On the Upswing

Following the final chemo session Steve returned to the hospital for some TLC from nurse Jennifer. Got out Monday June 29 and has been resting at home since. Steve is in good spirits, looking good, moving around quite a bit. Seems to have a overwhelming need for Hawaiian pancakes from I-hop? Didn't get that one done!

Kelly has been cooking up a storm in the kitchen, preparing some yummy meals and some stuff for the freezer. That is when she isn't driving all over Southern Cal getting to the outlet malls.

Me, I've been tending to the putting green and the wine!

Steve and I did contact the American Cancer Society today regarding a transportation program they offer. Our initial discussions with this group left some questions as to the utility of this service. I will follow up for more details.

Rick B is here from Toronto from July 3 to July 10.

IMPORTANT: The visitor/driver/drop-in and say "Hi" board is empty after July 10.

Need volunteers (preferably local, winter is approaching in Canada) to sign up for some driving, errands, light chores duty for a few weeks after July 10.

Notwithstanding Steve's optimisim, he will need some help at that time, and for a while after.

I think I hear the Wolf Pack howling!

Contact Bill G at dr.bill@wildblue.net or George I. at (714) 863-3704 to schedule a few hours or a period of time where you can cover a few lifts or chores.

Thanks.

Chem-O-ver...and out.

From the desk of Doctor Perrier:


First of all I would like to thank Dr. Derek Shackle for his work with Steve the week before I arrived. Although the medical community is still split on the usefulness of "BEER" as a cancer cure-all, I sensed that there were some positive results from his treatment. I tried to follow up this experiment with a "greener" drug but have not had any luck just yet.
Steve took his last round of chemotherapy today and is back home cheering on Mike Weir in the US Open as I type. He is tired but in good spirits , so I should take this opportunity to take a cribbage game from him (we are tied 4-4 and Steve has won all his games while hooked up to the
chemo in the hospital ?). I don't have any "red or whiteblood stats" or "platelette" updates as I don't understand that stuff much...I will leave that in the hands of my esteemed colleague Dr. Tom Gardiner who arrives later next week to help out. Other than that it will be a weekend of rest for Steve -so that he can cook me breakfast in bed for Fathers Day on Sunday...I think it's the least that he could do, no?
Hope you all have a nice weekend ...

Dr. P

June 8th Update from Derek Shackell

HI Guys I arrived here in SoCal Sunday. Took Steve to his apptmnt yesterday , his numbers are very good , WBC 9.70 , Platelets 72.1 , Creotine - Dr. Hamburg was very happy with. Round 4 begins 15June. I asked if there would be a Round 5 , "Absolutely not , this is an aggressive cancer , therefore we treat it aggressively " Steevers is looking good , George was very happy with his progress. Steve had a big lunch ( Double Cheeseburger & Strawberry shake ) & an excellent pasta dinner that Susie had prepared., We gotta get the calories in him ! He was up moving around , blowing the leaves off his putting green , so I am giving you all fair warning , he's getting ready to lay a beating on you guys at the Humes Tourney. He is in very good spirits , and gaining strength rapidly . He is very much looking forward to moving ahead to Round 4. Although he was hospitalized last Friday , what seemed like bad news at the time , was really a great decision by his caregivers , it has allowed him to keep moving forward. I will be leaving Saturday , picking up Paul , Friday. Best Regards Derek

Hospital Stay/Coverage/Blood Needed - May 31 Update

To Everyone,

After a very tough week, Stephen had to be re-admitted to the hospital on Friday (May 29th) - likely for 3-5 days. The principle reason is that his blood counts are low and his kidneys are under severe stress, having had to absorb so much chemo over the last two weeks. Hopefully he will be out early this week. Despite all of this Stephen remains in very good spirits. A temporary readmittance is not unusual for patients in Stephen's situation.

