Special Place to Remember....

I thought maybe this weekend would be a good time to post and share about George's resting spot and marker. Although George was from the Valley and had always thought he wanted to be at the Chatsworth Cemetery where some of his friends that he loss during his youth were laid to rest. He his last few months he made the decision to be in Santa Clarita closer to where I would remain, and raise the kids. He requested to be by a tree, and selected the verse to placed on the marker. Such difficult decisions to make, and never ones we thought we would be doing at that time in our lives. I think he would be very pleased with the statement his marker reflects.
On Sunday it will be his 53rd Birthday. The kids and I will celebrate his birth with friends, and an outing that would have been right up his ally.....

News to Share.....

 Many of you have heard that George's Dad passed away on December, 10th exactly one month after George. He was living nearby, and had suffered in recent years from a stoke resulting in short term memory loss. It was difficult for all of us to see his deterioration. George wanted to spare his dad anymore pain, and ask that we not share with him his struggle and passing from the cancer. George's Dad passed away peacefully on the evening of the 10th with no struggle. I know that would have pleased George to know that his dad didn't suffer, and quietly joined his Wife and Son.
George's Dad served in World War II and will be given a well deserved Military Burial on Friday January, 6th 1:00 at Riverside National Cemetery. We will also hold a Memorial the local Veterans Hall  in Tarzana on Saturday January, 7th at  2:00 PM.
Both our George's will be dearly missed!!

                                                                        George Vanca Sn.
                                                        March 4, 1922 - December 10, 2011

Posting From the Raleigh Family

Dear Friends of the Vanca Family,

As most of you know, our friend, George Vanca, died this last Thursday after struggling with pancreatic cancer.  The good news is that George is now at peace and in the presence of our Lord Jesus.  And those who share George's hope will meet again.

George is survived by his wife, Donna, daughter, Hanna, and son, Matthew.  On account of the medical expenses George has incurred, the costs of his burial, and the loss of his income, his family has some financial needs.  Because of these needs, I am reaching out to George's friends to ask for donations in lieu of flowers or other gifts.

I have confirmed with George's bank that checks made payable to "The Vanca Family" can be deposited into a savings account George used and can be accessed by Donna for the family's expenses.  You can mail a check to my office at the following address and I will deposit your checks into George's account.

Ken Raleigh
Hedman Partners CPAs
27441 Tourney Road, Suite 200
Valencia, CA  91355

Memorial Service

Dear Family and Friends,
The past few days have been so painful, and difficult. We are so appreciative of  the love and support we have received. I know George would be honored by the faithfulness demonstrated by his friends and colleges, and the kindness that has been extended to myself and the children.

Services to honor George will be held:

Monday November, 21, 2011
11:00 AM
Grace Baptist Church
22833 Copper Hill Drive
Santa Clarita, Ca

Graveside Service
Eternal Valley Memorial Park
Newhall, Ca

Reception to follow at the home of
Jan and Jeff Bernards

*Address and directions will be available at the service



*In Lieu of Flowers a fund is being set up for the Vanca Children. You may contact Ken Raleigh for information and details at 4raleighs@gmail.com

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Today at 1:30 in the afternoon our Lord directed George's path home.
He was pain free, peaceful, and surrounded by Hanna, Matthew and myself.

The past few days the Lord has been preparing him, and I know he was touched by the love from all of you.

As soon as we have details regarding the service it will be posted.

~Donna

Home Sweet Home!

Friday Night Update

George has now been here at UCLA for a week. Dr. W along with the Palliative care team have been successful in getting George's pain under control. He continues to have fluid issues with swollen leg & feet. Today he received another blood transfusion, and medication to help shift some of his fluid. He has been tired, and frequently falls asleep during visits. He took a slow walk down the hall to help increase his lung expansion, get his legs moving.
We have had many decisions to make regarding his care, with our main goal being his comfort. It is apparent to the Doctors, and us that the growth of the tumor has increased. It is felt that his care will be focused on comfort when he is discharged Saturday.
~Donna

