We had a really good weekend. Cody came for a visit and that seemed to distract Michael from all that has been going on. He felt good mentally and physically. No real complaints...you would have never know he was sick! I think he'll be in a better state of mind for the chemo that starts Wednesday.

Yesterday was a God send for me! Michael felt and looked better than he has since we found out about the blood clots in his legs. He actually wanted to go to dinner at Hernandez (his favorite local Mexican Restaurant) and ate until he was stuffed!! We both got an good nights sleep which is huge!! He's got five more days until the next round of chemo and we're going to enjoy every single one of them!

The only snag right now is that the Oncologist is trying to regulate his blood clotting factor with the coumadin and Michael's INR was very high meaning his blood is way too thin. It was 6.9 and he should be between 2-3. That could be another reason why he's so tired. I told them the coumadin dose they were giving him was way too high compared to what the GP was giving him back in July, so they are cutting back on the coumadin and testing his blood nearly everyday. They are a little concerned that the tumors in the liver might start bleeding...but I think he'll be fine once he cuts back on the coumadin.

We have an appointment with the doctors at UW Madison on September 8. It was difficult talking them into seeing us. Apparantly they don't like to see patients that are in the middle of chemo or radiation but we all know how persistant I can be!! I'm sure Michael never thought he would be glad that I was annoying!! He was definately more tired yesterday than today. It's a relief to me to see him back to normal even if it's only every few days. He's having a strawberry milk shake right now and I try and sneak as much fat in his diet as I can. I'm starting to think that the fact he's not drinking anymore is why he initially lost weight because he hasn't lost any since...of course Michael disagrees.

It seems that Michael is more tired nowadays. He does a lot of resting and he tries to eat small meals several times a day. He hasn't "tossed his cookies" but he does feel somewhat nauseous at times. He's still struggling with headaches throughout the day. I'm trying to keep his spirits up but it's hard for him to constantly be laying around.

Today was the first full day without chemo and the headaches were still plaguing him through most of the morning but they seemed to have eased up this evening. His appetite is good and there doesn't seem to be many side effects at this point. He has a little neuropathy and sensitivity to cold in his fingers. I found a product called Avemar on the internet. It's a fermented wheat germ extract and some doctors are starting to use it in conjunction with chemo. It has anti-cancer agents and at the very least has been know for easing the side effects of chemo. It can't hurt so I'll keep mixing it up and making him drink...he swears I'm trying to poison him!

So the storey begins like this...July 4th weekend Michael started having pains in his leg. It took me a week or two to get him to see his GP. On July 17 The doctor took some blood and ran some tests and said he would contact us with the results. Before we heard back from the doctor, the pain in his left leg had become must worse and had swelled quite a bit. I suspected a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis). On July 23 the doctor called and told Michael that his liver enzymes were elevated and he wanted him to see a gastroenterologist. Anyone that knows Michael knows that his liver works overtime with all the punishment he doles out! I called the doctor back and insisted on a ultrasound of his left leg and we found out a few hours later that he had a blood clot in the left leg running from the knee to the ankle. I promptly made an appointment with Dr. Mittal who is a Hematologist/Oncologist (how ironic).

We first saw Dr. Mittal on Aug 4 and he ordered a CT scan on Aug 5. Later that night the GP called and said he wanted to see us first thing in the morning. I knew something wasn't right. The next morning he told us that were tumors on the liver which indicated colon cancer. We both thought OK...colon cancer...are you kidding?!? We left the office reeling. There haven't been any symptoms of any kind! This is so out of left field...this can't be happening!!

They scheduled a colonoscopy for Michael August 11. The colonoscopy confirmed a tumor in the colon. Even though I knew there was going to be a tumor, I was still shocked to see it in on a bright shiny picture.

Later that afternoon we met with Dr. Mittal and he very bluntly told us that Michael had Stage IV colon cancer. He showed us the CT scans of the cancer that had spread to the liver and lungs. He proceeded to tell us that he would just be trying to prolong Michael's life and there is no cure.

On August 13 he had a PET scan and it showed that the tumor in the colon is 10cm and there are multiple tumors on his liver that are under 1cm (I can see at least 6 or so) and there are 2 tiny spots on the lung which are smaller than 1mm. There appears to be 1 lymphnode affected. There was a bone scan on August 14 and it was all clear.

Today is Michael's third and final day of round 1 of chemo. He'll have 11 days off and then start again. This is all new to us so we don't know how many rounds there will be or when the next CT Scan will be to see if the cancer has shrunk or grown. He has the pump removed today from the port they put in his chest on Tuesday. He feels OK but he is tired and has headaches a lot and the DVT in his legs is still bothering him. The nurse told him on Wednesday that he is anemic and might need a blood transfusion and I believe that is what is causing the headaches. Other than that, he is eating well and getting a decent amount of sleep considering. Jeff & Julie overnighted Michael's favorite food in the world...TeePee. He can't wait to get home and dig in! Thanks guys!!

All our friends & family have been incredibly supportive and helpful!! Many people have given us doctor's names and numbers. But we especially appreciate the sincere concern that so many of you have shown over the past week or so...it has touched my heart and made me grateful for such a great support system!! I thank you all for your continued prayers.