Happy Holidays!

Hi everyone...by now many of you have probably heard our latest news - Dallas has to have another surgery because some of the same cancer has shown up in his thyroid. We were devastated - but as usual Dallas is rising to the challenge. He's thinking that since there was always a "spot" showing on his thyroid that the cancer may have been there for a bit. He's also pretty sure that the chemo and radiation have already given the cancer a serious kick in the pants. The doctors had a difficult time finding the cancer cells this time which makes us think that there really aren't many left. We're hopeful that this will be the end of our cancer experience and that after this surgery we can get on with our lives.

Dallas's operation is scheduled for January 20th so I'll be sure to update you on his progress. There's a slim chance that he could get called in for his surgery over the holidays but we're not holding our breath. Thank you so much for all the support that you've given us - our burden has really been lightened by all of you. Have a wonderful Christmas and let's raise a glass to a happy and healthy 2009! More later...

Love, Patty & Dallas

R & R Time

Hi everyone...we're on a couple of days of R & R in Tofino. It's been so relaxing here just walking along the beach that never seems to end. Dallas has a few weeks of doctor free time so that was cause for celebration! If his PET scan goes well in January then he doesn't have any more checkups until the middle of March. Life is good...

Love, Patty & Dallas

SO FAR SO GOOD!

Dallas is now midway through his check up week and so far everything is going well. He had several biopsies yesterday which were pretty stressful. Although the pathology on the tissue samples won't be back for a few weeks both the pathologist and the radiologist conducting the tests were pretty positive there weren't any cancer cells present. They were checking Dallas's thyroid this time because he does have a growth there and they want to keep an eye on it.

Today was Dallas's check up with the surgeon and that went well too. He's sending Dallas to Vancouver again for another PET scan - it's the most definitive technology out there as far as cancer detection goes. The PET scan will hopefully be sometime in January so if all goes well we'll be off the hook for a little while. Dallas still has to go to the cancer clinic this week for a follow up with the radiation oncologist but I'm sure he'll pass those tests with flying colours too.

Other than all the poking and prodding that he's had to put up with this week, Dallas is doing really well. He's starting to work hard on getting back that shoulder movement which is a big challenge. He's still having a fair amount of nerve pain but the surgeon reassured us that it is a side effect of the surgery and not a sign that the cancer is spreading.

We're starting to feel as though our lives are getting back on track. Earlier this week Dallas enjoyed a day out on the boat fishing and landed a salmon so he hasn't lost his touch! We're still taking life day by day here but we're also starting to feel cautiously optimistic. Thanks as always for all the support. More later...

Love,
Patty and Dallas
PS - Lawrence we'll be expecting to see you in all your Canuck gear front and centre at PGA West - make us proud!

HI FROM THE SUNNY WEST COAST!

Hi everyone...believe it or not as I write this the sun is shining on us! We've been keeping busy here - we even snuck in a quick trip to the San Juan Islands. Keeping busy is good diversionary tactic for us both. As far as Dallas's symptoms are concerned, I think that he feels as though he has taken two steps forward and one step back. While I notice that he's getting a lot stronger (chopping wood, power walking, etc.) he's experiencing some new pain which is very stressful. I think that the nerves and muscles that were affected by his surgery didn't have time to fully heal before they were bombarded with chemo and radiation. As a result, they're now complaining big time. On the positive side, Dallas has feeling in his face and neck where he thought he'd lost it, so I guess this is a time of healing and change as we wait and see how everything will turn out. Yesterday was a good day so I'm hopeful that more will follow.

Dallas starts getting poked and prodded the last week in November, so I'll report in then and let you know how everything is going. Thanks as always for your ongoing love and support! More later...

Love, Patty

Rounding the Corner!

Hi everyone...thanks again for all the wonderful emails, blog comments, calls and visits! You have lightened our burden and helped us both find the strength we needed to face our recent challenges. YOU ARE THE BEST!

