Kris, Ginna, Max and Sandy

Not everyone could make it to Utah for Thanksgiving. Thanks to the arrival of a new grandson, Kris and his family stayed in Santa Fe but it looks like they made the best of circumstances. Kathy and I fly out to Santa Fe this weekend for our first view of Sandy. We are anxious to see the family.

Thanksgiving 2010

Welcome to a picture perfect Thanksgiving from Highland, Utah

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My brother came to Salt Lake to visit this week. It was great to have him here and for him to have time to get reacquainted with the family and grandkids. Bob has a knack with children. They simply like him. Even little KC and Clayton, who are initially shy, took to him and readily cuddled up to him.

We were very fortunate to have a visit from my brother Bob

Kelly came for the week but had to return to school (Saturday, November 27) . Lechelle and Boston get to stay another week. Boston is my little King of the Road from Kansas City.

Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let...fifty cents.
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but..two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road

Boston loves to eat and likes to wear some of his food on his face.

Kari, Aaron and kids were here for Thanksgiving and we are so glad they are close by and we get to see them often. They also came by today to watch the BYU vs Utah football game. Too bad Utah won but the game was hard fought and close. We did miss having Kris and Gina and family here but we know they needed to catch up on much needed rest and relaxation after having a new baby.

KC had a fun time.

Boston said forget Thanksgiving Dinner, just give me a yummy straw!

KC loved playing big brother to Boston

We last visited with Boston last July when they came out to visit. He has grown a lot and is much more interactive. He doesn't fully crawl but scoots army style across the floor. He is such a happy baby.

Superman is about to take off...

It's a bird, it's a plane,

No, it's super Boston

As I mentioned the babies warmed right up to Bob.

Bob getting along with Boston

Finally it came time for Thanksgiving dinner. We went light on the Turkey opting only for a Turkey breast rather than the full beast. Kari made pecan and pumpkin pies. Lechelle made apple pies and the best cherry pie was purchased from the Lion House pantry.

Getting Thanksgiving dinner ready

And now time to eat

Parker liked the deserts most of all

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We said goodbye to Kelly today. Our next visit will be this New Year's in St Louis when Boston is sealed to Kelly and Lechelle in the St Louis LDS Temple. In Mormonism, a sealing is an ordinance (ritual), performed in temples by a person holding the sealing power. The purpose of this ordinance is to seal family relationships, making possible the existence of family relationships throughout eternity. Because Boston was adopted a separate sealing is performed.

Kelly, Lechelle and Boston

Happy Holidays from Kelly, Lechelle and Boston. They were trying

to get a picture for their Christmas card.

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A surprise came Thanksgiving morning when the band called a special meeting to unveil it's new name. They had called Kathy Wed. night to see if it would be okay if they called and asked me to come over to the garage where we practice. They wanted to surprise me by renaming the band in my honor. It all worked out and I was very surprised. Mike the drummer arranged to have a graphic artist create a new logo and banner. It was really nice of them to do that for me. Kelly has agreed to work on creating our website.

The Highland Highland is now officially the kendrix krew

Band members from left to right are Dennis Callanta (vocals and guitar),

Tracy Smith (keyboards), myself (vocals and guitar),

Mike Criddle (percussion and vocals), Brent Brown (bass and vocals)

Medication Balancing

We are being visited this week by Kelly, Lechelle and Boston. Boston is a lovely and precious child and very well tempered. His adoption was finalized last Friday, November 19th. It is great to have them with us.

A common occurrence with lung and brain cancer is metastasis of the tumors to the brain. The mechanism by which primary tumors produce brain metastases is thought to be the spread from primary or secondary sites in the lung. Since the brain has no lymphatic system, all tumors metastasizing to the brain do so by spreading through the bloodstream.

Brain metastases carry an ominous prognosis regardless of primary status or treatment given. The median survival of untreated patients, or those treated with corticosteroids alone to reduce brain edema, is about one month. Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) is the most widely used method of treating brain metastasis, despite the fact that patients treated this way have an expected survival of only three to four months. Death from recurrent or persistent tumors occurs in about 50% of the patients.

