We have made some small progress in pursuing Dennis's health care this week, re-establishing a connection with his case worker in our health insurance, making an initial appointment with radiology to have the preliminary screening appointment on May 18th, and preparing to flie to Missouri to visit Dennis's mom Betty. Betty is the matriarch of the family, and we are all looking forward to being in Missouri. We all have projects, and mine is to plant the flower beds-I am looking forward to going to the nurseries with "Mom" and helping cook for the family. Even younger daughter Heather will be coming out to grandma's house, at least that is the plan. It should be a fun Mother's Day! Heather will be graduating in June, so we are hoping the radiation treatments will be over so we can both fly to Los Angeles to see her get her master's degree.
Dennis is appreciating hearing from everyone, especially old friends from Colorado and North Dakota who have emailed him-keep those prayers and well wishes coming, they make a huge difference. All our best, Faith and Dennis
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Waiting Game: 26th of April
So now we are playing the waiting game in regard to the cost of the sterotactic radiation therapy, and Dennis is pursing healthier ways of improving diet, supplements and lifestyle that will make him stronger to make the treatment more effective.
A small part of this is cost, as the Rasmussen Grant does not cover the costs of airfare or staying in Seattle during the treatment. He is planning it after his trip to Missouri and before his daughter Heather's graduation.
I have begun selling my belongings to get ready for a move. It's a slow start, but a start. No word on any job transfer yet. The days are filled with work and resposibilities. I have begun canning all the frozen berries from last year that are in the freezer. I did about 6 batches last weekend. I am hoping to sell them at a yard sale in June.
Meanwhile, at home the bulbs are up that we got from Amsterdam on our way to Africa a few years ago. I saw a bald eagle diving in flight and it seems a little early for mating , but who knows? It is only a few weeks now before we give up our downtown to cruise ship visitors. So in that regard any day that there is not rain is a good one to get out and go for a walk. Dennis does this daily and he has been seeing all the spring changes along the way. We thank you for all your care and concern. It was especially hard to tell everyone in my quilt guild I would be leaving-I will miss my sewing buddies a lot. Onward! With thanks, Dennis and Faith
A small part of this is cost, as the Rasmussen Grant does not cover the costs of airfare or staying in Seattle during the treatment. He is planning it after his trip to Missouri and before his daughter Heather's graduation.
I have begun selling my belongings to get ready for a move. It's a slow start, but a start. No word on any job transfer yet. The days are filled with work and resposibilities. I have begun canning all the frozen berries from last year that are in the freezer. I did about 6 batches last weekend. I am hoping to sell them at a yard sale in June.
Meanwhile, at home the bulbs are up that we got from Amsterdam on our way to Africa a few years ago. I saw a bald eagle diving in flight and it seems a little early for mating , but who knows? It is only a few weeks now before we give up our downtown to cruise ship visitors. So in that regard any day that there is not rain is a good one to get out and go for a walk. Dennis does this daily and he has been seeing all the spring changes along the way. We thank you for all your care and concern. It was especially hard to tell everyone in my quilt guild I would be leaving-I will miss my sewing buddies a lot. Onward! With thanks, Dennis and Faith
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday and the Results of the Tumor Board
We are now home in Ketchikan and it is overcast and rainy, pretty much an average spring day. The crocuses are out in Whale Park near faith's downtown office and the red alder trees along the road seem red with new buds. A bald eagle sits on a mast post near a floatplane hanger on the water of Tongass Narrows. The jewelry stores in town are beginning to wake up with fresh coats of paint and boxes piled high to the ceiling. I bought daffodils for the office since it is Earth Day, and chocolate easter eggs for everyone on my floor. Old habits are comforting sometimes.
Today the "tumor board" met at Virginia Mason, including all the doctors and specialists that have been treating Dennis over the last 22 months. He later got a call from his neuro oncologist with some advice about a relatively new treatment called hypofractionated stereotactic radiation therapy. This is a type of pinpoint radiation prescribed for three weeks that may buy Dennis some time with minimal side effects. In a study with about 105 people with glioblastoma multiforme, those that had re-occurence tolerated the radiation well, and survived 10 months to a year. The study was done over a period of 14 years, ending in 2008. Anyway, Dennis is going to think on this and get back to his neuro oncologist.
