Ben At Baseball Game

Ben seems to really enjoy baseball. We were at one of his games today and took a few action pics. :) One as catcher (every kid seems to love wearing the special gear) and one taking practice swings while On Deck.

6 June - The Problem With Gall Bladders

The problem with gall bladders is similar to all those other things we take for granted like electricity or water -- you never think of them when all is running fine, but when something goes wrong... you really notice it and it becomes a big problem. Sarah has been getting gall bladder attacks periodically which are very painful. We even ended up taking her to the emergency room late at night last week because the pain was so severe (she said childbirth was preferable - and she did childbirth with no drugs!). Turns out the attack ended about 1 hr after we go there and she was fine afterwards (thank you to our neighbor Pat for staying at the house with the kids!), but we don't want to let things go on like this... so she'll be meeting up with a surgeon next week to discuss removing her gall bladder. We're not sure if this is related to her breast cancer or not. All we know is that an ultrasound shows "sludge" but no stones in her gall bladder. Typically, the best medical solution to a problem like this is removal and a modified diet afterwards.
Other than that, Sarah is doing fairly well. Her hair did not fall out this week - turns out that Carboplatin doesn't make everyone's hair fall out and when it does, the time can vary quite a bit. So, next week will be eventful and mostly not-fun: talk to surgeon, go out for a birthday dinner with hubby (for salad?) on day b4 birthday, get chemo on birthday (or get surgery instead and delay chemo 10dys). Well, you do what you have to, right? We're keeping our fingers crossed for no more gall bladder attacks.

27 May - Round One Tapering Off

Sarah feels much better today and has been up and about with a lot more energy and no nausea. Rainy here in Chicago so we're keeping indoors except for the kid's soccers and baseball. Had a baseball game out in the rain yesterday evening which was super muddy! The coaches agreed to end it after the 3rd inning.

25 May - Memorial Day

I tried to get a good Memorial Day Parade picture of the boys and me with the bribe, "let's do one real picture and then a silly one." Well, the kids still could only muster some very forced and constipated looking smiles for the "real" one... so here's the "silly" picture instead! Sam really went all-out with the 'ole classic Stretch Your Mouth And Stick Your Tongue Out - that's gotta hurt, right?
Sarah joined us after the parade to hang out at some Memorial Day cookouts and I think she had a great time (as did we all). Overall, I think she felt pretty good but chemo-fatigue caught up with her at around 7pm and she crashed hard on the couch.

24 May - Update

Ok, Sarah's definitely feeling the side effects now. Took a few days to kick in, but she's started to feel more fatigued and some loss of appetite and nausea. She has been sleeping-in and spending quite a bit of time on the couch cat-napping throughout the day. I took the kids to church today and I'll probably take the kids to the Memorial Day parade while Sarah gets some add'l rest in the morning. Only problem is that chemo fatigue doesn't really get better after sleep... she'll just have to wait it out. Sarah might get a red blood cell booster shot this coming week when she goes back to the doc for a check-up - that should help with the fatigue.

22 May - Chemo Update

Quick update: Sarah got her first dose of Carboplatin yesterday. So far, the side effects have been limited - knock on wood! She felt ok this morning and is up and about - just a bit more tired than usual. She's taking a good anti-nausea drug called Emend and it seems to be working.
Thank you to everyone for the many well-wishes!

19 May - Battle Lines Are Drawn Again: Sarah Back On Chemo

First a quick update on family stuff: Sarah and I got to attend her 20 year high school reunion in New Orleans while my parents come up to Chicago to stay with the boys. We had a great time at the very well attended reunion and enjoyed staying with Thomas and Kerry. Ben also started baseball and just had his first game this week - he really likes it and asks me to practice all the time. Sam's doing great at soccer as well - he's really going for the goal.

Unfortunately, we also have an update on Sarah's fight with cancer (just days after we celebrated her 3rd year of survival since diagnosis). They say wars are fought one battle at a time and we're starting a new battle: a PET scan now shows new tumors in and around her liver (two are around 2cm) and a smaller met in her lymph node near her neck (supraclavicular area). The tumors around her liver are probably the cause of her gall bladder attacks since it is likely that they are pressing on the outside of her bile duct, pinching it off periodically. That's also driving her liver enzyme measurements up and limits the choices of chemotherapy treatments for now. The fix for that is either using available chemo to shrink the tumors near the duct or putting a stint in the bile duct to force it open.
For now, Sarah will immediately begin a strong dose of the chemo drug Carboplatin together with the usual Herceptin (repeated every three weeks) and she'll get also get another ultrasound tomorrow to look more closely at the bile duct - that will determine whether a stint is needed.

