A little side note that we thought was very interesting.  Shannon used to catch at least one fairly bad cold every year.  He’s done that since he was a baby.  He has not had a cold since the radiation treatments.. not that he misses them at all.   He mentioned that to the radiation oncologist and he said it’s not the first time he’s heard of a patient who stopped catching frequent colds after radiation in the neck area.  There haven’t been any kind of studies done on this but it isn’t unheard of at all.

To those of you who have surfed in here while researching this form of cancer for yourself or a loved one, please take heart.  A good outcome can and does happen.  It isn’t easy to go through and it’s horrible for the patient and the family both.  The treatment is scary and hard to deal with.  There is a lot of hope though.  I wish for all of you a safe passage through the hard parts and wellness at the end of your journey.

I know it’s been a very long time since I have updated you about Shannon’s progress. He is doing fantastic! So far everything is still clear. He had his one year check ups with both oncologists and there is still no sign of the cancer. They were both very pleased with his progress and recovery from the treatments too. He will be scheduled for a PET scan in June 2008 and then yearly after that. If it is clear the doctor’s visits will be set farther apart as well.

I can’t tell you all just how grateful we are for all your good wishes and prayers throughout this entire ordeal. That is what carried us through. We would still appreciate a prayer on our behalf now and then that this cancer stays gone. As for now though, he is doing great.

If anyone has searched the web because you or someone you love is having a similar experience with cancer, I hope that reading here has helped you and will give you hope. The treatments are very hard and it’s not easy to get your mind around how big something like this is in your life but you can get through it. We wish you the strength and courage to do that.

I hope you all have a very happy new year full of hope, health and happiness.

Our other good news is that we took a little trip to Texas to visit Shannon’s family and spend Father’s Day with his Dad and the rest of the family. It is hard to get a large family together all at the same time but it happened for Father’s Day and we had a wonderful time. Shannon did excellent with everything. We took some little side trips to see different things and take some pictures and visited with some old friends. It was a trip we have been wanting to make for some time and at some points wondered if we’d ever be able to do. It feels like such an accomplishment. Taking a trip requires eating in different restaurants. Eating can be a challenge for someone who has had radiation to his neck but Shannon did wonderfully. He was able to eat more than he has been before. We even ate in a few Mexican food restaurants and he was even able to sample the salsa. Amazing and wonderful!

Shannon will have a follow-up with his chemo oncologist in August and another with the surgeon in October and then another with the radiation oncologist in December. This first year they want more follow-ups to be sure the cancer stays gone. There will be yearly PET scans and fewer follow-ups after that but they will still keep a close eye on things for the 5 years. We are both keeping very positive and will continue to pray that Shannon will have his cure. In the meantime we will enjoy every minute of every day because each one is a gift.

The doctor says that from now on Shannon only needs a once a year PET scan along with follow-up doctor visits in between to keep an eye on things. We will be going back to this doctor in 6 months. We already had an appointment with the surgeon for the end of June and there is an appointment with the chemo oncologist shortly before Shannon sees this doctor again.

The doctor today seemed very pleased with Shannon’s progress as far as maintaining his weight and his eating. Shannon does still have problems with a few things because the radiation has damaged his saliva glands. The biggest trouble he has is with things like bread which tends to just clump up in his mouth and form a lump he can’t swallow. Most other things he can eat fairly well. Acidic type foods such as citrus or vinegar and very spicy things are also still hard for him to eat but that has improved a lot so maybe he’ll be able to get back to his spicy Mexican food yet. The doctor says he sees a big improvement since the last visit and that the eating will continue to improve slowly over the next couple of years.

Thank you all so much for all the support you’ve given to Shannon and me through all this. All the prayers and well wishes have touched both of us so much and best of all… they worked! I will continue to update this blog whenever Shannon has a doctor visit and I hope to update a bit in between to keep you all informed of his progress. I am not the best at posting updates and I apologize for that. I can promise though that I will update whenever there is any news from a test or a doctor.

Shannon has been doing very well with his eating and nutrition. He is very much thinner than he used to be but he feels good at the lighter weight and he is able to maintain. According to most of the charts and things they use these days, he is a healthy weight so there is no need for him to try and gain back all that he lost. He is completely off the Boost and maintaining strictly with what he eats for meals now. That is such a great thing. While his lifestyle is still a bit altered after all the treatments, it is getting more and more normal as time goes on. His progress has been fantastic.

I will continue to post updates when Shannon has had a doctor’s appointment or scan. I am looking forward to being able to continue giving you good news.

Shannon has a follow-up appointment with his chemo doctor on the 24th of this month. I will be sure to update the blog after we’ve talked to the doctor.

Thank you all again for your good thoughts and prayers. That is what has seen Shannon and me through all this. I hope you will keep us in your prayers that this cancer does not return and that Shannon will continue to get better and better.

Last week he had an appointment with the surgeon that did the original biopsy and diagnosed the cancer. This was the first time we’ve been to see him since that time. He read all the reports and saw the scans that have been done since then and told us that the cancer is completely gone. He sees no reason to do any surgery at this time but says we need to follow up carefully and often for at least a year. There had been talk of removing the two lymph nodes that were involved in the beginning even if they appear clear now. This is how they used to do this as a routine. Now because of the advances of scans and PET scans they can see if there is even a few cancer cells present so it isn’t necessary to do any surgery unless something shows up. This is such a huge relief to both of us.

