30 Dec Update

Sarah got her second Navelbine chemo treatment today. Her red blood cell count was pretty low so she got a shot to boost that as well. We'll be consulting the oncologist at Rush University hospital in downtown Chicago next Tuesday to make sure we're considering all options for Sarah. Also, with the great help of Sarah's friend Ami, we started sending out feelers for clinical trials that might make new treatments available to her. In one encouraging discussion, a trials oncologist from University of Chicago Cancer Center reviewing Sarah's history actually said that Navelbine and Herceptin often produce excellent results and he recommended we see if this works before considering less established methods found in clinical trials. For now, we're seeing which trials she would qualify for so that we know what our options are.
Sarah is feeling surprisingly well right now with some mild fatigue. Mostly we're just struggling with the emotional stress of considering the worst while hoping for the best.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas with Elizabeth joining us here. In one pic above the boys were decorating cookies for Santa, which he enjoyed (yum!). Not sure how we ended up with so many presents, but Ben and Sam had a great time tearing through them all at the crack of dawn Christmas morning! Ben liked his very soft Tigger pillow - what a big hug!

21 Dec - Bad News - Back on the Roller Coaster

Well, we expected that the MRI wasn't all clear when we didn't hear from Sarah's doc before her appt today, but the reality still hit us pretty hard this morning when we learned the results. First of all, her spine is getting better. Some lesions have gotten smaller and others are no longer there. But, the cancer has spread to her liver. There are quite a few growths throughout - MRI shows at least 24.
Since Sarah's current treatment is not fully inhibiting tumor growth, she's now doing chemotherapy again & got her first treatment right away today. She will continue taking Herceptin weekly, but together with the chemo drug Navelbine. Side effects are not as bad as others - should be no nausea or hair loss - and it is thought to target liver mets well. Her next scan will be after 8 weeks of treatment to determine whether it is working as hoped.
Obviously this is very serious and we're worried - it's critical that we find a chemo drug that can clean up her liver mets and prevent spread to other organs. It will be very difficult to wait these eight weeks not knowing whether things are getting better or worse. Because of the fairly rapid growth pattern of Sarah's cancer, the stakes are very high.
We need all the positive thoughts and prayers we can get. Courage and love are key watchwords for us now as we face great uncertainty. I saw a card posted in the chemotherapy room today (fuzzy pic above) and it touched me so I thought I'd share it:

What Cancer Cannot Do
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Faith
It cannot corrode Hope
It cannot destroy Peace
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot steal Eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit

There's only one very special Christmas gift I want this year, but I won't know until February if my wish has been granted.

20 Dec - Santa's Visit

This evening Santa came by the house - Ben and Sam were so surprised! They really loved sitting in Santa's lap and talking to him. Last year Sam was scared and wouldn't sit on his knee, but this time it was a big hit and he has been talking about it quite a bit. He even looks out of the windows occasionally to check if Santa's out there. :)

15 Dec - MRI Done

Sarah just got back from getting the MRI of her liver and t-spine. Here she is next to our not-yet-decorated xmas tree. So now we have to wait until next week for results. If all is ok, we'll probably get a call from her onc. around Tuesday. If not, we'll probably have to wait until her next Herceptin treatment on Thursday to see what the MRI shows. I'm anxious to get that phone call...
I guess we need to get used to waiting periods like this - it will feel this way every time Sarah gets a scan. I like Sarah's attitude: "Whatever is/is not there in my liver, it's that way already. The test is just making us aware if it so we can take action if needed."

14 Dec - CAT Scan Probably Ok

Well, we got the results of Sarah's CAT scan today and it's mostly good. No new tumors noted and spine hasn't gotten any worse, but it looks like the spots on her liver got bigger. Last CAT scan they showed up and an MRI determined that they were not malignant, so Sarah's going in for an MRI tomorrow evening to further evaluate her liver (and spine, just in case - she has been getting a little bit of pain there). Now we've got to wait until next Thursday when the MRI results come back in order to really breathe easier. If the liver areas are cancerous, then it'll kick off add'l treatments likely including chemo. If not, the we're ok and she can continue Herceptin & switch to a triple dose every three weeks. The nail biting continues...

11 Dec

It's been hectic over the past week and we haven't been taking any pictures, so just a text update today.
I went to Dallas last Wed for a business trip and then Sarah headed down to New Orleans on Thursday night to help Thomas and Elizabeth sort through the things in her father's house. The boys and I have managed ok, but we miss Mommy and can't wait for her return Monday morning!
I did get a few honey-do items off the list and also got a Christmas tree set up - will probably decorate it next weekend.
Sarah's doing well overall, but every ache & pain raises nagging doubts over what is causing it. She's also got mild anemia which makes her tired in the evenings. The doc caught on to that through a weekly blood sample and gave her a shot to boost her red blood cell counts & that will help.
We've got a tense week ahead of us - Sarah gets another CAT scan on Tues and we'll get the results on Thurs during her weekly treatment visit. She'll also be getting her first shot to chemically induce menopause, which will lower her estrogen levels. Since chemical shutdown is pretty sudden, it's usually accompanied by fairly strong hot flashes and other menopause symptoms. With all this going on, we'll have to try a bit harder this year to focus on the spirit of Christmas - and it seems we have more reason than ever before to look to God and each other for comfort and joy. When I remember last Christmas, it's like we were living in a different world. We had no idea how precious life is - every day we have together is a gift.

1 Dec - Snow!

Big snow dump! Bad for dad... lots of shoveling - but great fun for the kids. We all enjoyed the first big snow of the year and it's getting everyone in to the Christmas spirit. Sarah's doing fine as well. She scheduled her next CAT scan for 12 Dec and if all is clear will transition to Herceptin every three weeks (triple dose) which studies have shown is equally effective.

25 Nov - Uncle Thomas In Town

This weekend we had Sarah's brother Thomas visit us and everyone had a great time. Sam and Ben had fun playing with their Roboraptor toys as you can see. I think at first Sam thought this was like a real animal. He was petting it and talking to it!