Immediate side effects of WBRT can include memory loss, particularly verbal memory (remembering what someone said to you), extreme fatigue, temporary baldness, skin rash, inflammation of the outer ear, and hearing loss. Longer term toxicities which can occur within six months to two years after WBRT, include memory loss, confusion, lack of urinary control, and lack of coordination.

The effect of WBRT is swelling or edema of the brain. Dexamethasone (Decadron) is a steroid that is given to reduce the swelling. I take it in pill form twice a day. It starts working within several hours.

Steroids may be continued for weeks or even longer. However, the longer they are used, the worse the side effects become. Side effects from steroids can be very serious, but the brain swelling they counteract can be even more serious and possibly life-threatening. Common side effects from long-term use include weight gain, muscle weakness (myopathy), insomnia, moodiness, acne, osteoporosis, hypertension, swelling of the face, cataracts, osteonecrosis (death of bone cells), impaired wound healing, muscle weakness, pneumonia, and diabetes.

Given these side effects it makes sense to quit taking the steroid as soon as possible. So we decreased my dosage from 4 mg to 2 mg for a few days, then to a half a pill and finally to none. However, over this same time period I experienced extreme fatigue. It is as if I had hit a wall. I could do nothing more than lie in bed or sit on the couch. I would think about getting up but couldn’t muster the energy to go beyond that. The condition was severe.

On Tuesday we returned to the radiation Doctor to discuss this new development. While reviewing my medication list he discovered that I had ceased taking the steroid and suggested that I immediately return to my initial schedule with plans on weaning off the drug by Christmas. I am now back on the medication and doing better.

I again have the usual side effects of insomnia (I can sleep only 4 hours at a time), some weight gain, muscle weakness and impaired wound healing. My left ear has hearing loss which I believe is from the hardening of ear wax which can be treated without pills. But having cancer is a constant trade-off between medications and symptoms.

I suppose as time progresses we will learn better how to better manage the medications but this is not an exact science and much more of an art. I am just grateful that I have a loving caregiver with my best interests at heart.

Bad Daytime Television

Very little says "staying home sick" better than watching really bad daytime television. Whether you're watching soap operas, daytime talk shows, court room proceedings, or straight up trailer trash assaulting each other, there is always a show for you when you're sick.

Iv'e never been much of a television watcher but have had little energy for anything else for the last three weeks. And not just during the daytime. I am usually awake for television viewing for three to four hours beginning at three in the morning, followed by more television during the late morning and afternoon. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve tried doing some work in the morning and afternoon but can barely muster the strength to get out of bed and lie on the couch.

Right now I'm watching The Discovery Channel. This is a channel no one ever plans on watching. It just happens. You're channel surfing and all of a sudden -- boom -- you're watching a mole for an hour-and-a-half.

With the notable exception of the History Channel, there are few basic cable channels that appeal to men more than the Discovery Channel. As if Shark Week and Myth Busters aren’t enough reason to watch, they also have Deadliest Catch, Dirty Jobs, and Man vs. Wild.

Speaking of the History Channel, what happened to history? Every time I surf the history channel, I see reality TV!

Pawn Stars - Yeah, a high end pawn shop.

American Pickers - Guys looking for valuable old junk?

Ice Road Truckers – Driving on frozen roads.

Deadliest Roads - You’re kidding.

Ax men? Again, is this the History Channel or Reality TV?

Ice Road Truckers is about a bunch of diesel dummies that drive on frozen roads.

Okay, sounds kind of scary. But you have to believe that anyone, even a diesel dummy driving the same frozen roads over and over again will eventually become good at it. So where is the excitement? Once in a while someone will drive off a road and crash, but for the most part the show is uneventful and boring. Just now the announcer is trying desperately to make a driver with a “check engine light” sound exciting.

Then there’s always ESPN Sport Center to fall back on. It’s available 24 hours a day and repeats itself on the hour. As entertaining as this may be the first time around daily doses become mind numbing. Not to you? Then you just might be addicted to sports. Test yourself by checking if you exhibit any of the following symptoms:

You can't go to sleep without watching sports center at least three times all the way through.

