Back to the frigid Northeast

We are now back from a very successful trip to California. It was great to get out into the sun a bit and see friends for a few days. I had a tough flight out (we all did) and arrived sick, but after a bit of rest and rehydration I felt good the remainder of the trip. In fact I've come home feeling the best I have since this all started. I have no way of knowing what's going on inside my body but if my attitude and mood are any indicator, I'm doing well. I seem to have more energy lately as well. I'm really hopeful that this new chemo treatment is working.

My appetite has been really good lately. I am taking a steroid every day that helps me eat. I think it's also responsible for the puffy cheeks, or maybe they are from Tarceva, I'm not sure. At any rate, wanting to eat is a good thing for me.

As we approach the holidays I'm hoping to remain active and get out of the house more than I had been before the trip. I think it's important to get out and do things as much as I can. I've giving myself an assignment of working daily on a feature screenplay I'm writing. It makes me feel like I have a job again.

That's it for now. California was a blast, thanks to all who visited and I'm sorry I missed seeing everyone. For now I hope and pray that the tumors are shrinking and I'm grateful that it seems I will have a nice holiday season. I'm glad that I'm here for it.

-Andy

Giving Thanks

Good morning all!

Happy Thanksgiving - we're getting together today to have a traditional family dinner, spend time and of course root for the Pats. Life is unpredictable, and this year's events have sharpened our awareness for just how blessed we are. We are thankful for the time that we have been given, for each other, for being together today and for all of our family, friends and everyone who has been along for this ride with us.

So - really quick recap on the past few weeks - I 'll type up more and add pictures sometime soon I promise. When you last heard from us we were getting ready to head to the Celtics game, as guests of Danny Ainge and the Celtics. Andy had the chemo that Thursday and by Friday it was starting to take effect in him. He rallied and we were able to make it to the game. We spent the pregame with Danny in the bowels of the Garden (it'll always be the 'Gahden' no matter how many sponsors rename it) talking about basketball and the team. We then watched the game from the front row under the basket - amazing seats and a really fun time.

That round of chemo really took it to Andy, he had a tough time with it, and never really recovered. Typically its bad for 7-10 days, and then he starts feeling better, and then another round is on us. This one was bad for most of it.

Halloween was a hoot. Ann, Maggie and I went trick-or-treating with Andy, Nicholas and Jen. Nicholas went as Buzz Lightyear, Andy was Jack Skellington from Nightmare before Christmas, Jen was Jesse from Toy Story, Ann went as a nun witch combination, Maggie was a 70s go-go girl, and I was lucky enough to get the Isaac (from the Love Boat) costume. We just wandered around the neighborhood and enjoyed the kids' excitement.

At the start of November Andy had his 35th birthday. This disease is aggressive, vicious, and nothing is taken for granted any more - so having a birthday with family was awesome. We had a very laid back dinner, with Nicholas and Maggie entertaining us and the waiters, at Olive Garden - it sounds silly but it was the best birthday. Jen and Mom hosted an open house the following week in Framingham and lots of old friends from growing up came by. They did a great job, and it was fun seeing everyone, meant a lot to have folks come out for Andy.

We had another scan about a week ago, and were caught off guard. We had hoped that adding another chemo agent 6 weeks ago would start to shrink the tumors. What we learned is that the chemo has stopped being effective against the cancer, and there's increased activity in some of the bone metastases and in the liver. We are switching to another chemo agent, Irinotecan, and continuing on the Tarceva. Andy goes for infusions two weeks in a row, then gets a week off. We'll do this through December and have another scan at the end of the month.

So - not what we wanted to hear of course. We remain hopeful, and pray that this will work on the cancer in the liver. Andy's not sitting back and waiting for it to work, not giving up - he's fighting on, taking more time to go for walks and exercising, spending time with Jen and Nicholas, family and friends. We don't know, no one really knows, what time they have, and one of the silver linings in all of this is that I am reminded about what is truly important, time with family, enjoying each other and having fun. It's not like we forgot but life get's busy, crazy and we, like everyone else, get caught up in the silly things that in the end don't really matter. This sharpens all of your senses in some way, and makes that family time with Andy the most precious gift that we have, and makes us all thankful for the time we do have.

Alright, have to go - Turkey with the family and then we're going to try to head to Ann's sister's place for desert, if Andy is up for it. Another round tomorrow, and then next week Andy, Jen and Nicholas head to LA for a week to visit friends and family, meet new babies and enjoy the warm weather.

Happy Thanksgiving - and thank you for being here for us all throughout this past year.

Tim

Shrinkage

Hello all. Just wanted to do a quick update as it's been a couple weeks. I've been feeling fairly good these last few days. I've only been dealing with some bowel problems (another lovely side effect most people don't know about) due to all the meds. But I've had some of my best days lately. My spirits are up. My body seems to be handling the chemo well. I've started to exercise lightly on my stationary bike. My appetite varies, but I've been trying to get down all the supplements and calories I can. I am still close to 50 pounds lighter than I was, but I'm hoping to gain at least 15-20 pounds back if I can.

I got a phone call yesterday from Danny Ainge. For those of you who don't know who he is, Danny is the general manager of the Boston Celtics. He's a former player who I watched as a kid growing up. I remember him helping us dismantle the Lakers many times, as we continue to do present day. I couldn't believe he called. We had a heart to heart talk. He's a great man who has a good perspective on life. For him to take time out of his busy schedule to talk to me was something he didn't have to do, and it made my day. My social worker, Allison, set it up and got me 4 tickets to the Celtics-Knicks game on the 29th. I should be able to meet Danny before the game, and possibly some of the team. I can't wait. I will force my body to feel good if necessary.

So I titled this post "Shrinkage" because I want everyone to "Think Shrink". Now that the cancer is stable, we are hoping to get the lesions or tumors to begin reducing in size, hopefully disappearing if possible. The smaller and fewer there are the better.

That's all for now. On a side note Jen and I are looking to visit California in early December. I am looking forward to that and to seeing our friends. We'll have to plan well so we can visit everyone. It will be fun.

-Andy

A Good Day

Hi all,

It's late in a long day. I'll fill in the details later but wanted to get the news out now. While we all hoped for the best, we steeled ourselves for the worst, and today brought something in between, a compromise of sorts.

Andy's CT scans indicated that his cancer is stable, which is good news for us. The cancer is being held in check by the targeted therapeutic (Tarceva) and the chemo (Alimta). Its not shrinking, but its also not growing overall. Ideally we want to get to a treatment where the cancer is shrinking. The compromise is that its good that its stable - this buys more time and possibilities.

Today we added another chemotherapeutic agent to his treatment - Carboplatin, which was one of the two chemo "ingredients" in the original treatment cocktail in early Spring. The Drs are hoping that the combination of Tarceva, Alimta and Carboplatin will start shrinking the tumors and prevent new lesions. Andy's tissue samples are being processed for additional biomarker analysis, in the hopes that he qualifies for clinical trials that are expected to begin in the near term.

