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Sep 15 2004

Bill was diagnosed with esophageal cancer - stage III. Further testing revealed a malignant nodule in his abdomen. An intense treatment program of chemo therapy and radiation is scheduled - to be followed by a Trans-hiatal esophagectomy (surgery).

Oct 24 2004

A triple benefit was held for Bill Delaney to offset the cost of his medical treatments. The event was hosted by everyone at American Canine Academy. Friends, family, employees, current clients and past clients all came together to make this event possible. From the Dog Games in the morning - held at the warehouse - to the Beefsteak Luncheon held at the Alexus Steakhouse in the afternoon - to the Tricky Tray which was held at both events - the support for Bill's fight against cancer was overwhelming. About 100 dogs attended the dog games in the morning and over 250 people attended the Beefsteak Luncheon.

Although Bill was weak and unable to stay long, he made a heartfelt speech at the luncheon thanking everyone for their support and vowing to fight hard.

The outpouring of support continues. Homemade meals mysteriously show up at his door, a Fifth Avenue Landscaping Truck is seen taking care of the yardwork and his dogs are being cared for while he's at the hospital getting treatments. American Canine Academy is NOT an ordinary business - it's an extended family - filled with the most wonderful & compassionate people in the world. Bill's business is still running and will be there waiting for him without missing a beat when he returns. His extended "family" will make sure of it.

Bill is still driving himself back and forth to the hospital for his treatments, taking care of his 4 dogs and continuing to be as independent as possible. Unfortunately, the effects of treatment are now catching up with him.

Bill was taken by ambulance to Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ. He was severely dehydrated and his potassium level was depleted. He was also treated for a throat & ear infection. Chemo & Radiation treatments have put on hold until Bill is well enough again.

Bill began his daily radiation treatments again.

Bill began his chemo-therapy treatments again.

Radiation Therapy that was targeted on the malignant nodule in his abdomen may have resulted in also targeting in on his spine. The angle of radiation treatment is now changed to relieve Bill's back pain and he is scheduled for a diagnostic CT scan next week to make sure that nothing else is going on.

Some Good News! A regular CT scan was taken on Monday and it showed that the primary tumor in his esophagus is 2/3 the size it was before treatments started.

After 30 treatments to date, the cancer & treatment related fatigue has caught up with Bill. Simple tasks are overwhelming for him and leave him exhausted. If you are thinking of volunteering - now is the time.

There is a cooler set up by Bill's front door. Meals and/or a little food shopping (reimbursed of course!) would be greatly appreciated. Leave a note taped to the top of the cooler so he knows that something is in it.

Meals should be small portions. Bill can not have tomatoes, onions, red sauce, rice or small pasta, processed meats, citrus or acidity foods/drinks, fried or spicey foods.

Personal Message from Bill

Hi Everyone. I’d like to start off by thanking each and every one of you for all of your support during this difficult time. Your kindness and generosity has been motivating me with my struggle to get through this.

Thank you Lynn, Barry, Soko, Jim, Maureen, Andy, Mary Lou, Raffe, Tara, Jo Ann, Pete, Sharon, Jerry, Lisa, Lori, Diane, Nancy and Lola for the homemade meals. There have been meals dropped off and I don’t know who left them – thank you to you too.

Thank you Guy & Lisa for taking care of my dogs, going food shopping and also more homemade meals. Guy – you’ve been great and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve been doing for my guys on a daily basis.

Thank you Andy & Heather for helping with my dogs too.

Thank you Sandi & Dana for grooming my dogs.

Thank you Joan for all of the work you’ve done with making this website possible. At this time, it’s my only means of communication to most of my friends and clients.

Thank you John for your constant support and again to you and Pete for cleaning my downstairs spare bedroom out so when I have surgery, I don’t have to walk up the stairs to the bedroom up there.

Thank you again John and Carlos for cleaning the warehouse on a weekly basis and helping with cleaning my house.

Thank you Tom from Fifth Avenue Landscaping for taking care of my yard work.

Thank you Chris for fitting me into your busy schedule. Between taking care of your own family, working full time and taking care of mom – you somehow manage to find the time to take care of me too. Thank you Jessalyn for helping your mom.

Thank you Mom for doing my laundry and thank you Evan for rolling up my socks!

