Post Sugery

Tomorrow will be one week from my procedure. I wish I could say I was feeling great. This time around there is a lot more pain!! The drain sites are very tender and my chest wall is very sensitive. I have an appointment on Tuesday and hope to get at least one drain out.

I'm hoping I do not have an infection. The left side drain is rather painful, but I'm not running a high fever and there is no red streaking or heat. I hope to know more on Tuesday.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. The meals have been fabulous!

God is good!

Terrie

Surgery Schedule

Next Monday is the day! I hope this is the last surgery ever!!!

Dr Kronowitz will remove the spacer and put in implants on both sides to hopefully even out things. I will stay in the hospital one night. I will have a drain on each side (YUCK!!!) for a maximum of 3 weeks. Back to sponge baths (another YUCK!!!). My poor husband will have to go back to being my nurse maid and empty the drains twice a day.

I had a mammogram last week on the right side and it was clean - YEA!!!!!!!!

We have had a great fall and look forward to Thanksgiving & my birthday and of course Christmas! Already getting most of the shopping done!

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers!

Love,

Terrie

Hello Out There

I know I still have a few readers out there. There isn't much going on right now. I had a 3 month check up last week. No mammograms or ultrasounds. Dr. Theriault just wanted to see how I was doing with the Tamoxifen medication. Which by the way really sucks! Lots of yucky side effects. He has taken me off all meds for 4 weeks to see if it truly is the meds causing the side effects. Then I am to start a different medication called Toremifene. It does the same thing as Tamoxifen with just a different chemical make up.

The kids are back in school this week. We had a great summer. We didn't do everything I wanted, but when do you ever do.

Thanks so much for all the continued support!

Terrie

Long Time No Post

My husband informed that it had been TOO long since I had posted any updates.  He was right!

The drain is out!!!  WOOHOO!!!  The compression bandage is off!!!  Another WOOHOO!!!!  Everything is healing nicely.  Only one downside - I have to stay out of pools, tubs, etc for 6-8 weeks.  That means my poor husband is in charge of taking the kids into the pool while I sit on the side.  Sounds great right??  I just may die from a heat stroke.

Surgery has been officially postponed until October or November.  Dates should be set within the next few weeks.  I am shooting for the first week of November.  Surgery plans as of right now- have the spacer removed and implants on both sides.  That should be it!!  Can you believe it??

I have appointments every 3 months with my oncologist.  I am now taking Tamoxifen and probable will be for the next 5 years.

Schools out and we are planning to have an awesome summer!!!

Good is GREAT!!!

Terrie

Post Report #3

Went back to Kronowitz's office today.  The infection is now gone.  Unfortunately they still did not take the drain out.  They said next Thursday it will come out no matter what the output.  We have officially cancelled our June 8th surgery.  New surgery date will be around October/November.  I should get a date set next week.

Sorry so short - time for bed!

Love you guys!

Post Report #2

I was at my plastic surgeon's office again yesterday.  The infection is still there.  I'm feeling much better, but the redness and heat are still physical symptoms that an infection is still present.  He is still concerned and wants to keep a close eye on it.  If over the weekend I experience fever or start to feel bad again, then I am to go to the ER at MD Anderson.  I will see him again on Tuesday.

We also discussed options for the reconstruction process.  I have a date set for June 8th.  With our initial surgery they were able to salvage a lot more of the breast then they had anticipated - this has opened other doors for other types of reconstruction.

My doctor feels that we can get great results with just implants and have less of a surgery than doing the DIEP with the abdominal tissue.  He is worried about my back with the DIEP procedure because it puts a lot of extra strain on the back.  One of my concerns is the amount of surgeries.  If I have an implant put in on the 8th then we would need to wait a month or two for it fall naturally and then we would have to fix the other side to match.  It would be the same with the DIEP procedure - we would have another surgery to match the other breast.  Another alternative is the let my breast fall naturally with the spacer for about 6 months, then he feels he could put implants in both sides at the same time.  Get everything done with only one surgery.   We are really thinking about the last alternative.  It will give us and everyone else a MUCH NEEDED break.  We will be able to enjoy the summer - just a little lopsided - hee hee!

I have learned one very valuable lesson about the doctors at MD Anderson.  They are always learning and researching and finding better ways to do their job.  They will change their mind at the last possible moment if necessary to better help the patient.  They are on the fore front of new research and technology.  As with my surgery, they were changing things up to "go time" with new procedures.  Once a decision is made - it is not carved in stone - it is ever changing and evolving!  So that being said, our decision right now very well could change in the next few days.  You just never know!!

