“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

― Thomas A. Edison

As yall know, Dad chemo treatment is: 1 week of chemo, 1 week of no chemo, 1 week of chemo, 1 week of no chemo, ect… Well, Dad will be starting his 2nd dose of chemo today. He will be getting a drip chemo through an IV later on today. Furthermore, the next 7 days, he will be taking chemo pills.

just a note: dad started his chemo treatments today for his 3rd round of fighting cancer. Today, I got a fresh spirit in me and the uplifting power of healing. The last couple weeks, I have been so frustrated with the situation but after a long prayer today… I feel a zest that Team C will beat this cancer. It is hard to see a person we love struggle — eating something as simple of spaghetti and watching dad throw it back up. However, the power of love, faith, strength and hop is stronger than any fear and doubt. TEAM C RULES CANCER SUCKS AND WILL LOSE!!!!!

“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself.”

—
Walter Anderson

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You know, its funny how life is.  This quote was sent to me via email today, March 20th.  The same day that Dad starts his chemo treatment.  These quotes that I periodically send out is coming from Thoughtful-Mind.com, which I am subscribe to.

The esophagus cancer might be winning the battle right now, but reinforcements are coming and Dad will win this war.  Go Team C!!!!

Hi everyone!

We met with the Dr yesterday for dad. Chemo will be treatment. It will be an 8 week treatment. Two types of chemo. One type will be an IV – he will get once every other week for two hrs. The other chemo will be a pill. He will take it 5x a day the week of the IV chemo and 4x a day non IV week. This will continue for 8 weeks. Then repeat cscan.  He will meet with his chemo dr on March 18th.

Update on my dad:

Friday, we were told he may not have cancer in the lungs. so my parents called his radiation dr and talked to him – his name is Dr. Skinner. He is a great dr who is always willing to explain things.

He said that dad does not have lung cancer. However, there is some abnormal spots (cells) in lungs but drs are not sure what it is yet.

He said the tumor on dad’s esophagus is about 1/3 the size of the entire esophagus. He said there are some lymph nodes mid chest area that are cancer. The lymph nodes in the jaw area is swollen which most likely means cancer but not necessary.

Dr said the best route will be chemo because that will hit all spots including areas of the lungs and lymph nodes in the jaw. how much/what types/ and what side effects — we will find out Monday March 10th as they are still looking into that.

The dr said dad’s type of cancer is a kind that comes and goes so it is normal that one moment my dad is cancer free and the next he is not.

MD Anderson just called Dad. All the doctors had that conference meeting and discuss what is the next course of treatment. They looked over the results again and they agree that the cancer has now moved into his lungs… probably a good reason why Dad has this constant cough. Furthermore, they said he is back in stage 4 cancer. I am not sure if that means his lungs, his esophagus or both.

Anyways, the plan is still go down to MD Anderson on March 10th and discuss the treatment options with us.

Edit: March 5, 2014 @ 9:45pm
I got clarification on the stage 4 part.  Basically because the cancer moved to another organ, MD Anderson automatically classify it as Stage 4 cancer no mater where the cancer is at.

As you may or may not know, Dad went to MD Anderson and got a GI Endoscopy done on his esophagus along with a CT scan on the neck on Tuesday, Feb 25th. The results on the GI Endoscopy was that he had a mass on his esophagus again. They did a biopsy on the mass to see if it was cancerous or not. Furthermore, he got a CT scan on chest and ABD on Wednesday, Feb 26th. Today, Feb 27th, we found out the results. The biopsy showed that it is cancerous. Plus, there were more cancer cells in several lymph nodes around the neck area.

To say the least, my family is devastated. This will be the 3rd time the cancer has come back for my Dad… this time it’s really hitting my dad as far as emotions. All of Dad’s MD Anderson doctors are going to meet next Tuesday, Mar 4th to discuss what the next step is. Most likely, there will be chemo involved. Due the nature where the current cancer is, Dad has already been radiated in those spots. Therefore, radiation is off the table. On Monday March 10th, that’s when Dad’s one doctor will sit down with him and discuss options.

I ask you to pray for my Dad as he journeys into fighting cancer again. We have beaten cancer twice now and we will beat it again… 3 times is a lucky charm. Go Team C!!!

