Hi everyone.  It's Richard.  Amanda has been trying to get me out of my depression to start writing in JoAnn's updates.  I'm not a facebook user, so I really haven't had a chance to respond to all the kind words & Prayers that have come our way.  All I can really say is that we miss JoAnn so very much. I'm sure time will be the great healer.  Continued prayers for me, Amanda, and the entire family will be much appreciated.  From my heart, I can truly say that all of you who visited JoAnn in the hospital really comforted her.  Hope to see all of you at the memorial on 11/09/2013.  God Bless all of you.  

OK, so both of my oncologists talked and came up with a plan. The new drug still causes some nasty side effects, like the hand/foot/mouth sickness (for me that's horrible mouth sores and I feel like the bottom of my feet are sunburned and bruised) and fatigue, but the good thing is, it's not a toxic chemo. It sends messages to the tumors so they can't grow & multiply. It's also a pill, so I don't have to walk around for three days with an IV in my arm. I don't have much on details, but I feel good that both my regular oncologist and the Stanford oncologist agreed and chose this for me. Now I just pray the insurance will approve it and we could start as early as next week. It's good to know there are still options. Thank you all so much for the words of support, both on the blog and through email. It really helps to hear from you.

Hi everyone--
Well, I'm beginning to feel like I'm on a roller coaster ride. Six weeks ago I had great news, and now it's gone the other way. The cancer is progressing again. Over the last eight years, there has been a spot on my liver and we just keep watch on it. This is the first time it has gotten bigger and now there is a second one. It was hard news to hear. I'm trying to keep positive--that's just a little harder now. I am out of the clinical trial, but I will still have an exit appointment next Thursday. The Stanford doc is going to a national meeting about my type of cancer (Thymic) with other oncologists in Washington DC tomorrow. She hopes to have some news of some new treatments then, but for now I am going back to my main oncologist. The two are supposed to connect before she leaves about what to do next. She listed four different chemo drugs she would recommend, and I've given the names to him. I have an appointment with him on Wed, and we will decide which chemo to go with next and move on it quickly.
My faith remains strong and it's wonderful to be blessed with such wonderful family, friends and students in my life every day, giving me support. Thank you so much. I'll update again next week.

Hello everyone--
Well, I have gone through two more rounds and tomorrow morning is my next scan (Tuesday, 8:30). Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers for continued good & hopeful news! I thank you so much for your support. I should have the results Thursday morning, and will update the blog soon afterward.

Wow! I got my scan results today and everything that had grown on the previous scan by 2 mm has now SHRUNK by 3-4 mm! Talk about being blown away! I will be staying in the clinical trial! I would have had the next round today, but since the foot-hand-mouth syndrome was pretty bad on the last round, we postponed it a week. I will have the next round next Thursday! Talk about miraculous! Thank you, God!! Thank you all for your thoughts & prayers!!

Well, the two rounds have passed and it's time for the next scan. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be my scan at 2:30. Please do keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I remain hopeful, even though chances are that it will show progression again and we will have to look for yet another chemo drug. Of course I pray it will turn around this time, because this clinical trial drug has been relatively easy on me, except this last round gave me hand-foot-mouth syndrome. I will find out the results Thursday and we will go from there. Thanks, everyone.

Well okay, it wasn't exactly what I hoped for, but not too terribly bad either. Went to Stanford this morning.  The cancerous spots have grown, but very little. I'm thankful that there is no new growth anywhere else in my body. The growth was very minor from the last scan to this one, but the doc went back and compared it to the scan I had just before I started the trial. She said that when compared to that scan back in November, she could look at the two and still say it was basically stable. I can stay in the trial if the growth is under 20%, which it is. She also said that measuring the spots is very difficult, because it's not like measuring a perfect sphere, and the growth was only 2 mm. We did not want to abandon this drug too soon, so together we felt good about doing two more rounds to see how that goes. That means another scan in six weeks. Considering all my blood levels are doing so well and I'm feeling so good while on this drug, I went with it. I pray it is the right decision. We thought it would probably still grow in these next six weeks, but we also thought it would probably only grow a little. If we switched to yet another drug now, there is the unknown factor of how my body will react and again whether will it work. I spoke with my regular oncologist to get his opinion, and he agreed to go for two more rounds, but that he would start now figuring out the plan for what we can do next. I went ahead and started round 9 this morning. Please keep me in your prayers for guidance and healing. Thank you all so much for your support.

Hello everyone--
I'm late with writing this, but I had my CT scan on Monday morning and am waiting for the results. The wait is never any fun. Please do keep me in your thoughts & prayers. I'll be sure to let you know when I hear.

Hello everyone--
We had a great trip to Disneyland, where I was really proud of my students' performance. I'm happy to say that my CT results are still stable, so we are continuing with the clinical trial. The doc is happy. My recent echo results showed my heart function to be up again, now to 58%, so that is considered normal. I'm feeling good and had day one of round 7 this morning. I can't thank you enough for you support and prayers. :)

Hi Everyone--
As I get ready to leave with my students for Disneyland early this morning, I know I am also getting ready to come back to my next scan on Monday morning. Things have been going well on this clinical trial, but I still need your thoughts, prayers & support as I move along. I am hoping to continue with good & hopeful news. If so we will just keep going to Stanford and continuing with the trial. Thanks so much for all the support you give me! I should have the results by Thursday.

