Back At It Again

Amy and I came to Effingham for chemo with Mom today. She started the treatment around 9:20 a.m. and she's not finished yet (it's 4 p.m.).  It's been a pretty fun day, though. Lots of laughing and poking Amy's belly and unborn child. Dr. Dy was very excited to see us, and even gave us hugs. He's also happy with Mom's progress and the news from MD Anderson.

The new dosage instructions from MD Anderson specificy that the treatment be given very slowly to minimize the risk of Mom's veins burning (which is why she's here longer than usual). Today when they gave her the gemcitabine (which is the burning drug), her vein was freezing cold (which is good, but really weird to feel). The cisplatin also went by like a breeze. Hopefully since Mom hasn't had chemo for six weeks, this treatment won't make her as tired as the last one.

We took these photos this afternoon. They're not the most flattering of any of us, but oh well. Gotta love auto-timers. :)  ~Jen

A Photo Shoot

We took some pictures last night while mom is feeling good and before she starts the Tarceva..which causes her rash. They turned out beautifully and Rylan, my husband, did a great job!! Check out more of the shoot at AR Photography.  -Amy

Starting over....

After returning from Houston, I have started walking again (encouraged by the dr to keep it up) so Amy and I walked two days (2 miles each day), and Pat and I walked two miles this morning. I am cleared for chemo this Wednesday so I am not sure how long I can keep walking two miles, but I'm going to try.
I will also return to work tomorrow (YEAH!) but then miss Tuesday and Wednesday. My hair is thinning and although I tease it alot so people don't notice how thin it is, the docs advised I go ahead and get a wig just in case I start to lose it after starting back on chemo. My last treatment was about 6 weeks ago. So Tuesday, I will head to Evansville and get one ordered......just in case.
I plan to work Thursday and Friday of this week also. Just gotta play it by ear....my life is day by day....not week by week anymore.
I want to list a few things I am thankful for in the past three/six weeks :
First of all, God...without Him, I would be SO lost through this journey.
My husband and family....who trecked to Springfield for my surgeries. This includes my mom and sisters,too. Not to mention Jennifer who met Pat and I at MD Anderson in Houston.
I am thankful for one of the best places a person could work and the employees are right there calling, sending cards, bringing food, emailing, praying, and being like a part of my family also.
I am SO thankful for all the prayers...some from people I don't even know. I know in my heart that the good report from MD Anderson, the good doctors I had at Springfield (who made me 100% better and ready for treatment again) were all due to the power of prayer. God has continually been right beside me just as he promised on that very first consultation at Mayo Clinic. I will continually thank Him and praise Him!
I am thankful for each day I can get up, make it through the day with no pain (which is a good sign my tumor is shrinking), and even though I might be dead tired, I am still alive. I thank God each day I can wake up, talk to my husband, see my daughters/grandchild. Oh....how I used to take such simple things for granted. Now I thank God each day I get to enjoy on this earth!

"Remarkable Progress"

We met with Dr. Javle and his P.A., Jackie, this morning around 9:30. Mom's cancer is stable. The main tumor and satellite tumor in her liver are about the same size as at the last PET Scan in April. The edges of the tumor are less dense then in April, which could indicate a willingness of the tumor to start shrinking.
On the April PET Scan, one lymph node was FDG-avid (it lit up/was hot) indicating a strong possibilitiy that it was cancerous. On the new scan, no lymph nodes were hot. She still has some large lymph nodes, but that could be inflammation.
No cancer lighting up anywhere except in the liver mass!! Aside from the tumor, they are no longer concerned with her lymph nodes, lung nodules, or anything else!
Mom's labs look great. Her hemoglobin was 8.2 when we left Springfield six days ago. Today it is 11.1! Her bilirubin is normal. Her cancer marker is up a little, but still pretty stable. Her alkaline phosphatase is normal now!
Dr. Javle is "quite happy" with the scan. She will start back on the chemo and Tarceva next week. She will start a different antibiotic today, so hopefully the rash will be more under control from here on out. She will receive the chemo in a peripheral IV, using the initial orders Dr. Javle gave (which were to dispense the drugs very slowly). He doesn't think Mom will have problems.
She will have periodic CT Scans to be sure no more blood clots are forming. She will also stay on the Lovenox for the entire time she's on chemo.  She may drop down to one injection of Lovenox, instead of two, after three more months. Coumadin's failure rate is too high to risk using it. Mom is at a high risk of clotting, but using the Lovenox, hopefully, things will remain stable.
If she encounters problems with the chemo, then Dr. Javle would like to do Proton Therapy. Proton Therapy is a type of radiation. It's a much higher dose than external radiation and doesn't affect much of the normal liver cells. There aren't many side effects; some fatique & some liver injury.
She will return to Houston in three months for another PET Scan. Dr. Javle expects some change by that time. Obviously, we're still hoping for 30% or more shrinkage, and then the tumor may be removed.