All in all a good day. Andy had his infusions after the tests and meeting with Dr Janne, and then we headed home to rest, have some dinner and spend time with little Nicholas.


Thank you to everyone who reached out, prayed and sent good vibes and thoughts - we take every day with thanks and hope for another good day.

Tim

Hope

Hi all,

Its been awhile again. I find it hard to update the blog at the end of the day, especially when occupied with ongoing events. It's been six weeks since I wrote, and much has happened in that time. I am going try to tell the story with more pictures of the good times that we have had even as the time has been tough on Andy.

Andy received his first injection of Alimta just before we headed out on vacation at Lake George. Although Alimta is generally tolerated well by patients, it has been exhausting to Andy, and really took a toll on his body. The chemo, cancer and unusual heat we had in the first week of September wiped him out, and he was left exhausted and in pain for the start of vacation. He started to recover about a week later, and we were able to better manage the pain for the latter half of the vacation. Andy had the same experience this past treatment three weeks ago - the day of the injection he is okay, and then a week of pain and discomfort followed by recovery.

Andy and Jen are getting settled in Boston at my parent's house, unpacking what seems to be at least 100+ boxes and getting acquainted with the area. We spend time together as often as we can. I try to get out at least 2-3 times weekly to visit, and Andy's done some fun things, battling through the pain and exhaustion to be there for and with us as well. I am amazed at him when he asks how I am doing, checking in on me and how I am handling this even as he fights so hard for himself.

We had fun at the lake, smiled as Maggie and Nicholas entertained us, we rode the Minnie-Ha-Ha with the kids, sent the girls for high tea, took a few boat rides, and spent time relaxing, talking and laughing, recounting old (and typically embarrassing :) memories. We've taken time to talk, about life and have had some hard talks and cried together. We've celebrated the girls' (Maggie's and Ann's) birthdays. We took an introductory helicopter ride last week, and Andy got to shoot some aerial footage of the north shore. Old friends have visited, boosting Andy's spirits; just last week we had visits from high school friends Adam and Chad and their families and went apple picking with the kids.

On Sunday we capped it off with the last game of the Sox season - the Sox handily beat the Yanks with two double steals, including a delayed steal of home. Mark, my best friend's dad and a second father to us, talked to the Sox prior to the game and Andy was presented with a game used ball by the Sox during the game. Towards the end we wandered down and had our photo taken with the World Series trophies from 2004 and 2007.

Oh - and the best part of Sunday was arriving to pick Andy up, finding everyone smiling and learning that my dad and Andy had tuned up his Harley, put the fluids back in the bike (they had to be drained to be shipped). Only way to tell if it was working was to start it up and ride it - so Andy did - just down the street and back but man am I proud and wish I had seen it.

We have also had to deal with some harsh realities of the cancer. Andy is tough - he fights every day to get stronger, to gain weight, to battle the fear, the raw emotion, to beat the cancer. It is a tough disease, a very lonely fight that Andy bravely tackles. And it takes a toll on all of us, emotionally, physically and mentally. I can't tell you how hard it is to see him struggle or be in pain and just wish there was something you could do to relieve him of this fight.

It is so important for Andy, our family and our friends to recognize that we aren't in control, we don't know what tomorrow brings - and that anything is possible, that another day brings new possibilities. Hope is perhaps the greatest gift we have in life and in this fight for life. And so we head into another CT scan at DFCI tomorrow to gauge how the cancer is responding to the the treatments. And we hope and pray for possibilities, that we will have good news and / or additional treatment options.

I leave you with pictures from the past few weeks, and ask that you send good vibes and keep Andy in your prayers and thoughts.

Tim

Der Mut: Courage Heart Spirit... Braveness... Grit

Hi all,

It's been a while since our last blog, almost a month, and a lot has happened since then (feels like much more than a month!). I'll try to hit the highlights and get everyone up to date on a long month.

Since the fundraiser Andy and Jen have been focused on packing up for the move East. During this time, Andy's back has been getting stronger - he's spending more and more time out of the back brace. Thank you to everyone who helped pack, visited before they left and helped keep Nicholas entertained - it was a big effort in a short period and could not have been done were it not for everyone kicking in.

Andy flew back this past Tuesday on the red eye with the dog and cat. The movers came to their house on Tuesday and Jen coordinated the loading and then flew East on Wednesday with Nicholas. Being here will put him closer to the doctors and support network at Dana Farber, and also let Mom, Dad and I, as well as friends, help and provide support. It's a big change for all of us, not one that was planned but one that is necessary to continue this fight. Another adventure.

Andy and I were interviewed on WEEI (Boston AM 850) as part of the NESN/WEEI Jimmy Fund RadioTelethon. We walked into Fenway, and everyone greeted us as "the Swan brothers" - I guess we're getting known at DFCI after the swim last month.

The interview was simulcast on NESN - but funny enough, our interview was preempted by a call from some actor on Glee and a call in from Senator Brown, so by the time our interview slot came up, they had to go to the top of the hour commercials on TV.


It took a lot of effort on Andy's part to do this, we had to be up early after little sleep the night before and had a full day of tests and meetings at Dana Farber to follow. Its great to have a chance to give back, to talk about this journey, to advocate for lung cancer research, for supporting Dana Farber and to have a chance to publicly thank the friends and family who have been our rocks throughout 2010. I firmly believe that every dollar raised for research has an impact - years ago someone donated, and that donation seeded a researcher's idea, and that idea became the drug that Andy and countless others now take to fight off cancer. Every little bit helps.

After the interview we headed to Dana Farber for testing and appointments. Jen met us there, we ran through the usual events (blood work, vitals, and a CT scan with contrast). The folks at DFCI were nice enough to set us up with a cot in the radiology department so Andy could sleep while waiting for the contrast to cycle through his body.

Andy's results came back with less than optimal results. While the Tarceva is working on some tumors, other tumors have grown and remain unchecked. This is disappointing, and was not expected by the doctors. Most EGFR+ patients react well to the Tarceva, some do not, but it is unusual to have a patient who is partially reacting. The upshot is that there is something else going on with his cancer, and additional research is required to understand what that is and how to treat it effectively.

Andy will continue on the targeted therapeutic as it is fighting some of the cancer, and will supplement the treatments with a new chemo regimen. Andy will start Alimta next Friday and receive chemo every three weeks. It is our hope that the combination of the two treatments will beat back the cancer, slow it down while more testing is done on his biopsied tissue, to get a better idea of how best to knock this down. We'll get a CT scan after six weeks to gauge the effectiveness of this treatment regimen.

