Ray Harrison.org

I had my third treatment at the Oncology Center on State Street this morning.  Before they did the treatment they gave me a blood test to see if my white blood count was holding up so that I could go ahead with today's treatment.  Everything showed up fine, and so I was able to have it.

I have finally begun to experience some of the side effects of the chemotherapy that they warned me about when I first began the series.  I have felt an unusual level of fatigue for the last two or three days, and have also had some nausea, though this has not been very severe up to this point.

I have also had quite severe pain in my lower back and left side for several days. I told the chemo nurse about this, and she asked the doctor what he thought was happening.  He thinks that this pain is not directly related to the treatments I am receiving right now.  He thinks that the pain is caused by compression fractures in two vertebra in my back.  When I had X-rays and an MRI done earlier this year, they showed that I did have a couple of fractures.  The doctor thinks that this occurred because the Myeloma had already weakened the bones in my back.  For now, he has increased the level of my pain medication.

Many of you have been praying that the Velcade would be effective in destroying the Myeloma cells.  Please continue to pray to that end, but please also pray that I would get some relief from the compression fractures in my side and spine.

My fourth treatment in this series is scheduled for Monday morning, June 30.  At that time I will also be meeting with a physician's assistance to evaluate the effectiveness of the Velcade up to this point.

Thanks again for your support and interest.  We keep on hearing from more of you, and are finding encouragement in your kind comments.

Ray

I am happy to report that I had my second treatment yesterday morning, Monday, June 23.  Everything went very smoothly, and the whole procedure took a little more than an hour.   Up to this point I have had very few adverse effects from the treatments.   I have felt a little more tired than usual, and I had a problem sleeping a couple of nights.  Otherwise, I seem to be handling the treatments well.  I am still having some pain in my lower back region and also in my left rib cage, but the doctor has given me some stronger medication to help with that.

 Arlene and I continue to receive cards and notes of encouragement from many of you.  This means a lot to us, and it helps to remind us that, while we have tremendous confidence in our doctors and the treaments they are using, we are looking to God to apply His healing touch and bring His wholeness to my body.

Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer!

Ray

I am happy to report that I finally had my first treatment yesterday morning, June 20.  I am encouraged to know that something is finally being done, and the doctors are hopeful about bringing my Myeloma under control.

When we first arrived at the Oncology Center, right here in Fort Wayne, the first thing I had to do was to give blood to establish some base readings so that the doctor can better evalutate the progress I am making under treatment.  I have quickly learned that the giving of blood is a very routine ritual whenever I see the oncologist.

 We then met with Dr. Adhami, my oncologist, and  he outlined and explained what would be involved in the course of treatment I would be taking in Fort Wayne.  I will start with a cycle of four treatments - Friday (June 20), Monday (June 23), Friday (June 27), and Monday (June 30).  There will be a ten-day break in the treatments, and then I will repeat the cycle of four treatments. 

At the end of the eight treatments I will go to Indianapolis to see Dr. Abanour, the Myeloma specialist from the IU Medical Center, for testing to see how effective the treatments have been in bringing down the level of Myeloma in my system.  I will probably have to have another cycle of two or four more treatments, depending on what Dr. Abanour finds.  If all has gone well up to that point, I will return to Indianapolis for a stem cell transplant.  This will mean from two to three weeks in the hospital there.

 As far as the actual treatment yesterday was concerned, everything went very smoothly.  After our meeting with Dr. Adhami, we went over to the Chemo Unit at the Oncology Center where we were introduced to the nurses who would be doing the actual chemo.  They were extremely reassuring and helpful.  They explained the whole procedure to us, went through the kind of side effects I might expect from the teatments, and spent time answering our questions.  They explained that they were using a new drug, Velcade, which is different from traditional chemotherapy in that it is has the ability to specifically target the Myeloma, with very collateral danger to good cells.

For the procedure the nurse inserted a needle in a vein in the back of my hand, and then started a saline solution drip.  After a few minutes she injected a small vial of Velcade into the saline line.  This took less than 30 seconds, and then she allowed the saline drip to continue to run until it was empty.  She explained that this was to flush the line and help miniminze any side effects from the Velcade.  In addition to the Velcade, I was given some Cortisone tablets to take, a course of antibiotics, and some stronger pain medication.

 I am writing this on Saturday morning and up to this point I have not experienced any negative side effects from the treament.  They said that I might be kept awake during the night, but I had a very good night's sleep.

 I know a lot of you have been praying, and this has been a source of encouragment to me.  Please continue to pray that the treatments will be effective in dealing with the Myeloma cells, and that the side effects will be minimal.  We are still believing that God is going to do something in me that is "more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.".

I am sorry that this entry has got a little long.  Now that the treatments have started and will become more routine, I will not go into so much detail in future.

 Ray

This is just a brief report to let you know that I finally have an appointment with Dr. Adhami, my oncologist here in Fort Wayne.  The apppoinment is for 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, June 20. I will also receive my first treatment at that time.  I am anxious to get started on the treatments because I understand that, once they take effect, they will help with the pain.  Up to about a week ago, the pain seemed to have subsided, but it has grown more intense in the last few days, especially on my left side and in my ribs.

