Where are we today...? Houston! Again.

So, I'm back at the lovely MD Anderson and thought I should update everyone on why we are here!

Every few months, Mom has to go back to Houston for a checkup. The most recent checkup (which was her 2nd once since the end of chemo and radiation) was last Tuesday. Amongst other tests and measures, the doctors performed a bone density test and a mammogram.

The results from the bone density test were great! According to the doctor, Mom has the bones of a 25 year old! That makes me wonder what my bones are like as I approach 28...!

However, on the mammogram, they noticed some odd "calcifications". I'll have to get clearer details, but these calcifications were grouped together in a way that the doctor wanted to perform a biopsy to get a closer look at the cells and make sure it wasn't something to be worried about.

So, here we are today. Mom flew into Austin yesterday afternoon and we drove to Houston this morning. She was scheduled to check in at 11:40, with the first of two biopsies scheduled for 12:30. She is back with the doctor now, and I'm assuming they are prepping her for the surgery.

They'll do two biopsies and then send us back home. Mom will fly back to Midland tomorrow. Unfortunately, we won't know the results for 3-5 days!! Talk about learning lessions in patience!

So, that's all for now. Please keep her in your prayers, both for good results from the biopsy and safe travel home. We're praying that these calcifications are nothing more than a little extra calcium in her body (which would make sense, since her last blood test showed high levels of calcium, plus her bone density being so great).

That's my medical diagnosis anyways! ;o)

Sherrie's Happiest Happy Dance

Today, I thought I'd share the following email I just received from my mom:

Today is my last day of radiation! I told Mel if I knew how to dance I would be doing a happy dance today. Daddy, Mel, and Josh are taking me to Red Lobster tonight to celebrate. Wish y'all could be here.

It's been a day of little blessings. I won a Christmas drawing this morning, Cheryl Long brought a chocolate cake to school today. One of our lunch buddies made lunch for us today. All without knowing that I was celebrating today.

Have a great day - I am!!!!!!

Love you,

Mom

I'm very behind - but in a way, that's a good thing!

I'm very behind in updating this blog and hope to catch up soon! Maybe this little note will help me on my way to being caught.

Overall, it's a good thing that I am behind - Mom finished her chemo treatments a while ago! Yay! No more chemo! I think that was in September....

Now she's on to radiation in Midland. So far, she hasn't had any of the typical side effects from radiation. In speaking to my dad this evening, he mentioned that she's starting to feel tired - but having to drive into Midland from Greenwood 5 days a week to go to a doctor's office and then back home again would be exhausting for anyone!

And just a quick note of explanation: I say that it's good that I'm behind because this cancer has not made itself a big part of our life! It has not defined who my mom is, who we are as a family, etc....

The best way to explain it is this: The first weekend of November, Mom and Melanie hopped on a bus with several ladies from Greenwood Baptist for a fun trip to the Canton Trade Days. Along the way, they played "Get to Know You" games. During one game, Mom had to tell the group 10 things about herself.

Of the 10 things that she shared, having cancer was not one of them! The fact that she had had two lumpectomies, gone through several weeks of chemotherapy and was about to start radiation did not make its way into her description about herself in the least bit. And she didn't even realize it until afterwards!

To me - that is absolutely amazing. And something that's really hard to put into words. I'll have to work on that. For now, I'm just celebrating the freedom that my Mom feels in seeing that breast cancer has nothing to do with who she is.

A Poem by a Dear Friend: Doris Kinney

MY CAR

My Car is Broken –

It Won’t Start Running.
Can I fix it? Yes, I can!
I can fix anything – I’m a Man!
I cannot fix it with a Sack,
But I can fix it with a Jack.
I cannot fix it with a Basket,
But I can fix it with a Gasket.
I cannot fix it with a Bench,
But I can fix it with a Wrench.
I cannot fix it with some Woo,
But I can fix it with a Screw.
I cannot fix it with my Ear,
But I can fix it with my Gear.
I cannot fix it with a Rose,
But I can fix it with a Hose.
I cannot fix it with a Heart,
But I can fix it with my Tool Cart.
I cannot fix it with a Hug,
But I can fix it with a Lug.

By Doris J. Kinney

March 24, 2008

Inspired by my Breast Cancer Treatment in 2001, my husband Rich, and God

MY WIFE

My Wife is Broken –
She Won’t Stop Crying!
Can I fix her? I hope I can.
I’ll try to fix her – I’m her Man!
I cannot fix her with a Jack,
But I can fix her with a Gift Sack.
I cannot fix her with a Gasket,
But I can fix her with a Flower Basket.
I cannot fix her with a Wrench,
But I can fix her on a Bench.
I cannot fix her with a Screw,
But I can fix her with some Woo.
I cannot fix her with my Gear,
But I can fix her with my Ear.
I cannot fix her with a Hose,
But I can fix her with a Rose.
I cannot fix her with my Tool Cart,
But I can fix her with My Heart.
I cannot fix her with a Lug,
But I can fix her with a HUG!

Dedicated to
Sherrie & David Harrell,

our best friends, and are currently going through
Breast Cancer Treatment at
MD Anderson, Houston, Texas

The Perfect Theme Song

This is a bit of a random post, but something I wanted to share.

Several Sundays ago at Gateway Church, we sang a song that I hadn't heard before. It was an amazing song that spoke to the deepest part of my heart and it caught me off guard to an extent that I'm not sure I can explain. (i.e. That means it made me cry.)