It is now officially our first weekend home in a while. Dennis did many chores today and retired early. He has heard from over 90 of you in the online Campfire and for that he is very grateful. It looks like his experiemntal treatment will not be paid for through the clinical trial. If you care to donate, you may donate to: Faith L. Duncan and Dennis Neill c/o Alaska Federal Credit Union, PO Box 196613, Anchorage, AK 99519-6613. Please put the ending numbers of the account #35 in the memo line. For those who want to send cards and well wishes (please don't send them to the bank address above), you can send them to: Dennis Neill P.O. Box 23383 Ketchikan, AK 99901 .
May spring find its way into your Easter. We look forward to hearing from you, Dennis and Faith
Today the "tumor board" met at Virginia Mason, including all the doctors and specialists that have been treating Dennis over the last 22 months. He later got a call from his neuro oncologist with some advice about a relatively new treatment called hypofractionated stereotactic radiation therapy. This is a type of pinpoint radiation prescribed for three weeks that may buy Dennis some time with minimal side effects. In a study with about 105 people with glioblastoma multiforme, those that had re-occurence tolerated the radiation well, and survived 10 months to a year. The study was done over a period of 14 years, ending in 2008. Anyway, Dennis is going to think on this and get back to his neuro oncologist.
It is now officially our first weekend home in a while. Dennis did many chores today and retired early. He has heard from over 90 of you in the online Campfire and for that he is very grateful. It looks like his experiemntal treatment will not be paid for through the clinical trial. If you care to donate, you may donate to: Faith L. Duncan and Dennis Neill c/o Alaska Federal Credit Union, PO Box 196613, Anchorage, AK 99519-6613. Please put the ending numbers of the account #35 in the memo line. For those who want to send cards and well wishes (please don't send them to the bank address above), you can send them to: Dennis Neill P.O. Box 23383 Ketchikan, AK 99901 .
May spring find its way into your Easter. We look forward to hearing from you, Dennis and Faith
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Home at Last, Home at Last.....
We got home today at last after a long pause at the Seattle airport and several airplane books. Dennis called the doctors in his team this morning and let them know his decision to not take the year long regime of chemo (avastin and iretocan). He is going to go for it concentrating on quality of life and enjoying the time he has left.
When we got home it hailed a little on us on the ferry-it was a very high tide- and then we picked up our mail and headed home. Our friend Marjean Zeiser came over as the dinner angel with a whole meal of lasagna and flowers and easter trays with chocolates. Thanks, Marjean, it was wonderful and it may us both so thankful! We are sure glad to be home. Tomorrow I return to work and hopefully hear news on a possible move to Montana. Dennis is tracking feedback from over 80 people on the Hunter's campfire...he is astounded at the outpouring of support and prayers. With thanks, Dennis and Faith
When we got home it hailed a little on us on the ferry-it was a very high tide- and then we picked up our mail and headed home. Our friend Marjean Zeiser came over as the dinner angel with a whole meal of lasagna and flowers and easter trays with chocolates. Thanks, Marjean, it was wonderful and it may us both so thankful! We are sure glad to be home. Tomorrow I return to work and hopefully hear news on a possible move to Montana. Dennis is tracking feedback from over 80 people on the Hunter's campfire...he is astounded at the outpouring of support and prayers. With thanks, Dennis and Faith
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
A Wednesday in the Woods and Beach
Well, it was a good day, but we are heavy in our hearts with the amount of life (and death) decisions we have to make. Yesterday the medical community that Dennis has been working with gave him a year or less to live. They also asked us to make some decisions about how to proceed, and asked us to examine what was most important to us. Everyone who has considered the quality of their life usually does not have to balance it with the quantity of their life except at the end of life. So that is what we are trying to do, and Dennis will be making some hard decisions shortly.
