"Stick a fork in him - he's done!"

Yeah that's right, I'm done. After two sessions of 28 radiation treatments each, totalling 56, and chemo treatments done concurrently both times, I am finally done with all the treatments that I think (and hope and pray) I will be needing. We won't know how successful this session went until after some final testing and screenings are done in late August. I probably won't do another update until after those tests. I/we fully expect, and pray, for a clean bill of health at that time. We will just have to wait and see.



However, until then I/we are glad it is over. We were getting pretty tired of driving up to Durham, staying in a motel, eating out all of our meals (that does get old), and generally just getting bored with the whole thing. I was very fortunate throughout this second session in that I didn't experience any of the difficulties I did the first time around with either the tiredness or nausea problems. I had a much easier time of it. The only ill effects I felt was some radiation burns that were like a bad sunburn, that was about it. I attribute a lot of my good fortune to many of you who prayed hard and often for me throughout this whole ordeal. Thank you all for that and keep me in your prayers up until the end of August please and help me get a clean bill report.



Also on Tuesday, we picked up my Mother from the airport. She has come to visit us for two weeks and we are having a great time visiting. On Saturday we head to Myrtle Beach for a week and my oldest daughter's family (Jackie) will be coming to visit for part of that time. We look forward to having a grand time with the grand kids. We plan to do some boating, swimming, playing, and just relaxing. Then, after that I am headed off to Wheeling, WV to put a roof on a rental house I own up there (my brother and two friends will be doing the bulk of the work). Then I have 3 friends coming down from Wheeling to this area to play golf for four days. Annette also has planned a trip out to the west coast, Oregon, to visit her sister and brother-in-law. Our August is getting busy with us getting back to living.



Well folks, I guess that is it for another update. Thanks again for all your prayers and cards throughout this whole long process. You don't know how much it meant to us both.



With Love

Drew & Annette

She'll be coming round the corner when she comes

Ok, we just finished our last full week of treatments. I only have two more to go - oh yeah!!!! We both are anxious for this phase of our treatments, and our lives, to be over. I will go for a CT/PET scan in about 3 weeks to see how these treatments went - keep your fingers crossed for me and those prayers coming that I will be "clean" at that time. No Mom, I'm not on dope, it's a different kind of clean.

I saw two of my doctors and they were pleased with the progress. I am showing some pretty significant skin type burns on my upper back, near the neck, and less on the front, also near the neck. They tend to itch but I can deal with them as long as Annette puts some lotion on me daily. I am still feeling good, and, of course, looking marvelous.

We filled out our week with a couple more museums. One the NC Museum of Art and the other a historic site called Stagville which was a former plantation of 30,000 acres and 900 slaves, both were very big by NC standards. We also had a chance to have dinner with Annette's oldest son's family on Monday evening. A good time was had by all.

Well I guess that is about it for another week. Short but sweet with the end in site. The corner in the title is the end of this tunnel!

Single Digit Midget

Hello All



I was reminded of an old saying in the Coast Guard we used when someone was approaching the "getting out" stage of his career or tour of duty. When they were under a hundred days left in the service you became a two digit midget and then, of course, once you were under 10 days you were a single digit midget. Well, that's me, this week I became a single digit midget.



I now have only 7 treatments left till I'm done with all this (hopefully for ever if God is merciful with me). If not I'll/we will deal with whatever comes my/our way. However, I/we am/are keeping a positive outlook that this will be it. After two separate treatments series, totally 56 treatments, and all the chemo, I am/we are, hopefully, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (I'm just hoping it's not a train coming this way).



We had a good week and everything went great. The doctors remain encouraged and pleased with my progress, as am I. Nothing new took place this week. We did do a couple of side trips to fill our days up there. Annette and I went to two museums, one the NC Life & Science Museum which was primarily geared towards interactive things for kids of all ages. However, they had a fabulous butterfly house where you were walking amongst tropical plants from all over the world and butterflies, also from all over the world, loose to fly around you, sometimes liting on you. It was very neat. Then we toured the Washington Duke Homestead & Tobacco Museum. He was the guy who pretty much introduced tobacco to North Carolina and came up with a different way to cure it that produced the Bright Leaf tobacco. I think he did pretty well seeing how he founded the American Tobacco Company and was able to fund building a university and hospital. It, too, was very interesting.

Well, I guess that is about it for another week. I hope to have some new pictures soon. We wish you all the best and please keep those prayers coming our way!!!!

Drew & Annette

Short Week results in Short Update

Hello All from sunny and hot North Carolina. Annette and I had a shorter week this week up at Duke due to the 3 day weekend the hospital had planned for their staff due to the July 4th holiday. Happy birthdays go out to Annette's mother and my brother on July 4th by the way.

The treatments and doctors visits, along with my blood work, all went well this week. I continue to feel good, look great, and so far, knock knock knock on wood, no real ill affects of the chemo or the radiation treatments this second time around. I am now also over the hump having finished 16 treatments and have just 12 to go. This is a total of 44 radiation treatments so far but God has been good to me so far and is answering many of the prayers you have all been saying on my behalf. Annette and I continue to thank you for that and feel stongly that without those prayers I wouldn't be in as good a shape as I am now.

We took one opportunity to visit with Annette's youngest son, Kelly's, family for dinner on Monday night. Other than that we played 9 holes of golf once and went to the movies to see Public Enemy (I wouldn't recommend it). We were able to come home on Thursday mid-day. We will have a nice 3 day weekend but have no real plans - laying low since we are gone all week each week. Just 2 & 1/2 weeks to go now.

Guess that's it. Told you it would be short.

Drew & Annette