Thanks for all the wonderful food, child care, play dates, thoughts and prayers.  It looks like we may fly under the radar for a few months.  I'll need you guys back in the fall!

God is so good-

Terrie

CANCER FREE

I just got the call from my surgeon with the pathology and I am officially  cancer free!  All reports are clean.

Side note, I am fighting a possible infection from surgery.  I have been running a low fever and feeling very yucky.  They have me on triple antibiotics.  If they do not see many improvements by my appointment tomorrow then back to the hospital I go.  I'm sure that will not be the case.

I have a surgery follow-up appt tomorrow with my plastic surgeon.  I have appointments on Monday with my oncologist, Theriault, and my surgeon, Hunt.  I will post again after that unless something else comes up!

God is Good!

Terrie

I AM HOME!!!!  It feels so good to be home and sleep in my own bed and SEE MY KIDS!  I really missed them.

I still have pain around my left breast and under my left arm.  I usually forget about the incision from the removal of my port on the right side.  Poor Jim has to empty my drain twice a day, clean around the tubing and tape it back up.  He's been such a trooper about it.  The drain is the worst part of all of this.  Until the drain is removed I am only allowed sponge baths!  That is almost as bad as being in the hospital.  It should be about 2 weeks before the drain is removed.  That is going to be a long 2 weeks.  I have to be very careful around the kids so the tubing doesn't get pulled out and my clothing has to be loose enough to work around it.  No bra either.  So tank tops and cami's will be my choice of clothing.  I usually wear a light jacket to cover up the drain, but the hot weather makes that uncomfortable.  Enough complaining!!!

I am just extremely pleased that I am almost considered cancer free!!!  That's a very liberating feeling.  I'm looking forward to getting the pathology reports next week.

Thank you so much for all the thoughts and prayers!  Thanks to all those who helped with the kids, especially my mother-in-law!  I've heard the food that has been shared with my family has been wonderful.  I appreciate the generosity.  I look forward to having some of those meals in the next few weeks.

I will post again after my next doctor appointments!  Till then, all you moms - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!  I love you all!

Terrie

recovery

This will be short!  it's hard to type.  I have limited use of my left arm and my right hand has 2 iv's.  My surgery lasted for 4 hours and doctors said it went great.  I only have one drain which is good.  Since surgery went so well, the plastics doctors said I may have more options when the time comes.  

The lymph node biopsies looked good.  We just wait for the pathology report.

They have moved me a second time,  I am in room 1127 now.  I should stay here until I am released tomorrow unless something goes wrong.  

Thank you so much for the thoughts and prayers!  My family appreciates the meals and child care.  It's been a long journey and the end is near.

love,

Terrie

surgery tomorrow

Today was one of the longest days of my life.  I had to be at MD Anderson at 7:15.  I began with an EKG, blood work, and chest x-ray.  Then the really fun part - breast lymphoscintigraphy.  They gave me a local and then inserted a very large needle that sticks out.  While this needle  is sticking out about 5 inches they take mammograms to be sure of its correct location.  The local anesthesia then made me dizzy and I passed out for a few seconds.  Apparently this happens very often because they put you in this special chair that can pretty much throw your feet up and head back to help with the dizziness instantly.  Once most of it passes then they cover the needle with a styrofoam cup and tape the cup in place.  I am then wheeled (yes in a wheelchair) to nuclear medicine.  There they give me the lymphoscintigraphy dose.  That was very painful.  They take a smaller needle and basically thread it through the larger needle that is sticking out and slowly administer the drug.  All of this is to see how the fluids drain from my breast.  It will help determine which lymph nodes need to be taken out and tested.  Then I had scans to see how it's moving through the lymph nodes.  I had scans 30 minutes after the dose and then again one hour later.  In between that I met with my plastic surgeon, Dr Kronowitz.  He talked about the surgery and marked me up for tomorrow.  I also had my anesthesia assessment.  Then I met with my surgical oncologist, Dr Hunt.  I signed all the consent forms.  I will have a single mastectomy tomorrow morning at the main hospital of MD Anderson.  I need to check in at 6:30.  My surgery is scheduled for 8:30, luckily I am the first surgery for Dr Hunt.  Her part takes about 2 hours.  When she is finished then Dr Kronowitz comes in and places the spacer.  His part takes about 2 hours.  They said to plan for surgery to last 4-6 hours total.  I will most likely stay for 2 nights.  My reconstruction is scheduled for June 8th.

