28 Oct Update

Here's a video of Sam at his 1st grade music program, singing a song called Witches Brew. Ben's doing well, too. He's continuing with karate and also busy with many school projects. 4th grade is really ramping up on homework and at-home projects!

Sarah got an 80% Abraxane dose again yesterday and her neuropathy has held fairly steady (maybe just a little worse). She also got tumor marker results yesterday - her CA27-29 and CEA were both around 250. That's a bit high for CEA but not for 27-29. Basically, it's not a lot lower but also not a lot higher than they were before, which didn't surprise us since she's only intermittently been able to get treatment. Overall, we see it as good news and indication that we're holding ground despite the challenges with C.Diff.

Sarah continues to build energy and maybe some strength, too. She's driving more and walking short distances. Hasn't used the wheel chair in the last two weeks. :)

24 Oct - Eventful Weekend

First an update on Sarah: although her neuropathy didn't get worse, it also didn't get better. But that and a little weight gain plus decent blood test results allowed her to get another 80% Abraxane dose last Thursday. She felt relatively ok over the weekend and continues to feel more energetic overall. Our plan is to keep on with this chemo as long as her neuropathy doesn't get worse.
The boys have had quite a weekend - we went to the Fall Indian Guides campout where Sam tested for the "Haylushka brave" qualification and passed. He worked hard to memorize many things for the program over the past few weeks and we also did several projects together that were part of the Haylushka requirements. In one picture you can see him proudly pointing to the official Haylushka hat that he gets to wear to Indian Guide events now! :) In the other two pictures Sam is enjoying a cup of camp cocoa and Ben and I are checking out a tee pee that was set up at the camp.
In the last picture, Sam is next to our big pumpkin. It didn't get as large as it's parent, our giant pumpkin from last year, but it does seem large for a pumpkin that hasn't received any special care and nurturing. Just in time for Halloween!

17 Oct - Sarah Got Chemo

Overdue for an update! Sarah's C.Diff. test was negative last Thursday and her weight seems to have gone up 2 lbs. Her gastro stuff hasn't really returned to normal, but based on the negative test the doc went ahead and gave her an Abraxane treatement, which is a relief for us. Due to continued neuropathy, she got an 80% dose so we can see if it makes it worse or not. But that's still pretty good. Sarah is perking up a bit now and seems more energetic. She's also in a less anxious mood now, which is a relief for her as well.
On an unrelated note, the rest of us are under the weather big time. Sam caught some kind of stomach bug on Friday and was throwing up most of Friday night. Now Ben and I have it as well - but Sarah's got no symptoms so far. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

12 Oct Update

Quick update on Sarah: she's feeling stronger and her weight held steady this week, but other symptoms of C.Diff. are persisting. She'll get another C.Diff. toxin test tomorrow to determine whether she can get chemo this week. We don't like having to take this multi-week break, but the doc said chemo treatment during a C.Diff. infection would put her in the hospital. If her test is negative, we'll have to see if maybe something other than C.Diff. is causing her digestive tract issues. We'll know more later this week.

1 Oct - No Chemo Again

Well, we went to see the doc treating Sarah's C.Diff. this week and were surprised to discover that she tested positive for C.Diff. again - so, now Sarah's taking the other antibiotic called Vancomicin. She's still slowly losing weight, and her oncologist doesn't want to give her chemo while she has an active C.Diff. infection - so it is very important to get this to clear up.
Overall, Sarah is struggling to improve. Trying to build strength, but her body's reduced nutritional absorption (due to C.Diff) and worsening neuropathy make it a challenge. She's eating fairly well but it just goes right through her body because of damage to the lining in the intestines. Over the next week we'll be anxiously watching whether the C.Diff. starts to go away. Not likely she'll get chemo next Thursday but we are going to talk to the doc about the overall chemo treatment plan for when she can resume it.
On the bright side, Sarah's bilirubin level came down from 2.8 to 1.8 which is good, and her tumor markers are only up a little bit from the last check despite intermittent chemo treatments.