The business and blessings of our Beckstead family.

Last weekend Sid finished his last dose of Oxillaplaton. Good riddance! Thanks for your help, but we're glad to see you go.  His scans gave us great news! The cancer is still contained to the original areas and they are all shrinking! In the words of Dr. Nevela, "Your prayers are working." This coming weekend Sid will start his new regimen. It will be a combo of chemo pills and a target/immuno therapy IV infusion. The infusions are every 3 weeks now instead of every 2. The side effects are supposed to be fairly mild overall. We are so grateful for that! Sid will continue to get scans and tests regularly and adjustments will be made as necessary.  We don't have a timeline to report since it's all individually based. We know that Sid is getting the best care possible, and that's good enough for me.  Thank you for your prayers. Each time I hear my kids pray for their dad it just.... It hits home in a wonderful, meaningful way. Every single time. I hope they are l...

I know many of you who read these posts have diligently checked for updates over the past while. I know you worry. Thank you, for loving us that much. There hasn't been anything "new" so I didn't feel it necessary to write anything. The last treatment was hard and heavy, but that's fairly normal that each new treatment has left his body feeling the effects more severely. This Friday will be treatment #8 for Sid. As I said before, the last one was noticably more difficult than any other. So - as you can imagine - no one is really eager for this next one.  It's redeeming quality, however, is that this one is somewhat of a milestone. We were told that this one would be the last chemo that included the Oxaliplatin. This is the drug that has caused the neuropathy and cold sensitivity. With it being January in northern Utah I'm sure it comes as no surprise that Sid will be glad to be rid of it. That's really the only "sure thing" we know right now....

I've been wanting to write a small post for about two weeks now. I wasn't sure where to start or even all I wanted to say. Last night my mom posted a beautiful message on Facebook and it just about covers it all. Here is what she wrote: "Several days ago, my daughter Taylee Beckstead noticed that there was a bandaid on the foot of her Christus statue. With a few questions she was able to discover that it was 3 year old Chloe who had noticed that Jesus had an owee on His foot. She knew that bandaids help fix owees, so she tried to help Him out. When she explained to her mother what she had done, she walked over to the statue and became aware that He didn't have just one wounded foot. He had "bad hurts" in both feet and both hands. Chloe promptly went to the bandaid box and brought enough to bandage all four wounds. No one has wanted to take them off because we were so touched by Chloe's desire to help. Sid was diagnosed with cancer in [September]. I...

At this point we have a pretty good idea of how things run. Today Sid braved the snow in the wee hours of the morning to head to the Huntsman where he finished up treatment #5. Physically he's going to feel rotten for a solid 4-5 days. By about Tuesday night or Wednesday morning he'll start to feel better and see continued, gradual improvements. About a week out (the weekend following treatments) most of his symptoms have resolved. His work has been awesome and very understanding. He works from home right after treatment and they are fine with him deciding how long after chemo he needs to do that before he feels up to going into the office again.  The weekend after treatments and the day or two afterwards are nice. But the relief of feeling well physically is tainted by the dread of starting it all over again in just a few days. I know he feels it very strongly on the day before and I've noticed high levels of stress and anxiety in myself on that Thursday knowing what's...

Sid finished his third round of treatment 3 days ago on Friday. The nausea and cold sensitivity have hit him hard. However, he held it together well enough to enjoy some football and the World Series. The outcome of the World Series may have contributed to some of his (our) discomfort, though. I'm amazed and proud of his strength and determination to fulfill his church duties to the best of his ability. His chemo schedule falls in such a way that the immediate Sunday after treatment he has extra meetings (Ward Council and Elder's Quorum presidency meeting) before the regularly held two hour block of church services. All three Sundays he has doned his suit and headed out the door early to catch every one of those meetings. I'm grateful that he is so willing to serve and I'm grateful for how his calling has given him the opportunity to escape his own head and worries in favor of helping others. Over the weekend there has been a prominent pain in his upper right abdomen. I...

 We're two treatments down now. Here's a general update of how it's going: -The first round we were bracing for it to be worst case scenario right away. That was not the case. We were so grateful. He had a lot of nausea but was able to mostly go about business as usual without it affecting things too much.  -The little amount of hair that Sid started this whole thing with us hanging in there and holding strong! -Chemo in general brings the main symptoms of nausea, tiredness, poor immunity, etc. Two symptoms that are specific to his drugs are neuropathy and cold sensitivity. Sid is experiencing this mostly in his hands and face. His hands tingle a lot and when they - or his face - are exposed to cold, it's painful. Last weekend we were out in the snow and the flakes stung when they landed on his face. Our house will be unusually warm this winter.  -The cold sensitivity is not limited to his exterior. If he eats or drinks anything cold it can cause spasms in his mouth and...

Sid's molecular study came back. The results led Sid's doctor to change the treatment plan. It will now include targeted therapy and immunotherapy alongside his chemo drugs. This is encouraging news as studies are showing good results with this combo of drugs. The target therapy attacks cells that contain a specific receptor. His cancer cells have this specific marker. It is also a lot less toxic than chemo. These drugs do come with risk in that they can have negative side affects on the heart; thus the echocardiogram today. We spoke with Sid's oncologist this morning. I'm happy with his efforts thus far. I trust him and honestly think he is doing his best for Sid.  We haven't ever heard of anyone that enjoyed chemo, but we're ready to get started. Not only does this game plan sound positive but we feel rejuvenated after a great weekend with family watching General Conference.  I feel my Savior's love In all the world around me His Spirit warms my soul Throu...