That's it for now!!  Wish me luck!

God bless,

Terrie

Plastic Surgeon Appt

WOW!!!   I had an appointment with my plastic surgeon today.  I thought we would be discussing my impending surgery and exactly how the reconstruction was going to happen.  I had my questions prepared for my recovery and felt content with my decision. 

Dr Kroniwitz then informed me that my surgical oncologist, Dr Hunt, has me scheduled for the mastectomy with delayed reconstruction not immediate reconstruction as we had thought and planned for.  I won't go into all the details of how upset I got and all of his explanations.  I will speak to Dr Hunt's PA tomorrow and figure out where the miscommunication happened.  

Dr Hunt feels that there is still a possibility that my lymph nodes may have some cancerous cells.  She does not want Dr Kronowitz to do reconstruction with that possibility.  If my lymph nodes come back with cancerous cells then radiation will be my next step or maybe another surgery to remove all the lymph nodes.  The radiation will have a negative effect on the reconstruction and it would basically need to be redone.  I would lose the ability to use the abdominal tissue - the DIEP procedure can only be performed once.

Soooo - it looks as though I might only be in the hospital one night with a much shorter recovery afterwards.  I should get the results from the lymph nodes in about a week after surgery unless they see something during surgery.  Next course of action could be radiation or the reconstruction.  Only time will tell!

I will know more after I talk to Dr Hunt's PA tomorrow.  I will try to post tomorrow before I head out to the relay.  I hope to see many of you out there!

Love you guys!

Terrie

Final Chemo...forever I hope!

My final day of chemo was this afternoon.  It was sort of a bitter sweet ending.  I almost broke into tears telling Dr. Popatia goodbye.  As I am leaving all the really sweet nurses and office staff, I should be bouncing off the walls with the thought of no more toxic drugs, but I will miss those guys, they are THAT sweet!

In the last few weeks I have been super-sensitive to smells.  All of sudden I catch of whiff of something and I get extremely nauseous.  Today during my treatment it happened - all because of the intense smell of alcohol.  Even writing about it now makes my mouth start watering with the thought of vomiting.  So needless to say, my treatment today was not that great.  I felt horrible the entire time.

I am VERY excited with the anticipation of never having to have chemotherapy again.  I am so ready for this to be over... there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Only a few more items to check off the list before I consider myself to be cancer free.

My last treatment went fairly well with the addition of the steroid.  I'm hoping this last one follows suit.  I have many Easter celebrations to attend so I don't have time to be sick.  

I was very pleased that my hair was starting to grow back - short lived pleasure.  A couple of days ago it began to fall out again.  My hair right now is about an inch long and when I wash it or towel dry it - it's coming out in clumps.  So I guess Jim will shave it one more time so I won't have hair all over the house.

What's next???  Well, I get a few weeks off and then surgery.  I check into the hospital on May 6th.  During those few weeks I will be finishing up all of the fundraising for my Relay for Life team.  We are selling raffle tickets right now - awesome prizes (marriot gift pack, spa, guided fishing trip, handmade wooden glider, Wii, John Deere riding lawn mower, teeth whitening).  Let me know if you want some!!!  Our Bunko fundraiser was a HUGE success - we raised $3,370 that night.  A special thank you goes out to Polly Andrews, Don & Lisa Barcak, Anne Barcak, Steve & Gail Wendtland, Walt & Karen Wendtland, Elizabeth Fairfield, Lauren Beheler, Jole Holachak, Liz Stain and countless more for all their hard work to make the night a success.  Oh yes and my husband for all the nights he took care of the kids while I worked on this.

Please join me and my Terrie's Top Guns team at the night of the Relay it will be a fun family activity (we will have a train ride for the kids and all sorts of goodies).  Visit the website listed on the right for information about the relay or email me!

Once again, I continue to be surrounded by awesome supporters - thanks for all the food, child care, rides, and mental support.  It's been a rough ride and it's starting to wear on me.

One special note, please keep Walt Wendtland in your prayers.  He is in the hospital with some intestinal issues.  He was ill the night of my Bunko and still tried to support me.  They took him to the emergency room the next morning.  He needs my support now.  Get well soon Walt!

I love you all!  Have a blessed Easter!

