Last Wednesday, I received my third infusion of my new chemo regimen with Irinotecan and 5FU. My body's response to the new drugs has been interesting. For the most part, the side effects of this new regimen are not nearly as severe as those I experienced with the Oxaliplatin and 5FU, but they are longer lasting. In other words, with the Oxaliplatin regimen, I could expect five days of misery following an infusion, followed by 6 to 8 days of feeling nearly normal. Now, with the Irinotecan treatment, I don't have the extreme battles with nausea, pain, and general discomfort that I experienced previously, but instead have less-severe side-effects that seem to last all the way until my next infusion.

Like most chemotherapy regimens, the Irinotecan causes some nausea, but in my case that has been well-controlled with anti-nausea medications that I can take orally during and after my infusions. It also causes some pretty extreme intestinal discomfort, but with a time delay of about 5 days after infusion. This lasts for a few days, and is manageable. I am experiencing fatigue with the new chemo, and find that I'm taking naps more frequently and going to bed by 8:30 most nights. The biggest side-effect that I'm dealing with has been a complete loss of appetite. This is a fairly common side-effect of the Irinotecan, but it's an especially bitter pill for me, a lifelong lover of food in all its forms. It's hard to have to force myself to eat at virtually every meal because I just don't ever feel like eating. My weight, which was fairly stable all through the Oxaliplatin treatments, has started to decline due to my lack of appetite and difficulty eating.

My sciatic nerve injury has slowly been healing. I visited a specialist to make sure nothing more serious was causing the pain, and he confirmed that it was just a reinjury of the sciatic that would take time to heal. He prescribed me with another steroid dose-pack which has certainly made the healing progress more quickly. I am sleeping better at night, and experiencing a lot less pain.

Decemer 1-2, I will again travel to Houston for CT scans and follow-up at MD Anderson. We are hopeful that this new regimen will prove effective at shrinking or stabilizing the cancer growth in my body. This new regimen is unique in that it does not have any additive side-effects, so I can stay on this chemo for as long as it is effective without any problems. For this reason, we really hope that it is effective and stays effective for a long time. Every switch to a new treatment protocol comes with it the possibility of reduced effectiveness, until eventually you run out of effective treatments altogether.

The semester is nearing its conclusion here at University of Dallas, so my mornings are usually consumed with either teaching, meeting with students, or grading. I tell people all the time that I teach the best students in the world, and I become more convinced of this with every interaction I have with the wonderful people I get to serve in the classroom each week.

For example, several weeks ago, I noticed students walking around campus with beautiful embroidered fabric bracelets that read "Pray for Dr. Yale." Upon investigation, I disocvered that one of my amazing former students, Stephanie Lobo, designed these bracelets and had 1000 of them produced to remind people to pray for me and my family. I am so blessed to have such a supportive student community behind me through this fight. It is encouraging and humbling at the same time.

"Pray for Dr. Yale" bracelets designed by a student

The past few weeks have also included a number of events that have been true blessings to me personally and to my family. Two weeks ago, I received notification from the Provost's office that I was nominated by a colleague and selected by a committee to be the University of Dallas nominee for the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation's Piper Professor Award. Each university in Texas can nominate one faculty member each year, and the Foundation annually honors ten college teachers in the State of Texas for their superior teaching. Knowing the quality of the faculty here at University of Dallas, including those who have been nominated or named Piper Professors in the past, I consider it a huge honor to be thought of as even in the same ballpark in terms of teaching effectiveness as many of my esteemed colleagues.

In another unexpected blessing, last week, I received a call one morning from the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show. One of my classmates from an MBA class that I took two years ago nominated our family to receive a Christmas Wish. You can hear the radio interview here. In any case, I was completely surprised and honored to be nominated to receive gift cards for Toys 'R Us and some cash to make Christmas extra-special for the kids this year.

Melissa continues to amaze me with her ability to keep our household running smoothly when I'm mostly unable to share in the household duties as I normally would. She is so strong and capable, and I am so blessed to be able to share my life with her. 

Several months ago, we started a business together with the hope of it being able to provide Melissa and the kids with some income once I'm gone. Our first product is now on the market, and we are hopeful that sales will continue to grow as we begin marketing more aggressively. I'll write more about the business in a future post for those of you who are interested.

We continue to be blessed by wonderful neighbors who bring us meals, by friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers who encourage us, and by a growing community of folks who pray for us regularly. I am doing my best to make the most of every day that I have, and never taking any second that I get to spend with my family for granted.

For those of you who continue to pray for us, please remember these specific requests:

• That the Irinotecan and 5FU will be effective at shrinking my cancer
• For Melissa as she bears the burden of being a single-parent much of the time
• For improved appetite and slowing of my weight loss
• For peace and patience as we wait.