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

Where I am

As always, I first want to acknowledge your support, thoughts and, most of all, your prayers during this time of trial. Nothing supports me in this more than that. I had another CT scan today and it seems the tumors (kidney, stomach and lymph nodes) are shrinking somewhat and there are no new tumors, all of which is good news though we would really like to see more shrinkage of all of the tumors, especially those in the lymph nodes. I have an appointment August 2 with a Dr. Brown to set an appointment to have the left kidney removed laproscopically. This will rid the body of the offending Mother Tumor and might arrest any growth of the others, which is one of the oddities of renal cancer. Then again, it might not, but well worth taking the chance. After the kidney is removed I will have one more three-week regimen of chemotherapy and we will, at the end of that, see where we stand. As I understand it, we will either: A) Find the remaining tumors are shrinking more quickly and possibly continue chemo until they are gone, or: B) Determine they have neither grown nor shrunk, but find there are no new tumors, which might mean just keeping an eye on the tumors and addressing further treatment if and when they show growth or other new tumors, or; C) Determine the tumors are growing and/or metastasizing which will require a much more aggressive treatment than I have undergone so far. Obviously, the best of those alternatives is A, but Dr. Shlaer tells me that if the tumors are not growing or metastasizing (B), that can be as good as any other positive effect since cancers that are not active have little affect on one's general health, just need to keep an eye on them. If we find we are facing option C, well, that means a hard fight with this thing and that is what we all want to avoid. That's a lot of ifs, but that's where we are. I will not have any more chemo until my surgery has healed and that will be near the end of August at the earliest (we hope to have the surgery done no later than the second week of August). I will send out a wellness note when the scheduling has been completed for the surgery. Again, thank you for your prayers, thoughts and support. I am feeling OK, especially when I'm not on chemo and the ulcer seems to be completely cured. If I have any other news contra to this I will let you know ASAP. Dave

Greetings from Anchorage

The weather in Anchorage is gorgeous this week, with highs in the 70s and lows around 55, with some 19 hours of daylight. One interesting weather observation: the warm temperatures have generated thunderstorms here, bringing much needed rain to the bowl and early snow to the mountainsides.

Anyway, still doing fine. Dr. Shlaer was not at all happy that I was on the way to Alaska for a couple of days so I mollified him by canceling the fishing trip I planned for Wednesday evening. Hey, I do sacrifice for the good of health, really. Anyway, he said we are still on a "semi" schedule to remove the offending kidney at the end of this month or the first week or so of August, depending on the size of my tumors at the end of the this series next week and the availability of the surgeon we have chosen for the surgery.

Still feeling good. Do still get a little tired by the end of week, but by
Monday morning strength is back and I am going again.

Not much of a report, but that's where we are. Next week is my last session of chemo under this regimen and I will let you know Monday week where we stand on the surgery.

Again, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. They remain with me daily and I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate them and how much they have meant to me.

Dave