These are concepts that are hard to put your arms around. Intellectually we can, emotionally we cannot fathom them. We drove to the Pacific Coast for clarity today, on the southern edge of the Olympic Peninsula. We stopped in at a Forest Service Office (imagine that)-then a small interpretive center run by a private group of friends of the Comunity of Ocean Shores (huh, funny about that too) then out to the beach in the cold wind and tried to take pictures in the 30 knots!! The community reminded me of reading "The Outermost House" about the east coast. Later in the afternoon we drove on to the Quinault Indian Lands north of Ocean Shores. Dennis drove all 325 miles and we got back to Seattle after 8 pm. Many times that day we tried to put our arms around the time we have left. Thanks to all of you that called today, and to those that wrote Dennis on the campfire-he logged in as soon as we got back to the hotel and was gratified at the responses. Thanks to Steve Daniels for helping with this.
We talked about having fun and trying to fit in all the experiences we could together, including
going to New England to see fall color, Acadia, my grandfather's grave, and for Dennis to hunt in the three states he has left: Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. We plan to do that this September before he goes deer hunting in Montana and South Dakota. Then there is the trip to New Zealand and Australia to hunt targ. This is a little further out there, in May of 2012. We are hoping to reach that goal. In between there is a trip home to Missouri to visit his mom on this mother's day (the next trip), and to his youngest daughter Heathers graduation from Graduate school, (a trip in June), our anniversary, and a few birthdays....sigh.....
So this brings us to your comments about donations. Dennis is thinking of starting a fund as part of his donation account-I think in his name -with the Friends of the Ketchikan NRA for teaching girls and women hunter education safety, and the shooting sports. Dennis has been an advocate for women appreciating and learning about hunting and shooting his whole life. Any extra donations might go there, and can still be sent to the Dennis Neill donation account at Tongass Federal Credit Union in Ketchikan. Or you may wish to designate it for the carving of his memorial, which has a deer hunter and deer on it. He wishes to be buried in Missouri in bucolic cemetary in the country near where he was born. In any event, stay tuned as these ideas form more fully.
Now to the present. Faith has requested a transfer of work, and that may allow a move to Montana in the near future. This move means that Dennis will be closer to his girls, his mom, and to his hunting areas that he loves. It means lots of change in the Neill and Duncan house-stay tuned for further updates. We are flying home tomorrow-and looking forward to a return to our normal Alaskan life-with a challenging future ahead! Onward....Dennis and Faith
These are concepts that are hard to put your arms around. Intellectually we can, emotionally we cannot fathom them. We drove to the Pacific Coast for clarity today, on the southern edge of the Olympic Peninsula. We stopped in at a Forest Service Office (imagine that)-then a small interpretive center run by a private group of friends of the Comunity of Ocean Shores (huh, funny about that too) then out to the beach in the cold wind and tried to take pictures in the 30 knots!! The community reminded me of reading "The Outermost House" about the east coast. Later in the afternoon we drove on to the Quinault Indian Lands north of Ocean Shores. Dennis drove all 325 miles and we got back to Seattle after 8 pm. Many times that day we tried to put our arms around the time we have left. Thanks to all of you that called today, and to those that wrote Dennis on the campfire-he logged in as soon as we got back to the hotel and was gratified at the responses. Thanks to Steve Daniels for helping with this.
We talked about having fun and trying to fit in all the experiences we could together, including
going to New England to see fall color, Acadia, my grandfather's grave, and for Dennis to hunt in the three states he has left: Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. We plan to do that this September before he goes deer hunting in Montana and South Dakota. Then there is the trip to New Zealand and Australia to hunt targ. This is a little further out there, in May of 2012. We are hoping to reach that goal. In between there is a trip home to Missouri to visit his mom on this mother's day (the next trip), and to his youngest daughter Heathers graduation from Graduate school, (a trip in June), our anniversary, and a few birthdays....sigh.....
So this brings us to your comments about donations. Dennis is thinking of starting a fund as part of his donation account-I think in his name -with the Friends of the Ketchikan NRA for teaching girls and women hunter education safety, and the shooting sports. Dennis has been an advocate for women appreciating and learning about hunting and shooting his whole life. Any extra donations might go there, and can still be sent to the Dennis Neill donation account at Tongass Federal Credit Union in Ketchikan. Or you may wish to designate it for the carving of his memorial, which has a deer hunter and deer on it. He wishes to be buried in Missouri in bucolic cemetary in the country near where he was born. In any event, stay tuned as these ideas form more fully.
