ENCOURAGING CT-SCAN RESULTS

December 9, 2015

I had another CT-Scan to check on the effectiveness of my current chemotherapy treatment.  On December 8, we reviewed the results with my oncologist.  Overall, the results were very encouraging.  The primary finding is that, since my last CT-Scan at the end of September, my cancer has remained stable rather than continuing to spread.  In fact, in the area around my lungs, the cancer has reduced slightly.  Thus, reducing the irritation in that area.   I will continue on the same treatment plan until my next CT-Scan two months from now.

I am so thankful for these encouraging test results.  I feel very blessed.  I have been feeling a little better lately.   However, I continue to have pain in my abdomen most of the time.  The headaches and nausea have been reduced some. Challenges continue due to my prior surgery.  I continue to experience a lot of acid reflux each night.  Eating remains challenging, as I need to eat small amounts frequently.  It is hard to identify what is causing my pain.  At times, I cannot distinguish whether it is coming from the cancer or from the changes in my stomach related to my prior surgery.

To keep up my energy and my emotional well being, Steve and I have been walking/running three miles most days, and we have been writing my life history.  These activities have lifted my spirits.  I have also been strengthened by the wonderful encouragement from my family and friends.  It was great having most of our family visit us over Thanksgiving.  My grandson, Taylor, even shaved his head to match my bald head from the chemo treatments.

I am enjoying the Christmas season.  I am grateful for the Savior.  At Church last Sunday, we sang “Away in the Manager”.  I love the third verse, which reads as follows:

“Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay

Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,

And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.”

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas.

Surprise Visit from Justin

A real highlight since my  last blog entry was a surprise visit from my son, Justin, who secretly travelled all the way from Cork Ireland for a weekend visit.  Steve and I were home on Friday, October 23, when a knock came to the door.  When Steve went downstairs and opened the front door, he was shocked to see Justin standing there with flowers in his hand.   Steve came upstairs and asked me if it would ok if the person delivering flowers to me could come in our master bedroom.  I wondered what Steve was doing inviting the delivery person upstairs, but I said ok.  What a fantastic surprise to see Justin with the flowers.  It was like a dream.  I hugged him tightly to confirm that it was not a dream.  We had a wonderful weekend together.  As he is in medical school, it was great to have him see me and share his medical knowledge with me.  Additionally, it really lifted my spirits.

            Another fun family event was Lee and Stephanie’s family visit over Halloween weekend.   I got to see the grandchildren in their Halloween costumes and go trick or treating with them.  Also, we had a blast carving pumpkins.  It was another wonderful weekend.

           In my last blog entrance, I mentioned that we were meeting with the doctor who specializes in medications.  Although he is not sure what caused my prior incidents, he is concerned that the combination of pain medicine, nausea medicine and sleep medicine as well as the cancer treatments needs to be watched closely.  We are working with him to get the right balance.  The challenge is that my body does not seem to fit the normal treatment regimens.    

From the cancer standpoint, I continue with the same treatment.  I have felt pretty good on a few days, but most days I experience a lot of pain in my abdomen.  I always feel full so I cannot eat very much.  I try to eat small amounts often, but this has placed a lot of stress on me to plan out what I can eat.  The headaches also continue.  Lately, my acid reflux has been challenging, especially during the night.  The doctor has ordered a CT Scan for early December.  This should help us know the effectiveness of the current cancer treatment. 

            I am grateful for everyone’s support and prayers.  It means a lot to me, and I know it is helping me to deal with this situation. 

