Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Transitioning

Fede has transitioned to comfort care. He is comfortable and not in pain.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Again in the hospital

Fede was admimitted again to the hospital on Thursday evening. He was at his doctors office for a quick check and he started getting episodes of vomiting, nausea and pain in his liver. His doctor decided to admit him right away. He was scheduled to have a procedure the next day anyways so his doctor wanted him to be monitored. When he got to the hospital he had another episode and went through the worst experience so far. They tried to stabilize him and help relieve his pain. After awhile he was stable and able to rest for the night.
He had another endoscopy Friday afternoon to remove the temporary stent that was placed a few weeks ago and to look further into his bile ducts to once again try to find the cause of this liver not draining. His doctor found that a tumor in the liver was pressing on the bile duct and squeezing it off. The doctor thinks that this is the cause of the blockage. He cleaned out that area and placed a metal stent there to hopefully help it drain. The other arm of the duct might also be blocked and after they monitor him this week, he might need another stent put into the other part of the bile duct. The good news is that we finally have an answer to his problem and that they know that the tumor was causing the problem. When they didn't find anything else wrong the last time he was in the hospital, his oncologist had to assume that is was the cancer and wanted to start treating it right away. So now that is seems that was the case, he is already on treatment and hopefully we will start seeing results soon. Best case senario would be that the bile is draining now because of the stent. His bilirubin was extremely high but his doctor said his liver is still functioning.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Never loose Hope. Nunca perder las Esperanzas

On Monday of last week I was released from the hospital. They have preformed all the diagnostic tests possible to help determine the cause of my pain and the reason my liver is not functioning well. They have revived me with IV nutrition TPN. They studied my blood results and prepared a solution especially designed for me to give me all the vitamins and minerals that I was lacking. Even lipids (fat).

English
I arrived at the hospital in a serious situation. I could not eat and could not handle the pain in my back and stomach any longer. I had lost a lot of weight in a short time.
After all the possible tests were done looking at my digestive track all the results came back negative. Everything seemed to be fine. They could not find anything wrong and assumed that it could be the cancer blocking the ducts in the liver. The CT scans showed that the tumors in my liver were stable but that the cancer cells are so small that they could have grown into the ducts and was possibly not detectable on the scans. My liver was still functioning but it was not draining. And this was causing the strong pains because the ducts were blocked and the bilirubin was backing up in my system and causing all kinds of terrible symptoms. Hard to imagine but the pain was intolerable and radiated all over my upper body from my chest to my back.
Many days passed without knowing what was causing all of this. The doctors at Hoag Hospital worked around the clock on my case coming throughout the day to visit me and give me the latest results of the tests still not knowing what was the cause. At the same time the bilirubin in my body was going up everyday. When I entered the hospital it was at 4, normal is under 1. By the end of my stay in the hospital it was up to 17. Finally last Friday, December 2nd my doctors came and gave me the news that it seemed to be the cancer causing the problem and that I needed to start chemo as soon as possible to kill these cells and to open these ducts that carry the bilirubin from the liver to the intestines. Sunday I received the first infusion of this chemo that has 3 new drugs that I have never had before. I am now home and it feels like the recuperation will be very slow. I feel that my body is very tired and fatigued all day. I can walk but very slowly. Anyways I try everyday to go on a short walk.
It was very difficult to be in the hospital especially the first week when they gave me the IV nutrition and fluids. And not knowing what was wrong with me. I had to have a lot of patience and to be honest I was very worried that the problem was with my liver and that it wasn't functioning well. It was very serious what was happening and If they couldn't find an answer there weren't many options left. And every time that this fear passed through my head I would turn to Him, who takes away my fears, doubts, and makes me feel peace again and strengthens my hope, God.
This new chemo regimen that I have never had before, is the only solution they have now to help my liver.
Today I had more chemotheraphy and this coming up Friday I am having another endoscopy to remove the stemt that was placed in the main duct that goes from the liver to the intestine.
As soon as I have some news I will share it with you.

God Exists
Federico

SPANISH

Hacen unos 9 días fue mi ultima día de internacion en el Hospital. Fueron casi 2 semanas ahí donde me revivieron con alimentacion por zonda donde me infiltraban con todo
lo que se veia que me faltaba que me faltaba en la sangre como ser minerales y vitaminas y otras sustancias.
Acá llegue en un estado de emergencia donde ya no podía comer mas y no soportaba los dolores en la espalda y en el pecho. Había perdido mucho peso en muy poco días.
Después de que me hicieran todos los examenes médicos que existen para todo el sistema digestivo y que todos dieran negativos, es decir que todos salieron bien.
No se encontró nada malo, los medicos dedujeron que lo que me estaba pasando era que el cancer se había ido a otras partes del hígado pero no se puedo ver nada en los estudios por se tan pequeñas estas células cancerigenas pero suficientemente grandes para bloquear el pasaje de la bilis a el conducto principal que la transporta hacia el intestino donde se comienza a producir la digestión. Y esto me ocasionaba los dolores fortísimos que sentía porque al cerrarse muchos de los conductos chiquitos que drenan la bilis del hígado, se hinchan y esto aunque me cueste creerlo, producen un dolor que es inaguantable que se esparce hacia otras zonas del pecho y de la espalda.
Fueron varios días sin saber que es lo que estaba causando todo esto. Los doctores de este Hospital no pararon de trabajar en mi caso, venían todo el tiempo a informarme como iban todos los estudios y que se había visto y siempre escuchaba que no sabían todavía que era. A la vez la bilirrubina en mi cuerpo iba aumentando todo los días y sigue aumentando.
Finalmente el viernes pasado que fue el 2 de Diciembre, me vinieron a dar la confirmación que era aumento del cancer en el hígado la causa de este problema y que tenia que empezar con quimioterapia lo antes posible para matar esas células y así poder abrir esos conductos que transportan bilis hacia el intestino.
El Domingo me dieron la primer quimioterapia compuesta por 3 drogas nuevas que nunca me las habían dado antes.
Ahora ya en casa siento que la recuperación va muy despacio. Siento mi cuerpo muy cansado todo el día, puedo caminar pero muy lento, igual lo hago y trato de hacerlo todos los días y lo mas que pueda. MI seguro medico me puedo mandar un fisio terapeuta y ya muy pronto y no tengo que pagar nada, me lo cubre totalmente mi seguro.
Fueron días muy dificiles en el Hospital principalmente la primer semana, cuando me alimentaron con fluidos nada mas y por vena. y no saber hasta mas o menos el octavo día, que era lo que tenia, que es lo que estaba causando todo esto. Tuve que tener mucha paciencia y no lo voy a ocultar, me vino miedo varias veces por saber que el problema estaba en el hígado y no se encontraba funcionando bien y que era muy serio lo que me estaría ocurriendo y que si no me podían solucionar esto entonces podría pasar lo peor. Y cada vez que esto me pasaba por mi cabeza recurrí siempre a El, el que me ayuda en los momentos dificiles a discipar de mi cuerpo el miedo, las dudas, y me da paz y fortalece aun mas mis esperanzas, Dios.

