Hello friends,

I am done collecting my stem cells. The past two weeks, I've had to go to the Huntsman every day for lab work and shots, the shots are for getting my bone marrow to start producing stem cells for collection (high volume of cells).

Since chemo is hard on my body, I can't create very many cells very fast, so after the first week (Of getting 3 shots a day, these where in my arms) you move to what is called "Hard to Mobilize".

Then they double the amount of the drug they give you (I cant' spell it correctly, neupragin) so that means, 2 shots in the morning (be there at 7:00 am), then back to the hospital by 8:00 pm for 6 shots, all 8 in my stomach, I have some very nice, big bruises.
I had a great Fathers day present, when they called said I had collected enough and didn't have to have any more shots.

The collection process is very interesting. They hook me up to a machine (with tubes going all over the place)that pulls out my blood and mixes it with an anti-coagulate. Then it spins by blood, the blood separtes into stems cells, red cells, etc. The machine is then able to pull off (collect) my stem cells and put them in a bag. Then the machine heats my blood back up to body temp and gives me back to me. The machine runs for about 4 1/2 hours, it goes through 30 liters of blood, that means my entire blood stream went through the machine about 7 times each day.
They then take the stem cells, and they freeze them slow down to about minus 200 F. Where they can hold them forever if necessary. They will unfreeze them when its time for my transplant, another month or so.

Now, we wait for all my platelets, white and red cell counts to come up, and then I can have my 4th round of chemo. If my tumor keeps shrinking, my dr. wants to do 1 or 2 more treatmes (chemo) then the 4 she orginally planned on.

I'm feeling good. Things are progressing along. The Lord continues to bless my family and me.

I've meet some really tough people going through their own fight with cancer. I don't have any room to complain. Their courage and strength helps me keep moving on. I've been blessed with great nurses and dr who help me laugh and keep moving forward.
I'm very grateful for you and your support in helping me keep moving forward. With all these great people, it helps me stay positive.

I can never repay you. I can't say thanks enough.
Remember, keep smiling, people wonder what your up to.
If this doesn't make any sense, it’s because all my hair fell out and I can't think straight.

Stew

Hello all,

I had my 3rd round of chemo last week. I've felt better than before. Thanks for all the prayers and fasting, they are working.

I should be harvesting stem cells (bone marrow transplant) this week, starting on Thurs. This won't hurt, they take my blood through a "hickman" or "port" that is in my chest.
My Dr. said that if my cancer keeps responding to chemo (shrinking down) that she would like to do a few more rounds of chemo and get this as small as possible. We will keep watching and waiting.

We had a family reunion over Memorial day. I was very surprised to find out that 5 other family members have had cancer. They are all doing fine. That helped me, some more encouragement.

I've also realized, that I'm no different then anybody else. Everyone has, is going, and will go through trials, hard times. Some trials are big some are small. They all take a toll on us, they can bring us down, or help push us onward and upward. I have good friend with MS, he doesn't give up, he keeps moving forward. Another with arthritus, he has to take meds everyday, another lost a good paying job, another went through a tough divorce. We need to keep looking out for one another and help each other out. Sometimes, you don't know what the other person is going through.

My leg is healing nicely, I don't feel real sick, I feel pretty good for just going through chemo.
The church is true.
Take it one day at time, lean on the Lord, and let others help YOU out once in while.

Stew

Helllo everyone. Feel free to share this with others.

I'll get my 3 chemo round on Friday, then Sat and Sun (in patient at Huntsman). My cell counts have been low, that is why its been a few weeks since I've had chemo.

Then, the 2 week of June, they will start to harvest my bone marrow. They will take my stem cells and freeze them, they will also decide if they can use my stem cells or if things will work better if they use my brothers stem cells. He is a match.

Then, after my cell counts come up I'll get my 4th chemo.

After cell counts come back up, I'll go into the hospital (for a month) and then recieve chemo for 6 days straight. This is the one that will kill my bone marrow, white blood cells. Then I get 1 day of rest, then they will give me my stem cells back.
I have to be monitored for then next few weeks to make sure everything is going well. My body is creating white cells, bone marrow is growing.
During this time I'm at risk for infection, getting sick, and having my body reject the stem cells. Patients have died due to their body rejecting the stem cells during and after having a bone marrow transplant. This does make me nervous, they almost killing me, then saving my life.