It's been eight months since Sarah was on chemo - a welcome break that we were hoping would run much longer... But, it's time to fight again and Sarah knows what needs to be done. I think after the initial shock of the results she's ready to get on with it and "do something" about the new tumors. So, back to no-hair, back to nausea, back to roller-coaster blood counts. Anxiety about the future is front and center again, but the hope that balances it out is that another break will follow this new "battle" and we can shock the cancer back in to stability. For now, we'll take it one step at a time.

18 April - Neurosurgeon Meeting Went Ok

Sarah had a brain MRI to check on her pituitary and we went to discuss the results with our Neurosurgeon this past week. Although we were worried that he would push for surgery to remove the growth there, it was a relief to hear that he wanted to wait and get another MRI in six months. The size did not increase as much as we initially thought because the radiologist included the pituitary itself in the measurement this time, and the doctor said the growth was not significantly "enhanced" in the scan. Based on this and that we've gone a year with relatively little change, he feels it is very unlikely to be a breast cancer met. So, even though we aren't sure what it is, it's not pushing on anything and Sarah has no symptoms -- we're comfortable (and relieved) to go with a wait-n-see approach for now.
Easter at our house was nice and fairly low-key. Everyone had fun and the Easter bunny was generous to all. I sang in the church choir for the first time and I'll continue doing that from now on as time permits.

6 April - Catching Up

I haven't posted to our blog for a while so it's time to catch up! Since the last post, we've been skiing to Devil's Head ski resort where everyone had a great time, we celebrated Sam's fifth birthday, and Sarah and I flew to New York for a little 4 day get-away while the boys stayed with my parents in Chicago. So, quite an exciting two months for all!
Sarah is doing well, although some new questions have recently emerged: a brain scan showed some growth of her pituitary tumor (only along one axis) and we are trying to figure out what we should do about that; and Sarah has been having gall bladder attacks which cause some pain after heavier meals. Based on a recent ultrasound there are no stones (or tumors) causing the issue and we're not sure it is cancer-related. Also trying to figure out what the next steps are for that. Overall, in our frame of reference that includes the life-threatening tumors in Sarah's liver last year, these two issues are concerning but not causing high anxiety at this point. For now, we will be confering with Sarah's doctors to see what the options are.

21 Feb - Sledding Again

... and after our warm weekend in New Orleans, we're back to sledding! Had a little snow dump in Chicago this weekend.

13 Feb - New Orleans Trip

We just got back from a family trip to New Orleans where we visited Sarah's brother Thomas and his wife Kerry. They took us to see six Mardi Gras parades (the more "tame" ones) and everyone had a great time! Ben and Sam caught quite a few beads, stuffed animals and other toys. In these pics you can see a staging warehouse for the floats, called a "den" - see the huge pile of bead bags? Also some pics of Ben and Sarah along the parade route.

8 Feb - Winter Campout

Ben and I went to the Indian Guides Winter camp-out this weekend. You can see a sunrise over the cabin, Ben on horseback and a group of us playing broom-ball on an ice-covered lake. We had a great time! Sam can't wait until the Fall when he'll be old enough to join the program, too.
Sarah is doing well - her blood tests continue to be very low and she's enjoying the less frequent doctor visits and more frequent gym visits. :)

King For A Day

Uncle Thomas and Aunt Kerry sent us a King Cake from New Orleans and by tradition, a little baby figure is baked in to the cake. The kids decided that whoever got the piece with the baby in it would be "king for a day." Well, Sam got the baby and we made him a crown today with the baby stuck to the front. :)
We also went sledding since the weather finally warmed up a bit (it was 22F, up from -10F in the past few days!). As you can see, Sam had a great time!