Esta quimioterapia con 3 drogas que nunca antes me las habían dado, es el único método que tienen por ahora para solucionar este problema en mi hígado.
Ni bien tenga alguna notica nueva de todo esto, se los voy a comunicar.

Dios Existe

Federico

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Latest News

Fede was admitted to the hospital on November 23rd. He has been in the hospital for one week now. Fede was having pain that was increasingly getting worse over the past month and a half. His doctors thought that it was muscular and joint pain and were treating him for that. The pain was unbearable in his back and stomach. He was also having problems eating. After a few bites of food he was getting nausea and all of these strange symptoms. He was loosing weight fast. His doctor ordered an MRI of his back to rule out cancer in his bones. It came back clear. A week and half ago he had an endoscopy and it also came back good. Not even any sign of the original tumor in his esophagus. His blood work was fine. But we knew something was terribly wrong. Finally by last Wednesday we went to his doctor and he took one look at Fede and admitted him directly to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital his blood results showed an elevated bilirubin. They thought it might be his gallbladder. They went in on Thursday and put a stent into his bile duct to help the bilirubin flow better. They discoverd that that was only a small part of the problem. Fede's ducts in his liver seem to be not funtioning well and therefore the bile is not being processed and instead is backing up into his system.
Fede has now been undergoing every test possible. He has had another MRI, ct scans, blood tests, urine and fecal tests and today he has a biopsy of his liver. Tomorrow he will have an colonoscopy. They want to make sure they are checking every possible cause. He is taking a medicine to help thin out the bile so that is flows better but their big concern is his liver. They were hoping that after the stent was placed his bilirubin would start to come down to normal but it has not and it has gone up a little higher each day. The rest of his liver enzymes are almost back to normal and that is good news, meaning that the liver is still functioning. The main problem is with the ducts and the bile not draining. He is jaundice with the bile backing up in his system. And his is also retaining fluid in his abdomen which is very uncomfortable. They are in the middle of these tests so we still don't have any solid answers.
Fede is still optimistic and full of hope. But he knows that this is a hard road. He is at Hoag hospital in Newport Beach and is being treated very well. He wants to get back home to his family but also wants to make sure the doctors find the cause of this problem.
Thank you all for your prayers,support and encouragement. Fede really appreciates your friendship! He is not giving up hope and we pray for a miracle!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Everyday is a new gift of life. Cada día es un regalo mas de vida

It has been a while since I wrote the last time. It is not that I don't want to write anymore , but it is not easy to find time to do it.
I had my last chemotherapy session more than a month ago. Two weeks after that I had a scan and it showed that it is everything stable..
For now I am going to start getting only one chemotherapy drug every 2 weeks for maintenance. And my doctors will keep a close eye on things. This will be a break for my body to recover a little.
I was expecting to start feeling good once I was off of full chemotherapy, but I have not been feeling well..
Strong pains in my back and chest started to occur all day long and getting worse at night. I didn't have these pains in the last 7 months of chemo this year.

My doctor explained to me that chemotherapy also works as a big anti-inflammatory drug and once you stop with it and the drugs in the body ware off, then pains in the body could reappear if there was a problem before in the muscles and joints.
I've been taking anti-inflamatory drugs and sometimes I need to take medicine to stop the pain so I can sleep good at night.
I want to start being more intense with yoga which I believe it is going to help me to heal this muscular and joint problem.


If you are not going through any health issue, this is a great opportunity to take better care of your body adding to it more energy by eating healthier foods and working out to make it more flexible and more oxygenated.
Some people have asked me to write about some good tips for nutrition and some good recipes for food. It is very simple. You do not have to complety change all the meals you are used to eating . We have to eat the same but with whole foods, the most organic possible with no GMO (genetic modified) and without MSG.
If you like to eat at fast food places, know that all the food they use to cook there has MSG, nothing is made with whole foods, a lot of their food is GMO and all the meats contain hormones and antibiotics. In summary, it is all poison food for the body.
It is very important to reduce the intake of carbohydrates, eat everything whole food, add more vegetables to your diet and limit the sugar.
Drink lots of mineral water and eat foods with good fiber like beans, that have a lot of good fiber in small amounts of it.
And don't take any artificial sweetner, they are poison for the body. I recommend Stevia that its sweet and natural and also agave.
Take advantage if you don't have any health issue and feed yourself the most healthy possible and you'll get more energy and you'll strengthen your defenses.
I wished someone would have told me this way before i was diagnosed with this cancer.

