Thanksgiving

At this time of giving thanks, our thoughts turn grateful to you, our family and friends. We thank you for your steadfast love and kind support on this journey. Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!

在這感恩的季節，我們再一次思想到這兩年來親朋好友對我們不離不棄的愛和支持。感謝大家！也祝福大家感恩節快樂。

10th Chemo - surrounded by love

Our best friends Sean and Sophie Hsu came to visit us from LA

Radiation + chemo is tough.  The rashes that started during the whole brain radiation treatment still wakes Gohan up itching at night, which, in coupled with the chemotherapy, making him more fatigued.  Thankfully the burn on his forehead and the skin cracks behind his ears from the radiation have healed.  His inner ear canal swelling (also from radiation) has improved, but our ENT doctor advises not to travel by air until his ears have fully recovered.

His appetite is poor, nonetheless being a person with discipline and perseverance, he managed to keep his weight up.  The oncology nutritionists at both Stanford and El Camino Hospital told us that he is one of the small percentage of chemotherapy patients who didn't lose weight.  Kudos to Gohan!

Despite the challenges and discomfort, his spirit is strong and his smile is big.  He bravely received the chemo #10.  We want to attribute this to the kindness and support that we have been receiving.  Every week, we have friends and family visit us from near and far.  We see what God's love is. We continue to fight because we are surrounded by love.

9th chemo - a new round

Two days after the Whole Brain Radiation Treatment was finished, we are back to the infusion center for chemotherapy.  It would be nice to have a break from the treatment, but we know we can't give cancer a break.  

It has only been a month since our last visit, however unlike in the past, none of the oncologist nurses recognized Gwohann when he stepped in.  Gwohann reported his name and one nurse suddenly exclaimed "OMG, I didn't recognize you, I love your new look!".  Words spread quickly, the nurses came one by one to give us hugs, compliment his new bald look and show admiration for his strengths.  These oncology nurses are our best comrades on the battleground.

The 9th chemo went smoothly. Gwohann got his laptop ready to join the webinar of his company's annual conference, which he had prepared the slides for, but has asked a colleague to present on his behalf.  However, though not surprisingly, he fell asleep within minutes after the antihistamine was infused. When he woke up, he learned from his colleagues that the presentation had gone well.  You see, oftentimes problems and worries can be solved by a good sleep :-)

Praise God that the newest blood report is amazingly good, with the tumor marker CEA fallen within the normal range! Although the CEA is only used for reference, and based on our prior experience, it does not necessary mean that cancers are gone, it nevertheless indicates that the chemo and radiation treatment have been effective.  I still pray that God miraculously kill all the cancer cells.  

3 more cycles of chemo are scheduled before the next CT scan in end of Dec.  The future chemo dates are set for 11/20, 12/4 and 12/18.  We shall persevere!

Next treatment plan

We met Dr. Dormady today to discuss the next treatment after WBRT and also asked him about the newly approved immunotherapy drugs, anti-PD1 agent, Keytruda and Opdivo.

Dr. D suggested that we do 4 more cycles of chemotherapy using the same cocktail drug as the last 8 cycles to keep Gwohann's cancer under control.  We will do brain MRI and Lung CT scan at the end of Dec. to evaluate the effectiveness of WBRT and chemo.  If his cancer is stable or better, will possibly try Keytruda or Opdivo. Dr. Dormady said that due to its clinical trial status in the past, immunotherapy has mostly been used on patients who have run out of treatment options and are in the terminal stage.  He believes that for patient whose cancer is not progressing and who is still relative healthy, the treatment outcome should be much better.  Hence, Gwohann will be a good candidate.  That is an exciting news.

To get health insurance company to pay for Keytruda which costs $12500 a month, we will need to prove PD-L1 positive. Dr. Dormady will contact the Caris Molecular Testing lab to see if the test can be done on Gwohann's biopsy sample that was taken in Feb 2014.  We will know more about Opdivo eligibility requirement later.

New drugs bring new hope.  So thankful that we live in America and have access to the newest treatment options.

p.s. We have decided to forgo the NCI-Match clinical trial.

Bald and free

Salute to Gwohann for completing the full course of WBRT today! The radiology team gave him his radiation mask to commemorate his bravery and a congratulations award to honor his perseverance.

He has also joined the group of bald and beautiful men and women, who are freed from the worries of hair styling, graying hair, thinning hair, and, the 'bad hair day'.  More importantly, his feelings of freedom have manifested in many other aspects of his being as well, as he continues to practice 'let go and let God', which includes spending more time in prayer, letting go of the urge to drive, and eating whatever I present him with :-)

Thank God Gwohann has tolerated the radiation well.  The only visible side effects are rashes that have developed on his face and neck, which steroids have helped to control.  Following our radiologist's advice to keep his brain active, he continues to work, do sudoku, and with my value proposition of hand-eye coordination, help do dishes too.  Whether it is the stimulating brain games that he is doing or the Memantine (medicine to protect his brain) that he is taking, he seems to be getting smarter!

Now that we are done with the WBRT, we will resume the chemo this Friday.  Please pray that chemo will continue to work and kill cancer cells in every part of his body.

Thank you for your love and care!

Gwohann & Jacqueline