I am pleased to report that Dallas is feeling stronger with each passing day. The radiation burns are slowly healing up and the effects of the chemo are almost gone. Dallas starts physio on Wednesday. He'll be working on many things including neck and shoulder rotation, facial muscles (there goes that cute crooked grin!) and overall strengthening. The next hurdle will be passing all the tests that the doctors will throw at him soon - please keep your fingers crossed.

Despite all of this I really feel like we're rounding the corner and even if life isn't quite normal, it's getting there. This weekend Dallas and Steve were out on the boat fishing and we spent Saturday afternoon boating with some friends. The best change is that we're not travelling to the cancer clinic every day! More later...

Love,
Patty

Recovering...

As I write this, Dallas is taking a snooze. They said that the effects of chemo and radiation would be cumulative and boy were they right! This week the Big Guy is more tired than he has been since after surgery and he's suffering from some painful burns on his neck - the results of radiation. I'm sure that in a week or two he'll feel a lot better. Even though he wasn't feeling top notch today, we still walked 3 km. He never ceases to amaze me! More later...

Love, Patty

ONE MORE TREATMENT!

Yippee! Dallas only has one more radiation treatment on Monday and then that's it for now. As the chemo wears off his system he has been feeling better and stronger as the week progresses. After Monday's treatment Dallas will have ongoing checkups and tests to make sure the cancer has been eradicated. As the Oncologist said "we'll keep our fingers crossed" - and of course your continual positive thoughts and prayers will help too! More later...

Love Patty & Dallas

PS - Anne & Brian - thanks so much for the call from Italy!

FOUR MORE DAYS!

Hi everyone...hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends all weekend. On Thursday, Jordan arrived home for the holiday weekend from Calgary so it was great to spend some time with him. Marcus and Heather were also able to spend a couple of days with us so we had a wonderful visit with all the kids. We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Saturday and were joined by Heather's Dad, John, and his partner Vicki, as well as our friend Karin Kinley (another valley transplant!). We enjoyed another turkey dinner last night at our friends Steve & Peggy's. I am happy to report that the Big Guy was able to down more than his fair share of both dinners with the help of extra gravy portions!

Dallas's chemo ended on Thursday which was great. Unfortunately, he probably had his worst weekend both physically and emotionally. The cumulative effects of the chemo left him exhausted and the burns and swelling from the radiation made him very uncomfortable. Luckily, by yesterday he felt as though he was turning the corner and was ready for his last few days of treatment by this morning. He may feel tired for a week or two after treatment but then it should get a lot better. Thanks for all of your support - we don't know what we would do without you! More later...

Love,
Patty & Dallas

Seven More Days

Dallas only has one more chemotherapy session and seven more radiation treatments so we are really counting down the days. Today wasn't the greatest day...Dallas developed mouth sores and isn't feeling that well. The doctor at the cancer clinic prescribed a special mouth wash which should help the sores heal and soothe Dallas's throat. Our other challenge has been Dallas's skin - it's becoming very sensitive because of the radiation "sunburn". We're caking his face in lotion to try and soothe it. As our friend Steve says -" we're almost through it!" - I'm sure that the next few days will be a challenge but we can finally see the finish line. More later...

Love, Patty

Happy Birthday Jordan!

Today our "baby" is 21! Where does the time go? Dallas and I couldn't be there to help Jordan celebrate this milestone but our friends Anne & John McGilvary had a special dinner for him in Calgary. Anne and John are some of the first friends that we met in Invermere and have known Jordan since he was a toddler. Thanks so much you two!

A BIG thank you to everyone who kept us busy this weekend. It really helped keep our minds off the fact that Dallas had another chemo/radiation combo week on the horizon. Friday night Marcus and Heather joined us - luckily they visit often and stay overnight so we can keep up with their busy lives. On Saturday morning we had a visit from our friend Jim Guild. Jim is another valley transplant (who now lives on Gabriola Island) so it was great to catch up with him. We joined the Heyer and Stidston clans at Goldstream Park Saturday afternoon. It was a great time as usual, and as an added bonus we enjoyed an awesome turkey dinner. Who knew that camping food could be so gourmet?

Dallas is entering the fourth week of treatment feeling strong and going in fighting. I just know that that's going to pay off. More later...

