Texas Is Our New Home (For Now)

A lot has happened since my last blog posting. At the end of February 2019, Joan and I moved out of our apartment, put our furniture in storage and headed to Florida, planning to stay until the end of May. Because the clinical trial that I was in had now ended, I was now able to receive my chemotherapy in Florida. In April, scans showed the cancer had returned to both the liver and esophagus and we felt led to return to Fort Wayne for evaluation and treatment. Since I had done well initially with a chemo treatment plan called FOLFOX I went back on that chemotherapy. In July, we received some conflicting news and recommendations and since there was no longer a GI oncologist in the Fort Wayne area, we decided to take advantage of Parkview Hospital’s new relationship with MD Anderson, in Houston.

We traveled to Houston for scans and evaluation and were extremely impressed with the knowledge, options and personal care offered there. At MD Anderson’s recommendation I continued on the FOLFOX treatment in Fort Wayne.  

In late September, we returned to Florida. About that time, new scans at MD Anderson showed that the FOLFOX was becoming less effective in fighting the cancer. It was recommended that I receive radiation on the esophagus, which I received in October and November. The December scans showed that the tumor in the esophagus was significantly smaller, but the tumors in the liver were growing.  My treatment was changed to two different drugs which eventually were shown to not be effective in slowing the growth of the liver tumors.

In early March of this year, MD Anderson offered me a clinical trial of two drugs . One drug is OPDIVO.  It was developed by an MD Anderson researcher who received a Nobel prize for it in 2018. It is an FDA-approved drug which is being used in the treatment of several different cancers. The other drug is new and has shown great results in testing so far. Both drugs are immunotherapy drugs not chemotherapy. Immunotherapy drugs work with the body’s immune system to fight the cancer as opposed to chemo drugs which are toxic and try to fight the cancer. Immunotherapy drugs have fewer side effects than chemo and the side effects are less severe. Immunotherapy drugs for esophageal cancer did not even exist when I was first diagnosed.  In 2016, my oncologist in Fort Wayne said that immunotherapy drugs would be the only way I would ever be cured.

This is a phase 1 trial, which means I will absolutely receive the drug and not just have a 50/50 chance of getting the drug, like the trial I was in previously. The clinical trial requires me to be at MD Anderson on Day 1, Day 2, Day 5, Day 8 and Day 15 of the first treatment cycle. On the 28th day I will get my second treatment and then will not have to return for another 28 days.  Since during the first month we had to be in Houston so much, we decided that we would pack up our RV and move to Texas.  We plan to stay in Texas until mid-May and then slowly travel back to Indiana for the summer, stopping to visit friends in Tennessee.

The trial looks promising as a potential cure for esophageal cancer. Joan and I both feel that God made it very clear to us that this is where I need to be. We are excited about the possibilities of a drug that is effective against this cancer and we are excited about the possibilities of doing more traveling for fun, since I now have 28 days between treatments.

Yesterday, I had my first treatment. It went well. The drugs did not seem to affect me at all. I had 3 EKGs, 6 blood draws and my vital signs were taken 7 times. We arrived at MD Anderson at 8:00 am and left at 9:30 pm. It was a very long day but we are rejoicing that everything has gone so smoothly since leaving Florida, especially considering the many problems created by the COVID 19 virus.

God is so good. He is so faithful.  The Bible tells us that He promises to never leave or forsake us. When you read that or when you hear that, do you really believe it?  It's true.  You can believe it!  He never lies.  He never leaves us.  He never has and He never will.  Joan and I have chosen to put our complete faith, hope and trust in Him.

Your continued prayers are appreciated.