Great News....Its Shrinking!

This is the Radiation department gals...they LOVED Jared! After his 33 treatments they gave him a blanket and a certificate and LOTS of hugs! He wanted to bring them in some donuts to say thanks! Jared was able to touch a lot of peoples lives, also having radiation. He was an inspiration!

I decided to take you on a journey of what we do and see each time we go to the Huntsman Center. Outside we drive up to the front and guys are waiting to valet park our car. They are college boys, and they are not allowed to take tips of any kind. Above there's a shot of the main entrance. The Radiation department is straight ahead. The Neuro-oncology department is up the stairs on the second floor. Once were upstairs we got to Clinic E. We check in and then go to Clinic Lab (blood drawn) first, just down the hall.

Then a nurse takes Jared's weight, blood pressure, and temperature...what a good sport!

Here is the Clinic E waiting room. Its NEVER this empty. Its usually CHUCK FULL of people waiting! Our appointment was at 8:00 am so we were the first appointment of the day.

Here we are waiting.....I guess even when your first, you still have to wait!

K so Jared's MRI from November is on the left (before his biopsy) and the MRI on the right is from yesterday. The tumor is the whitish cloudy-lookin' stuff. Its kinda hard to tell, because the brain slices don't always match up exactly, but his tumor is smaller on the right. The big black dot at the bottom is from his original biopsy in 1999. its a pocket of fluid. The doctors aren't worried about it, its not harming him and its just brain fluid.

This is Barbie, one of the nurses. She is soo fun! We love to see her. She always teases Jared and gives him a hard time!

This is John Conley, PhD. Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He is such a great guy! He has been their for Jared since the beginning...11 years ago. A really sweet guy! He asked Jared and I if we would consider being in a group with other people with Brain Tumors. He thinks Jared's story would help inspire others. He isn't a member of the church, but he always tells us that their is something different about us. He says its a feeling we carry with us. But we know its the gospel and our Eternal Perspective on life!

Jared with Sean Strope PA-C. He works alongside Dr. Coleman as his assistant. He has been really helpful. Always takes the time to find out how we are doing.

Jared with Dr. Howard Coleman MD PhD. He is Jared's Neuro-Oncologist. This guy is soo smart. He came to Huntsman last summer from Texas. We like to think of him as a Scientist. Just brilliant! A really great guy!
We know that we are soo blessed to be at the Huntsman Center and associated with these amazing people who have blessed our lives. They truly are wonderful!

This saying sits on the front counter in Clinic E. I LOVE what it says. Basically Cancer is just a thing...it cant control us!

We went back to the Huntsman Center this morning to find out the results of Jared's MRI taken yesterday. As we met with Dr. Coleman He delivered the Great News! Jared's Tumor is shrinking! We were actually really surprised (and soo was the doctor) that you could see it shrinking. Usually it takes a full month or two after ending Radiation before you can start to see a difference. He also said that Jared's blood levels were that of a normal person. Ha Ha! I mean, they weren't low at all, right where they needed to be. We were soo Happy & Grateful!
Jared will have a little bit of a break, and start Chemo again on Monday March 7th. And then we will go back to see Dr. Coleman at the end of the month on March 29th. So until then Jared can have a normal life for awhile!

All Done!

Yea! Jared had his last Radiation treatment this morning! I cant believe he is done! The nurses up at Huntsman were soo cute to him! They gave him a blanket and a certificate of completing his 33 treatments along with lots of hugs! I told him I think a few of them had the hots for him and his bald head! He also got to bring home his scary mask that he wore every day during radiation. I still think its creepy! Every time I went to treatments with him (which was just a few times) other patients would talk to Jared like they were long lost friends. It was amazing to see the effect that Jared had made on these other patients. He was always soo positive and happy to see everyone. And because he felt soo great, Im sure he was an inspiration to others who were struggling. There was one cute older guy, Jared would tease him because they were at about the same place in their treatments, but this older guy hadnt lost any of his hair, and here Jared was completely bald. ha ha! Jared was just a great sport, about all of it, and so he could joke about it! Hopefully his hair will grow back..it might take a few months...we'll see!
We go next monday..Valentines day, for his MRI. Then on tuesday we meet with Dr. Coleman for the results from his MRI. We are very Hopeful, that it will be good news! We will keep you posted!
Thanks again for all the Love & Prayers!

Stoddard Family...

The famous Hoopernacle..owned by Jared's uncle Hal

This was the house in Hooper Jared lived in, his uncle Hal was right next door

Jared with Hal

The kids love to play in uncle Hals playhouse

Jared with his sister Angie

Jared with his mom Karen

Hal, Jared, Karen, Angie & her daughter Jessica...can you tell its freezing!

A couple of days ago we took a trip out to Hooper where Jared was born and his family lived til he was about 5 years old. Because Jared's dad & older brother Scott were killed when Jared was 6, He has always been close to his dads brother Hal Stoddard. Hal is just about the greatest guy you could ever meet! Very humble and full of love! He still lives in Hooper with his darling wife Joyce. Jared loves to go out and visit them, because if you know Jared, Jared is a true country boy through and through and would love to live out in the middle of nowhere..not that Hooper is nowhere..its just a great quiet little town. So to him Hooper is home. Here are some of the pictures we took that day.

The Final Stretch....

WOW! We are down to the final week of Jared's Radiaion & Chemotherapy. His 33 treatments of Radiation will end on Monday February 7th. It seems like its been soo long since the Biopsy, it truly is amazing how fast time flies! There isnt any new news. Jared is still doing just Great! That has been the most amazing part of all! We just kept bracing ourselves for him to get sick...but it never happened. I think only 3 times has he told me he felt a little tired. And thats about it. He has felt great, and looks great! Even with his bald head..ha ha! He has also felt strong in his left leg..he's running up the stairs! Its been really amazing. We will go in for an MRI on Monday February 14th and meet with Dr. Coleman. After the MRI we will beable to see what the tumor is doing. Hopefully it shows some sign of shrinking. The Radiation will stay in his body for a couple of months, so his tumor could continue to shrink. He will continue to be on the Chemo, just not every day, probably 5 days out of the month.
Again, we thank you all for your prayers...we feel soo blessed!