For only having four chemo treatments, Dr. Javle says she's had "remarkable progress".

I'm not sure we could have asked for better news. We're overjoyed and incredibly thankful. Mom's been on a rollercoaster of bad/good news the past five weeks. Hopefully, this will give her and us some stability for awhile.

Please continue praying that the chemo shrinks the tumor, and the cancer remains stable. Mom and Pat will be flying home early tomorrow morning. Her chemo will resume Wednesday. I will be visiting some friends in Dallas and then heading back home.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. Obviously, they're getting through. God is good!
-Jenn

Houston......

Well.....I have to say we flew on the smallest plane I have ever been on PLUS there was bad weather we had to fly around so there was some turbulance on top of that. It made our flight about 20 minutes longer also.  We are staying at the Jesse Jones Rotary House which is right across from MD Anderson so it will be sooo handy on  Wednesday and Thursday. They also have a wonderful restuarant here with buffet at night.
Tomorrow, I start at 9 am with bloodwork, then a PET scan which lasts appr. 4 hours or so. Then I am done until Thursday morning when I see Dr Javle at 9:30. He will have the results of the PET scan (I hope) and please pray with me that it is good news. I might see a genetic counselor to see if my cancer is somehow inherited from all the men on my fathers side who have had prostate cancer. It will be good for my sisters/brothers to know PLUS my girls if it does happen to be inherited.
When I was at St. John's in Springfield last week, I prayed to the Lord to draw me closer to Him and make my faith even stronger. I have faith that the Lord is right here with me in this battle but when do you know you have ENOUGH faith in the Lord? Does that make sense?
I know I feel like a totally different person than before this cancer battle began so I do thank the Lord for that. I shutter at the times I have "spat" at co-workers or judged them when it was not my place. I have asked God for forgiveness and I also apologize if you were one of those co workers. I have read in the Bible that this is a very bad habit to have so I feel I have worked alot on this mentally and when I go back to work, I hope I shock people with how kind and gentle I now feel inside.....I know it is due to the inner peace I have with God now.
Tomorrow and Thursday are very big days for me. When I was at St. John's, I said the Lord's Prayer all the way to each surgery I had up there (4 total). I said it several times a day in my room. I said it on the airplane all the way here.....and I will say it atleast 50 times while here at MD Anderson......that doesn't include praying about other people with cancer, life in general, and prayers for my daughters. I ask all of you to say the Lord's Prayer both days and also pray for good news with my cancer tests. I seem to be rambling....you can tell Jenn and Amy have been doing my blog since I was at St. John's!! Peace and love to all of you!!
Patty

Going Home Again

Dr. Goswami came in this morning around 9:30 to discharge Mom. She has some swelling in her feet. He thinks its probably caused by sitting and lying down for eight days or the tumor compressing her inferior vena cava. At this point, he isn't concerned about it. The clots probably won't be an issue again since the port is out and Mom's on Lovenox. She will be on the Lovenox for at least a month. She will see Dr. Goswami again in Effingham in early July. He's still waiting to hear from Dr. McLafferty, but if we have to come back to Springfield to meet with him, we'll do it. Mom's been fully released on all activities, just no heavy lifting for a week or so.  Her hemoglobin is steady at 8.8, so she won't receive any more blood while we're here.

And the BIG news....  drumroll please.....
Mom's been released to travel to MD Anderson next week!!!!!!!!!
She will keep the appointment that was set in April, and we will probably leave for Houston on Monday!! WOOOO HOOOOO WE'RE HOUSTON BOUND!

 Thank you so much for all of the prayers and thoughts so far. Mom is incredibly happy with the care Dr. Goswami provided and that she's headed home today. Please keep praying that the good news continues and that the cancer hasn't spread.
-Jenn

"Everything Is Clear"

"Everything is clear" were the first words Dr. Goswami said after surgery when he walked into the consult room. Even the clot that was in Mom's right arm two days ago was gone when Dr. Goswami went in today. There is one small clot in her chest with about 30% blockage, but he thinks it will be gone in the next couple days. And just to be clear: besides the small blockage in her chest, every, single clot (including residual clots from the balloon) is gone. Dr. Goswami did have to run the catheter through her right femoral artery, because the vein in her arm was too small for the catheter. But I think two sore legs are better than two sore legs and a sore arm.

As far as we know, Mom will be discharged tomorrow morning. If Dr. Goswami still doesn't want her to travel for a few weeks, she will probably have a Pet Scan performed here in Springfield tomorrow. The Pet Scan will allow Dr. Dy and Dr. Javle to assess the cancer and determine if mom needs to continue with the same treatment regimen or if it should be changed. Hopefully, she can travel and we will be headed to MD Anderson very soon.

We will keep you posted, though depending on what time Mom gets home tomorrow, she may or may not post.

Today was a day of fantastic news. Please pray that the results of the Pet Scan yield good news, as well. Mom needs all the good news she can get.
-Jenn