This was hard to hear for all of us, difficult to call and tell my parents - its the kind of news that sucks the breath out of your lungs. Its not what we hoped for but it is what we have to work with.

After the appointment we headed back to Somerville to let Andy rest, and then Andy, Jen, Ann and I attended part of the Red Sox game as guests of the Jimmy Fund. It was awesome to be there together in the stands. The Sox lost but it was a great night for a game and we had a wonderful time.


Der Mut. Most of you know that Andy has this tattooed on his left arm. Der Mut is German, roughly translated as "the courage, heart, spirit, braveness, grit". Andy had the words tattooed back when he was relatively new in LA trying to make it in the film industry, to remind himself of the tenacity required to be successful. He had it augmented in December, before we knew he was sick; ironically, it is so relevant now and has been throughout his fight this year. So much so that I followed his lead and also had it tattooed on my right arm, to show support for him and let him know that while the fight is personal, he will never stand alone.


I tend to see it on my arm and think of it as "Tenacity in the face of Adversity". As I mentioned, this is not what we hoped for. But we don't stand alone, we have hundreds of friends and family rooting Andy on, and are backed by the very best doctors and researchers at Dana Farber. We will beat this one way or another.

As I mentioned, it has been a busy month for Andy and the family. The other event that we have been quietly dealing with is the recurrence of our Dad's cancer. We found in July that he has some small lesions on his bones, and also got a scare when his CT scan showed innumerable submillimeter nodules in his lungs. Long story short, we have been to just about every leading cancer hospital in the Boston area to get a good plan for his treatment. We received a lot of advice, and have attended consults and reviews at Beth Israel, Brigham & Women's, MetroWest Medical, Mass General... and Dad is now also a patient at Dana Farber. Given his history and how well DFCI has taken care of Andy it is the right place to be.

Dad has had a bunch of tests run, the latest seem to indicate that while we need to treat the bone metastases, we can wait on the lung nodules as they appear not to be cancerous, based on all the recent tests. Dad will start treatment on Friday as well at DFCI, and then, like Andy, will have a CT scan in six weeks to see how the treatment is working.

I don't know what else to say. We are hopeful, we remain strong and we are grateful to have time as a family together. We head out on a vacation to Lake George after the treatments next week. It will be wonderful being there together with friends and loved ones, and will allow us to sit back and catch our collective breath and rest up for the fight.

Charity event a success

Saturday night's Charity event at the Action on Film Festival, the screening of "Swan, One Man's Journey", was extremely successful. Over 300 people turned out from all over to support The Lung Cancer Foundation of America. The movie itself turned out well, of course I'm biased but it seemed to have the audience's attention for the entire 60 minutes. It had funny parts and some "tough" spots when it touched on the subject of cancer. I really enjoyed it. Most people don't ever get a night like this, or a movie like this made about them, at least not while they are still alive. It was really fun for me to see friends I've made over the 13 years I've been in LA openly talking about how they felt about me as a person. It has inspired me. Any time I get down now, I can pop in the DVD and see some friends and get myself ready to fight the cancer again. My Dad has always told me that cancer is a roller coaster of emotions, and it certainly is. Some days I get down, I cry, I get upset. Some days I feel great. I couldn't ask for a better support group of family and friends to help me fight this battle than the group that I am so fortunate to have, many of whom were amongst the 300 people who came to the screening. And I know there were a bunch of people who wished they could have made it but couldn't. I would like to post the end credits from the film to thank the people who worked so hard to put it together. And I need to thank Jen, Zadrina, Sherry, and Trudy again as they put in so much time and effort to make it all happen.

Here's a link to see some footage from the night:

http://www.minglemediatv.com/YourCausesSpecialSeries.html

Here's the credits:

Directed by

TRUDY SARGENT

Created by

ZADRINA EISENMANN

Narration Written by

RAMIN NEMATOLLAHI

Produced by

SHERRY SIMS

Produced by

TRUDY SARGENT

Produced by

JASON BERNERO

Executive Producer

ZADRINA EISENMANN

Executive Producer

AL EISENMANN

Edited by

MATTHEW CASSEL

Original Music by

CONAN SKYRME

CRIS BERNERO

Additional Music by

VANACORE MUSIC

Narrated by

JOE MANTEGNA

Featuring

(In Alphabetical Order)

ED BERNERO

JASON BERNERO

PARKER BOLEK

PAGET BREWSTER

AJ COOK

AL EISENMANN

HANNAH EISENMANN

STONE EISENMANN

ZADRINA EISENMANN

ROBERT FIGLIN, MD

LEAH GOODMAN

ARIKA KAY GRIFFITH

JILLIAN GRIFFITH

STEVE GRIFFITH

MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER

ALUN KINSELLA

ISABELLE KINSELLA

AMANDA KOITER

JASON B. LITTEN, MD

JENNY LIVITZ

OLEG LIVITZ

JOE MANTEGNA

JENNIFER MARKS

ERICA MESSER

SIMON MIRREN

SHEMAR MOORE

HANNA MOURAD

MICHELENE MUNDO

KIM NORRIS

WILLIAM PROCTOR, JR.

MARK RAPPAPORT

JENNIFER SWAN

NICHOLAS SWAN

GREG TAYLOR

DONNELL TURNER

KIRSTEN VANGSNESS

DEL WESTON

IAN WOOLF

RICK A. “FLEA BAG” YOUNG

Post Production Producer GIGI COELLO-BANNON

Post Production Supervisors KIEGAN DOWNS

JENNIFER KETELSEN

Title Design ANTHONY WONSOFF

Video Playback DAUV MCNEELY

Post Production Sound TECHINICOLOR CREATIVE SERVICES

Supervising Sound Editor DAVID M. BEADLE

Music Editorial MICHAEL DITTRICK

MICDI PRODUCTIONS, INC

Music Mixer TOM SKYRME

Re-Recording Mixer ANDRE PERREAULT, C.A.S.

Graphic Design By SHERILL WATTS JUSTO

PROP GRAPHICS

Production Assistants BRANDON GALVAN

MALI GILBERT

TESS GILBERT

Publicity STEPHEN MITCHELL

JEFF ALBRIGHT

THE ALBRIGHT ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

Web Page Design WENDY SCHOEF

ENTERTAINMENTSITES.NET

“MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER: THE UNAUTHORIZED DOCUMENTARY”

Footage courtesy of Matthew Gray Gubler & Andy Swan

“NOT QUITE HEMINGWAY”

Footage courtesy of Oleg Livitz

Photographs of Andy Swan

Courtesy of

The Swan Family

The Griffith Family,

Action On Film International Film Festival

A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO

ED & BARB BERNERO

THE CAST & CREW OF CRIMINAL MINDS

ACTION ON FILM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

DEL WESTON

And the AOF TEAM

THE SWAN FAMILY –

ANDY SWAN

JENNIFER SWAN

IRENE & BOB SWAN

TIM SWAN

MARK MARCOM –

QUIXOTE STUDIOS

CREATURE EFFECTS, INC.

