Monday, October 18, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Surgery Wednesday and more.....
Update on Mom:
Wednesday Mom is having a second surgery. This time to remove her lymph nodes. It will be an outpatient surgery but we're told this one could be a more difficult recovery - the pain under her arm and then the concern of lymphedema which can be managed. On Thursday she had a bone scan and on Friday, a PET scan. We learned early yesterday that the PET scan showed her organs looked good. YEAH! We were very concerned that because the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, it could have possibly spread to her organs. We have yet to receive the results of the bone scan. Keep sending the positive thoughts and prayers!
About three weeks after surgery, she will start chemo. For two months she will have Adriamycin and Cytoxan (AC) - which is very strong. The doctor told her it is during this time she should expect to lose her hair. After the AC, she'll move to Taxol for three months.
We are not sure what to expect as all patients respond differently to the treatments so we are just going to wait and see. However we are encouraged knowing how healthy and strong my mom is. She will get through this and it will be a good feeling when she is actually actively fighting this disease.
In other news.....my dear cousin Kari, lost her husband Mark this morning suddenly. He was just 46 and together they have a daughter, Chandler. Please keep them in your prayers. We stopped and saw them this afternoon and as Kari said, it just seems so surreal.
Our lives: We are spending as much time with mom as possible these days. The 1.5 hour drive between is really hard - I would prefer to see her daily. When I see her, laughing, enjoying the kids, playing with them, living a relatively normal life, it's really reassuring.
Sydney is in full swing at Kindergarten. She loves her teacher, is making friends and recently lost her first tooth! We are so proud of her as she is such a sharp girl who is starting to learn to read. We just love building these awesome family memories.
Isaac had an appointment a couple of weeks ago and he is doing very well. His face is looking better and better. Although his smile is not being lifted by his cheek, it is very obvious the surgery has worked as when he smiles, there are dimples all around his mouth. There is noticeably more tone on the left side of his face so it's more symmetrical - it had really been drooping much more before all of this.
One of his doctors talked about a procedure we may want to consider in the future for him. It is a bone anchored hearing aid. It would require two surgeries but would restore the hearing in his left ear. However it's not quite your normal hearing aid, it would be a small box placed a bit behind his ear. Here's a picture.......
Hoping they come up with something else in the next few years!!! The FDA hasn't approved this surgery until a patient is 5 so we have a couple of years. In the meantime, Isaac's hearing loss causes him to scream practically everything. Although we think that could be coupled with the fact that he's a very active 3 year old boy!
We are enjoying the season. Fall is my favorite. I love fall decorating, pumpkin smelling candles and crisp, cool days!
Wednesday Mom is having a second surgery. This time to remove her lymph nodes. It will be an outpatient surgery but we're told this one could be a more difficult recovery - the pain under her arm and then the concern of lymphedema which can be managed. On Thursday she had a bone scan and on Friday, a PET scan. We learned early yesterday that the PET scan showed her organs looked good. YEAH! We were very concerned that because the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, it could have possibly spread to her organs. We have yet to receive the results of the bone scan. Keep sending the positive thoughts and prayers!
About three weeks after surgery, she will start chemo. For two months she will have Adriamycin and Cytoxan (AC) - which is very strong. The doctor told her it is during this time she should expect to lose her hair. After the AC, she'll move to Taxol for three months.
We are not sure what to expect as all patients respond differently to the treatments so we are just going to wait and see. However we are encouraged knowing how healthy and strong my mom is. She will get through this and it will be a good feeling when she is actually actively fighting this disease.
In other news.....my dear cousin Kari, lost her husband Mark this morning suddenly. He was just 46 and together they have a daughter, Chandler. Please keep them in your prayers. We stopped and saw them this afternoon and as Kari said, it just seems so surreal.
Our lives: We are spending as much time with mom as possible these days. The 1.5 hour drive between is really hard - I would prefer to see her daily. When I see her, laughing, enjoying the kids, playing with them, living a relatively normal life, it's really reassuring.
Sydney is in full swing at Kindergarten. She loves her teacher, is making friends and recently lost her first tooth! We are so proud of her as she is such a sharp girl who is starting to learn to read. We just love building these awesome family memories.
Isaac had an appointment a couple of weeks ago and he is doing very well. His face is looking better and better. Although his smile is not being lifted by his cheek, it is very obvious the surgery has worked as when he smiles, there are dimples all around his mouth. There is noticeably more tone on the left side of his face so it's more symmetrical - it had really been drooping much more before all of this.
One of his doctors talked about a procedure we may want to consider in the future for him. It is a bone anchored hearing aid. It would require two surgeries but would restore the hearing in his left ear. However it's not quite your normal hearing aid, it would be a small box placed a bit behind his ear. Here's a picture.......
Hoping they come up with something else in the next few years!!! The FDA hasn't approved this surgery until a patient is 5 so we have a couple of years. In the meantime, Isaac's hearing loss causes him to scream practically everything. Although we think that could be coupled with the fact that he's a very active 3 year old boy!
We are enjoying the season. Fall is my favorite. I love fall decorating, pumpkin smelling candles and crisp, cool days!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Update
Mom's surgery went well on Tuesday. They started about 7:30 a.m. and were done about 10:30 a.m. My dad was waiting and the doctor came out and told him that the sentinel node they biopsied did not show the tumor had metastasized. Great news! The sentinel nodes are where the first place the cancer would go when it starts to spread. He did say that there was one more final pathology report that would be more in depth that they needed to see the results of but that things were looking good at that point.
Unfortunately the final pathology report came back and showed that the cancer has spread to 2 of the 3 sentinel nodes. This is not good news. What this means is mom needs to have a second surgery - preliminarily the doctor thought the week of October 11th. He'll be removing her lymph nodes in her armpit. We understand this to be a much more painful surgery than the mastectomy - but it has to be done.
We are also possibly expecting that they will be doing a pet scan to see if and where the cancer has spread in her body. It is possible it's just made it to the nodes and hasn't metastasized to any other organs. That is our hope.
This roller coaster ride of news we've been riding is really horrible. The peaks and valleys bring such emotion it's really hard. We are clinging to good news and feel abused by the bad. So today is a bad day as we just were told yesterday afternoon by my mom that the news has turned south again. It's just rotten. But we have to remain hopeful - and people beat this! My mom is incredibly strong and if anyone can fight like hell, she can.
My aunt Kathie (her sister) flew out from NYC on Tuesday and is staying until Sunday October 10th so it's nice my mom has her company, help and support. Please keep my mom and our family in your thoughts and prayers!
Unfortunately the final pathology report came back and showed that the cancer has spread to 2 of the 3 sentinel nodes. This is not good news. What this means is mom needs to have a second surgery - preliminarily the doctor thought the week of October 11th. He'll be removing her lymph nodes in her armpit. We understand this to be a much more painful surgery than the mastectomy - but it has to be done.
We are also possibly expecting that they will be doing a pet scan to see if and where the cancer has spread in her body. It is possible it's just made it to the nodes and hasn't metastasized to any other organs. That is our hope.
This roller coaster ride of news we've been riding is really horrible. The peaks and valleys bring such emotion it's really hard. We are clinging to good news and feel abused by the bad. So today is a bad day as we just were told yesterday afternoon by my mom that the news has turned south again. It's just rotten. But we have to remain hopeful - and people beat this! My mom is incredibly strong and if anyone can fight like hell, she can.
My aunt Kathie (her sister) flew out from NYC on Tuesday and is staying until Sunday October 10th so it's nice my mom has her company, help and support. Please keep my mom and our family in your thoughts and prayers!
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