Speaking from the Heart

• Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:02 AM, CST
This month has been a month of visitors, which we really enjoy. Know that while we love having visits, it's best to gage the length of a visit by how Mike is doing. His fatigue appears to increasing, so he may at times just say a quick good-night, and see himself off to bed. Don't take it personal, he's been given permission by the all and powerful, me, to do so without explanation. Mike's fatigue is not always from something strenuous, it can often just be from system overload.
This Sunday will be Mike's birthday. We will be celebrating it with Barbara, Bob, the girls, and our boys, up in Clearlake. I encourage all of you to send Michael a birthday greeting either here or through the mail. He loves to receive cards, and I have created a scrap book so that he can go through them when desired.
Mike and I are putting our energy into being full of love and appreciation each day. I want to encourage all of us to not take each day for granted. We never know what's around the bend, so lets take full advantage to tell each other how we feel. Speaking from the heart is not as easy as it should be, so start flexing that muscle now.
Love. Dan

New Year's Wishes

• Sunday, January 4, 2009 5:52 PM, CST
I want to thank everyone who have sent Mike their well wishes. Your words of support truly touch our hearts and remind us of the safety net that our loved one's provide. We welcomed the New Year quietly with a few friends, and enjoyed recent visits with Mike's mother and short trip to visit my parents.
Mike appears to have tolerated the new Chemo without any major side effects. We will now be patient, and let the medication do it's job.
Love. Dan

Happy Holidays

• Tuesday, December 23, 2008 9:27 AM, CST
Happy Holidays to all of you. I originally planned to send out the link for this web page last month, but Michael and I chose to wait until we had more information from his doctor.
Yesterday Michael had a new MRI scan. Unfortunately the news was not what we wanted to hear. In spite of the ongoing treatment, the cancer has spread. For those who don't know about this type of tumor, Glioblastoma, you can remove a significant part of the tumor during the first surgery, but the tumor does have tentacles that are not always detectable. Eventually those do begin growing, which causes there to be other growths in various parts of the brain. This recent scan confirmed that this has occurred. The main symptom that has been evident for Michael has been an increase in small seizures. His doctor has added a secondary medication to help manage this symptom.
Given this recurrence, the next question is where do we go from here. The doctor would like to find a new clinical trial that Michael can consider, yet there are no appropriate trial openings at this time. His doctor feels that while the Avastin has not kept the tumor from growing, it has most likely slowed it down. For this reason, although Michael will no longer participate in the clinical trial, he will remain on the Avastin. Michael will also be given a change of chemotherapy. He will now begin taking Lomustine, known as CCNU. This is still a pill form of chemo, which we hope will also help stabilize the tumor.
Needless to say we have felt the emotional blow of this bad news. We feel wounded, but will persist in fighting this cancer. Please keep Michael in you thoughts and prayers. Please send him your supportive messages through this web page, and remember that we cherish all of you.
Love. Dan

Happy Thanksgiving

• Tuesday, December 2, 2008 10:22 PM, CST
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. As with last year, we are continually challenged, but also quite blessed. In October we celebrated two very special occasions, Mike's 1 year anniversary of being a survivor of this cancer, and our exchanging of vows. A year ago we were blind-sighted by this diagnosis, and didn't quite know what was ahead for Mike. Our hopes were high, but the prognosis was low. What a unexpected joy to be standing on top of a beautiful hill, one year later, professing our love and commitment to each other through our wedding vows. Truly we are blessed.
It is also with a tone of concern, that we provide all of you with an update of Mike's condition. His most recent MRI was on 11/26/08. At that time Mike's doctor shared with us that there may be a new tumor growing in his right temporal lobe, just below his initial tumor. Without getting into too much detail, and medical jargon, his scan showed evidence of some pressure or swelling in that area of the brain. Mike will continue to receive his bi-weekly treatments of Avastin, and return in one month for another MRI. The doctor hopes that with another month of treatment he will be better able to guide us in what direction to take Mike's treatment. If it is decided that this current medication regimen has run it's course, there are a number of other medical trials that Mike can benefit from.
Of course we are approaching this period with concern, but also with a great amount of optimism. If the cancer wants a fight, let it be warned, we are warriors.

Michael's Story

Michael's Story

As you all know, Mike was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme stage 4, brain tumor, in October 2007. Although he has had a great year since his initial surgery, Mike's journey continues. We will use this site to keep all of you up to date on his condition.
You may also leave messages for us. We would love to hear from you.

Hi Everyone.

Just a short note to keep all of you up to date. Mike had his most recent MRI on 6/26/08, which gave a continued thumbs up. His oncologist says everything continues to look good, meaning there is no growth in the tumor site, and Mike continues to respond well to all his treatment.

Best wishes to all.

Dan

Hi Everyone.

I hope all of you are enjoying beautiful spring weather. Unfortunately, beautiful weather often comes with a bit of misery for us allergy sufferers. But, who's complaining....

Mike continues to respond very well to his treatment. He has his next MRI scheduled for May 1st, and we have no reason to expect anything but good news. I can't help but remember how scared we were feeling when Mike was originally given his diagnosis six months ago. Since that time Mike has gone through a lot, and at the same time we have learned a lot. We have met many people with similar brain tumors who have defied the odds, and are surviving well. The field of neurological oncology is changing rapidly, with new studies and treatments coming out all the time. In short, we have renewed hope.

As I am writing you, Mike is visiting his friend Craig, who is on an extended stay in Santiago, Chile. I encouraged Mike to take this opportunity to travel. Of course we had some worries, but his doctors gave him a thumbs up for the trip. Life and opportunities should not be taken for granted.

To this end, we have decided to try giving back to those who have helped us. The National Brain Tumor Foundation is holding their 14th Annual Brain Tumor Walk & Angel Adventure. It will be on Saturday, May 3rd. It's a 5K walk, which takes place in Golden Gate Park. This is a last minute decision on our part to participate. We will be out of town the evening before the walk and were planning on staying at a nice hotel. We have now decided to drive back home after attending the wedding of Mike's cousin. We have instead chosen to make a donation to the NBTF Walk with the funds we would have spent on the hotel.

We are also asking all those who are able, to make a donation on behalf of our team, "A Hike with Mike." I am providing a link to our team page for this purpose. http://www.firstgiving.com/danielcano The NBTF has been very helpful to us, providing monthly support groups, online newsletters, DVD's and pamphlets, and most helpful, the wonderful conference in February. They have really dedicated staff who have taken a sincere interest in our needs as a family.

Thank you all for you love and support.

Dan