Memorial Day, Hair Day

Nice shot of Sarah and Sam at the Memorial Day parade today. Sarah's hair has been falling out over the past five days - big handfuls in the shower strainer and she gets a bunch when she runs her hand through her hair. Today it also got thin enough that you really see a lot of scalp, so off it came... You can see the obligatory before and after pics - with a gag mohawk pic in the middle. I also think Sarah was glad to get this over with - she's been anticipating it for weeks and now it's done.
Overall, Sarah's feeling fine. The numbness in her finger tips and feet seems to be receding a bit. Still got a few weeks before the next scan, so that hasn't been on our mind too much yet.

Big Boy Bed for Sam

Well, we finally made the transition from crib to bed for Sam. He has been refusing to use a pillow and won't let us cover him up... but that all ceased completely on the first night in his big boy bed! Thank God he made the switch with no issues - slept through the night fine on the first night and all has been fine since then.

Silly Kids

Sam, Ben and friend Maddie couldn't resist breaking out the pool last weekend. I told them it was too cold but if they could blow up the pool themselves, then they could fill it. I can't believe they figured it it! Used a pump and everything. I had to reward that kind of determination... But everyone was still shivering in about 20min.
Ben recently decided it would be fun to be Sam's "horsey" and gave Sam a few rides before it turned in to more of a rodeo event. :) Sam's not so good at riding a bucking horse-brother just yet.

MRI Results - Not Bad, But Not Good Either

Here's Sarah in the 'hot seat' getting her weekly chemo today and enjoying a Panera salad (nice to have hubby along go get yummy lunch!).
Well, we just got home from the oncologist where we got Sarah's liver MRI results. The good news is that her liver lesions did not get bigger (only one of the larger ones got slightly bigger and is 1.8cm) but overall the Taxotere continued to hold the liver mets at bay (The other organs and spine lesions visible in the MRI were also clear/stable). The bad news, of course, is that we were hoping to hear that they'd gotten another 30% smaller like last time! So, because Taxotere's side effects are likely to get more pronounced over time and it's effectiveness for Sarah has reached a plateau, she switched to a different chemo drug in the Taxane family. Recent studies have shown that Abraxane together with Herceptin is often even more effective & usually has less side effects. Sarah got her first treatment of Abraxane together with Herceptin today - we'll do this for 8 weekly treatments and then do another MRI to assess effectiveness.
Overall, I think we're ok for now - Sarah's cancer is not getting any worse and she's actually happy that Abraxane doesn't require taking the steroid Decadron, which has been causing her sleep problems, water retention & head-aches. So the next hurdle we are aware of is deciding if she needs to take something to treat her Pituitary macro-adenoma & that decision will come when she gets another test of her prolactin level in a few weeks. After that, the next liver MRI will be the big nail-biter.

12th Anniversary

We celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary this past weekend and got to go out for a romantic dinner by ourselves. Sarah also got her MRI done on Monday as planned, so Thursday I'll be going with her to treatment so we can get the results together. At this point, we expect to hear that the liver mets have gotten smaller again. However, these things have been so unpredictable in the past year that we both still have nagging doubts and will be relieved when we find out the results tomorrow.

Cancer Sucks

Sarah and I have been more heavy-hearted lately because several people we know of with cancer have taken a turn for the worse. One person in our parish has gone in to hospice -- we feel deep empathy for that family and also are reminded that we may be making that journey together at some point in the future. Sometimes it feels like cancer is breaking our hearts, but one tiny bit at a time...
It helps us in times like this to stay focused on appreciating each 'today' and reminding ourselves that the future is still unknown & Sarah has plenty of treatment options still available. Hope! The support of family and friends is also a huge blessing and has helped us make it through this past year since Sarah was diagnosed.
Sarah's next MRI is coming up after her next chemo treatment - it will be a relief for now to see a continuing reduction in her liver mets...

The Surprise Wedding

We had a great trip to New Orleans this past week. Sarah's brother Thomas and fiance Kerry surprised quite a few people by turning their engagement party in to a wedding! (He tipped us off early in order to make sure we would come) In the last pic you can see Elizabeth's surprise as Kerry's father reveals the news to everyone.
We're back in the routine here in Chicago - Sarah got another Taxotere treatment today and also went back to the ENT to make sure her nose bleeds stay in control. Her headaches receded as soon as she started taking the steroids again (Decadron)... Sarah's onc. allowed her to reduce the dosage so hopefully it'll dial back her reactions/side-effects from that.
The boys had a great weekend with my parents, who are headed home tomorrow after being here for the past week.

