30 Jan - Waiting

Sarah got the MRI this Monday as scheduled and we'll go in on Thursday to get the results. Trying not to think about it too much, and we've got plenty of distractions helping us in that regard. The boys are both sick - we've kept Ben home from school for a week now - and they are both going in to the dentist tomorrow. Ben has a tooth growing in behind one of his baby teeth, so it never pushed the baby tooth out. Not sure what you do about that... and I know Ben's not going to like it if the baby tooth needs to be pulled! He freaked out today when the doc gave him a strep test (ie shoved a Qtip down his throat). Sarah's cheerful reminder that "at least it wasn't a shot" fell on deaf ears. :)

25 Jan - MRI date set

I went on a quick one-day trip to Boston today while Sarah got her treatment (she was able to get another Navelbine chemo treatment!) She also scheduled her MRI scan with her onc since she's received six treatments which should be enough to assess tumor response to the Navelbine. She'll get the scan on Monday and we'll get the results on Thursday. So, next week is going to be tough as we wait for these important results... If the liver lesions have not grown, then we'll continue with the current Herceptin+Navelbine treatements, but if they have grown then we need to try something else right away.
I don't really have a gut feel on how this will go. Sarah and I are both cautiously hopeful - hoping for good news, but very aware that bad news is a real possibility. We've made too many trips to her onc's office which ended in bad news already. We need a good one to turn the tide here! It's gonna be hard to wait.

23 Jan Update

Dad & Sam watching the Bears - Saints game. Sarah was not smiling... and gave up watching the game at some point in the 3rd quarter! (At least Peyton & the Colts won, so I'll have someone to root for at the Super Bowl :P - Sarah)
It's been a while since the last update - I had some multi-day biz trips that I just finished up last weekend. Sarah is doing well - amazingly she has been able to get her Navelbine treatment each week so far! This is very good as long as it is having an effect on the liver lesions - we still won't know that until the next MRI in mid Feb. Her FISH test came back positive, which means that the Herceptin treatment should be an effective treatment (together with chemo). She does still have a mild cold and both the kids are now sick as well. Ben had a bit of a fever tonight & we could barely believe it when he asked to go to bed early "because he was tired!"

14 Jan

Here's Uncle Thomas with Sam... havin' fun at the park!
Well, this week was a busy one. I was away on business until Wed night, then Sarah had treatment on Thursday. Actually, we were surprised (and glad) that her white blood cells were high enough to get a fourth Navelbine chemo treatment. Unfortunately, she's now come down with some bug but it doesn't seem too bad - scratchy throat but no fever.
Ben and I had a great time today at a new local water park. The event was organized by the Indian Guides group that we're part of.

5 Jan

Sarah's blood cell counts were high enough to get her third Navelbine chemo this Thursday, but her white cells are trending down, so we think she'll have to skip next week. Her onc discussed Sarah's treatment with the doctor we consulted at Rush University hospital and both agreed she should get a FISH test to verify her cancer's Her2/Neu receptor status - it's a pathology test that can be run on the tumor tissue sample taken during her mastectomy. The results of this test will help determine what the next steps are if Navelbine isn't effective.
Sam and Ben are fine, but have had a bit of trouble getting back in to the routine of school. Still hard to get them out of bed in the mornings! Of course they have lots of fun once the get to school, but they really liked our sleeping later schedule over the holidays.

2 Jan - Doctor's Visit

Sarah and I went to see the oncologist at Rush University Medical Center today and it was an encouraging visit. Although the lesions in Sarah's liver are a very serious development, it sounds like clinical trials have shown that Herceptin+Chemo is often much more effective than Herceptin alone. Also, there are several other treatment options that could help Sarah if this treatment isn't working. So, there is hope - now the critical thing is quickly assessing whether this Herceptin+Navelbine treatment is effective. Sarah's red blood cell count is back up, so that should hopefully mean that she can get another Navelbine chemo treatment this Thursday.
We're also thankful for the many emails we've received in response to our Christmas letter - it is very nice to feel the support and concern of family and friends at a time like this!

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!

18 Nov - Birthday Party!

Ben had a very fun birthday party at the bowling alley down the street. Unfortunately, I didn't charge the camera's batteries before the big event, so no pics - only video. :(
However, Ben got so many presents between our New Orleans trip and his party that he's in hog heaven deciding what to play with. Even Sam is getting in on the action - he sometimes tries to claim a toy for himself by asserting, "It's MINE!" But that never works... and usually leads to one or both of the boys getting a time out. :) When will they learn?
Sarah's doing fairly well. It has been nice for her to be surrounded by loved ones in the wake of her father's death and it's also nice that she, Thomas and Elizabeth have been talking over the phone more often. Sarah's weekly Herceptin and monthly Zometa treatments are proceeding normally and she's feeling well. The next bigger thing will be another CAT scan, which we'll likely have done sometime just before Christmas as planned.

15 Nov

We got back from New Orleans on the 15th. The funeral for Sarah's father was poignant and a nice way to acknowledge his passing. Sarah's brother Thomas built a slide show of pictures showing many great memories of Gene's life and many people attended the visitation and funeral.

9 Nov - Rest In Peace, Grandpa

We got the sad news that Sarah's father suffered a stroke this morning and passed away hours later in a New Orleans hospital surrounded by Thomas, Elizabeth and some of his friends. Although he's been battling metastatic prostate cancer for almost eight years, this was still sudden and unexpected. "Grandpa with a beard," as Ben calls him, will certainly be missed. As we make plans to fly to New Orleans for the funeral, we also pray that Eugene now rests in peace and joy with God.

Germany - Schilksee

We spent our last day in Kiel at the beach town of Schilksee. The boys loved seeing all the ships and boats. They also really liked walking along the water's edge - finding and throwing rocks, seeing jellyfish, writing in the sand, chasing swans.

Germany - Out and About

Pics of Oma and Uncle Guenther.