INDEPENDENT STUDIO SERVICES

HAND PROP ROOM

RICH TABACH

NATHAN DEVORE – DAVID VANACORE MUSIC

MIKE LEONE – LION VISUAL EFFECTS

KIM NORRIS – LUNG CANCER FOUNDATION OF AMERICA

RACHEL SCHWARTZ – PR ADVantEDGE, INC

LEE ALLPORT – MySentimentexactlee.com

STEPHANIE PICHE – MINGLE MEDIA TV

STICKAM.COM

DAN RAMM—ACQUAVIVA PRODUCTIONS

JIMMY HILL

CINDY, MACY AND KATY CASSEL

JASON KOITER

BRIDGET COHEN

STEVE GILBERT

MELISSA BROWN

MARY AND LEO WEBER

FILMED ON LOCATION IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

COPYRIGHT ©2010 AREA 9 Productions

In LA, physical therapy starts

I'm back in California for the charity screening at the Action on Film Festival and to start packing for the move to Boston. I started physical therapy and am I sore. But hopefully it will help my back feel better. Overall I feel pretty good. I think the Tarceva is continuing to work. I will find out in August back in Boston.

Looking forward to seeing those of you who are going Saturday!

Interview from local Boston channel

Check out this clip from Fox's coverage of Tim's swim:

Small World Big Hearts

Hi all,

A quick note from the East about today's visit to DFCI, I know a lot of folks are waiting for an update. Andy started early today at Dana Farber. He had a full body scan to check on how the Tarceva is doing against the cancer, and then met with Dr Janne later in the morning.

The treatment is working on the tumors in his soft tissue (lung, liver) but not as effective for the metastases to his bones. The Dr is encouraged that the tumor in his lung, as well as the lesions in his liver, appear to be getting smaller, and we are all grateful for this good news. The tumors on his bones in his spine, ribs appear to either be stable or growing a bit, so we are taking two new approaches to his treatment.

The drug dosage will be increased to battle those sites that are not responding. He is also going back on Zometa, a drug that is delivered by IV to help bulk up his bones as he fights the cancer. Andy received his first infusion today and will receive infusions every six weeks; he responded well to this when it was administered as an adjunct therapy during his chemo regimen in the spring.

I was struck as I always am at DFCI by everyone who cares for the patients, from the valets, to the secretaries, to the nurses, researchers, doctors - everyone - has a huge heart. It is such an amazing place, you feel blessed to be there getting treated by some of the best and smartest people who truly want to beat cancer as much as the patients do.

And today I was also struck by how small this world is. I received an email this morning from a woman who I had met on a cancer website; she had reached out to me early in Andy's fight to let me know about her daughter's very similar (mid 30s, nonsmoker, Stage IV NSCLC) battle, and to recommend the genetic mutation testing. I learned as we were getting Andy started with DFCI that her daughter has consulted over the past year with Dr Janne on her treatment. Emily is also from the West Coast - and it being a small world was in Boston and at DFCI to meet Dr Janne today. Emily, her husband Todd and I met up after Andy's appointment and before hers - it is always nice to talk to other folks who are going through this, and was especially poignant as I feel like in some ways we have been on similar journeys with her and Andy's battles. Emily looked great, she is also responding well to the Tarceva and it provided hope to meet her.

I'm sure we'll write more in the next few days -

Tim

Please help in these two charity events!

There are a couple of charity events coming up that I would like to make everyone aware of. The first one is a swim that Tim does every year to benefit cancer research and is a big reason I am getting the care that I am at Dana Farber. It's called Swim Across America and info on the event can be found through my brother's page at the following link:

http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/timswan2010

If you are able to help reach the goal thanks in advance. If you are unable to donate financially, good thoughts and prayers are welcome!

The other event is going to be hosted by the Action on Film Festival, one of the largest and fastest growing film festivals in America. On July 24th they are showing a film that centers around my experiences as an independent filmmaker. They are also showing some of my work at the event. There will be an after party that sounds like it's going to be a blast. Proceeds will go to both the festival (to pay for hosting) and the remainder will go to The Lung Cancer Foundation of America. Tickets can be purchased at the following link:

https://www.aoffest.com/store/Area-9-Andy-Swan-Visualizing-Films-To-Life-6p44.htm

Thanks for your support!

I am back in Boston safely for my scans tomorrow. I will post when I hear the results. Keep your fingers crossed for good news!

Back in the saddle again

Good news! I was directing again on Sunday, the day after I arrived in LA. We (Area 9 Productions) were shooting a teaser for a feature film we are going to make. It went well and felt good to up and working again, creatively with my friends. I think the teaser is going to be scary and effective.

Another note, clear your calendars those of you who live in LA. On July 24th there is going to be an event hosted by the Action on Film Festival showcasing a film about a filmmaker's plight trying to make it in hollywood (the filmmaker is me). So please come show your support! 100% of the proceeds from the ticket sales will go to the Action on Film Festival and Lung Cancer Foundation of America. It promises to be a good time and will be a charitable event. Here is the link to buy tickets:

https://www.aoffest.com/store/Area-9-Andy-Swan-Visualizing-Films-To-Life-6p44.htm

Please come out and show your support!

-Andy

Back in Cali

Well I've returned to California after about a month in Boston. I'm feeling good. I still have back pains and I am tired a lot, but other than that I'm much better then I was. The tarceva appears to be doing wonders. I'll find out when we next do scans, on July 8. I return to Boston on the 6th. The scans will let us know what's going on with the tumors. It's a huge day for me.

I'll be in Boston until the 18th. My brother swims in a cancer research fund-raising event called Swim Across America, and I'll be on his boat, rooting him on. I can't wait.

Hopefully I'll have time to catch up to my west coast friends while I'm here, but please forgive me if I don't. It's been crazy lately and I have no endurance.

Thanks again for all the support!

So far so good

Well, I've now been on Tarceva for a couple weeks and I've been feeling good, no negative side effects to date. I'm loving my new doctors and my experience at Dana Farber. The doctors listen with interest to what you have to say (as opposed to with one foot out the door) and work together to figure out the best game plan for you as a patient. Things happen fast. If they think you need a biopsy, you'll be getting one the next day. Everyone is friendly and accommodating. Needless to say I'm very happy with our decision to come here for treatment and grateful to Tim for pushing us in this direction and opening doors for me.

I miss my California friends and am looking forward to my next trip back, which should be within the month. Thanks again to my Criminal Minds family and other friends who have been so supportive of my journey. I hope to see everyone on the next trip.

I've started exercising lightly. My muscles are gone because of the bed rest. Hopefully I can build up my endurance and start to get back into shape soon.

