Jerry’s Greatest Challenge
10-21-2007 through 10-28-2007
Life is Good 

Editors Note:  This is the 34th week since Jerry was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Jerry has reported each week regarding the progress, treatment, feelings, events and thoughts as he goes through this challenge. 

To reach Jerry email him at Jerry@JerryFowler.com  If you miss the weekly newspaper articles in the New Irmo News, The Lake Murray News, the Cayce West Columbia News or the Northeast News you can catch up or go back to week one by going to Jerry’s web site at www.JerryFowler.com, look on the left side menu and click on Jerry’s Medical Updates.

From Jerry:  It has been three weeks since my last Chemo treatment and I feel exceptionally good.  Overall I am getting along very well.  I did have a bout with dizziness and nausea this past Saturday 10-20-2007.  We are not sure what happened however this was the worst nausea I have had since I began Chemo treatments in March.  Maybe this was my body’s attempt to rid itself of the harsh chemicals injected to fight the cancer.  This is just an opinion, not the word from the doctor. 

This week has again been used to communicate with other cancer victims that are facing a great deal of adversity. 

If you have a friend, relative or loved one that you may feel could be encouraged by talking to me, give them my number or call me and give me their number and I will call  them. Sometimes just talking to someone who is going through the same situation or similar situations can help their attitude.  We have found that attitude will make a huge difference in overcoming cancer and other diseases.

I talked this past week to the St. Matthews Rotary Club and was honored to have lunch with them in St. Matthews.  I met some wonderful people there.  I have never spoken to an audience who did not have several people in attendance that were either affected directly by cancer or had close friends affected by cancer.  This is a disease that knows no boundaries and will attack the rich, the poor, the healthy and the sick. Several people at that meeting were either going through fighting cancer or recovering from the effects of cancer.

On November 5th I will have the PET scan.  In my opinion this is the most advanced form of testing on the market.  The PET scan is relatively new but brings to the table some really good diagnostic tools for the doctor.

What is PET/CT?

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) and CT (Computed Tomography) scans are both standard imaging tools that physicians use to pinpoint disease status in the body. A PET scan demonstrates the biological function of the body before anatomical changes take place, while the CT scan provides information about the body's anatomy such as size, shape and location. By combining these two scanning technologies, a PET/CT scan enables physicians to more accurately diagnose and identify cancer, heart disease and brain disorders.

When I talk with other cancer patients the question often comes up about PET scans regarding how safe this procedure is.

According to my research, although there are no known harmful effects from the procedure, there is some radiation exposure associated with the test. Therefore, it is not performed on pregnant patients or those who might be pregnant. The radioactive tracer injected for the PET scan has an extremely short life, changing rapidly to a nonradioactive and inert material by the time the patient leaves the scanning facility. As a result, there is no radiation risk for family members and no restrictions on patient activity following the scan.

In laymen terms, the technicians have the patient drink sugar water laced with radium or while you are resting on the scanner the technicians inject you with fluorodeoxyglucose into a small vein in the arm. During a period of quiet rest, the injected FDG is permitted to distribute itself within the cells of the body.  Once this has occurred the scan is made by passing through a large scanning device.

The PET scan really allows the doctors to see where the cancer is and what it is doing and the areas of greater concentration.   

We are moving forward with the Foundation.  Still trying to find a CPA that will help us set this up.  If you know a CPA that can help have them call me. The foundation will focus on the caregiver and we are in the process of writing out the functions of the foundation. 

The cold I had last week is almost completely gone.  This was the most difficult of all colds and I am told the lasting effect is due to the weakened condition of my lungs.  However those are getting stronger day by day.

My entire family came down this weekend and stayed with us.  Skip and Cyndy Seebeck,  my brother-in-law and sister.  My sister Angela and my mother Glenna were here from Thursday through Sunday.  This was a very enjoyable time and Judy and I had a great time just being with them.

I have had a large number of you request the 27 mental laws of the Universe. These laws are good even if you are not sick and understanding them can help you in all walks of life.  Just send me your email to Jerry@JerryFowler.com with 27 Laws in the subject line.
 
Until next week I wish you a terrific and prosperous week and remember that “Day by Day in every way, by the grace of God, I am getting better and better and better and so can you no matter what type adversity you or your family face.  Now let’s go out and create a terrific day for everyone we come in contact with. 

I wish to thank you all.  You have made my day, weeks and this year wonderful.  God bless you all and remember do something nice for someone who is suffering from any type sickness or illness and treat everyone you come in contact with as if they are the most important person in the world.  They will appreciate you for this.

Jerry Fowler

Previous Page                                                                           Next Page