medical update

2009-05-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

The memorial service for Gary was held on Thurday. I think, that in many ways, it was more difficult than the funeral. But it really was a beautiful celebration of Gary's life. Danielle created a slide show of Gary at different stages, with different hairstyles from crew cut to ponytail. There was the music that Gary had selected as well as a jazz trio performing his favorite song. The president of the university spoke. So did a colleague, a former student, and his good friend Dave Goldberg. Alex and I spoke as well and Rhonda concluded the program. She spoke movingly, first of his impact at the school and then of their life toegether.She was wonderful. I have copies of the program if you are interested.

The fund for the scholarship is moving along. So, thank you if you have contributed and if you haven't please do. Any amount will be appreciated and will help us reach our goal. You can contribute on line by going to

www.oswego.edu/giving/Click on "Make a gift now" in the left hand columnGift designation: Select "other" and type in Klatsky Scholarship

Or send a check to the:

Gary Klatsky Scholarship
219 Sheldon Hall
SUNY Oswego
7060 State Route 104
Oswego, NY 13126

Susan

2009-04-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

In my haste to send out notice of the memorial service I gave the wrong lacation. Apparently I made up a building. In any case the serrvice will be held in the ballroom at Sheldon Hall.

Sorry for the confusion.

Susan

2009-04-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you for calls and cards, thoughts and prayers. They are truly apprciated by Rhonda and the whole family.
There will be a memorial service for Gary on April 30th at 3:30. It will take place at Webster Hall on SUNY Oswego Campus.
Gary was a loving husband and father. He was also an incredible teacher. He started teaching about 15 years ago and found his calling, his true passion, as a professor of psychology at SUNY Oswego. Letters from the students he mentored there about the impact he had on their lives are amazing.

To celebrate his life and to honor his memory, we are establishing a scholarship at SUNY Oswego in his name. If you are interested, contributions can be made on line at http://www.oswego.edu/giving/Click on "Make a gift now" in the left hand column. Gift designation: Select "other" and type in Klatsky Scholarship

Or send a check to the:

Gary Klatsky Scholarship
219 Shelson Hall
SUNY Oswego
7060 State Route 104
Oswego, NY

Susan

2009-04-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

Gary was buried Monday, April 6th. There was service at The Temple of Concord in Syracuse. It truly was a celbration of his life.His son Alex spoke eloquently about Gary as a dad. Two friends, Stuart Lehrman and David Goldberg spoke of their escapades with Gary from high school through gradauate school. I reminisced about our childhood.
I ended saying " Gary did not believe in an afterlife. We had the conversation several times about the possibility and he was skeptical. I told that I did believe…that I chose to believe. That our spirit exists in some form, somewhere. And I know for a certainty that Gary is somewhere tying someone’s shoes together right now as we sit here. And I know he will watch over Rhonda, Danielle and Alex forever. Just as he will live in our hearts and memories. FOREVER

Susan Klatsky

2009-04-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

It is my sad duty to annouce Gary's death this morning. He fought bravely for almost 17 months and wouldn't give up until the cancer took over his body. There will be a private funeral and a memorial service at SUNY Oswego later this month. The family requests that, instead of flowers, a donation be made to the Gary Klatsky Scholarship at SUNY Oswego.

Susan Klatsky

Gary's condition March 6, 2009

2009-03-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Gary has taken an indefinite medical leave. The regrowth of cancer cells is affecting the motor control of the left side of his body. He is using a walker to aid his mobility.The vision in his left eye is also impaired. As he wrote to the SUNY Oswego family:

"One of the most difficult decisions I have made is taking a medical leave this semester. This was done for two reasons: the first was for my personal health and the second that I would not be giving the students the learning experience they came to expect in my classes."

Rhonda is also on a leave of absence, but still doing work from home. She has enlisted a health care aide as well as a physical therapist and an occupational therapist to assist Gary. He continues to receive Avastin every other week. He was scheduled to also get a chemo infusion but that has been postponed because Gary's platelet count is too low. He is at the hospital now hoping to receive both drugs today.
He loves hearing from you. Best time time to reach him is late morning to mid afternoon. He also enjoys visits. Just call in advance so there aren't too many people in one day. Short visits are best. He tends to get tired as the day goes on.

Susan Klatsky

new year

2009-01-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all my family and friends for all the love and support you gave me last year that is shat kept me going I lo e you all. I had a scan yesterday Friday 1/9/09 There is some spreading of thecancer The good news is that the Avastine is still working, keeping the blood supply to that new growth from developing. There are also other drugs to try despite the news I still feelike the luckiest man who ever lived

t

end of the semester

2008-12-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

I guess this is a sign of how well I am doing. Today is the last day of classes and I only missed two days all semester. The only real problems I had was with the course management system. I thought it would make my life easier if I put more of the class on-line. unfortunately it didn't turn out that way, in fact it was the opposite. the on-line material was more difficult for me I have learned my lesson and will resort to the more traditional methods next semester.

