Radiation - Days 5 and 6 - AND. . . the start of the Chemo Pill

Good Afternoon!  Yesterday was Day 5 of Radiation - all went well, as usual.  I got a little tired last night while I was trying to cross-stitch (couldn't seem to keep my eyes open) and ended up going to bed a little earlier than usual.  But I woke up feeling rested, so that's good.  Thank you, Martha (our neighbor) for the ride - we had a nice visit on the way home!  And the watermelon was great, too - thanks!!!

Today I'll go for my 6th radiation treatment and Bob let me know earlier that my Tarceva (chemo pills) came in the mail today, so I'll start taking one of those each day (for however long it takes to kill all the little buggers, I hope!!)

I'm surrounded by so many wonderful people and you've all been such blessings to me.  I really appreciate all you do for me each day - from the thoughts and prayers and stopping by my office just to check in on me to the rides to radiation or lunch or wherever I need to go.  THANK YOU!!!!!  And, continued thanks to Brandon for stopping by my home and picking me up for the ride to Ponca City each morning - I really appreciate you!

It's The Weekend!

It's Saturday afternoon.............Bob is working, of course (sure wish he could catch a break - maybe next weekend).

Yesterday was day 4 of radiation and it went quick, as usual.  It must be the radiation that's giving me the little bit of a headache because I haven't had one today - yay!!  And the numbness in my skull from the "halo" is still there some but getting better, I think.

My mom and I had a great visit and did a little shopping today - just the two of us.  I even got some awesome new shoes!!  That was fun!

I'm feeling fine and plan to do a little resting and a few things around the house this weekend, then gear up for 5 days of radiation next week.  Still waiting for the rash to appear on my head and my hair to start falling out..........eek!!

Enjoy your weekend!

It's Friday!

It's Friday and today will be my last day of radiation until next week.  It's going well - it only seems to give me a little bit of a headache, nothing unbearable.  And, I think the naps afterwards are going to be helpful, just to give me a little boost.  Yesterday I took about a 40 minute nap then mowed the back yard!!

Thank you, Barbara, for driving me to Stillwater for my treatment - you're such a great friend!  And, it gives us a chance to get caught up on our visiting!

My mom will be driving from Edmond today to get me and take me to radiation, then she'll spend the night, so we'll get a chance to get caught up too.  Might even do a little shopping tomorrow if she sticks around long enough!

Thank you ALL for checking on me all the time and making sure I'm feeling good and doing alright - I really appreciate you all!!!!

Oncologist Appointment and Day 2 - Radiation

Bob and I had our first appointment with Dr. Canfield (she's filling in for Dr. Bova). It's been an informative day. Instead of starting IV chemotherapy I will be starting on an oral chemo drug called Tarceva - just as soon as it is delivered to our house (in about a week). This is a chemo drug that is used primarily for lung cancer. It's a pill I'll take once a day for as long as it's working well. I'll have periodic chest x-rays and lab work to make sure everything is going well.

We arrived home earlier from Day 2 of radiation.  All went well there too.  Just took a couple of minutes and we were outta there.  At some point I'm supposed to experience some fatigue so we've decided that when we get home from radiation I'm going to plan on taking a nap/rest for about 30 minutes (guess I'll have to put the shock collar on Dudley since he feels the need to bark every time a car pulls up in the driveway - which is often!) 

2 down - 18 to go!!!

Thank you ALL so much for all of the nice comments on the blog - we love reading them and feel SO loved!!!  And, thank you, too, for the offers of rides back to Stillwater for radiation - I'm sure I'll be calling on you some time.  Thanks!

Radiation - Day 1

Today my dad drove from Edmond to pick me up at work in Ponca City.  Then we headed to my first day of radiation and found out that it takes longer on Tuesdays.  First they did an x-ray, then the couple of minutes of radiation, then they weighed me (yippee.....those steroids are doing the trick!), then a visit with the nurse where she asked me all kinds of questions, then a really quick visit with the doctor.  The rest of the days of the week should just be the couple of minutes of radiation.  You can't feel anything, you just lay there and they "zap" you.  Not sure when it will start making me feel tired - guess we'll find out soon enough!  Thank you, Debbie, for coming by and hanging out with my dad!  It was great to see you!  Oh yea, and my friend Susie had sent flowers to the Cancer Center for me - that was a sweet surprise!

Tomorrow we'll head to OKC to see the Oncologist and get the plan for the chemotherapy.  Feeling fine so far.  More later................

Thank you for the ride, Daddy!

NEW LOOK! YAY!

YAY!!  Mattie came home and made the blog look so-o-o-o-o much prettier!  Thank you, Mattie!!

The Start of a Plan . . . .

More appointments!


We just got back from Cancer Care Associates in Stillwater, where we met with Dr. Young, the Radiation Oncologist we met in OKC a few weeks ago.  I was fitted for a mask (it has markings to make sure my head is in the right place during the radiation).  I will be having radiation 5 x per week (Monday-Friday) for 4 weeks, starting next Tuesday, at 3:45 pm.  I was told that my hair will fall out in about 2 weeks after starting the radiation - woohoo..........should be an interesting sight!  Dr. Young spoke with Dr. Canfield (the Oncologist) while we were there and Dr. Canfield is planning on the chemo being once a week, but we don't have a schedule for that yet.

