Saturday, October 27, 2012

Week of 10/21/2012



After the first chemo treatment on Friday 10/19, this week proved to be very difficult and painful for Nancy.
As part of the treatment she gets a shot Saturday following the Friday chemo treatment that is meant to stimulate the bone marrow and help bring the white blood count up.

Part of the issue with chemo is it kills bad and good blood cells. Of particular concern is the white blood cells that protect against infections. The side effect of the shot is it makes the bones ache.

Another side effect is dehydration. Twice this week she had to go to the hospital for IV fluids. So in essence this has been a week of pain and uncertainty as to what is "normal" and what to be concerned about when on chemo. All of this has affected her appetite so nothing sounds good to eat and so far struggles to eat anything but soup etc.

On Wednesday she elected to get her hair cut off....basically a burr haircut.... and she looks great! Peggy's hair dresser from the "Shear Luck" in Loveland stayed open after hours to do this for Nancy.

 She now has a great collection of baseball/running hats; scarves and a wig.

Peggy and our kids had some "Team Nancy" pink bracelets made with some special prayers engraved in them. The generosity of people continues to be overwhelming and our family is so grateful.

After a rough week she is hoping for some relief next week. The oncologist told her that now he knows IV fluids will have to be part of the regimen following the chemo treatment.

She is anxious to feel well enough to eat, feel better and get out of the house and back to some semblance of normal....see the grand kids.... get back to work.....visit family and friends.  

Thanks for all of your prayers.

Bob

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The First Treatment

On Friday 10/19 Nancy received her first chemo treatment. By the time she met with the doctor and received all the instructions  it took about six hours. Since she had a port surgically implanted, it makes receiving the chemo a little easier since they don't have to stick her arms with each injection.

On Saturday she went in for a shot that stimulates the bone marrow to get her white blood cell count up. This is critical to fight infections. Then for the next two Fridays she will go in for blood work.  This will be the schedule for five more treatments

The following days have been tough as she feels the impact of the chemo.  Tomorrow she is going in to receive some fluids. Apparently this is somewhat commonplace as patients get dehydrated.

The question we all ask is how did this happen since she received a "clear" mammogram in January. Both the surgeon and the oncologist estimated this was 8 to 10 years in the making. The typical cancer, once discovered, has been 5 to 7 years in the making. The oncologist said they hope to see the cancer in the mammogram before they can feel it and therefore treat it in the early stages. As an example he said 5 billion cells can fit on the head of a pin. In essence cancer is hard to detect.

In Nancy's case the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes...so they call it invasive cancer and one of the reasons they want to do the chemo first.

We are overwhelmed with the thoughts and prayers of family and friends and right now we need all the prayers we can get.

Thank you so much.

Bob

The Beginning

Roughly one month ago (early September) Nancy noticed something was not right.
Since she had a mammogram in January that was clear; she asked the doctor to order another one.
This mammogram showed a mass 5 cm long (roughly 2").
A biopsy was performed and determined the tumor was malignant.
The next step was to find a surgeon and oncologist.
Fortunately she was able to find a surgeon to see her right away.
The official diagnosis was invasive lobular cancer; meaning it had spread beyond the breast. In this case it spread to the lymph nodes. The surgeon ordered a full scan of the body to see if the cancer had spread to other parts of the body.

After the surgeon confirmed the diagnosis, she recommended a plan.
  • Due to the size of the tumor; chemotherapy first to shrink the tumor
    • Chemo every three weeks ...six treatments (18 weeks total)
  • Followed by surgery
  • Followed by radiation...five days a week for six weeks
  • Followed by follow up care

On Monday 10/15 we spent the day having MRIs and Cat Scans done to see if the cancer had spread to other parts of her body.

That evening we met with her oncologist (one of the best in the area) and also his nurse practitioner.
  • The best news we received was that the cancer had not spread to other areas
  • The doctor wanted to get the chemo started right away so on on Friday 10/19 we made an appointment at Christ Hospital (Nancy's request since she has a friend who works there).
Nancy and I appreciate all of the love and support of our friends and family.

Thank you.

Bob