8-31-08

Gary and his two brothers attended the 44th annual Canalou alumni annual meeting and banquet on Saturday. He enjoyed seeing and getting the opportunity to visit with family and friends. He saw a few classmates that he hasn't seen in 40 years. Gary and Louanna graduated from Matthews High School in 1964. Gary went to school at Canalou until the 8th grade and transferred to Matthews for his freshman year after the Canalou and Matthews school systems consolidated. Dove season opens tomorrow and we're going to try and go hunting. Besides a few aches and pains, Gary's doing pretty good. That's all the scoop for right now. Hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy your Labor Day.

Later

8-27-08

We decided to stay in St. Louis an extra night to get a second opinion from an oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center. We had an appointment at 11:00 this morning. The cancer has been diagnosed as stage 2 locally advanced. We were presented with 4 treatment options ranging from doing nothing to participating in clinical trials. Well, were definitely doing something but don't want to take the chance of being a guinea pig in a clinical trial so were left with options 2 and 3. Both use chemoradiation but method 3 will be harder on Gary (we think) and the treatment has more side effects. The benefit of option 3 is that it's based on a study just released from M.D. Anderson that had better results than option 2 for shrinking the tumor. Shrinking the tumor is the goal. This would allow Gary to be reevaluated for surgery which is the only hope for a cure. (Besides a miracle of course). The doctor told us today 4 people out of 100 survive pancreatic cancer. Dad made it clear to the doctor that he wants to be one of those four. So we have some decisions to make and a few weeks to make them while Gary recovers from surgery. It's a tough decision. Both 2 and 3 have potential to shrink the tumor with 2 being the norm as far is treatment and 3 being a new treatment that has a slightly higher chance of shrinking the tumor. When I say norm it was the norm for Siteman prior to the M.D. Anderson study released July 20, 2008. If they proceed with treatment 3 dad will be the first person treated at Siteman with this new procedure. There's a lot of unknowns. Treatment 2 is more aggressive than the typical 5FU chemo treatment plus radiation that was offered in our first opinion because it's adding a 2 month round of gemcitabine (gemzar) chemo before and after a 5 week 5FU plus radiation cycle. A difference in option 3 and the M.D. Anderson study is that Gary's cancer is more advanced than the participants of their study. Do we want to go through the unknowns and the possible extra pain with option 3 which is a new procedure that has slightly higher chance of shrinking the tumor, or go with option 2 that has proven itself before and may be a little easier on Gary? Although not easy by any means. Please pray for guidance. Something good that came out of the second opinion was that the oncologist we spoke with today will start spending 1 day a week at Southeast Hospital in Cape starting 2 weeks from now. Which works out perfect. Gary was wanting to stay close to home. He said something about chunks costing too much in St. Louis. Gary is staying strong. He's currently on the way back home. He's getting around pretty good considering what he's been through the last few days. The recovery from the surgery is expected to take up to 3 weeks. He'll have to take another MRI over the next couple of weeks to see if the cancer has spread. If it spreads we will default to treatment option 2. We feel we're on the right track and appreciate the support from all our family and friends. We'll keep you posted.

Later

8-25-08

Dad had a great day yesterday. He sat up for a long time, entertained a few guests, and kept his sense of humor with the medical staff. Angie snuck him a few bites of mashed potatoes and gravy, which was his first "real food." Tim helped him get up out of bed a few times, which made Gary feel like he was getting back to normal.

This morning at 7 am dad received a nerve block procedure. He did very well with it and is in recovery now. This procedure will eliminate pain in the region housing the tumor for a full year. The doctors think he will be able to return home tomorrow.

Thanks for the continued cards, comments, visits, and prayers.

8-24-08

Today proved to be another eventful day in the lives of the Bixlers. This morning, the nurses sat dad up in a chair after giving him his medications. He fell asleep shortly thereafter. Tim noticed that he was sleeping more soundly than normal, but was grateful he was getting some much needed rest. When Angie and Louanna arrived, Gary didn't stir, which was unusual. The nurse came in to take vitals and his blood pressure was 53/41. We immediately began trying to awaken him, to which was completely unresponsive. They called for the RRT (Rapid Response Team) and the room was suddenly flooded with 8 medical staff. It was like being in an episode of Grey's Anatomy--lots of orders being tossed around followed by "STAT!" Then, dad was lifted in this tent-like contraption in a pose I've seen before in yoga class into the bed for further assessment.

