We made it another year for our FIFTH Cancer Survivor Riverboat Dinner Cruise on the Ohio River!! Hooray!!

Our good friends joined us for their 4th year.....

Hello!
Well- here it is May already!! Can you believe it??
Quick update on George- he is still toughing out chemo treatments. For the most part, he handles it pretty well. He does have some ups and downs, as would be expected. Over all- he's a real trooper- and as he says "I'm still here!" :-)

This is how he feels a lot of days:















On April 20th, we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary!! We opted to stay local and celebrated at LaComedia Dinner Theatre in Franklin, OH. We saw "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" and had a great time!

A dear family member celebrated his 40th birthday this year, and his wife threw him a Disco Birthday Bash. We showed up in style....

George had been having some increased pain in his leg, and we were really worrying that it was a tumor area getting "ugly" again... but after an MRI we had some great news- he needed back surgery! I know, that's not usually good news, but when you get a NON-cancer diagnosis for something you fear IS cancer-related, and it can be FIXED, you tend to get excited anyway. :-)

A couple weeks after the surgery, he is already noticing a huge improvement. Yay!

So... I think that's about it for now. He's not feeling great this week- but after a month of chemo, then back surgery, then chemo again, you can't blame him. Please pray he is feeling better soon, and that he can SLEEP- that seems to be an issue lately, and it's starting to really take a toll on his quality of life right now.
Thank you for all your care, support, and prayers.
xoxo.

Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted anything (that's a recurring theme, isn't it...)

We have had a rather eventful few months. Between my graduating from school to be an esthetician, and George's chemo, and then the holidays, I have gotten behind.

We had a lovely Christmas Brunch with George's daughters and their families.

Then, we took a Christmas Vacation of a lifetime! A 2 week cruise to the Caribbean. Blue skies, sunshine, clear water, warm sand... just what the doctor ordered- and a really nice break from reality.

George needed to get a couple spots radiated before the cruise, as he was starting to get some pain.

The chemo seems to be having an effect in reducing his psa (down to 12 from 147!) but the bone tumors are very persistent- and painful.

Since getting back, he's had 2 more chemo treatments, but the pain is escalating. So it has been determined that he is a good candidate for a treatment known as Samarium. It feels a bit scary, but it is supposed to relieve the pain and hopefully reduce the tumors. It is a radiation therapy that is administered via I.V.

Actually, he was supposed to be getting a bone scan today, and then the treatment tomorrow- and was really looking forward to getting it done so he can start experiencing the promise of relief it holds!- but Winter had other plans, and we have to reschedule. :-( We are both feeling bummed by that, but trying to stay positive.

On a happier note- George turns 60 on February 4th! He is very excited and thankful to be able to celebrate not only another birthday- but another entry into a new decade!! 60 may feel old to some... but to him it means LIFE, and life is good.

George embraces life, and all it offers, with such a cheerful spirit, it's inspiring. We have a lot to be thankful for, in spite of the heartaches that life sometimes brings.

We are looking forward to spring and continuing some projects on this old house of ours'- having things to look forward to and live for is where the joy is found.

Blessings to you all!

Hello everyone!!
Sorry for the delay in the updates here lately- we have been so busy!! I feel like I hardly have time to check emails much less post anything on my blog.
But- let me bring you up to speed...
George is tolerating his chemo treatments very well- much better than expected, I think. I wasn't sure what to expect, so of course I always imagine the worst.
He has lost some hair- as you can see his thick head of hair has thinned considerably- BUT it's not all gone, and we look forward to its return when he is finished with treatment.
He had a port implanted last week to make his labs and treatments go easier. The picture here is just after getting the port put in, and then wheeled down to chemo to give it its first go-round.
Look how cheerful he is in spite of it all! George's attitude is great. The medications he is on are making him a bit moodier than usual, which can be challenging, but overall he is enjoying life and thankful for every day of it. I am thankful for him- and that he is still with me.
The good news is that his numbers have dropped by nearly half since starting the treatment!!, so that is very encouraging. Please keep him in your prayers for continued improvement.

