Monday, October 20, 2008

Houston Results, Round 7

Marissa and I have just returned from our latest trip to Houston. Again, because of Hurricane Ike we had a difficult time finding a hotel to stay at in Houston. We left last week to travel, with my lab work, chest x-ray, and cat scan scheduled for Wednesday, October 15. We were scheduled to meet with Dr. Trent on Thursday, October 16. After a long, nerve racking 3 hour wait for Dr. Trent we finally heard the test results. The chemotherapy is still working well and Dr. Trent, Marissa, and I were all very, very excited. We feel truly grateful and exceptionally blessed.

The plan for now is to continue with two more cycles of the same chemotherapy (Adriamycin and Ifosfamide). The Adriamycin can be hard on the heart so it is usually stopped after 6 rounds. However, Dr. Trent feels confident that it will be fine to continue another 2 rounds of this regimen. A heart scan is scheduled just to be completely sure it has not had a negative effect on my heart. After those next 2 rounds I will do 4 rounds of only high dose Ifosfamide. This can still be done at Emory Crawford Long in Atlanta, but it will have to be done inpatient. I am not looking forward to a week hospital stay every 3 weeks, but thankfully this will only last 4 rounds. Then I will do another 4 rounds of chemotherapy that consists of a daily injection for 5 days every 2 weeks. This can also be done in Atlanta and is not supposed to have as many side effects as the other chemo drugs. We will continue to travel to Houston every 6 weeks for tests.

As for now, I have started my 7th round of chemotherapy today, October 20. With each new round my symptoms seem a little more persistent and they linger a little bit longer. I am excited to be moving on to chemo that may not take such a physical toll on me.

We thank everyone for their constant prayers. We firmly believe I keep getting such great reports because of everyone’s prayers. It is very important that the chemotherapy continue to work and that my masses do not become resistant to the chemotherapy. We ask everyone for their continued prayers, praying that the chemotherapy continues to work and remove the cancer from my body, as well as continued blessings into the future. Again, we are grateful for our wonderful news, and also the support of family, friends, and even kind strangers.

11 comments:

  1. We will continue to pray for you. Thanks for the update, I still check it everyday :)

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  2. We are so proud that God has blessed you with another excellent checkup. You are a walking miracle already, but we are continuing to pray for that greater miracle...that one day soon you will get a report that your cancer is completely gone. Dr. Trent told you that you were fortunate to be responding as well as you are...that most with DSRCT don't respond this well, if at all. We believe that this is a direct result of the power of prayer from your family, friends, and even those who don't even know you.
    Stay strong, Bradley. And Marissa, thank you again for taking such good care of our son. We love you both.

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  3. We rejoice and give thanks to God for another good report. May you be strengthened knowing that many people are uplifting your needs in prayer throughout each day. We serve an amazing and faithful God, and you can be assured of His presence with you every moment. We believe in the power of prayer and that nothing is impossible with God. With this promise, we continue to expect more miracles to come.

    With love & prayers,
    David & Beverly

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  4. Great news!

    In the words of song writer Rich Mullins:

    "Our God is an awesome God
    He reigns from heaven above
    With wisdom, power and love
    Our God is an awesome God"

    It's by His strength and His provision of some great doctors that you've come this far. We will continue to trust and pray that the cancer will soon be gone

    Love,
    Aunt Grace Ann and Uncle Bob

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  5. Bradley and Marissa, I just want to tell you that we are praying for you. We had a tailgate party in your honor tonight at Dyer County High School and did well. I'll let your mom and dad tell you about that. I just wanted to encourage you to stay strong and tell you that from what I see you have two very strong faithful parents that love you deeply. Even in the midst of all this you are going through, you are a lucky man. We will continue to pray for you and your family and if any more fundraisers come up in the future, the radio station will be there for you. Thanks and God Bless--Dan and Liberty DeFilippo

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  6. Bradley and Marissa: Gary and I are so very thankful that the chemo continues to work. We will continue to pray that God will continue to give us good news. Sorry I did not write sooner, but I have been traveling. Love, mom and gary

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  7. We are so thrilled with this great news! We are all truly thankful to God for listening and answering our prayers!! You both are doing such a great job taking all of this one step at a time and always being optimistic and keeping the faith. We will continue to pray for more great checkups!! We send our love to you both.

    Uncle Charlie and Aunt Joanie

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  8. Hey, So glad to hear positive reports. Bradley, I tell the people I know at work and friends and everyone is deeply moved by the strength of character that you and Marissa display. As you may know I work in the gaming business, I recognize a guy who "plays the hand he is dealt". Y'all are filled with courage and determination. I know where it comes from. I will pray for you (you could even mention me in some of your prays :)) Your Cuz Danny

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  9. Joe and Dana MarkhamNovember 4, 2008 at 4:22 PM

    Bradley and Marissa, you have many people on your team...and proud to be there! We think and pray everyday for a fast recovery.

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  10. I work with Lori and have kept up with your progress through your blog. I have to tell you how much I admire your strength and attitude. Our God is an awesome God and I pray that He continues to bless and keep you.

    Paige Baty

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  11. Bradley and Marissa, I am pastor Bill Oakley of First Bapist, Trimble. I'm Teresa Adam's pastor.
    Please know that both myself and the church continue to pray for you and believe for a total and complete healing. We truly believe that "by His stripes we are healed." We shall continue praying for you and believing with you that all will be well in His timing. Our wonderful God is too loving to hurt us purposefully, and is too wise to make a mistake; therefore we can simply trust Him to know and to do what He knows what is best for us on our journey to healing and health. God bless you and keep you is our prayer.
    Willim "Bill" Oakley

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