Thank you Dory for your tireless effort in keeping this ship afloat. I don’t know if anyone realizes how much work you’re doing and I’m hoping that everyone is giving you support down at school. You do the work of 5 people and I don’t know where I’d be without you. You are an amazing person and I can’t thank you enough.

I’m sure that I forgot to mention some names but please know that this “Thank You” is sincere and goes out to everyone. I’ve been independent most of my life but now I’m finding it extremely hard to do the simplest of tasks without some help. I try to do a little food shopping but then I come home and am so exhausted that I can’t prepare a meal. I try to prepare a meal but then become so exhausted that I don’t have the energy to eat it. This is the story for everything that I try to do. Your support is a tremendous help to me.

I am at the end of my treatments now – I should be finishing up this week and next I will find out whether surgery is an option or more treatments are necessary. I will keep you posted.

Again, thank you all for everything and have a Safe, Healthy and Happy Holiday!

Bill Delaney

We are finished with this series of daily radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The oncologist is concerned with the chronic pain in Bill's back so an MRI is scheduled for next week. Bill says that the pain in his back is worse than the treatments. He can't sit, stand or walk for any length of time.

Another appointment is scheduled with his Gastroenterologist to see what the next step will be. The oncologist noted that he may have to do another series of chemotherapy.

Bill - we want you to know that we are ALL behind you every step of the way and will do whatever it takes to get you through this. We miss you at American Canine Academy. Hurry back.

Bill is scheduled for a consultation on 1/4/2005 and plans on resting and regaining some of his strength for the next 2 weeks. The MRI results showed that his back pain is an issue but the cancer did NOT spread to his bones.

Message from Bill

More thank you's to Tracey & John, Jen & Joe, Pat & Sierra for the delicious meals.

Because of all of you, I feel I am truly blessed this Holiday Season. I hope to see you all soon.

Bill

Bill will be starting a new series of chemotherapy treatments on Thursday, January 20th. He is also scheduled for a nerve test on his back on January 27th for his herniated disk. Radiation myelopathy may have occurred but is not yet confirmed.

More Thanks from Bill...

I am humbled by the tremendous support you all have been giving me. Thank you Jim & Soko, Guy & Lisa, Peg & Stan, Janet, Cindy, Jen & Joe and Janice & Jim for the food, the books, the music, the tapes, the shopping, the cleaning but most of all, just for being there for me. What goes around, comes around and I hope your goodwill comes back to you tenfold.

For my friends and clients that have put entries in the guestbook - thank you for your prayers. I wish I could email you all back but I have a hard enough time just getting to my website! Computers aren't one of my strong points but do know I look forward to and appreciate hearing from you all.

Bill

It's been a busy month with lots of appointments, tests, scans and procedures. Bill's 1st chemotherapy treatment this time around, was a tough one to get through. As of today's visit with the oncologist, Bill has a low white blood cell count so the next treatment is postponed until March 1st.

The initial treatment for the herniated disk in his spine is pain management for now. Pain management is used as an alternative to surgery as part of an aggressive conservative care program.

Although Bill doesn't have too many "good" days, he's trying his best to get out and about to regain some normalcy in his life. He doesn't go far and he's not out for long but it's the most he can do at this point.

Bill's chemo treatment was again postponed - this time because of the snow storm. Speaking of which - thank you to the kind people who shoveled for him. Much appreciation and thanks are sent your way!

Bill had his chemo treatment today. Between the pre-admittance testing in the morning and the actual treatment, it was another 12 hour day at the hospital. Bill is home resting now.

Personal Message from Bill

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.

I was having a better day than most days on Sunday during the Agility Benefit so it was good to get out, get some fresh air and see some of you. The next few days I was back in bed with a fever. My white blood cell count is low which makes me prone to infection so the little socializing that I did wasn't the best thing for me to do. Needless to say however, I did enjoy that day.

Again, I would like to thank all of you for your constant support. I hope you all had a good time at the Agility Event. Congratulations to Margaret, Piper and all of you that participated in the day's events and I hope to see you all someday soon.

Bill had a consultation with his oncologist today. Bill's sister Marianne came down from Massachusetts for the weekend to spend some time with her brother, help sort out some affairs and to give him support for this consultation. Bill's cancer has metastasized and spread to distant lymph nodes, so more chemotherapy treatments are necessary. The doctor stated that it is premature to discuss surgery at this time.

