Wednesday March 23, 2011

1:00PM

You can shed tears that he is gone

Or you can smile because he has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back

Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left

Your heart can be empty because you can't see him

Or you can be full of the love that you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember him and only that he is gone

Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Monday October 12, 2009

3 years ago today it was just supposed to be a headache.......

oh where has the time gone?? 

Missing my guy.... 

the one who was supposed to always 

be there for me....in my heart forever...xxxooo

Friday August 21, 2009

Happy Anniversary Mike....

miss you more each day....

forever in my heart!!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

10:30PM

WHAT A DAY!!!!!!! Instead of flying home on an airplane...I felt as though I could have walked through the clouds.  Just returned from the meeting in DC regarding AVASTIN....I thought I had a pretty good presentation...but to see part of it quoted in the NYTimes is amazing.  The emotions in the room were almost more than any of us could stand.  I met some amazing people today....and not to mention the doctors and researchers from around the world.  Oh...what a  day.  Feels so good to "do the right thing"...as Mike would say.   This drug gave Mike such a good year...everyone should have the same opportunity.  The FDA needed to recognize that and today they did!  My thoughts and prayers are with the families I met today....really something to bond with complete stangers...having the same common denominator.....a brain tumor....beautiful people with heartfelt stories!  Today we all made a difference.  NYTimes article below....best to all...until next time...Evonne

F.D.A. Panel Supports Avastin to Treat Brain Tumor

The New York Times

April 1, 2009

By Andrew Pollack

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended Tuesday that Genentech’s drug Avastin be approved as a treatment for a deadly form of brain cancer, despite the F.D.A.’s own staff reviewers’ saying there was a lack of compelling evidence that the drug worked for that use.

The advisory committee of outside experts said the apparent benefits of the drug outweighed the risks, especially because there were few good alternatives for treating brain cancer patients facing near-certain death.

The committee’s 10-to-0 vote drew applause from members of the audience at the meeting in Silver Spring, Md., some of whom had brain cancer themselves or who had family members with brain cancer. About 10 of these people, some breaking into tears, testified in favor of the drug’s approval.

“If it wasn’t for Avastin, I wouldn’t be here today to address this committee,” said Richard Oropeza Jr. of Williamsburg, Va., who has had brain cancer since 2006.

If the F.D.A. follows the committee’s advice, as it usually does, brain cancer would become the fourth type of cancer for which Avastin is approved. The drug, previously approved for colorectal, lung and breast cancer, is already a blockbuster with sales of $2.7 billion in the United States last year.

Since brain cancer is relatively rare, a new approval would not add that much to sales for Genentech, which was acquired last week by Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company.

The panel on Tuesday was considering Genentech’s request for approval of Avastin for a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme that has relapsed after initial treatment. The first phase of treatment usually consists of radiation therapy and the Schering-Plough drug Temodar.

About 10,000 Americans each year get glioblastoma multiforme, which is considered the deadliest of brain cancers, with a median survival of 14.6 months, according to Genentech. Even before it kills, the cancer can destroy brain function, robbing people of the ability to talk or walk.

Genentech is seeking accelerated F.D.A. approval, which the agency can grant to drugs for life-threatening diseases, even when there is incomplete proof of effectiveness.

The question for the committee Tuesday was whether the evidence the company supplied met even the lower hurdle for accelerated approval.

Genentech did not conduct a trial comparing Avastin with any other drug or with a placebo, making it hard to tell whether the drug worked. In two studies without real control groups, Avastin was found to cause tumor shrinkage in 20 to 26 percent of patients, according to the F.D.A.

But the F.D.A. reviewers questioned whether what appeared to be tumor shrinkage on brain scans might have instead been a reduction in the swelling caused by blood leaking into the brain.

Still, the members of the advisory committee, many of them physicians, said that even a reduction in swelling would help patients, because swelling itself can impair neurological function.

Some committee members said their positive view of the drug was reinforced by public testimony of patients and their family members.

Evonne Stevenson Schott told the committee that before her husband, Michael, started taking Avastin, he had been given about a month to live and could no longer eat or use the restroom without help. But after he started on the drug, he could function better and even swim laps. He lived another year — “a beautiful year,” she said — before dying in March 2008.

“Avastin gave me the chance,” Ms. Schott said, “the chance to dance with my husband again.”

Tuesday October 21, 2008

4:00PM

God didn't promise days without pain, 

laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, 

but He did promise strength for the day, 

comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Monday August 18, 2008
6:30PM
As today marks 21 weeks without Mike and Thursday is our wedding anniversary I 
am reminded of the constant emptiness that I feel.....next come the reminders of 
the friendships that Mike made during his lifetime.
I had a wonderful visit with a dear friend of Mike's today...Rod Thomas who lives in Kentucky was 
driving through Detroit with another dear friend Sue...we had an emotional 2 
hour visit.  As they left I knew Mike was smiling down on us....happy and proud 
to know his friends are so loyal!
That leads me to another group of men that Mike had worked with.  Ted Cook and 
his wife Brenda participated in the American Cancer Society's "Relay For Life" 
in Atlanta.  Ted is a Region Manager for HBC.
The following is from an email from Ted:
"A couple of months ago, my wife, Brenda, participated in an American Cancer 
Society Relay For Life Event.  Brenda was particularly driven to excel in 
raising money for this event because our family and friends have suffered 
greatly in the last two years from cancer-related deaths and struggles.  Brenda 
also knew Mike, having met him on a company Hawaii trip when I was still with 
our Atlanta distributor.  Mike always remembered Brenda by name and often asked 
how she was doing.
Brenda raised the second highest dollar amount for an individual in our county-wide program, well over 
$1200.00.  Over $400.00 of that total came from the members of our DSD team 
copied on this e-mail, donated in honor of Mike Schott.  We made our Mike 
donations in $100 increments so that we could get torches bearing the name of 
the honored that would be lit the night of the walk. We got 3 in memory of Mike 
and 1 in honor of you, Evonne, for your steadfast support of Mike in his time of 
need. To personalize her fight to raise money, Brenda made cancer awareness 
ribbons, color-coded for the particular cancers, and put the name of each person 
she accepted donations for on the appropriate colored ribbon. "

As I told Ted in an email I was "deeply honored and touched" by this gesture.  
The picture below is of the name plaques that were on the torches.
Many thanks to all who participated in this event to help with the dreadful 
fight against ALL cancer....until next time...Evonne