Well, awhile back he has been switched over to a different chemo-drug, one that doesn't give him the cold sensitivity side-effect. They switched it to a stronger drug, but after about 5 weeks or so of failed administrations of that one (turns out the side effects of that one was worse than the little bit of good it offers), he was switched to the chemo-drug he's on now (I don't have the names of these, BTW). Due to the 5 weeks or so of not getting dosage/full dosage of chemo, despite his numbers balancing out, the CT scan showed that some tumors didn't show any growth, and others nearly doubled in size. He's on a new drug that is administered every Friday instead of bi-weekly, but it's effects are a rash and skin-irritant. They administer it with some dosages of Benadryl, but as the week wears on and the Benadryl runs out, he gets lots of sores and is covered head to toe in a rash. He said it's amazing how fast the rash/sores go away as soon as they start his Benadryl IV though.

As a result of missing some work and the medical bills (he's an owner operator truck driver, thus has no insurance), my parents were pretty much forced to sell their house and will be moving in the basement of my grandparents (step-mom's parents). And it also sounds like he'll have to sell his big rig as the costs of being an owner-operator have skyrocketed (especially with him having to miss so many days of work).

The family's goal is and has been to make sure he doesn't worry about the financial issues (which is something that is obviously hard for him not to worry about) and just worry about keeping himself healthy and put the cancer into remission.

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sorry to hear this Formo.

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Merry belated Christmas, all!

Thanks for the update, Jeremy. I'm deeply sorry to hear that things are not going better for your dad. And definitely sorry to hear about the unwanted side effects that are piling on top of the cancer symptoms. I had been hoping for better news.

I don't know how much you've checked into cancer treatment trials. The national cancer institute has a guide to finding trials. Some trials want you to start before starting other treatment, but others accept patients that have already been treated for cancer and are looking for new treatment options.

http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learningabout/treatment-trial-guide/page1 

I expect you've probably already looked into trials and I realize odds are I'm not being helpful. If so, I apologize.

Damn Formo, I can really empathize with the chemo stuff, although I hear children like Mia handle the shit better than adults. I wish you had better news on the reduction of those tumors though - it definitely would be discouraging.

As far as the financial stuff, please don't be offended, but situations like your Dad's is what bankruptcy was meant to be for instead of asstards who recklessly rack up frivilous credit. There is no dishonor in it in your Dad's situation, but that's all up to him. Again, I do not wish to offend you. I know Mia's costs are into 7 figures now and Julie and I each have a BCBS family medical policy (thank God). Although we've had a lot of out of pocket costs it has been manageable, and our church did a benefit to eliminate our worries. The last thing a cancer patient needs is extra stress with medical bills.

And I don't care what anybody says about Obamacare - I'm for it because it means Mia gets to carry health care for the rest of her life, and so too Formo should your Dad be.

I'll keep praying for him, man!

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wow jeremy. i too am so sorry to hear the latest about your dad. please give him a big hug from me. i've been checking his blog but totally understand the lack of updates. to be honest, i was almost afraid to ask you what's been happening but i'm glad you shared everything with us. i will continue to pray for him & your family.