Sunday Update

George started the day uncomfortable again, and so the rate of his continues Dilaudid drip was increased. His Red Blood Cell count has also dropped, and so he received another unit of blood. He is feeling a little better now getting settled in for the night. We don't have the exact time for the nerve block procedure yet, however I'll tweet when we know.
George was encouraged by the support he received today, but tired. Thanks to Chris for taking the early shift, and helping me out today.
~Donna

Saturday Update

George was unable to get the nerve block today. The GI doctor was available however, the unavailability of the Anesthesiologist was the issue. The GI Doctor will attempt to get it coordinated for Sunday however, we were told it may not happen until Monday. Until the block is done, George will continue on the PCA to control his pain.
The Ultrasound was done, and they did find a clot in Georges lower left leg. He was started on a Heparin drip for now, and will be changed to a drug that us given by injection when he goes home.
Our prayer is for good pain control and that the block can be done Sunday.

~Donna

Pain......

George has had a dramatic increase in pain this last week. He has been unable to find a position that is comfortable to sleep. On Thurday night he was up all night, and by morning not only was he still in pain (even with medication) his feet were swollen. After informing Dr. W it was decided he would be admitted for pain control, and to rule out any clots in the lower legs.
Last night after the first dose of IV pain medication he was feeling much more comfortable. I came home late and her was feeling very loopy and tried form the meds. His night was not pain free, and were still working on adjustments of the dose to achieve comfort.
The plan is for him to be transported over to UCLA's main Hospital in Westwood to undergo a
procedure done that blocks the nerves surrounding the Pancreases. The block is done via endoscopic scope so he will be out for the procedure. As of a few minutes ago we are still waiting for a time, as he is being added on to the schedule. He is also having an ultrasound on the legs to check for any clots.
I will update later today after the procedure. George appreciates all the messages, but please understand that he is so out of it from the pain medications that responding to text or
messages is just not possible. I'm sure Sunday or Monday will be better.

~Donna

TPN

George has now been receiving the TPN for almost a week, and we are starting to get into a routine. He is never ready to be hooked up in the evening, and looks forward to being disconnected every morning.
For the most part I have been handling most of the process everyday, and we are grateful to have a few  nurse friends who have offered to help out. Thanks to Diane V. (friend and fellow CHLA RN), who came to  prepare the TPN and connect him the other night while I was at work. It is very comforting knowing we have such great support close by.
We continue with the goal of weight gain for George, and more energy.

Resting and Waiting

On Monday afternoon we met with George's oncologist. It was decided that George needed to get more rest and nutritional support before considering additional chemo options. The stent is working, however, but George is limited to a soft diet for now. His weight loss in the hospital was significant, and we will be adding TPN to his regiment to help add calories. The process will take another day or so to set up, but he should start by the end of the week. We will meet with Dr.Wainberg again in two weeks to further discuss if the clinical trail in an option.

Stent Placement

We were thrilled that the Stent placement went well. Yesterday was a long day as George was the last case to be done, but once we were given the word that the stent was placed it was worth the wait for endoscopic Doctor. George was back in his room by 9:00 PM, and felt encouraged for the first time in days. Dr. T was not the one doing the procedure, but he came to observe and give me the good news. We are so fortunate to have him on our case. Thanks to Suzanne and Kim for waiting with me, it helps to have a distraction.
George is doing good today, just tired. We are so thankful to be here at UCLA, however when you are at a teaching hospital the Doctors arrive very early for rounds. Today the first Doctor knocked at the door at 4:45 AM, and then Dr. Tomlinson's surgical team arrived at 6:00 AM. George only received about 3 hours sleep, so he's napping now as I write this. I stayed last night here with him, and found it so odd to be the patients family member, and not the nurse. It gives me new insight into how my patients families feel when the Doctors arrive so early and just flip on the lights. We are Glad to have such good care, but I know George will get more sleep when he's back home.
The plan will be to advance from the clear liquid diet he is on now to soft solids later today. If he is able to handle his meals well he will be discharged Thursday morning.

Thank you for all the prayers, and encouraging emails. We feel so grateful for the support.