Hey guys… mom just called me from MD Anderson. Dad had his GI Endoscopy done today . Sadly, they found another tumor. They are going to do a biopsy on it to see if its cancerous. Will know the results in a few days.

Please pray its not cancerous. However, if it is, the Cunningham family will yet again fight and win the battle. Go Team C!!!

My faith in God is what keeps me from being as scared. I am so frustrated with the insurance company and feel frustrated that my family can not figure out what is wrong with dad. No child wants to hear something is wrong with their parent. This morning, my dad tried to vacuum (sweep) the floors of our house, he has to take several 10-15 minute breaks.

I pray NO CANCER. However, I pray we FIND ANSWERS. Praying for no cancer cells when he does his Cscans and guidance from his dr to know what drs to send him to. We will know what direction we must travel this coming week. Praying to stay strong in knowing my faith will give me hope and calmness. Praying to be able to find answers to help my dad. Praying that my mom will not feel so helpless as she watches my dad get weak. Praying for a simple answer that will bring health to my dad.

My faith tells me that after having such a battle (going from stage 4 to cancer free), I know God is with us and answers will be give us hope and comfort.

I just looked at dad’s schedule for MD Anderson. They move his GI Endoscopy and CT Scans up to February 25-27th. Though, we are still trying to fight MD Anderson / the health insurance to get the CT Scans changed to a PET scan.

According to MD Anderson, it’s the health insurance not allowing the PET scan and vice versa.

Dad’s last day of chemo was on October 10th and his last radiation treatment was on October 17th. He was given the all clear, CANCER FREE, on December 9, 2013.

Ever since December, dad’s health has steadily decrease. He is extremely fatigue, he is having a hard time swallowing solid foods, meaning he’s not eating much. Therefore, he’s losing weight (which I think is about 30 pounds since December) and he’s still continuously coughing. His singles virus that he was diagnose with on February 6, 2014 is starting crust over. Meaning, its starting the heeling stage… so that’s good thing. I would venture to say within several weeks, it’s should be basically gone.

Now, to a new item that just happen recently. Yesterday, February 14, 2014. Dad was eating his supper when all of sudden he got sick because the food got stuck in his throat. It didn’t go down the wrong pipe and he wasn’t chocking, it just wouldn’t go down. Unfortunately, the end result was him getting sick. Even after getting sick, Dad literally was gagging for at least 10 more minutes. The frustrating part is just sitting there watching him in agony.

Mom, Jennifer, and I have told Dad he does not look healthy. Dad actually looked more health while taking his chemo/radiation treatments then what he does now. Even the guys that dad works with have told him the same thing. There is something wrong, but yet Dad’s chemo doctor at MD Anderson won’t do anything about it. The blood work dad got couple weeks ago came back OK, so the chemo doctor can’t explain dad’s post treatment symptoms.

Thursday, February 6th, Dad went to the Urgent Care Center in Pearland and was diagnose with shingles.

For those that don’t know… shingles is a painful, blistering skin rash due to the varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox. He has it on his stomach and back, both in the middle. He have been on meds since Thursday to treat the shingles virus.

Therefore, he is dealing with extreme fatigue, hes not eating much (so he’s losing weight), he’s still continuously coughing, and now he has shingles.

Good day everyone,

I (Jennifer) went to MD Anderson for my 6th month check up today. They took 9 tubes of blood. Got some blood work back today. All looks good. I will get my PCR, FISH and some other blood test results back in 2-3 weeks. If all looks good, I don’t have to go back to MDA for a year as long as I continue to go to my regular Dr in clear lake every three months. I told my family that I “graduated” from going every six months to a year. First time I have gotten to go a whole year since I started this battle. Yay!  I will celebrate 7 year victory in March.  Kicked that leukemia butt!