Be so grateful with each new day of life, don't let go by any without loving. Enjoy the oxygen you breath and all the nature you see around. And love and take car of the Earth being a good example for other and thus get contagious other to do it. Don't wait for tomorrow. And recycle.

God exists

Federico (In the pictures, my son Mateo and my daughter Lucia making home made pizza with the help of my wife Marcia )

SPANISH

Ha pasado mucho tiempo desde que escribí la ultima vez. No es que no quiera escribir mas, sino que no me es fácil destinarle tiempo a mi Blog para hacerlo. Hace un mes que me dieron la ultima infiltración de quimioterapia. A las dos semanas de haber terminado me hicieron una tomografía y dio que todo sigue estable. A partir de este Miércoles me van a ir dando cada dos semanas como mantenimiento, una de las 3 drogas de quimioterapia que no tiene efectos secundarios fuertes. Es mas que todo para darle un descanso a mi cuerpo de tantas drogas de quimioterapia.
Pensaba que me iba a empezar a sentir cada vez mas normal a penas terminara con esta ultima sesion de quimioterapia, pero no fue así.

Me comenzaron a aparecer fuertes dolores en la espalda y en le pecho y estomago, algo que no me paso durante estos 7 meses pasados.
Me explico mi doctor que la quimioterapia actúa también como un fuerte antinflamatorio y que si yo tengo algún problema muscular, los dolores aparecen cuando se para de dar quimioterapia. Para esto estoy tomando antinflamatorios y a veces necesito remdios que me paren el dolor completamente especialmente para poder dormir bien a la noche. Estoy haciendo mas yoga para ayudar a aliviar los dolores que tengo en las articulaciones y musculos.

Si no estas pasando por ningún problema de salud, es una gran oportunidad para cuidar tu cuerpo mejor aun dándole mas energía comiendo bien sano y haciendo ejercicios físicos que lo mantengan flexible y bien oxigenado.

Ya varios me han pedido que escribiera sobre nutrición sana y alguna receta de comida. Es muy simple, no hay que cambiar tanto los menús que uno esta acostumbrado desde hace tiempo, solo hay que comer lo mismo pero integral, orgánico en lo mas posible que se pueda, las carnes sin hormonas, sin antibióticos y evitar todo lo que este crecido con cambio genético y sin MSG. Para los que les gusta ir a comer a los lugares de comida rápida como por ser Mc Donalds, sepan que toda la comida que ofrecen ahí contiene MSG, nada es integral, mucho tiene cambio genético y las carnes que utilizan son las mas baratas que contiene hormonas y antibióticos, en resumen, es todo un veneno para el cuerpo.
Para los o las que quieran bajar de peso, les recomiendo que no vean a ningún dietologo, es muy simple bajar de peso, ejercicio y comida sana.
Reducir lo mas posible el consumo de carbohidratos, comer todo integral, agregarle mas verduras a la dieta, y limitar el consumo azúcar agregada, mucha agua mineral y comidas con buena fibra como ser porotos que contienen muchisima fibra en muy poca cantidad. Y yo no les cobro nada por
decirles que hacer, jaja. Todo esas pastillas que venden para poder bajar de peso no va, es todo un enganio, todos quieren hacer buen dinero.
Y cuidado con todos esos endulzantes artificiales, son veneno para el cuerpo. Para endulzar les recomiendo Stivia que es dulce, es natural y no es azúcar, también agave, que se metaboliza muchisimo mas lento en el cuerpo que el azúcar y es natural también.
Aprovechen si no están atravesando ningún problema de salud para alimentarse bien sano y darle al cuerpo muchisima mas energía y así también fortalecer bien las defensas. Ojala alguien me hubiese dicho esto a mi muchisimo antes de haberme agarrado esta enfermedad.
Agradezcan muchisimo cada día nuevo de vida, no dejen pasar uno sin amar, disfruten el oxigeno que respiran y toda la naturaleza que vean alrededor y quieran y cuiden la Tierra siendo un buen ejemplo para los demás y así contagiar a otros a hacerlo. No esperen a mañana.
Y Reciclen.

Dios existe

Federico (Fotos de mi hijo Mateo y mi hija Lucia haciendo pizza casera con la ayuda de mi esposa Marcia)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Loving life more. Amando mas la vida.

I had another ct scan this week and the results came back stable. Nothing shrunk and thankfully nothing grew compared to the last scan two months ago. The lymph nodes in my chest are normal size. I am going to continue with these chemo treatments for 2 more months then I will have a PET scan that shows if there is any live cancer activity within the tumors. This scan is much more complete and will give a better view of what's going on. After that my doctor will consider doing radiation to the tumors in my liver and the one on my kidney along with one of the chemo drugs that doesn't have many side effects. This drug is called Avastin and it has been widely used for over 5 years. This drug targets specific proteins that block the blood supply to the tumors. It has been a big advancement in treating certain types of cancer.

This past Monday I had more chemotherapy. Now I am having some side effects like nausea, irritation in my stomach, and diarrhea.I feel all my body heavy. It is always the same the first 4 days and then around the 5th day I start feeling that slowly my body is getting back to normal. I am having another treatment of chemotherapy next Monday again.

Like I've said in previous posts, we shouldn't depend on conventional medicine only to treat cancer and other diseases. There is so much more we can do alternatively that can help conventional medicine be more effective.

It is not easy to find a place that combines both conventional and holistic medicine. So it is up to oneself to find beneficial information. After researching and learning so much information I'm convinced that conventional medicine alone is incomplete and can be extreme and some times dangerous. I believe in a balanced approach that integrates both types of medicines and treats the whole person. Health insurances only covers conventional medicine and all the beneficial treatments outside of that you have to pay for out of your own pocket. And most of the people don't know this and completely trust in just what the conventional medicine is offering them. It is not fair or just that it is so difficult for the people to find the information on alternative methods and healthy nutrition. For example, how to eat healthily based on a integral and organic nutrition and the healing and healthy properties of so many fruits and vegetables.

