txbennett

Cancer Update, Dec. 2011

2011-12-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

I had my regular visit with the cancer doc this afternoon. The cancer is continuing to show the same rate of very slow, but consistent, growth that it has demonstrated since discontinuing chemotherapy 18 months ago. The doctor knows and concurs with my treatment goals - to stay on my feet and working for as long as possible - so the visit was fairly short and amicable.

This approach of treating, but not attempting to eradicate, the cancer and then allowing the body to recuperate before fighting the cancer again, runs counter to literature published by pharmaceutical companies, but is hailed by some doctors and by many patients with myeloma and other forms of incurable cancer. Attending the funeral last week of a friend who died from myeloma was a somber, but not daunting, reminder of the high stakes being played here.

At current rate of cancer increase, my assessment (not the doc's) is that I should be able to continue to stay off of chemotherapy throughout 2012, but may likely have to resume at the start of 2013.

Thanks for your friendship, caring, encouragement and prayers. To say they mean a lot is a tremendous understatement.

Labor Day 2011

2011-09-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, we packed 4 grandkids into a rented mini-van and drove 545 miles from Peoria, IL, to Dutch Fred Lake, MI, on Michigan's upper penisula. Check it out on google earth. We left 100+ degree temps in Dallas on Friday, 9/2, and it was 32 degrees at the cabin on Monday evening, 9/5. Dispite the apparent outhouse in the photo, we did have indoor facilities.

The cabin was 6.5 miles off the paved road down a dirt "road." Though the lake and surrounding land were public, we saw no other people on the lake or the 6.5 miles of dirt road for the week we were there. No electricity, cell phone coverage, television, internet, etc. We ran a generator off and on for a few hours each day, as needed.

Rangers 11, Angels 7

2011-08-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

Rangers 11, Angels 7, and Daryl was there, along with Carol and bunch of other friends and 38,000+ other Ranger fans.

This is an update

2011-08-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am ashamed that I have had so many fine adventures the last few months, and have done so little blogging other than cancer updates. In May, we went to Louisville and saw my son receive his doctorate from Southern Baptist Seminary. In June, I went on a mission trip to teach in Kenya for a couple of weeks. Next month, we take grandkids on an adventure trip to a cabin on Michigan's upper peninsula. Plus, I have started a new job with the same employer, managing materials testing technicians in our company's Dallas (rather than Arlington) office. Someday, I hope to blog about a lot of this and post some neat pictures, but until then, perhaps you can see them on facebook.

It seems hard to call it an update when it is the same news. Once again, the cancer-indicating M-spike increased by 0.1 over the past 2 months. It is now 1.1, up from 0.3 in May of 2010. What is news is that the cancer doc, Carol and I have set a number limit of 2.0 to 2.5, barring any sudden increases, before I resume chemotherapy. At the rate I am going, it could be 1.5 to 2.5 years before I resume chemo. This is consistent with advice Carol and I received in private conversations with leading myeloma experts at a conference we attended a few weekends ago, although it runs somewhat counter with conventional means of treating this disease. This is (hopefully) a marathon, and not a sprint.

As the cancer doc began yesterday to once again discuss the pros and cons of various treatment options, and how it all depended on your goals in treatment, I interrupted him and told him plainly, "My goal is to stay on my feet and working for as long as possible." He paused, then said quietly, "That is exactly what I would do," and we went on with the course set.

Thanks to all for the love, prayers and concern.

Cancer Update 6/6/11

2011-06-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it has been 4/30 since I wrote a blog. It's certainly not due to a dearth of things about which to write; probably due to life being so busy there's been no time to write! Among the fun things going on was a week in Louisville, Kentucky, with Daniel and his family, culminating in watching Daniel receive his doctorate from Southern Seminary. Lots of fun times and lots of good pictures and maybe someday I can write some blogs about it, but until then, the Facebook postings will have to suffice.

Anyway, I went to see the cancer doctor today, and the news is the same as the last few postings (kind of like a Dallas weather forecast in the summertime - almost always the same). The cancer is slowly increasing, and the doctor anguishes over when to resume chemotherapy - a little increase doesn't warrant resumption, but have many little increases does it take...? Regardless, we will not resume chemotherapy now, particularly with the tirp to Kenya coming up, and will check everything again in two months.

By the way, this is pretty cool and high tech. I am sitting here in the infusion room, wirelessly connected to the internet via my new netbook, getting to redeem some of this infusion time with writing and other work. Now, if they can only come up with a wireless IV, maybe even one I could download over the internet...

Thanks, as always, for the love, prayers and concern.

Saturday Morning at the Zoo.

2011-04-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning at the Fort Worth zoo with Carol, Emily, Alyssa and Brooke, 4/30/2011.

Easter Egg Hunt 2011

2011-04-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, Easter eggs have nothing to do with the resurection of Jesus Christ, but we had a fun time with the local grand daugthers after church and before lunch on Sunday.

Anniversary Passed

2011-04-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Three days ago, on Good Friday, marked a milestone for me of being one year off of chemotherapy. On 4/22/2010, I completed cycle # 14 of Revlimid, which essentially marked 2 1/2 years of chemotherapy. Yay-rah!

Passport, Received

2011-04-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, 4/16, the mailman delivered to me my passport. Two and a half weeks ago, I applied for it, thinking Carol and I would take some of our grandchildren on a brief excursion to Canada this summer. Then, the opportunity came for the trip to Kenya, and the Canada trip got re-scheduled to later in the year, perhaps when it will be cooler.

Anyway, if you received your passport by mail, did you have to again swear your allegiance to the United States, and run around the mail truck with your shirt off, flapping your arms and making a sound like an eagle, and singing"My Country, 'Tis of Thee," (all four verses), or did my postman take me for a ride?

Burleson Relay for Life, 4/15/2011

2011-04-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening, 4/15, Carol and I attended the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Burleson, Texas. Carol did her duties as a health inspector checking the food booths, then we stayed for a portion of the evening festivities. As a cancer patient, I wore a purple tee-shirt. As my care-giver, Carol wore an orange one. This relatively small, hard-working community just south of Fort Worth raises over a quarter a million dollars annually for cancer research at this event.

Carol got "arrested" and I had to bail her out of the fund-raising "jail." It's impressive the wonderful relationship she has with the community. How many restaurant owners say to their health inspector (sincerely), "Now you come see us real soon, ya hear?"

The president of their chamber of commerce has also battled cancer. I met him at another community event recently, and promised him I would come and walk the "survivor lap" around the track at this event, if I could walk it with him, and not by myself. I went, and we both kept our promise, and had a good time.

Kenya, Here I Come

2011-04-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

I want to let you know that I am planning a 2-3 week to Kenya this June. I will be going with Charlie Yates, another elder from our church, and Dallas Turner, a missionary our church supports. The purpose of the trip will be to teach local pastors, check on our sister church, and encourage an indigenous missionary that our church supports. It will be 30 years precisely this June since I have been to Africa, and I am looking forward to it very much. The last time was under much more rugged conditions, and on the opposite side of the continent, in French-speaking west Africa, just on the southern fringes of the Sahara Desert.

A Quick Cancer Update

2011-04-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on my visit to the cancer doc a couple of days ago. I had already received tests results from blood samples taken last week, so knew that the cancer was continuing to increase, but I did not believe it was to the point where chemotherapy needed to be resumed. Thankfully, he concurred. He described the cancer as "smoldering." It is there, increasing, and will need to be addressed someday, but not necessarily right now. Let's give my body a chance to build up some more strength before attacking it and the cancer again, and especially not have my immune system compromised for a trip I am planning overseas for this June. Unless there is a radical change, the earliest I would resume chemotherapy will be July 1. As always, thanks for your prayers, love and concern.

