I really miss him on the radio. He is such a wonderful person.
This is from his first day back on the job, a few highlights in bold!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Press Gaggle by Tony Snow White House Conference Center Briefing Room
10:26 A.M. EDT

PRESS CORPS: (Applause.)

Q Where ya been? (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: Just hanging out. Thank you so much, it’s great to be back.

Q We thought Rove double-deleted you. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: All right. Well, on that note, let me announce the President’s schedule for today. ………

Let me also just — some personal comments — and I’ll try not to get choked up, so I’ll go slow. You never anticipate this stuff, it just happens. I want to thank everybody in this room. You guys — (thumbs up.) (Applause.) I’m getting there.

Q We’re glad you’re here.

MR. SNOW: Thanks. And thanks for the basket. (Laughter.) I want to thank you all. It really meant the world to me. Anybody who does not believe that thoughts and prayers make a difference, they’re just wrong.

Q Take your time.

MR. SNOW: I will, thanks — especially you. Just a couple things about my situation. I’m not trying to feel sorry for myself, I’m just going to stop being choked up, because you guys have been so wonderful.

I’m a very lucky guy. As I told you before, we were, out of an aggressive sense of caution, going to do an exploratory surgery that did indicate that I still have cancer. Now, I know the first reaction of people when they hear the word “cancer” is uh-oh. But we live in kind of a different medical situation than we used to. And I have been blessed to be treated by, supported by some of the finest doctors in the world. What we are going to do — we had surgery, where we did disclose — and there are some cancers in the peritoneum and we are going to attack them using chemotherapy — I’ll start chemotherapy this Friday.

The design is to throw it into remission and transform it into a chronic disease. If cancer is merely a nuisance for a long period of time, that’s fine with me. There are many people running around — and I must tell you, I have received a lot of notes from folks who have had far worse cases than I have, who have survived many years with the kind of regimen that we’re talking about, which is chemo up front, and then maintenance chemo to continue combating cancer tells.
I won’t tell you how it’s going to work out, because I don’t know. But we obviously feel optimistic, and faith, hope and love (I hear you Tony, I hear you!!!!) are a big part of all of it.

The other thing is that I hope folks out there who may either have cancer or have loved ones with cancer need to know a couple of things. First, don’t go it alone. The support I’ve received from you and from my colleagues at the White House and people around the country has been an enormous source of strength. You can’t — there’s no way to quantify it, but you feel it. You feel it in your heart. And in many ways, that may be the most important organ for recovery, to have the kind of spirit and to realize that, in my case, I’m unbelievably lucky and unbelievably blessed — and really happy to be back.

The other thing is — so don’t go it alone, and the other thing is be of courage. Realize that in an age like ours, things are happening very rapidly in the medical realm. I’m taking a cancer cocktail this time around, a chemo cocktail that’s going to contain two agents that were not in broad use two years ago. Things are moving very rapidly, and there’s always hope.

Not everybody will survive cancer, but on the other hand, you’ve got to realize you’ve got the gift of life, so make the most of it. And that is my view, and I’m going to make the most of my time with you. I’ll take questions.

The 2007 FLHW Golf Tournament will be Friday September 28th at Sycamore Ridge Golf Course.

Details and forms are available at our website.

This year we are accepting payment on-line!

Sign up early, we sold out last year!!

Here’s another list, kind of fun, my favorites are in bold!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life is short – Enjoy it !
Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it
* Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker
* If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others
* Never buy a car you can’t push.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance
* Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once
* We could learn a lot from crayons…Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour

On Monday I have my 9th Zometa treatment and my usual PSA test.
Though I usually don’t go out on a limb and try to predict anything, but here it goes:
I predict my PSA number will be lower again next week!

Why? Overall, I feel better than I have in a long time. I speak of the little aches and pains that I deal with on a daily basis. They may not even be related to PC? They might just be age related? Either way, they are almost non-existent lately!

On Saturday for example, I played disc golf and then spent almost 6 hours in the yard. I was working my tail off too! Moving rocks and pavers, digging up bushes, planting flowers etc. I went back out for three more hours on Sunday. In the end, I had no issues with pain, fatigue etc. I even woke up Monday morning and worked out.