Love, Patty and Dallas

The End of Week 3!

We're very happy that week 3 has drawn to a close. It means that we're over the half way mark and Dallas is still doing extremely well with all of his treatment. Today is the first day that he woke up and mentioned a sore throat so although he still ate softer foods, we did finally take out the blender and mix up a smoothie. Our favourite Radiation tech put a positive spin on the sore throat - she said that it meant that the treatment is working. We can't get over all of the wonderful staff at the cancer clinic - they're always there to boost you up when you feel low. Smiles are given out continuously and hugs are available if you need them - what a gifted bunch of people. Have a great weekend...I'll post early next week to let you know how the chemo is going. Thanks as always for being there!

Love, Patty

The Beginning of Week 3

Hi everyone...thanks as always for all the comments - those positive vibes really help, believe me! As Dallas begins week three he's feeling pretty good. I think he continues to amaze the staff at the cancer clinic - they expect him to feel a lot worse. By all indications he should be flat out by now, but the Big Guy is showing his fighting side! His throat continues to get sorer and swallowing is becoming an issue but he's dealing with it by switching to softer (high fat!) foods. He gained another couple of pounds so everyone is very happy with him - it's like he needs to store up energy for winter. Dallas is also sporting a crooked looking sunburn as they're radiating each side of his face in a different way (they're hitting the left surgery side a lot harder). His physiotherapist is very happy with him as well, so he's scoring A's in all subjects. The staff at the clinic keep warning us that the BIG test will be the last half of his treatment but we're trying to stay positive and are hopeful that he'll surprise them again! More later...

Love, Patty

Treatment Day 10

Well we're getting closer to the half way point and Dallas is doing pretty well all things considered. He's still trying to slug down the "soul food diet" ( thanks for that term, Lawrence!) which means fat, fat and more fat stuff! But it's paying off and he's gained back 2 pounds - cause for celebration in our lives right now.

We also had a positive meeting with the radiation oncologist - we haven't had much luck with the docs since this all started so it was a nice change. He was very reassuring and told us not to worry - said "we'll make you better." Those are the kind of hopeful statements that you cling to when you have cancer. I think all the staff at the Cancer Clinic are really surprised at how well Dallas is doing. Of course, we all know how the Big Guy can be pretty stubborn when he puts his mind to it! What I'm noticing is that Dallas is more tired by late afternoon and although he doesn't complain much I know that his throat is getting more sore by the day. I think I'll get the blender ready for smoothies - Dallas is going through lots of frozen yoghurt so I think the icy drinks will feel the best.

We're looking forward to having a visit from friends Bruce and Assunta. They're going to be with us for a few days which is great - Assunta is the Director of Surgery for the Vernon hospital so we'll have some expert care on board! More later....

Love, Patty

Week 2 Begins

The weekend was a bit tough - Dallas had some stomach issues going on - we had a sleepless night and a Dallas had a bad couple of days. But now everything has settled down and Dallas has started week 2 of radiation treatments. At weigh in time Dallas got into trouble as he's down a pound and a half. Every ounce lost now is not a good thing so as I write this Dallas is out downing the most fattening lunch he could think of - Kentucky fried chicken. My arteries start to clog just thinking about it, but I'm sure the Big Guy will be able to get through it with flying colours!

Dallas is really feeling great today. After the Kentucky fried chicken extravaganza he's off to the driving range with his brother Morley. Dallas can't swing a club right now, but we all know that he's pretty good at dispensing free golf advice so today Morley is the lucky guy!

Hopefully, there will be more good days in the week ahead...I'll keep you posted.

Love, Patty

Week One is Finished!

Dallas and his shadow survived week one of cancer treatment - yippee! This means that the first of two chemotherapy cycles is finished which is great. Dallas will still have to have radiation treatments every day (Monday-Friday) but not having to go to chemo will be a nice rest for him. So far, his side effects have been minimal - he has some stomach upset and looks like he's been out in the sun a bit too long (or that he's a heavy drinker-take your pick!). The redness is caused by the radiation and it will get worse and the skin will become more irritated, but the techs tell us that it will eventually go away. I've noticed that Dallas's energy is starting to wane a bit.This is mostly caused by the chemo - his blood counts will go down over the next week or so as the drugs do their thing. His strength will increase though, and then they'll zap him with more chemo again in about 3 weeks time. Dallas's attitude is very positive - now that the fight has begun he's ready to give it his all.

