless,

Jeff

Game Plan

2008-10-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

After a lot of praying and soul searching I have decided to start treatment with Dr. Charles Henderson of Peachtree Hematology-Oncology in Atlanta. I am very comfortable with this doctor and the treatment he has planned for me. Dr. Henderson has battled cancer himself so he knows personally what I'm going through and his passion for what he does is very evident. After I consulted with him a second time and had a one-on-one heart-to-heart talk with him I know I have made the right decision. I would like to thank Paul Findlay, a fraternity brother, for all of his help in this process. He works in the medical field and has been a wealth of information for me. He has done so much research for me that he has become an expert in cancer treatment.

I have to go in Monday Oct. 6th for some tests and I will start treatment on Monday Oct. 13th. I will post more later about the details of the treatment.

Thank you for all the notes, cards, emails and phone calls. They mean a lot to me and are very uplifting.

Jeff

Shock

2008-09-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

On September 27th, 2008 I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to my liver. The doctors have given me 4 to 6 months to live without treatment and 8 to 9 months with treatment. I do not accept this. Those that know me, know I like a good fight and this is no different, I will fight this tooth and nail. I know the Lord is on my side and I know with Him anything is possible. I also need you on my side so please continue to pray for me and my family.

I started this blog because I thought it would be the best was to keep friends and family informed so please check back periodically for updates. I have an appointment Wednesday Oct. 1 at Piedmont so I will try to update you on Thursday.