My main strength, peace and hope comes from my faith in Jesus Christ.

God exists

SPANISH

Me hicieron una nueva tomografía la semana pasada y dio que todo esta estable, ningún tumor se achico como se veía en las tomografías anteriores.
Los nódulos linfáticos en el pecho están en su tamaño normal. Me extendieron dos meses mas de quimioterapia y después me hacen una tomografía mas completa donde se va a ver cuanto hay de actividad cancerigena dentro de los tumores. Y luego cabe la posibilidad de que me hagan radiación directamente en los tumores del hígado y en el que esta por encima de uno de los riñones. Y si no se pudiera hacer radiación continuaría hasta fin de año con una de las drogas de quimioterapia que no tiene efectos secundarios. Esta droga se llama Avastin y hace alrededor de cinco años que se esta usando en quimioterapia.
Es una droga que funciona localmente y no afecta al resto del cuerpo como lo hacen las mayoría de las otras drogas de quimioterapia. Esto es un gran avance de la medicina convencional que apunta a una quimioterapia mas efectiva y con menos efectos secundarios.


Este Lunes me dieron quimioterapia y ahora estoy teniendo efectos secundarios como naucea, irritación en el estomago, diarrea y siento el cuerpo pesado. Es siempre igual los primeros 4 días después que me la dan, recién como al 5to día comienzo a sentir que mi cuerpo comienza a sentirse normal otra vez. El proximo Lunes me hacen mas quimioterapia.


Como ya dije en otras ocasiones, no hay que solo depender de la medicina convencional para el tratamiento de cancer o para cualquier otra enfermedad. Hay mucho mas para hacer
alternativamente y que ayuda muchisimo para lo que hagamos convencionalmente se mas efectivo.


No es fácil encontrar en este mundo un lugar donde se combine lo convencional con lo hollístico. Entonces pasa por uno mismo en buscar información sobre que poder hacer alternativamente.
Después de haber descubierto tanta información benéfica del lado holístico, no tengo ninguna duda que la medicina convencional por si sola no es completa, puede llegar a ser exagerada en el empleo de medicamentos y hasta peligrosa. Tendría que existir solamente una medicina "integral" donde se combine lo holístico con lo convencional y asi seria mas equilibrada y mas consciente.
Uno espera recibir todo de la medicina convencional y no es asi y tenemos nuestro seguro medico que solo sirve para esta solamente y todo lo que hagamos alternativamente que sea beneficioso para nuestra salud lo tenemos que pagar de nuestro propio bolsillo.
Y la mayoría de le gente no lo sabe esto y confía completamente en solo lo que le ofrece la medicina convencional. Y no es justo que no les sea fácil a la gente recibir toda esa información, por ejemplo, de como alimentarse sanamente basado en una nutricion completamente integral y orgánica y sobre las priopiedades curativas y benéficas para la salud de tantas especies frutales y vegetales.


Mi fuerza principal, paz y esperanza provienen de mi fe en Jesucristo.

Dios existe

Federico


Friday, July 8, 2011

4 años. 4 years

El 25 de Junio llegue a 4 años desde que me diagnosticaron esta enfermedad. Cuando me detectaron este cancer ya estaba en el grado mas alto y me había hecho metástasis en otros órganos.
Que pueda haber llegado a vivir tanto tiempo con este cancer creo que ha sido posible gracias a todo lo que les voy a escribir acá.
Primero mi fe en Jesucristo y asi poder conocer en lo que creo con fe, al Dios verdadero que me da esta paz interior que siento todos los días.

El gran amor mutuo que tenemos con mi esposa y mis hijos y la felicidad que siento con ellos todos los días. El amor que tengo y recibo de de mis padres, mis hermanos, suegros, cuñados y otros parientes.
Toda la ayuda, apoyo anímico y afecto de amigos, médicos tradicionales y holisticos, enfermeras, enfermeros y de tanta gente, muchos que nunca conocí en persona.
Mis ganas de vivir y estar activo asi tenga dias en los que no me sienta bien.
Mi voluntad por aprender a vivir una vida mas sana y hacer los ajustes necesarios para combatir mucho mejor esta enfermedad con mas efectividad.

Estoy escribiendo este nuevo blog mientras me estan dando quimioterapia hoy Jueves. Hace ya 4 horas que estoy acá y me quedan unas 2 horas mas. La ultima tomografía que me hicieron hace 2 semanas mostró que todo el cancer se sigue achicando. Los tumores del hígado se achicaron mucho mas, el del rinion muy poco y los nódulos linfáticos en el pecho ya están en su tamaño normal pero se ve que tienen actividad cancerigena pero disminuyo bastante en comparación a la tomografía
anterior.

A vos que me estas leyendo, gracias.

Dios existe

Hasta la próxima

Federico (En las fotos estoy con mis hijos y mi esposa y enseñandole a mi hija a hacer windsurf)

ENGLISH

The 25th of June was 4 years since I was diagnosed with this disease. When this cancer was detected it was already stage 4 and it had metastasized to other organs. To have been able to live this long I believe was possible thanks to everything I am going to write you here.

First my faith in Jesus Christ, what I believe with faith, makes me know the true God who gives me this interior peace that I feel everyday.
The mutual love I have with my wife and my children and the happiness I feel with them everyday.
The love that I have and receive from my parents, my brother and sisters, my in-laws, my brothers and sister in law and other relatives.
All the help, encouragement and affection from friends, traditional and holistic doctors, nurses and from so many people and many who I have never met in person.
My love and excitement to live and be active even on days that I am not feeling well.
My will to learn to live a healthier life and to make the necessary adjustments to battle this cancer effectively.


