Message from the Family Nurse:

Bob has really had his challenges the last few months. He went through three rounds of chemotherapy called RICE and then the PET scan showed he had not yet gone into remission. He had a fourth round of RICE which was tough on him causing alot of fatigue. Within the past few weeks he went through a painful bone marrow biopsy and fortunately the bone marrow was clear of cancer cells. This enabled Bob to go through the necessary injections and treatment to obtain his stem cells from the bone marrow. These treatments caused alot of bone pain but they were able to get the 10,000,000 stem cells needed for the bone marrow transplant. These cells have been frozen for future use. Unfortunately, a recent PET scan showed that Bob was not yet in remission and there are still active cancer cells in his body. Bob's physicians will be consulting with one another to decided what course of treatment is necessary to get him into remission. We don't yet know if that includes more chemo or radiation, but Bob should be told what the next step will be in the next few days. Bob has been courageous, strong and positive in spite of feeling generally lousy. He continues to work but is anxious to get the bone marrow transplant so he can be cancer free once and for all. Please keep him in your prayers so that they can find the right combination of drugs that will get him into remission so that he can have the transplant. Bob, we love you. You are an example to all of us. Our prayers are with you every day.
Love, Leigh Ann