A Truly Courageous Individul

2011-03-26T19:35:00.001-07:00

I mourn the passing of Geraldine Ferraro, 1935 - 2011, and pay tribute to her as a truly courageous individual. Ms. Ferraro battled multiple myeloma (cancer in the bone marrow) for more than 12 years.

She also participated in a clinical trial for a new drug called Revlimid. Typically, people in clinical trials don't know if they are part of the group being given some new drug that may fight the cancer or may give them some horrible side effects, or if they are a part of the "control group," being given a blank pill with no medical properties whatsoever. These are truly courageous individuals on the front edge of fighting cancer.

Spring Pics

2011-03-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

On a couple of recent Saturday mornings, we got to have our local granddaughters over to the house for a while. They enjoyed the sheer delights of chasing bubbles, running around and around a tree, and playing in spring flowers. We enjoyed the sheer delights of grandchildren.

(Oh, and by the way, the last of the winter leaves in the front yard got raked up right after the girls left).

Bowie

2011-03-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

On March 1 and 2, I had to perform some 24-hour composite sampling and monitoring of the effluent from a client's plant near Bowie, Texas. Since all of my technicians were busy with other assignments, I took the job myself. Here's me on the west Texas prairie, near the end of the 24-hour shift (altogether, more like 36 hours because I had to get there, get set up, then rush the samples to a lab on the northeast side of Dallas). And here is the receiving creek downstream of my client's plant. The plant discharge proved to be clean, and the ducks (in flight) sure don't seem to mind it.

Cancer Update 2/15/11

2011-02-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update, because many of you are so faithful to ask about how things are going with me. Last week I had a blood sample taken, then went to see the cancer doc yesterday. In the 2 and 1/2 months since my last check-up, the cancer has increased slightly, but is still low enough to not warrant resuming the chemo therapy. In fact, if I were to go in for a routine physical exam today, there would not be sufficient cancer to show up and send me on for further examination.

Overall, I feel fine most days, and just have to call it quits on some evening activities and get some rest. Every week that goes by off of the chemo, I am feeling better and stronger. I have been swimming 4 km (2.5 miles) per week, and hope to swim 5 km (3 miles) this week. I am also trying some new things to deal with lingering pain in the feet from past chemo treatments, and it seems to be going well.

Thanks for caring and praying. I am grateful to God for the 8.5 months I have been off of chemo, and am also grateful that I do not have to resume it for at least a while.

Winter Pics

2011-02-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

Here are some winter pictures of some grandkids that my daughters-in-law have posted recently.

In Texas, she says "COLD!"

Illinois Bennetts on skis.

Auggie the Eagle!

Safe and warm, mostly.

2011-02-01T06:08:00.000-08:00

This year for our anniversary (#35) Carol bought me a pole mounted chain saw. It is cool, and getting some dead branches down from the front yard is an added benefit. Here's me with my truck parked in my neighbor's yard to reach and cut down one of her dead branches.

2011-01-09T18:39:00.001-08:00

This year, TEAM Consultants, the company where I work, put together a calendar for use in what limited marketing we do. All the work was done in house. Selecting photos and doing all the design from scratch was done in a single day. Production took several days with the secretary working this in between other assignments. Here are the photos we selected, and it shows some the work we do / services we offer. Our letterhead and business cards read, "Geotechnical / Environmental / Construction Materials Testing."

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

2010-12-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2010 from Daryl & Carol!

2010-12-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Nativity Scene is up.

Cancer Update

2010-12-11T15:46:00.001-08:00

I went to see the cancer doc this week and discussed the results of a blood sample taken just prior to Thanksgiving. Although the cancer is still slowly increasing (up 50% from sample taken in September), it is still not bad enough to resume chemotherapy. I will go in for another check on the status and evaluation of options in early February. As always, thanks to all for love, care, prayers and concern. It will be good to have more time off the chemo and allow for further recovery.

Precious Moments

2010-12-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

Trust me, I'm really not a Precious Moments kind of a guy, but if you're ever on I-44 near Carthage, MO, you really should take about 45 minutes or an hour and get off the beaten track and go see their place there. The artist built a chapel on his property with scenes from the Old Testament on one side, and scenes from the New Testament on the other. Here's a few of our favorite pictures from the same, when we stopped on our way home from Illinois after Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving in Illinois

2010-12-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

We got to go to Illinois for Thanksgiving to see our kids and grand kids there.

Hall Johnson Farm 10/30/10

2010-10-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Just before Halloween, Carol and I got to take the two local grand girls to Hall Johnson Farm in Colleyville. The bottom photo is a video.

Just before Halloween, Carol and I got to take the two local grand girls to the Hall Johnson Farm nearby.

My Teachers

2010-10-13T16:05:00.001-07:00

While attending my class's 40th high school reunion last weekend, I was blessed to see some of our former faculty. It it good to know that as we near middle age, our class still has its faculties. Anyway, it caused my to remember the teachers who stand out as being the most influential in training me, or making me the person I am today. They include:

Cathy Street, 11th grade English. She was not much older than we were, but taught us how to really write and use the English language. She was also known, on occasion, to stop in her yellow VW bug and give a ride to a student walking to school on a cold winter morning.

Lt. Col. Henry B. Edwards, US Army Retired, Military Science. What he taught (and exemplified) in his Principle of Leadership course, I have used all my life.

Ruth A. Mills, 10th grade geometery. A real life changer in my life. Three weeks into the class, I was flunking miserably. As she handed me back my weekly test, one that had a LOW "F" for its grade, she looked me fiercely in the eye and said, "Now you can do better than that!" I believed Mrs. Mills to be smart and honest, so I went home and did not get up from my desk until I had mastered the fundamentals of the material to that date. The next week, I made a 100 on the weekly test, and never made below a 96 on any weekly test or exam in that class for the rest of the year. Later, Mrs. Mills wrote for me a nice recommendation that helped me get a scholarship to college to study engineering, and just a whole lot of how I've made my living for 36 years has been based on geometry I learned from Mrs. Mills.

Pictured below at the reunion are me and my two favorite science teachers from high school, or anywhere else for that matter. They were the ones who started me in a career of science. The lady on the left is Sandy Buhler, who taught me 11th grade chemistry (and yes, she really is old enough to have been my high school chemistry teacher). What she taught in how to analytically solve a problem, I have used throughout college and throughout my career. She was also a good and understanding friend.

The teacher on the right is Edna Hatcher, 10th grade biology, and the best teacher of all time. Teen age years are tough enough without having to endure the social stresses of high school. Miss Hatcher's class was always a place of refuge in the midst of the school day. As well as being an excellent conveyor of the scientific principles of life, which I loved learning, she refused to tolerate any of the high school caste system in her classroom. She treated all students the same, regardless of their social standing, and insisted that we do the same. Guess what - we did, and it made for a very nice class. Words fail to express the Christian influence she was on me at a turbulent time in my life. I'm glad I got to tell her so last weekend.

I am probably forgetting or failing to mention other great teachers in my life. Whoever they are, they are in many ways responsible (in the good sense) for the person I am today. My thanks to them all.

A Reunion With Class

2010-10-13T15:34:00.001-07:00

October 8 & 9, Spartans from across the country and around the globe convened in Memphis, Tennessee, to celebrate the fact that we graduated together 40 years ago, and are still around to talk about it and remember it today. About 150 alumni and spouses gathered at a classmate's house on Friday evening, and then about 250 of the same got together for the big shindig on Saturday evening.