We are all in the Lord's hands through our entire life so I shouldn't be scared. He is watching over all of us and blessing and helping us.This is getting my attention. I do have faith that everything will be fine. I'll also get a priesthood blessing before the 6 days of chemo. I just take things one day at a time.
I'm very grateful to all the support my family and I are recieving, we don't have room to recieve it.

Hopefully this is helpful info. I'm never sure what people want to know or how much they want to know.

Thanks for your support.

God does live. Jesus did suffer for our sins and pains. The church is true. We do have living prophet Pres. Thomas S. Monson. The Book of Mormon is true. The priesthood is real. And cancer sucks.

Stew

I'll try to keep this up to date.

I'll describe what its like so far with my treatments.

I had my second chemo treat about 10 days ago. My counts have dropped. This means that my white and red blood cells, and platelet counts have dropped very low. I had to have 2 units of blood giving to me yesterday to help bring the counts up. I do feel better today.
With my counts being so low, this means I can get sick very easily (fevers, infections) and if I cut myself I can bleed and have a hard time stopping the bleeding. I also, don't have much energy, I can walk down my street and back, then I need a rest.

With my counts being so low, this means that I'll probably have to wait until next week to get my 3 round of chemo. My chemo takes 3 days to give. They start on Thursday, I get 2 different bags, this takes 3-4 hours to give me through my port. I have a 3 prong port that was implanted on my right side. This makes taking lab work and giving meds so much nicer. I don't have to get stuck with a needle every time I need something. Then I go back on Friday and get checked in to the hospital from Friday to Saturday. The next 2 drugs take 24 hours to give me.

For the next 3-4 days I'm sick to my stomach, tired, and my body aches all over.

Don't ever take your health for granted. Its a blessing to be able to work and do things around your house. Its not fun sitting around all day and having to be very careful about not getting sick.

The Lord is blessing my family and I. He is helping up through this. We sometimes think about why am I going through this, did I do something wrong, am I being punished.
I've learned, from people much wiser than I, that this what we signed up for when we agreed to come to earth. All these trials, experiences, good and bad, are for our experiences and learning. They benefit us and those around us. They can make us stronger if we let them. Having cancer has forced me to rely fully on the Lord. Our life is in his hands. He is in control and we will not leave our sides. We walks with us and even carries us at times. He is always there.

So, its up to us on how we will go through this life and our trials. Having a postive attitude and taking things one day at a time helps. Let others help you when you need it. Never give up, fight the good fight.

Sorry for the long e-mail.

Have a great day, keep smiling.

CHEMO #5

We are sitting here at Huntsman and Stew is just waiting for his last bag of meds to be done.. He had a CT scan yesterday of which shows the tumor is smaller but not a small as they thought it would be.. So after his 6th chemo currently schedualed for July 2nd he will have PET SCAN which should be around the 28th or 29th of July.. and as long as all the cancer cells show gone then we will start the test for his Bexar around the 31st of July and His radioactivity will be injected around the 6th of Aug.. it should be interesting..
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL THE MANY PRAYERS ON OUR BEHALF WE ARE DEFINILTLY FEELING THEM..
the kids are out of school for the summer.

Shaved head

Sorry it has taken a while to post something. We painted our bed room and got new carpet. It feels like a new room. We have also been working on our food storage.

My next chemo treatment is Wed Apr 9th. I hope things smooth and that I don't get very tired. Having a shaved head feels pretty good. Easy to shower and dry off.

Charlie, Laci and Lexi are playing soccer and doing very well. They really enjoy it.

Suzi's parents are having some health struggles, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

My parents are going to New Zealand for a month, they are going to rent a motor home and drive all over. Sounds like fun.

I'm feeling really good, I feel strong, I get tired pretty easy. I'm not pushing it, I'm taking it easy. I've found out that some people at work have had cancer and they are doing well. That gives me hope.

I really enjoyed conference. I'm not sure whatelse to say. I'm looking into get more picture up. We took pictures of the kids shaving my head.

Thanks for you support.

The Olsen Family.

Our trip to San Fran.