Thanks so much for all of your kind words, positive thoughts and prayers - it's all helping. Sometimes when you call you may notice that our phone will go to voice mail faster than usual. This is because my patient is taking a nap and I've pushed the "Do Not Disturb" button on the phone. Please don't be offended - the Big Guy just needs his zzzzz's! Your messages are all listened to and appreciated!

Love, Patty

Day 2

Grocery shopping and life can change so quickly! Five weeks ago when I brought Dallas home from the hospital after the surgery he was on a ZERO fat diet. I spent an extra hour reading every label before an item went into my grocery basket. Today, after seeing the dietitian at the cancer clinic I had orders to fill Dallas up with every high fat/high calorie item I could find! This is because the radiation treatment have a cumulative effect. Dallas's throat will narrow and become sore again. Eating will become a challenge and smoothies will be our friend. Every day at the Cancer Clinic Dallas is weighed in - just like at weight watchers. Unfortunately, every pound he loses now gets him closer to the dreaded feeding tube which we want to avoid. Thankfully, the dietitian just mentioned it in passing as a "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" scenario.

Chemo and radiation went fine again today but we're told the weekend might not be much fun. One step at a time....

Love, Patty

Day One

Day One of treatment probably turned out as well as could be expected. Our first adventure was in the radiation department. A couple of weeks ago Dallas was fitted with a special mask which forms to his face and then clamps down to the treatment table. The mesh like mask has special markers on it and holds his head and neck in absolute stillness during treatment. The worst part of radiation is getting used to the mask - it's pretty tight - the treatment itself lasts only a a few minutes or so. I had the advantage of sitting outside with the techs and watching the Big Guy on camera to make sure that he was behaving himself (so far so good!). One radiation down - 5 more weeks to go. One of the most upsetting parts of the day for me was to gaze up from the radiation table and see a baby's mobile toy - some of their customers are so very young that it's heart breaking.

The chemo room is very pleasant. The Big Guy has his own lazy boy chair complete with IV and a chair for me - almost like home but with lots of interruptions! We have our favourite nurse already - we only had her for part of the treatment today. Dallas's chemo is in two parts - one is like a regular IV that we'll go for during the next four days - it takes about 45 minutes to run through. The other one is a take-out IV model - he will have this pump attached for the next four days. So far so good...of course they said that side effects could appear but at least we got thru the first day without any major problems. I'm sure that from now on Dallas will be tired a lot - he's trying to talk me into a fishing trip this weekend but I put the kibosh to that right away - party pooper that I am! They also have really good anti-nausea drugs at the cancer clinic - if Dallas doesn't need these perhaps we'll save for a rough water fishing trip once he's better!

More later....Love, Patty

Cousins Emily, Marcus, Jordan and Connor - "Behaving for the Camera"

Some Good News!

So after spending a big chunk of our day at the cancer clinic in "chemo training" and various other stuff we returned home exhausted. There was a message on the machine when we got home tonight which was from our family doctor...she knew that we wouldn't want to go the weekend without knowing that the CT scan Dallas had yesterday was GOOD!!! The cancer isn't spreading - yippee!! This means that when Dallas goes in on Monday to begin his treatment he can focus on fighting this and just getting better. Just thought I would share our happy tidbit!

Love, Patty

So here we go!!!

Well a bit of time has passed since my last post. The Stober household has been a busy one! Jordan's back in Calgary and getting settled into his new "digs" and we've had more visitors - Dallas's Mom and Dad just left and we had a great time with them.

