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.

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!