Only 1 To Go!

May 24, 2018

Lots has happened since I last gave an update on my condition.  I have completed 3 Taxol chemos (7 chemos total).  Only one to go! It has actually flown by. The 4^th chemo almost did me in. I was so discouraged after that chemo and with the blood clot and low hemoglobin, that I was questioning whether I should have taken the chemo at all.  I asked Pat if I should stop the chemo.  He encouraged me to do what needs to be done to get rid of the cancer.  My friend encouraged me and caused me to think with a different perspective.  My church family provided meals that week when I felt so weak.  And here I am…with only ONE chemo to go!

Taxol has not been as harsh on me as the Adriamycin/Cytoxin combo. Praise God! The main side effects are fatigue for a couple of days and I am also having some neuropathy in my fingertips and the sole of my right foot.  The white blood cell counts have not fallen below normal.  My hemoglobin isn’t rising but it is staying fairly stable. I feel as close to normal as I have since chemo started.  I am slowly increasing my activity.

I did have one misstep with chemo.  With this type, I have to take steroids 12 hours and 6 hours before chemo.  My 3^rd treatment should have been on May 16.  But I completely forgot about taking the steroids.  I went and had lab work done, saw the doctor and he asked if I had taken the steroids.  That was the first time that steroids had entered my mind since the 2^nd treatment! I was so disappointed that I could not receive chemo that day.  It also ruined some other plans that I had because of the timing of the chemo.  A verse that has come across my path often in the past few weeks is Proverbs 16:9. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  God is always in control.  I had several to remind me that God may have had a reason for the chemo to be rescheduled…that He could have reminded me about the steroids.  And I thought that even if it was a consequence of my own negligence, I have a God who is able to make all things work together for my good.  He is so good! 

My last chemo, God willing, will be June 4^th!  We hope to do a Facebook Live when I ring the bell signifying the end of chemo.  

On the 23^rd, I saw the radiation doctor.  He said I will require radiation to the left side only.  The right side has little chance for recurrence.  That was a surprise and a blessing.  He didn’t say when radiation would start, but that he would give me a couple of weeks to recover some from the chemo.  They went ahead and did some scans to determine the way they would deliver the radiation.  There are 3 ways depending on how close my “heart clings to the chest wall.”  If it isn’t that close it will be a normal delivery.  If a deep inhale will reduce the risk of damage to the heart, the delivery of the radiation will be when I take a deep breath.  No radiation will be given when I exhale.  There is a 3^rd delivery method that they are able to do some kind of curved beam that is much more complicated and expensive.  I am praying that one of the first 2 methods will be sufficient. They also put the marks on me that will be a guide for where the radiation needs to go. Radiation will be 5 days a week for 6 weeks.  The hardest part will probably the drive to Longview every day.  It is 1 ½ hours from home.  He said I can expect some fatigue, but nothing like the fatigue from chemo.

My son, Conner, had an accident on the 7^th.  He broke his right thumb and cut off the tip of his right long finger when his hand got caught in the coils of the rope when he was in a team roping competition in Kinder, LA.  Our good friends brought him to the ER and stayed with him from 1 AM to after 4 AM and then brought him home.  We saw a sports medicine surgeon who said he wouldn’t touch it and recommended a hand specialist.  We saw the specialist and were so thankful that God worked it out that a we were referred to a specialist.  The ER doctor and the sports med surgeon both thought the long finger would have to be amputated in the middle of the finger.  In surgery, the hand specialist just took off the exposed bone and pulled the skin to cover as much as possible.  He then dressed it with A-cell, powdered cells from a pig’s bladder that tells Conner’s cells to reproduce and gives them a framework to grow on.  He lost very little of that finger. Dressing changes are done daily.  He could not put a plate on the thumb bone like he wanted to because Conner had a wound from the injury on the thumb and the doctor didn’t want to introduce bacteria into the thumb.  He was able to get some pins in and then casted his thumb.  We will not know for another couple of weeks whether the thumb will heal without another operation.  If it doesn’t heal, it will require a plate to connect the ends of the broken bone.  The doctor said that because of the type of injury, there is a possibility that the blood vessels were damaged making it more difficult to heal.

June 6, 2018

UPDATE:

I did not get this posted before the last chemo.  Many of you have seen the Facebook live post of me ringing the bell!  It feels so good to be through with chemo!  Hayden and Conner took me.  My sister, Pam, met us there for the last chemo treatment.  She brought me a beautiful flower arrangement.  Then the boys treated us to Copeland’s for a last chemo celebration meal.  When I got home, there was angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream (my favorite!) and banana pudding in my refrigerator from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. It was a good day!

 I received a call Tuesday letting me know that radiation will begin on June 25^th.  I also had an appointment with Dr. C on Tuesday.  She plans to take my port out next Wednesday.  She wants to go ahead and remove it because of the blood clot.  She doesn’t want to risk me having another one after the Eliquis is stopped.

Conner also had an appointment on Tuesday.  X-rays of his thumb show no signs of healing.  We are working on getting surgery scheduled for next week to have the plate put in. (Update on the update: Conner had surgery on Friday the 8^th. Surgery went well!)

Please continue to pray for our family with the many things that are going on. Pray for Conner’s thumb to heal and for continued healing of his finger. Pray that the chemo and radiation will completely eliminate every cancer cell from my body.  Pray for wisdom and direction for Pat and Sydney regarding their jobs. Pray that through everything, we will continue to trust God and that He will receive much glory.