Because it is Never Too Soon....

Lil' Update

In case anyone is still checking this blog.....cue crickets......

Just thought I'd update my mom's state of being.  Friday was chemo. Saturday was fine and dandy....mainly waiting around for any side effects.....nada. Sunday morning she went to church & lasted a whole hour before she was too cold and tired to stay.Sunday night brought some lower GI issues. Also pain. But not bad pain, just uncomfortable. Pain at her surgical site, back, and wrist. The surgical site pain is most likely from the chemo(there are fast producing cells there as she is still healing) and the other pain is bone pain associated with the white blood cell stimulating medication she was given. Monday and yesterday was better, just tired. She has had no nausea at this point, so that's good. Her sense of taste is fine (as we have heard that is a side effect lot's of patients notice) but her appetite is really decreased.  She's being really good about drinking alot of water.

And that is about it....

Chemo: Take #1

Well, I should back up a couple weeks to mom's last appt. with the oncologist. She had a good recovery from her 2nd surgery, was able to get rid of her friends, Thing 1 & eventually Thing 2 (the drains) without much problem. Her surgeon was around for the 1st drain removal a week after surgery, but mom saw her associate to have the 2nd removed, as the surgeon had her baby and was home recovering by then.

The post-op appt. with the oncologist was a bit more of information gathering. We do know that mom doesn't have to have radiation now. Since there was no spread to lymph nodes and the tumor wasn't that close to the chest wall, the radiation isn't needed. We got the pathology report, which unfortunately was a little hard for the oncologist to decipher. The path report from the lumpectomy that showed more tumors on the margins, had measurements of those tumor sizes. The path report from the mastectomy though, just indicated that there was residual tumor along the lumpectomy site, and there was another tumor found as well, but he did not include the sizes.....so that made things a little difficult for the oncologist to get actual tumor size. So he had to improvise and look at the MRI along with the reports to come up with tumor size, which he has estimated at about 2.7cm total. One thing the path report did have was the grading of the tumor. The grading is a 1-3 scale that determines aggressiveness of the tumor cells. The biopsy graded it at 2, but that was a changed to a 3 when they got a better look
at the cells following tumor removal. Unfortunately, 3 means they are very aggressive. But we are still good since the lymph nodes were clean. So we'll take the good! All together, that places her cancer at stage IIa. If she were to stop after surgery and do no other treatment, she has a 52% chance of it coming back. But to move on with the further treatment chemotherapy and the other drugs they have, her chances of recurrence drop to 15%....much better odds.

So that brings us to today. Chemo has officially begun. I think my mom has a great attitude. Granted, she for sure can think of lots of other things she'd rather be doing (wouldn't all the people in this infusion center concur with that?!), but she's going in with a great attitude, and plans on resting up for a few days, and then continuing on. More power to her!!!!

GO MOM!

We started today with some IV anti-nausea meds, dexamethasone(steroid), & taxotere(chemo drug. Next on the menu is Herceptin(monoclonal antibiotic), and then some carboplatin(another chemo drug). After a good 4-5 hours here, we get to then head home. My mom is going to be at home for now after this treatment. We hear that. The fatigue and side-effects will start up tomorrow, and last 2-3 days. So we'll see how this treatment goes and hope for the best.

Over and Done

Mom's surgery is over and done. She did very well, even her BP wasn't scary high....I think she was feeling less anxious today. And even though(to me anyway) this surgery seems more invasive and major than the previous one, she seems much more "perky" after. They certainly haven't let her rest too much. Physical Therapy has already been by to take her on a walk down the hall. She is quietly napping right now though. So I think we can (do I dare?) say she is on to the next leg of this journey with a few weeks of healing and the commencement of chemotherapy....blech.

Her surgeon was once again fantastically wonderful. I wonder if I could convince her to do family practice on the side so I could switch over to her?! I was a little concerned as she is 37 weeks pregnant that her water would break or something during surgery, but she came out of the OR still obviously pregnant, so we were good there. I wonder if she'll be around for the follow-up appts at week 1 and 2?! ;)

I'm happy to report my mom still has an appreciation for a bit of irreverent humor though....she has 2 drains that she gets to cart around for the next little while as she's healing. I told her to name them Thing 1 & Thing 2. She gave me an eye roll and a smile, and told the nurse I got my sense of humor from my dad, ;) Yes I did, and she loved him for it, so she must love me too!

