How it all started....

Brace has cancer.....

We are happy to have anyone on this list that is interested. Just have people that are interested ask to join. The name of the group is Brace is the Man.

Sept 5th: Brace had his first severe nose bleed. In those 3 weeks waiting for surgery he had 30 nose bleeds during that time.

Oct 10th: Brace had nose surgery to correct the 2 cm hole in his septum.

Oct 12th: We were told that the found a tumor on the right side of his nose and they tried to get a lot of it but couldn't get it all because it was connected to bone and other vital areas.

Oct 15th: We were told the biopsy came back with a diagnosis of Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma, SNUC, a rare and aggressive nasal cancer.

Oct 22: We saw our first cancer surgeon Dr. Luu, an ENT cancer surgeon. He did a cancer fellowship at UCLA about 10 years ago. Kjarstin and James came with us to the appointment. He is the Director for a Cancer Center connected to Mission Hospital

Oct 25th: We have a PET scan and then next week we will have an MRI and a CT scan at Mission to see where the cancer is other than his nasal cavity.

How is Brace? He is working every day. His current symptoms are fatigue, headaches, and eye pain and pressure. He looks great and is functioning. The doctor said he should do everything but housework.

Since his nose surgery to correct his septum on Oct 10th his nose has stopped bleeding since they took out a big chunk of the tumor. They know it will grow back but it is a temporary stop.

What are the treatment options? Radiation, Surgery and Chemo.

What stage is he at? We don't know until we get the scans back but typically the symptoms don't show until a late stage.

What are we doing now? Making appointments with other doctors for 2nd opinions.

Are there trials for SNUC? We are told that SNUC is so rare that there are no clinical studies or experiments for it.

Thank you for your texts and phone calls. Brace has been touched by how many of you have reached out and worked hard to find great doctors. We love you.

Please pray that they will know the right order of treatment. We are going to do a special prayer and fast on Sunday, Nov 3th.

Comments

Brace never complains

Brace is pretty stable. Friday was a bad day at radiation. The new mask was way too tight and he wasn't happy about it. We talked with Alice and the techs and hopefully they will have that resolved by Monday's appointment. On Friday Drew and Kathleen Himber came to visit us. (They live in Chicago these days) Brace felt pretty good today and he was able to eat a few bites of food. He seems to really likes drinking ice water right now and we hope that doesn't go away with chemo treatment starting on Tuesday. Brace... never complains never feels like a victim never asks why him Karen... feels positive in the morning feels overwhelmed at night What to Pray or Fast for? We are worried about chemo next week coupled with radiation. (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) This will be round four and every time he does chemo he gets sicker than the last time. They will add a nuepogen shot on Friday. Thank you's... Bob Demmon for driving on ...

Chemo Week Round 4

I'm sitting here in our adjustable bed (we are spoiled) with Brace listening to Jesus is Just Alright with Me while I finally update the blog. That is a great song.... I also like The Spirit in the Sky, but Brace is not convinced it is as good as Just Alright. He accidentally hit my song and we're listening to Spirit in the Sky. Short Version: Brace has chemo this week (3 days) and radiation ends tomorrow! Next week should be awful. Saturday Star Wars: So Brace felt pretty stable Saturday. When Corte Haggard took him to radiation last week he got him all jazzed about Star Wars. So at around 3:30 we went to Foothill with James and Kjarstin to see Star Wars. Brace was decked out with mask and gloves. We enjoyed the movie but it wiped him out and so we headed home to try to go to bed early. FLOOD: James and Kjarstin had been working on some Glee projects in the music lab so they headed to Glee after the movie. (Tender me...

MRI, no Brain Surgeon, Friday Radiation

Liver MRI : Brace had an uneventful MRI this morning. It takes a while for the write-up and CD. After talking with Dr. Carroll the other day I'm not that worried about it. He then ran to LA to work with a client today. Trust: One of my clients is an estate lawyer and was kind enough to meet with me this morning to setup our family trust. Everything should be set by next week. If you need a referral, she was amazing and gave me great advice. Dana and LouAnn Lake came to visit Brace this afternoon from Arizona. It was a treat to see them. I forgot to take a picture. Brain Surgeon : He was on call at the hospital and had two surgeries. We postponed out appointment to next Wednesday. Fast Radiation: We are coming home now from radiation. It was his fastest yet. He doesn't complain or freak out, which they said is uncommon. Until we did this I had no idea what radiation on your face really meant. We are thrilled with the doctors and the techs her...

Brace is the Man

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