So I'm making you listen to it. :) (The song starts automatically, but check out the music player at the bottom of the blog, if your volume is on mute.)

It speaks perfectly to the experience of Mom's diagnosis and treatment and really, to life for all of us.

The first time I heard this song at church, I got a little choked up as I do with any really great worship song. This past Sunday as we sang it again, I just flat out wept; sobbed even.

Throughout this process of Mom's treatments - I, for one, have been putting on a brave face. We've been blessed by her body's response to the treatments, so its been relatively "easy" to wear a brave face, especially when I look around and see the extent of the pain that other women face as they fight cancer. I guess it's also easier to be brave when you have one tough mama!

I've listened to this song over and over again - and I don't think I've gotten through it once without crying. When I hear it, it removes the brave face that I've been wearing and blatantly reminds and assures me that God is completely in control and He's taking care of us. All we have to do is allow our hearts to hold on.

I hope you'll take a minute to listen to it and I hope that the song will stir your soul just a little...

Here's the lyrics if you'd like to read them:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I’m caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won’t turn back
I know You are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We’ll live to know You here on the earth

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Six Down - Two to Go!

Yesterday started out really nice! Usually Mom has to be at MD Anderson around 7:45 a.m. to get her day of doctor visits and chemo started, but we didn't have to be there until 10:30 a.m.!

After enjoying dinner with the newlyweds, Crystal and Lee Fiochhi, on Monday night, Mom and I spent our evening enjoying the pool at our hotel. The weather was especially nice; and surprising for Houston!

Once we arrived at MD Anderson on Tuesday morning, our day went pretty quickly. Her first appointment (as always) was to have blood work done. We arrived around 10 a.m. and she was done there shortly before 11 a.m.

After blood work, there was a consultation with the doctor, followed by a visit with the nutrionist, then a meeting with a Genetic Counselor.

The counselor looked at extensive history of our family and determined that in our case, cancer is not hereditary. We have had a few instances of different cancers (i.e., breast cancer, lung cancer, etc.) but there is no evidence to link them to one another.

Simply because Mom has cancer, my sister and I have a slightly increased risk of having breast cancer ourselves. According to the counselor, the average woman has a 12% chance of having breast cancer. Melanie and I will have a 12-20% chance.

The Counselor told Mom to tell my sister and I to "eat right & exercise."

We do believe that the environment has played a big part in some of our family members developing cancer. The majority of family that had cancer were on my grandfather's side of the family, which had a lot of smokers. (In the 1930s, my grandfather's doctor told him that he should smoke in order to calm his nerves!) Additionally, my Mom grew up in a house that had farms/pastures on three sides of the property. When the city would spray DDT on the fields, my mom and her siblings would simply hold their breath as it passed!

Back to the scheduling: All the appointments took place early or on time *until* it was time for the chemo. Her chemo treatment was was scheduled for 3:00 p.m. but we weren't taken back to a room until 5 p.m.!



Apparently, there were some issues getting the orders for her chemo. When they got the results from her blood work, it was determined that her white blood count was a little low. I think normal is 1.7 and she was 1.4. We weren't even sure if they would administer chemo today or not. When white blood counts are too low, they sometimes give a shot of something to boost white blood cells and have the patient come back the next day or they may just decrease the amount of chemo given.



As always, the doctor has to sign off on chemo orders before it can be given. Today, the doctor was in a meeting, so we had to wait for that meeting to be over before her orders were signed.

By the time we got started at 5, we were ready to be on the road back to Austin! The treatment took about 3 1/2 hours.

We hit the road shortly before 9 p.m. and were home a little before midnight. What a day! Next time we may consider driving to Houston the day of the appointment and staying the night instead...

Only two more treatments to go!

Side Note: It amazes me now, when we all know how harmful smoking is, that young people continue to pick up the awful habit. We stopped at Starbucks in Brenham around 10 p.m. last night for a little caffiene fortification. Outside was a group of teenagers sitting around smoking. If only I was a little more outspoken! I would have given them a lecture and (facetiously) offered them the chance to try on Mom's wig so they'd know the future of chemo that they have to look forward to!

Wow - I'm behind!

Well, now that two months have passed since I last posted...I'm attempting to get back on the blog bandwagon!! My, how time flies!

This morning, I picked up my Mom from the Austin airport. We are headed to Houston this evening. She'll have a day full of appointments and treatment tomorrow.

The last three chemo treatments went well. Dad and Taylor joined Mom on one trip, then Melanie, then Mom and Dad went again. This last time, Mom started her new regimen which only includes chemo by IV, not in pill-form (the chemo pill was the Xeloda, which was some heavy hitting stuff). It's been a relief for her not to have to take the pills anymore.

However, the chemo by IV has more potential for making Mom sick in the first 24 hours after the treatment. So, we'll come back to Austin tomorrow evening and she'll stay with us until Thursday morning to make sure she isn't miserable on the flight home.

After this trip, Mom only has two more chemo infusions to go! And she'll probably never want to go back to Houston again!

Once the chemo treatments are done, she'll finish up with six weeks of radiation in Midland. The doctor said they usually wait a few weeks between the last chemo treatment and starting radiation, but since Mom is doing so well, she may be able to go straight into it.

We're thinking she'll be done by Thanksgiving!


I'll post some more tomorrow, once we are in the middle of things.

As always, we covet your prayers for safe travel and a painless/side effect-less day at MD Anderson.