I thought you'd enjoy a photo that my brother took of our family a couple of weeks ago. Notice our Heather - Marcus's girlfriend. She's become a wonderful addition to our family. As you can see, Dallas looks great after his surgery. Next Monday Dallas will begin his daily visits to the cancer clinic for radiation and chemotherapy. We're hopeful that they're going to be able to blast the heck out of this thing and we'll be able to get on with our lives soon. I'll try to keep you posted on Dallas's progress a little bit better than I have been. Sorry! We've been out having fun!

Love, Patty

The Next Phase

Hi everyone...we have had a wonderful whirl wind of activity the last few days! Lots of visitors including my brother Ron, sister-in-law Tina and their two munchkins Connor and Emily. It was great to have the little ones around - they really kept us hopping. Jordan is getting ready to leave and go back to Calgary for the school year so he's been busy packing up for the big trek tomorrow. We have a couple of quiet days and then more company arriving on the weekend - it's awesome!

This morning we had our meeting at the cancer clinic with the Radiation Oncologist. After studying Dallas's case the doctors are also recommending chemotherapy. This kind of came at us sideways and took the wind out of our sails but we know that in the long run it is the best decision. Dallas has a very rare form of cancer and because it had spread from the salivary gland to the surrounding lymph nodes, chemotherapy is an added insurance policy. The doctors want to make sure that every possible cancer cell that could be hiding is zapped. Dallas is also part of a research project which is a good thing. This doesn't mean that they're going to be doing anything experimental as part of his treatment, it just means that they will follow him for many years to come - another good thing.

We will have some planning appointments over the next couple of weeks and then treatment will begin mid-September. The doctors want to make sure that Dallas has fully recovered from his surgery before they start the radiation and chemo. We don't know what the chemo regimen will be like yet but it will probably be done in conjunction with the radiation - I will have a very tired hubby on my hands for awhile. Dallas is looking great, feeling strong and preparing for the fight. Thanks so much for your support...we'll keep you posted as things progress. Love, Patty

Moving Forward

Hi there...I hope that you're all enjoying your summer. The sun is shining in Victoria today so we might even be able to get out in the garden.

Dallas had his appointment with the surgeon today and lost the rest of his staples - yeah! He looks great and continues to feel better each day. We did get the pathology report as promised and it was pretty much as the doctor had predicted. Dallas's cancer began in the submandibular salivary gland and spread to the surrounding lymph nodes. The good news about this is that the cancer didn't originate from any other organ - that is a huge relief. Our surgeon is very optomistic about the outcome but as added insurance, Dallas will have to have radiation. We meet with the radiation oncologist on Tuesday morning. During that meeting, the oncologist and his team will formulate the treatment schedule which will probably consist of a radiation treatment every day for a month. So here we go - on to the next phase...

We're looking forward to having lots of friends and family visit over the next few weeks. Please give us a call if you're in the area - the B & B is open! Love, Patty

Another Update...

Hi everyone...thanks for the cards, emails, and good wishes that just keep flowing in on a daily basis. You are all wonderful! Dallas is feeling better and is slowly getting his strength back. I know that things are a bit frustrating for him because he's used to being so active. Unfortunately, it's only natural for him to feel run down - losing so much weight and going thru such a huge stressor all within a month is enough to exhaust me just thinking about it! We're starting to get out for small walks and we go further every day. I know that once Dallas is able to eat more normally things will improve even more. He looks just great - swelling from the surgery is virtually gone now so the soreness and pain should follow, I hope.

Take care and we'll keep you posted with what happens when we see the doctor for pathology results this Friday...positive thoughts. xxoo

Another Great Day

Hi there...another great day - we went to the surgeon's office and Dallas had most of the stitches/staples removed. He's looking awesome, feeling great and getting healthier. This morning he raised his left arm over his head. I cried happy tears - one of the sacrifices that the surgeon had to make was the spinal accessory nerve which runs into the trapezius muscle in the shoulder. I'm no expert, but to me this means that Dallas is already retraining his existing nerves and muscles to pick up the slack - doesn't want to lose that golf swing!

Our next wait will be for the pathology next Friday...this will determine the extent of the cancer and whether or not radiation is required. So far so good....