15 Jan

Last weekend was busy - on Saturday, Ben took part in a cello workshop that took up most of the day and he really enjoyed it. The boys and I had just enough time after that to get out to the sledding hill - played in the snow until after dark. :)
On Sunday, we all went to a local indoor water park and spent all day playing in the water. The whole family was exhausted after that!
Sarah is doing great - got another round of tumor markers this week and the numbers are staying low, and she's keeping up with her trips to the gym, as well.
This week, we'll just focus on staying warm since we've got wind-chills going way below zero degrees F in Chicago tomorrow and snow everywhere. Brrr!

Christmas

Santa was good to us this year -- lots of presents under the tree, although 7am felt pretty early on Christmas morning!  It was barely getting light out.  You can see Ben and Sam here checking out their stockings.  They both have their matching Christmas pajamas on, which they always look forward to getting each year on Christmas Eve.

Shortly after Christmas, we were also happy to get a visit from Elizabeth.  And then we just celebrated the New Year here in Chicago.  Best wishes for the New Year to all!

Advent

We had a really busy time leading up to Christmas!  Alan's parents were with us for the second half of Advent and celebrated Christmas with us, which was very nice.  Since they live in Texas, the snowy white xmas was a big treat this year! 

The first pic shows Sam in his pre-school holiday music show cracking-up at something.  After that you can see our little shepherds, dressed up for the children's Christmas pageant at our church.  Then there's a pic of us decorating the tree, with Oma helping out.  Finally a quick pic that hints at how hard it was to get the picture we ended up using for our photo xmas card!  (all you parents out there know exactly what I'm talking about!)  Getting both boys to smile at the same time & not make a face or poke each other is always a feat...

But, we got everything done and had a great Advent time. :)

Snow Time Like The Present

Well, we got more snow than I expected and I had to shovel. Good thing I had help! Sam and Ben love to get out there with me and clear the snow from our driveway. They get a big kick out of standing in way of the snowblower's chute as it spits out a continuous stream of snow on to them. Since it's super cold right now (7F when I got up), I think we'll have the snow around for a bit. We also got bundled up and went sledding yesterday, which the kids really enjoyed!

Thanksgiving

Elizabeth came to spend T-day with us and everyone had a great time. We had a huge and delicious meal which you can see here, and of course we have much to be thankful for!
We also got another set of tumor markers back for Sarah. The doc said they are not good, the are "very good!" They were the lowest they've ever been so far. (CA27-29 = 6.7)

20 Nov - Some Good News

Here's a new family picture that we had to take for one of Sam's pre-school projects that came out nice. Also, you can see Sam as an indian when he had a pow wow at school.

Now for the good news! Sarah just got a PET scan and the results came back showing no new metastases and notably no liver lesions. Those SIR spheres really did the trick and we're so glad we kept fighting to get the insurance approval instead of going the easier route and getting the chemo-embolization done. The scan did show numerous bone mets in her spine but those have been there since the beginning and are categorized as "sclerotic" lesions, which means they are growing slowly enough that the bone has time to regrow at the boundaries of the spots. That, together with Sarah's very low tumor markers, puts us in a pretty good place right now and Sarah is really enjoying not being on constant chemotherapy.

We also went to Houston for homecoming and Sarah's 15yr college reunion. After catching up with old friends, Sarah went up to Dallas to greet Nicole at the finish line of the 3-day Walk For Breast Cancer. Thank you so much to all who have given generously in sponsoring Nicole's walk -- she has raised almost $6,000!

Halloween

Quite a crew, huh? Halloween was fairly warm this year and everyone seemed to be trick-or-treating early, so we joined in. Ben might as well have been dressed as a pirate -- there was a lot of candy loot. I just hope we finish it (or "lose" it) before Christmas rolls in. :)

The Indian Guides Fall Campout

Ben and I went to the Indian Guides Fall campout again this year just before Halloween and it was a great trip. He loves the activities, hanging out by the camp fire and staying up late... Who wouldn't? The weather was perfect and we even had a "haunted cabin" event in the evening where the kids dress up in costume and trick-or-treat to the cabins which are decorated for Halloween.

3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer

My best friend, Nicole, is walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer this weekend in my honor. She has been a huge moral support to me over the last two and a half years, and now she has committed herself to raise funds for a cure by walking in this event. I'm writing to ask you to consider supporting her efforts by making a donation. She has set a goal of raising $4000*, and with your help, I know she will surpass that goal!