Latest and Not-so Greatest?

I have failed, slacked, and procrastinated. Forgive me. ;)

So I'll back up and update:  We got my mom home the day after surgery, she was a little sore, and tired, but was glad to be home.  She did well and was feeling quite back to normal by the Monday after surgery.  That day she got a call from the surgeon informing her that her pathology report was back on the lump containing the tumor that was removed.  Although her lymph nodes were clear, and initial tests on the lump showed the margins were good, once it got through the pathology exam and got looked at microscopically, there were 2 more small tumors found right on the edge of the tissue, which means the margins were not clear, and the cancer was spreading within the breast....which meant more surgery was needed.

The surgeon consulted with the oncologist and it was strongly recommended that she have a mastectomy.  So that is what we are headed into tomorrow.  Because of this change of plans, the oncologist appointment has been postponed to set up the beginning of chemo.  She will meet now with him in about 3 weeks after she has time to heal from the mastectomy.

She goes in tomorrow morning, and it is anticipated that she will have at least an overnight stay in the hospital.  If you know my mom, you know she is a strong lady, and this attitude has continued.  She knows what needs to be done, and is facing it head-on and doing it.  Certainly a daughter raised by strong parents who did the same thing.  One thing that I realize as I get older when I think back about my grandmother is that she never ever asked "why me" when things happened to her.  She was a widow for 20 years, dealt with kidney failure, heart problems, and nerve damage from her dialysis port.  She just dealt with it.  Never complained or wallowed.  She was a good example.  My mom is the same way.  She is just moving forward, and taking care of this.  Her neighbor brought her a plaque for her birthday, and my mom hung it over her kitchen window.  It is a quote from Joseph B. Wirthlin: "Come what may, and love it." She sees it daily, and she will embrace this quote. My mom is awesome.

I will update tomorrow on surgery results. Thank you, once again, for your prayers.

Surgery Done

Update better late than never? ;)

Mom's surgery was Wednesday.  Planned was a nice simple little same-day procedure.  But....(isn't there always a but?!)....the hospital called my mom Tuesday evening asking her to come in a little earlier for a repeat EKG as her pre-op one looked different from a previous EKG from August.  So Wednesday she had another one.....that one was cause for even more stress to the surgical team than the Tuesday one! (I chalk it up to stress and anxiety on my poor mom's part.  Who wouldn't have EKG changes when they are going through this?)

So after contacting and faxing her EKG tracings to a cardiologist, they got the clear from him to proceed with surgery, being that she was asymptomatic for what her little pitter-patting heart was doing on EKG, and her surgery was sort-of a needed thing.  She does get to meet with the cardiologist this week though for a face-to-face work-up.  Hooray? But, they also decided that she was staying in the hospital overnight to be on a heart monitor to play it safe.  Cut to the chase, her heart did just peachy during and after surgery, with no problems.

So finally, about an hour late, they took her off to radiology and then surgery.  Her BP was pretty high with all the anxiety of the morning, but came right down when they gave her some happy dreamland juice. :) The procedure went great, with her port placed, tumor removed, and lymph nodes checked with the best news of all, no spread to any nodes!  She does still have to do chemo because of the Her2 result, but with negative nodes, that means chemo doesn't have to be increased, and of course, it increases the odds of a positive outcome with catching this cancer before it has spread anywhere else.

We finally saw her later that afternoon in her room, she was looking good and responding well, but tired. I stayed with her for a while, and checked on her again later that night.  The next morning I came down with hopes of checking her out, but she was still quite VERY sleepy and unsteady.  The surgeon came in and saw her and said she'd check on her in the afternoon....I was glad, there was no way she could go home like that!  So I left her to sleep some more, and when I returned that afternoon, she was much more awake and functional.  I think she was just still trying to get the anesthesia and pain meds out of her system.

