The latest...

Gosh, sorry I havn't posted in a while, not much has been happening though, which i guess is a good thing...no news is good news I guess.
In my last post I talked about some side effects and how Cleve hasn't really had any, well, I posted too soon. That very night Cleve developed the rash I was talking about. There was nothing significant about it other than it was there and mildly itchy. He also experienced fatigue and often found himself dozing at odd times of the day, he also continued feeling the muscle aches, but nothing a little naproxen couldn't fix.
Last weekend we went to the fair for a few hours and then up to Lake of the Woods for a mini vacation. Cleve wore his hat and sunscreen but apparently it wasn't enough, the docs were not lying about that photo sensitivity. Cleve must have rubbed the sun screen off his hands because he got a doozy of a burn there and a bit on his wrists. Also, while out on a paddle boat, that was completely covered I might add, Cleve got a bit of exposure on his shins where his pants rode up while pedaling. After reading a story to Walker and Gavin tonight, Walker accidentally popped the blister on his shin and it drained.....really gross. Anyway, I wanted to share the grossness with you all so of course I took pictures. I only got the wrist burn/blister, i'll have to snap a pic of his shins to post as well, but for now, this is what i got.

Nasty, eh?
Our vacation next month is in a sunny place which we had planned way before we new about the cancer so we are going to have to be extra on it about keeping him covered and out of the sun.
And thats about it for the update. We have just been going about our daily lives and building memories. I apologize if the posts are a little far apart, I am updating you all as things happen and thankfully not a lot is happening at the moment with Cleve. But please keep checking so you don't miss anything in the future. Until next time....

after a weeks worth of treatment...

Hello friends and folks,
Cleve has been faithfully taking his medication twice a day for one whole week and writing down in his log the dose, time and any side effects. For a man who hates to take pills, this is quite a feat, yay Cleve! We are also happy to report that it feels like the tumor under his arm is shrinking. It started out as a large orange size, we have felt it shrink down to walnut size and now feels to be about grape size. He has had some times of shrinkage and then it feels as if it swells again, but for the most part it has reduced in size a great deal. Cleve is also noticing less pain in his lower back and rarely takes the narcotics anymore, mostly tylenol to relieve any pain and/or discomfort.
Side effects of the medication have been minimal. Cleve has experienced some general fatigue and mild myalgia's. These are far less worse than what could happen, for instance, nausea, vomiting, severe photo sensetivity, skin rashes and squamous cell carcinoma. Cleve has been very good at keeping covered up, sunscreen applied and generally out of the sun. He however has not had any major check-ups. This will happen next week with his oncologist here and then in another two weeks in L.A. In September we can look forward to his next set of scans which will give us visible proof that the tumors are indeed shrinking. So until then we will be enjoying our summer with camping and a much needed vacation in August. I hope everyone is having a great summer and remember to keep that sunscreen handy.

MRI results and photo's

Cleve had his MRI done this morning and had it read today as well. It showed that the lesion in his sacrum has grown to nearly 5cm, that is just slightly smaller than his axillary lesion. It is currently pressing on his nerve causing numbness and burning along his left leg. This also confirms that it is a metastasis just as we had thought, but for some reason does not show up on CT scans...good information to know. The scan will now be sent down to Dr. Hamid for his records. He has been taking his medication as scheduled so we should be expecting shrinkage in tumor sizes as well as some pain relief. He currently is still taking pain medication with the exception for tonight, he is on call and cant have any narcotics in his system. Its gonna be a rough night...poor guy. Anyway, I am also posting some pictures from our last visit to L.A. and our evening in Beverly Hills....enjoy

Cleve's new medication...28 days worth

Cleve at the dermatologists office

Having a glass of wine at Cut

A small street off of Rodeo Drive

Looking down that same street

Cleve proving we are indeed on Rodeo Drive baby

The Beverly Wilshire where Cut is and where pretty woman was filmed

Starting medication

Well, we finally got the medication today, his first dose will be taken tonight. His brain scan showed up negative which is fantastic. I actually was a bit worried because he had been acting a bit forgetful and confused lately but I think that is due to the pain medication, he has never taken anything like it before. His CT scan showed the mass under his arm....yep, still there and about the same size. The funny thing is that they can not see anything on the CT regarding his sacral lesion. Dr. Hamid has ordered an MRI of the area which Cleve will have done at home in the next few days. That being said, the pain and nerve involvement is not less than what it has been and still requires some heavy duty pain meds. Cleve will also follow up with his oncologist here in medford and then return to L.A. In about a month for another round of meds. Cleve also met with a dermatologist down here for the study and he was great, very funny. Now we just wait and see about any adverse reactions and see how he tolerates the medication. Let's hope for minimal side effects.
(I'm trying to add some pictures but it's not letting me so I will do it later when I'm at my actual computer...stay tuned)