Please visit her fundraising page:
http://www.the3day.org/goto/Nicole.Smith
to make a donation of any size to help find a cure for breast cancer!

*EDITED: She has raised her goal to $5000, and she's almost there! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated!!

Results are in ...

I got the results from my brain MRI and blood tests today. The pituitary tumor is stable, and the rest of my brain "remains unremarkable". I love that wording! My tumor markers were both normal, which means ... I get to take a break from chemo! They checked my estradiol levels (estradiol is a form of estrogen) and I am not in menopause yet, despite monthly shots to shut down my ovaries. I suspect that I will have to start taking Tamoxifen again. And I will probably have my ovaries surgically removed sometime in the near future. But right now, I'm not worried about that ... just so happy to not have to get chemo for a while. Hopefully it'll be a good, LONG while!

Time for an update!

Things have been busy around here since we got back from our vacation. Ben started 2nd grade, and Sam started his last year of preschool. The pictures above are First Day of School pictures (unfortunately I didn't get them in for haircuts before school started!). Cello lessons have started up again, and Ben already had his first concert last week. He's also taking a basketball class in preparation for playing on a basketball team next month. Sam resumed swimming lessons and started playing Pre-K soccer. He had his first game this past weekend:

Needless to say, we spend a lot of time driving to and from school and the various activities!

I had a liver MRI last Friday and got the results today. The large tumor on the left lobe of my liver is still seen on the MRI, but according to the PET it is inactive and therefore not a cause for concern. The smaller satellite tumor is no longer seen. There is a lesion on the right lobe of my liver, but the radiologist thinks it is likely a hemangioma, which is a benign tumor made of blood vessels. I will have another MRI next month to check on it, but I just checked my MRI report from March and there was a lesion that was likely a hemangioma back then. So I am fairly confident that we are looking at a benign tumor. The overall impression of this current MRI is that there is "no evidence of progressive metastatic involvement". Yay!

Tomorrow I have a brain MRI to check on the pituitary tumor. If that is stable and my tumor markers (which they drew blood for today) haven't risen, I will finally get to take a break from chemo. I should get a call from my doctor on Thursday with all of those results, so I am holding my breath until then!

Back from Vacation

As you can see in these pictures, we had a great time on our family vacation to Florida! Spent lots of time swimming and collecting sea shells. I took a picture of Sam's foot standing on the beach where there are so many shells in some spots that you can't even see sand. Also, there's a picture of the sunrise viewed from our balcony which overlooked the resort's beach and pool area.

Tropical storm Fay did make us evacuate Sanibel island on Monday night (stayed in a Ft Myers hotel on higher ground), but we were right back on the beach the next day after the storm made landfall to the South and had passed on its way up to the Florida panhandle. Overall, we had great weather except for a few rain showers and the stormy day.

Sarah is feeling fairly well -- she started another 2 week Xeloda cycle on Friday and hasn't had any significant nausea or fatigue so far. The main side effect is that the skin on her feet is continuously peeling off (like after a very bad sunburn) and it makes them tender and uncomfortable to walk on. We're in a relatively good place right now. We're continuing to monitor tumor markers and Sarah will get another set of MRIs (brain and liver) near the end of Sept. If those are clear then we hope she can take a break from chemo -- what a relief that will be after this marathon of over 1.5 yrs of nearly continuous chemo!

Although we can't ignore that progression almost certainly lies somewhere in the future, we are very thankful that Sarah's many treatments have bought us precious time - time for cancer research to continue advancing towards a cure, and time for us to spend together. As always, we are focusing on living life to its fullest today and only worrying about the future when we need to in order to make the best decisions about what to do next. Let's pray for a looooong "quiet" period for Sarah!

More good news!

Today I was in for treatment, and my oncologist handed me a copy of my blood work from last week .... My tumor markers have dropped down into the normal range!! CA 27.29, which topped out at 172.6 at the beginning of June, has dropped down to 14.9. Normal range for CA 27.29 is 0 - 38.6. Just two weeks prior, it was 53.9, so it has taken quite a nose dive! This correlates with the clean PET scan ... the numbers were just lagging behind a little. It's starting to sink in that, for the time being at least, I am NED (No Evidence of Disease). Wow!

