Good News/Other News

Bobby's appointment with Dr. Sharfman at John's Hopkins was today. The trip down (like many have been) was snowy and messy. Bobby got us there safely so all went well. We got a call from Dan's school that said he wasn't feeling well shortly before we left. So, (like before) Dan came along as Dad's backup support.

OK, enough of that. Dr. Sharfman is a Melanoma specialist. http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/experts/doctor.cfm?DoctorID=142 He spent a lot of time talking with us and gave Bobby a good exam. He gave Bobby a current clean bill of health and re-reviewed his PET scan and agreed that it looks fine. His lymph nodes feel fine and there is no evidence of any cancer.

We were a bit disappointed by the news that the melanoma was originally deeper than had been reported. He said the first biopsy was 3.5mm and the second was .85. He said you can't really add the two together BUT in the end, it is over 4.0mm deep. 4mm is the next jump up on the severity scale. This means that Bobby's melanoma was worse than we had thought. Although this is not what we wanted to hear, it does not change anything that we would do differently.

He gave us 3 options:

1. Do nothing, wait to see what happens
2. Proceed with Interferon for one year
3. Try to get into a Clinical Trial for Melanoma Vaccinations

We've eliminated #1 as we knew going down there today that we wanted to do SOMETHING. Bobby is a perfect candidate for the Clinical Trials with the one pending unknown. They require a certain blood type in order to be accepted into the trials. It is a special blood typing that they do and he had blood work drawn today. It will take about 10 days for that to come back. If he has the specific type of blood, he will be eligible for one of two trials. The first one is at NIH in Bethesda and the other is in Charlottesville, VA. So, we will wait for 10 days to see what the blood typing shows. I think they are looking for (HLA-A*0201+CEA+) which are antigens in the blood. (It doesn't have to do with ABO blood typing).

Bobby would really like to be eligible for a clinical trial but, the Interferon is the next option. Interferon gives one-year relapse-free survival (after one year of treatment with the Interferon). The side-effects can be significant and make you feel pretty crappy.

We'll to whatever it takes, say lots of prayers, and give thanks for each and every disease-free day.

I'm going to catch a catnap before I go to work...check the blog tomorrow for some cool pictures. I'll try to post them before I go to bed in the morning.

We would love to hear from you. Please drop us an email: harsh.bobbydonna@gmail.com .

What will 20 years and 3 kids do?

If a picture is worth 1000 words...what are 2 pictures
worth?

There is about 100 pounds here somewhere...

but, it is PRICELESS!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE...

I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART

1988
I LOVE YOU 1000 TIMES MORE TODAY THAN THE DAY WE WERE MARRIEDMY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR-!

And thank you for the last 20 years of our lives--they have been my dreams come true.

Bringing things up to date

I guess as far as blogs go, there hasn't been much going on here. That is a good thing. It isn't very exciting when there isn't much going on--BUT THAT IS A GOOD THING. We are not complaining. I've been wondering...should I keep the blog updated and ongoing (which would be with family stuff) or should I update it only when something new happens regarding Mr. Bobby? I will post it as a poll and see what happens.

Mr. Bobby

Finally, Bobby has an appointment today with our new primary care doctor. We've waited for over 6 weeks for this. Even though he doesn't really NEED to see him, we at least want his primary doctor to know who all of these referrals have been being written for. It started as a mess since our insurance changed over the day before Bobby's surgery. Things have been fine though.

Last week, Bobby started back to work on "light duty." This means he can drive an unmarked police car and carry his badge and weapon BUT, has to keep his bullet in his shirt pocket. It was perfect timing for him to go back to work since the weekend before, his "spit gland" closed up and stopped draining. It was uncomfortable for a while but has since settled down. This had been a big problem because it was like a leaky faucet. The swelling was uncomfortable for a few days but it too has resolved for the most part.

Next week: We are anxious to see the oncologist in Baltimore at Hopkins. He will be the one to let us know what is next. The option we think might be available (depending on what the doctor says) is whether or not to do chemotherapy for a year. We've read that it can be beneficial in cases similar to Bobby's. So, we are anxious to see what the expert says. A year of chemo is no piece of cake--but it looks to be the only available treatment that helps.

http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/results/high-dose-interferon1001

Bobby's melanoma was stage IIB. He did not have any cancer in his lymph nodes (yipee).

We will bring things up to date as they happen...

Movie Night! Courtesy of the Nanni's

Joe, Cindy, Alexis, Taylor, Morgan, Thank you so much for the great goodie popcorn bucket & movie. Bobby loves it. He set aside tomorrow night (Tuesday) to be our movie night. We will get an early start so we can watch all of the movie. I took pictures but since it is now 0300, I will post them tomorrow.

Thank you, it was so sweet of you to think of him. We know you have alot going on at your house too. I'll be sure to have everyone write after we watch the movie to let you know how we liked it!

Thanks!!!

Happy 68th Birthday Bob!

January 31st is Bobby's father's birthday. The entire family went to our now favorite restaurant (besides the Redman). Everyone loves to go to Nikko Japanese Steakhouse. Thanks for taking pictures Uncle Ron...

Happy Birthday Pap Pap!

About the duck - Thanks Tori !!

Just in case you couldn't tell, we now have our very own Aflac duck. "Aflac!" He is rather charming although somewhat limited in his words. "Aflac." Until Bobby was diagnosed with cancer, we did not know that a specific supplemental "cancer" policy existed. The coverage pays for a diagnosis of cancer and many other things which would follow. The benefits are definitely worth taking a look into. Of course, the time to purchase a policy is NOT after you or a family member has been diagnosed but to consider that it is a possibility in one's lifetime. We were able to purchase the policy for Donna and the children. Bobby can join us on the policy in 7 cancer-free years! If you would like information on our friend/Aflac duck keeper...let us know and we'll get Rick's number to you.