Thanks again for all the support.

Andy

Moving FORWARD

Wow. I can't even begin to describe the emotions for Andy, Jen, I, Mom, Dad, and others who have just heard the news. Dana Farber came through quickly (THANK YOU!). The preliminary results from Wednesday's biopsy are in, and as suspected / expected by DFCI, Andy's cancer has a somatic genetic mutation called EGFR+. Getting this information is HUGE both physically and emotionally.

Andy will begin a targeted therapeutic treatment path using an oral drug called Tarceva tonight. This is a much different approach to fighting cancer (the way of the future) than the treatment path he had been on this spring.

Chemotherapy is the first line treatment for Stage IV cancers. Stage IV, by categorization, have spread beyond the initial site and have metastasized. Chemotherapy is a systemic poison - it travels throughout the body, ideally killing the cancer cells that have spread; the down side is that it also kills good, healthy fast growing cells (like hair, for example) and has some pretty nasty side effects. And, while there are recommended paths, it can be hit or miss. In Andy's case it was miss.

Targeted therapeutics work in a different manner. As indicated by the name, they kill just those cells with those markings. In this case, Tarceva will target cells that have the EGFR+ gene mutation.

This is a great new option for Andy. By no means is his fight over, the way that we are looking at it now is that he has a new weapon in the arsenal that has a better success of fighting his specific type of NSCLC cancer, with less harmful side effects. We

Thank you all again for the help in getting here - it has been a long road already, and we continue to gain strength in our fight

And to those at DFCI who I have added to the blog - thank you. Your dedication to treating patients make you heroes to patients and their families everyday.

DFCI Visit

Good evening, a quick note before the next big day...

Team Andy rolled into our Dana Farber visit Thursday after a day of resting with the folks. It was refreshing, invigorating - everyone who works there, from parking to reception to nurses to doctors all smile and take time to make sure the patient and family are ok. Andy met with two doctors for over an hour; they reviewed his case and laid out a plan for establishing the next treatment plan. He gave more blood :) and was checked to make sure that he didn't get a blood clot from the flight (he didn't).

When I finally had the chance to meet Karen, the head nurse who shepherded me and Jen through getting Andy into DFCI, I just about gave her a huge hug in the waiting room. It was awesome to have Andy there, sobering that he needs to be at DFCI but overall exciting to have him treated at a great facility. He is under the care of a DFCI fellow who is studying under the Director of Thoracic Oncology.

One note about DFCI - the Red Sox are huge donors/sponsors, and their footprint is all over the facility. We got a great shot of Andy, Jen and Mom between the 2004 and 2007 World Series pennants... needless to say, all had big smiles. I will add it to this blog entry soon. Dad stayed home, trying to keep up with Nicholas, so we'll get him with Andy and the pennants soon.

Over the weekend several friends and their families visited; it was great to catch up, to have all the kids running all over the Swan homestead and great for Andy to see old friends. Sunday he was laid out from the Saturday BBQ and spent the day resting.

Today we got news that we expected and which leads to tomorrow's event. The T7 tumor that was removed cannot be used for testing, as it is pleomorphic as a result of the targeted radiation delivered in March... so tomorrow Andy heads into Brigham & Woman's (next door to Dana Farber) to have fresh cells biopsied from his liver. This is an outpatient procedure and he will be home resting by evening. I'll head in with Jen and Andy, and then head to work; Dad and Nicholas will make the pickup later in the day when Andy is ready to go.

The cells will be comprehensively tested for 6 somatic genetic mutations; we are hopeful that a treatment plan can be made based on the initial testing by early next week. (Full testing will take up to 3 weeks to have all the tests completed). It's really important that we have complete results after the spending a good amount of time on testing, so getting the fresh cells is important.

Thursday we hope to have Andy into a neurosurgeon for a post surgery check up on his back and to have the surgical staples removed. He'll also be meeting with a nutritionist to help fatten him up :).

That's all for tonight, I'll try to get something out in the next few days on the news.

On the East Coast

Hi all,

Another attempt at a quick update. It took a mighty team (Team Andy!) and a lot of determination to make it happen, but after all was said and done, after a bit of adrenaline, Andy is in Boston, resting for his appointment with Dana Farber tomorrow. The team somehow managed to make the journey without losing any of the entourage or luggage, a minor miracle.

Andy spent last week recovering from the spinal surgery at Henry Mayo in Valencia. The rest of us used the time to organize the trip, get flights, line up medications, get medical records, finalize doctors appointments, work with pathology, ensure that we were ready in Boston with accommodations, handle insurance... so it was a busy week for all.

And it all went according to plan... sort of :). Elaine, Andy's best friend's (and Andy's second) mom, and a NICU nurse in Boston, graciously flew to LA on the early bird and was taken by Zac to Valencia. Dawn watched Nicholas while Jen and Mom packed and gathered the final reports and biopsy sample. Andy prepped for the sweet taste of freedom and release from the hospital.

Jen and I had been asking the hospital, "what will Andy need to leave the hospital, what will he need to fly east, what will he need while he is in Boston..." and we had everything lined up, all the paperwork, according to plan. And then at the last minute, just as Andy's getting ready to leave, we learn that late Sunday night the pulmonologist ordered that Andy have oxygen for the flight back. Which doesn't seem like a big deal, except that the unit used for dispensing oxygen on a plane is somewhat specialized, and as of 245 PM PST on Monday, they couldn't locate one in all of the greater LA area. And... they aren't going to release Andy from the hospital without it.

I tracked down the ladies around 250 PM PST... Mom and Elaine, sprung into action; I had barely told them what was going on before I heard Mom say to Elaine, lets go, followed by squealing wheels. While Jen finished off loose ends at home, Elaine went to the hospital and assumed control of the situation, and made preparations to check Andy out of the hospital and into her care. Mom located a medical supplier in San Diego, and I called Dan, who dropped all and rushed to the San Diego office to get the oxygen canister minutes before they closed at 5 PM PST. Mom and Jen then hopped into a car, headed south, and Dorian called in as "an eye in the sky" from Cincinnati to guide Mom and Jen to Dan to make the pickup while Elaine took care of and readied Andy for the Tuesday flight. The car service arrived after a restless sleepless night for all and whisked Andy, Jen, Nicholas, Mom and Elaine to LAX, they cleared security and flew back with no issues.

Thank you all who helped us on the exodus of crazy Monday - to Zac for picking up Elaine, to Elaine for being a guardian angel taking care of Andy and calming all of our frayed nerves, to Dan for rushing off at a moment's notice and getting the oxygen, to Dorian for acting as a remote air traffic controller, to Dawn for watching Nicholas, to Ann for helping get the hospital bed and room ready for Andy in Boston, to the TSA for calling me back to address questions about flying, to Henry Mayo Pathology for working tightly with me, DFCI, the neurosurgeon to ensure that the biopsied spinal tumor, to DFCI thoracic oncology and pathology and finance for getting everything lined up for the appointments/

So, for now we head into tomorrow, one step at a time, hopeful for a new, winning treatment path and ready to introduce new members of the LC medical community to Team Andy. We're not sure what it will bring but know that we are surrounded by amazing friends and family, an incredible support network. We have hope and a chance to be treated by some of the best in the world.