I also tried to get a better understanding of the chemo plan from my doctor, and when I asked about taking a break to save the chemo for future use, he agreed that if the MRI next month looks good, I could take some time off of chemo and just continue on Herceptin (targeted therapy ... no side effects like chemo), Zolodex (ovarian suppression ... tolerable side effects) and Zometa (bone strengthener ... also no side effects for me). So 21 months after I got on this mets roller coaster, I might get to step off for at least a little while and take a breather. I *still* can't quite believe it!

The docs have weighed in

I talked to both my oncologist and my interventional radiologist this week about the PET scan results. The interventional radiologist called it a "complete response" to the treatment. He said the reason the report says that I had a resection is because they didn't see anything in the area where there was uptake in the last PET scan, so they assumed I must have had it cut out (they obviously didn't read the form I filled out detailing all my previous surgeries and the SIR Spheres procedure!). He wants me to have a follow-up MRI in another two months, and it sounded like after that I'd only need to see him if I needed another SIR Spheres treatment!

My oncologist called the PET results a 'pleasant surprise', but he is not planning on changing my treatment at all. I have finally recovered from the horrible Xeloda side effects, so I got to start my next round of Xeloda today. We have reduced the dose again (it's now half of the dose I started on originally) and we're hoping that I will be able to tolerate this lower dose. I was really disappointed to hear that I will continue on with chemo indefinitely, so much so that I didn't ask the right questions to understand *why* nothing will change despite a clean PET. I plan on asking the right questions on Monday so that I can understand the reasons. Perhaps then I will feel more like celebrating ...

PET results are in ....

I finally got a copy of my PET report this morning. I *think* it sounds really good, but it almost seems too good, if that makes sense, so I'm waiting to hear what the doc's interpretation is before I really celebrate.

Here's the wording:

The patient has undergone resection of the previously demonstrated lateral left hepatic lobe metastasis since the prior outside study. There is physiologic accumulation of tracer within the remaining liver tissue, with no suspicious hepatic uptake identified at present.

Tracer distribution throughout the remainder of the imaged body is also physiologic, with particular normal concentration noted within brain, myocardium, gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary tract. No areas of abnormal uptake are identified.

The lungs are clear. The heart is normal in size. The bowel is normal in caliber. There is no pleural effusion, pericardial effusion or ascites. Allowing for the lack of intravenous CT contrast, no focal visceral organ lesions are seen. There is no hydronephrosis, and no abnormal gynecologic findings are seen. .... No lymphadenopathy is identified.

IMPRESSION: Interval hepatic metastasis resection. No malignant findings at present.


There were a few other random observations in there that I took out, but that's everything relating to possible cancer.

The previous PET showed uptake in the left hepatic lobe (obviously) and also in the left supraclavicular lymph node and 2-3 lymph nodes in the right upper retroperitoneum. It also showed a solitary site of bone metastasis in the mid thoracic region.

And now, there's nothing ... hard to believe. The nurse I talked to about the report said the doctor (interventional radiologist who did the SIR-Spheres procedure) was very pleased, but that they didn't have the disc yet, so he was waiting to get the disc and look at it himself. So, I'm feeling like maybe they missed something that they'll find on a second look ... I'm just not used to getting *all* good news.

I probably won't hear from the docs until next week, so I think we'll spend the weekend feeling cautiously optimistic. Can't celebrate too much yet anyway because I'm still suffering with tummy troubles. Going in for more IV fluids today ...

PET scan done ... results tomorrow?

I got my PET scan done today. They said my doc should have the results tomorrow ... we'll see.

It's been an eventful week in cancerland. Mostly not good, unfortunately. Tomorrow morning I will attend the funeral of my friend, Candie Jaeger, who died last week at the age of 32. Candie befriended me at the doctor's office on the day I was diagnosed with liver mets. As Alan and I sat shell-shocked in the treatment room, while my first dose of chemo for mets poured into my veins, Candie introduced herself - at the time, she was a nearly 7 year survivor - and gave us a pep talk. She talked about how she had beaten liver mets and how you have to keep fighting - never give up. And that's what she did, until last week, when she finally let go on her terms. She was a real inspiration to me and many others, and I will miss her very much.

