Real Men Do Cry

I had a very emotional afternoon on Friday 01/13/2012.  This turned out to be a very good day!  Jenny went into MSK to get a PET Scan as she has not been feeling well.  Our expectations was to get a the results on Monday 01/17/2012.

On Friday afternoon Jenny called me.  She heard from Dr Moskowitz, and  the test results were negative.

Not expecting to hear anything until after the weekend combined with the "negative" results, it took me a few seconds to absorb this good news.  The results was somewhat embarrassing.  But I make no excuses.  I love my wife and do not know what I would do with out her.

Real men do cry

Changing Gears

So Jenny did what she is supposed to do and kept in contact with MSK to arrange for further testing since her back still hurts. But the doctor, after further review, is not very concerned that her back hurts.  He has decided to wait until Jenny's regularly scheduled testing on February.  Very frustrating....  But I guess this is a good thing.

Living Between the Quarters

Jenny as been going to the doctor every three months for follow up on her cancer remission.  I refer to this has living between the quarters.

She went yesterday to see her doctor at MMSK.  All the usual test came back normal.  But Jen has had some back pain over the last six weeks or so.  This concerns the doctor.  He is worries that the cancer may have spread to her bones.  Of course, this could just be plan old back pain.  The doctor advised to watch this very carefully.  And if there is no improvement within the next six weeks, Jenny will have to submit to more rigorous testing...

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Happy Spring and New Beginnings To You All

We Have Remission  (Written by Jennifer Marino.  Edit by Domenic Marino)

And in saying “we,” we are talking about not only Jen and the Marino family, but all those who helped us to get to this point. This includes Dr. Moskowitz and all the nurses, doctors and staff at Sloan Kettering. This also includes our supportive family, neighbors, friends, and co-workers.

Dom and Jen went into Sloan Kettering yesterday. It didn’t start off as the best day as it was the most traffic Jen has had yet on the commute. As she was driving and a truck would not let her in on a merge, she pulled off her scarf and just looked at the driver with her shining head has a beacon!  It worked! He let her in.

Jen was extremely nervous going into the appointment, as she had no idea what results to expect. She has had some sensitivity in her lymph nodes, swollen ankles, slight chest pressure, and a small cough (all explained later as normal for having a small cold the previous week).

After arriving late, she quickly had her blood tested, vitals and pulmonary function test. When Dr. Moskowitz came into the exam room, he said, “Well, you can tell everyone you are in remission.” Jen and Dom were thinking the same thing, but Dom asked sooner, “Is she?” The answer was yes.

Blood levels are not quite normal, but after a month of chemo are better than most people who have had this treatment. (Nurse Emily gave Jen an A on her blood results). Dr. Moskowitz only saw a little activity left on the thymus, but he sees this often after this chemo treatment and is not concerned.

Jen will next see Dr. Moskowitz for a check up in June. She will see him quarterly for the next few years. Jen will have another PET scan in early September and every six month after to make sure all stays well. 

The appointment ended with a big hug between Jen and Dr. Moskowitz, a big kiss and hug between Jen and Dom, a flood of tears, and lots of phone calls on the way home.

So, we have remission.  Your positive thoughts, prayers and kind communication have taught us the power of compassionate and sympathy.  Oh yeah, all the meals and gifts also helped!

Happy Spring and new beginnings to you all.

Positive Energy

Jen and I wanted everyone to know that she is going to have test on 02/28/11 but the results will not be know to us until Tuesday 03/08/11.
On the surface, this seems like a long time to wait.  Please know that the 03/08/11 appointment was made first.  We needed to schedule the tests for before this appointment.  Monday 02/28 was the closest date we could get to the 03/09 doctor appointment.  If not then, we would have had to wait till 03/11 for the tests. As you could imagine, we choose not to wait.

We again thank you all and ask that you continue your prayers and positive energy.

Where we are!

So Jen has moved into new territory.  She is finished with her normal treatment cycle which ended on Tuesday.  What I mean is, that on Tuesday she would normally start a round of chemo.  So for the last few days she has been tapering down on most of her medicines.  She is feeling a little better everyday.  This includes getting some of her taste buds back in play! 

Not much to say but this is where we are!

Positive Thoughts

So today we came into MSK NYC to review Jen’s situation.  All looks good.  No more chemo.  She is scheduled for a PET and CT scan on 02/28/11 at MSK in Basking Ridge.  That is followed a week later with a trip into MSK NYC to see Dr. Moskowitz and review the results.

Today’s blood test showed hemoglobin levels at 7.4.  So Jen is down a unit.  This is being given to her as I type this update.  She will wean off the steroids during the next 12 days but will continue most of her antibiotics and immune practices for the next month.

When we met with Dr. Moskowitz, he was very relaxed and although he could not give any real determination, there was a certain sense that the results will be good.  So, from now to then, please keep saying those prayers and sending positive thoughts!

A special thanks go out to the Robert Hunter Staff for their kind thoughts and gifts.  And thanks to all involved with the RH LLS fund raiser which kicked off this week.