Good night all.

Successful Surgery

Tonight let's have Dessert before Dinner and cut right to the happy ending: the spinal surgery went well yesterday, Andy's already out of the ICU and the tumor is on its way to Dana Farber (DFCI) for specialized testing.

Last week we brought Andy home from the hospital on Monday, after seeing (almost!) all of the cousins and West coast uncles during visiting hours on Sunday. Tuesday we relaxed at home. A visiting nurse came each night to administer antibiotics through the new pick line. Andy spent the week resting, being forced, er, "strongly encouraged" by evil Jen and Tim :) to drink delicious fruit, Ensure, protein shakes to get his system stronger and his body a bit heavier for the surgery. The cast from Criminal Minds swung by on Wednesday and caught Andy up on how the season was wrapping up.

On Thursday we met with his neurosurgeon, Dr Hua, who graciously spent time explaining what would be done, entertained Nicholas with a model of the spine (and a cookie from the nurses) and discussed our desire to have the testing done at DFCI. Dr Hua was very helpful, took the time to really listen to the patient and his family (very refreshing!) and agreed with the additional testing that DFCI could provide, and set us up with the Pathologist at Henry Mayo hospital.

Friday had us up and out early, having breakfast outside at a local bagel shop, and then off the hospital for an additional full body bone scan, and pre-op blood and urine work. It was a pretty tiring day, being up and out for that long.

The week finished off with short visits from friends. While it was great for Andy to have visitors, it was hard on him, as he was exhausted from the pain and the pain meds he was on had the side effect of making Andy a bit anxious with lots of folks around.

We also spent a good part of the week working with DFCI to ensure that the pathology department had the correct directions for shipping the tumor back East. We also held additional conversations with Dr Janne at DFCI about Andy's appointment on 13 May. I'd be remiss if I didn't also thank Karen, the head nurse for the Thoracic Oncology department, who addressed a lot of our questions.

I flew home on Sunday, met mom at the gate, we caught up, then she hopped onto the plane that I had flew in on and headed out West. Andy went in for the surgery on Tuesday, after a very tough Monday. The surgery lasted ~5 hours, followed by 2 hours in recovery and then off to the ICU to keep Andy from contracting an infection in his surgical wound.

Dr Hua removed the tumor as well as ~50% of the T7 vertebrae. Bone concrete was used to seal and build up the T7 where the bone had been. Screws were inserted into his T6 and T8 vertebrae and a pin was setup parallel to the spine, to provide additional support for his back.

Dr Hua believes that the cancer has not made its way to the spinal cord, which is good news. And, as mentioned, Andy is out of ICU, and even stood today for a few minutes. The tumor should be on a FedEx plane tonight as I type.

Some of you have asked why its important to have the tumor tested. The mom of another young, nonsmoker Stage IV NSCLC patient pointed out that a great article explaining this showed up on the RSS feed (to the left) on 18 April: Biomarkers Predict Best Lung Cancer Therapy. The end result from the tumor will be more information which should help select the most efficacious treatment path going forward.

So - thank you to everyone that has been sending positive vibes, who visited Andy, Jen or I, called, texted, emailed, made dinners, took some Swan family member to LAX, helped with Nicholas. Thank you to the other patients that we have met who have provided guidance on testing and treatment options, and educated us through their experiences. We are truly blessed to have great friends and family.

We continue to work on getting Andy back for the 13 May appointment. I am hoping he'll be able to post something soon, hoping that he'll be back home by the end of the week or weekend. I am also going to try to figure out how to create a page with photos from this past week - we have some great ones of Andy in his johnny, wheeling his IV post around the med/surg block, not letting it slow him down.

Good night all.

New Challenges

Hi all,

I've promised to be short in the past and will do so again tonight as Jen and I are exhausted. I'll provide more detail and updates later this week but here's the short story to a long week.

Last Sunday Andy was hospitalized for pain management. The hospital ran a series of tests (xrays, CT scans, blood) and diagnosed him with pneumonia on Sunday. On Monday of last week they gave him a full body MRI and found that the pain was being caused by the growth of the tumor on the T7 vertebrae. Surgery was recommended for Wednesday to reduce the risk of paralysis. The MRI also revealed that the chemo regimen is not working, as the mass in the lung has not shrunk and there are additional lesions in his liver. The T7 tumor did not respond to radiation and chemo, and has grown to about an inch.

I flew out Tuesday after work in preparation for surgery. During the trip out, the doctors consulted and decided to call off the surgery, due to the potential for post operation complications from Avastin, the second line drug treatment that he was receiving with the chemo. Avastin can cause abscessing for surgical wounds.

Andy is resting comfortably in the hospital, and his blood counts have gotten better (WBC, RBC, platelets). For now, we have to wait until the Avastin clears the system in order to have the spinal surgery. He is looking at a new chemo drug as well as additional consultation on testing from DFCI. We are working hard :) and hope to boost him from the hospital tomorrow, so that he can rest at home. In the interim up to the surgery, he will get a pick line, which will allow him to have IV fluids & antibiotics administered at home, and he will wear a back brace, and is on a new pain management regimen. He will have the surgery in early May and than be in the hospital (ICU, main population) for about a week afterwards.

So, good news in a round about way is that because of this episode we learned that the first line chemo treatment was not working a bit earlier, which is allowing us to move onto the next treatment options. The doctors have assured us that the additional wait time will not increase the risk of paralysis. Andy is getting stronger through the antibiotics and breathing treatments, so the pneumonia threat is dropping. And we continue to target mid May for an onsite consultation with Dana Farber in Boston.

Thank you to all the folks that reached out to help during this past week with meals, help with Nicholas, work, visits, kind words etc. This was a hectic week with a much more circuitous journey than I have described, and we kept quiet for a bit to allow the very dynamic situation settle a bit. I'll send more as we bring Andy home, and update this blog with some pictures.

Team Andy

Third chemo down...

Well, the third chemo is in the old system now doing it's thing. It must be doing something because I have zero energy these days. Even writing a blog entry is a struggle. So everything went well on the chemo, although my back pain is still considerable. I have been able to sleep on the couch, but still put some chair time in during the night.

Next I go for scans which will help determine how well the chemo and radiation have been doing. Those results will be big for me. As soon as I get dates I'll post them.

Dad went home and Tim is coming soon. That's all for now.

Halfway There!