Saturday evening's party was on the 33rd floor of a tower near our alma mater and it was really nice. It started with a buffet dinner and a short program, then the alumni gathered at one side of the room for the group photo below. While assembling for the photo, we sang the school fight song with much gusto (remembering to stomp the right foot on the rah! rah! rah! part). There were about 150 alumi in the photo below, so don't bother trying to find anyone you know.

I guess this was the only part of the evening when things were still and somewhat quiet, because after that the dancing and singing started and went on past midnight. Memphis folks know how to sing, and somewhat how to dance.

Below is a picture of how the main entrance to my alma mater looks today, a sad shell of its former self. I guess looking at it must be like looking at the ruins of an ancient civilization. When we attended there, WSHS was the city powerhouse in terms of academics, football, and basketball. Today, I see from their website that their record is 2-5 to this point in the season. I hope their academics are still strong.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and I got to reconnect and have some meaningful conversations with a lot of folks from long ago who are still really neat people today. I only regret it will be 5 or 10 years before, Lord willing, I get to see this group of people again.

A Study in Orange and White

2010-10-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

We had the two local grand girls for a while today. Go Vols!

Just an update on me

2010-09-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Because many of you faithfully ask about how I am doing, and some make me promise to tell when I get an update, here is the latest news on me and the cancer. Blood work at the end of August showed a slight increase in the cancer, but blood work at the end of September showed no additional increase. To quantify this, the M-spike (measure of the cancer) is now 0.4, compared to an all-time low of 0.2 just before I discontinued chemotherapy 5 months ago (it stayed at 0.3 for several months over the summer), and an all-time high of 4.0 at diagnosis 3 years ago. Today, the doc and I discussed all of the same options, and the same pros and cons of each option, as before, and came to the same conclusion as before - we will not restart chemotherapy at this time, but will continue to closely monitor the situation to see if the cancer increases.

I am still recovering from the time on chemo (fatigue, nueropathy), and it is taking longer than I expected. It is not good that the nueropathy is still around, but I am hoping it will eventually go away. Thanks again for love, support, and prayers.

Mr. & Mrs. Ben Thompson

2010-09-13T19:13:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite commercials show a dad talking to a little girl (maybe 6) seated at the wheel of an automobile, giving her instructions about driving - don't go too fast, don't go onto the Interstate the first time out, etc. Then the camera changes and you see the girl is really a grown-up teenager, but he just sees her as his little girl.

I can remember coming home from work years ago, often after a bad day. There would be a figurative dark cloud over my head, and I would be mumbling as I walked up the walk, muttering thoughts about a crummy job, crummy office, crummy paycheck, pointy-haired boss, lousy automobile. Then a little blond-haired girl would come bounding out the front door, yelling "Daddy!" and the dark cloud would disappear and sunshine would shine through.

Every daddy wants his little girl to grow up to be happy, fall in love with a godly young man who will love her back, lead her in paths of righteousness, protect her and provide for her. At least that's what he thinks. But there is also that part of him that wants to put the brick on her head at age 8 and keep her little forever.

Today, my greatest hopes and inner fears were both realized in the same event as Emily married her Prince Charming Ben. They will be great together, and her mother and I are thrilled. For lots more neat photos, see my albums on facebook.

Just Some Good Pics

2010-08-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few good pictures of SOME of the people I really like a lot, from an otherwise sad occasion, when we went to east Tennessee last weekend for the funeral of my father-in-law Walter Young. Most of them are from the hotel late Friday evening, with the grandchildren, one is with Carol and her friend Kathy after the funeral, and one is of the rainy graveside gathering at the cemetery. Photos courtesy of our good friends the Hensleys.

A Good & Godly Man

2010-07-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Sometime Monday night/early Tuesday morning, my father-in-law, Walter "Dub" Young, passed away and went to be in the arms of the Lord he adored. He was a good and godly man, as evidenced in one aspect by the extremely well-worn and well-applied Bible in the photo.

Although he was old in not in good health, the timing of his death was not expected. We had moved him into a local nursing home just 3 weeks ago (see a few posts down). Carol and I had visited with him on Sunday afternoon and he seemed to be doing okay. He introduced himself to another resident as, "I'm a Tennessee man,...and I Love the Lord!"

We were looking forward to having some times with him for just a little longer, and will miss him. Here's what I guess are the last photos of him from Sunday afternoon.

My Update

2010-07-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I got back the results of a blood sample taken last week, and there continues to be no change in cancer levels for the past 3 months since I discontinured chemotherapy. I am very thankful for this. This means no chemotherapy for at least one or two more months. I'm thankful for that, too. And thanks to you for caring and praying.

Emily & Ben's Adventure in Moving

2010-07-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today, Emily and Ben (aka Ben and Emily) are moving things into their future new apartment. Ben will move in along with the furniture today; Emily moves in after their wedding in a few weeks. It has been real nice to have Ben stay in one of the many empty rooms at our house since graduating and starting a new job a few weeks ago, while Emily has continued to share an apartment in Arlington with another young lady from our church. It has given us a chance to get to know better this excellent young man who is marrying our daughter. We will miss having Ben around, but are excited for this beginning new chapter in their lives.

Hmmm - I wonder if the caption to the above photo should be "Emmovable" ?

Sparkling Personalities

2010-07-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Four girls - we could have had seven if only we had thought sooner! This was taken right after Julia and the other two local girls left.

Welcome to Texas

2010-07-10T20:26:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, all of us in Dub's local family got together at the nursing home to throw him a "Welcome to Texas" party. We celebrated by enjoying one of the finest benefits of residing in the Lone Star State - eating Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Check This

2010-07-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Alyssa playing chess - sorta.

The Fourth of July

2010-07-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

Once again this year we enjoyed Bedford fireworks from the VIP section of the city's park, thanks to Carol's employment as the local health inspector. It was quite a show, preceded by a dinner, and we enjoyed it in the company of Andrew, Julia, Ben, Emily, Alyssa and Brooke. Here are some star-spangled Bennetts.

All Tied Up

2010-06-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

The score is tied between me and cancer. Last Friday morning, I received test results from a blood sample taken earlier in the week, and there has been no increase or decrease in the cancer for the past month (a month ago, I made the decision to discontinue chemotherapy for a while because the chemo was actually doing more damage than the cancer, and I needed to give the body a chance to rebuild).

This means that I will go at least on more month with no chemotherapy, and it is good, very good, very, very good to have the medicine, but not have to take the medicine

Thanks and love to all/

Father's Day Favorites

2010-06-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

One of my all-time favorite individual comic strips was a strip years ago from "Rose is Rose." Jimbo, the husband/father in the strip, was musing about how the family would stay up late on Fathers' Day eve, watching the celebration in Times Square, then get up the next morning to enjoy parades, a big dinner, and football games. When informed that Fathers' Day wasn't celebrated in that manner, he replied, "Well, it should be!"

The favorite Fathers Day gift I ever received was a few years ago. At the beginning of June, I told all of my kids, kids-in-law, etc., that the only Fathers' Day gift I wanted was for each member of the family to read through the Book of Proverbs (in the Bible), one chapter a day, for the month of June. Nothing else, no physical presents on the actual day, I insisted, just read the Book of Proverbs.

When they said something akin to "That's dumb, what kind of a present is that?" (only they said it much nicer), I pointed out two facts from the Book of Proverbs itself:

Wisdom is to be gained from the reading of the Book of Proverbs (Prov. 1 & 2), and
A wise son will bring joy to his father (Prov. 15:20).