The previous weekend I played 80 holes of disc golf in about 36 hours, a few Advil and I was feeling great! It might not have been that bad at all, I took this dosage just to make sure I stayed ahead of the pain. Again, I attribute this to age, not necessarily PC.

So I got to thinking…..I wonder….maybe things have taken a turn for the better? The rollercoaster ride continues, strap yourselves in, push down the lap bar…..

There are times when I write entries and I stop and ask myself, “Why am I doing this?”.
On the other hand, lately there are times when I have to stop and remember that I have cancer. The latter is good to some extent, it means I am dealing with this and getting on with my life, as best as I can. The moments are brief, but the moments are priceless.

As for “Why” – when I started this blog my initial purpose was selfish, it was therapeutic. I could write about what ever I wanted. I could freely express my inner emotions and expose my true feelings. After all, who would want to read about some middle aged man as he struggles with cancer? Then the purpose morphed into something more, it became a way to keep family and friends updated.

Over time, it has grown to a level that I never anticipated it would reach. There are people that I have never met or even exchanged emails with, that read my periodic ramblings. Just last week we received an order for FLHW bracelets from a woman in Florida. When the order came in, neither Mary nor I had any idea who had sent it in. As it turns out, she found my blog from a link on another blog from someone fighting prostate cancer. She and her husband’s story are like so many of us struggling with this disease, tragically unique, but still optimistic.

I sincerely appreciate the comments and emails that I receive from those that read my blog. Touching the lives of others and inspiring those who are battling this dreadful disease as well as those who support them is now a primary reason, “Why I do this”.

….and so life goes on, moment by moment, one day at a time.

I was right!!

Each month, as we make our trip down to see Dr. H, Mary and I try to guess what might PSA is going to be for the month. Monday she guessed it would remain steady at 20, I guessed 17. It just sounded good, had a good ring to it. Kathy the nurse just called, I could tell immediately by the tone in her voice:

17.43

This is the lowest my PSA has been since May 2006 when it was 11.36
How about those apples!

Another thing we experience each month are ‘Dr H isms’. I think he is somewhat befuddled with my number being steady. Not knowing exactly what to say he usually closes our brief discussion with “Well, let’s just keep riding this horse’ [Monday’s] or ‘We’ll just keep the train on these tracks’ etc. It’s cute. I know one of these times Mary and I will make eye contact and burst out in laughter, it’s sure to happen sooner or later!

Can you tell I’m in a good mood?

My friend Pete called me Monday evening. He told me that the Easter lilly we gave him last year had come back this year. This doesn’t happen often with the harsh winters we have in Kansas City. He said he thought it was a sign of good things to come. I’m not sure about you, but I think Pete was on to something!

Happy Easter to you all.

Thank you Jesus for this wonderful news!

I just picked up my bone scan from Tuesday, this time I requested a copy of the Radiologist report instead of waiting for Dr. H on Monday. For the most part I like what I read. No mention on my back, neck, shoulders etc.! As for my rib and pelvis “activity, but no increase from 8/20/06 report”. There is “some slight increase in activity” in my left thigh “orbital blah, blah…” basically, the ball at the top of my right thigh bone. (non-professional observation: I never have pain or discomfort there, it’s always the left side, though that has been months ago).

So, more on Monday, my guess is Dr. H will give us the classic “stay the course”!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, I haven’t blogged about music lately so here’s something to ponder.

There’s a one hit wonder band from back around 2003 “Finger Eleven”. I don’t know much about them other than they are originally from Ontario, Canada. They briefly hit the Billboard Top 20 with the song below.

I created a playlist for my iPod last summer which included the song “One Thing”. The playlist is titled ‘1st Therapy’, I listen to it all the time!

I’m sure the song is about a girl or something similar, but the lyrics is italics hit real close to home. Enjoy!