The surgeon came in, saw she was doing better, and released her to go home. After a little stop at the pharmacy, I got her home.  I was thinking I would stay that night, but she told me she was fine, and I could see that she was getting around just fine so I felt okay about leaving. In the last 2 days since, she is doing well.  A little sore, but she hasn't even taken pain meds since being home.

Again, thank you all for the prayers and well wishes.

As a little post script, my mom has a significant birthday coming up next Sunday....she's turning 80!  Wowzers!  I can't even believe it!  If anyone would like to send her a card wishing her a happy bday, I know she'd love it. If you are needing her address, email me: 3lilsmudgits at comcast dot net and I can send it to you.  Thanks!

Lesson Learned

You'd think at my age I'd have learned to not assume things until I have all the information.  Apparently not.

Like that statement I made in the previous post about if my mom's lymph nodes were found to be clear in her surgery tomorrow she would only need radiation?  Yeah, I'm choking on those words, unfortunately.

My mom, Beth(who was in town for the long weekend), and I met with the oncologist yesterday.  Once again, very good choice of a doctor, and I know I feel quite confident in his abilities.

He took a thorough history, then started talking about my mom's cancer and the proposed care plan.

That's when we found out the result of the last test we were waiting for on the initial biopsy, which was the Her2/neu test.  It was positive.  Not what we expected.  Her2/neu is another type of hormone that stimulates cell growth, and causes the cancer cells to be more aggressive than if it wasn't present.

Good news is there is a drug called Herceptin that blocks the growth receptors on the cancer cells to prevent the aggressive growth.  Not so good news is that if you are Her2 positive, you automatically get chemotherapy along with Herceptin, whether or not your lymph nodes are positive.

We were surprised at the news.  We had, I suppose, unknowingly planned on not hearing about a need for chemo until after surgery.

Surgery is still planned for tomorrow.  Still planned is a lumpectomy w/sentinel node biopsy, along with a port placement now.  The "port" will give IV access for as long as it is in, and will make blood draws and the chemo infusions much easier.

We do not have a start date for chemotherapy as yet, that will come when we meet with the oncologist again, in about 3 weeks.  We do know that she will have 6 chemo treatments, 3 weeks apart.  The Herceptin will then continue every 3 weeks for a year. She will also take an estrogen blocking drug for the next five years, and sometime after the initial 6 chemo treatments, she will begin radiation.

My mom is remaining positive, although is understandably worried about having to go through chemo.  She can certainly think of a thousand other things she'd rather be doing!

We are remaining hopeful, and leaning on the power of prayer at this time.  As our wonderful family friend Rich proclaims, "Faith, Hope, Deliverance!"

**I will update tomorrow as I can, here on my blog, and on facebook, as to her condition following surgery.  Again, especially tomorrow, your faith and prayers are appreciated.  They are felt, and are bringing a calmness to our family.  Thank you!**

Stupid Statistics

You always hear that statistic: 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer in their lifetime.  I personally think that statistic stinks!  And although I hear that stastistic and thought frequently about it, I still felt disconnected from it, in a way.  Even as women in my neighborhood, mothers in the school my kids attend, or just people you hear about through others were diagnosed.  But it became much more of a slap in the face recently.

Granted, my family has been deeply affected by breast cancer. I am married to a most wonderful man, but would not have that man in my life had his first wife not lost her battle with breast cancer.  I am now raising a daughter whose mother was taken from her by this.

But I didn't witness it, and we don't dwell on it.


Back to that statistic....yes, that number always bothered me.  Think about it.  Eight women in a room, and one of them is going to have breast cancer.  But honestly, I didn't really stress about it, because(even though it is not a guarantee) we have ZERO family history of breast cancer.  Not a grandmother, aunt, great aunt....nada.  Until now.  **Edited to read: Hmmm, found out today I didn't have the zero record I thought I had! A cousin told me our great aunt fought with breast cancer for a few years.  I remember she died when I was a teen, and I am not sure if I didn't know what she died of or if I had forgotten.  So, all you female relatives on my fathers side, we do have a family history.**

My ever vigilant and healthy mother, who has faithfully gotten yearly mammograms for as long as I can remember, got called back for a second look at something that had "changed" since her last.  That 2nd look turned into an ultrasound, and that turned into a needle biopsy.  Four days later she got the call that the biopsy came back showing cancer.

