beth's results are in...

you all work magic.

let me have her tell you in her own words.

thank you for all of the love, prayers, and mojo you sent her this week. it worked (but we all knew that it would. right? right.)

have a good weekend all - xoxo

The results are in

So the scans showed everything was stable with some minimal decrease on the nodules.  While that was not the news I wanted my doctor explained a bit more to me.  He said the nodules are so small he doesn't actually expect them to disappear.   What we hope will happen is that the cancer will die in the spots but the spots will likely remain because of scar tissue.  So in some ways you have no way of knowing if that is happening except when I go off treatment if I don't get any more spots it means the cancer was killed.  So now I guess that is what we root for.  My doctor seemed pleased and not surprised.  So i'll take it as good news.
   My labs all looked good so once again I celebrate by going to infusion.  I am in my room now waiting for them to start.  My neuropathy had been flaring up so my doctor is dropping the oxaliplatin.  That will make my infusion appointments shorter, I should feel a bit better, I will drop the cold sensitivity (ice cream here I come!) and my neuropathy won't get worse and hope it gets better.
     And hopefully it will help with the fatigue because it's a harsh drug.  My doctor is calling this maintenance chemo.  There is always the chance I have to go back on the Oxaliplatin but we all hope that is not the case.

   The other drug continues to fight my hair and now my eye lashes are falling out.   I hate this side effect.   After the wedding I may cut my hair shorter.  But still use a hair cap.
    
   I have been really tired, probably because I am a bit overwhelmed with things.  I had people in town last weekend for my wedding shower which was so much fun.  Wonderful to have people I love all in the same room. I  had to pack up my office because we are moving spaces this weekend, I have a lot going on at work and things to do and we have wedding plan details.  So it's a lot right now and I am just tired.  I will keep it low key this weekend with probably lots of sleep.
   An update on Alli.   Her blood work looked good earlier this week.  She will remain on her dosage of drugs until her scans in October then will reassess.    She continues to have a lot of fatigue herself.
   I also have to bring up another friend's husband, Scott.  He is now on a heavy dose of chemo and needs all our support and prayers as well for a great outcome from his treatment.
   So thank you for your love, support and prayers for all of us cancer fighters.

send beth all you've got for thursday

beth get her scan results tomorrow (thursday) so send her everything you've got.

she gets results at 1pm pst so you have most of the day to send the love (of course you can keep sending it after that time as well;))

i will be watching my phone like a hawk to see what the update is - knowing it can only be good news for this girl who gets married in less than two months to an awesome man.

so send everything you've got her way and i will let you know how things turn out.

thank you from me and beth.

gloves up for beth.

xoxoxo

mondays

today was definitely a monday, from start to finish.

my bloodwork was good, only issue is that my potassium is low which is odd since they have me taking a supplement every morning. so i am going to take twice the amount and we are going to see what the change is in my bloodwork in two weeks. otherwise, all else looks good. we are staying on the same medical dosage (and stay on one drug) until my scans in october. we are going to decrease my steroids though and see (hope that it does not) cause any issues for me. we shall see, the decrease starts tomorrow.

beth had her scans today and all went as well it can when you are doing scans. she is very tired tonight and doing ok. remember her results don't come until thursday so please keep your prayers, mojo, and love going her way until we get the good news that i know is coming.

ok, that is all for this monday - hope your was better than ours.

gloves up for beth.

xoxo

prayers/love/mojo for beth on monday + thursday / oncology appt for me on monday

beth has her scans tomorrow for her next check in on how her drugs are working. she will get her results on thursday (delay due to doctor schedule - no one likes waiting on results). so please send her all of your prayers, love, and mojo this week until we get those good results on thursday. here are her own words about this week:

Next scans 

I know I have been quiet in this space.  It’s been a busy few weeks between work and wedding planning.  
   I did reduce my dosage of chemo.   And that has made me feel a bit better.   But this past week my neuropathy really flared up in my hands and feet.   So I am seeing my doctor next week and we will talk about dropping the med that causes neuropathy and the cold sensitivity.   It may be time. 
    But the big thing coming up this week is my next set of scans.  Tomorrow I go in at 1:30.  Drink my contrast for an hour and my scans will be at 2:30.   So that I can see my doctor for the results I won’t see him until Thursday at 1.   
   These scans will start to be telling if the immunotherapy drug is helping.   These scans and the next one in 9 weeks.  Although 9 weeks away is wedding time.  Yikes!   But we will work something out for my scan schedule.   Before my scanxiety was off the charts. I think because I knew the results were critical and scary if my cancer is back.  But for these I am not as anxious for whatever reason.  Maybe it’s because my cancer is back.  
   I found a new therapist who specializes in helping people with cancer.   It’s a short term process with her but I am excited to work with her and I think she can really help me deal with those things that hang over me with this diagnosis.   
   I will let you all know the results of my scans.  And to celebrate those results I go right into infusion after I meet with my doctor.  
   Thank you for your love, support and prayers.   

this weekend we celebrated beth's upcoming wedding and it was so good to just get to have an afternoon to celebrate her and her awesome fiancé lars. so happy for both of them.

tomorrow i go in early for bloodwork and then i have an appointment to see if we are going to increase my treatment meds and if we are going to add the second drug back in. i will let you know how it goes with a post tomorrow night.

for now i am off to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz before my big brother starts harassing me.

gloves up for beth.

xoxoxoxoxo

friday night - stand up to cancer television broadcast

tomorrow night is the annual "stand up to cancer" event which is televised on all major tv channels simultaneously.

you hear from the doctors dedicated to finding cures and pushing the latest science advancements.

the stories of patients. those still fighting. those that laid down their fighting gloves for the last time. the families. the caregivers. 0h, the stories. if you are like me, have some kleenex by you.

it a night of television i will not miss every year.

i hope that you will join me and learn about the ways you can help to stand up to cancer.

you can donate if you choose to.

here is more info on the show and the times it is on where you are and how you can donate if you would like to.

it is hard for me to watch? absolutely.

but do i think the stories are important to watch? absolutely.

will i hear about science that may benefit me or give me hope? absolutely.

will i hear stories that make me sad? probably.

but i will watch (and cry), because the stories need to be heard and those that are doing their best to finding cures need to be supported.

one night where all tv channels focus on cancer and finding cures.

the most important hour of tv all year in my opinion (and we need more hours like this one).

gloves up.

around here, part ii

+++ around here i stood in the shower this morning holding two hands full of my hair. it just about put me into a panic attack but luckily i took my meds not soon after and my anxiety started to calm. i will definitely be writing more soon on anxiety, i think that it is a subject that does not get talked about enough.

+++ around here my bloodwork looked good.

+++ around here we are going to decrease the steroids by 5mg and stay on the same dose of the treatment drug. we will go back in two weeks and if things are still stable, we will talk about increasing or adding in another treatment drug. scans are probably a month or so out, no date scheduled yet.

+++ around here beth goes in for her next round of chemo tomorrow. please send her all of your love mojo, and prayers as she faces this next round.

+++ around here i am tired so i am heading to bed (big brother, aren't you proud of me??;)

happy wednesday all, we are already halfway there.

xo

around here

+++ around here we had a great last summer weekend in idaho with family. where did summer go? i don't know either.

+++ around here tomorrow i go into scca to see my oncologist. we see how my bloodwork is doing and determine whether or not to increase the dosage on my treatment meds. we will see how it goes.

+++ around here i am still having joint aches as my main side effect, as well as the fatigue. the joint aches are better if i take Tylenol to dull them and i can still walk and get around by myself so that is good. 

+++ around here i wake up each day and find more and more hair on my pillow. it also continues to come out a lot during showers so we will see how that continues to go. it is hard to see it falling out, i am not going to lie about that.

+++ around here school starts tomorrow and the routine of all the activities begins. here we go 4th grade. how is that possible either? i don't know either.

+++ around here i hope that you all had a good summer too and i will let you know what we decide tomorrow.

anywhere i fight, you fight.

gloves up.

xoxo