Gary

2008-11-27T07:35:00.000-08:00

Scan from 11/25 My oncologist said there was no sign of regrowth or regeneration. in other words he said it was very good. he did say there were somedead cells at the vey back of my occipital lobe, the very rear part of my brain. he wasn't sure what that was from but likely an effect of the chemo. I'll see him next Friday and ask more specific questions. this time Ionly spoke to hime on the phone

Year anniversary party & concert

2008-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was the year anniversary of my surgery. some friends wanted to have a small celebration to coincide with a concert at the Oswego Music hall of one of my favorite bands, Jim's Big Ego

This is a link to the pictures of the "event" http://picasaweb.google.com/gklatsky/SurgeryAnniversaryPartyConcert111508 #

if that doesn't work try
google.com/gklatsky/ and click on the party & concert album

Oliver Sacks

2008-10-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Oliver Sacks is a world famous neurologist and author. The movie Awakenings was based on one of his books. His most famous book, The Man who mistook his wife for a hat is probably one of his most famous books, a collection of stories based on case studies.
A few years ago we invited him to give a presentation at Oswego. I was asked to pick him up at the airport and drive him to campus. We ended up going out for lunch and taking a lovely drive through thecentral NY countryside spending about 3 hours talking about our mutual interests in the cognitive neuroscience of vision.

Lately have been having weird experiences in my "blind spot" every once and awhile coherent complex images will appear there. Wrote to a number of "experts about this phenomenon. Dr. Sacks wa the only person to respond. Iowas thrilled just to get a response then his assistant emailed me saying Dr. Sacks wanted to meet with me to discuss my"problem"

Gary
10/23

Sept 30 scan

2008-09-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

The Sept 30 scan showed no evidence of the tumor.

scan

2008-09-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

Next scan is scheduled for next week. will post the results

Gary

Back towork

2008-08-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I was back in the classroom. By the end of the day, after three classes, I felt better than any time since my surgery

latest scan

2008-07-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

I met with my oncololgist yestereday and hesaidthe last scan continued to show imrovement.

Scan

2008-07-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

As everyone who has gone through this has told me. Today and the past few days have been incredibly distressful. I have my scan late this afternoon and I meet with my oncologist tomorrow morning to go over the results. As a result of my stress level I probably have been taking it out on my family and can't apologize to them enough.. After my last scan I was expecting bad news as i thought my physical condition was deteriorating. then my Dr said I had a dramatic improvement. This month I have been feeling great and expect good results that makes me nervous.

Had a great visit with my nephew Richard and his wife Janice. It is hard to believe that this little kid I used to babysit is now 40. I certainly have been blessed with wonderful family

Latest news 7/25/08

2008-07-25T13:41:00.001-07:00

Just got back from Syracuse and Gary looks and feels great. He's gained weight and lost the steroid bloat. The new medication for his stomach is really doing the trick .He is going for therapy twice a week and is planning on teaching an introductory course in the fall semester. He is so much stronger then my visit in May. He walks better and doesn't tire as easily as he had. And to all this I say pooh, pooh, pooh!
His next scans are Monday and he will get results on Tuesday. Prayers and good wishes are always welcome.

Susan

Scan

2008-07-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

As of now Monday July 14, my next scan is scheduled for July 28 and I will meet with my Oncologist onaugust 1 to review the scan. I meet with him this friday and will likely change some of those appointments.

Bobby Murcer

2008-07-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

I was very saddened to learn of Bobby Murcer's passing yesterday. He was diagnosed with Glialblastoma in December 2006 . It is impossible to compare his outcome to mine as, on thesurface there are , many differences in our treatments. He survived 19 months afterhisdiagnosis but was put on a diferent treament regiment than I was. It sounds like he was put on an experimentalvacci ne rightafter his surgery and was never given avastine. I have an appointment with my oncologist on Friday and I'll see if he knows anything else

Update

2008-07-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

Had myregular, pretreatment blood work Friday. Good news was that myplatlette count was back to normal. but my red blood cout was down. Tbeen feeling much better.he oncologist said not toexert myself or do anything exhausting. Other thanthat I have been feeling much better, fewer headache and stomsches but fatigue is Hader-in-l a great visit from my sister-in-law Ellen and neice Cara . Also my friends from my LI days (now living inPhiladelphia), Sherman, Joyce andtheir son Steve. these visits from friends and family certainly help with my recovery. Physical activities help some of therecovery but talking certainly does much more. The bestIfeltafter surgery was when Iwas in the classroom interacting with students.

Gary
7/7/08

finally got enough hair for a hair cut

recent scan 6- 3 2009

2008-06-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

the best news yet...

2008-06-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Gary just called after seeing his oncologist and he described the change as dramatic. That was the best adjective he could come up with to describe the the alteration that has taken place.
THERE IS NO SIGN OF TUMOR.
Gary will be continuing with Avastin every other week and temador evry three weeks but the steroids will start being cut back.
It is the absolute best news we could hope for. Thank you for prayers and good wishes.

Susan

some news is good!

2008-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Heard from Gary; the hotel is great, weather wonderful and he has good days and not so good. Alex and Danielle were going off to see the ruins, a 3 hour bus ride away. Gary & Rhonda opted not to take the trip. They are back on Sat with a full report and maybe photos.