My biggest scheduling conflict now is that I'm having to find a ride home from Ponca City each day in order to be at radiation by 3:45 pm.  Both of my parents have graciously agreed to some days already - thank you!  And, many others have offered - I just have to get a plan put in place.

One of the best pieces of news today.............we have a plan for some treatment and Dr. Young said we'd work around the radiation so that we can go on our annual Eureka Springs trip in 3 weeks!  Yippee!!!!!

See you soon!

Radiation Day......Didn't Happen The Way We Planned

I guess we got somewhat of another shock this morning.  We traveled to Mercy where we checked in, I was sedated and the halo was "installed".  They performed the brain MRI and that's when they realized there were several more spots on my brain (very likely there before, just too small to see until today under the fine microscope).  The Radiation Oncologist came in after the study of the MRI to tell us that is wasn't feasible to do the Gamma Knife Radiation anymore.  So, after all that, we got nothing today, which is very disappointing.



But, on the bright side, I have an appointment at Cancer Care Associates (where my Doc in OKC is also affiliated) tomorrow to get fitted for a "mask" (Bob thought we should just stop by Academy on the way home and get me a hockey mask!) and then, we think, go ahead and start with the "whole-brain" radiation.  This type of radiation will be at a much lower dose than the Gamma Knife would have been and will hopefully treat the current spots and any others that may be too small to detect at this time.


We also found out that my oncologist had her baby last night, so I have a new one.  Dr. Canfield (same practice).  I have an appointment with her next Wednesday so we can go ahead and get the chemotherapy schedule set up and going.  They want to try to do the radiation and the chemo concurrently, if possible.


Yes, today was kind of disappointing, but we did learn some new things.  And we really feel like God is watching out for us because the new route seems like a better way to go now with the new information we've acquired.


Thank you, Daddy, for being there with Bob - I'm so grateful that you guys have such a close relationship.  And, I hope it was helpful for you to be there to get actual first-hand information, even though it was hard to hear.


And, thank you, Becky, for stopping by - it was great to see you too (even though it was just for a few short minutes).


We really appreciate all of the continued support and the calls to check on us, etc.  It's great to have your love surrounding us.  THANK YOU!!!!

Tomorrow - Gamma Knife Radiation

Well..........tomorrow is the day.  We'll be at Mercy Health Center around 5:00 am and they'll screw the halo into my skull, do a really in-depth MRI of my brain, plan their strategy, then shoot me with the radiation.  We just pray that this treatment will get those spots out of there, and quick!  They said there really wouldn't be any side effects from tomorrow's treatment, so..........I hope to be back at work on Friday

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers and comments on the blog - we really love hearing from everyone (and lots of you I haven't talked to in ages - thank you!) 

Thank you, Sandy C., for the wonderful dinner last night - mmmm, very tasty!!!!

New Test Result

One more little tidbit . . . . last week I had a bone scan (to double-check a place on my back) and today we found out that it was clear!!!  Yippee!  We'll take all the good news we can get at this point!!

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers - and comments on the blog!  It's great to hear from all of you - we feel your love! 

In the beginning.....

Bob and I returned from a wonderful vacation at Yellowstone National Park and the Mount Rushmore area at the beginning of July (sure glad we went when we did!!).  On our first day back I started having some chest pains and ended up at the dr. a couple of days later.  The doctor thought I might have blood clots in my lungs (from the long truck ride across the states, then exerting energy cleaning the travel trailer when we got home) so he sent me for a CT scan to check it out.  As it turned out I didn't have blood clots but they did find a suspicious spot on my right lung.

We've recently found that the rumor mill is alive and well so we thought we'd create a place where our friends and family can go and see what's really going on with this journey.  So, here it is.......

In a nutshell,  as soon as we heard about the spot on my lung Bob called a good friend, Dr. Dale Brannon (a radiologist in OKC) and Dale has been a Godsend to us - thank you Dale!  Dale has paved the way for my testing (which started with a PET scan) and an appointment with my oncologist, Dr. Abby Bova.

Through several different kinds of scans and a biopsy of my left adrenal gland we were informed on July 28 that I do have cancer.  It is called adenocarcinoma and it seems to have originated in my lung.  Strange, for a non-smoker.  They did say that I am one of a very small percentage of "young white women" who have never smoked and get lung cancer.  The cancer is also on my adrenal glands and there are a few spots on my brain.

The first course of treatment will be the Gamma Knife Radiation I'll be having on Thursday, August 19 at Mercy Health Center in OKC.  This is a form of radiation (no knife involved) and will just take the morning or so.  The radiation will pin-point only the spots they have found on my brain - it is NOT whole brain radiation.  The neuro-surgeon said they will do another brain MRI about 4-8 weeks after the radiation to see how we did.  Gone with the spots, we hope!!!

The next course of treatment will start a few weeks after the radiation - that will be chemotherapy.  We don't have any details on the chemo yet, guess that will be coming sometime soon.

Meanwhile, Bob and I are doing our best to keep up with our daily lives and keep a positive attitude about this little bump in the road.  It was quite a shock at first and is still very scary.  But, we have a very loving and supportive family and tons of great friends who are rallying around us.

We welcome your comments - we'd love to hear from you.  We have received so many nice cards in the mail and have them hanging in our dining room - thank you for your loving thoughts and prayers!!!

More updates as we have them...............