I am writing this new post while I am getting chemotherapy. I've been here 4 hours and I assume there are 2 more hours to go.
The last scan that I had 2 weeks ago showed again that this cancer keeps on getting smaller. The tumors in the liver shrank more, the one in the kidney got a little smaller and the lymph nodes in the chest are at normal size now but they still show some cancer activity. Overall it was a good scan showing that the chemotherapy is helping.

To you that are reading this, thank you.

God exists

Until the next one

Federico (In the pictures I am with my kids and my wife and teaching my daughter how to windsurf.)

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Almost 4 years. Casi 4 años

We are coming up on an important milestone for Fede and our family. On June 25, it will be 4 years since Fede was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. His doctors thought he had less than a year to live as most patients with this type of cancer and the late stage that is was when diagnosed, usually live. We can honestly say that we have enjoyed life to the fullest in these last 4 years and Fede's quality of life has been wonderful, considering his circumstances! He has been fully involved with his kids lives, never missing a moment to spend time with them. Our son was only 3 months old when Fede was diagnosed, so we can measure the last four years by how long Mateo has been on this earth. And this is what we hoped and prayed for. That Fede would be given the chance to raise our kids and watch them grow.

And what a blessing it has been. They adore him. They have had the unusual chance to have their dad home and not working full time. Spending so much quality time with him. And we are beyond blessed for that. We didn't know what to expect with Fede's treatment, side effects, limitations, and procedures and we wondered how our life was going to be dealing with this cancer, but it has been amazing journey! By learning to stay focused on each day and not worry(too much) about what the future holds has helped us to walk through this trial. I don't want to make it sound easy. Fede has been on chemo off and on for almost 4 years straight. He has lost his hair, experienced terrible, unimaginable side effects, gone through 2 procedures and many, many scans and radiation. His new job became managing his treatment. Doctors appointments every week, scans, insurance issues and new treatments. And through it all he has remained positive, upbeat, full of life and determined to fight for his life and for his family. We have been married for ten years and I have learned so many new and wonderful things about Fede. His strength and faith inspires me. I have NEVER met anyone who has as much hope as Fede. He is full of hope.

All that to say, the last few weeks have been rough. We are coming out of a challenging time with this new chemo protocol. The most serious side effect being diarrhea came full force and stopped him in his tracks. Even pre-treating him with anti-diarrheal medicine wasn't helping. He really thought he was going to have to change this treatment. After his last scans showed that it was working, his doctor wanted to find a way to continue because it was giving such good results. Fede was feeling like his quality of life was not good, he was loosing weight, and it was making him feel terribly weak. I'm relieved to say that after 3 appointments with gastroenterologists, this last round of chemo has been smooth. He has been strong, and feeling more like himself again. And if he didn't have a lot on his plate already, he sprained his foot this last Sunday and hasn't been able to walk. He has been on crutches for a week so far. Although it was terrible, we were so happy that it wasn't broken. So hopefully this will heal soon so he can get back to his active self!

He has his next round of chemo this coming Monday, June 6th. Our daughter and son will be finishing up with school and we are looking forward to enjoying family time all summer.
Thanks for your continued support, prayers and love. With the help of so many people, friends, family and even people we have never met personally, we have been able to survive these last four years. We feel very blessed by all of you.

God exists !

Marci Pecora (Fede's wife)

(In the pictures, Fede, my daughter Lucia, my son Mateo and me.)

Español

Estamos aproximandonos a una importante fecha para Fede y nuestra familia. El 25 de Junio van a ser 4 años desde que fue diagnosticado con este cancer. Los doctores pensaban que tenia menos de un año para vivir de acuerdo a lo que la mayoría de los pacientes viven con este tipo de cancer y grado 4, que es el mas alto, con el cual fue diagnosticado.
Puedo decir honestamente que hemos disfrutado la vida al máximo en estos últimos 4 años y que la calidad de vida de Fede ha sido bellisima, considerando las circunstancias. Ha estado completamente involucrado con las vida de nuestros hijos, nunca perdiéndose un momento para estar con ellos. Nuestro hijo solo tenia 3 meses cuando lo diagnosticaron con esta enfermedad, así que la edad de Mateo es nuestra referencia de cuanto tiempo hemos estado viviendo esta nueva experiencia en nuestras vidas. Y esto es lo que le pedimos siempre a Dios y esperamos, que Fede pueda tener la posibilidad de criar a sus hijos y verlos crecer. Y que bendición ha sido. Mateo y Lucia lo adoran a a su padre. Ellos han tenido algo que no es común, tener a su papa en casa ya que no puede trabajar normalmente como sucede con la mayoría de los papas. Y nos sentimos mas que bendecidos por esto, de estar tanto tiempo juntos con El disfrutando tanto.
Al principio no sabíamos que iba a ocurrir con todo lo que le iban a hacer a Fede, con los efectos secundarios de las drogas, intervenciones, y nos preguntábamos como iban a ser nuestras vidas a partir de ahora viviendo con esta enfermedad.
Pero el camino ha sido asombroso ! Aprendiendo a estar enfocados en cada día y no preocuparnos por el futuro, nos ha ayudado a enfrentar mejor esta prueba. No quiero que esto suene fácil. A Fede le han dado muchisima quimioterapia en 4 años. Ha perdido todo el pelo, ha experimentado terribles inimaginables efectos secundarios, le han hecho dos cirujías no invasivas, biopsias en el hígado, endoscopias, otras intervenciones pequeñas, y muchas tomografías, muchas resonancias magnéticas y radiación en el hígado. Uno de nuestros nuevos trabajos hoy es organizar los turnos con los doctores todas las semanas, tomografías, llamados al seguro medico y nuevos tratamientos. Y asi con todo esto a cuestas El se ha mantenido siempre positivo, imbatible, lleno de vida y totalmente determinado a pelear por su vida y por su familia.
Hemos estado casados por 10 años y yo he aprendido muchas cosas nuevas y maravillosas de Fede. Su fuerza y su fe me inspiran. No he conocido a nadie todavía que tenga tanta esperanza como El.