Terrie

Surgeon's Appointment

I spent the morning at MD Anderson with an ultrasound and surgical oncologist appointment.  There is no change in the tumor since my last ultrasound in January.  That's good because it is not growing.  There was a small part that actually thought maybe they won't force me to take my last chemo treatment.  Ugh - no luck!  I must endure one last chemotherapy.  I'll be honest just the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach!!!!!

Dr. Hunt, her nurse practitioner, Jim, and I made the final decision in surgery choice.  We have decided to go with the single mastectomy with the DIEP reconstruction.  Hopefully this will mean no radiation and in the long run less surgeries.  

I have pre-op tests and such at MD Anderson on Tuesday, May 5, 2009.  They will do a breast needle localization procedure, then lymphoscintigraphy dose, and then breast lymphoscintigraphy.  This will tell Dr Hunt which lymph nodes my tumor drains (it could be the ones under the arm or the mammary glands in the middle of the chest).  They will take those particular lymph nodes out during surgery (sentinel lobe biopsy) to determine if there are any cancerous cells in the lymph node system.  They will do a quick diagnosis of the removed nodes.  If they look clean then no other lymph nodes are removed.  If they find any cancerous cells then they might have to remove all of them.  This could determine a change in my course of treatment.  Cancer is so tricky - never a clear path to travel.  It will take 7-10 days to get the full report on the removed lymph nodes.  

I check in at the hospital on Wednesday, May 6th.  I have another breast needle localization and then surgery.  The plan is to have reconstruction immediately following the mastectomy.   They will use my abdomen tissue and skin to reconstruct.  There is not a set time of surgery as of yet.  Surgery is expected to last about 10 hours.  The average stay for this type of surgery is 5 days.  They say six week recovery time.

My next chemotherapy treatment is scheduled for April 9th.  I HOPE this is the last one!!!  As many of you know this last set of treatments have been really tough.  I cannot wait to be done!!  

Thanks so much for all the thoughts and prayers, the meals, the child care, the rides!  It is such a blessing to have such a wonderful support group!

I love you all,

Terrie

Chemo #3 FAC

It's seem so long ago since I've posted anything.  I've been so lucky that there has not been anything to complain about.  After I got over the nausea of the second treatment, I had a great 2 weeks!

Today's treatment was okay.  I was very anxious about the whole thing.  It's really hard knowing that you are going to be sick.  There were a few moments I wanted to yank out all the tubes and just cry because I didn't want to go through it again.  Deep breaths and happy thoughts saved me. They gave some "queasy pops" to see if they would help with my stomach.  I think it just diverted my attention, which was helpful.  

I came home ate lunch and napped.  It's been about 3 hours and I'm feeling okay.  It feels as though the nausea is on it's way.  I have this yucky taste in my mouth and my head feels a little shaky.  They talked me into having the steroid again, they said it could help with the nausea.  I hope it makes a difference.  

I am so grateful for all the supportive thoughts and prayers!!  I pray for all you too!  The meals, childcare, and rides are so much more than I ever could ask for!  I honestly have the most giving and self-sacrificing family and friends.

I love all of you!

Terrie

chemo #2 FAC side effects

It's not as bad as last time.  The different medications are preventing me from actually vomiting, but not from feeling like it.  My stomach is very uneasy, and I feel like at any moment I am going to vomit.  Instead I have sort of like a dry heave.  I feel better for about 10-15 minutes and then back to the nauseated feeling.

Jim is the lucky one who gets to give me my shot today.  I hope we can handle it!

Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement!  I needed them.  I hope that by tomorrow all of this will be behind me.

Love,

Terrie

Chemo #2 FAC

Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I got home from my treatment around 1:00 and am feeling fine.  I took a long nap.   I just got up, and so far no nausea!  Last time the nausea started about 2 hours after I got home, maybe I am in the clear.

Dr. Popatia changed the nausea meds and so I hope it continues to work.

I did have to make a unexpected stop at the opthamologist a week ago.  I had been noticing that my vision seemed to be worsening.  I hadn't been able to wear my contacts for more than a few hours.  Dr. Dehr said I had extremely dry eyes (another crappy side effect).  He put me on vitamins (omega 3's, fish oil, etc) and Restasis eye drops.  Dr. Dehr said it would take a few weeks before I saw any noticeable improvement.  My vision is at its best in the morning, my eyes are hydrated from having them closed all night.  My vision is at its worst in the evening, most of the time I can't read the computer screen.  Dr. Popatia said that my loss of eye lashes is contributing to my blurry vision, because there isn't anything keeping the dust and stuff out of my eyes.