Susan

no news is good news

2008-05-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Haven't heard a word from Cancun so I am assuming everything is going well. Rhonda had arranged for wheelchairs at the airports and hotel just to make it easier for Gary to get around. He tires easily.
I still haven't figured out how to post photos of the "shave" but if you want to see them, email me ( boopboop@earthlink.net) and I will be happy to forward them. Just put Gary's photos as the subject and I will be able to sort them from the spam.

Susan

Big doings

2008-05-20T10:36:00.002-07:00

Gary shaved his beard after sixteen or so years. He has a very nice face underneath all that gray fuzz. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post the before, during and after photos. He looks younger.
He will have his next Avastin infusion on Thurs. This will give him a day to recover before they take off on Sat for Cancun and week of sun, fun and a change of scenery. Gary's next scans will be after he gets back.
Gary relishes phone calls and visits. Mornings are better then afternoons and keeping visits to one to two hours are best. He enjoys going for coffee to Barnes & Noble or Panero's.

Susan

Big news

2008-05-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

the Twenty Fifth on the Fifteenth

2008-05-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

Everything else is put in perspective in the context of today being our 25th anniversary! No matter how sick I feel. Seeing Rhonda next to me each morning makes me realize I am the luckiest person in the world
Gary

update 5/13

2008-05-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Syracuse on Thurs and look forward to a wonderful visit. We've been doing a lot of remembering and I'm bringing up a stash of old photos and looking at them should be fun. It's been a difficult week for Gary, physically and mentally but with Danielle home and Alex do in another day, that should brighten up both Gary & Rhonda spirits .

Susan

Gary writes:

The past few days have been physically quite difficult. I’ve had a series of bad headaches and stomach aches. Much of that discomfort passed when Danielle came home yesterday. Once I am able to get the headache under control I do feel much better. I still look forward to visitors but need to work the timing. I think much of this is reaction to the drugs. I do miss seeing my friends and colleagues. Please let me know if you are in the neighborhood and want to stop by. That is one of the best things to help my recovery.

2008-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

This was sent to Gary by a colleague after his last lecture, May 9th.

Susan

Gary,

Thanks for inviting me to your "Last Lecture." It was a powerful experience and I was honored to be included.Your students were so engaged. I could not help but watch them and the focus that they had. I will confess to being a bit jealous as my students tend to fall asleep any time I get near "life lessons." I don't think I am as funny as you are. Anyway, I walked behind several of them after class and they were chatting about their own stories around school, how they've gotten to where they are, and where they are going next. So in case you were wondering, they were listening. And so was I.So now that school is almost over, let me know when you want to go walking. In the meantime, I have begun riding my bike. I am not very good, and, I must say the seat is downright painful at this point. I'll let you know when I get up to a few miles and am ready to take the lake path on, maybe by the time you are back from Cancun.Take care,Cynthia

2008-05-08T09:53:00.001-07:00

I know much of what I am writing is pretty redundant to ha you already know. Trisection was going to focus on support systems. Without doubt your medical support system is most important. I have been most fortunate to start with one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. Not only based on his technical abilities but also his demeanor and our ability to connect with one another. Certainly my background in cognitive neuroscience, that I took Oliver Sacks out for lunch made a tremendous impact on him.

On a daily basis it is my family that has provided me with the support, strength, motivation, drive to keep going on each day. This is what I look \at every morning and realize I have something worth living for

2008-05-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

2008-05-08T09:51:00.001-07:00

2008-05-08T09:50:00.001-07:00

support

2008-05-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

2008-05-08T08:24:00.001-07:00

know much of what I am writing is pretty redundant to ha you already know. Trisection was going to focus on support systems. Without doubt your medical support system is most important. I have been most fortunate to start with one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. Not only based on his technical abilities but also his demeanor and our ability to connect with one another. Certainly my background in cognitive neuroscience, that I took Oliver Sacks out for lunch made a tremendous impact on him.

On a daily basis it is my family hat has provided me with thesupport, strength, motivation,drive tokeep going oneach day. This is whqt Ilook \at every morning and realize Ihave something worth living for

Accomplishments

2008-05-05T17:12:00.001-07:00

I suspect there are very few people who respond to a diagnosis of a terminal illness with a short prognosis any different than I am. There are two things I spend considerable time doing: Thinking about what I will not be able to eddo. My mother died at a young age, as old as I am now. And I had an uncle who died ten years younger. Ever since I got married I always thought about the parts of my life my mother never got to see. Now I think about my children’s futures. Although they are in a much better position than I was when my mother died. I still want to dance at their weddings and hold (if there are any) grand children. More importantly was the time I would spend in retirement with Rhonda. I can go on and on about the things and places I wanted to go with her. That is probably my biggest disappointment. Where do I go from here? I really don’t know. Hopefully the legacy left for my children and wife will preserve the memory of who I was. All I hope is that I am remembered as caring, loving thoughtful husband, parent, brother, and friend. The ways my wife and children respond to me lead me to believe that those hopes are valid. Also the fact that I have friendships that have lasted over 40 years tells me that my evaluation of myself is valid. I certainly am not going to list all of my positive characteristics. What I do want to do is to reflect on my accomplishments.