~Donna

Quick Update

Sorry it took me so long to get more details posted. Thursday we ended up in the ER at UCLA, not a great way to spend your Birthday (George turned 51 Thursday). He was having increased abdominal discomfort, and we needed him to be assessed. The ER attending had a CT done so they could see what was causing the distention. George had been scheduled to have an outpatient CT done on Friday to check the progress of the Chemo treatment and re-staging. The CT showed that the primary tumor in the Pancreas was pushing on the part of the small bowel that is directly below the stomach. The stomach was unable to empty, and allow food passage. The blockage in not complete so some liquids were slowly passing, but not much. The obstruction needs to be resolved, so the surgical team was consulted. George spent the next several hours having his
stomach drained (I'll spare you the details) but not a fun night. The surgical team contacted Dr. T our surgical oncologist, and George was admitted in the middle of the night. I will not go into details, but between 12 and 4 AM I was on the phone with the ER attending as our primary medical group was giving UCLA a difficult time with approving the admission. They wanted us transferred out of UCLA. Clearly our Medical group has system issues with documentation, and can't see that we were granted treatment with the UCLA oncology department. Friday I spent another full day of phone calls, dealing with the medical group as they had a hard time understanding the obstruction was related to the cancer, I was in no mood to be messed with after only getting 2 hours of sleep. The end result is that after they spoke with
Dr. T it was clear that they are unable to provide the car, and procedure needed so they approved for George to stay at UCLA.


The plan is as follows; George will be limited to small amounts of liquids to taken by mouth for the next few days, he will need have a procedure in which a Stent is placed in the upper small intestine to open the obstruction. Dr. T is not sure the stent will work, but this will
be the least invasive way to open the obstruction. UCLA has a GI doctor that specializes is this type of procedure, it is done with the scope. If the procedue in not successful Dr. T will need to do a surgical procedure to bypass the obstruction. The stent placement will be done on Tuesday, and George will stay in the hospital until then to allow his bowel to rest, and receive IV hydration.
Yesterday was not an easy day as Dr. T also shared that the CT showed the cancer cells have spread to several areas in the Liver. We will meet with our primary oncologist on Monday to
talked more about this, and what our treatment plan will be.
Please pray for that the stent placement is successful on Tuesday, and recovery goes well. George will most likely be in the hospital until next Thursday. You may send him a message at his email gmvanca@aol.com if you wish. He may not be up to responding to all his messages and text, but he reads them all :)

~Donna

Hiccups Resolved

Well I'm glad to report that Georges Hiccups have resolved. Thank you to our friend Lisa G (who is not only a friend, but a former oncology nurse as well). She was kind enough to pass on some information related to Hiccups and Cancer patients. We feel is was the Zofran George takes for nausa that was the cause. The day they started he had been given a great deal of Zofran due to the nausea he was experiencing during Chemo. The hiccups have now stopped but the nausea continues. He has a few different things he takes, but it has really wiped him out.
Thanks also to Georges Uncle Roy who always calls at the right time with words of encouragement.
Please pray that he is able to eat, and get enough calories in each day as he's having difficulty doing that right now.

~Donna

Quiet Week

This past week was the first of two off weeks from Chemo for George. I wish I could say he feels great, and is enjoying the off week but, that is just not the case. He has been very tired and just feels drained. He does have one odd, and annoying symptom that we continue to search the cause of. He has hiccups that last for hours at a time. They frequently start at night, and keep him from sleeping. Just when we think they are gone, they start up again. Very odd and kinda disruptive as far as sleep goes.
The plan will be to have a CT next week and then hopefully we will have results by September 26, and know if we continue the treatment plan or make a change.
We appreciate all the prayers and help these past several months. Please continue to pray that the treatment is effective and the scan results are good.