More Good News

Hi there...thanks again for your comments. I just wanted to give you another quick update - Dallas went to our family doctor today for another quick check up and things are going well. The doctor couldn't hear any traces of the pneumonia so that is a huge relief! He is healing up so well that the staples should probably come out early too - maybe even on Sunday. The doctor says that there will still be another month or so of post-surgical swelling and discomfort but the Big Guy (or former Big Guy - he's down 25 pounds!) is really toughing it out. Life is good...more later. xxoo

Getting Better!

Hi there...a couple of days make all the difference in the world. Dallas is feeling much better, the fever is gone and the antibiotics are starting to do their stuff. We had a check up with the surgeon today and it went well - Dallas had to give up his latest fashion accessory - his chest tube drain - yeah! I heaved a sigh of relief about that one...little steps, right? Another week of quiet rest and then next Friday we have an appointment for staple and stitch removal - he'll be as good as new!

Thanks for all the blog comments as well as golf updates - you all know how the Big Guy loves to be in the loop! More later...

Love,
Patty

One Step Back

Hi everyone...yesterday was tiring. Dallas developed a fever that we were unable to control at home and after a quick consultation with his former nurses at the hospital we reluctantly made the trip back to the Emergency Department. After a 3 hour wait (it was apparently a slow day there) we were in. It turns out he has pneumonia and a bladder infection - both of these are complications of the surgery. The pneumonia is a result of a partially collapsed lung - sometimes your lungs don't properly re-inflate after surgery. Luckily, the ER staff were able to get his fever down and with antibiotics he should be fine. The good news of the day was that his incision is healing very well and there is no problem with infection there.

We're back home again and he's resting well. More later...

Home Day!

We brought Dallas home tonight! He has to quietly rest which is at least a possibility now that he's out of the hospital. Take care...I'll keep you posted.

Love,
Patty

Day 2

Hi everyone...Dallas had a pretty good day today - he's hanging in, being tough, and staying off pain killers. I just landed in the door and it's after 10:00 PM so this cookie is ready to hit the pillow. Thanks for all the emails, blog comments, phone messages and ongoing support. You are really getting me through these rough patches - I'm just sorry that I'm being such a poor social secretary. Thanks to all of our family and friends who visited and helped me with the entertainment portion of Dallas's recovery - you are WONDERFUL!

The doctor may keep Dallas in the hospital a couple of more days which was the toughest thing for him to hear today. The hospital room situation is a bit of a "goat rodeo" - Dallas's term not mine! Last night was busy as two of the surgery cases in Dallas's room are the result of bar brawls so as you can imagine it is not the most peaceful setting. I'm hoping to get Dallas home tomorrow just so he can catch some sleep - now we just have to get the doctor on side...

Many of you have been asking me about chemo and radiation. The doctor says he will be able to tell us more once the pathology is back in two weeks time. He did tell me to prepare Dallas for radiation - no stone left unturned with this guy and that's a good thing, I think. We have a follow-up appointment with the Cancer Clinic at the end of August and from what I understand, they will develop a treatment plan then - so I'll keep you posted.

Good night, take care and thank you, thank you, thank you! xxoo

The Surgery

Dallas is going to be fine and when I left him at 10:00 tonight he was smiling. The surgery was long - almost 5 hours - because they needed to remove more than they had anticipated. They removed two salivary glands, instead of one and all the lymph nodes on the left side of his neck. The doctor said that he will most likely lose some of the nerve function in his left shoulder so his golf swing may be affected for awhile. He has some nerve damage to the left side of his mouth so his grin might be a bit crooked. I checked it out and it still looks pretty cute smiling back at me - what more could a girl ask for? Life is good...

The Day Before...

Okay...I know I said I wasn't going to post again until after the surgery but I couldn't resist. Dallas is out for his 9 km. power walk and his last words going out the door were - "Patty - if the hospital calls to cancel the surgery don't let them." At this point, if the hospital called to postpone or cancel the surgery the next place that you would see this redhead would be on an "America's Most Wanted" poster!! I can just see it now..."frenzied menopausal redhead holds hospital administration hostage!" Yikes!!

