Some hope and a big if

We're back from Tampa where we met with a specialist who reviewed Mike's case and made some recommendations. On the drive over, Mike and I said we just hoped to hear something positive, just one thing. Our biggest fear was that they would tell us there was nothing that could be done and we should just go home and get our affairs in order.
But they didn't...

They told us that Mike stands a better chance than most at fighting this stupid disease. It's not curable, the doctor said, but he has had patients who have lived many years with this kind of cancer. He said the fact that Mike is healthy, young and isn't having symptoms all play in his favor. We celebrated our small victory with some wings and a beer at Hooter's. That's right, Hooter's.

But there's a big if hanging out there...
They want to run another test to see if they can pinpoint the origin. This test -- which just involves dye on a slide from a tissue sample that's already been retrieved from Mike's neck -- will look for melanoma. Apparently, sometimes this is the source for carcinoma of unknown primary. Mike doesn't really have a suspcious mole or anything but he has had plenty of bad sunburns and spent lots of time outside as a kid. And the doctors at Moffitt made it very clear to us that we DO NOT want it to be a melanoma. It will be a couple of weeks before we get the results.

So it's a weird mix of feelings. So much relief about Mike's chance and extreme fear that it could be something even worse.

In the meantime, the doctor recommended a course of chemo to fight what's in his neck and chest. The Moffitt people will coordinate with his Melbourne doctors and he could start in a few weeks. He would have two three-week cycles -- chemo on day 1 and then not for 20 days, then chemo again and not for 20 days. After that more scans to see how the tumors reacted. If they're getting smaller, they'll keep up with that chemo. If not, they'll reevaluate the drugs they're using. We're told the first week of the three-week cycle, the week the chemo is given, can be rough. But the other two weeks are ok. The doctor told Mike he should be fine working through all this.

So that's where we are.
We're looking forward to the weekend. We're thinking about taking Julia to the beach. I promise some pictures....
We love hearing from you all. Call or e-mail us anytime.

Keeping you posted

As most of you have heard by now, there's been some bad news in our family. Mike has been diagnosed with cancer.... which explains why there hasn't been a blog entry in a while. We've been busy with doctor's appointments, CT scans, blood work, biopsies, X-rays and even a four-night stay in the hospital for surgery.

That's the bad news. The good news is that we're all doing OK. Mike is feeling well, and upbeat and ready to kick this cancer to the curb. He's still working full steam ahead and even convinced a nurse that he be given the go-ahead to drive, despite orders not to after surgery...
It's hard for us being so far away from our family and friends. I hope to use this site to keep everyone posted about the latest news.

But first, a little of the background info:
Mike had a lump in his neck when we were on our trip to West Virginia a couple months ago. He went to have it checked out, and at first, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The doctor told him he would probably have to have chemo but could be in remission by year's end.
It wasn't great news, but we were coping.

Then the results of the surgical biopsy came back, and on April 29, we first heard the phrase carcinoma of unknown primary. What does that even mean? It's pretty rare and it's a cancer where doctors can't find where it started, just where it has spread. In Mike's case, it has spread to the lymph nodes in his neck and as we found out from a surgery this weekend, a few spots in his chest/lung.

The overall prognosis for this type of cancer isn't great -- but what Mike has going for him is that it is confined to his neck/chest area, that he doesn't have any symptoms and that it's not in his liver or pancreas. The treatment plan will be chemo, we think. We are going to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa tomorrow to meet with a specialist for a second opinion/consult.

We're nervous but hopeful. Mike is ready to get started with treatment so he can get back to the good stuff, like pillow fights with Julia and cannonballs into the pool.
So, for now, keep us in your prayers. And I will keep you posted.

Aunties, aunties everywhere

What a fun weekend. Aunt Sue (or "Soup" as Julia calls her) came to visit from New Jersey, and as a bonus, we got a surprise visit from Aunt Lisa who drove over from Naples.

We went to the Brevard Zoo on Sunday, a cute place, but I'm not sure Julia was all that into it, and the giraffes stayed in hiding all day, so that was no fun...

But it was so nice to have all the Cherry family in one place. It was the first time Julia has ever been with both her aunties at the same time. Makes me sad we all don't live closer.

