T
tbcrawford
Guest
In February 2010 our dear friend Tim (max37) asked us to pray for him.
A year ago he had “innummerable tumors covering front and back of liver! In May, he also had gained 7 or 8 cancerous nodules in the lungs. ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE GONE! They insist on telling him he will never kick stage 4 cancer and it will always come back to kill him”, BUT this sort of progress is amazing!"
He just had the 9 hours in the cancer center, so as of today, there is only 1 small tumor visible by Catscan. (on his liver) Please continue to pray for him.Thankyou and God bless you all for your prayers.
From June 2011
{Hey everyone - I’m now participating in a clinical trial and so far, so good. In this trial, I’m taking a standard approved chemo, and combining it with a not-yet-approved experimental drug. It’s a little bit scary to be one of the first humans taking a drug, but there had already been a study using the experimental drug alone in humans (Phase 1A). And, of course, it has been tested f apparently is very promising for killing cancer.
I’m in the second cycle, a cycle lasts 3 weeks. I thought I was doing great in the first cycle, but that was because I didn’t know the chemo side effects wouldn’t arrive until week two! It was non-stop running to the potty for 7 days - lost 10 pounds! If that is going to happen again, it will probably start this coming Tuesday. Also, lost my hair again (once I start shedding, I just get impatient and shave it off!)
And, I’m doing this trial with some hope and optimism - a) I responded well to the chemo over the last year, but we are running out of chemos that will be effective on my cancer type. So a trial like this, could extend my life while still leaving the one or two other chemos that work, on the back burner. And - as the last 2 doctors have told me - Yes, I DO have a very dangerous stage 4 cancer that can or will kill me, we did kill off a great deal of it in the last year. So they say things like, yes, this will kill you - but it’s going to take alot longer than first predicted, because so much has been killed off! All of that, is surprising and hopeful. Especially since I was told I had 1 - 2 years to live in Feb 2010. I’m trying to get over that first prognosis and start thinking long-term again.
I have to believe that people’s prayers are helping me - even though my own faith has suffered this past 15 months. Thank you all for hanging in there and praying for me! I was feeling sorry for myself the other day since I had about 9-10 hours in the chemo chair, but a day after that, I saw someone whom I believe was at the very end of her life, and I realized how healthy and lucky I actually am right now.
Thanks!
Tim }
Update 6/29/11
{Yes, it’s almost 1AM, but I’m still spreading the good news. As you know, I’m in a Phase One Clinical study.
I wish you could have been there when the Chemo oncologist and protocol nurse sat me and my wife down in front of a screen showing my CT from May, side-by-side with my CT from Today. They were smiling and practically gushing! It’s a 3D vertical slice sort of viewing. When we down through the lungs where there were a bunch of nodules (cancer) - They’d say, "gone - that one’s gone, this one’s gone, this one on the edge, gone, gone, gone. I was amazed. I’m pretty sure, my lungs are cleared, at least anything as big as a CT will pickup. Then we got down to the liver, several small tumors gone. Several bigger ones - decreased by 50%. again - the kind of progress that usually takes 6 months, or with my cancer, maybe never.
This is after only two, 3-week cycles. We don’t know the future, if it will continue, or suddenly disappoint. Who knows, this is all new…but then again, why not more success? The Chemo is rough, but it is strong medicine and I’m sure it is doing much of the work. But this experimental drug is really Star Trek stuff - seeking out only cancer cells, going into cancer cells, and interfering with their “commands”. As much as I can grasp, cancer cells are mutant in many ways, and something in their cells, interrupts natural cell death, so besides multiplying, they also refuse to die. This drug (a small-molecule mimetic) goes into the cancer cell and messes with that command not to die, and tells it, "go ahead and die! Apparently, it is doing this in 4 or 5 cancers we know of so far.
This study is about to expand from 5 hospitals to 10.
I heart science!
( and appreciate the prayers.)
Thank You, Thank you All for every single prayer! }
A year ago he had “innummerable tumors covering front and back of liver! In May, he also had gained 7 or 8 cancerous nodules in the lungs. ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE GONE! They insist on telling him he will never kick stage 4 cancer and it will always come back to kill him”, BUT this sort of progress is amazing!"
He just had the 9 hours in the cancer center, so as of today, there is only 1 small tumor visible by Catscan. (on his liver) Please continue to pray for him.Thankyou and God bless you all for your prayers.
From June 2011
{Hey everyone - I’m now participating in a clinical trial and so far, so good. In this trial, I’m taking a standard approved chemo, and combining it with a not-yet-approved experimental drug. It’s a little bit scary to be one of the first humans taking a drug, but there had already been a study using the experimental drug alone in humans (Phase 1A). And, of course, it has been tested f apparently is very promising for killing cancer.
I’m in the second cycle, a cycle lasts 3 weeks. I thought I was doing great in the first cycle, but that was because I didn’t know the chemo side effects wouldn’t arrive until week two! It was non-stop running to the potty for 7 days - lost 10 pounds! If that is going to happen again, it will probably start this coming Tuesday. Also, lost my hair again (once I start shedding, I just get impatient and shave it off!)
And, I’m doing this trial with some hope and optimism - a) I responded well to the chemo over the last year, but we are running out of chemos that will be effective on my cancer type. So a trial like this, could extend my life while still leaving the one or two other chemos that work, on the back burner. And - as the last 2 doctors have told me - Yes, I DO have a very dangerous stage 4 cancer that can or will kill me, we did kill off a great deal of it in the last year. So they say things like, yes, this will kill you - but it’s going to take alot longer than first predicted, because so much has been killed off! All of that, is surprising and hopeful. Especially since I was told I had 1 - 2 years to live in Feb 2010. I’m trying to get over that first prognosis and start thinking long-term again.
I have to believe that people’s prayers are helping me - even though my own faith has suffered this past 15 months. Thank you all for hanging in there and praying for me! I was feeling sorry for myself the other day since I had about 9-10 hours in the chemo chair, but a day after that, I saw someone whom I believe was at the very end of her life, and I realized how healthy and lucky I actually am right now.
Thanks!
Tim }
Update 6/29/11
{Yes, it’s almost 1AM, but I’m still spreading the good news. As you know, I’m in a Phase One Clinical study.
I wish you could have been there when the Chemo oncologist and protocol nurse sat me and my wife down in front of a screen showing my CT from May, side-by-side with my CT from Today. They were smiling and practically gushing! It’s a 3D vertical slice sort of viewing. When we down through the lungs where there were a bunch of nodules (cancer) - They’d say, "gone - that one’s gone, this one’s gone, this one on the edge, gone, gone, gone. I was amazed. I’m pretty sure, my lungs are cleared, at least anything as big as a CT will pickup. Then we got down to the liver, several small tumors gone. Several bigger ones - decreased by 50%. again - the kind of progress that usually takes 6 months, or with my cancer, maybe never.
This is after only two, 3-week cycles. We don’t know the future, if it will continue, or suddenly disappoint. Who knows, this is all new…but then again, why not more success? The Chemo is rough, but it is strong medicine and I’m sure it is doing much of the work. But this experimental drug is really Star Trek stuff - seeking out only cancer cells, going into cancer cells, and interfering with their “commands”. As much as I can grasp, cancer cells are mutant in many ways, and something in their cells, interrupts natural cell death, so besides multiplying, they also refuse to die. This drug (a small-molecule mimetic) goes into the cancer cell and messes with that command not to die, and tells it, "go ahead and die! Apparently, it is doing this in 4 or 5 cancers we know of so far.
This study is about to expand from 5 hospitals to 10.
I heart science!
( and appreciate the prayers.)
Thank You, Thank you All for every single prayer! }
