2 Reasons to Celebrate

We are extremely pleased to announce that we will be expecting twins this Spring. They are due to arrive on April 30th. We are blessed and grateful for these miracles. Jon has his last chemo treatment next Wednesday. After that he will have another PET scan. We are going to meet with the oncologist on Friday to discuss his follow-up appointments.

Saturday September 29th

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. "No news is good news", as I see it. Jon has had 3 more treatments this 2nd round. He has 3 more treatments to go....the last one scheduled on Halloween. All is well at the Holmes house.

Sunday August 26th

Jon had a good week. THE DRAIN IS OUT!!!! After 5 1/2 weeks the drain going into his liver to drain his abcess was taken out on Friday. He did start chemotherapy on Wednesday and has been feeling fine. He will have 5 more treatments, one every other week like before.

Monday August 13th

Jon continues to have a problem with an abcess. He has had a drain in for 4 weeks, which is still draining some nasty stuff. The abcess is in the right lobe of his liver. The abcess is shrinking, but very slowly. Tuesday he is going to Abbott to have this abcess "washed" out and a new drain placed. We hope to have this cleared up sooner than later, so we can get on with his chemotherapy.

Sunday July 29th

Jon continues to have a problem with his abcess. The CT showed that the abcess is smaller, but still there. The drain continues to have some "nasty" output. We met with an infectioous disease doctor on Friday. He had some cultures drawn and prescribed some new antibiotics. We have to hold off on chemotherapy until the abcess is cleared up.

Monday July 23rd

Well great news last week. Jon's CEA (cancer tumor marker) is 0.8!!!! Today he did have a CT, which shows the abcess is getting smaller, but is still there. He will need to keep the JP drain in still and have another CT on Thursday. He has little pain, and no temp's...so that is good.

Thursday July 19th

Jon left the hospital last Saturday. His pain is a lot better and he can breathe a lot better also. He still has a drain, which we flush with water 3 times a day. Jon will hopefully get it out on Monday after a CT and visit with Dr. Sielaff. We met with Dr. Flynn yesterday, and found out that he will start up on chemo again Monday the 30th. Our hope and goal is to put this into remission after another 6 treatments. Hope all is well with everyone.

Thursday Evening

Jon's CT results came back this morning showing that he had an abcess. He was then transferred to Abbott Northwestern,where his liver surgeon is. At Abbott he had a 2 1/2 hour procedure where they found out that he had a large hematoma (blod clot) by his liver. 100cc of blood was drained from it with an "elephant needle", and a drain was placed. They also discoverd that part of his right lung has collapsed. We are now residing at Abbott, until the cultures come back on the fluid that was collected.

Thursday July 12th

Jon is back in the hospital. We were admitted to Fairview Ridges Hospital last night. Jon had been experiencing some high temps. He went to his primary clinic and with an x-ray it was discovered that he had a pleural effusion (fluid on the base of his right lung). 1am last night he had a CT of his abdomen and chest x-ray. There is a pulmonary specialist that is going to stop by this am. This pleural effusion is a common post-op complication. We need to find out if this is just fluid collecting, or if he has an infection. He has been started on IV antibiotics and may have to have some of the fluid in his lung drained today. I will keep everyone updated.

Monday July 9th

We hope that everyone had a great 4th of July! Jon continues to do well. He gets his staples out today or tommorrow, and then has a follow-up appointment with Dr. Sielaff next week.

Sunday Evening Update

We are very happy to have Jon home with us. As each day passes, we hope to gain more and more control over Jon's pain. In addition to controlling the pain, we will continue to watch his incision of 32 staples very closely. Thanks for checking in and have a great evening.

Saturday

Jon was discharged. He is still having some pain, but at least he is at home resting.

Friday Morning

Jon had a good night. Dr. Sielaff was here early this morning. He said Jon could eat a regular diet, and get the epidural out today. MAYBE if his pain is under control he could go home tommorrow.

Jon's Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for my blessings….my breath, my loved ones, and being alive this day – all are gifts from You to me. Jesus, I place myself in your care at this difficult time. Take hold of my hand this day; help me know that I need face my troubles alone. Please send me consolation in my sorrow, courage in my fear, and healing in the midst of my battle with cancer. Please fill me with the grace to accept whatever may lie ahead for me and my loved ones and strengthen my faith in Your healing power. Thank you, Jesus, for the promise of hope you hold out to all who believe, and inspire me to this gift of hope to others as it has been given to me. Amen.