So, I keep cruising along!  My next treatment is scheduled for March 20th.  That is during spring break.  I'm glad it worked out that way because my nephew is getting married in Dallas that first weekend of spring break, and I would not want to miss that!  Send your congrats to Eric and Laurel!

My relay for life team, Terrie's Top Guns, is working hard to raise money for the American Cancer Society!  I'm so proud to be a part of this.  I feel like my team is making a difference and hopefully getting us closer to a cure!

Thanks to all of you for your support, encouragement, meals, child care!  EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU ARE MY TOP GUNS!  I thank God every day that all of you are in my life!

love,

Terrie

Radiation Oncologist Appt

I had my first appointment with my radiation oncologist, Dr Oh, on Tuesday of this week.  I had to go in early and have my ultrasound redone.  They could not retrieve my films for whatever the reason.

Dr. Oh was very nice and she was very informative.  Everyone is her office was really sweet.  Her nurse gave me a hug on the way out.  She agreed with the plastic surgeon that if I chose mastectomy that I would not need radiation.  Of course they never guarantee anything!

She also said that with the amount of shrinkage I have had, that she feels that the tumor will continue to shrink and that would make me a great candidate for breast conserving surgery.  If so, then I would have radiation treatments for 5-6 weeks, Monday-Friday, for about 30-45 minutes.  She said I could use the satellite office at Oak Bend, but she HIGHLY recommends going to MD Anderson.  She said they have specialized equipment for breasts and that's all her office does. 

More things to think about!

I'm having a good week, last couple of days just a little more tired.

I wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!  As I was typing this, I received some flowers from my special valentine!

God bless you all,

Terrie

Treatment #1's Aftermath

Oh My!!!  I have never felt so awful in my life.  Right after I posted my last entry, it went all downhill fast.  I started having chills, running a fever, and then the nausea hit!  As soon as it all started I called the doctor's office.  They told me what meds to take.  Well, I guess the anti-nausea pill was too late.  I was vomiting about every 30 minutes until midnight.  I called the doctor back, he called in a prescription for a suppository since I was keeping anything down.  The first one didn't seem to help.  The second one must have or there just wasn't anything left because I didn't vomit from about midnight until eight the next morning.  I got up.  Boy, was I weak.  I couldn't make it across the house without having to sit down.  I ate a little toast and some water.  It didn't stay down for long.  I slept in between trips to the bathroom.  I did have to go back to the doctor to get my shot for the bone marrow/white blood cell.  They checked me over and asked if I wanted to stay and get some fluids thru IV.  I declined.  My mother-in-law was with me and we had dropped off the kids at my sister's office.  I didn't really have the option of spending 2-3 hours there for fluids.   They said that with my next treatment we would do different anti-nausea drugs and hopefully this will not happen again.  I vomited only 2 more times that afternoon and then I just felt like I had "morning sickness" the rest of the evening.   Today, the nausea is gone, but I still feel very weak.  I'm sure it's a combination of not eating and the chemo drugs wearing me down.  

So that's how my weekend started.  I will be praying that next time this will not happen.  It was terrible!!!!

I didn't even get to eat the awesome dinner that was brought over.  But my family enjoyed it.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.  I'm so blessed to have all of you in my life.

God is Good,

Terrie  

FAC Treatment #1

Well, one down and three more to go!!!

I had a 2D echo cardiogram done on Tuesday to prepare for this type of chemo.  The results were in the normal range.  That will give them a base line if there are any complications.  These drugs can have an effect on the heart muscle.

I complained about the sleepless nights from the steroid while I was on Taxol, so they took it OFF my list of meds for this next chemo.  The doctors said there are no allergic reactions to this group of drugs like there are for Taxol.  So hopefully I sleep like a baby tonight!  They also promised me that the extra fluid I have would go away when I got off the steroids, so I hope that happens as well.

As for my treatment today, it was okay.  It made my nose stuffy and gave me a little headache.  I feel kinda "out there".   The major side effect with this drug is the white blood cell count falling.  I should expect to be tired on days 2-3 and days 7-14.  That is a huge range.  To help with the blood count they want to give me a shot of Neulasta the day after treatment.  This will make the bone marrow work harder and faster at producing the white blood cells.   Now, those who know me very well, know that I have a serious phobia with needles!!!!  If I continue to have my treatments on Fridays, then I will have to have someone give me the injection at home!  YIKES!!!  But, it's only 4 shots, I guess I can survive!  :)  If any of you have nursing skills and would like to give me my injection, stand up and shout!  Jim said he would be more than happy to stick me, but I might hit him!  HEE-HEE!