Bill had his chemotherapy treatment on April 6th and is doing okay now. He is scheduled for a CT Scan today and then will have a follow up consultation next week with his oncologist.

As long as no treatments are scheduled, he looks forward to seeing everyone May 1st at the Dog Walkathon in Ridgewood.

FINALLY!!! Some GREAT news!!! Bill had his follow up consultation and exam Wednesday with the oncologist. The treatments are working! The doctor is very pleased with the improvement from the last CT Scan to this one. He is also pleased with Bill's appearance - making note that Bill does not look like someone who has undergone all of these treatments along with the high doses he's receiving. Bill feels like he's aged 20 years and feels like he's gone through a war but he looks like a bull (doctor's description!).

This good news is due to all of YOU! Your prayers, the homemade meals and all of the support he's been receiving throughout this ordeal are nourishing his body and soul.

Bill has a few more procedures to get through next month and then will be re-evaluated to decide the next course of action. In the meantime, he is in good spirits and is looking forward to seeing everyone again on Sunday.

A benefit was held today at the Ridgewood Duck Pond and proceeds were donated to the Bill Delaney Medical Fund. The event started with a gathering of dogs and their owners at the pavilion and Bill was present to greet everyone. Every dog received a patriotic American Canine Academy bandana and every owner received a yellow wristband which signified the LIVESTRONG Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation. A walk around the duckpond was followed by a LONG walk down the miles of trails. The event was a success - THANKS TO THOSE THAT PARTICIPATED AND THOSE WHO WALKED WITH US IN SPIRIT!!! The weather was perfect and the barbeque after the walk was a fantastic ending. Thank you again for your show of support!

Personal Message from Bill

Thanks to everyone for your amazing continued support - especially the crew at school. Special thanks to Arlene, Marita & Al for the Agility Benefit and Patricia, Ed & Sierra for the Dog Walk Benefit. Additional thank yous to Toni, Fran, Karen & Dino, Mark, Glenn, Maureen & Andy for your part in making these events a success. Most of all, thank you Dory for all of the tremendous support that you've given me this entire time combined with your unique ability to get things done and make it look so easy.

Thanks to all of you that participated in these events. Your support helps to put the odds back in my favor to obtain good heath once again.

We're sorry for the delay in keeping this website updated on a regular basis. Last month was filled with good news and bad news and it was hard to find the right words to explain what was going on.

The good news was that Bill had biopsies done last month and the results came back negative. The malignant nodule in his abdomen has disappeared and the tumor in his esophagus is gone. The news couldn't have been any better than that. His body responded well to the treatments.

His esophagus is severely ulcerated so he takes medication before every meal to help coat his throat so food can pass through with a little less pain. He may need a stent put in his throat to open the narrowed passageway soon. He was hospitalized again last month because of the severe pain he's having throughout his body. More pain medication was prescribed.

Upon getting the good news that the tumor in his esophagus was negative for cancer and actually gone, Bill couldn't understand why he is in more pain now than ever before. He was reluctant to update the website with the good news because he knew that something was terribly wrong. The good news was replaced with bad news within a week. A large tumor surfaced on the side of his neck. The oncologist said with certainty that this tumor is his lymph node and is most likely malignant. Bill is scheduled for a biopsy next week to confirm this.

Further treatments and/or surgery will follow.

Your support, prayers and positive energy sent throughout this ordeal have made a world of difference to Bill as he continues to fight this disease. The chronic pain in his stomach, neck & back have him virtually confined to his house. Driving himself anywhere is out of the question at this time. He is unable to sleep and is struggling to keep food down. All of the medications he's taking are wreaking havoc to his digestive system but he can't get through a single day without them. Please continue to pray for him. He needs your help more now than ever.

Bill was scheduled for surgery today to remove the tumor on his neck/shoulder. When he was taken into the operating room, everything was immediately canceled because Bill was sick and in too much pain.

This is a tough fight - but Bill's tougher. The surgery will be rescheduled at a later date.

Bill is scheduled for surgery next week.

Bill took a turn for the worse. He has been in Hackensack Hospital since last Friday. They are doing everything they can to get the pain under control.