I certainly was not the student in high school or college that made my parent proud. Even my athletic abilities were minimal until I started paying basketball as a high school senior, but that wasn’t anything my parents were interested. I really am not sure there was anything I accomplished that they bragged about, although there were things they certainly could have.
My children are certainly at the top of my list but I certainly cannot take complete credit for that but according to Rhonda, I was the major influence on their development. I cannot accept that.
When you work at a university it is difficult to see that receiving a Ph.D. in a research discipline is a major accomplishment. I don’t recall the percentage of the population that has a Ph.D. and the percentage of people who start Ph.D. programs actually complete their dissertation
Actual accomplishments. My first “real” job was working for GE, Martin Marietta, and Lockheed Martin where I managed the team that was designing the computer interface for the next generation submarine system. On the surface this may not seem like a big deal but we brought those systems to the computer age with digital color displays. In fact the design standards and conventions we developed for that system was adopted as the Navy standard. Our work also resulted in the Navy making Human-Computer Interaction an integral component of all their designs. In addition to receiving a General Manager’s award for my work on the proposal for that project, The Navy pointed out that the HCI design was one of the significant strengths of our proposal.
I certainly cannot compare any of those accomplishments to what I have done as an educator. What stands out most is something that took place at the end of my first year back in academia. I taught a core lab course (Cognition) that was required for a psychology major. After graduation, one of the students from that class took me around to meet her entire extended family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. She was the first, not only to graduate from a college, but to attend college. Seeing how proud her family was of her, touched me in ways I have never been affected again.

new posts

2008-05-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

There are a couple ofpersonal commnets I want to add related to my accomplishments. I hope todo that this after noon maybe cldean up someof somen of the typos and other garbage

2008-05-01T07:07:00.001-07:00

right now I am partaking in a favorite activity. sitting at Panera's eating an egg souffle drinking a latte. reading theblog it is focused on my medicalcondition. There have been acouple of other events that I would like to add later today. I am continued to be overwhelmed by my friends,family, students, andcolleagues and how much they have they have congtributed to myrecovery Thanks to all of you

April 29th

2008-04-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

First I apologize for the quality of this posting (I am still having left vi9sual field deficits About 18 months ago my colleague in our graphics design program wereorganiz9in a c9nferehcef9r our new graduate program in Human-C 0mputer Interaction The conference was to focus on the interaction between art and technology. My pr8maray responsibility was to find a keynote speaker who would focus on the Technology side. For obvious reas0ns, Randy Pausch was my first choice. For more obvious reasons he was unable to participate. At that time I came across the posting of his last lecture and realized the tremendous similarities between our lives. It wasn’t until the Primetime special with Diane Sawyer that those similarities became even more obvious. First and foremost we are both diagnosed with terminal cancer but even more important we are both living out amazing love stories that have and continue to have profound effects on our lives.
The other inspiration for me to write this is that over the past three weeks Michael Sylvester has mentioned that he will have time for three farewells. Given my diagnosis Glialblastoma Multiform IV, my decline can be quite sudden and leave me with fairly reduced cognitive abilities.
There are just a few parting remarks I wanted to make First from Randy’ Last Lecture. Don’t change your life. The bucket list is stupid. Do what you would normally do. Enjoy each day as you would have before your diagnosis. Draw strength from your family, friends, colleagues and the things that would normally have given you pleasure. The only thing we are doing different is a vacation at an all inclusive resort that is designed more for my physical recovery from my surgery and an opportunity for our grown children (20 & 23 to have an opportunity to enjoy them in that type of environment and for all of us to be pampered.
The Big picture
Like many of you I started graduate school with the goal of getting a job at an R1 school making significant scientific contributions to cognitive psychology. (I must admit I originally planned on being a clinician) While a graduate student I was introduced to Human Factors and Human Computer interaction and felt I could make a much more significant contribution in those disciplines which I did for 15 years. With the fluctuation of the economy and the defense budget and a dual career family I jumped at an opportunity at a local state University teaching job. I must admit that initially AI was not sure I made the smart decision. It wasn’t until the end of my first year when I completed teaching my cognition lab course (a requirement for the major. I had one not very remarkable but extremely hard working student who was the first member of her extended family, hot only to graduate but to attend college. After the ceremony when she brought everyone to meet me, that was one o the most moving experiences I have ever had. Every semester I have students like that. If I can impact one a year, what more can I accomplish in my life.
As a result of my illness, reduced abilities, I have been spending considerable time talking to my students about things I have not been able to accomplish with them as well as my teaching philosophy. My illness was triggered by a seizure in my office late October. One of the most rewarding things was when returned from that incident and did not yet know I had a tumor. I found one student had nominated me for the president’s award or teaching excellence. This was a student who took two classes that were electives in his major, nothing required in any of the programs I am involved with. Right now I need to evaluate what I will be capable of doing in the fall
To all of you on TIPS andPsychTeach. I can’t thank you enough for the incredible advice I received from you since I returned to the classroom in 1995. I realize my condition is quite specific but I would be happy to share my personal experiences ad I do have an extensive set of MRI scans starting with my initial diagnosis and expect the next round in4 weeks

Catching up

2008-04-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Sedar. Danielle and Alex were here along with Rhonda's mother (who has been almost a mother to me for he past 25 years. Our niece Cara was also up from NYC and that was also a pleasure. Made us realize we should make a geater effort to have hxer visit us.

