Prayers

So the rash on Mom's skin seemed to still be getting bigger and so she went back up to Stanford this past week to meet with their team of doctors and decide on a plan of action.  The entire team of tumor specialists (I think there were seven or eight doctors) met with her and examined her and went over all her past results.  She said at one point there was one doctor examining one breast and another doctor examining the other while the others watched and took notes.  Hmmm, a little uncomfortable - I think so!  But of course this is all good because it is wonderful to get multiple doctors who are all great and knowledgeable discussing together the best course of action.  They decided to continue with the chemo treatments, she has four left.  They are giving her two different doses of a treatment, which makes her extremely tired and not able to do much.  When those treatments are done, they will check her again (she goes back on the 16th of March) and then try to schedule the mastectomy, then radiation.  She will have six weeks of radiation at Stanford, so she will probably have to live there during the week as they will occur every day.  I am hoping at that point we can figure out a way to get either myself or others to stay there with her as that is a long time to be by yourself in a big city doing things that are not fun.  So we'll see when that gets closer.  

One thing the doctors tried to make clear on this past visit is the seriousness of the situation she is in right now.  I don't think any of us really realized how serious this has all been.  I know I have not.  I just figured that this was something that is not fun and pretty miserable, but necessary and that when it is all done we could go on and get back to normal.  I think I may have been wrong.  They told her that the cancer that she has is just one step beneath the level of being 100% non-curable.  They labeled her level with a letter and a number name but I can't remember any of it.  They told her it meant that her cancer is in the category of being highly incurable.   If it were to come back there may not be a whole lot they could do at that point.  So today I am asking please for the prayers of everyone in behalf of my Mom.  This has not been a fun journey but well worth it in the end to get rid of the cancer in her body.  We are all still very positive that things will be okay in the end, but there are no guarantees.  So please think of her and continue to keep my family in your prayers as you have already. 

speaking of cheering you up...

 This is how they dressed up to go pick up Lori from the airport.  Looking quite beautiful ladies!

Lynda, Grandma Kay, Jeff, Mom, Lori

Good News!

Yay for good news!  Mom was able to meet with her doctor on Thurs. and go over all her results from the PT scan she had a few days before.  The results were all good.  Her tumor has gotten much smaller and everything is looking very good and so she will continue with her treatments and do the surgery when those are all finished.  She has five more to go, so five more weeks of chemotherapy.  Now compared to all that she has been through so far, that may sound like not very much, but though she would never say anything, I think five more weeks may seem like a long time to her.  They did add another dose of something else to these treatments that she is having and she is not feeling real great!  So we are on countdown mode and things are looking good, but I think she could still use some cheering up now and then. 

Update

Alright, so here is the latest as to what has been going on the past couple of days.  There was a lot of information given to me, so if I get some of this wrong I will try and fix it later.  Feel free to ask questions.  So Mom's doctor in San Luis Obispo has been concerned for about a month now about a rash that has shown up on her skin.  She finally sent her to her other dr. at Stanford University to do a biopsy and find out what was going on.  The biopsy showed that her cancer has spread to her skin cells which is not a good thing.  That shows that the chemotherapy she is now undergoing is not working because the cancer is still spreading.  So her next step is to have an immediate PT scan which will show exactly where the cancer has spread on her whole body.  I am very very anxious to get those results back as is everyone else!  Her dr. at Stanford has scheduled a mastectomy for three weeks rather than keep doing the same chemo for six more weeks, but her dr. in San Louis might change her chemo to a different, stronger type and then see if there is any change.  If there still isn't then she will continue with the scheduled mastectomy, but if there is a change for the better then they will decide what to do from there.  She still has lots of questions about all of this, and will hopefully meet with her San Louis dr. to discuss it more.  I know that Dad is worried and so are the rest of us, but I hope that with her great doctors they will figure out what is right for her and be able to take care of it.  I will post as soon as I have more information!

Seven left!

I can't believe the month of January is almost over!  We are getting so close to the end, it is exciting!  Mom has seven weekly treatments left so we are on countdown mode right now.  She is still feeling mostly good, but still tired and run down.  She has been happy that her eyebrows and eyelashes have stayed with her so far, but they are starting to go now.  She will have to play around with an eyebrow pencil to fill them in and make them look good.  I am sure it will be just fine, but still not a fun thing to go through.  She also has a cold right now and so is feeling especially wiped out!  She had such a fun time with Lori, Lynda, Jeff and her mom the past week.  They did lots of fun things and she was sorry to see them go.  I wish I was there to visit and I know Erica feels the same way, so hopefully sometime soon we will be able to plan a visit.  For now, we will continue to get updates over the phone and pass them along here.

Yay for family

So it's been a while since I have posted about Mom.  There really hasn't been a whole to blog about these days.  I think we are all playing the waiting game and trying to just get through the next couple of months!  She is still going in once a week for treatments and will until March.  There are a few side effects, exhaustion being one of them, but it is still so much better than before!  I just want to get these done so that we can find out how well everything worked and hopefully be close to being done!

She has been having a very fun weekend with her brother Jeff, sisters Lori and Lynda, and her mom.  They have been to the beach to see the elephant seals and their babies, out to lunch, and played games.  It has been a good weekend and although tired, Mom has been able to participate and have a good time.  Yay!

Lately

Ok, it's time to add a new post for the month of January!  So far things have been looking a lot better.  Mom is pretty much totally exhausted all of the time, and simple things like showering and taking the dogs out are enough to totally wear her out.  The nausea has for the most part gone, which is a very good thing as that was something she hated the most.  She will be in this phase for a while now and thinks that she might start to get a little bored being in the house all of the time, but it is a good thing she will have some fun visitors very soon.  Her brother Jeff will be out on a business trip and will stop by for a couple days and her sister Lori is planning a trip out as well.  I hate being so far away, but I know that if anyone can cheer her up and bring her spirits up it would be Lori so I am glad for the visitors. 

Today some wonderful people from Mary Kay who are in her ward came over to help and give her tips on makeup, and skin care.  (One of the side effects lately is very dry skin).  She had a good time and got some good tips so it was a success. Thank you everyone for being so helpful and wonderful!