And Then I Got Cancer

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Sarah Lobser - January 23rd 1980 - April 26th 2018

This is a link to a shared photo gallery, please add your own! https://photos.app.goo.gl/9VvG4uLed9lvU6o62 Sarah Lobser passed away peacefully in the evening surrounded by friends and loved ones after a multi-day celebration with many happy moments. Her sense of humor shone through to the very end and her life and spirit will continue to be an inspiration. Sarah gave us the gift of bringing all of us together. All of your comments on this blog kept her spirits up through this long, difficult time. If you are so inclined to help others in need, please sign up to be a bone marrow donor or donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and of course, add your photos to the shared gallery. Much Love, The Lobsers

A Nearly Final Farewell from Sarah's Parents

Dear Friends - We are deeply saddened that Sarah has entered the ending chapter of her battle with this horrific cancer. The medical experts expect only days left to live. It would really lift her spirits to read about memories you've shared with her and any other comments that you would like to offer. We look forward to hearing from you very soon, and we will read all comments out loud to her. Sarah is doing her best to be her usual spirited self in spite of these difficult times. We are grateful for everyone who has been a part of her remarkable life. Sarah's Mom and Dad

Been a long time

I don't know why it's taken me so long to update my blog. I got this idea that people were saying so many nice things about it, I started feeling the pressure of making every post perfect and heartfelt and humorous. So, in order not to be affected by these particular feelings, I figured I'd commit to making this post really sucky. A lot has happened since the beginning of January, so I'm just going to give you the nutshell(s). Last time I wrote, I was participating in a clinical trial at the Sarah Cannon Blood Cancer Institute. Well, it didn't work. There were only three people in my cohort, and I was the only one for whom the drug didn't work. So that was pretty disappointing. The only good thing about this trial was the lack of side effects. Except for a lack of appetite, which sort of ruined my birthday. My parents were determined to take Brent and I out to a nice restaurant, but I was so exhausted and so not in the mood for food that we ended up ordering

Guinea Pig

Today is day 4 of my first, and hopefully last, clinical trial. It's the first day I haven't had an appointment at the Sarah Cannon Colorado Blood Cancer Institute. I think it might be good luck that the institute and I share the same first name. CBCI is attached to Presbyterian St. Luke's, just a stone's throw from Denver's city park, where you would find the zoo and the museum of nature and science. Brent and I keep saying we'll go to the planetarium one of these days before or after one of my appointments, but it hasn't happened yet. The first day of the trial was long, over 12 hours. It started with an icy drive in, followed by a few unsuccessful attempts to draw my blood before resorting to another picc line. I then met with Dr. Maris, who gave me news I should have been expecting. The results of my testing from the previous week were in, and they didn't look awesome. My bone marrow biopsy showed that the leukemia was back up to 30%. Since my las

New year, new drugs to try

I hope you all had a lovely New Year's celebration. Not a lot happened round my way, but David spiced things up by participating in the Polar Plunge at the Boulder Reservoir. I don't know who started this trend of running into freezing cold water to ring in the new year, but I'm not surprised. People will stand in line and pay lots of money to do all kinds of weird things. Brent and David and I all went to the plunge on New Year's Day. There was a decent crowd gathered, with a warming tent where beer and pizza were being served. The crowd was divided into teams and individuals, and each entered the water in order of money raised for the cause (the cause being the American Cancer Society). Some of the teams wore matching outfits, like the guys in the speedos and bowties. The time came for the plungers to get in the water, and for the most part this involved bodies running full tilt into the water, flailing and splashing, sometimes high-fiving the rescue swimmers, then

Merry almost Christmas

I miss laughing. I've had a pain in my diaphragm or ribs, I don't know which, for weeks that gives me trouble every time I laugh, yawn, cough, cry, or vomit. This pain wasn't the only reason I haven't written in so long, but I think it was a contributor. To catch you up on what has happened since my last post: I went home from the hospital feeling weak for some number of days, then started having this pain that sent me back to the ED (no one in the know calls it the ER anymore, it's the "Emergency Department"). It seemed for a while that the pain was related to my gallbladder or lung, and I stayed in the hospital for maybe another week waiting to find out what was wrong with me. Someone had done the math and figured out that I had already spent just about 100 days in the hospital since my diagnosis. I'd like to think it was exactly on day 100 that I couldn't take it anymore. On day 100 or thereabouts I woke up watching the clock and telling all