What could be a more appropriate gift for a father on Fathers' Day than that, I asked? My family gave me that present that year, and it remains one of the most cherished gifts I have ever received on any occasion. On Father's Day, we all got together and talked about things we had learned from reading the Book that month.

I will testify to the veracity that a wise son (or daughter) brings joy to a father. I am proud of the adults my children have grown into, though it would be wrong for me to claim credit for their spiritual or temporal success. I've just been a simple gardener in God's garden where He brings the growth, but it has been and is a delight and a joy.

Happy Fathers' Day (by the way, is it Father's Day or Fathers' Day, singular or plural) to all!

Ben's Important Question

2010-06-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

He asked her to marry him...

... and she said "yes."

I knew I should have put that brick on her head when she was 8, but it rejoices a daddy's heart to see his children marry well.

Washing my truck

2010-05-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Alyssa came over to help me wash my truck. I had a dry area and a wet area planned. She was to stay in the dry area, with sidewalk chalk and her little car, while I would wash my truck in the wet area. Silly me. It was a wonderful morning, and the video clips don't begin to do it justice.

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Cancer Wars

2010-05-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

The cancer war rages on. Last Friday, a sample was taken of my blood and today, Carol & I went in to discuss the results with the cancer doc. The cancer remains at a low level, but showed a very slight increase over the last sample, taken two months ago. After a very lengthy discussion and evaluation of the various options, I made the decision to discontinue the cancer medication for at least a month, perhaps longer. The rationale is that at this stage of the game, I consider the medications to be doing more overall harm to my body than the cancer. The decision was 100% mine, but Carol and the doc were both on board with it. We will monitor and re-evaluate on a monthly basis, and see how it goes. It was not an easy decision to make, there are potentially serous consequences on either path.

Two things to keep in mind:

The cancer is not in remission. It is at a low level, but still very much there.
Although I am discontinuing medication for an undetermined period of time, this is not a "break" in fighting the cancer. We are not retreating; we are simply attacking in another direction!

Thanks to all for your love, prayers, and expression of concern!

Congratulations, Ben!

2010-05-14T20:18:00.001-07:00

Today, Ben Thompson graduated from Dallas Baptist University. Attaboy, and way to go, Ben! Keep watching this boy for something great!

Wedding Day

2010-05-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Yep, Matt & Amy got married on Saturday, and we were all right happy about it. There were lots of good times and good pictures, but here are just a few to document the joyous occasion.

And thanks to all of the many good friends who helped.

Yours Truly, Daryl Bennett, F.O.G. (that's wedding lingo for "Father of the Groom)

Rehearsal Dinner

2010-05-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Friday night was rehearsal for the wedding. It didn't take a lot of practice for Carol and I to get our part right. The Rehearsal Dinner followed at Buca di Beppo's in Southlake, Texas. I could say we had a good time, but a few pictures say it a lot better.

Wedding Week Get-Togethers

2010-05-06T08:19:00.001-07:00

Preceding Saturday

Monday Night

Wednesday Night

Thursday

Afflictions

2010-04-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Carol and I read I Thessalonians 3 & 4 in our Bible reading. Paul wrote this epistle relatively early on in his ministry. In the first part of chapter 3, he was telling the Thessalonian believers not to be surprised that both he and they were being afflicted - he had warned them ahead of time that these trials would come. In fact, he said, Christians have been destined for trials. In their cases, it most likely meant being persecuted for their faith.

Wow. Who wants to join a club whose membership are destined for trials and afflictions? I think of several in our church body who have very painful physical afflictions. I read and teach through the gospel accounts where Jesus healed all sorts of people of all sorts of sicknesses. Sometimes it is a story about a specific individual, sometimes it is just a simple statement like often occurs in the Gospel of Matthew, that "He healed them all," in reference to large numbers of sick people coming to Jesus. As I pray for these faithful saints, I point out to God how much He would be glorified if He acted to heal them, either directly or through conventional medical means. Then I must consider this.

God was greatly glorified when Christ healed people directly during His physical ministry on earth.
I consider how greatly God would be glorified if He would heal and ease the affliction of those believers for whom I pray.
If God chooses to not heal them, perhaps it is because He receives more glory as the rest of us look on, and see how He manifests Himself in the lives of these individuals through these trials.
How great that glory must be!

Count the Cars

2010-04-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

Count the cars in the driveway, gentle reader. There are two. We have lived in this house for more than 20 years, and for 16 of those years this part of the homestead has been the scene of the "driveway shuffle," as there has been at least 3, and sometimes 4 full-time vehicles calling this their home berth. I honestly can't remember all of the vehicles that have resided here over these years, but I know the driveway has been home to at least 17 different variations of Oldsmobile, Chrysler, Pontiac, Plymouth, Chevrolet, Dodge, GMC, Nissan and Toyota. Some were bought brand-new, some were much older than the teenagers who drove them, having formerly belonged to a grandparent or even a great-grandparent. Some were big enough to seat a large family in comfort on long car trips, some were closer to a "go-cart" than a family car.

Anyway, the point is that now there are two, only two, as all of the children have moved out onto their own. This is a parable of our family, as well. Carol and I have been married for 34 years, and for 32 of them we have had children living with us (there are a lot of years between the youngest and oldest children). It was a lot of fun to be a family of 6 (or 3, or 4, or 5). It is still fun to be a family of 15 (more or less) and a household of 2. Life changes, but life is good.

Doo, doo, doo

2010-04-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

In the words (almost) of CCR, the title of this photo is "Doo, doo, doo, lookin' out Matt & Amy's back door!" Yesterday we moved Matt & Amy's furniture into their soon-to-be new home. After we had finished unloading, one by one the workers and I came and sat down in their living room, and as we did, each one looked out the back door and said, "Wow, this is peaceful." And there wasn't even a flying spoon.

Anyway, Matt will be the one living there until the wedding (less than 2 weeks now). Here are a few more photos of the new home and the happy couple to be.

Squirrel!

2010-04-21T10:22:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday morning, Carol had to work, so I went to get my 18-month old granddaughter Alyssa and kept her for a few hours by myself. It was nice to have some time with her all by myself. She followed me around and helped me put together this (hopefully) squirrel-proof enclosure for some young seedlings. We were doing real well working in the driveway until it started to rain and had to move into the garage door opening. Alyssa played with chalk on the drive or concrete floor, climbed into her little car and told me "bye", handed me tools and supplies whether I needed them or not, and sat on my lap while we put on the screening. When it was time to go and get Carol and I put Alyssa into her car seat, she thought we were leaving for good, cried and pointed back to where we had been working, and didn't want to leave. We came back with Grandma Carol and had some more good time.

Anyway, the squirrel-proof cage didn't get finished until Monday evening, with Matt and Carol's help. Here are a couple of pictures of it. I call it "Farina."

Update

2010-03-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Just to update everybody on my bi-monthly visit with the cancer doc last week (on the same day and at the same time Brooke was born, which is why I haven't bothered sending this out earlier). The blood work came back showing the cancer numbers have decreased by half since the last check up two months ago. It is now only 5% of where it was at diagnosis 2 1/2 years ago. Again, the doctor carefully evaluated the overall situation to determine whether to continue the chemotherapy to possibly continue to gain the benefits of cancer decrease, or give break from the chemo for a while to let my body recover, or actually, to not push it past its ability to recover. Carol, greatly encouraged by the decrease in the cancer numbers, told the doctor, "He's tough - he can take it!" and the doc decided to continue the chemotherapy.