That was about it.  I have blood work next Thursday on the 12th and again on the 26th.  My next treatment is on Friday, February 27th.  

We are having a planning meeting for Relay for Life on Saturday @ 4:00.  Let me know if you would like to come.  Also, I found out that you do not need to register to come out and walk with our team.  Just show up!!!  It is May 1-2 starting at 7 pm and ending at 7 am.  It is at Harvest Park in Needville.  If you go to my team page link listed on my blog there is a map.

All of you guys ARE THE BEST!!!!  I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Terrie

My Day @ MD Anderson

It was one of those lllooonnnggg days!

I had my mammogram and ultrasound this morning.  I actually got a cat nap while waiting for the tech to begin my ultrasound.  I was in a quiet room with a hot blanket.  I am extremely excited to report that the measurements showed a little over 50% shrinkage of the tumor!  YIPPEE!!  I knew I'd kick cancers "boohah"!  They saw no other tumors and lymph nodes looked clean.

My appointment with the plastic surgeon took forever - so much information.  I won't go into ALL the details.  His recommendation at this time is a mastectomy with a DIEP reconstruction.  He thinks this will provide me the best results in the fewest number of surgeries.  This type of surgery is basically taking the tissues and blood vessels from my abdomen and using that to reconstruct.  That is a 4-6 hour surgery.  I would be in the hospital about 5 days.  Recovery is about 4-6 weeks.  Everything depends on whether I need radiation.  Both doctors really feel that I won't need radiation if I choose mastectomy.  If I do the lumpectomy or breast conserving surgery, then I will have to have radiation treatments.  The plastics Dr said that radiation can really make reconstruction more difficult because of the effect it has on the skin and tissues.  He said my skin is thin so radiation could effect it more.   I did learn something - not only can they take the tissue from your stomach but also your buttocks and your thighs and even your back.  I will meet with my plastic surgeon again in March to finalize surgery.

I met with my medical oncologist, Dr. Theriault.  He was just as pleased with the results of Taxol.  We discussed all of my side effects and the issues I am having with my eyes, my fatigue, and my chemo brain.  All of which are normal side effects.  We are going to proceed as planned with the FAC treatments.  I will have treatments every 3 weeks with a total of 4 treatments.  If I begin next Friday then my last treatment is projected to be April 20th.  My treatments will be longer, he said about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  It will be 3 precautionary drugs (steroid, nausea med, and a Valium) and then the 3 toxic drugs (FAC).  He said normally you feel pretty good that first day.  You are very tired on days 2-3 and again on days 10-14.  That is when your blood count levels drop.  I will have to have my blood tested weekly.  I will need to keep anti-nausea meds on hand.  He said to take them at the first sign, not to wait until you are vomiting.  

Surgery will come after I'm done with this chemotherapy.  They will wait until my blood count levels come back up and then proceed.  I'm thinking first of May, of course after Relay for Life.

I know I am leaving out some information.  I will post again if I remember some more details.  Jim has my notebook in his car.  All of my notes from the appointments are in there.  He had a work dinner so he is not home yet.

I will call Dr Popatia's office tomorrow and get my treatment schedule set.  I hope to start next Friday.  I will post needs on the calendar tomorrow when I figure out the schedule.

Thanks so much for the meals and child care for the past week and especially today.  I really love all of my supporters!

God is Good,

Terrie

Last Day for Taxol

Today was my last treatment of Taxol.  Again, nothing new!  I was trying to be very optimistic thinking maybe they would let me skip this next part of chemotherapy.  I asked the nurse today if she thought maybe since the tumor has shrunk so much that they would let me pass.  She said that was VERY unlikely.   Let me rephrase that - she pretty much said NO!  If it's working that well they will continue.  That was a big blow for me.  She went into this long explanation that they don't want to take any chances.  They will do everything to insure that the cancer will not come back.  AND that is my goal as well, just wishful thinking.  I really want my hair back and I really want to have a fun summer with my family.

