A week of progress

Hi everyone. I am writing from Boise today. I flew out on Wednesday for a visit. Norm, Cathy, Jen and Joel Gritzfeld arrived on Thursday for a short visit as well.

Jill felt progressively better all this last week. Last weekend she had a sore throat that made it difficult to swallow. With the end of the daily radiation on Friday and with rest, she feels significantly better today than last Sunday. Tomorrow, Jill, Scott and Sylvia will be flying out to Seattle for an orientation session at the cancer clinic there. They return on Wednesday. We should have more details about the stem cell transplant then.

Jill to make a preliminary trip to Seattle

Hi everyone. Jill learned this week that she will take the next step toward starting her blood stem cell transplant treatment on August 2 when she visits the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle Washington. Sylvia and Scott are going to fly out to Seattle with her. At this orientation visit, she will get more details on her up-coming treatment, and perhaps set a date for the start of treatment. If you are interested, the Fred Hutchinson Center describes the transplant procedure in general terms at http://www.fhcrc.org/patient/treatment/process/. In the meantime, she will take one more week of radiation therapy in Boise. By the way, thank you all for you comments as well as cards, letters, e-mails and calls.

tom

Jill finishes a round of chemotherapy

Jill is at home resting after receiving chemotherapy last week. Her current treatment involves three cancer drugs given to her over three days. She had this treatment Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week. She is experiencing the usual side effects of the chemo such as tiredness and an upset stomach. But the good news is that the combination of radiation and chemotherapy already seems to be reducing the tumors. We will find out this week if she will receive anymore of this therapy before going to Seattle for stem cell transplant treatment there.

tom

We have a donor!

Hi everyone. We got great news today. Tests on Harley's blood stem cells indicated that he is a compatible donor for Jill. This means that he will be able to provide the stem cells to rebuild Jill's bone marrow following chemotherapy in Seattle. (If you're interested I explained as much as I knew about this allogeneic blood stem cell transplant procedure in my June 26 log). In the mean time Jill has started radiation therapy and chemotherapy in Boise in preparation for the transplant. At this point we don't know when Harley and Jill will be going to Seattle or for how long because of these preliminary treatments. This is very good news and we are all happy to finally get the test results. Sylvia and I always knew Harley and Jill were more compatible than they thought they were. More news as soon as we get it.

tom

Two Photos

Here are a couple of photos that Harley and Amy took at Jill's wedding. Later this week we should be getting all the photos from the photographer.

Treatment Update

I just talked to Sylvia. Jill has started taking steroids to reduce the inflamation caused by the tumor in her spine and this has already reduced her discomfort and eliminated the double vision. She is starting radiation treatment next week. This should start to reduce the size of the tumor itself. Radiation that she had in March was quite effective on specific tumors.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

tom

New Treatment Plan

Hi everyone. I'm sorry I haven't added an entry for several days. We have been hoping to hear the results of Harley's stem cell compatibility tests. Alas still no results. But we do know what the next treatment will be.

Jill has been having headaches and more recently blurred vision. She had an MRI this morning which confirmed that there was a tumor creating pressure on the nerves. The doctors decided that they had to shrink it down before they start the heavy chemotherapy, especially since as yet, there is no confirmed stem cell donor. So she will start very specific radiation treatment, probably early next week. I don't know how many treatments will be needed or over what period she will receive them. We do know that this will give the doctors more time to find a donor. I am relieved that something is happening, even if it is a temporary solution.

Aside from the symptoms Jill is doing well and enjoying her yard and garden. Maybe I will get Jill to send me some pictures of her garden to share with you all. Jill has also appreciated the phone calls, e-mails, and comments on this blog. Your collective thoughts and wishes are very important to her. Thank you all.

Hopefully we will get the results of the test soon.

tom

The Beautiful Bride

Here is a photo of Jill in the park just before the wedding.

A Beautiful Wedding

Dear Friends,

It has been a very busy and fun weekend. I finally have found enough time to write a note about the wedding. We all gathered at Kathryne Albertson Park, on the Boise River in downtown Boise, at 11:00 am yesterday. Present were Scott's parents, Jerry and Cheryl Korn (Boise), Scott's sisters Susan (Atlanta) and Treila (Boise), Jill's parents Tom and Sylvia Johnson (Columbia), brother Harley, sister-in-law Amy Wagoner Johnson, and niece Elise (Urbana, Illinois). The wedding was officiated by Judge Alan Schwartzman.

After photos we all gathered for lunch about 1:30 at the Cottonwood restaurant on the green belt. After lunch, Jill and Scott visited with patients and care givers at the cancer clinic where Jill has been treated over the last 2 years. In the evening we met downtown for dinner.

This afternoon, Jill and Scott left for a short honeymoon in the mountains.

At this point I only have a couple of photos I took with my camera phone so the resolution isn't great, but I will attach them to this blog. The good ones are coming soon.

Tom