Why Indiana?

We have been encouraged to create this blog to keep you all up to date on our journey to Indiana. We will do our best to keep it up to date.

This journey began about a year ago...
Mike developed a rash on his hands that would not go away. He went to the doctor about the rash and was given some medicine to make it go away. It did not... so back to the doctor he went. He left with a stronger dose of medicine. A few months later the rash was still there.

Mike felt that this was more than just a rash so he asked to see a dermatologist. The dermatologist thought it may be lupus and took a biopsy of the rash. The biopsy determined it was not lupus, but, dermatomyositis. This was just before Thanksgiving of last year approximately 5 months after he initially noticed the rash.

Mike was then sent to the rheumatologist. The rheumatologist was not convinced that this was the correct diagnosis and advised Mike that sometimes cancer presents itself as a skin rash. This began a series of tests... chest x-ray, lots and lots of blood work and finally a CAT scan.

The CAT scan showed that a lymph node in his neck was slightly enlarged and one in his abdomen was enlarged, a biopsy would be necessary. Off to the surgeon... on the day of his surgical consult the node in Mike's neck was noticeably larger so on February 5th we were off to Mercy Hospital for the biopsy. On February 13th he got the news that he had a malignant germ cell tumor. Mike had cancer and was referred to an oncologist at Maine Cancer Center. The oncologist was on vacation so Mike was advised he could be seen two weeks later. This was unsettling news.

In the meantime, the area that had been biopsied in his neck did not seem to be healing. Mike went back to the surgeon to have it checked. While there he mentioned that he had some concerns that made him think he could have testicular cancer. (This was not the first time he had mentioned this concern to a medical professional). The surgeon examined him and made an appointment for him to see a urologist the following day.

The urologist immediately confirmed that he did, in fact, have testicular cancer and that he would be scheduled for surgery immediately. He was sent for another CAT scan, an ultrasound and more blood work. The cancer had spread. The initial nodes had increased in size and there were more... In addition to the nodes in his neck and abdomen Mike had spots in his lungs. To give a little perspective on how fast the cancer was spreading his initial CAT scan was just over a month before the second. The next afternoon, February 22nd, Mike was again at Mercy being prepped for surgery and would be meeting an oncologist at Mercy a few days later.

Things were moving fast!
We met with Mike's oncologist and a treatment plan was put in place. Mike would have a surgical procedure to place a mediport in under the skin in his chest. A mediport is a small device which allows medication to be delivered directly into a vein. He would have an MRI to make sure the cancer had not spread to his brain. Mike would start treatment one week after the plan was put in place. Mike would undergo 3 or 4 rounds of chemo. The course would be aggressive. A round would consist of 5 days of cisplatin and etoposide, he would also have bleomycin on the first day. He would follow up with bleomycin the following 2 Mondays.

Mike had a great attitude and was very positive throughout this entire process. He did very well through the first round of chemo which started March 3rd. The side effects were minimal and the results were amazing. We could literally see the chemo working! The node in his neck was visibly smaller. On to round 2... he suffered some side effects. He did not feel good. He tried very hard to keep the side effects at bay and do all of his normal activities at home and with Vivian. He was determined to get the nursery ready for the new baby too. After round 2 he had some scans and a stress test which showed that his lung function had decreased. This is a common side effect of bleomycin and the oncologist decided to stop bleomycin. Round 3 was not as kind to Mike. He felt horrible surprisingly he was still very positive. The good news was that he was responding so well to chemo that a forth round would not be necessary. Mike finished his chemotherapy on April 18th.

We were back at Mercy April 24th to welcome Jonah into the world. Unfortunately, since chemo is cumulative Mike still felt horrible. He split his time at home with Vivian and at the hospital with Jonah and I. We brought Jonah home on April 26th. Back to Mercy April 28th for Mike's lab work. His blood counts were very low and he did not feel good. We went back home and a few hours later he had a high fever. Mike had an infection and with low blood counts he was unable to fight it, he was admitted to the hospital. He had IV antibiotics and saline for hydration continually and was under nutripinic precautions (gloves and masks required for anyone that entered the room). He was released April 30th.

Mike then had another CAT scan. The CAT scan showed that most nodes were back to normal. There was a node in the abdomen and a few in the lungs that still caused some concern. Mike went back to the urologist to discuss the next step. Another surgery would be necessary. He would need a Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection. It was tentatively scheduled for June 23rd here in Portland. Mike's oncologist called Indiana University for another opinion and he was already scheduled for a second opinion in Boston. The doctor at IU recommended that Mike have the RPLND and thoracic surgery to remove the spots in his lungs at the same time.

This could not be done in Portland or Boston. The options were limited... Sloan Kettering in NYC or Simon Cancer Center at IU. Mike chose IU because they are the foremost researchers in testicular cancer. TC patients throughout the world travel to IU for this surgery.

So that is the very LONG answer as to "Why Indiana."

Mike, Vivian, Jonah, Janise (Mike's mom) and I will be leaving this Friday, July 4th for Indiana. Mike will have surgery on the 8th and will be in the hospital for 4 or 5 days. Loren (Mike's sister) will be joining us on the 11th for a few days.