PET of the week.

According to dictionary.com: 
PET:

1.any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately.

2. a person especially cherished or indulged; favorite.

3.a thing particularly cherished.

 

In this instance I am going to go with definition number 3. In a week from today I am going back to Emory to have my follow up thing particularly cherished Scan. I have been a pet lover my entire life because a  pet can bring so much joy and life to someone. So a PET scan will be no different come next Tuesday when I am sitting in that same stupid patient room that has a horrific melanoma poster, next to one of those one-word posters like, Attitude or Preserverance, and then a butterfly painted on the ceiling(I stare at all 3 and get confused). But when the doctor or nurse can come in  and say everything looks great, it brings joy and life in  every meaning of the word. So I look forward to getting a thing particularly cherished scan next week. I am thankful for all of the prayers and keep them coming. Go Dawgs.

 

 

 

 

Dog Days

"I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better. They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvelous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying."
 ~George Bird Evans

If you have kept up with this blog then you have heard me mention Stoli aka Wild Man. The only thing that is bigger than his head (or balls) is his heart. He will literally cry when you walk into the house after work. Imagine if someone or something made you that happy. How weird would it be if I cried everytime I saw Margaret, or friends or family? He loves people that much. There is something about this dog, or anydog that can just make you forget about stress at work, money, or dealing with cancer. I don't know what it is but, I wish we all had it.

Jennifer Arnold(margaret and I's aunt) might have the answer to this. Her second book came out today and is a must buy for any dog lover. She is the founder of Caninne Assistants, a non-profit which trains dogs to assist people with varying disabilities. She does amazing things for humans and human's best friend. This would be the ideal gift for the holidays and a great heart warming read. It's called "In a Dogs Heart." Please check out the link.
http://www.tabsite.com/Canine-Assistants


90% of the pictures on my phone are of my dog, enjoy:



Stoli hoggin the window from Chauncey



Blood Mtn

spoiled!

Birthday visit @ Emory

@ the beach.

Gameday

Chauncey is almost human

Stoli catching up with neighborhood pal.

"Oh Happy Day"

MelaNoMo'!

It was just an idea that Graham and I brewed up over 3 years ago to create an event to bring family and friends together at a scenic venue for a common cause. I was knee deep in interferon and the side effects that come along with it, so I was unable to work full time but I felt the need to do something proactive about melanoma in a fun celebratory style.

Who wants to walk for three days? Or walk from 8 pm to 8 am around a track? Hear the same bone chilling sad stories about cancer? That's not our style. MelaNoMo'! might be the funnest cancer fundraiser this side of the misipi. It was just a good ole' fashioned fall Saturday. Friends and family came in numbers and brought their appetites, thirst, checkbooks, and most importantly everyone brought a positive ambiance that became contagious throughout the day. Everyone was all smiles and enjoying such a "happy day". The word melanoma is scary and nasty, but now the word MelaNoMo'! Hopefully can bring life and joy and is known for changing the lives in many people that are affected by it. The weather was perfect, johnny's BBQ was excellent, UGA beat Ole Miss, JP Parker Smith Adam Strong & Will Begnaud sounded great on stage, and we even had a Heineken keg. It really all came together in the end to make it the best MelaNoMo'! we have had to date. (going to be hard to top)!!

Can you say, "Thank You"

I can not thank the people that made this years MelaNoMo! Event an absolute success enough. We have surpassed our fundraising goals of $20,000 and are closing in on reaching $30,000!!! This is going to the Melanoma Research Foundation that will use this to fund grants and research trials to help find a cure and create better treatment options, but also they educate and advocate current melanoma patients around the world. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME!!

 

Accessnorthga.com put together a video the party, check out the link below:

http://vimeo.com/29622445

Also 50/50 is a movie that is coming out this weekend, and I'm pretty sure that it's based on my blog although I'm not getting any royalties. It is a true story of a guy in his mid 20's getting diagnosed with cancer and using humor and a good attitude to get through the difficult times. It's supposed to be the best medicine. Check it out.

Quartely Statements.

The last quarters numbers are in and they are looking pretty good!

 This doesn't refer to the economy nor does it reflect the last 15 minutes of the UGAvBoise game. My CT and MRI took place earlier this week and we like what we see. There is no sign of progression anywhere, and the spots that they believed "might" be cancer are still responding to the medicine and have been shrinking.  Hells yea.