I've had my own challenges this past week. Just as I finished up my second round of Xeloda and was looking forward to spending the weekend with my friends Shelby and Nicole, I was hit hard with another fun side effect. Let's just call it "tummy trouble". Along with tummy trouble came the inevitable nausea, so I spent most of my weekend in Birmingham not eating and near a bathroom. By the time I got home on Monday, I was pretty severely dehydrated, so Alan had to take me in for some IV fluids and a couple of shots to help with the tummy trouble. I was feeling better today, although still a bit dehydrated, so I went in for another liter of fluids. This evening, however, tummy troubles have returned with a vengeance, so I guess I'll spend my third day in a row tomorrow getting IV fluids at the doctor's office. It's what I need to do to avoid being hospitalized (yikes!). I did have a nice time with Shelby and Nicole, despite all the tummy troubles.

One bit of good news amid the bad is that my tumor markers have taken a huge nose dive! CA 27.29 is down to 53.9 from a high of 172.6 six weeks prior. We are hoping that this means that the SIR Spheres are doing their job. Tomorrow, hopefully, the PET results will support this theory. Stay tuned ...

Sam's First T-Ball Game and an update

Here are some pictures from Sam's very first T-Ball game this morning. I took them with my phone, so the quality isn't great, but I am so impressed with myself that I figured out how to send them via Bluetooth from my phone to my computer ... all by myself! Sam batted twice and ran to first base (not third as he had done in practice) both times. He played third base and short stop, but he had more fun kicking the dirt than paying attention to the batters (as did most of the other kids on the field)! Ben has been playing Rookie ball (coach pitch), and he's done very well. I will take some pictures at his next game and post them soon.

I scheduled my PET scan for next Tuesday, after I get back from a second annual girls' weekend with my two best friends from high school, Nicole and Shelby. Last summer, they came up to Chicago for a weekend in the city. This summer, we are going to Shelby's neck of the woods, Birmingham. We plan to stay in a nice resort there and just hang out and visit. Our plans to venture further out to Atlanta, Chattanooga or Asheville had to be canceled due to the side effects I'm having on my current chemo. I've developed hand-foot syndrome, leaving my hands and especially my feet red, hot and painful. It often feels like I'm walking on shards of glass, so I need to stay off my feet as much as I can.

The high tumor markers aren't worrisome to my doctor yet. They're checking my tumor markers again this week, and hopefully, they'll be on their way down now that I'm back on chemo. The PET scan will also give us a look at what's going on, so next week we should have good idea of how things are going in my liver and elsewhere.

MRI Results

Good news! The pituitary tumor has decreased in size to 2mm x 5mm x 6mm. That's down from 4mm x 7mm x 9mm 3 months ago and 1.3 x 1.2 x 1.2 cm at the beginning of March. The rest of my brain is "unremarkable", which is good in MRI-speak! I haven't spoken to the neurosurgeon yet, but I suspect I'll get another MRI in 3-6 months to check on it again. Considering I wasn't on any chemo for 2 1/2 out of the last 3 months, I'm starting to think this tumor may not be a met after all. As long as it stays small, I won't have to have the surgery to find out for sure!

I also got a call from my SIR-Spheres doctor yesterday. He wants me to get the follow-up PET/CT scan at 2 months rather than 3 months. I'm not sure why he changed his mind, but I'm glad I'll get a chance to see what's going on sooner - especially with the higher tumor markers. I don't have any aches & pains (aside from chemo side effects) or other symptoms of cancer elsewhere, so I hope the PET/CT won't show that it has spread anywhere else. I'll schedule it for sometime in the next couple of weeks, so we'll know for sure pretty soon!

30 June

Here's a smiling Sam pic. He's as cute as ever... and he sure keeps us on our toes.

