6 weeks at a time...

It has been one year since I started clinical trials.  I have had a CT scan every 6 weeks for the last year.  Yesterday as I laid in the CT machine, I said to the technician, "the results from the next 5 minutes determines my life path for the next 6 weeks."  I am so grateful to qualify for clinical trials, but at the same time they are a lot of work.  With a trial you are monitored very closely, and often.  In the past two months I have had 22 doctor's appointments and a surgery. That definitely puts a crimp in my "Get Busy Living" routine. But I am here, I continue to qualify for the ever-changing science world, and the results from my scan yesterday show that my treatment is working.  A few of my tumors have shrunk in the last six weeks and there is no new growth.  Qualifying for a clinical trial when you have cancer is like winning the lottery. (that's life in the cancer world) So, for the next 6 weeks I will continue to receive intravenous chemotherapy every other week and then we will scan again.  I am also incredibly grateful that my side effects tend to be minimal and overall, I have a pretty awesome quality of life.  

Fall has been fun for our family!  Last weekend we had a half marathon run\bike along the shore of White Lake with the beautiful fall colors.  I borrowed a friends e-bike which was a total blast!  E-bikes are a game changer.  While I might be able to pedal 13 miles, it would definitely put me in bed for a few days following.  With cancer, you have to learn your boundaries.  That is one of the hardest things about having cancer and the side effects of cancer treatments. You are not able to do things you once did.  If you learn one thing from me, don't take the things you are able to do for granted, because some day those things might change. I can't get up and go for a run like I once did.  I can bike, but I have to be prepared to pay for it in the days following.  I must say though, it was pretty fun cruising up the hills on the e-bike flying by my friends pedaling their hardest to make it up hill. :) 

                                            Pictures of the half marathon participates. 

I was also able to sneak away for 6 days and drive with my snowbird friend Michelle down to Naples.  We had a great time during our car ride, laughing about old stories, talking about life, being real about our feelings, listening to audio books and crime stories.  I cherish those car rides with her every year, and I hope I am able to continue our tradition for years to come.  This year we spent a few days in Huntsville Alabama with Michelles Uncle Bob. Huntsville is a great town, and it was awesome to get to know Uncle Bob and hear about Michelles childhood. 

    

The kids are great.  Bryce is a Senior already; he will graduate in December 2023 with a Bachelors in Exercise Science.  Brooke is a Freshman at GVSU and off to a great start!  Peyton is taking a semester off of school and is working as he decides what he wants to do.  They are all healthy, happy and I am still here to watch them grow and succeed.  

Keep the prayers coming, they are working!  We praise God every day! 

Get Busy Living!

Love and Peace,

Chris

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

 I was 30 years old when I was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer, did everything I could to irradicate the cancer from my body and at one point was deemed cancer free.  At 39 years old, cancer came back, this time stage 4, breast cancer had shown up in the lining on my left lung. At 43 years old the cancer had grown in my left lung some more and 3 months later the cancer entered my right lung as well.  I also had pleural effusion in the right lung. My medical team suggested a clinical trial made by Pfizer for me. I have all the markers that make me a good candidate for this trial. So, 9 weeks ago I entered the Pfizer clinical trial and had my first scan last week.  The results of my scan show that the tumor in my right lung and the pleural effusion are GONE, GONE after 8 weeks of the clinical trial!  I still have the old cancer in my left lung, however knowing even some of it is gone is amazing!  The plan is to continue the clinical trial and be scanned again in 8 weeks.  That will be the plan for as long as this new chemotherapy works.  No one knows how long this ride will last however we will enjoy every minute of it!  Life is too short for anyone not to enjoy every minute.

I have so much Thanksgiving and Gratitude to God, Science and Oncology Research.  Without all of them I wouldn't be where I am today.  If you're looking to make a donation to a cancer organization, please donate to Hope Scarves.  Founded by my friend and Whitehall native Lara.  Hope Scarves Hope Scarves | Scarves, stories & research donations will go directly to Metastatic (stage 4) breast cancer research.   Please continue to pray for me, my family, science, research and my fellow friends also facing metastatic breast cancer.

As for the rest of our life, things are good.  I retired from my career at Blue Sky Vision in October of 2020, it has been a great decision.  I now use my energy on my family, around the house and can focus on selfcare instead of coming home from work exhausted and napping.  I am on a much better sleep schedule and can manage chemotherapy side effects much better. I do pour beer once a week at North Grove Brewery in Montague, usually on Monday's. It is a fun job, gets me out of the house and brings in some extra spending money for my adventures. Jeff and I rang in the New Year in Florida with our lifelong friends, it was just the trip and time with friends we needed. We also visited the Hiltz family checked out their adorable winter home and met their good friends.  Brooke is a senior in high school and will be attending GVSU in the fall and plans to become a Physician Assistant. Bryce is a junior at Hope College majoring in Exercise Science and will be doing an internship this summer at the University of Kansas under Matt Gildersleeve who is the Director of Football Sports Performance for the Jayhawks. Peyton is a junior at Cornerstone and perusing a degree in Education.  They were all home for Christmas, and it was great to be together again! Celebrating life, Christmas, attending church, breaking bread and playing games all under one roof. 

I will leave you with PSALM 106:1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

#getbusyliving

                                            Family Picture at Christmas

                                            Time with the Hiltz family and friends in Florida