Travis had just turned 30 years old when he was first diagnosed. He was losing quite a lot of weight, had night sweats, and was really tired all the time. Then one day he was asked to go golfing, and just felt too tired, that's when we thought something might be wrong. He'd rather golf then do pretty much anything, so we were worried. He finally called the Dr. The Doctor ran the normal tests, and drew some blood which proved Travis to be very anemic. He thought Travis might have an ulcer, and sent him up to the hospital to get an ultrasound on his stomach. They told him it would be a few days before we heard the results, and then just a few hours later we got the phone call to come in. (Never a good sign!) He then gave us the news that changed our lives completely. They had found a huge tumor in his right kidney, and he had cancer. We were shocked beyond belief, as was the doctor. He explained a few things then, 1-His Kidney needed to be taken out-like right away. 2-He needed a CAT scan to see if the cancer had spread. 3-He also needed a bone scan. And honestly, the next week was a bit of a blur. His Scans came out clean, a huge relief to us. Then they took his right kidney out. I remember waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and then it was done, and the doctor said it went very well. He took quite a while to wake up, and his recovery was a bit hard. Our daughter Adyson was just 1 at the time, and he wasn't able to hold her, I'd say that was one of the hardest parts of his recovery. Sometime after the surgery we learned that his tumor was about 2mm away from spreading outside the kidney. We thought that was such a miracle, and felt that we caught in just in time. We met with our Oncologist after his recovery and discussed treatments plans. We learned the regular chemo and radiation don't affect kidney cancer, and decided that the best plan was to check him by doing scans every 6 months. And then it was life as normal. He went back to work, he felt healthy, he gained weight, had energy, and great color to his skin. It was like we lived through hell for a few months, and then it was over. The scans came back clean, and the Oncologist was always thrilled with his results. We thought that it was over, and we had dealt with our trial. We had another baby, went on vacations, worked and played like life was normal. Then in December of 2006 Travis had his yearly scan. I remember this day so vividly, and honestly it still feels unreal to me. We had gotten so sure of his cancer being gone, that we just assumed that the scan would come out clean. In fact, I was hosting a party that night! I spent the morning cleaning the whole house and baking food for the party, all while waiting for the phone to ring. The Doc. usually called a few hours after the scan to tell us things were looking good. This day, the phone rang and the nurse was on the other line asking us to come in. I knew instantly that it was back. I just remember sinking into the couch and calling Travis, and feeling sick inside. The Doctor said that the scan showed another small tumor in his other kidney, a lesion in his liver, mets to his lungs, and some in his kidney. Stage 4. I remember the room spinning. I just sat in the office and cried, while the room spun. I had done enough research when he was first diagnosed, and I knew how awful some of the treatments were for kidney cancer. I also knew how hard Stage 4 cancer is to beat. Pretty much impossible. Our Doctor, who we love and appreciate so much, talked to us about treatment options that day, and I was a bit relieved to hear that there were some brand new drugs that were much easier on your body that were being used to treat RCC. After discussing them, we decided to try a new drug called Torisel. This drug is injected through IV once a week-then checked by periodic scans. The clinical trials for this drug were pretty good, and we all felt that this was the direction we needed to go. He told us that his goal is just to stop the cancer from advancing. In some cases Torisel was able to shrink some of the tumors, and in very few cases get rid of it all together. So we are hoping for the best! A few days later he had his port put in and then the treatments began. The side effects are definitely better then side effects for Chemo, but for us they are lifetime side effects. At times he gets awful mouth sores and cankers (at one point he had 16), and they take quite a while to go away. His mouth and throat get swollen. He breaks out. He is tired. But luckily he is a man who has a great attitude, and very rarely complains. So far the treatment we have chosen has held his cancer at bay, with very minimal growth. With each scan we find ourselves hoping for a miracle....but maybe someday. We are so thankful for those of you checking in to see his progress, for the many prayers and good vibes being sent our way. We would never have chosen this trial, but are so blessed to have so many people helping us if we have to have it. Thank you all!
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