In terms of coverage we have Tom Gardiner coming down from June 27 - July 2, and Richard Bluteau returning for yet another visit July 3 - July 10. Thank you Tom and Ric for these commitments. If you pr anyone you know can cover for any the remaining weeks of July please let me know at dr.bill@wildblue.net

Stephen is still in need of your blood and platelettes. If you have time to donate, please call Cedars-Sinai to make an appointment @ (310) 423-5346. And again, please be sure to let them know that you're doing this for Steven Grevatt.

Thanks very much,
Bill Grevatt

May 20 Update - Good News!

Hi Everyone,

Very good news. Stephen started his third round of chemotherapy early, this past Monday, which means if all goes well, he could be finished his fourth and last round by mid-June.

Also, Mike Grevatt will be covering from June 2-June 6, so we're looking good for coverage right up until June 25th at this point.

Thanks again to everyone who is coming down for their week or two tour of duty, and to many more for their continuing support.

Bill G.

May 13th Update

To Everyone,

Stephen would like again to thank everyone for the great support he's receiving. He is recovering well from Round 2 of the chemo and is on track feeling better each day.

We are doing very well in the "coverage" department with so many committed individuals.
Following is the upcoming schedule of who will be helping Steve out over the nex two months:

May 9 - 15 - Hartley Barber
May 15 - 21 - Rick Bluteau
May 21 - May 23 - George & Carol
May 24 - 27 - Brendan Grevatt
May 28 - 29 - George & Susan
May 29 - June 3 - Brian Humes
June 3 - June 7 - Need coverage
June 7 - June 13 - Derek Shackell
June 11 - June 25 - Paul Perrier
June 26 - July 3 - Need coverage

Thanks again,
Bill

May 6th Update - Stephen's Status/Coverage

To All,

Stephen is doing well this week recovering strength from last week's second round of chemo. His brother Mike is here this week helping him out.

Derek (Costa Rica) Shakell has committed to coming down to be with Steve from June 7th - June 14. Thank you Derek and go Bruins (at least until they meet the Ducks)!

This means that the following dates are still left uncovered:

May 21 - May 28

June 4 - 7

June 15 - 30

Please let me know at: dr.bill@wildblue.net if you or anyone you know may be albe to cover these dates.

Thanks very much,
Bill Grevatt

April 30th Update

To All,

I want to let everyone know that Brian Humes will be coming down from Toronto to stay with Stephen from May 29th until June 3rd. Many thanks to Brian for this commitment.

The following dates are not yet covered:

May 22-May 28

June 4 - June 30

If you or anyone you know can cover any of these dates, please e-mail me at: dr.bill@wildblue.net

In the meantime Steve has now completed four of five days of his current (2nd round) of chemotherapy. He will be finished tomorrow and then have at least three weeks rest to regain his strength before the 3rd round of chemo begins. It's been a long week but everything is good with Brian G. taking him to all his treatment sessions in Beverly Hills.

Will follow up with more details soon.

Thanks very much,
Bill Grevatt

April 27 Update

Hi all,

I don't know who is in touch with Steve daily or weekly so I thought I would send an update. Maybe you have already received the news, in any case:
1- Steve has been gaining strength daily.2-He visited his Doc yesterday and all is good. So good that he is going to receive his second round of chemo next week. It seems it will be 5 day visits, with 3-5 hours of chemo every visit. Starts Monday.3- Since being home his attitude has changed. He is in much better spirits than the last week in the Hospital.4-Unfortunately,during his visit he was told he cannot have beer or wine. He was not happy he asked.5-Next week could be a tough on for Steve. let's keep in touch with him when we can.6-I know there are always rooms availibe in Orange county should you choose to get away for a few days. Check the blog for availible times.FYI,
Richard

April 22 Blog - Coverage for April - May

To All:

This is to let everyone know that Hartley Barber and Richard Bluteau will be coming down to help out Stephen the weeks of May 8 - May 15 and May 15 to May 21 respectively.

Thanks to Hartley and Richard for this committment.

If you or anyone else you know is interested in covering for any remaining weeks in May or June, please let me know at:

dr.bill@wildblue.net

Cheers,
Bill G

Good News - Hospital Discharge Today, April 16!