We had a super special treat over Labor Day weekend- George's sister and her husband visited us, and we were able to treat them to a riverboat cruise and then enjoy the fireworks later that evening on board.














We have been working on our house a lot, too- that has kept us both busy, and good therapy for George. It's important to him to continue to do the things to our old house that we both have wanted to do. It brings him so much joy!
Now we are planning our Christmas trip- I will be finished with school and he will be finished with his treatments and we will be very ready to celebrate!! We are looking at taking a cruise someplace sunny and warm. We can't wait!!
Thank you again, everyone, for praying and keeping up with us- I will try to do better at updates from now on.
Much love~ George & Gina

George had his first chemo treatment on Monday.
He seems to be tolerating it fairly well so far. Some fatigue, a bit of a sore throat, some bone pain... but no nausea- and we're hoping that stays away!!
His attitude is good- he is able to keep up a fairly good pace, but is resting as needed. By the end of most days, he's pretty worn out. Between the residual from the radiation, and then the chemo, it's no wonder.
But- so far so good! I will keep everyone updated as time goes by.
His next treatment is August 30th.
Thank you for your prayers!!

Hello everyone! Sorry it has taken a while for another update.

Life has been busy! George has completed his radiation treatments to his chest, and has noticed a significant reduction in pain, so that's great news!

We also learned that the spot on his spine has been determined to be an arthritic spur, NOT cancer, so that's one less spot to worry about!! hooray!! We'll take whatever we can get....!

On this Monday, August 9th, George will have his first chemotherapy treatment.
Please pray for many things regarding this:

• minimal side effects
• his hair won't fall out
• he'll tolerate it well
• it won't disrupt his daily routine much
• and most of all, that it will do what it's supposed to do!!

His treatments will probably go until December. I will continue with regular updates to let you know how he is doing.

Thank you all sooo much for all your thoughts and prayers!!!

UPDATE

Hello Everyone! Sorry it has taken me nearly a week to get an update on here- it's been a busy week!!!
Well... we don't always get exactly what we ask for, do we?? But somehow we still have to trust that God has our lives in His hands in spite of it all.
George's scans came back not so great after all. He has multiple new "occurrences" ranging from his skull to his lower spine.
So, that was a bit disheartening... but let me tell you about our trip.


We drove to Cleveland on Sunday after church, stopping at Columbus on the way up to enjoy a lovely downtown lunch. Here is George at La Fogata Grill (highly recommend the Fajita Salad!!). We enjoyed a couple shops- one of which is a lovely little Turkish shop with all sorts of beautiful things to tickle your fancy! I got a pashmina and a necklace.




Once we got to Cleveland, we checked in at the Cleveland Clinic Guest House- right across the street from where all his appointments would be happening.
After getting settled in our room, we decided to drive down to Lake Erie to watch the sun set.
There is downtown Cleveland in the background.










George hanging out on the rocks.












After sunset we got a couple soft serves and walked out on the pier. A nice man offered to take our picture for us.





So after a lovely evening enjoying the beauty of Lake Erie, we got a good night's rest, and George headed over to the Clinic first thing Monday morning. He had scans from 9-2. It was a full day- complete with lovely things such as Barium. UGH.
After his scans came back, we met with the doctor, and he highly recommended that now is the time for George to consider chemotherapy. He took the time to "debunk" some common myths people have about chemo, which was very helpful in giving us more peace of mind about opting to go this route.
So, at the end of this month, George will begin a series of chemo treatments, once every 3 weeks, for about 6 months. He is starting a round of radiation next week in order to treat an area on his sternum that is causing pain, as well as the spot on his spine.
Keep him in your prayers as we chart these new waters- pray especially that he tolerates the chemo well- that he has minimal side effects- and most of all, that it is effective.
Thank you all so much for your prayers regarding his scans. We just have to keep trusting that God is taking care of George- and He is. We know He is. After all- 10 years later, I still have him!!!












This is us at a hot air balloon show we went to last night with his oldest daughter and her family.











George with his oldest daughter, Tessa.