Fight, Fight, Fight

Keeping up the fight and holding on to hope is so important no matter what you are battling...

If Death Is Certain, How Do You Live?

Even Medical Professionals Struggle With the Death of Patients, Studies Show

things that make you go hmmm...

Scott saw one of his high school alums facebook status about hoping for a clean CT, so he emailed him and this is the response he got:

Yep, I am... colon cancer as well. You, me and Marc all have it--for our age that it is pretty improbable.. I blame the Amphi cafeteria. Maybe they were serving asbestos in the burritos.

I was diagnosed December 2006... In 2007 I was in the hospital for 14 weeks because of surgical complications and during that time it spread to my lungs. The good news is the chemo seems to be keeping it in check. Unfortunately, I am probably looking at a long term dependency on chemo.

I am glad to hear that you are still clear. That is great news. I think Marc is still doing well too. Take care!


How thoroughly odd...things that make you go hmmm...

Not an Option

Sometimes I will read something that gives me sort of an electric shock of reality. I was reading up on some colon cancer news and saw this:

"Stage II (Dukes B)

The 5-year survival rate for Dukes B colon cancer is 78%."

Now I know everyone will say..you can't focus on that. take it a day at time blah blah blah. I do for the most part, but occasionally I read something, or hear something, and for a moment it sets my sirens off. That # is not 100%, it is 78%. Scott is doing so well with chemo and all I keep focusing on is us getting back to our regularly scheduled lives. I never, well not until now, stop to even consider that our rate is not at 100%. It's not an option but it is scary when you do sit down for a quiet moment and consider it.

the 'Ultimate Game of Survivor'

Ethan Zohn Calls Cancer the 'Ultimate Game of Survivor'

You're in good hands

Lot's of catch up today in posts. Scott went in for a consult with the GI Dr who did his colonoscopy last year. He is due for this years. It is now scheduled for June 19th.

They had a good talk and Dr Crenshaw remembered him. We had only seen this dr one time and then the biopsy came back cancer, so we were referred to the surgeon, Dr Otchy. I thought it was really cool that the dr remembered us. He asked how I was doing and remembered how upset I was upon hearing the prognosis and the staff remembered meeting Nate. It's not often you get an office staff and Dr that actually recall meeting you and details when you only met with them one time. We are so lucky to have access to such a great selection of doctors in this area.

We met someone in NYC that works for the company that makes Avastin - the drug that Scotty is in the trial with. They said that our Dr at G'town, Dr Marshall, is considered a rock star in the world of colorectal cancer. It's very comforting know that we are in good hands.

the young ones...

Herzlich Diagnosed With Cancer
Sooners Legend Tisdale Dies at 44

Makes you wonder...

Goin back to Cali...

You know I realized I haven't really mentioned the Cali trip we took had which is so odd, because we had the best time. I think its because we hit the ground running when we got home and I haven't had a chance to reflect.

When we got in, we headed to Auntie Patti's house and then went to Ruby's on the pier for lunch and the kids insisted on going into the ocean with their clothes on!! Typical! We spent some more time with Auntie Patti and Unc Ric's and then headed to our hotel near Disneyland.

The next day, Scott went golfing with Lance and Patty, Ric, and the kids and I went to the Long Beach Aquarium which was a ton of fun. The kids then spent the evening with Patty and Ric and Scott and I went off to the Rehearsal Dinner for our friends Lance and Suzanne (Suzance) wedding. We sat with Chip and Michelle, old friend's from Tucson.




We picked up the kids and went back to the hotel. The next day, we dropped off the kids at Aunt Patti's once again. Auntie Jennifer and Little Jen came from Tucson as well. Scott had to go get pics taken with the wedding party. I went and got ready for the wedding and met Scott at the hotel where the wedding was. What a great hotel it was too. Very Tuscan feel to it.

The wedding was beautiful. Suzanne looked so pretty and I loved that she added a deep purple sash to her dress. They are so happy and in love. It was also our wedding anniversary so what a more fitting way to celebrate for us but at a wedding. Lance was at our wedding 11 years ago! We had such a great time it was sad to see it come to an end. Thanks Lance and Suzanne for letting us celebrate your happiness with you! Best wishes and may you be as happy as Scott and I!!


The next day, we went to California Adventures for a bit and then back to the Jones's to meet up with more Mahaffey family! Yeah! We had fun meeting Unc Mike's wonderful lady and seeing Allysen and Chris, Kimberly and their new baby McKenzie. What a nice way to spend an evening.

The next day we went to Disneyland! Yeah! We had a super fun time going on all the rides. We did make the mistake of taking Nate on Space Mountain and he came off the thing crying his head off. So lesson learned: he is tall enough but may not be old enough to ride on something like that.
We did of course have a blast.

This was Nate's first time at the Dland and we tried to make it special - but for the Hoaglund's, anything Disney is just special by default. We are talking about Scotty here! Scott took them on Star Tours, which for him, made his favorite ride even more now that he can share it with both kids. We all sent on Soarin' which was so cool. !