My Dad (Dennis) also saw his doctor today about his esophagus cancer. Even though all the test came back Cancer Free in December, he has been coughing more, having hard time swallowing and has lost 20 pounds in a month and still has no energy even after two months of no treatment. So he had a cscan done last Friday. Today Dr said he has some spots in his lungs but they do not look like cancer! It may be some scar tissue from his two rounds of chemo/radiation. The dr also feels my dad has bronchitis and put him on meds. He will run more test in a month instead of waiting until middle of March like was plan in Dec. The dr just wants to be on the safe side since my dad has already done two rounds of treatment. So dad will get several cscan in February. Dr said he is not sure why dad is having issuing eating but said if it continues, they will need to go in and do surgery on his esophagus. The dr told us that with the extreme about of treatment my dad has had and how bad the cancer was, there may be some scar tissue in the esophagus. We were so thankful to hear that there were no cancer cells in the lungs.

Dad was suppose to get his test results on Monday, January 27.  However, since Jennifer is going down to MD Anderson on Thursday for her 6 month Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) checkup, we reschedule dad’s test results for Thursday also… do it all in one trip.

I will write an update once we know something about the test results for dad and Jennifer.  Please continue to pray for both of them.

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I haven’t written in the blog lately… there been couple developments with dad.

Towards the end Dad’s treatment, he could still swallow, but was having a harder time eating. The docs said if he still have the issue in January to let them know. Well, he is still having issues swallowing. In fact, I personally think its gotten worse than better. I would guess it’s probably from the scar tissue from the radiation. There is a possibly dad might have to have some surgery where they may have to widen the esophagus.

In addition, he has this constant cough. At first, we thought it may be from him getting a cold. However, the cold meds aren’t doing anything and we are really worry about it.  Finally, Dad is still extremely tired. It’s been almost 2 months now since his last treatment. He should have his energy back by now. As yall know, dad works nights. So, when he gets up in the afternoon, he been going out to the living room and tends to take cat naps on the lounge chair until supper and then he gets ready for work.

Long story short, we brought this up to the MD Anderson doctors. So, they have dad going down to MD Anderson on Friday to get some test done. Please keep my dad in your prayers.

Dad is a BIG “Charlie Brown” fan and with Christmas right around the corner… I thought I would post this.

The news everyone has been waiting for: Dad is cancer free. YES. CANCER FREE. We got the news today that all cscans, the endoscope and the biopsy all came back clear. NO CANCER! The joy leaps from my soul. Dad will go back in 3 months for a new check up. Thank you Lord for creating another miracle in the Cunningham family. Praise God for only YOU can heal the body of cancer

Hi ya’ll,

Update on dad:

On Wednesday, my dad had two c-scans done. He was suppose to have a PET scan (which is better than c-scans because it is full body scan). However, due to insurance denying it, MD Anderson ordered 3 c-scans with contrast. These c-scans covered all the areas where my dad has had cancer — basically from the jaw area to his duodenum (part of the small intestine). He had two of the three scans done on Wednesday. Today (Thursday), my dad had an endoscope and the third c-scan.

Here is the results:

Endoscope test: The endoscope test looked at his esophagus, the lining of the stomach and the duodenum (it did not look at any of the lymph nodes that had cancer). Everything on the test looked great except that they found a bulge in this one spot. However, looking at the appearance, the doctors don’t think it is anything to worry about but they did a biopsy on it. We won’t know the results 2-3 working days on the biopsy. So hopefully we will know the results by Tuesday of next week. They are pretty sure it is scar tissue since the cancer was really bad (he was stage 4 — had chemo and radiation).

The two c-scans that he had yesterday, the results came out great. The c-scans not only looked at the organs but also the lymph nodes. No cancer. Praise God. 🙂

When he saw both doctors today, the c-scan results for the 3rd one had not come in yet. The results of this will come in on Friday and they are suppose to call us.

So this is where we stand at the moment:

All great news so far. Praise God! By Tuesday, we will know the rest of the results — on the biopsy and the 3rd c-scan. If cancer is there, my dad will have some options that the drs said they will talk to us about. If (when) the results come back all normal, dad will go back in 3 months for another check. This past May, we were so blessed that my dad went from Stage 4 to being in remission. In August, it was really hard to hear that he had cancer in his jaw and in a couple lymph nodes. However, with so many people praying and supporting us, we continued our fight against cancer with faith in God that the chemo and radiation would destroy this cancer that had appeared. Since day one, I have said we were going to win this battle. I wanted to thank all of you for all the sweet things you have done not only last year but since August when he started fighting the second round. I believe that we will win.