Esta quimioterapia nueva que acaba de comenzar hace mas de dos meses ha sido bastante desafiante para nosotros. El efecto secundario serio mas reciente ha sido diarrea que lo mantuvo bastante inmovilizado por varias semanas.
Así y todo tratando de prevenirlo con remedios para este efecto secundario no fue suficiente. Llego a pensar que iba a pedir de cambiar la quimioterapia. Después que su ultima tomografía mostró que todo se estaba achicando, su doctor quería encontrar una forma de continuar con las mismas drogas porque estaban dando muy buenos resultados en tan poco tiempo. Fede empezó a sentir que así su calidad de vida no era nada buena, estaba perdiendo mucho peso y lo estaba haciendo sentir débil. Después de ver a 3 gastroenterologos y haber ajustado su dieta agregandole mucha mas fibra, todo ha cambiando para mejor y aparantemente ya todo esta bajo control.
Ha empezado a aumentar de peso, a sentirse mas fuerte. Pero justo cuando había empezado a superar esto se esguinso el pie izquierdo el Domingo pasado haciendo su deporte preferido, windsurf y ahora esta con muletas. Por suerte no se rompió nada del pie.
Su próxima quimioterapia es este Lunes, 6 de Junio.
Nuestros hijos están por terminar el ciclo escolar y ya estamos pensando todo lo que vamos a disfrutar este verano acá en California juntos en familia.
Gracias por su apoyo continuo, oraciones y todo el amor. Con la ayuda de tanta gente, amigos, familiares y gente que no hemos conocido personalmente, hemos logrado llegar a afrontar los gastos diarios y de tratamiento durante todos estos años. Nos sentimos muy acompañados y bendecidos por todos ustedes. Gracias nuevamente.

Dios existe

Marci (esposa de Fede)

(En las fotos estamos mis dos hijos, Fede y yo)

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

And more hope. Y mas esperanza.

The CT scan that I had 2 weeks ago showed that everything is going down in size; the tumors in the liver, the tumor on one of the kidneys and the lymph nodes in the chest.
Last Monday I got more chemotherapy. It has been hard to walk due to one strong side effect of one of the drugs. If this drug continues to cause this much pain, then I might take the decision to stop with this one.
This has been one of the worst side effects since I started with treatment almost 4 years ago.
Now that the cancer is getting smaller it is for me a shot of hope to know that I am going to live longer with this disease.


There is on thing that is very important for everyone to know since cancer is the biggest disease in the planet: Sugar is the main food of a cancer cell.
For anyone who is facing any type of cancer, reducing the intake of sugar and carbohydrates will give your conventional treatment a better possibility of being more effective. And to dominate the disease for a longer time.
Please transmit this information to whoever you know that has cancer.
Eat healthy, it is so worth it to make this beautiful effort. Food Inc, is a movie you must see. On the right side of this Blog you can find it, click and watch it.
Don't give your money to food companies which don't care about your health.

God exists

Federico (The picture is of my son and my daughter)

SPANISH

La tomografía que me hicieron hace 2 semanas mostró que todo se esta achicando, los tumores en el hígado, el tumor arriba de uno de los riñones año y los nódulos linfáticos en el pecho.
Este Lunes me pusieron mas quimioterapia y por un efecto muy fuerte de una de las drogas me cuesta caminar y me da mucho dolor.
Mi doctor decidió nuevamente de postergar la quimioterapia de este Lunes próximo para que me pueda recuperar de este síntoma.
Este es uno de los peores efectos secundarios que he tenido desde que comencé con el tratamiento de cancer hace casi 4 años.
Si esta droga continua causandome tanto dolor veré la opción de cambiarla por otra.
El saber que este cancer se empezó a achicar es una inyección mas de esperanza el sentir que voy a poder vivir mas tiempo con esta enfermedad.

Sepan que el azúcar es el alimento principal de una célula cancerigena. Reduciendo lo mas posible el consumo de azúcar y carbohidratos son mas altas las posibilidades de que el tratamiento convencional sea mas efectivo y así poder dominar al cancer durante mucho mas tiempo. Por favor transmitan esta información a quien sepan que tenga cancer.
Coman sano, vale la pena hacer este hermoso esfuerzo. Food Inc, una película para no perdersela. En este Blog esta a la derecha y la pueden ver.
No le des tu dinero a las marcas de comida que no les importa tu salud.

Dios existe

Federico (La foto es de mi hija y mi hijo)

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter. Felices Pascuas.

Here I am writing this new post while I am getting an infusion of chemotherapy. Today I started with my 2nd cycle. The will be a total of 5 rounds and it's going to take around 5 months to be done with it.
I am going to be here almost 5 hours receiving 3 drugs plus 2 shots, one in my arm to keep my temperature from not going high and the other one in my rear end to prevent diarrhea.
I will describe to you this place where I am. I am sitting in this comfortable recliner chair that I can lay it back to almost a bed. The room is about 10 by 4 meters. Three nurses are always with the patients and the 2 doctors are close to us for whatever we need and we have a consultation right there in the chair. The attention they give us is excellent. In my case I always feel so comfortable here.
At this time there are 6 people that are also getting chemotherapy. I brought some food, something to read and write and music.

I've been having some ugly side effects but I am still enjoying my days anyways. Even though I don't feel good I add more strength and I play with my kids which makes me so happy. And they help me to transport my mind to their world of playing and innocence and this way it is a lot easier for me to hold all these uncomfortable sensations that I feel in my body.
For example, I like to windsurf in waves and if the conditions are up for it I would try not to miss it even I don't feel good. When I am in the water I always feel good and the side effects of the drugs disappear.