Lesson: don't take your wife with you to see your cancer doc while her grand baby is being born. Thanks again for all prayers, love and concern.

Welcome, Brooke Renee!

2010-03-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Brooke Renee Bennett arrived at 10:47 this morning, at 8 pounds and 14 ounces, and 20 inches long. Proud parents are Andrew and Julia. Everybody is doing well. We are all extremely grateful and excited.

Tool Time

2010-03-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, while the ladies were having a bridal shower for my future daughter-in-law Amy, a few of us guys got together and had a Tool Time for Matt. Not wanting anyone to feel excluded but also not wanting anyone to feel obligated, I limited the invitations to a handful a men who have had (or are currently having) significant input into Matthew's life over the years, and who also like tools. Each man told Matt why the selected tool he gave was important for a man to have, and also gave Matt some good advice about married life (even the young single guys).

He got a really good foundation of tools for starting out. I appreciate each man's generosity, each man's advice, each man's investment in Matt over the years, past, present and future, and their prayers for Matt and Amy.

When I was a young man approaching the age to leave home, my Dad gave me a set of Craftsmen wrenches, sockets & ratchets, and screwdrivers. Today, 40 years later, they remain the foundation of my tool collection. Guess what I got for Matt just as quickly as I could get to the Sears store to buy them. We guys had a great time at the Tool Time.

2010-02-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

Friday morning, 2/12/10, in Bedford, Texas:

The final tally: 7" of accumulation at our house (Wanna bet it's gone by noon?).

A Snowy Day in Texas

2010-02-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

Feb. 11, 2010: And these pictures were taken first thing in the morning, and it continued snowing all day after that. We now have 4" - 6" of accumulation, and it is still coming down this evening.

Status Update

2010-02-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

Last week, I went in for my two-month check up at the cancer doctor's office. Blood work revealed that there has been no change, good or bad, in the cancer over the past two months. Fortunately, it is at a low level (10% of where it was at diagnosis), though not as low as we would like. The cancer doc looked me over and mulled the benefits of continuing the chemotherapy vs. the impacts that it is taking on my body. Finally he advised me to continue with the chemotherapy for as long as I can endure it, but to stop it when I need to (I don't think he realizes just how much I will endure to fight this thing). Thanks to all for love, prayers, and concern.

Ride 'em, cowgirl!

2010-02-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

Alyssa came to visit on Saturday. Here's a picture of her riding her horse and holding her baby. Photo by Carol. Why so somber, Alyssa? I think Carol caught the only moment she wasn't smiling and laughing. Also note her new (and first) haircut.

Alyssa, 1/30/10

She Said Yes!

2010-01-26T18:50:00.001-08:00

Matt & Amy, 1/26/10

And when we're old and they ask me,
How do you define success?
I'll say it's when you meet a woman, and you fall in love,
and you ask her and she says yes!

(Charlie Reid, The Proclaimers, "Let's Get Married")

You're Not Well Yet

2010-01-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

That's what my GP told me when I went in for a follow up visit yesterday. On Friday night of last week, 1/15, I went down with a cough and a fever. The next morning, my temp was 102 and I was still coughing. Carol called the cancer doc's office on a Saturday morning and they phoned an antibiotic Rx to our local pharmacy and we got me onto some antibiotics pronto. We have known two cancer patients to die recently (one in pretty good health) and they both died not from cancer, but from pneumonia.

The next few days were some rocky ones with sustained temps around 101 to 102 and peaks over 103. I was about like a sack of potatoes, but less fun. On Tuesday, we got in to see my GP. He diagnosed bronchitis and later said that was the worst breathing he had ever heard anybody do who wasn't in a hospital. He put me onto some steroids and nebulizer breathing treatments. He also sent me over to another place to get my chest x-rayed. The x-ray showed bronchitis from a probable viral infection, but no pneumonia.

On Wednesday, I was well enough to work some at home, and I went back to work on Thursday. Matt came down with the same thing shortly after I did, but also got onto some antibiotics and bounced backed quickly. Yesterday, Carol thought that it all looked like so much fun that she would give it a try, so I get to take care of her for a while.

Anyway, I am fever-free, better, and not coughing nearly so much, but as my GP said, not well yet. He meant for me to keep at the meds and breathing treatments, rest and let my body mend, and keep the fluids going. It's a deal.

2010-01-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a candid shot of me watching the Tennessee - Va. Tech game on New Year's Eve. Photo by Carol. Note the name of the game on the box is "Worst Case Scenario."

Birdhouses

2010-01-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

It is cold in Illinois in December. Here are some pictures of the great birdhouse project we did to have some time with the grandchildren while we were there for Christmas.

December 2009

2010-01-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life is just too much fun to bother with blogging, and that's how it was with our lives between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Some of the events I enjoyed the most were:

Setting up the nativity set in the front yard with the grandkids and hanging the Christmas lights on the house on the day after Thanksgiving.
Celebrating Matt's 25th birthday on Nov. 29, and Carol's birthday on Dec. 5.
Going to see the opening night of the Rockette's Christmas performance (courtesy of my sister), with my sister, her husband and friends, Carol, our two youngest kids and their dates.
Going to our Sunday School class's Christmas fellowship, and hosting our 21st annual neighborhood Christmas party.
Going to our church's fantastic Christmas concert, with choir and orchestra, and sitting in a packed out sanctuary on the second night of the performance.
Traveling to Illinois with Carol, as we spent Christmas and a few days before with our kids and grandkids there.
Attending the Christmas Eve service at the church where our son Daniel serves as the pastor.
Stopping by Arkansas on the way home to see my brother, my sister, their spouses and some other family members.
Exchanging presents and celebrating a late Christmas with the Dallas-Fort Worth kids.
Celebrating New Year's Eve with friends and family as we watched Tennessee play Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
Too many other wonderful times at church, with family, friends, co-workers and clients to mention, and even driving around listening to Christmas carols with a Christmas ornament hanging from the rear view window of my truck.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the holidays. The pics are small, but worth clicking onto to get the big picture:

Setting up the Nativity Set with the grandkids, and others:

Birthday celebrations:

Alyssa and her Christmas slide. She was too little to manage sliding down on her bottom, and had to slide down head first on her tummy.

Christmas with Peoria grandkids:

With siblings and siblings-in-laws in Heber Springs, Arkansas:

Daryl Bennett, CPSC (Cancer Patient, Second Class)

2009-12-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

Since I only go to see my cancer doc once every two months now, and much of the time I don't see him but his capable young assistant, I asked him some time ago if I was now a "Cancer Patient, Second Class," meaning things were not as urgent now and I seem to be more on a long-term maintenance program.

I got numbers back on my latest blood work today, and the results are good. The M-spike has been hovering at a consistent but unmoving low level like a catfish on a river bottom (see blog entry for 11/17), but this month it moved down again, dropping from 0.6 to 0.4. Total proteins also made a nice drop, and most parameters of the general blood chemistry are showing some slight improvements as well.

I keep on the current medication program, and go back to see the cancer doc again in two months.

I want to thank each of you for your faithful and persistent prayers for me over the past 2+ years. As I told my Sunday School class recently, you don't learn the meaning of perseverance (in prayer) from a dictionary. So often, when we pray for someone and there is no apparent answer, we are inclined to give up on our prayers and say, "God's will be done." But perseverance means praying just as fervently and ardently two years or more later as you did when you first heard the news and brought your petition before God, and I know that such prayers are many of you.

Thanks for love, prayers, support and concern.

In His Mighty Care, Daryl

Some Grand Kids

2009-12-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Wow. Am I ever blessed to have this pack of kids loving me and calling me "Grandpa."