18 April Update

Here's a long overdue post! Work and travel have been heavier recently. We had a great Easter here at home. The kids loved the things the Easter bunny brought - Ben is big in-to stuffed animals these days (he is holding Oinky and Spot...) As you can see in this pic, it took Sam a bit to warm up to the Easter egg hunt but he caught on after a few eggs. (hey, there's candy in these!).
We got the results on Sarah's hormone levels: her prolactin levels are elevated, but not so high that immediate response is needed. This is actually relatively good news, because it supports the current assumption that her pituitary macro-adenoma (ie growth) is made up of pituitary cells rather than breast cancer cells. BC cells would not be secreting prolactin. So, we're going to monitor this adenoma with periodic MRIs to make sure it's not growing for now.
Sarah is continuing with the Taxotere treatment & we'll be getting another MRI done in 3 weeks to get a look at her liver mets. She's taking a week off of Taxotere this week in order to let her body recover a bit. The break is well-timed since we are also traveling to New Orleans this weekend to attend an engagement party for Thomas and Kerry. My parents will be here in Chicago with the kids while we are away.

6 April Update

Sarah just did another Taxotere treatment yesterday and is doing ok. We got the results on her pituitary MRI and it confirmed that there's an 11mm macro-adenoma at her pituitary gland which doesn't seem to be invading or pressing on anything in the surrounding area. These types of adenomas are common and almost always benign so we are comfortable being optimistic about this. It could be over-producing a pituitary hormone like prolactin, which these adenomas sometimes do - Sarah just got some blood tests done to see if that's the case and we'll get result on Monday. If her chemistry is normal then we expect to adopt a wait-n-see approach. She would get another MRI after a few months to make sure the adenoma isn't growing. If it needs to be removed, there is either a drug option or a radio-surgery option (gamma knife).
Overall I'd say we're in a big, fuzzy grey area right now. It's a huge relief that the Taxotere has halted progression of Sarah's liver mets, but we're just not sure whether we can expect that her liver will clear up. We'll have to be patient and see how the treatment goes over the course of this summer - we intend to stay positive and do whatever it takes to fight this! Keep praying with us for more good news.

Brain MRI - Good news & Bad news

I got the results today from the Brain MRI I had done last week. I haven't had any symptoms, so I was hoping to hear it was a clean scan and get some peace of mind. The good news is that the MRI didn't detect any metastases to my brain ... whew! But my oncologist said it did show a small spot on my pituitary gland, which he says is not malignant. I've done a bit of googling today, and what I've found is that most pituitary adenomas (tumors) are benign. My oncologist said it would highly unusual for breast cancer to metastasize to the pituitary gland, so I feel confident that this is not cancer. I will have a follow-up MRI of my pituitary gland tomorrow and then I will be referred to either an endocrinologist or a radiation oncologist. My oncologist said it was serendipitous that we found this. Most people discover pituitary tumors because they either have headaches or vision problems from the tumor pressing on their optic nerve or hormone problems, as many pituitary tumors secrete one or more of the hormones controlled by the pituitary gland. So, even though this is one more thing that I have to deal with (and I feel like I've got more than enough on my plate at the moment!), I think I can consider myself lucky to have found it early. And I hope that means it will be easy to treat, but I'll find out more about that after I have some more tests run. Alan has been out of town the past three days on a business trip and was unable to be with me at my appointment today, so I'm attempting my first post to the blog. Don't worry ... he (and his much more eloquent posts) will return!
-Sarah

15 March - Taxotere Works!

We got the MRI results today and it showed a 30% reduction in Sarah's liver mets. We were sooo relieved! Finally we've got a drug treatment that is helping dial the clock back on this thing. Sarah is taking a one week break from treatment this week as she lets her nose heal up and liver recover a bit (she's been having minor nose bleeds due to the Taxotere) and then she'll continue the weekly Taxotere treatments until the liver spots are gone. That could take a while, but now things are moving in the right direction. She'll also get a brain MRI and a heart scan next week just to make sure everything else is ok, but there is no reason to suspect that those scans will find any issue at this point. Cancer is so unpredictable... but today we are claiming a victory and are happy that we've found something to fight back with!

One car did well... and the other is in bad shape

Ben and I did our first Pine Wood Derby last weekend - he helped quite a bit in making the car and was very proud when we made the top 10. We actually did much better than I expected in the races!
Unfortunately, the very next day I slipped on some ice in our real car on the way home from work! The car spun once or twice and ran in to the guard rail - not sure if it will be fixable & I'll find out from the insurance over the next few days. I thankfully didn't get a scratch and there were no other cars involved.
Sarah got her sixth treatment this past Thursday and the MRI is on for next Monday. We'll get the results on Thursday - as usual it will be a tough few days of waiting.

4 March - Sam's Birthday

Well, Sam had a fun birthday! He dressed up in a really cute giraffe costume at his party and even managed to blow out all the candles on his Cars cake. His party was at a kid's play place and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The last picture shows him in a cowboy dress-up outfit that Sarah got him and he really liked that, too. It came with a treasure map which Ben was helping Sam read.
Sarah's doing ok & will get the MRI done after next week's treatment. So, we'll get the results on Thursday after next. The lower CEA value is a good sign, but we are still anxious about this test. So far she's tolerating the Taxotere ok and is surprised that she hasn't lost much hair.