Medically I 'm having a minor set back. My platelet count is low so they will not restart the Temedor or the avastine until the levels are back up. Igo for blood tests Friday and we will see. Symptom wise nothing is really changing. a few more headaches bu certainly no worse than before.
I'm stillhaving some left visual field problems. I walked into a barrier by theWegman's pharmacy. Didn't hurtmuch more than mypride but it waas embarasssing took a bike ride withAlex andwaited tolong,itgot pretty hot so Iquit halfwaythrough which I thoughtwas a verygooddecision. problem was when I disconnectedfromthe pedalsIwent thewrongdirectionandtook a small tumble. no injuries, againbesidesmypride. both of those accidents really push tothe forefront my need to make better decisions and paybettteratention. If I amgoing to use mynew(er) road bike Iwill have to practice more with those pedals.

I'vetalked about feeling like I am onarollercoaster. It used to feel like the occilations were daily. Now it seems the ups anddowns are within eachday.

I strongly encourage anyone inasimilar situation to get a hold of last week's AB C PrimeTime withDianSawyer wheresheinter iewsRany Pauchefr onhis CarnagieMellonLast lecture. It agreaat perspective for individuals andfamilies facing a terminalillness. Hisapproachmake so muchsense. He also has a book, The LastLecture. It is a bit diffficulto getnow bu well worth it. If you want,Icanburn theDVDfor you; Again well worth it exspecially if you aredealing with a terminal inllness andhav a family. After you have watchedtheshow or read thebookIwouldlove to talke to you about it.a

With love and constant hope

Gary

opthomologist

2008-04-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

saw the opthomologist today. no optic nerve damage although there is definite deficit in my left visual field. Iwill need new Glass, and dedicated sun glasses an to make sure I have glasses for bike riding. Otherwise everything looks ok limitations in my peripheral vision should not afffect my abiilty to dive

Bike riding

2008-04-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Although I have been out on quick rides around my neighborhood to check out my balance. I seem to be doing well and am ready for the next step. a more ambitious 10 mile ride mostly flat. Sound advice from the smartest person I know is to have someone ride with me. Any of you locals looking for a quick ride around Onondaga Lake or Seneca/Oneida rivers let me know. I'll evencome up to Oswego as long as the ride is not too hilly.

Thanks
Gary

Current status

2008-03-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Along with the start of the Avastin, my dosage of the Temedor has also increased. Last time Beagle which worked on 20 years ago. bottom line is that I am enjoying it. Once I finish the planking and can work on the deck details it will be much more enjoyable

Gary 3/30

the roller coaster.

2008-03-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

the scans last week showed regrowth of the tumor. Not the news we wished for. The prognosis from the radiologist and oncologist was depressing and the ride began. Gary & Rhonda took the train ( from hell, it was delayed and the heat was like you know) to New York for a consult with MSKCC. They were more optomistic; there are still other drugs to try and after that there are still drugs in trial. the roller coaster continues.
So. sometime in the next week or so, Gary will be starting Avastin, he's meeting with the oncologist to get details but it appears to be an infusion every other week for eight weeks followed by scans. There are many side effects, so he will be monitored closely.
Gary may have lost this first battle, chemo/radiation, but it's a long war and still many battles to fight and new ammuntion to try.

Susan

update

2008-03-03T06:27:00.000-08:00

My Doctor's appointment after I restarted the chemo went well. Everyone in the office was very pleased with my blood counts. Now I am in the midst of scheduling post scan appointment. I'm waiting to hear back from my oncologist and then will schedule an appointment down at MSKCC.

news

2008-02-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

I have scans scheduled for March 17. Don't have an appointment to go over the scans scheduled yet. The only difficulty I am experiencing is fatigue and that has gotten to the point where I am getting quite frustrated by it. Chemo begins again tonight. five days on 23 days off and that will go on for a year.

Gary

MSKCC update

2008-02-11T16:59:00.000-08:00

The oncolgists in New York looked at the scans, then had a staff meeting and looked again and the consensus is that they are inconclusive. They have suggested that the cyberknife procedure should be cancelled, to continue the chemotherapy in three weeks and have another scan in a month. So, inconclusive is better then the alternative and Gary is still ahead of the curve.

Susan

Feb 7 scans

2008-02-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

The results were not we hoped for. Tumor appeared but at this point the MDs cannot tell if it is new growth or remaining tumor from the surgery in Nov. Scan disk was sent to MSKCC and they will speak with Dr Hodge on Mon to determine the next course. Right now cyberknife is scheduled for Weds. It is an outpatient treatment. But that may change depending on what conclusions are reached on Mon
Susan

Keeping my head warm

2008-02-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

With the loss of hair and the typical central NY January weather my friend Cynthia was concerned about my maintaining my body temperatrure and loaned me her favorite hat. The price was posting a picture of me wearing it.

Back in the saddle

2008-01-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

First day back teaching

Baseball hat is to keep from blinding students with the reflection from the major bald spot (or as Michael calls it, the skin farm) on the left side

Completed 30 day Radiation cycle

2008-01-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

Early morning rides for the radiation treatments are over. Sitting in the waiting room with patients who were there by themselves I realized how fortunate I am to have my family. Particularly when I wasn't allowed to drive. Rhonda certainly was there all the time but when she had schedule problems, Alex and Danielle were there to take over without any complaints. Susan also helped out when she was visiting.