So, I will go to MD Anderson on Thursday and I will do whatever he recommends.  Thursday is my mammogram, ultrasound, plastic surgeon, and medical oncologist.  I guess I will start the FAC triple chemotherapy the following week.  This will be the 4 treatments every 3 weeks.  I will continue to have the chemo administered at Popatia's office at Oak Bend.  It was so easy and convenient.  The people there are amazing!

THANKS to all my team members and donations for Relay for Life!  It is going to be amazing!!!  There is still a lot of time left for others to join the fight against cancer.  There is a team captain meeting Feb. 10th @ 6:30 @ Oak Bend.  Let me know if you would like to come.  I do need to RSVP for food and handouts.  I'm hoping this will give a wealth of information about what to do.  I have the websites listed on the right hand side under websites.

I've had some wonderful meals this week, great child care, and my ride to chemo was super sweet.  Thanks honey!

I love you all!

Terrie

Almost forgot - my baby turned 3 today!  Happy Birthday Jake!

Treatment 11 - almost there!

Hellooo!
Once again, treatment was like always. I have one more of taxol. Nothing else new to report. I had a pretty low key week.

I have decided to put a team together for Relay for Life. If you are not familiar with this you can visit http://www.relayforlife.org/ . It is a fundraiser for all types of cancer. My team will participate in the relay for Fort Bend County. It will be held in Harvest Park in the Needville area. It will begin May 1st at 7pm and ends May 2nd at 7am. Yes, that is all night. You do not have to stay all night and you do not have to walk all night. There will be a shift schedule made so that there will be someone walking from my team during the entire event. I hope that my team will be large enough that you do not have to walk by yourself. Of course there will be other teams there as well. It is $10 to participate in the walk. If you choose not to participate with the team, you can come out there to support us or just make a contribution.
I am also looking for some volunteers to help me coordinate everything for the event. This is totally new for me and I'm not sure what to expect but we can learn together. There will be several tasks such as fundraising, tracking donations, coordinating food and tents for the event, scheduling walkers for the relay. That's just to name a few. I'm sure there will be more. If any of you have done this before I would love for you to share your experience.

Here is the link to my team page. You can register as part of the team or just make a donation.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09National?px=8914752&pg=personal&fr_id=17551


Once again, thanks to all my supporters! The food, the rides, the child care...how would I do all this without you guys! I love you all!

God bless,
Terrie

Chemo 10

Two more treatments of Taxol and counting....

Today's treatment went just as well as the others. I guess the area around my port is becoming less sensitive because it doesn't really bother me when they insert the needle. I went without the lidocaine cream.
The week went by rather quickly. Getting everyone back in the routine wasn't so bad. I was really tired by the end of the week. I was sick over the weekend. Fever and chills. Dr. Popatia thinks it was something like the flu. I felt HORRIBLE on Saturday! The good doctor called in some meds and that really helped. I was completely better by Wednesday.

Our oldest, Allyson, has her eighth birthday Sunday! Happy Birthday Allyson. My neighbor's mom who had the heart surgery with all the complications is home. By no means is she 100%, but being able to go home was a big step toward that. Get well soon Vicky! I'm still praying for you.

Thanks again for all the meals, rides, and child care!!!!!!! I love getting all the phone calls and emails. I'm so truly blessed.

Love you all,
Terrie

Great News for Treatment 9

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR! IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT ONE!!! I have every intention of being cancer free in 2009!

I had treatment 9 of 12 with the Taxol. Almost there!!!
Dr Popatia did a physical exam before treatment today. The tumor continues to shrink!!! In fact he described it as a mass instead of a tumor. Which means it is less distinct. It's not as hard and is more difficult to feel. Can you believe it???? The power of prayer and medicine! Unbelievable!
So we continue on. I'm sure when I see Theriault on 1/29 he will want to continue with the second part of Chemo, the FAC trio. Unless, the unthinkable happens, and the tumor shrinks more. Who knows??? I also meet with the plastic surgeon on the 29th. I have an appointment in February with the radiation oncologist. I meet with the surgical oncologist again in March.

Christmas was unbelievable! The kids and the rest of the family have really enjoyed the break. I'm kinda of sad to see it end. Jim has been home the last two weeks, and I loved having him here. He did so much around the house, so I got a lot of rest. Thanks babe!

Jim and I are so lucky to have great friends. Some of them got together and treated us to a night out, dinner and tickets to the Trans Siberian Orchestra. We had a great time. They arranged everything including dinner for the kids and the babysitter! Thanks guys!

Thanks to all those who helped out with rides, meals, and child care! I love you all!

God is Good,
Terrie