In the evening, we met up with the Jones's and Mahaffey's once again and this time got to see Kristin! Yay

I am leaving out a ton of stuff because we packed in so much in the 5 short days we were there. The kids got to go to the beach, swimming, an Angel's game, the park, ride in the convertible, spend a ton of time with our family, Eat at In-n-Out burger. It was such a great trip, but man we packed so much in there, that it's hard to remember it all.

New York City

Scott & I had a great time in NYC. We spent time with good friends in a great city. Something we need to be better aware of though is to take it easy. We both love NYC so much, that we get caught up in it and ended up doing too much walking. Normal situations, we would be fine aside from the aching feet. Cancer situations, Scott overdid it.



We got in on Thursday evening around 630p, checked in the room and Scott rested a bit. Then we headed out to take the ferry into NYC and meet up with some friends at a bar for dinner and drinks. We headed back to the hotel and were in bed by 1030p. I know Scott was concerned about making sure he had enough energy to make it through tomorrow hence the early night.




Friday morning, we got up, had $12 eggs and toast (normal hotel price for NYC area) and drove into the city to check into hotel #2. Scott was nervous driving into the city but he did great. It is CRAZY though. We parked in front of the hotel in Times Square, checked in, and then headed to Central Park for the wedding. We should have cabbed it but got swept up in the spirit of New York and ended up walking from Times Square to the cherry hill section of Central Park where the wedding was at 1p. After the wedding, we cabbed it back to the hotel to rest before the 5p cocktail hour at the restaurant in Chelsea called Mason's. We wanted to find some pizza since we were starving and ended up once again getting swept up in the frenzy and walked too far, but did finally manage to get a taxi the rest of the way to reception. We were worn out already but had a great time dancing, eating great food, and spending time with our friends. The plan was to go out afterward but Scott was super tired and we headed back to the hotel and were in bed by 11p.


We got up Saturday morning, had breakfast, got some souvenirs for the kids, got our car and headed back to No Va. All in all it was a good trip.


Sometimes it's hard to remember that Scotty isn't 100%. You could totally tell he was exhausted on Saturday evening and on Sunday. We really didn't rest all that much and it took its toll. He has a bad chest cold and is home sick.

How Many People Will Have Cancer in 2030?

How Many People Will Have Cancer in 2030?

Cancer incidence among minorities in the United States will double over the next two decades, from about 330,000 cases today to about 660,000 cases by the year 2030, a new study projects.

Scotty's story in his own words

Scott had to write something up for the recent fundraiser that AOL did for the American Cancer Society -- this is the first time I got to read it..and thought I would share it here:

Personal Story: Scotty Hoaglund

By Scotty Hoaglund

In the summer of 2008, my worst fears were confirmed when the pathology from a biopsy taken from a mass in my colon during a colonoscopy said I had colorectal cancer. I was very scared, depressed and didn't want to talk about it at the time. My wife and I told our close friends, our team members at work and our family members. All were in shock. We made a decision that we were going to remain positive and kick this cancer's butt using modern medicine, the power of positive thinking (be it prayer or whatever you want to label it) and humor.

I had surgery to remove the mass which was successful, and the doctors determined that the cancer had not spread to other organs or lymph nodes. While I was recovering from surgery, I was referred to a clinical trial at Georgetown Hospital where I was accepted and randomized into a test to receive a drug that is not yet approved for use on stage 2 patients like myself. I have completed 14 sessions of chemo treatment over the last seven months and have ten more sessions to go, but who is counting. I have made it through the worst and I am getting better everyday.

Getting through the treatments has been extremely difficult mentally and physically, and it has made me realize how important friends and family are. My wife Stephanie has been a Wonder Woman through this all by taking me to treatments, keeping the household running, dealing with the kids, and millions of other things I may not even know about. My wonderful kids, Hannah and Nate, are a joy and reminder of what we are fighting for. Our amazing friends, who we consider family, help us with household chores, watch the kids when needed and would do anything to help us out.

Then there is my AOL family. Over the past 14 plus years of my career here at AOL, I have met some of the smartest, most funny and most giving people on Earth. It is very comforting to know that I have the support of my management, team and coworkers for the biggest fight of my life, and for that I am extremely thankful.

Ch-ch-ch changes...

We arrived as usual to chemo on Friday. We met with a Fellow who went through Scott's progress etc. -- I found out a Fellow is someone who is all done with med school and residency, and is now doing his work in his specialty. We reviewed some of Scott's neuropathy symptoms etc. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Dr. M came in to talk to us. He mentioned that a pre-release of a parallel study came out -- the whole study is due to be released end of May/early July. The pre-release intimated that the Avastin was not producing the wanted results. Although in this study there were many subgroups and to find out exactly what the results are, you need to wait until its fully released. So they want to put Scott's chemo on hold for at least a month to see what the results of the study are. Dr M said he has more anxiety keeping him on the drug than having him go off for a month. When put like that, how can you argue really.