I have written before that SUGAR is the main food of a cancer cell. But I must keep on repeating this to help spread this information. By cutting out the intake of sugars and carbohydrates, the cancer cells would not count on their main nutrient and thus would get weaker and they can also die. And any conventional treatment has more effectiveness this way.
Please pass this information to any person you know who has cancer.
Tomorrow Sunday I will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ who I believe with faith, has allowed me to know the real God. This God that I feel that feeds me with Hope, with more Love, with more Happiness, that helps me to take this illness with more Peace.

God exists.

Federico (In the pictures I am with my daughter Lucia and my son Mateo)

(You must see the movie Food Inc, it is on the right side of this Blog, just click on it.
Learn about what happen with the food production worldwide and eat more wisely.)

SPANISH

Acá estoy escribiendo este nuevo post mientras me están dando quimioterapia. Hoy empecé con el 2do ciclo, en total van a ser 5 que llevaran en total unos 5 meses.
Estaré unas 5 horas acá recibiendo 3 drogas mas dos inyecciones, una en el brazo para que no me suba la temperatura del cuerpo y la otra en la cola para evitar diarrea.
Les describo como es el lugar donde estoy en este momento. Estoy sentado en un sillón comodisimo que lo puedo transformar casi en una cama. La habitación esta mide alrededor de 10 x 4 metros. Dos enfermeras y un enfermero están siempre con los pacientes y los dos doctores estan cerca nuestro todo el tiempo para lo que necesitemos consultarles, igual ellos nos vienen a hablar. La atención que tienen con nosotros es óptima. En mi caso, me siento comodisimo.
En este momento hay 6 personas mas que les están dando quimioterapia también. Me traje comida, algo para leer y escribir y música.
Vengo teniendo algunos efectos secundarios feos pero así y todo disfruto mis días y así me sienta mal pongo mas fuerza y juego con mis hijos igual que me hace tan feliz. Y ellos me ayudan a transportar mi cabeza hacia su mundo de juegos e inocencia y asi me es mucho mas fácil soportar las sensaciones incomodas que pueda sentir en mi cuerpo.
A mi me gusta por ejemplo hacer windsurf en olas y siempre que pueda lo hago así no me sienta tan bien y cuando estoy en el agua me siento siempre bien y los efectos de las drogas desaparecen.
Ya he escrito antes en algún otro post acerca de que se alimenta una célula cancerigena, AZÚCAR. Pero debo seguir repitiéndolo para ayudar a que se propague esta información. Cortando lo mas posible el suministro de azúcar y carbohidratos en nuestro cuerpo, las células cancerigenas no cuentan tanto con su nutriente principal y así se debilitan y hasta pueden llega a morir. Y cualquier tratamiento convencional tiene mas efectividad. Por favor pasen esta información a cualquier persona que conozcan con cancer.
Mañana festejare la resurrección de Jesucristo quien creo con fe que me ha hecho conocer al verdadero Dios. Ese Dios que siento que me nutre con Esperanza, con mas Amor, con mas Felicidad, que me ayuda a llevar esta enfermedad con mas Paz.

Dios existe

Federico (En las fotos estoy con mi hija Lucia y mi hijo Mateo)

(Deben ver la pelicula Food Inc, esta a la derecha de este Blog, solo hagan click en el titulo.
Aprendan de lo que pasa con la production de comida en todo el mundo y coman mas sabiamente.)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Latest news. Ultimas noticias

Just got the results from my last scan and it wasn't good at all, the cancer has spread to other parts in my body. So bad, when I was so close to be done with the tumors in the liver now it is in the lymph nodes on the chest and a tumor on top of one of the kidneys.
So I am starting with a new chemotherapy this next Monday. This is going to be my 4th time taking chemotherapy.

And God is still existing for me



SPANISH

Esta semana me dieron los resultados de la ultima tomografia que me hicieron y no fue para nada buena. El cancer se fue a otras partes del cuerpo, esta en los nodulos limfaticos en la parte del pecho y un tumor arriba de uno de los riniones. Ya estaba tan cerca de terminar con los tumores que tengo en el higado y me aparece estoen otras partes. Asi que empiezo con una nueva quimioterapia este proximo Lunes. Va a ser la cuarta vez que me dan quimioterapia, sera por 6 meses.

Y Dios sigue existiendo para mi

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Living life. Viviendo la vida

Acá estoy nuevamente, para poner al día mi Blog con lo que va sucediendo con mi lucha contra esta enfermedad de cancer.
Si es la primera vez que lees mi Blog, el tipo de cancer que tengo se llama gastro esófago y ya van casi 4 años desde que lo descubrieron.
Solo ahora me están dando una droga cada 3 semanas que se llama Herceptin y era una de las 3 que me daban el año pasado con quimioterapia. Antes de ayer me hicieron una tomografia y este Lunes me dan los resultados, un día importantísimo para mi.

Vengo bastante activo ultimamente, haciendo mucho deporte en el agua. Acabo de de hacer un cambio en mi dieta de reducir lo mas que pueda el consumo de carbohidratos para evitar tanta glucosa en mi cuerpo ya que las células cancerigenas se alimentan exclusivamente de glucosa, por eso no como nada azúcar, ni miel y evito lo mas que pueda frutas. Esta dieta de no consumir azúcar
la vengo haciendo desde que me diagnosticaron este cancer. Por eso si alguien tiene algún familiar, amigo o conocido que tenga cualquier tipo de cancer, por favor haganle llegar
esta información sobre el azúcar que a la mayoría no se les informa nada. El cortar con el suministro de azúcar es una gran forma de debilitar a las células cancerigenas y así tener mas posibilidades de curarse o vivir mucho mas tiempo y el tratamiento convencional se hace mucho mas efectivo de esta manera.