Welcome to the statistic.

She dropped the bomb on me the next day. (Thankfully, I took the news well, until a few hours later when my brain refused to concentrate on anything, but this isn't about me.)

So....since then we've been busy.  We've seen the surgeon (who is quite possibly one of the coolest people I've ever met, and would recommend her to anyone).  We received a copy of the biopsy, and the good news is the tumor is small.  The surgeon was very optimistic that it's been caught early.  It is also the typical type (Invasive ductal) and is hormone positive, which means they can treat that component of it with hormone supression drugs.  My mom has opted on a lumpectomy, which is scheduled for the 19th.  At that point, they will also do a sentinel node biopsy to see if there is any involvement there, and be able to "stage" her cancer.  Also in the plans is radiation. It sounds like chemo will only have to take place if they find positive lymph nodes, but that is just from the conversation with the surgeon.  We haven't met with the oncologist yet, but will this coming Monday.

All manner of prayers for my mom are appreciated. :)  She went back and forth on giving me permission to let people know about this, but finally relented. I'll try and continue to update, depending upon what she gives the okay for, but personally, I'm praying that a lot of updating won't be necessary because we are getting this out of her, and moving on with a smile and grateful hearts. :)



I do know that my mom would like to remind everyone to get their yearly mammograms, since that's how they caught this....she never felt anything.

I'm off to make my appointment.......

Christmas Stocking Miracle -progress day 13 thru 25?

I've lost track. Besides, should I really count days I didn't touch it?

Either way, it is done. Well, the stitching is done. As soon as I post this, I'm on the road delivering it to my saint of a mother who has volunteered to finish it into an actual stocking. She feels it her "duty", since she has finished (or helped me) the other 5 hanging on our mantle. So, with 2 days to spare, we are on the way to Ellie's stocking completion. :)

Christmas Stocking - Day 5 thru 12 progress

Looking better...ish?!  It has been crazy.  Therefore, the stocking progress has slowed. But really, scroll down and look at the picture on the post below, go on, I'll wait for you -------- see how much more is done?!  I'm actually feeling impressed with myself now!  There have been eye surgeries (+ complications), choir skirt to finish, choir concerts, and then the whole reason for the stocking...Christmas to still try and prepare for.

Due to Ron's vitrectomies last year, he has developed cataracts, which we expected would happen.  His right eye worsened first, so last Thursday was his first cataract and lens replacement surgery.  It went as expected, and the follow-up appointment Friday looked good.  But Saturday he started seeing flashes of light in that eye, and a lot of "floaters" in his field of vision.  So he called the doctor, who wanted to see him that evening. (Poor guy and his family!  They were up seeing the lights in SLC and stopped by the office on the way home to see him....9:30 at night....5 kids...baby.... Now that is dedication, although his wife and kids were pretty much at his mercy!) There was a spot on Ron's retina that Dr. Brockbank was a little concerned about, so sent him home and told him to lay low on Sunday.  Thankfully, his eye has had no more issues and is slowly improving each day.

Nicole is in the children's choir at school. I've known since October that she needs a black skirt for her performances.  Remember that personality quirk of mine involving procrastination?!  So I of course waited until Monday to make her skirt.  Her first performance was Tuesday. :)  But hey!  I finished it! (I am such a dork.) The school assembly performance went well.  Today is up in SLC at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, so we are schlepping all of us up to go see the lights at Temple Square after. Should be fun, as it's been probably 6 years since we've been.....I think.  I'm pretty sure we have never taken Ellie.  Our children are highly deprived.

Yesterday also involved getting Nicole set up waiting in the "stand-by" line for the school play audition.  The time slots filled up so fast that we didn't get one!  Luckily a couple kids didn't show right at the beginning though, so she got right in and I didn't have to leave her sitting there for 2 hours hoping she'd get in.  Hopefully we'll know before Christmas break if she gets to be in the play. Fingers crossed....she really wants to do it.

I am planning on more stocking progress. But aren't plans great?!  They make things sound so wonderful!  I will finish this stocking before Christmas, although I may have Santa waiting over my shoulder ready to fill it as I get the last stitches in.....