The latest

Well... as of today my dad is in the hospital for the 3rd time. It seems that after each chemo appointment he runs a really high fever. After last weekend they told us that it the fever is mainly from his Chemo treatment but to keep them informed. This time he was running another fever and we tried to tell him to run it out for a day to see if it will just go away but he didn't want to so once again he is in there. I told my mom to tell him that if he just want to go back and see his cute little nurse we could arrange that he didn't need to be admitted. Hee Hee!! 

Overall things are going well. His tumor cell number is a lot lower and keeps going down. That is great news. We will be having another CT scan next month sometime to see if the tumors themselves have shrunk. I keep my fingers crossed that they have. My dad seems to be hanging in there but I know that he is a  little scared and he is in a lot of pain. After two months of treatment they onocologist has given us permission to take him to Oregon to visit his brother. He is really excited for that but doesn't want to go in the winter so may need to wait till after the first of the year. I have volunteered to go and be with them . I know I know what a giver huh lol!!! It will be nice to see my aunt, uncle, my cousin Anna and her family. I miss them a lot. 

 

I will keep you posted of the next developments as I hear them. Thanks for listening

Dad came home on Thursday thank goodness. We are glad to have him home. Things are now back to going good. Our next appt with the Chemo doctor is on Thursday I will update you soon after that. 

Good things must come to an end

So do you remember that in my last post we were all excited because things were going well? Things are still remaining positive but yesterday my dad ended up in the hospital with a 102 fever. He had been running a fever all weekend but not to high. On Sunday he ran a 101 fever so my mom took him to urgent care. They couldn't find anything so they sent him home. Monday morning they had an appointment with their regular physician and he said that if he continues running a fever don't call anyone take him to the emergency room and he will be admitted. So after his nap yesterday he woke up with another fever. 

So last night I went to join my mom and dad in the ER they took x-ray of his belly and found nothing. My mom noticed a red ring around his belly button where he gives himself his insulin. That may be the source of the infection. They gave him 2 different antibiotics and is scheduled to go and have an ultrasound today. Nurse said probably no Chemo tomorrow (which would be he second round). 

In short I hope to know more tonight and I hope that he gets to go home. 

Chemo

From now on for the next 3 months my dad has his chemo appointments. He goes every Wednesday in the afternoon. After 3 weeks they will re-evaluate everything but for now he is scheduled thru October. He went to his first one yesterday and my mom and I went for moral support. It took 2 1/2 hours but it was a good time for me and him. while he was receiving his medicine we talked about when he would skin dive at Paso Robles as a kid or skin dive at Catalina. I also found out that he used to be a camp counselor with the YMCA and went on several outings with them. He was talking about this one time when he was at...I can't remember where but he saw John Wayne. He also talked about a trip that my mom, Eric, Aaron and him took to the Grand Canyon. It was a really funny story. I see Triston in my dad and I think they are very similar in a lot of ways. 

He did well with his first round of treatment. No Nausea, or headaches, or any of the other symptoms. It is very positive so far and my mom and I are so happy and we know this is going to work. Friday 8/7/09 he gets the results of his lung biopsy to see if the nodules in there are cancer or just scar tissue. One more thing to keep our fingers crossed about but we know it will all turn out ok. 

First post

Hello all my name is Rebekah Havard and I'm writing this blog for my mom and dad. 2 weeks ago my dad got diagnoised with Pancreatic Cancer. Most of his friends live far away so this is for you. My dad is remining very strong (at least in public view). On Thursday the 23rd he had a biopsy and he is now awaiting a call from the doctor. We have faith that the news will be something that we all can handle. 

My mom is taking one day at a time and is also trying to be very strong. She is getting several phone calls from all of you so thank you for all the support. 

Eric, Aaron and I pulling together to help where needed. My dad actually let me drive him home from the doctors office the other day. Which for those of you who know him well never happens. He is always the driver. He even told me that I should feel lucky. He was still a backseat driver though telling me I was to close to the car in front or driving to fast, or someone that he would yell at when entering the freeway. 

I'm enjoying the time that we are getting to spend together and I can't wait until we get to spend more time. 

I'm on vacation next week but will get word of how his appointments go and will update this blog as I hear news. Please check back often and leave my mom and dad comments. I will pass them all along.