I did get a graduation gift, the mask that was used to hold my head in place while the radiation was administered

Sunday, 1/27/08

2008-01-27T15:33:00.000-08:00

I won't have access to a computer for the next week and won't be able to document Gary's last radiation session tomorrow. It's been a long haul. The doctors are still fine tuning the rate of withdrawal from the steroids. The original cut back was too much too soon.
Gary's classes start on Weds and he will be back to his normal schedule. No more daily hospital visits.
Six weeks went by slowly and at the same time sped. The hard part is ahead - waiting; waiting to take the scans and then waiting for the results. I am optimistic. Gary is strong and I have confidence he will persevere.

Susan

Almost done...

2008-01-23T15:15:00.002-08:00

... with radiation and last chemo is tonight. Gary has started cutting back on steroids but the radiation was upped but it's done on Monday. Three days to sleep in and then school starts and back to a regular schedule. Hooray!

Susan

Almost done...

2008-01-23T15:15:00.001-08:00

Johnny Padres tribute picture

2008-01-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

!/15/2008

2008-01-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Gary's had his meeting with the oncologist this AM and blood work continues to be fine. Right now the plan is to take off one month and then have one week of intensive chemo followed by one month off , continuing for six months to a year. The standard procedure in the US is for one year and in Europe for six months with similar results. So that will be decided after consulting with the oncologist at MSKCC. The MRI is scheduled for Feb and an appointment right after with Dr Hodge, the miracle surgeon.

Susan

Readings

2008-01-13T05:39:00.000-08:00

Clearly I am in the more you know the better off you are camp. Anyone going through a similar (even dissimilar) situation, my advice is to gather as much technical information you can understand. This is particularly important in regard to diagnoses and treatments. The one caveat is the statistics. What gets reported are averages. These averages include people with very similar situations to you but also people who are at the extremes. For example the prognosis for glilalblastoma multiforme IV is not promising but those averages include people with multiple tumors in very critical brain locations and people who may have had surgery and the surgery did not result in a complete removal of the tumor. So my bottom line is to remember each case is individual and the statistics apply to the entire sample of people being evaluated, not an individual.
Given my background in research methodology and statistics, it was very easy for me to put those numbers in the right perspective. What I found more troubling were books I got that recounted an individual's battle. When you see them talking about their personal struggles and how they, individually, stacked up against the statistics. Probably the worst (psychologically) day I had was after reading one of those books.
The other thing that bothered me about those “individual battle” descriptions is that the battle is very different for each person. One book I read was a biography of Lance Armstrong’s cancer battle. Certainly that was remarkable. And you can’t help but admire what he went through, just to survive. Reading about that struggle, at time I felt I wasn’t working hard enough. But his cancer is very different and his treatment is very different. The internal peace I came to was realizing that given my situation, I am fighting as hard as he or anyone dealing with toxic chemo is.

The book I found most helpful was Jerome Groopman (2005). The Anatomy of Hope.
Unlike most other books that deal with hope, this is not spiritual,religious. It deals with hope based on science, medicine but certainly drawing upon what we have within our psychological make up that allows us to do so. Thanks to Mary Avarakatos for the gift of that book.

For Glialblastomas, most of the information is available through Google search. Not too many scholarly articles are available (or I haven’t found them)

Probably the best book on brain tumors that I came across was: Peter Black (2006) Living With a Brain Tumor. This is especially informative starting with symptoms.

As far as reading for enjoyment, I am almost done with Philip Roth’s Exit Ghost. New music I’ve been enjoying The Robert Plant/Allison Kraus CD and the new Levon Helm CD. I also got a compilation CD from Danielle which introduced me to some new things including Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Given I am back teaching in two weeks, it’s time to start pulling that material together

Gary

2008-01-11T06:20:00.000-08:00

Got back last night from my visit with Gary and family and left on a high. Doctor gave the go ahead to start driving again, Excellent news. The kids want to take him to the mall or school parking lot for some practice drives. We ate and laughed and laughed and ate. Told tales from his youth and that certainly entertained Danielle and Alex. Rhonda had heard them many times before.
The treatments are past the half way point so it's downhill from here. Only side effect continues to be fatigue. The other effects are blamed on the steroids. And once they start weaning him off , they should ease up considerably. Follow up scans will be scheduled for early Feb.
He looks great and his attitude continues to be positive. The boat progresses. A little slower then he would like and a liitle more difficult then the last boat. But that was when he was younger too and probably had a little more patience.

Susan

The New Year...

2008-01-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

... started off with a very short ( and attractive) haircut. Also very drafty without a hat but fortunately Gary has a large selection of baseball hats to choose from.
They rejoined a gym and he was able to ride for 45 minutes on the stationary bike and should be in great shape by the time the weather warms up. Around June. His plan was to bike to work.
I'm planning on spending some time in Syracuse next week and will be able to report up close and personal.