Now to the present. Faith has requested a transfer of work, and that may allow a move to Montana in the near future. This move means that Dennis will be closer to his girls, his mom, and to his hunting areas that he loves. It means lots of change in the Neill and Duncan house-stay tuned for further updates. We are flying home tomorrow-and looking forward to a return to our normal Alaskan life-with a challenging future ahead! Onward....Dennis and Faith
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Another Journey Begins
It's spring in Washington State and a week before Easter-the birds and buds have sprung, and Dennis has just received the devestating news that his glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer has returned.
The Virginia Mason Team told us yesterday that the MRI showed several new tumor like "flares" that indicated the progression of cancer. Dennis has been feeling great, with only short term memory lapses and word finding issues. When the doctors found the new cancer, they unblinded him out of the clinical trial he was in. It indicated that he was indeed receiving the avastin drug every two weeks for a year.
It has been a while since we spoke to everyone. We decided to bring you up to date. After the end of the clinical trial last year, Dennis went off hunting in Montana and South Dakota. He paused in Montana to help the Daniels. He brought back some awesome deer, and then we settled in very a very busy and cold winter. Except for Christmas-we decided to relax in Kuaui: flowers, real fruit, art walks, pig hunters and their families (on Christmas Day in Waimea Canyon) and farmer's markets were some of the highlights. Dennis has decided the best bananas come from there...I decided I like Kuaui better then any other island so far.
In February 2011:
Then we took off for Salt Lake City, and worked at the Mule Deer Foudation and Western Conservation Expo-it went really well. We saw and talked to lots of folks about Sitka blacktaileddeer and the habitats they live in. Thanks to Jim Baichtal and Steve Daniels for help there. Then Dennis was off to Cady Texas environs to hunt feral pigs with his buddy Gary. He returned with a cooler full of pork! Then we were off to the Elk Foundation to see old friends and enjoy Reno. It was fun to see everyone.
I have been working, but went off to volunteer at the Iditarod in Nome & to help my friend Angie Taggart who successfully finished-fun but cold. See Duncanattheiditarod2011.blogpot.com
But getting back to the present-we are now thinking about it-and decisions may be posted soon. Keep Dennis in your prayers, and don't be strangers. There is no time like the present. Love and Cheers from us both, Dennis and Faith
The Virginia Mason Team told us yesterday that the MRI showed several new tumor like "flares" that indicated the progression of cancer. Dennis has been feeling great, with only short term memory lapses and word finding issues. When the doctors found the new cancer, they unblinded him out of the clinical trial he was in. It indicated that he was indeed receiving the avastin drug every two weeks for a year.
It has been a while since we spoke to everyone. We decided to bring you up to date. After the end of the clinical trial last year, Dennis went off hunting in Montana and South Dakota. He paused in Montana to help the Daniels. He brought back some awesome deer, and then we settled in very a very busy and cold winter. Except for Christmas-we decided to relax in Kuaui: flowers, real fruit, art walks, pig hunters and their families (on Christmas Day in Waimea Canyon) and farmer's markets were some of the highlights. Dennis has decided the best bananas come from there...I decided I like Kuaui better then any other island so far.
In February 2011:
Then we took off for Salt Lake City, and worked at the Mule Deer Foudation and Western Conservation Expo-it went really well. We saw and talked to lots of folks about Sitka blacktaileddeer and the habitats they live in. Thanks to Jim Baichtal and Steve Daniels for help there. Then Dennis was off to Cady Texas environs to hunt feral pigs with his buddy Gary. He returned with a cooler full of pork! Then we were off to the Elk Foundation to see old friends and enjoy Reno. It was fun to see everyone.
I have been working, but went off to volunteer at the Iditarod in Nome & to help my friend Angie Taggart who successfully finished-fun but cold. See Duncanattheiditarod2011.blogpot.com
But getting back to the present-we are now thinking about it-and decisions may be posted soon. Keep Dennis in your prayers, and don't be strangers. There is no time like the present. Love and Cheers from us both, Dennis and Faith
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