Back to California

So much to do, and so little time! For those of you that didn't hear the news, Mom went back down to Stanford University in California for some more appointments. She and Dad left Thursday morning. She first had planned to go down for a talk with the hepatologist (the liver doctor, if you will) this coming Monday to see if her liver was in good enough condition to handle the radiation. However, since her bloodwork was so good, the Radiology Nurse Manager decided to switch thing around slightly. Sooooo, today Mom had those fun little gold beads put in her liver. Then she'll speak with the hepatologist still on Monday. Now there's a chance they'll stay down there for another appointment on Thursday. They would arrive home either Thurday night or Friday morning. If they can't get a plane home, they'll have to reschedule. (Personally, this is cutting it awfully close to Christmas!)

Enough with the schedule (or whatever you want to call the ever-changing, we-never-know-what's-going-to-hit-us-next series of events this past year!) Mom's doing well. Tired, but well. I spoke with Dad before and after the gold-bead procedure. They started around 10 A.M. and finished about 1 P.M. Mom will stay in the hospital until 3 P.M. to ensure she does all right, then go back to the hotel to continue resting. Dad says he thinks part of Mom's exaustion is the drugs used during the procedure. Please pray that the beads don't migrate. If they do, the doctors will need to "redo" the placing of the beads. I also hope, for Mom and Dad's sake and one less trip down, they can get a plane home Thursday night or Friday. The appointment on Thurday will involve C.T. scans to prepare for radiation. It would be great to get this done while they're down there.

Thank you for all your continuing prayer and support. It means a lot to all of us and helps carry us through this time. Please pray that we would all press into God and allow Him to lift us up and use our pain for His glory. Pray that He would give Mom the daily strength she needs to take her supplements and continue doing everything that helps her body heal and resist any sickness going around. Pray the Devil would not be allowed to bring anything in between Mom and Dad. That God's peace would surround them and overflow to the doctors and nurses helping Mom. Pray for God's timing with all Mom's appointments. Pray for clarity of mind for Dad (and Mom) while He makes many decisions - financial and medical - trying to do what's best for us all. Thank you!

Dec. 6th "Cyber update"

As of the last posting, we've been to Stanford, been initially accepted as part of the trial program for the CyberKnife treatment for the liver, and have rec'd. confirmation that insurance will indeed cover it. This is huge as it's an experimental procedure. Today we set up an appointment with a hepatologist (liver specialist) who will look at my blood work and meet with us to see if the liver is in good enough shape to tolerate the treatment. Then either in that trip, which is next Monday the 19th, or a 3rd one, I'll have little gold pieces placed around each lesion. (This is what the beam of radiation locks onto to track the lesions.) The doctors all get together to form a plan, I'll need to get a PET scan and CT scans done to make sure the gold nuggets haven't migrated. It takes the doctors about a week to develop their plan, plug everything into their computers and get ready. Then they radiate the tumors, I stay in the hospital overnight and go home the next day. (I may stay in town an extra day or 2 just to be sure things are ok.) Plans can change at any time for any reason it seems with all this, so we're trying to be as flexible as we can but still have boundaries (like being home for Christmas :D ) The radiation oncologist in charge of the procedure can't do it until probably the first week of January, but it would be lovely if she could do it before then. I have to figure out the chemo schedule and don't want to be traveling and trying to work that schedule around 3 different departments in Stanford!! (radiation oncology, interventional radiology, hepatology) There will be another couple of visits down there after they treat me so they can check on the success of this.

Jonathan, the herbalist, is keeping in close contact to try to help minimize excessive damage from the radiation and other things that are going on right now. His staff is fantastic. He turned around a friend's thyroid problem quickly and successfully, so it's fun to see good things happen!

Other family news...because Dan did so well in Special Olympic State Games swim meet, he was invited to go to Nationals in Iowa this July! I'm hoping we're all healthy enough to make that trip! Sarah and Valerie seriously toned down their Christmas music commitments this year and seem to be enjoying watching other folks do theirs-they've had enough to do revolving around Mom and Dad's schedules! They had fun at their violin recital last Sunday though, and they with Nicole, had a couple of Bell Choir performances last week. Sarah and a friend are planning to play a piano duet for the church family night this Sunday. Valerie is also performing in a violin duet at the same event. Robert's been keeping us stocked with lots of firewood and kindling. He ripped me playing Rummy this afternoon-this may turn into an ongoing event!