Thursday morning

Good morning! Jon had an OK night. His pain is under control, but he is quite nausiated. We think that it is the epidural that is causing the nausea. He is experiencing some nerve pain in his right shoulder region from the epidural, but no abdominal discomfort. Right now he is resting. Thanks for checking in!

Evening Update

Hi everyone- Thank you all for your support today. Jon is doing well, resting in bed with the Twins game on. We are so happy with the news today. I am not sure exactly how much of his liver was taken out and will have to ask Dr. Sielaff in the morning. He did mention that 95% of the tumors resected were dead tissue, which shows he responded well to the chemotherapy. He will more than likely have to have more chemo when he has recovered from this surgery. I am going to call it a night...will update in the morning.

Surgery is over....

Surgery is over and it is all good news. The surgeon came out at 3:30 to talk to all of us. Originally there were 3 spots showing up on his scans. The surgeon only found two. He cut out the two spots and consulted a radiologist about the third. The third tumor couldn't be found and they think that chemo must have gotten rid of it. There were no complications during the procedure. Dr. Sielaff is very happy with the outcome and so are we. I already went to see Jon about 45minutes ago. He is in PACU now and will be admitted soon. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

1:17 Update

We all saw Jon off to the OR at 11:50. They needed to put in the epidural still. The surgeon came out and told us he would start with the laparoscopy, look around and then hopefully do the resection. Dr. Sielaff is going to resect just the areas with the tumors and try to leave as much liver as he can.

Surgical Updates

Hi everybody! Jon's surgery is scheduled Wednesday the 27th @ noon. We are ready and he is feeling great. I will have my computer with me, and will be updating the blog throughout the day.

We Have a Plan!

I am pleased to announce that I am scheduled to have my liver surgery sometime around June 27th. Although we still have a long ways to go, we are certainly encouraged by this news. Thank you again for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. This experience has taught us a lot about the power of the human spirit:)

Jon

A picture of us at Mike Kaushansky's wedding.
A perfect day for a drive around the golf course with the best looking caddy Jon will ever have!

Jon and some boys at his friend Mike Kaushansky's wedding.

Friday May 25th

Today we received the results of Jon's second CT scan. The CT looks the same. The tumors haven't grown or spread, which is good news. The liver surgeon is scheduling his liver resection the last week of June. Jon is doing well. We are going to have an appointment with a GI specialist on Tuesday and another with the oncologist on Wednesday.

Sunday May 20th

Jon had his 6th chemo treatment on Tuesday. This Thursday he will have a CT scan. Then our next step is to see the liver surgeon with the results. We are anxious to speak with him and see if he is OK with doing the liver resection in the next couple weeks. Overall, Jon has done well through all the treatments. Thanks for your continual support!!!

5th Chemo Run Done

Yesterday we met with Dr. Flynn..he was very encouraging. At this point he didn't expect the tumors to shrink. He thought everything was looking good, with his labs showing a good response to chemo. Today Jon had his 5th treatment and found out that his cancer marker(CEA) is now "2", which is wonderful news. One more treatment to go and then another evaluation for a hopeful liver resection. Thanks for checking in!

Update

Hi everyone- Sorry it has been so long since the last entry. Jon has been doing well. Last week he had his 4th round of chemo. He has been feeling well for the most part. He gets a little tired and worn out the first couple days after chemo and then he is better. Today was a big day...he had his first CT scan 0f his chest/abd/pelvis since before the treatment started. The results came back that everything is "status quo"...nothing new nor changed. The three tumor spots on his liver look the same size. Nothing has spread, and nothing has shrunk. We were hoping to see that the chemo had decreased the tumors a little. We know that he is responding though, because his cancer marker lab has been coming down. Next Monday he has an appointment with Dr. Flynn, where we will discuss these results and our continual game plan. We are still on the track of 6 treatments, and hopefully the liver resection in early June. Hope everyone is doing well...

Happy Easter

We hope that everyone had a great holiday weekend. Jon is doing well. He had his third 3rd treatment last week and didn't experience the severe pain he had with the 2nd treatment. We also learned that his cancer marker dropped down to 10 (which was in the 30's 2 weeks ago). After his next treatment he will have another CT. The plan is still the same...6 treatments and then a liver resection.