Hello everyone--
I just realized that with the opening of our production of Hairspray last week, I forgot to even update my blog! I had a CT scan last week and everything is still stable, so we are continuing with the clinical trial. My echo that had gone down 10 points went back up to 56%, so all is good. We kind of think the last echo was a mistake and that it never really went down. All is good, except I've been experiencing some hand-foot-mouth syndrome in my feet, which is extremely painful. I pray that it does not come back with the round I had on Thursday. Otherwise all is good. Thank you so much for your continued thoughts, prayers and support!

Hello everyone,
I went to Stanford today and my PET scan is showing that everything is stable. The doc says this is good. She says that since the last PET had shown growth of the cancer, going to being stable is a good thing. She explained that although most chemo drugs show shrinkage at the beginning, with this drug, they usually see shrinkage a little further into treatment, so we're right on track. Yay! I started round three today. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. They mean so much.

Hello everyone--
Well, I've completed the first two rounds of the Amrubicin trial at Stanford. Both rounds went relatively uneventful. Pretty easy in comparison with all the other chemo drugs I've experienced. I go for my PET scan Wednesday morning and then back to Stanford for my doctor's appointment and round three on Thursday. I will get the results at that time. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers for good results on the scan. Thanks so much for your support!

Hi all--
Well, not exactly the news I was hoping for, but not horrible either. All the spots except for two stayed the same in size. Two of them grew about a half centimeter. The problem was that the cancerous activity had begun to increase again. So only three weeks after taking off my wig, it looks like I'll be going back to it again. I'll be calling Stanford probably tomorrow about getting back on the clinical trial, and then we'll hopefully get started. This drug was supposed to help me get stronger before the trial, and it did. Now it looks like I gear up for the trial and a new wig--maybe not so red this time :) Thank you so much for your love, prayers & support. I'm thankful for all of you at this wonderful time of Thanksgiving. Please keep up the prayers.

Hello everyone--
It's been a busy school year, and if you've tried to get ahold of me recently, our district email has gone down. My new school email is jkoobatian@pleasantonusd.net so please update your contacts. I've lost all the emails in my contacts for the past 15 years of teaching, so if you want to stay in contact, send me your email address.
I had a PET scan this morning. I'm supposed to get the results tomorrow, so I'm praying for good & hopeful news. It would be nice to have good news before Thanksgiving. I've really been feeling good and strong. I'm so thankful for the fun and productive school year I've had so far. I have awesome students & couldn't be happier. Dad also had hand surgery this morning, and is doing very well. We're thankful that the surgery went without a hitch. I'm looking forward to seeing family this week and resting before the next busy three weeks. I thank you all for all your love & continued prayers of support and wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'll send an update (hopefully tomorrow) when I hear.

Hello everyone--
It's been a crazy week, returning from the fabulous wedding, having the scan Tuesday, my birthday and Back to School Night on Wednesday, so things really have been insane. I can't thank you all enough for all the wonderful birthday wishes and the prayers. The scan results finally came in and the size of the tumors is stable, but again the cancerous activity has decreased throughout, so it's good news! The mouth sores are pretty much gone now, but my feet are still covered in blisters. I see the doc tomorrow and they won't let me start the next round until the blisters are gone, but they are decreasing my chemo dose. I can't thank you enough for all the support you continue to give me. Please do keep it up--you help me so much!

Hello everyone,
Well, I almost completed three rounds of Xeloda/Sandostatin. I had to stop it on Friday, because it had given me mouth sores all over my mouth and blisters all over my feet. I'm still dealing with those. This round should have gone until Sunday. Tomorrow morning at 8:30, I will have my PET scan to find out how my cancer has reacted to this last three rounds. Again, I humbly ask for your thoughts and prayers for good news. I have been feeling great, other than being very tired. I've had a great start to the school year and as usual just love all my students. Thanks again for all your love and support. :)

Well I was hoping and praying for the decision to be clear. Stanford called yesterday to say that since the treatment I am on is working, then technically I'm not eligible for the trial right now. I can start the trial if/when the current treatment stops working. Well, I'd say that was clear. So I am going to continue the Xeloda/Sandostatin starting again on Monday, and wait on the trial. I can't thank you enough for all the posts and emails. You are all so supportive, and I really appreciate it! :)

Hello everyone--
Well, I finally got a call from the oncologist's office today. Good news. This chemo that I have been on is working. Everything has decreased in cancerous activity. The size of the tumors remains the same, but they explained that they don't care about the tissue size if the activity is dying down. The spot on my liver that was noted on my last PET was not detectable in this scan! And there was no new growth! Good news all around! The thing is now I am in a difficult situation. This chemo I have been on has been wonderful. I have been tired, but other than that I haven't had most of the other side effects I usually get with chemo, and my hemoglobin and platelets have remained in tact. So my oncologist feels that if it's working after only two low-dose treatments, why abandon it for the clinical trial? They prefer that I stay on this treatment plan for now. I am going to talk with the docs at Stanford to get another opinion and then make the decision on what I will do from here. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I make this decision.

In the meantime, I was very fortunate to have a wonderful performance opportunity for my students on Wednesday night, as they sang back-up for Foreigner at Wente Vineyards, thanks to a radio contest on KKIQ. Here is the link if you're interested:
http://youtu.be/l2czyrG4J_g

Hello everyone--
I have finished the two rounds of Xeloda and need to get a PET scan tomorrow morning at 9:45, so please keep me in your thoughts & prayers for some good results. I am scheduled to start the clinical trial at Stanford next Thursday, the 19th. I'll let you know how things go.... Thanks again for your support!