1st Check-up after 2nd Chemotherapy - 11/27/2010

Everything was great at the appointment this past week. It was one of the quickest ones yet. All the numbers were great. Mom has had no side effects this round and we credit that to her keeping up on the medicine and not letting it lapse. She is doing wonderful and we were able to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner together. A lot to be thankful for!!!

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2nd Chemo Treatment - 11-15-2010

Mom's 2nd treatment was pretty eventful. First the good news!!! At the evaluation before the treatment, Dr. Pritchard said that Mom's blood looked really good. He also revealed that the tumor has dramatically shrunk about 75% since starting and that if it continues then we could be seeing a quicker movement into surgery. We were really excited about that possibility. Now, the not so good news. As mom started her chemo, not more than 10 minutes into it, she had some sort of allergic reaction. Mom described it has someone spraying something burning up from her feet into her legs. It eventually settled into her back and was like a knife in her lower spine. The nurses and doctor moved quickly to assess and act in helping mom get her pain under control. They immediately stopped the chemo treatment and then started to administer doses of steriods, benadryl, and morphine all through the iv. Now some more good news, all those medicines helped to get mom back to normal. After about a half an hour started back up her chemo treatment and it went successfully with no other complications. Dr. Pritchard was unsure what caused the reaction and said that he had never seen something like it before. We are just glad that it happened where it did and that all is now better.

Post chemo treatment, Mom is doing really well. She has kept up with her medications and has had no problems. We keep our fingers crossed.

We did have quite an eventful day today but it was not with any drama of pain and suffering. On the other hand it was quite full of fun and laughs. As you know from previous entries, Mom's hair has been falling out. The last several days have been pretty aggressive. Mom said from the beginning that she would prefer just shaving it all off rather than having patches of hair and such. So this morning Mom and I and Gillette had some serious time with each other. And voila, one beautiful head!!!!


Mom then wanted to try on her wigs. She was actually given two, one more curly than the other. The one on the left is the one she likes the most, at least right now.



They did such a great job matching her hair color and with a little more time and practice she will be able to style them pretty much any way she wants.

Afterward Mom wanted Dad and I to experience a little bit of the excitement of having a new look. So at Mom's bidding: "viola"


My kids, Kalin and Vanessa, have yet to stop laughing. They have been going on for several hours.. Lucy says I look like a used car salesman. "Anybody care to purchase a Gremlin in good condition for a great deal?"

2nd Checkup after 1st Chemo - 11/8/2010

Today's checkup went amazingly! We actually went a bit earlier than the time so we could first visit the "Mariannes' Room." It is a wonderful part of the Hope Center at Martha Jefferson in which those receiving chemo can have free hats, scarves, and even wigs. Mom's hair has slowly began to start falling out. No worries, not in great clumps, but just noticeably on things she wears and in her comb. Dr. Pritchard had said that if it would start to fall out, it would start about the 2nd to 3rd week. We are exactly in the time frame. Mom was able to order a beautiful wig with her present hair color and similar style. It should be here before her next appointment. The room is made available by loving donations by those connected with Marianne Zirkle, who also suffered and eventually died at 39 with cancer. (see the following link for more info - http://www.mjhfoundation.org/atf/cf/%7BAA5D0B03-82D8-46EA-B586-15CB9292C79B%7D/MariannesRoom_Tabloid.pdf )

At the appointment, Mom's blood work came back good, and her temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate were all great! Besides feeling a little fatigued, which is quite normal, and some loss of feeling in her fingers, which is also normal and the Dr. says if it gets worse then they might be able to do minor changes with her chemo drugs to help that, Mom is doing great!!! Upon examining the breast the Dr. noticed that the tumor is indeed softening and shrinking, and the color is not as inflamed. All things that you hope for as a part of the treatment, but is always good to see when it is happening. It looks like the chemo is doing its job! The Dr. also told us that the test results to see if the tumor was hormonally based or not did come back and it was negative. So they will not be able to introduce hormonal treatments as part of her procedures. But, that is OK!

All in all things are going well. Many have come by and visited and called to check in. It has been a blessing for Mom and Dad. Dad suffered a period of gout this past week and himself was out of the loop a little. He is doing better this week. They are hoping to get out a little more this week. Paul has taken some time off and will accompany Mom to her next chemo treatment this upcoming Monday. Felicia is going to take her to her Monday visit after that. Ginny is planning on coming out for her 3rd chemo treatment for a week to help out. Becky is looking to visit when the surgery takes place for two weeks and Glen is planning in February to visit. Everyone's concerns, prayers, and communications have been wonderful and have been enjoyed!

1st Checkup after 1st Chemo - 11/1/10

Sorry about the lateness of this post. This week has ran by fast. Mom went in Monday for your blood work and quick check up. It was very positive. She had a 98.9 temperature and all her blood cells looked good. Dr. Pritchard checked in on us and asked about how things were going and gave some advice on certain issues. They are still waiting on the results if Mom's tumor is hormone receptive or not and hope to get that back before our next visit, this upcoming Monday. One more bit of good news was that Mom's blood pressure has been low for a while. I don't mean low in a bad way either. she has been on two medicines for a quite a while for her high blood pressure. We asked the Dr. if they were still needed being that her pressure has been so great for quite a while. He decided that she could stop taking one of her medicines and he would see about the other in the weeks to come. Mom was excited about that. : )

Overall Mom has done well this week. She was a little more tired and fatigued the first week after because of the chemo but everyday she says she gets a little more of her energy back. She is a trooper!!