Clinic visit with Dr. Flynn

Jon saw the oncologist this am. Dr. Flynn gave Jon encouraging news. All of his labs are normal, he isn't experiencing any concerning side effects, and he is responding well to the treatment. Jon's next chemo treatment is tommorrow. Two cycles of treatment done....four to go!!!

Colon Cancer Walk

Thank you to everyone that came out and supported Jon. It was cold and raining, and the support was appreciated. The "Keep Your Pooper Super...Fight Colon Cancer" shirts were a big hit!!! Jon has an appointment with Dr. Flynn (oncologist) on Monday. He will have his labs drawn before the appointment, and then Flynn will discuss his progress and ongoing "plan". Hope everyone has had a good weekend!

Lab update!!

Before Jon started chemo he had a cancer marker lab test done. It is a number that is followed to see how well his chemptherapy is working. Before chemo started it was 67 and today we found out that after one treatment the number decreased to 30!!! The number was cut in half, and we are very greatful for some good news.

Chemotherapy Day

Jon had his second run of chemotherapy today. We were up bright and early. We were at the clinic at 7:30 am and left around 1:45pm. It took longer today, because he received the bio-therpy drug (Avastin) for the first time. The drug had to be infused slowly for the first administration. Three chemo drugs were also infused. His labs were drawn and everything looked good also. He hasn't experienced any nausea, only some tingling in his knees. Thanks for checking in!!!

Weekend update

Jon continues to do well. Blake was with us this weekend, so he has been "out & about" with him. Last Wednesday Jon had his labs drawn and everything was normal. This week Jon will start his bio-therapy treatment along with the 3 chemo meds.

Get Your Rear in Gear!!!

On March 31st, there is a 5k run, 5k walk or a 1/2 mile kids fun run in support of colon cancer research. Show your support for Jon's butt by getting your own out there! Here is the LINK to more information and details.

Follow-up with Dr. Sielaff

Jon had his follow-up with Dr. Sielaff (liver surgeon) yesterday. Dr. Sielaff re-assured Jon that doing chemo before surgery wasn't a set back, but just a different approach to his treatment. Sielaff is confident that Jon will respond well to the therapy and is planing on seeing Jon in the OR in 3 months for his liver resection. Jon is in good spirits and looks good!!! He is eating well, not losing weight, and hasn't had any side-effects from the chemotherapy. Tommorrow he will have his 1 week post chemo labs drawn.

1st Day of Chemotherapy

Jon had his first run of chemotherapy yesterday. He was there at 7am sharp and left at 1130. He is now connected to a chemo med, which infuses until tommorrow morning. He is feeling okay, with a couple bouts of nausea. He has experienced some tingling in his hands and legs (a side effect of one of the meds). He continues to work on his challenging diet. The colo-rectal surgeon gave him the okay to advance his diet. Aunt Glady and Uncle Dick are currently staying at the house & have been a great help. Thanks for your continual support...

Visit with Dr. Flynn

Today Jon had his appointment with the Oncologist. He sees Dr. Tom Flynn at the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute. Dr. Flynn said he was ready to start chemotherapy with Jon next week. Jon will be on 3 different chemotherapy drugs (Eloxatin, Fluorouracil, & Avastin). He will have his chemotherapy every two weeks. We picked to go in on Wednesdays. When he leaves he will have one of the chemo meds infusing for 3 days, and then go back in to be disconnected on Friday. We are currently reading through all the information on the meds and their side effects. Tommorrow at 2pm we are going to an orientation class about what to be expected over the next 3 months with chemotherapy. After 3 months of chemptherapy we hope that Jon will then be ready to move forward with liver surgery. Thanks for all of your kind words and continual support.

With our "close personal friend"

Jon's opening night of the "Holmes Bar"

Monday Update

Jon has an appointment with the oncologist on Wednesday. We are hoping to start chemotherapy ASAP.

Liver Resection

Jon went in today (2/22) to have the right lobe of the liver removed. This is the lobe in which they saw the 2 spots (Cancer) on the scans. The surgeon went in with a scope first to have a look around and saw 2 more small spots on the surface of the right lobe of the liver that were not seen in the multiple scans he has had done. This, along with an elevation of his liver enzymes (markers of liver inflammation) and a conversation with the oncologist lead the surgeon to believe that Jon should first undergo chemotherapy to shrink the size of the tumors and then have the right lobe removed in about 2-3 months. He will start the chemo soon.