I Just Got Wonderfully Exciting News!

A lady I met through DUC on Facebook, Kat Vecchione, is a rock radio talk show host. She has agreed to interview Raymond and I live on her show to get awareness out about the struggles cancer patients and their families face during the journey!! My nephew, +Jordan Arnold is going to get the "RaymondsHope" website up and running before we do the interview so that it will be live right along with us on the air!

Kat told me that she is also a survivor! She had her last surgery for BC in January. Ironically, it was also the same month when Raymond had his FIRST surgery! 

I had absolutely no idea just how many people there are out there that are affected by cancer in one way or another until my son's diagnosis brought us to so many of them.  God wanted us to meet all of them because we are hearing so many inspiring stories of survival, strength, determination, and truly brave individuals that we have met. 

As I mentioned, Kat's radio talk show is live on Saturdays beginning @ 6pm Eastern time... Here is a link to the website. Feel free to share it with your friends and stop by to check it out live Saturday night! They have a live chat during the show, too.  Sounds like fun.

World Talk Rock Radio with Kat Vecchione on itsyourradio

LIVESTRONG DAY...

I got an email from Livestrong today regarding their "Livestrong Day"...

Here is the link....

LIVESTRONG DAY... Livestrong Foundation

All is Put To Right....

So, the Polk County Transit was highly dismayed to hear about how I was treated during what I now call "The Phone Call". They sent a representative over to the house to interview Raymond and he is now approved for his transportation. I'm glad they did the right thing.

Therefore, his second round of treatment started today.  Again, he is wiped out from it and his head hurts.  Luckily, he still has some of the pain pills left that my sisters bought for him. Four more days of the chemo and another week of the migraines and he'll have another two weeks of peace.

I asked the doctor today when we can officially call him "cancer-free" and she said, "After the chemo treatments are over, we'll do more scans and bloodwork to make sure it's all gone."  She sounded really optimistic when she said it.  Personally, I think it's "gone" now, but they are just making sure. The only thing that worries me is the fact that it's a "very aggressive" cancer and that sentence she said about it showing signs that it had "infiltrated the blood vessels" around where they had removed the mass.  I'm still unclear as to if she meant that it actually DID infiltrate or that it COULD HAVE infiltrated.  Either way, the chemo is going as planned and the lung/stomach scans were clear, with the exception of an enlarged lymph node... no, a "larger than normal" lymph node (meaning she wasn't overly concerned, but wasn't willing to take a chance with it, either).

So, it's off to bed for me.  Have to rest up to make phone calls tomorrow on Raymond's behalf plus another round of sitting in the hospital for the day.

Oh, yeah... received information from Patient Advocate Center.  Great resource for cancer patients (see address and phone # on HELPFUL WEBSITES page)

I Reached Out...

Well, I sent a link to this blog to all of Raymond's family members in Pennsylvania. To the ones that I could find on Facebook, that is. His brother has hidden himself well. He has a facebook account, but is not even visible as a friend on his grandmother, wife, step-mom, aunts, uncles, or their friends lists. His name is Clayton John Young, he is a U.S. Marine-stationed in North Carolina to my knowledge, his wife's name is Sasha Young, and he is from New Castle Pennsylvania.  If anyone knows how to reach him, please send him a link to this blog. 

My nephew, Jordan, has moved in with us. It'll be a big help once Raymond starts his chemotherapy. Raymond enjoys his company, plus it gives him someone to hang out with that is his own age. I think it's important for his spirits to stay upbeat.