1 March - Taxotere #5 and Good News

Sarah did Taxotere treatment #5 today. After the next one we'll get her MRI done to see whether this treatment is helping. We did get a glimmer of hope today after receiving the results of her tumor marker test - her CEA went from 17 down to 5.5 (normal is <2.5), so this gives us some reason to face the MRI with additional optimism. Sarah still feels fatigued most of the time and the chemo pre-meds (steroids) which prevent allergic reactions to the Taxotere also keep her from sleeping - so she's tired a lot.

26 Feb - Update

Just a quick update today. My parents were here to visit last week. Their return flight on Saturday was canceled due to the winter storm and they just got out late tonight. It was a nice week and Ben and Sam already miss having their grandparents around to play with!
Sarah is doing well. We should get word back on the latest tumor markers (taken with blood sample last Thursday) when she goes in for her 5th Taxotere treatment this Thursday. The next liver MRI is still planned for mid March.

Winter CampOut

Well, it was a great weekend at YMCA Camp McLean for Ben and me. We had a fun time - plenty of sledding, marshmellows over a campfire and bunkbeds. Ben even got interested in playing chess - well, as close as you can get the playing chess at 6 yrs old.
Sarah is feeling pretty worn out - more so than before, but my parents are staying with us this week to visit and help out. Sarah's having more hot flashes, which is probably due to the Zolodex. She's headed in to treatment #4 this week, and possibly an early MRI scan after that.

14 Feb - Valentine's Day

Well, it's about time I posted some pics so here they are. Ben as an elephant in his school's "circus day" performance. Our snowy week - the snow stays so light & fluffy when it's f-f-freezing cold! Valentine's Day dinner at our house with some yummy take out and also a shot of Sarah and me on V-day.
Sarah's headed in to Taxotere #3 tomorrow - so far so good on side effects, although some could creep in later (hair, finger nails, etc). Still anxiously awaiting the next MRI in mid March.
Sarah did get her first haircut today - something she's been looking forward to for a while! It's been growing since last summer.

9 Feb - More Taxotere

Sarah got her second Taxotere treatment yesterday and has been doing ok. Mostly she is just more tired than normal, but she continues to stay active and does everything in her normal routine. However, we are definitely grateful for the dinners that people are bringing to us. Although Sarah does cook sometimes, she's more tired in the evenings and we've been keeping meals simple.
That's all the latest. I've got to take some pictures - has been a while since I posted some!
Ben and I will be going to the indian guides Winter CampOut next weekend and Ben is very excited about it. He's also become a real reading machine. Ben checked out 8 children's chapter books from the library last night (the Magic Treehouse series) and I think he'll have torn through them by the end of the weekend!

6 Feb Update

Day four of Taxotere and Sarah can definitely feel a difference between this and the previous Navelbine treatment. She has more general body aches and much more fatigue, which will likely increase after further weekly treatments - falling asleep on the couch most evenings. But, we hope this means it's more aggressively attacking the spots in her liver! Other than that, she's feeling ok - no significant nausea this week & hope that will continue.
It is still very cold in Chicago. When I got up yesterday it said -8F on the thermometer. Last night we said, "well the snow tomorrow will warm it up a bit." Then we laughed, because we meant it would "warm up" to a high of 11F today. :) If there was any doubt before, we now definitely know that we've become acclimatized to Chicago's winters!

1 Feb - Slowed It Down But Didn't Stop It

We didn't get the news we were hoping for today... :(
The MRI showed Sarah's liver lesions have grown 10-20% despite the six Navelbine treatments. The doctor says that ~70% of her liver is still ok and that her blood analysis shows it is working fine, but we have to stop the tumor advance as quickly as possible.
So, Sarah will start a new weekly treatment using Taxotere in place of Navelbine. It is a much harsher chemo drug in terms of side effects, but also the highest in effectiveness - and we think it shrunk her original breast tumor when she got it back in May 06. Back then, the oncologist stopped giving it to Sarah once we learned that she had bone mets so that it could be used later in a situation just like this when it was more needed.
We can expect Sarah to have more fatigue, some nausea and also hair loss again. She's so brave! Didn't miss a beat and said, "bring it on!" All that matters is trying to stop the advance in her liver.

So, instead of relief we've now got double the worry as we do another six weeks of treatment and wait until mid-March for another MRI. This is another setback in a long string of setbacks... but we know there is hope and that is what we are staying focused on. There are blessings to be counted - we are facing this as a family full of love, together with many friends and relatives who have reached out with care and support (thank you for that!). We can't know what the future holds, but we are doing our best to courageously move forward and face it together.