A Year Ago Today ...

A year ago today, June 29th, we were told that Cheryl has cancer. In the ensuing twelve months, she has endured major surgery, hospitalizations for blood clots and lung drains, a complete course of chemotherapy, what we thought was remission, relapse and now she is two rounds into another course of chemotherapy. What a year this has been but we're still here.

We had a great visit with Michelle, Jonas and Susannah this past weekend. Cheryl was able to get down on the floor and play games with both kids. I got to pick and share fresh garden produce with Susannah and Jonas had his private time with Grandmama in the Thomas the Tank Engine tent. We both immensely enjoyed Michelle's company over their three day stay.

Today, Cheryl had her follow up with the pulmonologist, Dr. Jones. They reviewed her latest chest CT scan and said that her lungs look good and that overall she is doing great. The pleurodesis procedure on her left chest cavity has had the desired result and she is no longer building up fluid there. Her coughing has cleared up and she appears to have normal lung function. Dr. Jones said that she should not have to see him again unless something else comes up later or the oncologist requests it.

On Friday, she will be going in to begin her third round of chemotherapy. At that time her CA125 and other blood counts will be taken to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment. If appearance and feeling good are reliable measures then she is definitely better off today than she was a year ago when this all started.

Please continue to pray that this chemotherapy will push the cancer into long-term remission.

A New Day and A New (lower) Number

Cheryl called in to Dr. Negrea's office today to see if her CA125 results had been posted yet. She was very pleasantly surprised to be told that the new reading is 89.6, almost 200 points below the reading they took before she began this new chemotherapy.

After Cheryl's relapse, Dr. Burke told us that his goal is to push the cancer back into remission. We are praying that this good start will carry through and that each subsequent reading will be lower yet.

Cheryl will have her second session of this second round this coming Friday then she will get two weeks off before repeating the process.

Celebrated #54

Cheryl had a great celebration of her birthday on Tuesday. The day started out with phone calls from her mom, followed by the grandkids and many friends. Noontime brought a group of ladies from the church who brought lunch and a cake. Later in the afternoon, she had more visits and calls from friends and neighbors. We wrapped up the day with a steak dinner and a box of Godiva chocolates. It was a day she will long remember. She is thankful to be here to celebrate another birthday.

Friday was round two of chemo. Her CBC still shows red and white cell counts in the normal range and she is experiencing no side effects from the chemo so far. They drew her CA125 but we will not have those results until some time next week.

Continue to pray that the chemo will be effective and that the side effects stay minimal.

A Good Week

This week has been uneventful for Cheryl. Other than trips to town for an echo-cardiogram and some blood work, she has not had to see any medical professionals. She is a bit tired and has been having some morning nausea but overall is feeling well.

We had an early celebration of her birthday when Jason, Sharon and Dylan visited back in May and we plan to invite folks from church, neighbors and area friends to drop in on her this coming Tuesday. I'm picking up cupcakes so there will not be a lot of overhead to get things ready.

Be in prayer that the echo-cardiogram and blood work were within normal range and that neither will interfere with her next chemotherapy on the 10th.

Round One Down

Cheryl had the second session of this round of her chemotherapy today. This went quicker than her previous session since she only received the anti-nausea drug and Gemzar. Other than being a bit tired this afternoon, she is feeling well.

They checked her CBC (Complete Blood Count) before beginning her chemo and all of her red and white cells are still in normal range. The nurse also gave her the CA125 result from the test which was performed before they began chemo last week. The count was 282.3, a rise of 78.3 from April test. This will be the baseline that Dr. Negrea and Dr.Burke will use to determine if this chemotherapy mix is working.

Cheryl's next chemotherapy will be on June 10th and that is also when she will have her next CA125 count done. We are praying that the numbers will begin to drop after this first round of chemo but it may take up to two rounds to see if it is working.

We appreciate the notes, cards, letters, calls and rides to Savannah. We ask for your continued prayers for Cheryl's recovery.

Good Weekend Visit and Clots Are Cleared

So far, Cheryl is handling the chemo well. Other than a mildly elevated temperature and some fatigue, she is pretty well her usual self.

We had a great time this weekend when Jason, Sharon and Dylan came to visit. Cheryl was able to spend quality time with each of them. We did up an oven full of ribs on Saturday and Jason prepared a roast for Sunday lunch. We celebrated Cheryl's birthday a few days early with an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Jason and Sharon helped get the house back in order before leaving Sunday afternoon. All they left behind were some pleasant memories.

Today, Dr. Horesh, the vascular surgeon, checked to make sure that the clots in Cheryl's pelvis have cleared/absorbed. Since they were no longer visible, he went ahead and removed the filter from her abdomen. She was given Benadryl and twilight sedation. They went in through her jugular vein (just above her collarbone) to pull it out past the line of her IV port. As you can see by the picture, the filter was about two inches long.

The side of Cheryl's neck is a bit tender and she is still somewhat groggy from the medication they gave her this afternoon. With this out of the way, she is on track for her next session of chemotherapy on Thursday. Continue to pray that it will be effective in fighting her cancer into remission.

First Day Report

Cheryl's chemotherapy session at the Lewis Cancer Center went well. Everything went according to plan, even though it was a little behind on the time. She began with an anti-nausea drug and then went on to receive Doxil and Gemzar. Her CBC (complete blood count) results were good and should help make any blood related problems such as low white or red cell counts from occurring too soon.

While there, she had the nurse/PA and doctor check out the wound from her pleurodesis procedure two weeks ago that has not finished healing. They consulted with Dr. Jones, the thoracic surgeon for his recommendation. They then cleaned it up a bit and prescribed an antibiotic and offered suggestions on care. If it hasn't finished healing by next week, Cheryl will need to go back to Dr. Jones for follow-up.

She returns for her next session of Gemzar next Thursday and at that appointment should receive her CA125 results from today.