Dios existe

Hasta la próxima

Federico (La foto es con mi hermano hace un par de semanas atras)

ENGLISH

Here I am again, to update my Blog with what is going on with my fight against this disease of cancer.
If this is the first time you read my Blog, the type of cancer that I have is called gastro esophageal and it has been almost 4 years since it was discovered.
Now I am getting only one drug every 3 weeks called Herceptin that it was one of the 3 drugs I was getting last year with chemotherapy.
This last week I had a Pet-Ct scan and tomorrow Monday I am getting the results of it, a very important day for me.
I've been very active lately, especially doing sports in the water. I have made a big change in my diet reducing the intake of carbohydrates to avoid too much glucose in my blood since the cancer cells feed exclusively with glucose. That is why I avoid any sugars, honey and eat very little fruit. I've been doing this diet of not consuming sugars since I was diagnosed with this cancer.
If anyone has a relative or friend or someone they know who has any type of cancer, please help to inform them of the need to reduce sugars in their diet.
Cutting out the intake of sugar is an important way to weaken the cancer cells and thus have a more possibilies of being cured or at least live a lot longer and know for sure that the conventional treatment is even more effective.

For all my Japanese friends, I am so sorry for what has happened in your country. I know it could be hard to believe in God in these situations, but He still exists and we have to believe we can get stronger in these situations. Never give up.

God exists !

Until the next one

Federico (The Picture is with my brother around 2 weeks ago)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A new year with more hope. Un año nuevo con mas esperanza.

I begin this new Post especially for you.
You know the disease I have and I want you to know that there are a lot of people in this world that have the same disease as me. And there are a lot more that are facing other types of cancer and other illnesses that are threatening their lives as well, from kids to elderly people.
The statistics of all types of cancer are growing everyday.
This is a great opportunity in your life to make up your conscience of what is really going on so close to you that you can not see it clearly because your daily life doesn't allow you. It happened the same to me when my cancer wasn't discovered yet.
I tell you this for you to appreciate and value your health and to be very grateful for it.
But don't take it for granted. I recommend you to take advantage of this great opportunity you have in your life today to learn to take care of your health better and better.

One of the main threats to our health today is not knowing how to feed ourselves right with healthy foods. A change we can make ourselves.

Last week I started with radiation to the liver to stop the growth of the other 2 smaller tumors and to hopefully shrink them.
In total I have 3 tumors in the liver, one around 10cm in diameter and the other 2 are about 2cm and 3 cm.
You'll be amazed if you see how this new procedure with radiation works. You can type in youtube.com "cyberknife" and you have videos there. This is the latest and most advanced radiation today.
More than a month ago I had my last intervention in the liver where they only treated the biggest tumor. This procedure is called chemoembolization and it can help to shrink it. So far it is still the same size but it killed most of it.
Two weeks ago I had a new scan and it showed there is no cancer in the rest of my body, only the 3 tumors in the liver.

I just turned 41 years old and I have already lived 3 and a half years fighting this cancer. For every new day of life I thank God so much for it and I try to enjoy the most I can every second that I spend with my kids and my wife that are my light, they are the main reason why I want to keep living for so many more years.

Until the next post. God exists.

Federico (First picture is with my dad a month ago and the second picture is with my two kids 2 weeks ago)



SPANISH

Comienzo este nuevo Post especialmente para voz que me estas leyendo.
Sabes la enfermedad que tengo y quiero que sepas que hay muchisimas personas en este mundo que tienen la misma enfermedad que yo y muchisimas mas que están atravesando otros tipos de cánceres y otras enfermedades que amenazan también con sus vidas, desde niños hasta ancianos.
Las estadísticas de cánceres por ejemplo, crecen día a día.
Esta es una gran oportunidad en tu vida de hacer conciencia de lo que realmente esta pasando muy cerca tuyo que no lo podes ver claramente porque tu vida cotidiana no te lo permite. A mi me pasaba lo mismo cuando todavía no se había descubierto mi cancer.
Te digo esto para que aprecies y valores mas que nunca tu propia salud y estés muy agradecido de ella.
Pero no subestimes tu salud. Te aconsejo que aproveches esta gran oportunidad que tenes hoy en tu vida de aprender a cuidar tu salud mejor y mejor.
Sabe bien que una de las principales amenazas a nuestra salud es el no tener el conocimiento correcto de como alimentarnos bien con comidas sanas. Un cambio que podemos hacer nosotros mismos.

La semana pasada me comenzaron a hacer radiación en el higado para frenar el crecimiento de los otros dos tumores mas pequeños y achicarlos. En total tengo 3 tumores en el hígado, uno de alrededor de 10 cm de diámetro y los otros dos 2cm y 3 cm. Si quieren ver y asombrarse de esto que me están haciendo con radiación, busquen en youtube.com "Cyberknife", es lo mas avanzado que hay en radiación.
Hace mas de un mes que me hicieron la ultima cirujía en el hígado para parar el crecimiento del tumor mas grande y achicarlo. Al que le interese ver como es esta intervención que me hicieron, se llama "Chemoembolization" o en español "quimoembolizacion".
Me hicieron una tomografía hace dos semanas atrás y en el resto del cuerpo no aparece nada de cancer, solo los 3 tumores que tengo en el hígado.

Acabo de cumplir 41 años y ya llevo 3 años y medio combatiendo este cancer. Cada día nuevo de vida se lo agradezco tanto a Dios y trato de disfrutar lo mas que puedo cada segundo que estoy con mis hijos y mi esposa que son mi luz, son la razón principal por la cual quiero seguir viviendo muchisimos años mas.

Hasta la próxima. Dios existe.

Federico (la primera foto es con mi papa hace un mes atras y la otra foto es como mis dos hijos hace dos semanas)