As we were anxiously awaiting the scan results, sitting on the toilet paper wrapped table, I was playing with the ear and eye instruments when the nurse walked in. CAUGHT! She didn't care and nonchalantly said scans look good. Not knowing how to react Marge and I just did a quick high-five, and moved on about what's the next move.  So in 3 months we will have a PET scan in December and are expecting even better numbers in the last quarter to wrap up 2011. I hope that the economy and UGA football can do the same. We are truly thankful for every one's thoughts and prayers and thankful for the results that we are seeing.

I also wanted to thank everyone for the tremendous response we are already getting for MelaNoMo'! which is on 9-24-11. Our goal of raising $20,000 to go towards research grants and patient advocate programs is in reach. Check out www.firstgiving.com/melanomo.

Go Dawgs this weekend, but more importantly GO AMERICA!!

Governor Deal & Gunner Stahl (captain of Iceland hockey Jr. Goodwill Games)

Fá spennt MelaNoMo '! 3 er á einum mánuði frá deginum í dag:

Icelandic for: " Get excited MelaNoMo'! 3 is one month away."

I dropped my american/fijian/icelandic brother Graham off at the airport yesterday so he can begin his next venture obtaining his masters in natural resource management at the University of the Westfjords in Iceland.  Graham was with me at work when I got that startling phone call from my dermatologist over 3 years ago and has been with me ever since through our journey. Although he hasn't lived in the US but 3-4 months in the past two years we can definitely feel his thoughts and prayers with us constantly, and know if I ever feel the need to call him to make fun of my parents or some stupid situation we got put in at the doctor he will be there to crack a joke. His optimism of melanoma and of life in general keeps everyone pushing forward in life. He says that cancer will win once you become stagnant you have to continue to live life and moving forward. I wish you the best of luck bro.







Veremo, Whytaker, and me @ NSB.





Coach Stansson and team Iceland, prepping for the Ducks & MelaNoMo'!

                                        "Fá spennt MelaNoMo '! 3 er á einum mánuði frá deginum í dag"

We are excited about MelaNoMo'! and are already have gotten such a great response. First Freddie Freeman  now the first family of Georgia are reaching out to create awareness about melanoma. The Governor of our great state of Georgia has taken time from his busy schedule to endorse our fundraiser.  These are people that I look up to for not only what they accomplish in the their careers, but also that they know the importance of being proactive about something that your passionate about in order to make a difference. Check out his endorsement letter below. For more information about MelaNoMo'! and how to donate please visit my site, www.firstgiving.com/melanomo.  There is a very powerful video titled, "Dear 16 year old me" on the site. 











Scan-Day

Scan day was Monday, 7-18. CT of neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis w/ and w/out contrast and MRI of brain w/ and w/out contrast. This stuff is no fun... but we have handled worse. And we had decided to treat ourselves to a fine dining experience the night after our scans. We were definitely feeling anxious pulling up in that awful parking deck at Emory knowing the tests that were ahead of us, but we got through the day because we knew we were going to be treated at Gainesville's newest fine dining establishments later in the evening.

ALAS...

A night of bottomless salad and bread sticks can't cure cancer, but it came close.

7-19-2011 RESULTS: Everything has either gotten smaller or is stable! This is an answered prayer. There are no new spots and the spots that remain are subcutaneous which means no major organs are involved. We walked away feeling good about our results, we even got some lunch beers to celebrate the good news.

Melanoma is different than any other disease or cancer. People do not go into remission of melanoma they just become NED (no evidence of disease). This is something we have come to terms with and we will continue to LIVE, fight, and manage it and strive for NED. We are currently exploring our options for our next vacation/treatment, because you can't have one with out the other. Options: IPI(first FDA approved drug in over 20 years), clinical trail, waiting a month or so and scan again.  We will get another opinion from Moffitt in the days coming and enjoy a few days at the beach.

With that said we are very pleased with the direction we're headed and know that it takes PERSEVERANCE and BALANCE. We have to "keep on keeping on" while maintaining a lifestyle of 26 yr olds.  We have felt the thoughts and prayers from LA to St. Simons and everywhere in between. Even the future of the Bravos:



To Neil
Keep Fighting
Stay Positive
Get Well Soon
Freddie Freeman #5





H-O-M-E

Actual footage of going from our hospital room to our car from Emory University Hospital for the last time!! Enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mBmPb5w7ck