This past weekend our oldest son Dan, who lives near Boston, came home for Father's Day.  He stayed  over for a couple of days and then went back on Wednesday morning.  He was a tremendous help and took care of many practical jobs around the house and yard.  It is very hard for me to stand by and watch someone else doing the work that I think I should be doing.  Several of my friends have told me that this is something that I am going to have to learn to do, and that I should not deprive other people of the joy of serving me.

Many of you have sent emails and cards assuring me of your prayers.  This means a lot to both Arlene and me.  We find tremendous encouragment in the support we are receiving from our friends and family.  Please pray that the treatments will be effective from the very beginning, and pray too that they will help to reduce the level of pain.

 Thanks again for your support and encouragement.

 Ray

Many of you are aware of the physical problems I have been having over the last few months, while others of you are probably not aware that I have had any problem at all.   I would like to bring you all up to date so that you will know what is going on in my life and can pray for me more effectively.  I have decided that having a website that friends can visit whenever they wish is probably one of the most effective ways to keep them informed.  I am not computer savvy enough to set up one of these websites on my own, but a very kind and helpful young man from our church, Taylor Chase, has done this for me and has taught me how to use it.

Perhaps the most helpful way for me to bring everyone up to speed would be for me to start at the very beginning.  As I look back, it seems that everything started a week or two before Christmas last year.  I had a bout of shingles and felt pretty miserable for several weeks.  Around about that time we had a very heavy, wet snowfall.  I couldn't get my snowblower started and so I shovelled snow energetically for over two hours just to be able to get out of the drive way.  As a result of this, I had pain in my lower back over Christmas and into the New Year.  I just attributed it to the fact that I pulled a muscle, and I would eventually get over it as my bak healed.  After Christmas I put our Christmas boxes away in the attic and I also hoisted our articifical Christmas tree into the attic.  It was quite heavy, and my back began to hurt more after that.

As the year progressed, my back did not get better as I expected, but the pain actually seemed to get worse.  We had plans to spend about ten days in Florida with Arlene's sister, Charlotte, and her husband at the end of March.   By the middle of March my back was beginning to limit me in what I could do, and so I decided to see a chiropractor.  I went to Jack Clark, a chiropractor who attends our church.  I had several treatment with him, and then we went to Florida as planned.  I was hoping that the sunshine and swimming in a warm pool would take care of my back pain, but it didn't seem to help.  When we arrived home at the beginning of April, I resumed my treatments with Jack.  When I didn't seem to be making any progress, he recommeded that I go and see an orthopedic surgeon.  I had an MRI done and then went to see the surgeon.  When he saw the MRI, he said that he didn't see any need for surgery and recommended that I have physical therapy for three or four weeks. After three or four weeks of therapy, I was still not any better.

It was then that I received a phone call from Jack,  my chiroprctor.  He felt sure that I should be seeing some signs of progress and  so he advised me to have a blood test done.  In fact, he ordered the blood test for me.  When the test results came back, they showed an abnormality in my blood, and my family doctor referred me to the Fort Wayne Medical  Hematology and Oncology Clinic.  The oncologist I saw there ordered more tests, including a bone marrow biopsy.  When the results came back, he confirmed that I had Multiple Myeloma.  This is a type of cancer that attacks the plasma cells in the bone marrow.  It interferes with the production of red blood cells and eventually leads to kidney failure.  When we first heard this, we were shocked and began to fear the worst.  He helped to put things into perspective, though, and allay some of our fears. He sent us to a Multiple Myeloma specialist at the Indiana University Medical Cener in Indianapolis for a second opinion and treatment recommendations.

We visited the specialist in Indianapolis this past Tuesday, June10, and came away from our meeting with him feeling more enocuraged and hopeful.   The doctor explained that, while this type of cancer cannot be cured, it can be controlled, and people with it can expect to live for many years with the right treatment.  He recommeded the use of a new drug, Velcane, which targets the Myeloma.  He said that I can have this treatment in Fort Wayne.  The drug will be administered intravenously, and I will have several cycles, lasting about three months.  At the end of this time, if the drug has been effective in bringing down the level of the Myeloma, I will go to Indianapolis for a stem cell transplant.  This will mean being in the hospital for about three weeks.  After that, if all goes well, I should not need any further treament, but would have to be monitored on a regular basis for the rest of my life.

Arlene and I are still adjusting to the idea that I have cancer.  But there are several things for which we are thankful.

   -  I am still able to carry on with my normal activities and fufill my responsibilities at the church, including visitation and preaching.
   -  We have good and kind doctors who are working with us and treatments that are available to us.
   -  We have many supportive friends who have already been a blessing and a tremendous encouragement to us.
   - We have three great sons who love us dearly and are anxious to help us in any way they can.
   -  We have a mighty God who loves us and has promised to be faithful to us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

One of the verses of Scripture that has come to mean a lot to us in these last weeks is Ephesians3:20-21 - "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Jesus Christ throughout all genertions, for ever and ever. Amen"

Whenever something significant happens with our situation or my treatment during the next few months, I will update this blog.  I promise that I won't write as much every time as I have written today.

Thank you for the assurance of your prayers.

Ray