You just got done watching an entire basketball game, and then switch the channel to ESPN to watch the highlights.

The TV is on and you walk by to see the same sports center you have been watching all day is on, and you stop and watch each highlight like you haven't seen it yet.

You record sports center.

During a game you see something and say to yourself, “That’s a sports center top 10”.

Watching sports center for the 8th time is better than watching a regular TV show.

Finally, the even daytime commercials provide their own entertainment excepting that they’re targeted directly at you. Am I really that bad?

"Are you a loser? Then go to college at your local degree mill! We offer PhD's in just 18 months!"

"Are you struggling under debt? Then call the Dead Beat Debt Consolidation Program. Expert financial advisors are standing by now to show you how to not pay back the money you owe!"

"Injured or just willing to say you've been? Call Personal Injury Lawyers at 1-800-SUE-THEM."

And so forth and so on.

I decided that if I was going to remain incapacitated for any additional length of time I might need to expand my television viewing options. As we are currently Comcast cable subscribers, the obvious solution is to purchase an expanded package. We currently subscribe to Digital Starter package which offers 80 channels. Of those 80 channels we probably watch 10 or fewer on a regular basis.

Viewing the Comcast website I found that my only real upgrade would be the Digital Premier package which offers 200 channels, including HBO, Starz, Cinemax and Showtime as well as an expanded Sports Entertainment package for $85 per month for the first six months (then the bill goes up). Of course, that really translates to an additional 50 filler channels not worth viewing, multiple movie channels we wouldn’t watch because of content and more sports than anyone needs, all for only $50 per month more than what we currently pay. Not a great option.

The second option, and one we decided on, was to reinstate our Netflix account. For $8 per month we have unlimited access to on-demand movies. The selection isn’t super but is certainly better than reruns of Ice Road Truckers.

I only hope that I can get some energy back so as to make up my own entertainment. I’ve always been so much better at it than the television entertainment industry.

Countin' flowers on the wall
That don't bother me at all
Playin' solitaire till dawn with a deck of fifty-one
Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo
Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do
(Statler Brothers)

I did watch Captain Kangaroo when I was a kid but have never smoked cigarettes. I am not blaming my lung cancer on the Captain unless I might be able to sue him. Hey you Personal Injury Lawyers, do you think I have a case?

Strange Days Indeed

Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed
most peculiar
Mama.
(John Lennon)

I suppose if I were to best describe this past week would be “strange days indeed”. Beginning the Friday of last week I suffered a significant decline in health. Being new to this cancer stuff I don’t know how to interpret physical changes. By Saturday I was convinced that I wouldn’t make it to Christmas and didn’t want to make it if it meant suffering as I was. I admit that I cried out of despair and pain and discomfort. But today is Thursday and I’m feeling much better. I passed the test or at least survived it.

I met with my oncologist Doctor on Monday. This man is an amazing care taker. He calls me in the evening to check up on how it’s going. What Doctor does that? Dr. Nathan Rich. Dr. Rich explained that my discomfort was mostly the effect of brain radiation and would continue for another week or two and then get better. They gave me medication for my heartburn and I am improving.

On Tuesday Kathy and I attended a cancer support group in Salt Lake. It is my belief that many cancer patients in the Salt Lake area have a good support group in place through their spouses and families and consequently don’t attend these support groups. I fall into this category but enjoyed meeting with others in the support group. However, there are those who must face cancer alone.

I met a man named Taylor who has had a growth the size of a tennis ball on his back for two years. He had disinclined medical help because he feared he lacked financial resources to pay. The social worker explained to him that was eligible for state financial aid. IHC would not turn him away although his level of support may not be at the same level that I enjoy.

Cancer is very expensive. I don’t know what radiation treatment costs but I imagine it is substantive. I am now taking a targeted drug called Traceva. This wonder drug is supposed to add a year to my life expectancy but costs $100 a pill and I’m supposed to take it daily until it quits working. That’s $36,500 for the next year. Fortunately, we have learned that United Healthcare will cover the expense at 100%. My insurance coverage is expensive as I elected to purchase a premium policy some years ago and I expect that I have prepaid some of this medication cost already, but it is nice not to worry about the additional cost of medication at this time.