Susan

Side effects - hair loss

2007-12-31T11:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture taken the night before surgery

The post surgery picture is in one of the earlier posts

Here are a couple of good looks at the effects of the radiation therapy

First response to hair loss

More aggressive response

Comments

2007-12-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

I just received an email from another friend saying the procedure for leaving comments was too cumbersome so I went in and changed the settings. So for those of you interested in leaving comments it will be much more simplified. But don't think that you have to. I certainly do like hearing from all my friends and family.

Susan has been doing a great job updating this with my medical situation (which luckily will continue to remain unchanged until my treatments stop.

I've been thinking about adding a post that talks about some of the other things I've been doing to keep myself together during all this.

a third of the way through

2007-12-27T06:11:00.000-08:00

Gary is having some cumulative effects from the chemo & radiation and including, of course, being tired. He is switching the chemo meds to evening ( 2 hours after eating) and hope that will help sleeping at night and ease some of the sleepies during the day. The radiation adds to it but there is nothing wrong with an hour or two nap.
Gary also mentioned the Dr said there is some improvement in his vision. gary's reply " I don't see it" Ha ha!

Susan

Scans

2007-12-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

Although they gave me a disk with all of the pre and post surgery scans, the program that I assume allows in depth viewing and comparison won't install on my computers. So I am limited to selecting specific images from the two series. I wanted to, at least, be able to compare images from the same coordinates. The top pictures are pre surgery. The bottom ones are post surgery

visitors

2007-12-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

I want to thank everyone who has visited. Spending time with my friends has really be a source of strength and comfort. The medications and radiation is having a profound effect on my stamina. There are frequent times when I have to shut down and recharge. I certainly look forward to continued visits but understand that we will have to work them into what now appears to be a somewhat unpredictable arousal level.

Gary

Boat Models

2007-12-23T13:32:00.000-08:00

Susan has posted some things about my building a wooden boat model during my free time. This has been an on/off hobby of mine for quite a long time. Like most boys of my generation I spent many a rainy afternoong building plastic models of jets and hanging them from the ceiling of my bedroom. I do remember the only boat I built was a submarine that Myra got as a present.

My first foray into wooden boat models was about 35 years ago. In betwee life changes, I dropped out of school planning to take one of those hippie backpacking trips acrosss Europe. Around the time I got lai off of the job that was going to pay for the trip I had an accident with my parent's shower door and the glass popped out severing the tendon by the big toe on my left foot. I was stuck at my parents house and I don't know where I was but came across the model. My recollection was that it was a preformed bulkhead that needed to be shaped and all of the fittings added. I am sure I recovered well before the boat was finished and I left it with my nephew Richard and remember it sitting in their living room in varying levels of completion over the years.

When Rhonda and I got married I decided to try one of the more complicated models. I picked the H.M.S Beagle in honor of Charles Darwin and spent many many years working on it. To be honest it still is only about 90-95% complete. It had a bit on an accident while we were getting our house ready to sell.

After my surgery I was contemplating things I could do to keep busy. Over the years I moved on from model boats to furniture but I was told to keep away from power tools. Myra and Susan suggested another boat.

So I'll be spending some quality time with the H.M.S Bounty during this recovery
period.

Gary

Chemo & Radiation Days 3,4 & 5

2007-12-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

The treatments are settling into a routine; Gary is there at 8 AM and out by 8:20. The only side affect is being tired. The only loss of hair will be at the radiation site. The oncologist hopes to have Gary off steroids in a few weeks which may help the tiredness somewhat.
And there are no sessions over the weekend.

Susan

Chemo/Radiation Days 3 & 4

2007-12-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

Day 3
Computer was down, so it took as long as before. Did too much after the session so went home tired, which is pretty much the way things are.

Day 4

Finally the short version of the treatment. Met with oncologist, who is up to date on the trials going on at MSKCC and the primary care MD for bloodwork and just to keep his eye on everything. Then tired.

Susan

Radiation/Chemo Day 2

2007-12-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

The second day of radiation went a little bit faster but not as fast as Gary hoped. There was still some adjusting and fine tuning done but there's aren't any sessions over the weeknend, so he has a chance to rest and get ready for a full program next week. The chemo continues every day.
Gary has ordered a new model boat, the Bounty ( http://www.historicships.com/TALLSHIPS/Constructo/HMS%20Bounty%20con80817/HMS%20Bounty%20con80817.htm ) and will get started as soon as it arrives. Danielle has promised to help and Alex promised to help by not helping. What a team!

Susan

Chemo and Radiation - Day 1

2007-12-14T04:16:00.000-08:00

The first day wasn't too bad, just exhausting. It started off with pills one hour before eating, eating, then pills to take after eating. Gary has set up a spread sheet to keep track of the meds: ones before or after eating, ones that are 2,3 or 4 times a day, ones to take as needed and ones to take at bedtime. Soon they'll be color coded too.
The intitial radiation session was longer then the future ones will be. Getting everything set up, x-rays and stufftook close to two hours. Todays session should be 15 minutes or so.
No reaction to the chemo, there are drugs to prevent nausea and after the radiation, he was tired.
Alex is home and Danielle is expected soon. That's something to cheer Gary & Rhonda both. Friends are more then welcome to visit.Just check with Rhonda before so there isn't an overload on any particular day and rememeber Gary tires easily.

