“David Foster's Kicking Kidney Cancer’s Arse”

On The Run

First, again I thank each and every one of you for your prayers and thoughts as I go through this medical adventure. Your prayers and thoughts are the solid floor of confidence on which I tread every day and I am convinced it?s your active participation in this situation that has made cancer just part of my life, not my life itself. I am humbled by it all.

Had a CT scan done last Friday, complete with iodine, and met with Dr. Shlaer this morning. All the tumors have shrunk, some significantly and some substantially. However, the retreat of the tumors is not yet far enough along for Dr. Shlaer to feel comfortable taking the left kidney out. Therefore, I will remain on chemo for six more weeks, with a little higher dosage of the actual cancer fighters. He feels this additional chemo will shrink the tumors even further and then he will have the kidney removed.

How do I feel? Tell you truth, I feel great. What was making sick in the
first place was some kind of bleeding stomach lesion (could have been an ulcer, could be part of the cancer). The stomach lesion was caused my hemoglobin to crash (less than 8 on a 12 point scale). Between the chemo and other medicines, we seem to have that one under control as my hemoglobin is now above 12, platelets are high, white blood cells more than adequate and I've gained more than 10 pounds since all this started.

My only side affects are that (A) the nausea medicine gives me some minor jitters and (B) I get a little tired by the end of the week, but less and less so as time goes by. I miss very little time at work and have been traveling again (out to Montana last week for ground squirrels and fly fishing with an advertiser). All things considered I am doing just fine, especially with the knowledge that the cancer is responding well to the chemo.

Again, thank you for interest. This wellness group grows longer and as of today officially goes around the world. Like I said, all this is pretty humbling. Foster's Adventure in Cancer continues. The Big C has not yet been whipped, but it will be. And remember, cancer is only a part of my life. I will not allow it become my life. I have a family to love, business to run, stories to write, fish to catch and dogs to sit with on the back porch. No way I can allow cancer to interfere with all that. No way at all.

Dave

Making progress

Your prayers and thoughts have been especially helpful the past two weeks.
This week my hemo was about normal, white count good, platelets up, in other words my blood is about normal, which is pretty unusual considering the wear and tear of the chemo. I do get a little tired near the end of the week, but the doc says it is just the cumulative affects of chemo. Still are work every day, though I did miss one day last week.

I will have one more chemo treatment next week, then a week off and then a CT scan to see where we really are, though Dr. Shlaer says it is obvious I am getting better from my color, blood work, energy level, the x-ray last week, etc., etc. I will send y'all another wellness e-mail after the CT scan since not much is going to change between now and then, so don't expect to here from via this medium for at least two more weeks.

Again, thanks for your prayers and thoughts.

Dave

Hallelujah!

(Note, July 1, 2007: This is the first wellness e-mail to friends, family and associates, sent about a month after being diagnosed with Advanced Renal Cell Cancer in May 2005. At the time I was on Avastin and 5FU as there was nothing else to give me. I was very lucky in the response and many of the tumors were already shrinking by the time I wrote this memo. Especially in the lungs, stomach and around the kidney. You will notice in this e-mail I refer to the "half-way point in this big life project." Boy, did I have a lot to learn. Anyway, from this all else in this blog springs.)

Thank you again for all your prayers and thoughts. They were answered today.

I went in for the fourth chemo treatment and my first X-ray and examination since beginning therapy. The big tumor/mass on my chest has shrunk to the point of not being visible on the X-ray, which was terrific news and certainly an indicator that your prayers, good thoughts and the chemo treatment is working.

If things continue to go well, they will most likely remove the left kidney during late May/early June and continue chemo at some level until the lesions have disappeared. All good news for this halfway point in Dave's big life project.

One of the things that surprised me this morning, me working so hard to be Mr. Positive in all of this, was how much mental pressure was relieved when he told me the big tumor had shrunk so dramatically. I had no idea I was under that much mental strain, but I can tell you I feel better now, mentally and physically, than I have in six or eight months. God willing we will move on with this momentum and eradicate this thing completely.

Side affects from chemo remain virtually nonexistent. Still have my hair (my Elvis wig continues to go unused), do get a little tired after say 20 or so minutes of physical exertion, but other than that, pretty much life as usual. I do a little charity fly fishing lesson every year for a local private school and this year we did it up on the Nantahala River in western NC. All the students caught fish and learned some important environmental lessons. Very satisfying to them and to me. Life is good. I fully intend to continue living it.

Dave