Hello everyone, Mom has now successfully completed her 4th round of treatment! As of yesterday, Moms white blood cell count is in range, yet her red blood cell count was a bit low so after chemo she had an injection of procrit. Today she is feeling good and looking forward to a trip to the hair salon with Brittany.
In two weeks Mom will have her first CT scan since beginning chemo. This will be our first time to measure if the treatment has had any positive result on the cancer. She will also have a chance to go over all results with her doctor. So please keep her in your thoughts and pray for positive news in two weeks!!
Bye for now, Michelle

Hello Everyone, Thankfully Mom has been doing well this past week. Her Tuesday CBC showed that her white blood cell and red blood cell count are still in good ranges. Her INR is low, but this will not affect her treatment schedule. According to her Doctor the blood thinner she takes is very hard to moderate when you are on chemo. So these INR levels must be consistently checked, we don't want her blood to thick or to thin. Other than that all is in range. Yesterday, her and Dad took a drive to Knotts Berry Farm, to visit the shops there and try and escape this heat wave we are having! It's not easy, last week we all went down to Dana Point in the O.C. thinking it would be a few degrees cooler, but we still roasted in the 90's!
Mom will have her 4th round of chemo this Tuesday and then in 2 weeks she will have some scans and meet with her doctor. We get to fly up this time so it should be a comfortable day trip for Mom & Dad. Keep up the positive thoughts and prayers for Mom!
Bye for now, Michelle

Hi everyone, well one more treatment successfully completed! We got back late last night from Scottsdale. Mom had a exam with the physician assistant this time. So far things are going along with protocol and the neulasta injection she had 2 weeks ago really helped to boost her white blood cell count. We cant really evaluate the chemo effectiveness until we have a scan of her tumors which will be done in a few weeks. So what is important right now is how mom is feeling. She looks great and sounds strong, so these are all good things! I spoke with mom and dad this morning and mom is feeling really good, so lets hope and pray this continues.
Mom was able to visit with two of her sisters (Ruth & Wanda)again while she was getting her treatment at Mayo. Although we all wish the circumstances for these visits were different, I know mom really enjoys being able to chat and visit with them. Dads really getting a use out of his motorhome as that was our form of transportation again on this round. We went up early Monday morning and returned late Tuesday night. It's about a six hour drive, of course we make quite a few stops (including cracker barrel for moms favorite bubble gum). I'm sure dads very tired and I would loved to help him drive, but I have no depth perception(not exactly the kind of driver you want behind the wheel of a motorhome)so dad is left to be chauffeur, but he takes it all in stride and we are all home safe and sound.
Mom has been really touched by all of you who have shown your concern. She has heard from many long time friends, the Challis family, Audrey and her mom, Shirley and Ed, even some friends from as far as France whom (expectedly) mom left such an endearing impression on, and soooo many others. She has also enjoyed reading the comments that some of you have added to this blog. She enjoyed her niece Glenda reminiscing about all of the great adventures all of you have shared! So on behalf of the family a great big Thank-You to each and every one of you who continue to remind our mother what a loved and special person she is! Please keep up your thoughts and prayers for her!
Bye for now, Michelle.

Hi everyone,

This is Kay writing and I am feeling pretty good today. Today is the 4th of July and all the family came over to celebrate and they even did all the clean up which was very nice.

I go for my 3rd chemo on the llth of July. Thank God I am not in too much pain as long as I take a pain pill every few hours. My worst days seem to be 3 to 4 days after chemo and then I get fevers or bone pain.

I pray for all of you that have this disease, it is not a fun thing to have. I have been healthy all my life and have so much more I would like to see and do. I have 3 grown children and 12 Grandchildren who have all been such a blessing in my life and have been so very helpful through all this.

Thank God for every day I am allowed to have. Faith is what is carrying me through all this. I will post after my next chemo at Mayo. I am on the trial of Gemzar and alimta, I pray it shrinks the tumors.

Bless you all.

Kay