Also, try Matt Costa, “Songs We Sing”. Great CD…..thanks to ‘the other David’ for turning me on to Matt last summer.

~~~~~~~~~~~
FINGER ELEVEN
“One Thing”
Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line

It’s nothing I planned
And not that I can
But you should be mine
Across that line

[Chorus:]
If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn’t that be something

I promise I might
Not walk on by
Maybe next time
But not this time

Even though I know
I don’t want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds
……

I’ve been following this company and their trial almost since the beginning. Yesterday was perhaps the best news related to PC in my two years of dealing with it. There are still more hurdles, but good news none the less (see article below).

The bottom line is the same though, it it not a cure. Basically the early trial results show additional life expectancy of four months for Hormone Refractory prostate cancer patients. I’m not there yet (Hormone Refractory is just a nice way of saying the testosterone blocker has stopped working), but I will be someday (years from now!), I just pray that with this news, and further research by Dendreon, four months will turn into four years…..and more.

Four months doesn’t sound like much, but stop for a minute and think “What would I do with those four extra months?”

Personally, I don’t have an answer right now. That’s not my frame of mind at this time. I continue to try to remain positive, I continue to pray Tuesday’s x-ray results are encouraging.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday , March 30, 2007
A new immune system treatment for advanced prostate cancer is safe and effective enough to begin U.S. sales, a panel of FDA advisors concluded Thursday.

Many experts said they were uneasy about backing the vaccine-like treatment, known as Provenge, because it showed only slight evidence that it prolongs the lives of men with the disease. But most agreed to recommend approval anyway, citing the scant options available to patients, many of whom are facing a terminal illness.

“I wish we all could have voted ‘maybe’ on this, but I don’t think we can,” said Farshid Guilak, PhD, a professor of surgery at Duke University who was a member of the panel.

New Treatment Class
Dendreon Corp., the biotech firm that makes Provenge, touted the treatment as the first cellular therapy against cancer. To undergo treatment, patients have immune cells removed and treated with immune agents.

The cells are then reintroduced into the body with chemical programming that, in theory, allows them to mount an immune response against cancer cells.
Men with advanced prostate cancer often undergo hormone treatment used to block the action of testosterone and related hormones. The treatment can cause disturbing side effects, including breast enlargement and sexual dysfunction.

Limited Evidence
A pair of studies suggested Provenge may slow by one to two weeks the progression of prostate cancer in men who have cancer that does not respond to hormone treatment.
Men who used the treatment also showed some evidence of living longer than those who took a placebo. In one trial, men who got active treatment lived an average of 3.3 months longer. In another, they lived four and a half months longer.

Experts criticized the studies for enrolling only roughly 100 to 130 patients, a relatively small number that can limit scientists’ ability to interpret results.
But most said they support Provenge anyway, given the limited choices for men with advanced disease.

“If we can buy them a couple of minutes or a couple of months or a couple of years, then it’s our obligation to do that,” said Robert J. Samuels, a member of the panel who said he was diagnosed with prostate cancer 13 years ago. “We understand it’s a risk. But it’s a risk most of us are willing to take.”

Dendreon argued their studies showed the product has benefit. “Even though small, you can take the results with a great deal of confidence,” said Mark Froelich, the company’s vice president for clinical affairs.

The company is conducting a third study to test whether it improves survival in more than 400 patients. Experts said the results of that trial should have a heavy bearing on whether the FDA decides to approve Provenge.

Federal regulations compel the FDA to make a decision on the treatment by May 15. The agency isn’t forced to follow advisory panels’ recommendations, but it usually does.
Approximately 27,000 American men will die of prostate cancer in 2007, according to estimates from the American Cancer Society. Dendreon estimates 27,000 patients per year could be candidates for Provenge.

Several experts said the company had not established that Provenge works, but then voted to back it once FDA officials told them to base their votes only on the question of whether the evidence was “substantial.”

Panelist Richard Alexander, MD, chief of urology at the VA Maryland Health Care System, in Baltimore, voted against approving the drug. “But very close,” he said.

Several patients testified before the committee about the need for more therapies, even ones of questionable benefit.

Patients “are pleading for something other than the one drug that’s been approved in the last 30 years,” said Jim Kiefert, chairman of Us Too, a nonprofit group for prostate cancer patients.