Jenn A to Z

Today Steve starts BB1608, which is the trial drug and one of two he will be taking for treatment. They start one drug at a time to gauge side-effects. Kind of a strange feeling to take a medication and then wait to see what will happen, but Steve doesn’t seem phased by it. The other…

Steve got all his tests done yesterday and then after a strange lunch (people should not discuss personal medical conditions in restaurants while on speaker phone…yuck) and a huge hotel mix up (tears were shed), we finally checked into a lovely junior suite. The room is very comfortable with a separate seating area with kitchenette,…

We will be going up to Mayo to start the drug trial on September 30 and staying until October 8. I feel ok posting this since our house will be occupied. Steve will start the actual chemo on the 2nd with the days before consisting of tests. After this initial stay, we will need to…

Just got back from Steve’s appointment at Mayo. Back to the room anyway…we’re staying an extra night just to decompress a bit. Not sure my prose will be up to par so I’ll just list what we learned… — Steve DOES qualify for the drug test. — The test has shown very good results in…

Steve had his oncology appointment today and they were glad to see how good he was feeling. That’s always a good thing! His sister met him at the appointment, which was really nice for both Steve and  I. Sometimes appointments are a lot for me and while I want to be there for Steve, I…

The report is that I have little to report. This is not a bad thing, really. Steve finished radiation a week ago last Friday. The side-effects of radiation often start several days after the first session and then last several days after the final session. The first week of radiation went fine. Little fatigue (other…

It probably stems back to when I was an English major, but when I hear people give a speech and they start with a dictionary definition of their topic, I cringe. Professors seem to drill out of their charges the cliches that most of the population relies on to communicate. It’s because of this training…

While I sit here this morning contemplating the day before us, I start to let myself be hopeful for a miracle. How wonderful would it be to go into the doctor’s office here at Mayo and have them say that they looked at Steve’s tests and found no signs of cancer. I’ve heard it happen…

Heading to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota tomorrow afternoon. We’re going for a second opinion, to see if there is anything more we can be doing. We’re anxious. Very. Need-to-remember-to-breath anxious. It’s not that we’re going to receive any bad news. We’re going to see if there is anything in addition to what we’re doing.…

When we started this blog, facebook wasn’t really a thing many were using yet. Now that almost all our friends and family do use facebook, we seem to be posting more on our Team Zieser facebook page than here on the blog. In fact, our blog is often a repost of what is on our…