No Mountain Too High

You all know that Kevin LOVES to come up with nicknames, mottos, themes, & battle cries.  A hunting group was named “the hogslayers.” His high school best friends, the “awesome sixsom.”  His Priest Quorum, “my brothers in arms.”  A fly fishing trip with his brothers became “rod benders.” A bike race became “we ride for glory.”  A family code is “C squared” short for “Christian Courage”  and he has been repeatedly heard yelling, “eye of the tiger!” “fire in the hole” “comin’ in hot” and “mitgefuhl!” (German for “carefully”) 

So, it only seems appropriate that he already has a battle cry for this next battle:  “No mountain too high.”  Kevin loves the mountains!  He loves skiing down them, and biking through them, and scaling and climbing them - the harder, the higher, the better!  I don’t know which he likes more -  the going up or the coming down, but I do know that he feels closer to God when he is in them.   I’m not much of a nature girl, but trying to throw my support behind Kevin I said, “Let’s do this.  No mountains tall enough.”  I was kindly corrected.  I’ll get it right one day.

A Pain in the Back

That’s how it started.  A pain in the back.  On February 15th, Kevin was in terrible back pain as he left to drive the 10 hours solo to Utah and spend three awesome days skiing with our family.  The back pain was throbbing, stabbing, hot, and relentless.  Convinced that it was kidney stones, Kevin ordered a CT and was surprised when the results were negative.  Kevin continued to work through the pain - unable to sleep, unable to sit, unable to stand.  One night while at work, Kevin admitted himself, gave himself an iv, and a shot of toradol to get through the rest of the night.  (I will attach a copy of Kevin’s work schedule for those of you who would like to avoid the nights he is on shift).  By now the pain was localized to one spot in his back and Kevin thought it was most likely a disk problem.  Kevin went in for a MRI on Wednesday, March 9th.  The MRI showed spots on his spine. Two days of testing confirmed the worst.  A biopsy of a swollen lymph node near his groin confirmed that it was malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor cells - the same type of cancer Kevin battled in 2003.  The results of a PET scan (received Monday, March 14th) showed spots all over - his shoulder, ribs, spine, pelvis, and legs.  

Plan of Attack

On Wednesday, March 16th, we met with Dr. Eckhart, the orthopedic surgeon who removed Kevin’s tumor in September, 2003.  The poor guy couldn’t remember who the heck Kevin was as his chart was long gone!  (7 years cancer free!)  Within 5 minutes, Dr. Eckhart was on the phone with the UCLA oncologist, Dr. Sant Chawla, who prescribed the chemotherapy for Kevin in 2003 - 2004.  We showed up to his office scared and left more scared.

YONDALIS.  That’s the name of the chemotherapy drug Dr. Chawla recommended.  It is a clinical drug, not FDA approved, but in phase 3, and offered in only 3 locations in the United States - Los Angeles being one of them.  Another new drug on the scene is Zometa - a bone strengthening drug that they give to 85 year old women with osteoporosis.  After meeting with Kevin’s local oncologist in Irvine, Dr. Merry Tetif, we agreed to follow Dr. Chawla’s recommendation.  Kevin had a porticath inserted on Friday, March 18th.  All ready to go.

Master Healer

With a plan and our competent medical team now on board, it was time to turn our desires to the Master Healer.  When faced with a challenge, the Cannon solution is always a family fast.  I truly can not express the experience we had this past weekend as family members and loved ones all across the country fasted and prayed on Kevin’s behalf.  After a Priesthood blessing was given to Kevin, a tangible difference was felt in our home as our fear was replaced with faith and hope.  Benjamin’s journal sums it up perfectly:  “I hope our fasting will heal my Dad or I will just be starving.”

The Man Purse

Real men wear purses.  Kevin’s a man.  Monday, March 21st, Kevin received his first cycle of chemotherapy.  That morning we drove up to Santa Monica to Dr. Chawla’s office and were given the VIP black leather chairs.  After a few hours of fluids and monitoring, Kevin was sent home with the good stuff attached (good stuff = Yondalis) for a 24 hour drip.  Tuesday morning we drove back up to Dr. Chawla’s to remove and return the pump, and receive his first infusion of Zometa.  Now Kevin is left alone for 3 weeks to battle nausea, dizziness, fatigue and constipation. (tmi?) His next chemo cycle will be in 3 weeks on April 11th and 12th, with a MRI 3 weeks later to show the success of the drugs.

We will know a lot more at this time (in 6 weeks)- what we are dealing with - if they are fast growing, aggressive cells, or slow growing cells that might have been there for awhile. If the MRI results show the cancer shrinking (which is what we are praying for), then we will continue with the same protocol - Yondalis every three weeks, with a MRI every six weeks to chart progress.  And we will do this for as long as it takes.  This is definitely more like Mount Everest than Mount Shasta.  (See, I’m beginning to know the difference.)