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-25T20:53:00.000-08:00

Telling the Tale

2009-11-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

Results from the latest blood work shows that the cancer is still at low levels and holding. Here are a couple of charts that demonstrate what is happening. The top one is total proteins, the parameter that was high and got me into all of this. The red lines indicate normal range for this parameter, the blue lines indicated what has been going on since June 2007. The sharp decrease is when I started taking the Revlimid. You can see that's when it leveled off. The second chart is the all-important M-spike, and you can see the same trend there.

In addition to being better at fighting the cancer, the Revlimid is much less destructive to me than the other chemo therapies have been. Over the past few weeks, I have repeatedly been reminded of how much better condition I am now than I was months or even a year to a year and a half ago. I thank God for that, and thank you for your interest, concern and prayers on my behalf. This isn't over yet, but it is all good.

Grandparent Weekend

2009-11-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

Forget about Grandma Saturday, this weekend we got a grandparent weekend! We got to keep the local grandgirl from Friday afternoon to Saturday night as her mom went to a church children's ministry retreat, and her dad had to work. She is really walking now, and spent more time getting around by walking than by crawling. Shortly after the video was taken, she enjoyed walking through the lawn, kicking and shuffling through the leaves. Afterwards, Carol washed her up before returning her to her mommy.

Saturday evening, we had a real nice and impromptu visiting time with Matt, Amy, Andrew & Julia.

Elder Retreat

2009-11-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

On the last weekend in October, the 9 elders of Countryside Bible Church took a planning retreat at the Wildcatter Ranch near Graham, Texas. Most of the time was spent in planning sessions, but we also had some times of fellowship with all of the elders and their wives, and also a brief session on the sport shooting range. Here are some pictures (courtesy of another elder) of the scene from the back porch of our cabin, and Carol and another "elder wife", also on the back porch.

What I Do All Day (Some Days)

2009-11-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

One of the many different things that I get to do in my work is to certify that liners installed for municipal solid waste landfills are constructed in accordance with plans submitted by the landfill to, and approved by, the State of Texas' environmental regulatory authority. The liners are there to assure that liquids that come in contact with the garbage to be deposited in the landfill don't migrate out of the landfill and contaminate the groundwater, and to also protect against methane gas generated by the decomposing garbage from migrating off site and creating explosive conditions.

Doing this certification requires frequent visits during liner construction, the full-time presence during construction of one my my materials testing technicians, direction, and lots of tests of the liner in the field, and on samples brought back to our laboratory.

Here is a picture of a liner built out of 3 feet of compacted clay that we are currently certifying on a landfill a little ways southwest of Fort Worth. This site fascinates me because of its purple clay. It also has a strata of green soil, the likes of which I have only seen once before in my life.

Piercing to the Marrow

2009-10-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, the cancer doc sampled my bone marrow and I got results back a few days ago. The bone marrow is where the cancer resides with myeloma. The cancer is done to 12% (12% of the plasma cells in my bone marrow are cancerous). Last year at this time, the cancer was 19%, and it was 65% when I was diagnosed 2 years ago. Here is a picture of the bone marrow sample after it was extracted. For a quick update on the overall condition, see 2 blogs down, Oct. 2, 2009.

TW3 for D.A.M.E.

2009-10-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

That was the week that was for:

Daniel and Whitney are running in the Chicago Marathon (yes, Marathon) today.
Andrew is sick with the flu. He was too tough of a guy to get his flu shot, but we did have a real nice time chatting on the phone about Tennessee's tromp over Georgia in the football game this weekend, and other things. Fortunately, Julia and Alyssa seem to be okay.
Matthew started a job this week working as a computer consultant on a contract basis with Alamo Consultants in Plano, Texas.
Emily has moved out of the house and into her own apartment in Arlington with her good friend, Jessica. We all pitched in and helped her to move Friday afternoon and yesterday. Nice place and nice situation for her.

I got a bone marrow sample this week and Carol has had to put up with me and put in a lot of hours at her job, including inspecting food booths at some big shindigs in Burleson on Saturday. Fortunately, she gets to go to a big conference for Environmental Health professionals in Austin for several days this week.

Th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!

What the Doc Says

2009-10-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 9, 2009: I got results back on my blood work yesterday and went to see the cancer doc this morning. The cancer is still at its lowest level since diagnosis 2 years ago, but has leveled off and we haven't had any decreases over the last 3 months. I asked the doctor what I had to do to get the cancer lower. He explained what I would have to do, and I said, "Stable is good."

So for now the plan is to continue the current oral medication, steadily keep chipping away at the cancer, and maybe get a break from the chemotherapy in 6 months to a year. The doctor is very pleased that I am staying active (working and swimming), that I am watching my weight, and that I am not losing muscle mass, and he is very pleased with my overall progress.

While I was there, he also took a bone marrow sample, and I have been "out" all afternoon and early evening. It is the first bone marrow biopsy for me in a year. I should get the results back on that next week.

Thanks for the prayers and concern. In the next day or two, I will try to post a couple of graphs that really tell the tale pretty well on the cancer, and will also share the bone marrow biopsy results when I get them. I will also try to get some cute pics up of grandkids or kids.

High Five

2009-09-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a vdieo from Alyssas' birthday get-together last week, in which Andrew demonstrates how Mikko can give him a high five.

In all fairness, you have to note that the dog did do the trick the first time.

Status

2009-09-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

Last week, I marked my second year since diagnosis with cancer. For more than a year, I have wanted to write a blog about how that first year with cancer was the greatest year of my life, as God showed me how great He was in caring for me, how much I was loved, what a wonderful wife He had given me, and many other things. Lately I have seen how He sometimes lovingly breaks His servants to ferret out those remaining areas of (ouch!) sin in our lives, and increase our humility and dependence on Him. Maybe someday I will get to write those blogs.

Yesterday, I received results back on blood samples taken last week. My current status is that I am "stable." The cancer level hasn't increased or decreased over the past two months, but is at the lowest level since diagnosis. I am still undergoing chemotherapy, and there is currently no plan to change medication anytime soon. Thanks to all for caring and praying. This is still a long, long way from being over.

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

2009-09-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today was my granddaughter Alyssa's first birthday. Happy birthday, Alyssa!

That Was The Week That Was

2009-09-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

TW3. It's been a quiet week in Lake Whoa, Be Gone. Or maybe quite a week, one of the two. Matthew passed his test for certification as a Cisco Systems Operating Engineer on Wednesday. Ah, Cisco! Way to go Matthew!.

On Friday night and into Saturday morning, Carol had to do a health inspection on a Wal-Mart in her territory, so it could reopen after a fire contained to one part of the store. I went with her since it was late at night and far from home. It was very impressive to see how well-organized the Wal-Mart team was, and how well Carol went about her work. See her blog for more details.

Also, on Friday, I had my 57th birthday, and all of our local kids and their persons of interest came over to help us eat grilled burgers and celebrate. Thanks to all who sent their wishes. Never in my life have I received so many wishes for a Happy Birthday. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

Yesteryday I swam a mile, for the first time in I don't know how long. It felt really good to do it again. It took me an hour, but we'll see if we can whittle some time off that again.

I've had two weeks of feeling pretty good. I will go back to the doctor on Wednesday of this week for another infusion, and let them sample some blood. Maybe by Monday of next week, I'll have some results to know how I'm doing. Thanks for your prayers and concern.

Getting By With A Little Help From Matt's Friends

2009-08-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Matt had some friends over today to help clean up our back yard. How badly did the back yard need cleaning? Well, the pause in the action in the photo is because cleaning out the wood pile evicted two possums and an armadillo from their living quarters.