Frustrating Morning

Today George is on Day 8 of cycle #3. Sleeping at night has been difficult for George, and last night was no exceptions. He actually fell asleep pretty well, only to be awaken at 1:30 AM with the ringing of the doorbell. After rushing to the front door, and realizing no one was in sight, we concluded it was just teens being rude. The hard part was that then we couldn't go back to sleep. As morning came George was so tired from the lack of sleep, and frustrated knowing he had a long day of Chemo ahead. We discovered as Matthew was leaving for school that our car and house had been egged in the middle of the night. I felt overwhelmed at the task of cleaning up this mess, getting the car cleaned off, and having a deadline to get down to UCLA. After a few phone calls, and the help of our neighbors Chris and Kelly we got it all cleaned up. Sadly we were not the only house on the block that had been hit.
We headed down to UCLA for the Chemo. His counts were pretty good, and even know George felt so lousy the Chemo was started. It was decided would get some extra fluids via IV to help flush out the Chemo, and keep him hydrated.
We are now done with 3 complete cycles of the Chemo. You may have noticed that I wrote out the exact way the Doctor counts the cycle. Each cycle is really 21 days during which he gets Chemo on day #1 and #8. So Chemo is day 1 then again day 8 then 7 days off starting the next cycle after day 21 is complete.
This time we will end up with an extra week off. The plan for now is that George have a repeat CT scan to see the progress, and start Cycle # 4 around September 26.
We will let you know when that is scheduled.

Blood Transfusion Today

Today George is here at UCLA for day 1 of Chemo cycle #3. We just found out his Red Blood Cell count is low so in order to get the Chemo he must first receive a Blood transfusion. This is just a bump in the road,however, one George was hoping to avoid.
He has been very tired this past week,so now we know why. He will still receive Chemo so we can stay on track with treatments.
Hoping that after they give him the pre-medications he will be able to nap a bit during the infusion.
I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.
~Donna

Better Week

George has now completed four cycles of the new Chemo regiment. This last Monday he just barely made counts to get the chemo, so we are grateful that he received the Neulasta injection last Tuesday. I don't think I had shared that the original plan to take daily Neupogen injections was put on hold due to the very large co-payment the injections would cost. Neupogen is one of the those drugs that when given inpatient it's covered 100%, but given at home it is very costly. The Neulasta is given in the infusion center so it is covered, but it can only be given when you have at least 14 days before the next dose of Chemo and it takes about three days before it "kicks in".  It is basically like a long acting Neupogen that increases the Neutrophil (white blood cell) counts.

Having two weeks of back-to-back chemo has been hard, but these past few days George is feeling a little stronger and now looks forward to this "off week", with NO chemo!  Additionally, he's now taking natural products, Green Smoothie's, and other supplements.  Thank you to Hazel, who has been bringing smoothie's to our door every morning, as well as, coconut's, and other healthful "alternatives."
A special thanks to Pastor Dan Fetters, for arranging a meeting with all of the Elders at our church, who prayed over us this past Wednesday evening...

We celebrate our 14th Wedding Anniversary this coming Tuesday. This year, we look at our marriage, our family, and our friendships, through a whole different perspective of love, appreciation, and gratitude.
~Donna

A Rough Week

So the Stent placement didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. Last Monday was the longest day. We were one of the first patients to arrive at the procedure unit at UCLA, and the very last to be discharged Monday night. We even heard one of the nurses say to another "Are they still here?" Believe me, we were glad to get back on the 405 and get back home. The procedue was more painful going through the Liver route, with a needle, then the surgeon had led on it would be. George was awake for the entire 45 minute procedure and one of the nurses forgot to give him a second dose of a pain med. George had discomfort for several days and is still sore at the site. On Wednesday, he started having symptoms that were indicating the Stent may have been plugged. We rushed off to our local urgent care to get labs, and then waited for the decision from the UCLA Doctors. It was decided to go ahead and plan to have the procedure re-done to open up the Stent, if needed. Friday we headed back, after all the approvals were obtained, and had the blood work repeated. George's symptoms had gone away and we very prayerful that the Lab's would show that the procedure was not needed. Finally, at 2:30, it was confirmed that everything looked good, and the Stent was working. George was on a gurney, wearing a gown, IV's in his arm and ready for surgery when they said we could go home. What a roller coast we were on...

we have been taking it easy this weekend, and George is resting and eating as much as he can.


Monday will be cycle 3 of the new Chemo. George is glad to be moving on getting a full dose of the Chemo, but it wasn't much of a "week off" for him.



Our prayer is that his blood counts stay high so he will have no delays in the Chemo cycle's.

~Donna