Sorry that some of you have been having trouble commenting/viewing the blog. Apparently Blogger has been having a few glitches over the weekend that they are working on to make things run a bit more smoothly.

Thanks again for all your support...I'll update tomorrow when I get back from the hospital!

Road Trip

So the road trip has been great so far...we started by taking the U.S. ferry from Sidney over to Anacortes, Washington and spent the night at a great little inn at La Conner (The Wild Iris Inn - highly recommend!). What a cute town that is to spend a day in. Unfortunately, we had to move on for the following night because there were no rooms at the inn (part of the problem of spontaneous travelling!). After a night at the Hampton Inn at Burlington, Washington we packed it in and took the ferry back to Sidney.

Now we've moved up Vancouver Island to just outside of Ladysmith. Our friends Steve & Peggy are camping with friends Bill & Glenna and their family and we've been visiting with them. You may not have guessed this about us, but we're not very good campers - I know it's really surprising! Anyway, I booked us in to a very cute B & B not 5 minutes from the campground. It's the Amberwood on the River and is like a private sanctuary. We even have our own garden complete with koi pond. As I write this, Dallas is out walking the owner's 2 retrievers (I think there may be a puppy in our future sometime soon) - all of this is keeping you know whose mind off you know what. My main function in life right now is planning diversions and escapes...quite the challenge sometimes! We'll stay here another night and then work our way home. Thanks again for all your love and support! I'll try not to bore you with any more updates until after the surgery on Wednesday...

Another Road Trip

So we're going to hit the road again tomorrow - this time we'll take the Washington State Ferry from Sidney and see where it leads us. We'll explore Anacortes, Whidbey Island and then stay in La Conner. Hopefully, I can keep the Big Guy busy and his mind off the upcoming surgery for part of the weekend anyway. Thanks again for all the support! More later...

Just thought that I would add another picture of THE FISH in case you missed it the first time!

Dallas is really missing the Club Championship- especially now that you guys have started posting your scores. Good Luck!

We're looking forward to our company that's arriving today - Mark and Kathy (as well as puppy Roly) from Invermere. More later...

More of the "C" Word Stuff...

Today was one of the rougher cancer ones again. We found out that Dallas has been referred to a Radiation Oncologist so that means that there will probably be some radiation therapy in his future. Although our surgeon is one of the best in his field his communication skills are somewhat lacking so this kind of hit us sideways - we thought that radiation was just a maybe thing - not a for sure. On the positive side I guess this means that they are going to do their best to get rid of every nick of cancer and that's a good thing. Dallas has also been booked in for another biopsy of his neck - this time they will focus on his thyroid. There was a small spot there and although it wasn't showing up as cancer on the PET scan, the doctor wants to be sure. The biopsy is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Tonight we're looking forward to a birthday dinner for Heather, Marcus's girlfriend. It should be lots of fun - she's a wonderful girl. Take care...

More Fishing!

Hi all,
Thanks for the posts - so nice to hear from everyone. The boys went out fishing again today and caught a couple of cod so it was another great day on the water! Dallas says he's trying to stock up our freezer for when everyone starts visiting after his surgery. Remember our B & B is always open. More later...

The Fishermen!

Thanks so much for all the emails, calls and visits...your support has been amazing and really helps us get through these long days. At least now the countdown to surgery is on and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel (or at least the entrance to the tunnel anyway). Our friend Joan suggested that a blog might be a great way to communicate with everyone so here goes! We'll give it a whirl and I'll try to keep you all updated at the same time - amazing technology!

This week was a great one as far as cancer weeks go...we finally got some GOOD NEWS!! Dallas's PET scan results are back and his cancer is just on the left side of his neck. We were crying happy tears when we got the news. Now the surgery is less than two weeks away and Dallas can focus on that and not worry that the cancer is travelling around other parts of his body. We're also confident in Dallas's surgeon. We've checked him out and he's the best in his field - more good news.

Dallas and Jordan had a GREAT day today. This morning they went fishing and caught a 26 lb. salmon! It was so much fun to see them both proudly grinning ear to ear that I had to share the moment with all of you.