Decisions, decisions

Well, the good news is I am finished with my four cycles of chemo. Thank goodness; that was not easy, but I am so grateful that it worked. I saw my Emory oncologist today and we talked about what's next.

What's definite:

-- I will have a scan at the end of August to see if my cancer comes back after discontinuing the chemo.

-- Todd and I will fly to Houston in the next few weeks to get a surgical second opinion at MD Anderson. If they are of the same opinion as the Emory docs, then it looks like surgery will not be an option.

-- After meeting with the MD Anderson surgeon, I will see the oncologist who gave me the second opinion on my treatment plan to get his input on what he thinks we should do next.

What's undecided:

-- Whether I will have surgery.

-- Whether I will have radiation.

Thanks to all for the love, support and prayers. Please pray that God will lead me in the right direction. My head is spinning as I try to figure out the best way to go.

Slow news day

Not much to report, but here goes. I have been feeling okay. This week is my "good week," which is week one of Xeloda pills. I guess it takes a while for them to build up in my system. Weeks two and three will be pretty bad, especially this time since I will be in my second back-to-backer. That seems to really make it worse. But of course, I am not going to complain too much since it is working. Praise God!

I will see my oncologist on June 22 to discuss whether to do more chemo (will have completed four rounds) or go right to radiation (if I do it at all, still undecided). I am also going to contact the docs in Houston for a surgical second opinion (hopefully over the phone). The Emory docs don't want to do surgery because it will be too invasive and could leave me unable to lift my arm over my head. (Not an option for me; how would I hit serves and overheads?) I am going to double-check and make sure the Houston docs don't have a better solution, possibly something more advanced and less invasive.

Interesting news on the horizon about a possible breast cancer vaccine. Works great in mice; pray that it will do just as well in humans when testing starts, probably next year.


That's it for now. Thanks for all the prayers, love and support.


Happy Summer!

Good news!

Not just good news, the best possible news ... no sign of cancer on my scan! The chemo is working!

Praise God. Thanks to all for the support and prayers.

Next up: two more rounds of the same chemo, which all of a sudden seems more tolerable now that I know it is working!

Save the date

Ok prayer warriors, I've got a new specific prayer request for you. I will have a scan on Monday, May 3 to check to see if we've made any progress against the beast. I'll see my oncologist the very next day for the results.

Nothing really exciting to report from my visit to the doctor today. She was suitably impressed with my ability to handle the horrific side effects most people seem to get from these drugs. I attribute this to all of you who have been praying for me. God has answered the "minimal side effects" prayers for sure. Keep them coming!

She did suggest something new to try for my mouth sores -- club soda. Apparently the carbonation in club soda helps for some reason with this specific type of sores. We'll give it a try.

That's it for now. Thanks for everything. I am feelin' the love!

Still kickin'

We're back from a fun but exhausting trip to Orlando for spring break. It turns out my "off week" from chemo was only a week off from taking pills, not from the side effects, which are still lingering on. But I was still able to have fun and enjoy myself so life is good!

I start my second three-week cycle of chemo (two weeks on and one week off) tomorrow. I still have some mouth sores that have not healed but they are definitely not as bad as they were this time last week. The first week of chemo wasn't too bad last time, so I'm hopeful it will be the same this time.

I'm seeing my oncologist on Tuesday just to check in and for her to gauge how well I am tolerating the meds. She seemed pretty concerned at the outset about the severity of side effects. But I am not interested in dropping the dosage (which is the only way to lessen most of the side effects, apparently), so ... will keep powering on.

Next step after completing this three-week cycle will be a PET scan to check on our progress.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

HAPPY SPRING!

Mouth sores galore

I'm nine days into my first 14-day chemo cycle and still suffering no major debilitating side effects. Yay me! I'm still able to play tennis and do all my regular mom stuff. I don't feel 100 percent, and I'm pretty wiped out at the end of the day, but that I can handle.

The only real problem I'm having at this point is an outbreak of mouth sores -- ouch! It's painful to eat, drink and even -- gasp! -- talk. But I got myself some "magic mouthwash" from the pharmacy and it's helping a little bit. And I'll take mouth sores (we're talking a dozen or more) over most of the other side effects any day.

Keep those prayers coming. They are working. Love to all.

More answered prayers

I've asked everyone I know to pray for minor side effects and it is working! Keep up the good work.

Today I have felt fatigued (I even took a nap!), but nothing unbearable. Lucky, lucky, lucky me!

Speaking of luck, I found a four-leaf clover while out walking with the boys on Tuesday. It just jumped out at me right away. Gotta love it!