Josh and Jess' Cancer Fight

Hello Again!

Josh here writing with another update. So it has been a long 2 weeks. I had quite a few appointments with Mayo Clinic to try to get the proton beam radiation all set, but unfortunately in the end my insurance has rejected that treatment. So now we are back on the original plan that we had from the beginning. Regular radiation treatment, which will now start on March 13th, and will continue every weekday for 6-7 weeks. I am very excited to get this started, even though it is not the proton radiation we were hoping for.

I will be going back into the hospital again tomorrow for another 5 day chemo infusion. This is treatment 3 of 8, so still quite a ways to go. I have been feeling pretty good on the weeks I have off, but don't feel 100%. I am thankful that I don't need too much assistance at all while I am on my off weeks (minus the few days after the hospital).

There was some kind-of good news when I spoke to the Mayo radiologist. The most recent MRI I had from last week looks basically identical to the one I had a month ago, so there was no tumor growth in that time. Hoping for it to start shrinking soon!!

Thanks for your prayers, love and support!

Love,
Josh and Jessica

Hello Again!

I just finished my 2nd round of chemotherapy on Wednesday, and have been resting at home for the past 2 days. Luckily this time around I have been put on some new meds that helped significantly with the vomiting. I am still quite weak and tired from the treatment, but today feeling well enough to write a quick update.

We had some good news while I was in the hospital. It looks like the treatment plan for proton beam radiation has been approved through my insurance, since the tumors are located in the brain. I go into Mayo Clinic on Monday to start a full day of tests/scans/appointments to get my whole treatment rolling. It will probably take about another week or two before I will be able to start the therapy while they get everything set up for me. I am very happy that this was able to be approved, and quickly!

I am looking forward to a few weeks off from chemo again! Especially because my sister Ashley is going to be having her baby soon! Very exciting! :)

As always, thank you all for your prayers, support and constant love. I hope to be sending more future positive updates like this one in the near future!'

We love you all!!!
-Josh and Jess

Hello Again, Josh here with another update:
Yesterday Jess and I went into Mayo Clinic to see what they may have to offer for radiation therapy. We met with an oncologist who was very nice and basically told us the current treatment we are on is the most effective for my situation right now, since I am most likely maxed out on the dose of my previous chemo treatment. He did say he wanted to send my tumor out to a lab to get it tested for any genetic mutations, which may result in being able to try a clinical trial, or possibly a new/different drug.

After we met with the oncologist, we met with the radiologist, which was the main reason we went really. He told us that the Proton Beam radiation would definitely be more effective, he just wasnt sure exactly how much more. He was thinking maybe somewhere in the range of 10%, but wasn't positive. The main bonus for this type of radiation is it can be much more accurate and cause less radiation to the surrounding parts of the cancer. So, as of right now we are going to go that route, as long as the insurance company approves us (and in a timely manner, otherwise we may have to do the regular radiation route). That is one thing that can be very frustrating... insurance companies. They seem like to slow down the treatment process... but I will not go down that road lol.

We did meet back with Dr. Kalmadi today. He agreed that we should do the Proton Beam radiation, and also will be re-admitting me into the hospital tonight or tomorrow for another 5 days. In a way I am ready to get back on with my treatment, but on the other hand I know what the next week or so entails... so it is bitter sweet.

I want to thank everyone who has been sending letters, donations and their prayers/support to us. It is really inspiring to us and we cant thank you all enough!

I will be "checked out" for a bit, so I will update once I am feeling better and have any new info on the radiation or treatment. Thanks again everyone, and we love you so much!!

Much Love,
Josh and Jess