Shannon is beginning to be able to eat a little better now too. He is still drinking Boost as a supplement but it is not his main source of nutrition now. We have been out to eat several times in the past couple of weeks. Yesterday we went to the movies together. It is almost like dating again. Each thing he is able to do and every time we go out together is a joy. We are having fun!

Once again, I want to thank everyone for all the prayers and the good thoughts. It has meant so much to both of us to know you are all there and that you care. I know that neither of us could have made it through this very difficult time without that.

This is the result we have been hoping and praying for. It is going to take a long time for him to heal from all the treatments and the doctor said that his ability to eat will never be exactly like it was before all this. He might not ever get back full use of the salivary glands and his taste may not ever be the same. The good news is that it will be much better than it is now and much less life altering. It is just a gradual thing and will take a long time. We are still both extremely thrilled with what we heard today. Knowing the cancer isn’t an issue right now is what we needed to hear. There will be time for being patient with the healing process now.

I will continue to update this blog now and then. Especially when there is a scan or a follow-up of some sort but also in between too so please, feel free to stop by and see how Shannon is doing. If you would like to leave us a message, we’d be very happy to hear from you. All your support and prayers is what has seen Shannon through this so far and I want you all to know that it is deeply appreciated.

Tonight we will celebrate. We are going out to dinner.. the first time since this all began.

We had to get up very early this morning. It takes quite awhile for them to prepare him for the scan so we were there about 3 hours. He says it is an easy test to take. They inject some dye in that contains a small amount of radiation so that it will react with any cancer in the body and this shows up in the scan. He tells me they gave him a comfy bed to lay on and dimmed the lights for him to relax while he waited to be ready for the scan itself. That only took a few minutes.

The doctor we saw last told us not to be alarmed if something shows on the scan. Seems the dye will also react to any damage that is left unhealed from the radiation treatments he has had. If that’s the case another scan will be given further down the road, but they still may be able to see what they need to know.

The CT scan he had earlier showed us that the tumor is either greatly shrunken so it doesn’t show up or gone all together. We really feel hopeful that this scan will confirm that result.

Shannon continues to improve since his treatment. It is a little frustrating for him that the improvement is so slow but we are both very pleased that the he keeps getting better as time goes on.

He is still using the Boost as his main source of nutrition and he’s getting quite tired of that. He is able to eat a little more than before. One thing that is hard for him is that things don’t taste the same as they did before. We are hoping that his taste will continue to improve though and soon eating will be easier because of it.

Shannon has had cravings for Mexican food all through this. Part of his Texas heritage I think. With an extremely sore throat it hasn’t been possible for him to eat anything like that. I made a pot of very mild chili for him though and it went down very well. It didn’t completely satisfy his craving though. One day he had run a small errand in his truck and passed by a Taco Belle restaurant and just couldn’t resist. He went in and ordered a beef and bean burrito and brought it home. No, he wasn’t able to finish it but he did manage nearly half with a lot of water on the side to help wash it down. It was a huge milestone for him and we were both so thrilled! He says it still doesn’t taste like it used to but that it was still very good and helped with his craving.

Things like that are scattered all through his recovery so far. Small things that feel like huge milestones. We are very grateful for each and every one of them. We both feel very strongly that these things will continue and will begin coming more and more often until he is feeling much more like his normal self again.

We both do our very best to dwell on the progress he makes. Sometimes there are little set backs and they are a little frustrating and worrisome for us. Still, we count all our blessings every day and it is clear that even though progress is slow, there are many more accomplishments than there are setbacks.  As long as that continues we know everything is going to be okay.

Yesterday Shannon had an appointment with the chemo doctor as a follow up to make sure he’s had no trouble as a result of that treatment. There were no problems. He did have a chance to look at the CT scan and said he and the other doctor were having a hard time seeing any tumor at all left in the tonsil area where it all started. There is still some very soft tissue where the swollen lymph nodes were but nothing to say that’s what it was from.

He recommended Shannon suck on hard, sugar free candies to help stimulate the salivary glands to begin to work again. Shannon has been having trouble eating much more than a liquid diet. Your salivary glands play a big part in anyone being able to eat I suppose.

The good news is that Shannon has begun to eat small amounts of things and the flavors of the food are beginning to come back to him.

His PET scan which is the most comprehensive of the two scans will be on Valentine’s Day but we likely won’t find any info for a week after that when we go to see the radiation doctor again.

We will also see the original doctor… the surgeon who wanted radiation and chemo done before hand to make it at least shrink small enough to make the surgery minor. We’ll see what he says. He is our expert on the need for surgery so we will just have to wait until then to find out for certain.

At least we know for sure the main tumor is gone. That is the most imporant thing… and means there is possibility of remission.

Shannon is getting stronger as time goes on. He is now able to pop over to the neighbors houses and have little visits with them. It does him so much good to get out even if it’s just across the street. He’s even gone back to doing some of the household chores he used to do before he was sick. Twice a week we take our rubbish out to be picked up by the truck. He’s been gathering it from all through the house and then taking the bag out to the curb for the truck to pick up. He says it makes him feel useful and much better about things.

So, Still nothing but good to report. We’ve had lots of people praying for us and I know that this has helped get us good results. I hope you will all continue to remember us in your prayers because it will be a long time before we can relax and not have to worry about this cancer taking our family apart. Thank you so much for all the support we’ve been given. It means the world to us.