Hi all - just a quick note via the East Coast office o' Tim. Its been a bit since we updated, as there has been a lot of ups and downs since the past chemo. I'll tell you what I know and let Andy add notes as he starts to regain strength.

As I mentioned its been a battle for Andy since the last chemo. Every time he gets chemo, his blood is taken a week later, and he is given a complete blood count (CBC) to check the impact of the chemo on his ability to transport oxygen, fight infections, and clot, among other things. These measurements are his Red Blood Cell (RBC), White Blood Cell (WBC) and Platelet counts, respectively.

So... a week after Chemo #2 (24 March) found Andy still in pretty rough shape. Completing the radiation and Chemo #2 concurrently left him weak, in pain, tired, unable to eat and really low in his WBC and Platelet counts. Start of week three (29 March) after Chemo #2 found Andy finally able to swallow, and the mucous in his lungs (both as a result of the radiation) subsiding, which allowed him to breathe easier as well as rest more horizontally. More rest, ability to eat allowed him to put a few pounds back on his frame.

Andy has been judiciously taking protein and greens supplements to help his body get the WBC and Platelet counts up. He also has been on pain medication in an attempt to let his body rest.

Dad flew out this week on Tuesday, and Andy had his levels checked again on Wednesday prior to Chemo #3. The levels were up sufficiently enough to allow him to have Chemo #3 administered. He's also going to be medicated to help prevent the chemo from bringing his WBC counts too low.

The downside is that he is not yet able to return to the East Coast to be consulted with at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He was scheduled for an appointment on 15 April, but given his current condition, as well as the proximity to this latest round of chemo, it was thought that it be best that we push this appointment back. He'll be back East for a few days in May for the DFCI consult. Short term his next steps will be to continue to rest up, gain strength and prepare for his next round.

We have another important date coming up as well. Sometime during the week of 19 April Andy will have a full body scan as well as bone scan, to ascertain the efficacy of the current chemo. regimen. This will be compared to the scans from pre-treatment in mid February to measure the progression / regression of the cancer both at known and potentially new sites.

I and / or Andy will provide additional information as it develops. Thanks again for all the love, faith, prayers, hope, positive vibes and thoughts.

I'll leave you with this great note from a friend - not sure who the author is but it is the truth...

What Cancer Cannot Do
Cancer is so Limited...
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It cannot corrode Faith
It cannot destroy Peace
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade the Soul
It cannot steal Eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit.

Anger, and a Request

Just a quick note from the East Coast on yet another beautiful Spring day (they say the rains will stop by the 40th day; if you have an Ark I am interested in making a reservation).

Like Andy, I too am blessed with a great brother, friends and family. And they have been doing a great job checking in with me on how my parents and I are handling this. Everyone asks "What Can I Do?"

Some have asked "Are you Angry?" This is understandable - Andy's a young, great guy with a beautiful family, good job, great heart and strong mind - no one 'deserves' to have cancer, and it seems even more 'unfair' and even unbelievable that a healthy, young, non-smoker would be diagnosed with Lung Cancer. Am I Angry? Sure, I, my parents, and our friends, I am sure, go through periods of anger at this situation.

The reality is It's Not Fair - but I remind myself to vent as I need to, to step back from that precipice, to let the anger and pity go, because, really, neither one will help - and focus my energies on doing all that I can for Andy and the countless others out there in the same boat.

For those of you who really know me, you know that when I need to fight back I research and get the facts. And the more I learn, the more I Am Angry.

Everyone has heard about the impact of Breast and Prostate cancers to women and men; each is the #1 cancer killer in their respective gender. Lung Cancer is genderless - it kills more than breast, prostate, colon, liver, melanoma and kidney cancer combined. Yet Lung Cancer receives the lowest amount of federal cancer research funding. Full details about Lung Cancer and the lack of appropriate federal research funding can be found here on the Lung Cancer Alliance website.

There are theories as to why this is. Lung Cancer is political - for two reasons. I, like most, until recently assumed incorrectly that Lung Cancer just struck smokers; while cancer of any type is a tragedy, there is an unspoken prejudice that since someone chooses to smoke, it could have been prevented. While a majority of Lung Cancer patients have smoked, the number of new patients is trending towards non-smokers: since 2008, 60% of newly diagnosed Lung Cancer patients are non-smokers.

The other 'hidden' reason is something else that I had assumed until recently as well. Anyone remember the movie "The Insider" about the tobacco industry researcher that went on the 60 Minutes television program? That 1994 interview led to the landmark agreement between 46 states and Big Tobacco (the "November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement"). The 46 states, plus US territories, are to be allocated over $200 Billion (that's right, Billion with a 'B') over a 25 year period. Per the agreement, the money is to go towards treating health issues associated with tobacco.

Since the agreement was at the state level, there is no federal oversight into how the states use the money. So guess what? As there is no policing of the use of the funds the estimate is that less than 1% of the funds allocated through 2009 is being used to fund research into early detection methods and new treatments.

Is anyone else angry when they read that?

Washington finally woke up to this disparity between Lung Cancer and federal research in 2009, and submitted the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009.

Malcolm X wrote "Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."

So here's my challenge to you. Here's what you can do to help. Get Angry. Reach out to your Senators and Representatives and ask them to Support the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act. Fill out this form. The form will generate a letter to your political leaders and email it to their Washington offices.

Alright! I'll get off my soapbox now. Turns out that this is not a quick note. But it is important, and I thank you for reading it, and acting on it.

Tim

Coming around

Well I was anticipating that I would have a tougher time recovering from this round of chemo and radiation, and boy was I right. The side effects of radiation really took their toll on me and continue to do so. My throat is extremely sore all the time. It's starting to get better now. I've had trouble eating due to this, and my weight is down to my high school weight. As my throat has improved I've been able to eat more and hope that I can get my weight up over the next week. My blood work showed that I have a low platelet count and white blood cell count, so I have to be careful to not get sick. The other side effect of the radiation is that I've been coughing up phlegm nearly non-stop. I look at that as my body getting rid of cancer cells, and that helps me get through it. My back pain is constant, but the vicodin helps with that. It's now muscular, not from the bones, so hopefully as I get more active and move around more it may subside.

Enough of the bad stuff. My mom's visit was good, we watched a bunch of movies (thanks Liz) and spent time playing with Nicholas. Dad comes out next week, right before the next round of chemo. Tim has been in touch with Dana Farber and has made some progress in getting me in with a team there. This is good news as they have some of the best cancer doctors in the world.

That's it for now. Thanks for all your support.

Rough Days Behind, Better Days Ahead

Hello folks. Just a quick note to let you know how Andy is doing following the completion of radiation (yahoo!) and his second chemo injection... not good right now but like the weather earlier this week on the east coast, improving.