All kidding aside, it was a terrifying experience for the family, and for Gary. It took all day for him to recover from the apparent overdose of the medications he was given. His speech was slurred, and he was very lethargic. However, his pain was less and his spirit remained jovial. Since this episode, we have had an overly attentive medical team.

8-22-08

Dad's resting on and off today and enjoying broth and juice cocktails with the occassional bite of jello. He was in quite a bit of pain last night, but it is better controlled today with morphine, and the epidural. Between the "spinners" and the good looking nurses, I think both dad and Tim could be entertained for weeks. :-)

On Monday, dad will receive a procedure called celiac neurolysis which will deaden the nerves that feed the area which contains the tumor. This will control the pain resulting from the tumor, and will prevent him from having to take so many oral pain meds which would compromise his alertness.

We met with an oncologist today and are contemplating how to proceed with the chemo and radiation options he presented.

We know that several of you are having difficulty leaving messages on this blog. You have to set up a google blogger account to leave a comment (sorry about that). To do so, you don't have to enter any personal information....just a user name and password.

Have a good weekend.

8-21-08

Today has been quite an emotional day. We'll start with the good news. As planned, the surgeon made a small incision and examined the liver to find no signs of cancer! We are so thankful for that! He then proceeded with the Whipple procedure. However, upon visual examination he realized the tumor was too advanced to operate. It had grown too tightly around the arteries leading into the pancreas. Therefore, there was too great a risk to perform the operation. He closed the incision and informed the family. While this was not the news we had hoped for, we are focusing our energy toward discovering the best treatment options available. It will take approximately 3 weeks for Gary to heal from today's surgery, then he will begin chemo and radiation.

When he came out of the anesthesia, Gary was in high spirits. He was very thankful to God that the cancer had not spread. He was joking with all of his family and friends and, as usual, was more concerned with how everyone was doing rather than with himself.

We are praying for wisdom and guidance as we wade through the unfamiliar terminology and treatment options inherent to the diagnosis of cancer. The calls, visits, prayers, and support continue to be encouraging to Gary and sustaining to the family. Thank you for the kindness you continue to show us. We will try to keep you posted.

Gary will be at Missouri Baptist Hospital, Room 678 for the next 3-4 days, then will return home to Sikeston to continue his recovery there.

8-15-08

The CAT scan revealed two spots on Gary's liver. We are unsure at this point if they are malignant or not. Thursday morning, Dr. Howard will make a small incision and perform a biopsy of the liver. If the spots are malignant, he will not perform the Whipple procedure. Rather, Gary will begin chemo as soon as possible. If the spots are benign, he will go ahead and complete the operation. We are praying for the latter, of course.

Thanks again for the continued acts of support and kindness. We are trying to keep spirits high and hopes lifted. We are researching as much as we can to find successful treatment options.

8-14-08

Tuesday, August 12 Gary, Louanna, and Tim went to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis to have an ERCP performed. This procedure involved placing a stint in a blocked duct to drain the liver and open the pancreas. They were unable to place a stint in the pancreas as the passage was closed off. Therefore, he was sent to Baptist Hospital where an endoscopic ultrasound was performed. This test revealed the mass found on the pancreas the previous week was malignant.

The surgeon at Barnes, Dr. Howard, and his assistant, Jeanie are wonderful. We feel very blessed to be in their care. Dr. Howard is proficient at a surgery called the Whipple procedure. We will find out tomorrow if Gary is a candidate for this very invasive, but very hopeful surgery based on the results of a CAT scan completed late yesterday (8-13) afternoon. The results will indicate the stage and severity of the tumor. There is a 1 in 5 chance that he will qualify for this operation. If he is a candidate, the operation will take place at Missourie Baptist next Thursday, Aug. 21, at 7 a.m.

Needless to say, the last several days have been quite eventiful as well as exhausting. Gary has endured numerous tests and procedures....not without adventure. For example, due to his rolling veins, it took 6 nurses and one hour to insert the IV. Dad entertained the nurses during the fiasco and told stories about his grandson, Ben.

We will try to keep this site updated as best we can. Thank you for your calls, visits, support, prayers, cheerful messages, and warm thoughts. They are deeply appreciated.

Using dad's signature mantra....that's all the scoop we know.

Introduction

Thank you for visiting. We will try and provide updates and news about Gary and the family through this blog as they become available. Please leave a comment before leaving and post any messages for Gary and/or the Bixler family here. We appreciate your prayers and support during this time.

In order to decrease the volume of calls that the family has to make to keep loved ones and friends updated, we encourage you to visit this site often to keep in touch.

Thank you and God Bless-
The Bixlers