I'm Still Here!

Sorry for giving everyone the impression that I forgot how to blog. I'll try to correspond with you in a more timely fashion from now on. Please be assured I have been following your posts closely and I appreciate your support, more than you know. Martha, thanks for your loving words of encouragement.
We were in North Carolina last week for treatment at the Robert Preston Tisch Brain Tumor Center, Duke Medical Center. Karen and I consulted with our Cancer treatment expert, Dr. James Vredenbaugh (forgive me, Doc, if I misspelled that). The news is encouraging to say to least. Whereas in the past, certain physicians were only willing to admit that there was "no change", a good sign in and of itself, Dr. V said there appears to be improvement. Dr. V is not projecting these results into the future, but you can understand our optimism. We are very pleased with our decision to seek treatment there (Sorry all you UNC fans). Our brain surgeon, Matt Wills, got his MD from UNC, so I know it's also a high-quality institution.
Tomorrow is Ashley's birthday. Happy Birthday, Ash! Karen and I wish we could be with you and Dan but, oh well, we hope to see you soon. We hope you enjoy your trip to the Symphony! Karen and I stayed up New Year's Eve and watched a New Year's concert by the New York Philharmonic from Avery Fisher Hall. It was fantastic! I discovered that I love Offenbach, Rossini, and Hayden's 5th (dance concerto, perhaps?), among other selections.
Thanks for your posts and comments. We'll be in touch soon!

More Cut Backs!

Hello Family and Friends,

There have been lots of ups and downs since the last post on John's Trophy Run. Right after Thanksgiving and our wonderful family reunion, John had a serious chemotherapy treatment. His Temador was increased by 50% so the recovery cycle was as tough as the treatment. He also developed an eye infection that required medication to get through. All the while, he had an infusion of the Avastin every other week.

John and Karen celebrated Christmas at home with Ashley, Dan and Justin. Good thing we didn't suggest another family reunion! I talked with Karen several times about the upcoming trip to Duke. Do they go? Do they try to reschedule? Do they put off? Questions and more questions!

Well, they did go to Duke and got GREAT NEWS!!!
Dr. V, as they affectionately call the specialist, was able to tell them that there have been improvements in John's MRI, AND they want to cut back some of the medication. John is happy about that. This was especially good news as the seizure meds make him tired and not as alert as he loves to be.

During this past week, John had another round of Temador . The dose was reduced from the last round and, while it wasn't without some complications, he is recovering slowly and surely. This week John will be able to take a week off and gain some strength.

The news from Duke is the best hope for the New Year! It promises to be the beginning of a wonderful 2009! YEA! MORE CUT BACKS!

Thanksgiving 2008

What a great Thanksgiving gathering we had! I can't wait to see all of your pictures! I'm uploading ours here. Click on the photo to link to it!

Love, Greg

"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death." ~Leonardo da Vinci

The Thought for Today

"The true value of a human being is determined primarily by how he has attained liberation from the self." Albert Einstein

It's from my Franklin Planner. I hope I didn't break any copywrite laws. See you soon.
J

Next Week!

Karen and I are really looking forward to Thanksgiving next week. I hope to see as much of you as you can take of us. Karen and I are both feeling well. We'll just have to remember to take it easy.
Tuesday, the 25th, Karen and I will be going to Wichita as Ashley and Dan close on their new house. If any of you are here (i.e., Mary Anne), you're welcome to go down with us. I think I'd like to stop briefly in El Dorado on the way to say hello to the folks. We're planning a fairly early start that day (8:00 am or so), so let us know if you're interested.
"Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable..." , Radio Cure, Wilco

John & Karens' Week

Hello, my friends (and no, I'm not trying to paraphrase John McCain). In my humble opinion, that guy just couldn't generate the charisma to compete.
Karen and I hope you are satisfied with the election results. Me, I don't really enjoy debating politics with people who disagree with me. I am not a political animal. Some people like it, though. To me, we're all a bit like Tom Cruise, as described by Jack Nicholson, in A Few Good Men:"[We] can't handle the truth." Nor are we interested in doing so, really.
Today was a beautiful November day in the 50s. Karen and I worked on winterizing the lawn. Karen worked harder than I did. I use my weakness from chemotherapy as an excuse for taking it easy. Karen will buy this for the most part and, frankly, it is based in truth. My seizure a few weeks ago may have been, in part, a response to fatigue from the prior day's strenuous work. I have also put on 6 lbs since therapy began. Another result of taking it easy (and eating well).
My 14 1/2 year-old pup (a Cairn Terrier, you know, like Toto, named Katy), is fast asleep between Karen and I and that's telling me it's time for sleep.
More soon.

Congrats to Danielle (and, yeah, Nathan too!)

We're very happy for you, Danielle and Nathan! We hope your every dream comes true with the expectation of your first child. This couldn't happen to a nicer, more deserving couple. Karen and I can't wait to become a great aunt and uncle once more. You'll just have to blog the sonagrams.
Please take care of yourselves and keep us informed of every step on the way.
Love,
Uncle John

P.S. It was nice staying with you. Thank you for that. It was also very nice meeting Ellen.