It is confirmed that the tumor that surfaced on his neck is malignant and also the cancer has shown up now in other areas. Surgery is postponed and chemotherapy treatments have begun again.

Cards/Letters can be sent to his house (205 Hawthorne Ave, Hawthorne, NJ 07506) and will be delivered to him personally. No flowers, plants or food are allowed in his room

Thank you to all of you for standing by his side all of this time. Your continued support is an inspiration to him.

PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM BILL

Hi Everyone,

After over a month long battle with extreme pain in my stomach and back, to the point that I could not lay flat for more than five seconds at a time for over one month and hadn't slept in five weeks, my doctor wanted to admit me 2 weeks prior into PBI. I felt like a change had to be made. I no longer felt comfortable with that hospital.

I was taken by ambulance to Hackensack Hospital. Not knowing any doctors there, it was a bit scary just going in cold without any contacts.

The emergency room was buzzing, it was amazing to watch. They were dealing with four car accidents at the same time. My fears were laid to rest immediately upon seeing them manage the chaos to perfection. I had nurses and ER staff all over me within minutes. They helped work up my charts and got me prepped for numerous tests, x-rays, CT scans, got me on fluids and got me stabilized.

The only available bed was in Urology, which I was admitted into later that day. The focus of my treatment at this point was pain management. The nurses working on me were great. I had requested an oncologist and hoped to meet him soon. After my first consultation with Dr. Harper, I felt he was the doctor I should be seeing. After 3 days in urology with two sleepless nights, they had to keep increasing the pain medicine to levels too high for that department to administer, so I was moved up to oncology when a bed was available. Dr. Harper tied all of the pain in my back, the tumor in my neck (which was now the size of a baseball) and the pain in my stomach together as all being esophageal cancer related pain. He was able to get the pain under control and then started me on oral and IV chemo treatment. Within days, my tumor began to shrink, the pain was under control with my regiment of medications and I started to come through my toughest fight yet. During my hospital stay, I had a vigil of friends and family that watched over me the entire time. Two weeks later, on Wednesday July 27th, I was released from Hackensack. In passing, my nurse said that she didn't think that I was one of the ones that would be walking out of there.

My support team for my release took over immediately, consisting of Guy, Dory and my sisters. I (along with my 4 dogs) spent the first 2 weeks under Dory's care which was the best place I possibly could have been. She managed the new protocol of medicines, which amounted to different pills every couple of hours. I have a visiting nurse come to check on me also. Even she had to comment on how organized Dory was and how impressed she was with her taking on the enormous task of caring for me in this present condition. After 2 weeks of healing, I was able to go back home, thanks to my sister Ellen who came down from Mass. to spend the week with me. Last Tuesday, Aug 9th, Ellen took me to the Cancer Clinic at Hackensack for my 4th IV chemo. I had a rough go afterwards again, but have, at this point, 21 days of oral chemo and 3 more IV sessions before I'm reevaluated.

Right now, I am writing this to you from Dory's house again. She stopped in to check on me Friday before classes and saw that I was in no condition to be left alone. Guy immediately came to my rescue by offering to take care of my dogs while Dory brought me back up to her house for the weekend. I don't know what I would do without them.

I feel I'm back on track and have the best support teams available to me now. I pray to God for thanks that you are all behind me. I would not be here without you.

Love, Bill

Bill has been at Hackensack Hospital for the past 2 weeks undergoing more treatments. The cancer has now spread to his bones (spine) so between the IV chemo, the oral chemo, the radiation treatments, the increase in pain meds and the blood transfusions, he's having a tough time right now.

So many of you continue to show your support and Bill is ever so grateful but worries that he doesn't have the strength at this time to thank you all personally. Thank you's go out to Diane & Bobby for the temporary fencing that they put up when Bill was no longer able to walk his dogs, Tommy and his crew at Fifth Avenue Landscaping for continuing to take care of his yard, Marita for planting flowers around his home, Fran and Artie for the permanent fencing, Judy for the beautiful scrapbook and the list goes on. The cards, letters, donations and guestbook entries on the website also continue to lift his spirits. There are so many of you to thank - please be assured that this thank you goes to all of you. You know who you are and so does Bill. Thank you for your prayers and continued support that inspire Bill to get through each day.

Dec 31 2005