Andy received his tenth and last directed radiation treatment for the sites on his back, ribs, and neck on Wednesday AM then proceeded to get green-dyed chemotherapy. A little bit shorter this time as he did not receive the bone strengthening medication (which is prescribed on a 6 week cycle) and less of the second line drug. And, true to form, he requested that it be dyed green in honor of St Patty's day.

Wednesday night and Thursday were fairly rough, as expected. Andy was pretty sick both days, exhausted and in a bit of pain due to the radiation. He slept a little bit better last night, and is hoping to eat today.

On a lighter note, Andy's Brother-in-Law in South Africa saw the 'Bald Andy' photo and created this cartoon:

Happy weekend all!

Tim

Big week

It's a big week for me. I had radiation today, again tomorrow, and finally Wednesday. Right after radiation on Wednesday I go straight to chemo. The radiation has put me out a bit lately. I'm tired, my taste buds are messed up, and some back pain has come up (should all get better in a week or so). I meet with both my radiation oncologist and my regular oncologist on Wednesday. After that I should have some solid re-coup time. Looking forward to Thursday, no matter how rough I'll be feeling.

Mom comes in tonight. Jen's going to get her soon. I'm looking forward to seeing her. I'm sure it'll be emotional. She's here for almost two weeks. It'll be fun for Nicholas. I was telling Jen today that in a strange way cancer has made me more a part of the family. I've been able to spend a lot of time with Jen and Nicholas and we've grown tighter. I cherish the moments now and have a new outlook on life.

Some friends came by this Sunday to visit. It was good to see them. We had quite a spread to eat. I showed off my baldness in all it's glory. I guess I have a decent shape to my head.

I felt crappy this morning but the afternoon's been good. I went for a walk with Nicholas for about 35 minutes. I'm going to try to get exercise when I can. Still have a lot of work to do with finances and taxes. Everything takes a lot longer for me these days.

That's it for now. I'll try to update this weekend to let everyone know how Wednesday went.

Bald is beautiful

Well, I knew it would happen eventually. My hair has started falling out. I looked at my hand after running it through and there it was. Now I can start dressing like The Edge and wearing beanies all the time. Been looking forward to it!


Another day in the radiation tube today. My back is feeling better all the time and sleep is getting easier. All good things heading into round two of chemo next week. My Dad just left for the airport to head back to Boston. Mom comes out next week. I think next week will be tough after round two and I know my Mom will probably see me at my worst so far. She's tough. She can handle it.

So the beat goes on, I've made strides in getting my life together this past week and preparing for what's to come. There's a good chance we'll make that move to Boston this summer so I can be treated at Dana Farber and live with my parents. There's a lot to figure out with all that coming and we've been working it out. Priority one is to get healthy, after that jobs and health insurance stuff will fall into place.

I'm open to calls and visits, just let me know when if you want to come up and we'll make it work. I'm feeling better now so I have more energy than the past few weeks. I have to say thanks again for all the support from everyone, whether they are local or across the globe, the outpouring of support is overwhelming. I love you all!

-Andy

1st radiation a success!

I had a successful first radiation yesterday and it worked for my pain already! I slept in my own bed for a full night for the first time in months. I didn't have to sleep on a chair at all. It was heaven! My back is feeling much better. I go in today again for the second of ten treatments. This is a turning point for Team Andy!

I also learned yesterday that whatever lesions were in my right leg are gone. The chemo must have taken care of them and as a result I don't have to do as much radiation.

I'm very excited today!

Pain relief in sight!

Hello everyone, it's Andy. First I want to say thanks for all the amazing support you have all shown over the course of the past few weeks as I've started down this journey. I haven't been able to answer all messages and emails but just so you know it has given me great comfort to hear from so many of you and each email and message lifts my spirits.

Today I went in for my radiology fitting. Basically the technicians fit you with a special body pillow that keeps you motionless for the radiation. Usually it takes five days from the fitting to your first radiation treatment, but the doctor called tonight and wants to start with me tomorrow! This is great news because the radiation should alleviate much of the pain I've been dealing with in my back. I have been unable to really sleep because of the pain and it is fairly constant so relief will be a huge step for me. I'm set up for 15 appointments, once daily until the regimen is complete. I should finish shortly after my next chemo injection so hopefully my body will be in full fight mode for that round!

Resting Up

Beautiful day out here in SoCal - sunny, and 65, slight breeze - cool by Cali standards, but man, does it feel good for a guy from back East. And did I mention the 2+ lb grapefruit that Jen and I found at the farm stand yesterday?



Several folks have asked about how the chemo works. I included a picture from the first treatment last Tuesday. Andy rests pretty comfortably in a chair, and receives the chemo drugs (2) as well as bone strengthening (1) and a second line cancer drug (1) through an IV. He can get up, listen to music, read, eat, and harass the nursing staff about all the UCLA gear... He's allowed 1 visitor at a time, and as mentioned before, Jen and I split the last time.

Andy has been resting, which is good. None of us slept well on Friday night, all restless, all taking turns waking up - apparently my snoring on the couch caused Andy to move from the chair downstairs back to the bedroom - but we all hit the hay early last night and slept well. His rest is really important for his recovery, and pure exhaustion is probably the biggest impact of the chemo and meds that Andy has seen in the past week.

Andy met with his Radiation Oncologist (actually more like a team) on Friday for a few hours. Given that the cancer has spread to several sites, he will be receiving radiation treatment in addition to the chemo. He will start a radiation regimen of 15 total visits, daily, for 3 weeks. These will target several sites on his ribs, one on his lower right shin, a couple on his middle spine (T4, T7), and one up on his neck (C3). He will go for a "simulation" this week, during which they will measure him for and build a special pillow that he will lay in each time he goes for radiation. Each daily treatment will take around 30 minutes or so, and will not hurt, should not have adverse effects that he has seen with the chemo. The radiation is targeted, very precise, and designed to knock out the cancer cells. We are hopeful that these treatments will kill these sites, which will help him with the pain that he has been in, and allow him to rest and be comfortable.

In the meantime, he is on some new pain meds, and again, we are hopeful that these will help him manage the pain and allow his him to rest his body as the chemo takes the fight to the cancer.

Old and new friends, local and distant, visited over the weekend. It was great for Andy, as well as Jen and I, to see everyone. He managed it pretty well, only falling asleep a few times :). It can be tiring for him to talk about this ordeal but it lifts his spirits and is further testament to Andy's impact on our lives.

I head back East this week, and our Dad will rotate out for a long weekend. Andy and Jen get a few days break after our Dad heads back and then my Mom will head out for Andy's second chemo treatment.

Thank you to all those that have reached out, offered help, provided support, and asked how to help. We're still sorting it all out, getting insurance, appointments, disability worked out. Once we have that done, we'll probably have a better sense for how everyone's offers can be incorporated in Andy's fight against cancer.

Tim