Burnt Esophagus and Hair Loss

Two old baseball buddies with lung cancer were chatting on a park bench. Paul says, "I hope they have a baseball team in heaven."

"Me too", says Jack.

"Tell you what", says Paul, "If I die first, I'll give you a message about whether there is baseball in Heaven. If you die first, you can do the same for me."

A year later, Paul is dead and Jack is sitting on the park bench when he hears: "Jack, it's me, Paul. I have great news! Guess what. There really is a baseball team in heaven."

"Thank Goodness", sighs Jack, "Now I can die in peace."

"I'm glad you feel that way," says Paul, "because you're pitching tomorrow."

Friday we went to a Michael Martin Murphy cowboy concert in St George so I wore my best go-to-meeting boots and hat.

Last Wednesday morning it began snowing hair flakes. I thought that when I started radiation therapy that the effects would be somewhat constant. It wasn’t so. The effects accumulate. I finished radiation last Friday but the full effects are just now showing themselves. The radiation had reached a level last Wednesday where my hair started falling out. I woke up and there it was all over my pillow.

I totally underestimated radiation. This weekend kicked my butt and I’ve got two more weeks before I get through the total effects of the treatment. It’s going to be tough and when the going gets tough, the tough are going to try to sleep through the week.

The worse of the effects is heartburn. You wouldn’t think so as I don’t have stomach cancer but I could hardly eat solids. Even ice cream was giving me problems.

Kathy and I went to Delta on Sunday to visit her parents. Her mother is one of the world’s best cooks. Naturally, she was ready with a delicious meal of mashed potatoes, salad, cordon bleu and vegetables. I took one bite of the potatoes but couldn’t digest another. And I really like mashed potatoes!

We learned today that the radiation has effected my esophagus when targeting the lung tumor so I now take another medicine which first numbs the esophagus before eating. I tried it tonight and it worked. I had eggs, toast, strawberry milk and ice cream.

Radiation nurses Dana and Katy were very nice.

Caution Will Robinson Radiation inside!

Baldy preparing for another treatment.

We did two treatments. The first treated brain tumors. The mask holds my head in the right place so that we don't treat eye balls or ears. The second pass (not shown) treated the right lung and inadvertently the esophagus. Oops

Cowboy Halloween, Part 3

Last night we enjoyed a pleasant evening with family and friends at Abravanal Hall in Salt Lake listening to the music of "Riders in the Sky". This is the same group that reached fame with "Woody's Roundup" for Toy Story 2. Backed up by their bunk house band, the Salt Lake Symphony, with a little imagination you could find yourself around the campfire tapping your toes as sparks lifted towards celestial diamonds overhead.

Half the audience game decked out in their go-to-meeting cowboy best. I wore my new 10 gallon cowboy hat along with new boots and pressed jeans. Next event I might even spring for a genuine leather vest and Bolo tie.

Hey, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay

Life Expectancy and Procastination

Overview

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with 86 percent of sufferers dying within five years, according to Cancer Monthly. However, the specific life expectancy depends upon what type of lung cancer a patient has, how advanced the cancer is, his overall health and how aggressively the disease is treated. These factors can triple and even quadruple the overall survival rates.

Types of Lung Cancer

According to the numbers presented by Cancer Monthly, life expectancy is closely related to the particular type of lung cancer. I have non-small squamous cell carinoma which accounts for roughly 30% of non-small cell lung cancers in the United States.

Staging

Lung cancer is not easy to find early. Usually the physician will suspect it if the patient, especially a smoker, has a persistent or worsening cough, shortness of breath, blood sputum, or other respiratory changes. The first test in attempting to pinpoint the problem will be a chest X-ray or scan done for other reasons, such as before surgery.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or even new techniques, such as PET-CT scanners, may yield even more valuable information. The PET scan will show “hot-spots” in your lung, bones or brain tissue. However, the only sure way to diagnose a tumor is to take a biopsy After the biopsy, the sample of the tumor will be examined under a microscope by a pathologist, who will identify the cells and determine whether the tumor is benign or malignant. My pathologist is a family friend and someone whom I respect and have gone on an extended motorcycle trip. It seemed a little unfair to have Dr. Willis Thorne be the bearer of bad news but most of us take news better from those who care about us and are best able to provide comfort.