The possums got away, but the armadillo was detained for questioning before being released. Thanks for the help, friends!

Just Because

2009-08-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures of little granddaughters from recent weeks. The one of Alyssa in the pool is from when we kept her last Saturday. The one of Ellie was from my mom's funeral (scroll down two blog entries).

EMILY!

2009-08-07T11:00:00.002-07:00

Emily!
Graduating summa cum laude with a perfect 4.0
from Dallas Baptist University, 8/7/09.

The Fruit of Her Hands

2009-08-07T11:00:00.001-07:00

On Monday, August 3, 2009, we buried my Mom. There were about 60 people there as her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family and friends rose up to call her blessed. My son preached the message, my sister gave the eulogy, and a minister-cousin officiated, welcoming people, leading the singing, and generally conducting the service. Then her grandchildren were her pall bearers as they carried the casket out of the church and laid her body to rest next to my Dad's, in the cemetery right next to the church. The grave site is nice and peaceful, between woodlands and pasture, and deer often wander through it in the cool of early morning and late afternoon.

She was a good mother. As painful as it was to let her go, it was far more painful to watch her remain in the state she was in for the last years of her life. She is better now than she has ever been in her life.

Mom

2009-07-31T19:16:00.001-07:00

Many of you are already aware that my mother passed away peacefully under hospice care at 6:00 this morning. Knowing the end was sooner rather than later, local family members got to spend a lot of time with her this final week. My daughter Emily and I spent several hours with her last night, holding her hands and talking to her. My sister Vanita and her husband were there quite late, as well.

This picture is from Sunday afternoon. Vanita spent an incredible amount of time caring for Mom in the final days. This picture shows Vanita feeding her and my grandson holding her hand.

My Mom was a believer in Christ, and is now in a far better place than she has ever been in her life. She had just turned 90 10 days before she died. Scroll down to "older posts" to see her early celebration we had just 3 weeks ago.

End of Trip

2009-07-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

July 26, 2009

2009-07-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Almost home, we stopped to see my mother at her nursing home. Hannah helped my sister Vanita feed my mom her liquid nutrition. Currently unable to speak or see, touch is very important to her, so Hannah and Austin both held her hand.

July 25, 2009

2009-07-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

34 YEARS LATER

En route back to Texas this afternoon, we took a slight detour to visit the campus of my Alma Mater. The University was, of course, thrilled to see me. I snuck back onto campus on a Saturday afternoon in summer.

July 24, 2009

2009-07-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Laurel Falls, elev. 2820 ft.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
July 24, 2009

Picnicking along the Little T River in east Tennessee.
(The icy cold water felt really good on my sore and burning feet)
7/24/09

July 23, 2009

2009-07-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

Today we drove through Kentucky and east Tennessee, and saw some real geology. This afternoon, we swam in a mountain lake. As Bill Cosby has observed, the water in mountain lakes generally comes from melted snow, and it never really gets warm. I am trying to estimate how far I swam, but think one should get double credit for meters swam, if they were done with a passenger on the back.

July 22, 2009

2009-07-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

Went there, did that, had a lot of fun. We also visited Lincoln's Birthplace National Historical Site, but it was raining too hard to take a picture there.

2009-07-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

I got the results back this morning of my latest blood work and the news was good. In short, the bad numbers are down and the good numbers are up.

The very worst of the bad numbers, the M-Spike, is down to 0.8, the lowest it has ever been measured. Total proteins and other indicators of myeloma in the blood are also significantly down. The best of the good numbers to be up is my red blood count, which is now in normal range.

Some of the nicest news, however, is the fact that quite a few of the things they measure moved into the "normal range" for those parameters this month for the first time. Praise God for that.

What it means is that the cancer, though not gone, has been significantly decreased, my bone marrow is making much healthier blood, and other parts of my body are healthier, too. My doctor was just about ecstatic with the results.

We thank God for all these good results, and thanks to you for your love, caring and prayers.

PS - Don't stop praying or start celebrating just yet. I'm still a ways from being out of the woods.

Happy birthday, Velma!

2009-07-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

In a few days, my mother will be 90 years old. This evening, all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild who live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area had an impromptu get together to celebrate her birthday. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Seriously Now

2009-07-06T17:48:00.001-07:00

So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. PS. 90:12

The doctor stonewalls at making a prediction for how long I will survive. Likewise, I dodge at giving an answer to friends and family, in large part because I don't know. Then there are so many variables. I would hate to tell someone that I was going to live for five more years and then still be going strong at seven, and them think I had lied to them, or for some, broken a promise. Likewise if I told them 20 years, and then died from the cancer after three.

From the outset, we have declared our lives are fully in the hands of an omnipotent and loving Heavenly Father, who could heal me of the cancer by whatever means He chooses, could prolong my life for however many years He chooses, or could take me home next week with a bad case of the sniffles. It is all in His hands.

From a human perspective, however, attached is one helpful piece of information that Carol and I obtained from the myeloma conference that we attended two weekends ago. It is a chart that tracks overall survival of myeloma patients by decade, from the time of their diagnosis. Here are some facts or conclusions that can be drawn from the chart:

There has always been a small percentage of myeloma patients, about 10%, who have made it past 10 years beyond diagnosis, and seem to go on indefinitely with this as a chronic condition. These are the outlier data points, but there seem to be quite a few of them. At the conference, one of our speakers was a seemingly healthy man who had been in treatment for 19 years, and a report was given of a person who had been a patient for 31 years. Geraldine Ferraro has been a myeloma patient since 1998, 11 years.
The average survival period for a myeloma patient over the past decade, however, is only about 4.5 years after diagnosis. Again from the human perspective, it reasonable to assume that I would do better than average because that number obviously includes all myeloma patients - those diagnosed in late stages of the disease, those who are elderly, those who die from other causes / complications, etc. I was diagnosed very early in the disease before it had attacked my skeletal frame or any organs of my body, at a relatively young age, and in otherwise excellent health.
That average 4.5 year survival period over the past decade is a vast improvement over the 2.5 years after diagnosis for the preceding decade. This means, among other things, that the treatments are getting better. The longer a patient can survive, the greater his chances of overall survival due to new drugs and therapies being developed.

Conclusion: We don't know. Review the chart and make your own conclusions if you like. I was diagnosed in September 2007, almost two years ago. My plan is to substantially beat the average and hopefully become an outlier data point, but leave it all in God's hands and not waste a single day in the meantime.

Grand Pics

2009-07-02T19:58:00.001-07:00

(Updated 7/6/09): This blog needs some pictures of grandchildren. Here are three of my most favorite recent pictures of Alyssa. The first is from when we visited my mother at her nursing home, with Mom asleep in the background. The second is of Alyssa in a little pool in our back yard when we kept her one evening while her parents went out for dinner. Finally, a picture of her helping us on our Saturday shopping expedition for a patio table and chairs. Note she is checking not only the comfort of the chair, but also its price tag. From our various shopping expeditions we have learned that she enjoys Garden Ridge, Lowe's and Home Depot, she is okay with Target, Wal-Mart and grocery stores (if she gets to hold the shoppong list), but doesn't care too much for Big Lots.

Bad Squirrel George

2009-07-01T17:59:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote about George, the friendly squirrel who lives in my back yard. I spoke of how George kept me close company while I was potting some summer plants, and how particularly pleased I was with three new pecan trees I had found sprouted in some of the flower pots. I spoke of recognizing George’s likely involvement in the process, and of thinking him, and rewarding him with peanuts.