Good Trip to California, Bad Trip to the Emergency Room

On October 7, Steve and I flew to Los Angeles for a trip with our family.  Troy and Katie live in Long Beach.  Brooklyn flew down from Oregon.  Stephanie, Lee and their family joined us.  Stacey came as well.  We went to watch Troy and Katie run a marathon and Stacey run a half marathon.  We rented a house at Sunset Beach.  It was beautiful, but hot.  An unusual heat wave for October enveloped southern California.   The children and grand children had a fantastic time at the beach.  I enjoyed walking along the beach with them.  Steve enjoyed his morning beach runs.  We were glad to be able to cheer for Troy, Katie and Stacey when they ran their races.  They did well even in the sweltering heat.  I felt about the same there as I do at home.  I was very tired, and experienced the usual nausea and headaches.  The plane rides were tolerable.  Overall, I had a wonderful trip, as I was able to spend time with my family.  I did enjoy returning to my air conditioned home on Monday, October 12.

 I had another chemo treatment on Wednesday, October 14.   Working with the doctor, we agreed to eliminate one of the chemo medicines to see if that would reduce my nausea and headaches.  Thursday and Friday went fine, but on Saturday evening, the nausea and headaches returned.  My sister, Yvonne, arrived for a visit on Saturday evening.  I looked forward to spending time with her, but on Sunday I really did not feel well.  I slept most of the day, but finally got up feeling a little better in the late afternoon.  On Monday morning, I still had the nausea and headaches.  I ate breakfast with Yvonne, as Steve had taken the car to be serviced.   At approximately, 11 am he returned home.  Yvonne and I were finishing breakfast and watched TV for a few minutes before we went out for a walk.  I remember Steve saying hello, but not much more as I continued to dose off to sleep.  According to Steve and Yvonne, they took turns sitting next to me for the next few hours.  At about 2:30 pm, Steve saw that I was not responsive.  He said I stopped breathing and was not responding.  He could not find my pulse.  Yvonne hurried into the room.  Steve put me on the floor and began CPR.  He told Yvonne to call 911.  With the 911 operator on the phone, Steve was able to get me breathing again.  The ambulance arrived within 5-10 minutes. (We only live 4 miles from the hospital.)  The paramedics took over from Steve.  Within a short time after arriving at the emergency rooms, my vital signs stabilized.  I stayed in the hospital over night for observation.  They released me to go home on Tuesday afternoon.

            We are still sorting out what happened, but it appears that I had another reaction to the strong medication that I am taking to deal with the severe headaches and abdominal pains.  We met with the oncologist today to discuss the treatment plan going forward.  The next step is to meet with the doctor in their office that specializes in medications.  We are scheduled to see him this Friday, October 23.  They are also taking more labs to see if my liver enzyme levels have declined.  They spiked to more than 10 times normal when this incident occurred.  This issue needs to be addressed to determine how to proceed with the chemotherapy. 

            I am grateful that Steve and Yvonne were present when this all happened.  These incidents create yet another challenge for me in dealing with my cancer.  I continue to appreciate the love from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful for the prayers and support from my family, friends and so many others.  For example, as we were flying back on the plane from California, Steve sat next to a kind lady who also suffered from serious health issues, and in fact had an incident on the plane.  When she learned of my condition, she asked for my name and said she would include me in her prayers.  I appreciate everyone’s prayers.

Challenges Continue, But Chemo Having Some Positive Effect

Two weeks ago, I had my one-week break from taking chemo.  I was excited with the thought of feeling better.  Steve and I were even considering a trip together.  Unfortunately, my body did not cooperate.  I felt sick all week.  I experienced a lot of nausea, with vomiting every day.  I had some headaches and body pains.  Thus, we stayed at home for the week.  Even though I did not feel well, we tried to do a few different things.  We took a short bike ride on the W&OD trail at Leesburg.  Our children had given Steve some coupons for kayaking on the Potomac River in DC.  We enjoyed one hour on a kayak, and had lunch sitting outside the Dean & DeLuca store in Georgetown.  We took a brief walk around Georgetown. 

This week I returned to the chemo treatments on Wednesday.  When we saw the doctor on Tuesday, he agreed that I should get another CT scan of my lungs, abdomen and pelvis.  We scheduled that for Thursday, with a follow-up visit to the doctor on Friday.