Life Expectancy

Just like other cancers, lung cancer is staged according to the size of the tumor, nodal involvement and whether there are distant metastases. Predictably, five-year survival rates decrease as the staging increases. For example, Cancer Monthly reports five-year survival rates of 60 to 80 percent if the tumor is less than 3cm and there are no metastases to lymph nodes or distant issues. This rate plummets to less than 5 percent if there are distant metastases or if the tumor has invaded the mediastinum where the heart, great vessels, trachea and esophagus are located. My particular brand of cancer has metastasized to the brain and to the bone area. That's why we are engaged in a three week period of brain radiation to be followed by targeted chemo therapy. Studies have found that combining radiation and chemo therapy result in exceptionally high mortality rates, so we are waiting until mid November to start the chemo therapy. In the meanwhile, little is being done to control the growth of the cancer in my lungs and bones.

New Drug

Originally approved to treat non-small cell cancers, Tarceva, or erlotinib, was approved by the FDA in 2010 to treat all lung cancers. The FDA said Tarceva extends the median survival by two to three months, compared with a placebo, after other treatments have failed. Originally, my understanding that this miracle drug helped by years but note the actual effects - it extends quality of life by two to three months!

Case Analysis

Question: What are the chances of survival from Lung Cancer? My mother in law has just found out she has lung cancer and a tumor in her lung. She will be getting surgery to remove the tumor tomorrow. What are the chances of everything being okay? Will she have to take radiation or chemotherapy afterward? I would like to get input from anyone that has gone through this experience. She is very scared and was a smoker for 22 years. Any information is more than welcome.

Answer: I'm very sorry. Lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates. That doesn't mean there's no hope, but you have to be realistic. Forecasting the Course of Disease: Lung Cancer Prognosis Overall, fewer than 10% of people with primary lung cancer are alive 5 years after diagnosis.

But 5-year survival rates may be as high as 35 to 40% among patients who undergo surgical resection for cancer that has not spread beyond the lung. General estimates of stage-specific median survival time the point at which 50% of patients are still living are as follows:

Stage 1a - more than 60 months (> 5 years)

Stage 1b - about 36 months (3 years)

Stage 2a - about 24 months (2 years)

Stage 2b - about 20 months (< 2 years)

Stage 3a - about 15 months (< 1.5 years)

Stage 3b - about 12 months (1 year)

Stage 4 - about 8 months (< 1 year)

Summary

It is not healthy to dwell on “worst case” statistics and having posting these statistics I promise to ignore them in the future. On the other hand, it serves little purpose to not be informed and realistic.

A realistic view motivates the diseased to put his affairs in order to insure a continuum of family and business relations. For example, for years I recognized the need to better control my emotions – specifically anger. I decided that I would work on this issue when I reached my mid 50’s. With a more realistic time-frame, I now find that I cannot afford any additional procrastination.

Note, that there was a time when I did have a hot temper but I’ve mellowed out significantly over the years to where anger is not a chief concern. I have other problems that require more urgent and critical attention.

According to a lung cancer survival rate for Stage 4, I have a remaining life expectancy of 8 months to 1 year, adjusted up a couple of months for using Tarceva which I won’t begin using until mid November and subtracting two months of surgery and radiation treatments. Assuming the effects of this cancer became serious in July, a terminal date around my next birthday, September 5, 2011 is a reasonable estimate and one that I am emotionally comfortable with.

If you need a more scientific life expectancy estimate, may I suggest to you the site: http://deathdate.info/s/death/.

Ken Hendricks

Optimistic

· Predicted Death Date: 9 july 2033

Neutral

· Predicted Death Date: 18 december 2019

Pessimistic

· Predicted Death Date: 3 august 2005