The Struggle Has Ended

Greg Hewlett passed away on January 17th after nearly eight years of battling colon cancer. While we grieve his loss, we are comforted to know that he is with his Lord.

If you would like to leave your thoughts on Greg, please see this thread.

If you would like to make a charitable donation in Greg's honor, please see this thread.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

MD Anderson special on CNN this Sunday

I have no idea what this will be like, and did not participate in any of the interviews (I am always too eager to leave the hospital the second I am done with whatever I am doing there!). But it might interest readers of this blog...

CNN Presents to air "Taming the Beast: Inside the War on Cancer" Sunday, Aug. 14
On Sunday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. CST, with an encore presentation at 10 p.m. CST, CNN Presents will premiere a one-hour documentary about cancer. Filmed exclusively at M. D. Anderson and hosted by CNN's medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, "Taming the Beast: Inside the War on Cancer" is an in-depth look at the state of cancer today. The program provides a deeply personal glimpse into the lives of five M. D. Anderson patients - revealing their daily struggles and exploring the revolutionary science helping them. As part of its filming, CNN designed a special recording room to allow everyone - faculty, nurses, clergy, staff, patients, caregivers, volunteers - to share their thoughts and feelings about cancer. Excerpts from the recording room will be included in the show. Additional recordings will be included on CNN's Web site, ! http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/presents/, starting Aug. 10.

M. D. Anderson will not be able to provide copies of the program due to copyright laws. To purchase a copy of the program, call 1-800-CNN-NEWS.

Please note that M, D. Anderson does not schedule CNN programs; the documentary could be rescheduled in the event of breaking news.

Tuesday, August 2, 2005

A new low CEA

I began chemo yesterday. Right now I am on the take-home pump, which slowly drips the stuff into me until tomorrow. I'm not feeling like writing much but wanted to share a piece of good news. I just found out my CEA blood level taken yesterday was 1.8 - the lowest it has ever been measured.

CEA is a marker which correlates to colon cancer activity. While it is relatively unreliable compared with blood markers for other cancers, it does generally go up if there is cancer growing and stays low when it is not. I had actually expected it to be up a little, because chemo can make it go up artificially and I took chemo with the radiation. So I was shocked and deeply relieved to find out it was so low.

My body wants to hurl lunch... but my heart sings thanksgiving to the Lord.