Sarah's not feeling too bad - the sensitivity on her hands and feet is getting a bit better. Quick update on tests: she had tumor markers measured just before starting Xeloda three weeks ago and her numbers were the highest we've seen come back on tests, but we think they could actually be down from their peak while she was off chemo and before the SIR treatment. CA-27.29 = 172 and CEA = 133. We're not sure what to make of this but these may not be bad or unexpected given how quickly the liver lesion was growing just before the procedure. Our hope is that the next round of markers will be down significantly if the liver met was the primary contributor.
Sarah also got a brain MRI today to check up on her pituitary lesion. We'll get results either tomorrow or Wed -- she hasn't had any pain or symptoms so we hope that nothing adverse shows up. But, Sarah's approach is always to be braced for any news good or bad - sort of an emotional survival tactic after past hard knocks. Ok, more to follow when we get those MRI results.

14 June Update

High time for an update! After my trip to Singapore I went on an Indian Guides camping trip with Ben and Sam to Starved Rock State Park, which is around 2hrs SW of Chicago. It is known for its hikes into canyons off of the Illinois river - you can see Ben and Sam walking in to one. Got a pic of Sarah and Elizabeth, who was up for a visit as well. The 3rd pic shows Ben and his 1st grade teacher on his last day of school. Can't believe he's already going in to 2nd grade next year! Time sure flies... Sarah's brother Thomas is also here for a visit this weekend. Sarah's birthday was this past Wednesday and she got lots of birthday well-wishes from everyone + we went out for a nice dinner to celebrate that as well as her 2-year "cancerversary" - approx. 2 yrs since her diagnosis on 11 May 06.
Sarah finally started Xeloda again last Sunday and she's feeling "ok" so far. Some nausea and fatigue, but nothing that is stopping her in her tracks. We think it may have a cumulative effect so we'll see what next week looks like. We've got two more months until we can do another PET scan to see how effective the SIR-sphere treatment was. Hard to wait... in the mean time Sarah got a tumor marker check and we're waiting to hear the results. They should be down from the last time. We're kind of in wait-and-see mode and keeping very busy as the school year ends.

So, although I was cleared to start chemo again on Monday, my insurance company had other plans. I was unable to get my prescription for the Xeloda pills filled at my local Walgreens. I'm required to have it filled by the specialty mail-order pharmacy. My request for an override so that I could get the first 30 day supply at my Walgreens and get started right away ... was denied. They assured me that they would put a rush on my order, but first they had to verify my benefits and co-pays ($0 at this point since we long ago met our deductible and out of pocket maximum). I finally got a call from them at 6pm tonight, at which point they sent a fax to my doctor for a prescription. So, of course they won't get that until tomorrow, and I won't get my pills until Friday (at the earliest), which means I won't start my chemo until Saturday morning. Some rush!

In other exciting news, some people moved in across the street from us with *five* pit bulls. Earlier tonight one of them got out and was following a guy down the street, barking and growling at him in a very menacing way. This happened right in front of our house, just one hour after Ben and Sam had been riding their bikes up and down our driveway. The owner did come and get his dog, but I called 911 anyway. A squad car came out and the officer went in and talked to the owner(s), but I don't know what was said. Our village doesn't have anything in the municipal code about pit bulls, so I'm told there is nothing they can do until something happens. I am sick to my stomach at the thought that *something* could happen to my kids or my neighbors' kids. I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight ...

Quick Update

I had my 2 weeks post-treatment blood draw on Wednesday, and my liver function tests came back normal! So I am cleared to start chemo again on Monday. This new chemo will be an oral chemo called Xeloda. I'll have to take 6 pills a day (3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon), and I will be on a two weeks on, one week off schedule. Side effects are hand/foot syndrome and stomach issues, but we will reduce the dose if I have any problems. I will still go in every three weeks for my Herceptin infusion and every four weeks for the Zometa infusion (bone strengthener) and Zolodex implant (ovarian suppression). I've heard of many people who have had success with Xeloda, and my doctor is very optimistic that the SIR Spheres will effectively reduce the size of the liver mets. So we are hopeful that the August PET scan will bring us good news. At the end of June, I will get another brain MRI, which I hope will show a stable pituitary tumor. I haven't had any headaches or vision problems, and with all the hoopla surrounding the SIR Spheres treatment and insurance issues, I had almost forgotten about it!

Alan leaves in the morning for a week-long trip to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I'm sure he'll have some pictures to post when he gets back. For now, I'll post a couple of pictures of the four of us at the Memorial Day parade on Monday (you can see my hair has finally filled in, though it is grayer than before!):