Usually I feel pretty good on the day that I receive the chemo treatment as they give me extra nausea medicine and steroids.  However, this Wednesday, I did not feel well when I went to be bed.  I woke up Thursday morning with a severe headache and extreme nausea.  I could not keep the medicine down, and clearly would not have been able to drink the barium required for my CT Scan.  At 6 am, the doctor advised us to go to the emergency room at the hospital.  I went there and they gave me pain medicine and nausea medicine through an IV.  Unfortunately, this combination of medicines directly entering my blood stream caused me to go into a deep sleep.  They were not able to wake me until 8 hours later.  I was admitted to the hospital, but finally released at 8:30 pm.  Overall, it was a difficult and discouraging day.

The only good news for that day is they were able to conduct the CT Scan of my lungs, abdomen and pelvis.  As I was not waking up, they also conducted a CT scan of my brain.  The brain scan showed no tumors.  Also, the scan of my lungs, abdomen and pelvis did not show in new areas of the cancer spreading.  The oncologist found this encouraging, and we agreed to continue with the same basic chemo treatments, with maybe some breaks from one of the chemo drugs that may be causing the severe headaches and nausea.  I am glad for this last modification, as I have become very nervous and frightened taking that full treatment each week.

In addition to these specific challenges, I find it very difficult because I still suffer from the consequences of my prior esophagus and stomach surgery.  Sleep remains a challenge, as I have acid reflux several times during the night.  I am also required to sleep at an incline on my back.  My back gets very sore.  Combining the chemo treatments with these existing pains has been a real challenge.

I recognize that adversity and tribulation are part of this life.  I am grateful for the scripture in 2 Corinthians 1:4, which reminds me that Jesus Christ comforts us in all our tribulations.  I have felt that comfort so many times.  I am grateful that I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me and provide comfort to me.

Wonderful Family Love and Support

September 18, 2015

On Wednesday, September 16, I completed the third week of my chemo regimen.  I will now have a week off.  It will be good to have a break.

The first week of the past regimen went well.  I was not as sick during the week following the first treatment.  In fact it was Labor Day weekend, and three of my sisters (Jessie, Kathleen and Tammy) and their husbands visited us for the weekend.  We spent most of the time at our Lake Anna house.  It was really fun being with them, and it was relaxing at the lake.  I could rest when I needed to.  We spent time eating, visiting and laughing.  I enjoyed watching the others do water sports, and we all enjoyed a nice boat ride.  I even took a ride on the jet ski.   Before we went to the lake, my sisters also helped me pick out some wigs.  We had so much fun as they tried on wigs as well.  I felt a lot of love and support from them.  My family is fabulous!  

The second and third weeks have been more difficult.  I have felt much sicker with headaches, body aches, nausea and stomach pain.  Overall, it has not been a lot of fun.  It was my daughter’s birthday (Stacey).  She and Stephanie, my other daughter, came to visit me on the weekend of September 11-13.  I felt pretty good on Friday, and we took a little bike ride around the Washington monuments.  It was a beautiful day, and we took a very relaxed pace.  It was very pleasant.  Unfortunately, on Saturday, I became very ill.  I had a severe headache and lots of nausea.  I spent nearly all day in bed.  I was very sad and disappointed because I had planned to take Stacey shopping for her birthday.  Sunday, I felt a little better, but not great.  I was pleased to be able to attend at least one hour of Church on Sunday.  I always enjoy seeing so many friends and feeling their love and support.   For the remainder of this week, I have not felt very well.  I haven’t had to stay in bed, but I continue with the pains described above.  Sleep has also been challenging.  

Even though I have not felt well, Heavenly Father and the Savior have blessed me.  For example, one day when I was feeling extremely sick and crying, I prayed asking whey I had to experience all this suffering.  In response, I was reminded of one of my favorite scriptures in John 14:27, which reads as follows: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  I am grateful for the peace that comes from Heavenly Father and the Savior.