Want to move to Florida, Soup? heehhhe We wear silly straw hats here...




Also last week, our sweet girl turned 18 months old. It's so hard for me to fathom that she's smack dab in the middle of toddlerhood. I'm clinging to the little bit of baby she has left -- she still has these delicious chubby little fingers and such a baby face, she babbles in her own little language when she's mad or when she's reading her books. She still likes her milk in a bottle (yeah, yeah, I know. But it's only twice a day -- before nap and bed.) And she still sleeps with her butt up in the air....




But she's also becoming quite a "big girl" learning to feed herself with a spoon, saying a billion words -- quite the vocabulary, this kid. She blesses us when we sneeze. She wants to brush her own teeth, comb her hair and she's already had her first scraped-up knee. She can even sing a few bars of the Sesame Street theme song --- Sunny days.... chasing the clouds away...

Ahhh. My heart just breaks. Can't she stay little forever?

This is her on her 18-month birthday and the other two are some of her favorite activities -- sorting through recipes and playing with pots and pans. Could we have a future Rachael Ray?

On a roll

Two posts in one day -- a record for sure.

But here is our sweet Julia Tuesday morning at breakfast. Notice something on her head?

Need a closer look?

Yes, that would be two slices of banana.

I can offer no explanation other than I left the room for a minute and this is how I found her when I returned.

Oh happy day!

Finally! Kris and Philip tied the knot. I think they've been together longer than Mike and me...



The wedding was beautiful and we were so honored to be a part of their special day. When Kris asked me months ago if Mike and I would tie a rope around their necks during the ceremony, I thought she was joking.... It's like her to say something like that. I just said, sure.



The wedding was Catholic with Filipino customs and Mike and I were the cord sponsors, which meant we tied a rope around their necks during the ceremony. Actually, it was more like laying it on their shoulders, as a symbol of unity, but we did tell Kris to give us a signal if she wanted us to pull a little tighter on Philip's side. (We would have considered it payback for the snoring in Charleston SC, but that's another story....)





They are such dear friends to us and I'm so sad that we live so far away.



Anyway, I snapped this shot of Philip just as the doors to the church opened and he got the first glimpse of his bride... So sweet.








Speaking of sweet, check out Miss Julia. She was a dancing fool, and quite a hit in her black and white polka dots. And yes, that's Ella on the dance floor...















And I'm glad to report that the plane trips to and from WV were smooth for everyone. Julia is already a much better flyer than her mama. The secret: Elmo DVDs.








A perk of our trip was going to Huntington to see my college roomie. Look at my hot mama best friend Tara who can hold two babies. That's right, two. Count them. She rocks.








And all this wedding talk has made me reminisce about mine. So here are a few pics from that fateful day in June 04.

Catching up

So much has been going on that we've been neglecting the blog. But have no fear. Lots of pics are on the way. These are from Easter. (Well the first one is a cutie pic of Julia playing in the yard... but I couldn't resist.) Aunt Lisa, Uncle Frank, Nick and Madison came in from Naples for the weekend. We had a little Easter egg hunt around the house and Julia was all into it. Not sure she grasped the concept but she liked finding the eggs, and she especially liked all her loot from the Casales and Nana. It's a week later, and she's still carrying around her Elmo basket. Julia was shy around her cousins for about a minute then became a total showoff for the whole weekend. I know she misses Mad too. Every now and then, she'll just say "Madison" out of the blue. So cute.






Coming soon, pictures from Julia's wild, wonderful West Virginia trip....

Funny girl

Our girl is quite the comedian, and there is no better thing in the world than hearing her laugh. And we've been doing that a lot lately.

Take a look at the happenings around our house the past week or so:

To occupy Julia while I was making dinner, I gave her some cake pans, some spices and some cloth napkins. It entertained her for quite some time, and me too, especially when I looked over and saw this:

Usually we snuggle up on the couch in the morning to watch Sesame Street, but on this particular day, Julia was really into Elmo and got up in front of the TV to dance:

Remember the straw beach hat? It re-emerged the other day.

And here's our foray into the world of baked ziti.

Hope every one is having a good week. We're getting so excited for our trip to West Virginia at the end of the month for the Maramba-Wise nuptuals. I'm worried Julia is going to be cuter than the groom though.... hehehehe