Ten days ago, I walked into the back yard and saw George with the most guilty look I have ever seen on a squirrel’s face. He took one look at me, turned and bolted, and hid himself from my presence just as surely as Adam did hide himself from the Lord in the Garden. “George, where art thou?” I called, but I received no answer in return.

I looked around the back yard to see what could be wrong, and saw an old dead branch, about 6 or 8 feet long and as big around as my forearm, laying on the ground. It had not been there 2 hours earlier when I mowed the grass. I could imagine George and some of his adolescent squirrel pals jumping up and down on the branch, laughing and having a big time until it broke and they all came crashing down to the ground. “Oh, well,” I thought, “squirrels will be squirrels. No harm done.” Besides, that dead branch had been outside my upstairs office window, and I was glad to see it down without my having to climb and cut.

Then I saw the REAL CRIME. George had uprooted the new little pecan trees to get to the pecan nuts still a part of the root. He knew it was wrong and that is why he looked so guilty. Truly, all creation has fallen and gone corrupt.

George, if you read my blog, please know that I still love you and I forgive you. If you will plant me some more pecans next winter, I will try to grown them again next spring, but I will put them in a squirrel proof cage for their first year to help you resist temptation.

Cancer Training

2009-06-28T18:03:00.001-07:00

This weekend, Carol and I attended a conference sponsored by the International Myeloma Foundation here in Dallas. It was very informative as we learned about current treatment methodologies and upcoming drugs, ways of handling side effects of the chemotherapy, and other good stuff.

Leading doctors in this disease nationwide were there, and it was good to listen to them, and chat with them between sessions, as well. Some of these men have been cancer doctors longer than I have been an engineer (that’s a long time), and their names are on testing procedures for evaluation of this disease. There also were very helpful sessions by a cancer nurse, and a myeloma patient.

The top question on every patient’s mind is what are current survival predictions for patients in their situation. One patient there had been in treatment for 19 years, and there was a report of another patient who has been in treatment for 31 years. These are the outlier data points, but praise God for outlier data points. Then I met a man who looks healthier than me, and has been in treatment for only 3 years, but his cancer is not responding to the drugs, and the prognosis is not good. It is all over the field.

All in all, it was a good conference, and I am glad we went.

Father’s Day 2009

2009-06-21T15:31:00.001-07:00

Today is Father’s Day, and I would like to pay tribute to my father, James Vernon Bennett, Jr., now deceased. It’s been a little over two years since Dad died in April 2007. The morning after we buried him, I went out to the woods behind their house to spend some time alone. I found an acceptable stump and sat down. It was cold spring morning in Arkansas, and I shifted my body so that my back caught the fullest effect of the sunlight to keep me warm, and remembered it was something my Dad had taught me to do as we worked outside in the cold together.

A father teaches his son many things. Among the things my Dad taught me by example more than words was the value of hard work and honesty in business dealings, and the importance of a man taking his family to church on a weekly basis.

I took this picture of Dad about a year or two before he died. It was autumn, and I had taken him for a ride in his truck, and we walked out to an overlook over the Little Red River just outside Heber Springs. It is my favorite picture of Dad.

Here’s to you, Dad. I hope all readers have had as wonderful a Father’s Day as I did.

Night Trains & Pianos

2009-06-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Some of you know my time-wasting dilema of a few weeks ago as I tried to find Lyrics, etc. to a particular song, which was incorrectly titled on an instrumental CD as "Night Train to Memphis." When I found the lyrics, I said, "No way those lyrics can go to that song," and the time-wasting began. Anyway, with only wasting but a small portion of your time, here is a link to the coolest instrumental (piano) version I ever found of Night Train to Memphis (This guy, Alan Dale, has some other neat stuff on You Tube, too).

And here is a really good version of "Night Train", though the version I heard and started this quest was a Bluegrass/Blues version with harmonica, fiddle, bass guitar and drums, and was incorrectly labeled on the CD as "Night Train to Memphis," rather than the boogie woogie version here.

Cancer Update

2009-06-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

Results on the blood sample taken June 12 indicate that the decreases to the cancer have leveled out and actually increased just slightly over the blood sample taken last month. This month's M-spike is 1.3, still one of my lowest, but a little higher than last month's 1.1. The factors that would indicate a slight increase in the M-spike (and thus, the cancer), like total protiens and globulin (the type of protien where the M-spike is) all showed the same slight increase. This month's total protiens, like last's, remain in the normal range, meaning that if I were checked for a routine physical at this level I wouldn't be sent on for further testing to see if I have cancer.

I am hoping that the slight increase is due to the colds I fought and antibiotics I was on the past month. While I have no scientific basis for this hope, I also have no scientific basis against it.

In other aspects, my blood is looking much healthier. My red blood count is up almost to normal range, as are the HGB and HCT, which reflect the blood's ability to carry oxygen and iron.

Thanks for caring and praying.

Life Persists

2009-05-24T19:18:00.001-07:00

This year I have three new pecan trees and one rescued azalea bush. The pecans trees are thanks to the friendly squirrels (cute rats with bushy tails)inhabiting our back yard. Over the winter, they buried some pecans found elsewhere in the neighborhood into flower pots in my back yard. The pecans sprouted into trees after I planted flowers this spring, and I transplanted them, tree, root, original pecan and all into some new flower pots consecrated solely for that purpose. As would only be appropriate, Squirrel George the x kept me close company during the process, and I rewarded him with peanuts for his trouble in planting the pecans.

The azalea bush was originally a $13 bargain I bought in Arlington last year. It got trampled when we replaced our fence a couple of months ago, and then replaced with an azalea given by friends as a Christmas gift, but not delivered until spring. Anyway, much to the not-too-concealed amusement of close family members, I dug up the root, planted it in a pot and set it in a place where it would receive just the right amount of sunlight, from an azalea’s point of view on sunlight, and let the Creator’s ordained processes of nature take work. This weekend, about two months later, the root sprouted vegetation. As an amateur gardener, I never cease to be amazed at the way life persists when given opportunity to do so.

Here is the photographic proof of the pecan trees and azalea bush. The final picture is one Carol took of the way I arranged flora vegetation, et al, just off our back patio this afternoon. The figurine in the background is not St. Francis. That would not do for a Protestant Evangelical elder. It is St. Augustine, considered to be okay for those with leanings toward Calvinistic/Reformed viewpoints. I put it there hoping he would bless the grass (just kidding!).

Status: Not quo

2009-05-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

For those who have not yet heard, the results from the last cancer test came back very encouraging. The M-spike is 1.1, much, much lower than at any point since diagnosis, now 20 months and counting Again, this is almost a 50% reduction since last month, or down to 1/3 of what it was two months ago when I began the Revlimid. My oncologist is "thrilled," and Carol is "very excited." I am little excited, and will be very excited if it continues this way another month.

Thanks for your prayers, caring, and expressions of concern!

Update

2009-05-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

I saw the back doc yesterday, and he took a look at me and at the MRI pictures from Thursday evening. He declared that I had a nerve getting some pressure from the spine in my neck which was causing pain from the neck through the right arm, and I also have some bursitis in the right shoulder. To fix things, I got an Acme At-Home Do-It-Yourself put your neck in traction kit to relieve some pressure on the nerve (sounds nuts to me, too, but you should hear what they do to you if it gets so bad you have to go to the hospital for treatment), and take some medications for the bursitis. For now it is treat these things at home and keep an eye on them and take other action if things get worse. Frankly, I think a crawling baby is cuter, scroll down one blog entry.