Great News!

Stephen is being discharged today from Cedars' Sinai Hospital (Thursday, April 16th.).

George is picking him up to drive him home to the city of Orange. He will have his blood counts monitored via doctor's appoinments on a weekly basis. The second round of chemotherapy will get started depending on those blood counts being at appropriate levels.

Brian Grevatt will be down from Montreal from tomorrow April 17th until Friday, May 1st to stay with Steve and bring him to his doctor's appointments/treatment sessions.

Michael Grevatt will be down the following week, May 1 - May 8 to do the same.

Please let us know if you (or anyone you know) might be available to cover for any remaning weeks in May (May 9 - 31).

Thanks very much,
Bill Grevatt

April 8th Update on Stephen

Hi,

I just wanted to give everyone the latest update on Stephen.

1. The chemo-therapy is working very well so far.

2. Steve's white blood count is down and it usually takes 10 - 28 days after chemo for the count to get back up where it needs to be. The white blood cells are important in order to fight infections.

3. As a result Steve is receiving some antibiotics to combat the threat of any new infections.

4. Claude and Sandra Moreau will be visiting this long weekend from Montreal (April 10 - 13) and will help Steve out around the house should he be discharged from the hospital.

5. It is not unusual for patients in Steve's situation to be delayed returning home, as there are a lot of factors that need to be stabilized first.

Happy Easter,
Bill G.

Care for Month of April & Further Discharge Delay

To All,

I just wanted to let everyone know that our brother Brian has booked to come down from April 17th - May 1 to drive Steve to his doctor's appointments/treatment sessions and help him out around the house.

Between now and then, should Steve be discharged from the hospital, there are a number of volunteer drivers from the Orange City area (the Wolfpack) who can drive Steve to his appointments.

Right now, a high temperature, low platelete counts, and acid reflux are working against a discharge from the hospital.

In terms of visiting Steve in the hospital, support for him is great, but so that he doesn't get overly tired and to see if we can make sure he has a visitor each day, we'd like to develop a visiting calendar. So if you want to visit Steve in the next couple of weeks, please let us know at dr.bill@wildblue.net what day(s) you're available by Monday, April 6th. We can then set up and post a calendar the next day.

Once he's discharged, we can develop and post a schedule of who can drive him to appointments and do other errands as needed.

Thanks again for everyone's support and understanding.

Bill Grevatt

Your Blood Needed!

Steven could use your blood and platelettes!

To give, call Cedars-Sinai to make an appointment @ (310) 423-5346. Be sure to let them know that you're doing this for Steven Grevatt.

Thanks so much!

To Everyone,

I just want to thank everyone for your support and encouragement. It's been a long couple of weeks but the first round of chemo will be over Monday and I should be able to go home Tuesday.

Then I'll have twenty days off the chemo before the second round. They'll be four rounds of chemo in all.

Keep in touch,

Steve

P.S. I was talking with Bert yesterday Bloom and we figured it took us at least two years to teach you to pass the puck!

To All,

I want to thank everyone who has signed up to follow this blog and hope you will post whatever message you may have for Steve.

Thank you as well for all the e-mail messages. For the sake of time, I can't always respond to them all, but please know they are very much appreciated.

Bill G.

Definitions and Research on Burkitt's Leukemia/Lymphoma

To find out more about Burkitt's Leukemia/Lymphoma go to:

http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=256548

http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?searchTxt=epstein-barr+virus&sgroup=Starts+with&lang=

http://www.webtie.org/sots/Meetings/Leukemia/05-12-2003/transcripts/16/transcript.htm

Discharge Delayed

To Stephen's Friends and Family,

This is the first "posting" for Stephen's blog. As some of you may have seen in George's e-mail, Steve was delayed in going home as his treatment doctor (Dr. Solomon Hamburg) felt that the treatment was going well, but that he wanted to be cautious and keep Steve under close supervision until next Tuesday.

Will keep everyone posted,

Bill Grevatt