Susan

12/13/07lLatest news

2007-12-13T06:10:00.000-08:00

Gary & Rhonda were in New York on Weds, meeting with a neuro-oncologist team at MSKCC (Sloan Kettering). The news was as good as it could get. Because the surgery was so effective in removing the existing tumor and his cognitive skills are intact ( he scored 100 on the exam ), he has an excellant chance on beating the odds of this terrible cancer. Which doesn't mean it will never come back but that he has a greater chance of a longer delay in it's recurrence and a better chance of fighting it off when and if it does come back. And there are lots of new drugs on the horizon in various trial stages.
In the meantime, Gary will be starting his chemo/radiation program today. The radiation course runs five days a week for six weeks and the chemo not as long and thank goodness for good medical/drug coverage. The cost of these pills is astronomical.
It is both physicaly and mentally exhausting for both Gary and Rhonda to answer all your questions and repeat them to all of you. They know and appreciate your concern for them. I will try and keep this as up to date as I can for them and respond to any questions you may have as well.

Susan Klatsky

Why I am glad I studied cogntiive neuroscience

2007-11-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

Given Visual processing has been a long term interest of mine,this experience has been academically fascinating. I did have some very interesting discussions about visual pathways with my neurosurgery team. I wish I was on the other side of the scalpel. one regeret was that they didn't turn on d with the record function associated with the surgical microcope. I've been having a bit of trouble navigating the pre and postoperation scans

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

I had a bit of a minor hiccup today. I seem to be experiencing some focal simple seizures that result in odd sensory feelings in my left leg and arm.Spent a good part of the morning making sure it wasn't hemorrhaging. CT scan showed just some residual blood from the operation. The increased the anti seizure medication and that should fix the problem. In anothercase of one degreee of separation .The ER Dr is best friends with one of our SUNY Oswego friends

I certainly am feeling very thankfulthis year.

some images

2007-11-22T13:21:00.002-08:00

I wish I had access to the same images as the surgeon. I can't even find the comparable pre and postscans

This one Is a bit clearer

some images

2007-11-22T13:21:00.001-08:00

11/21/ update

2007-11-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

I wanted to thank everyone for your support and encouragement
I got home late yesterday afternoon. Being home is probably the best treatment I could get anywhere.

The pre discharge assessment indicated there was some recovery in the slight visual neglect I was having in the lower left quadrant Dr believes that is a function of the surgery, removing the
tumor inflamed the visual pathways front he lateral geniculate nucleus the right thalamus that passes through the right temporal cortex to the the right visual cortex.. I talked to him about more detailed testing but his thought was that once the swelling from the surgery goes down, the impairment will improve. and that will be the best diagnostic tool. next week I meet with the radiological oncology group from Upstate hospital. I also have a contact at Memorial Sloan Kettering NYC for a second opinion of the therapy protocol. I'm having trouble accessing the post surgery scan but will get it posted later

Teaching cognitive neuroscience certainly made this a much easier experience. I had very great conversations with the surgeon about visual pathways. It was interesting that the nurses came to me with questions.

To all of you, have a great thanksgiving. I hope to be back in the dept sometime before the end of the semester.

I certainly would enjoy visitors. Just check with Rhonda. 652 0057 or 391 4387

Update

2007-11-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

Gary was moved out of the ICU to the neuroscience step down room. The nurses told him that this is the last stop before he can leave the hospital. He was told by the neurosurgeon that he will be out of the hospital and able to come home on Tuesday. Despite experiencing some pain around the surgical site he is feeling almost back to normal. He was told that he will be starting radiation therapy two weeks after he is released from the hospital and that it will last four to six weeks. The nurses and doctors are all in awe by how quick he has recovered from the operation. They said most people who have this kind of operation are out of the hospital between 5-12 days and Gary will most likely be home in 4.

Post Surgery

2007-11-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

The surgery was very successful. The surgeon was able to remove all the tumor and he is doing well recovering. There were no damages as a result of the surgery. He is experiencing a slight visual impairment, but it should disappear when the swelling reduces. He is in very good humor and keeps the nursing staff laughing all day. We hope he will be out of the ICU by either tomorrow or Monday, and he should be home for Thanksgiving!

Gary's condition

2007-11-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, on Oct 23rd, Gary had a seizure and was hospitalized. Although none of the tests at the hospital indicated anything serious The MRI taken on 11/13 did show a mass in the
right temporal lobe

This mass appears to be a glioma. The doctors thought it best to have this foriegn body removed as soon as possible. Surgery is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

what's happened

2007-11-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

On October 23rd I had a partial complex seizure. Partial because it was localized. Complex because it affectec my consciousness.

The subsequent EEG indicated some abnormal brain activity but nothing that indicated continuous seizures

Tuesday November 13 I went for an MRI. My doctors wanted me to have the mri done at SUNY Upstate hospital because it is the only place in Syracuse that has the higher resolution MRI

They immediately called my doctor saying the MRI revealed a mass. My doctor called the best neurosurgeon in Syracuse (he said one of the top 10 in the country). They made an appointment for me today.

The bottom line is that the mass is a tumor. At this point all he knows is that it is a glioma

I am scheduled for surgery Friday afternoon. We will try to use ths blog to post updaates