Thursday, February 03, 2005

Heroes

I define a hero as someone who's example gives you the strength to push yourself harder and accomplish things which you otherwise might not have accomplished.

Two of my major sports heroes are Walter Payton and Lance Armstrong. Both Lance and Walter were faced with cancer at different points in their careers.

When Walter learned that he had bile duct cancer of his liver the only curative procedure was for a transplant. He was offered the opportunity to move ahead on the donor lists due to his celebrity. He declined the offer because he did not want to keep a deserving patient getting the donor kidney they had waited for. Unfortunately, when Walter's donor kidney was ready he was no longer a viable transplant candidate. I am an organ donor and I would like to encourage everyone to sign up as a donor. In Oklahoma you can sign up online at this website http://www.oosn.com/

Lance's story is more well known due to his bestselling book "It's not about the Bike", which I highly recommend. He and I went through almost the same chemo regimen and dealt with the same hospital. After reading his book I decided to find out more about the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Which lead me to becoming active in the cancer community. I know that he has been challenged as much as any cancer survivor and fought back to not only with the Tour De France six times but to be the greatest cyclist ever. His story and his efforts as a cancer survivor have probably done more for the moral of the cancer survivor than any single person or event could have.



Why I do what I do

A week or so ago, I received this comment and I wanted to make sure that everyone got a chance to read it. Knowing that my story has given someone in a similar situation hope is the most rewarding thing imaginable.

I'm wishing you the best, Andrew. I've read as much as I could about you
and my thoughts and prayers are with you. I look to your success and positive
attitude as inspiration for my own daily life.I was diagnosed with estragonadal
retroperitoneal germ cell tumor with metasteses to my liver and both lungs in
June of '04. I was treated with Bleomycin, Etopiside, and Cisplatinm (four
rounds). I went into respiratory failure from Bleomycin and had a severe blood
infection. I was in the hospital for 4 months. By the end of September, I had
lost all my hair, lost 43lbs (I got down to 88lbs), had 3 surgeries, and a blood
clot in my lung. The doctors told my family that I probably would not make it
thru my final round of chemo two times. But I did make it. I'm fine and I'm back
at work now. I've had two CAT scans since I went into remission in Oct of '04
and so far I am clean. The doctor tells me that my chances for recurrence are
greater than 70% because they cannot resect the dead tumor cells in my lungs
becuase there are too many. But like you, I see everyday as a gift and something
to treasure and really feel. I've never met anyone with our type of cancer, so
it was nice to find you online and hear a story that I can relate too. Like I
said, I'm wishing you the best, and will try to send healing vibes your way.
Thank you for sharing your story and your inspiration. These are the stories
that get me through each day when I feel that no one else in my life can really
understand. If you would like to get in touch with me, please email me at
dave63@adlephia.net

How to check for testicular cancer

Source: American Cancer Society
  • After a warm shower when the scrotum is relaxed, stand in front of a mirror and check for swelling on the scrotum skin.
  • Hold the penis out of the way and examine each testicle separately.
    Examine each testicle using both hands. Place the index and middle fingers under the testicle with the thumbs placed on top.
  • Roll the testicle gently between the thumbs and fingers.
    Each normal testis has an epididymis, which appears as a small bump on the upper or middle outer side of the testis. Normal testicles also contain blood vessels, supporting tissues and tubes that conduct sperm. Some men may confuse these with cancer.
  • Look and feel for any hard lumps, smooth rounded masses or any change in the size, shape or consistency of the testes.
  • Check any abnormalities with a doctor immediately.

Lance to Appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show

The program is scheduled to air on Friday, February 11th.

On the show, Lance discusses his cycling career, personal life, cancer diagnosis and fight. Lance and Oprah also spend time discussing LIVESTRONG, and she even challenges her viewing audience to break the single day wristband sales record (386,890) on the LAF online store! We want you to be part of this challenge!

At 5am (CST) a link will go live on Oprah's website which will then link to the LAF online store. I would like to encourage each of you to go online and purchase wristbands and make donations to my Peloton Project account if you wish.

Thanks so much - Andrew

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

2005 Peleton Project Fundraising Kit

When you sign up to be a peleton member to raise money for the foundation, they mail you a fundraising kit. This year they gave out a mouse pad, id card, cd-rom with fundraising documents, and a dvd with video from the 2004 ride for the roses. I'm in the dvd twice. Once in the background during the conversation with Lance, and once during an interview about being a cancer survivor.

I'm working on getting it hosted so everyone can see it.


Monday, January 31, 2005

Two Baldies
Dad's turn

Amy Shaved My Head

photos

Treatment Week #2

Well, I just got home from my second round of adria. My CBC test showed that my blood counts are all normal! That's pretty impressive considering how hard my white and red blood cells were hit during the four rounds of BEP a little over a year ago.

I asked my oncologist about the staging for my type of cancer. Recently Amy was reading about Sarcoma staging (a metastized sarcoma tumor in a lymph node is S4) , prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. All of which portray a rather advanced stage. His answer was that since my last tumor originated in the lymph node as a sarcoma, and my primary tumor was a EGC - Nonseminomous yolk sac tumor of the prostate none of the staging charts are going to apply. So basically I'm writing the chart as I go.

I'm just focused on getting past this round of chemotherapy, getting back on the bike, and getting rolling on fundraising for the LAF.

-Andrew