Thanks for the help-food while we were away, friendship, prayers, frequent flier miles!!!(Steve and Shelley-you guys are amazing and we LOVE you)!!

Blessings to everyone,
Jeanne H.

P. S. on the last post

I forgot to add that - for those who are praying for him - Roberts' tummy trouble turned out to be (a.k.a. prayerfully reduced to) the unpleasant repercussions of orange chicken overdose. While it was indeed a knarly few hours for him last night, he has improved to his normally chipper self and we're in no danger of stomach flu! Hooray!

:-)

~Valerie

Valerie here :-)

A quick prayer update:

Mom and Dad arrived in San Francisco safe and sound! Daniel, Sarah, Robert, and I drove with them to the airport and saw them off this afternoon. They called around 5 pm to check in and were just settling into their room. Tomorrow they go in at 1 pm for the consultation. :-/ You're prayers are much appreciated!

All is well here, although not necessarily calm. :-) (Is it ever?) Nicole is finishing up her term and keeping up her work schedule and the youngsters and I keeping up with stuff at home. We're trying to keep the days as low key as possible and are filling our schedule with hiking, game nights, etc. to keep our spirits up. I'm very grateful for all the offers of help! It's been a great load off my shoulders to have so many offers for meals and "almost-too-old-to-be-called-child"-care. :-D We're all very grateful!

One quick prayer request:
At around six o'clock we had a policeman show up at our door and inform us that our neighbors' house had been burglarized during the day. He said that there have been several recent arrests made of some robbers that go door-to-door between 10 am and 4 pm (while most people are at work or school) to scope out the area and/or check if folks are home. We were on our way home from the airport when the robbery took place and our house was spared, but please pray for safety for our whole neighborhood! There have been several break-ins and thefts in our neighborhood with three or so on our street within the last year. So far we've evaded these due to our state-of-the-art, high-tech security system: an annoyingly noisy dog and an abundance of vehicles that lend the impression that someone's always home. :-D The policeman's report was rather unnerving, though, and prayers for safety, peace, and protection are appreciated!

Thank you!
God bless,
Valerie

Here we go!

Well, Friday has been a blur of activity. The short story is that we have an appointment for December 6th, 1:00 pm at the Stanford Cyberknife Center. The doctor will determine if Jeanne is a good candidate for the treatment. If she is, (at this point the doctor is 85% sure she is) and they can get her in soon, we will stay until the procedure is complete. This may involve staying the entire week. Or, it may require us to go back a later date.

While at Stanford, we will stay at the SLAC House (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). This is an on-Campus, reasonably-priced guest house which is within walking distance of the Center.

The outpouring of generosity has been tremendous. We have had two different folks offer their cars to drive; another person offered a free plane fare; and yet another ended up buying our tickets with his abundance of frequent flyer miles! Not to overlook the generous financial assistance that has been offered! As well, our health insurance plan has agreed to cover most of the expenses for the procedure, therefore reducing any large financial burden. We are truly blessed!!!!!

So, please pray:
• For smooth sailing to and from Stanford;
• The lesions have not grown;
• Jeanne is able to receive the treatment, soon,
• The treatment is effective,
• Recovery is minimal; and,
• Safety for our children while we are absent.

Thank you,
Pat

I'll be home for Christmas?????

As of the last Blog posting, we've had some new developments. (But, hopefully, no more in any bodily organs!) The November scans showed three liver lesions, two of which had re-activated, and one was possibly brand new, or maybe just a really faded one that sparked up again. Since that indicates that the cancer has mutated and become resistant to the chemo drugs (rats!), Dr. Kenyon recommended a new chemo regime, possibly beginning tomorrow, Dec. 2nd. This would include continuing the Zometa once per month (a bone reinforcement and cancer killing drug, which has few side effects, etc.), and adding Avastin. This is technically not a chemo drug, but helps stop angiogenesis, which is the development of blood vessels that feed the tumor. Avastin helps to starve the tumor, and not give the body resources to grow new tumors. Again, not many side effects, and would be given every three weeks. The big gun that he is considering is Taxol.

Taxol, Taxane, and Taxitir are similar chemos drug. Taxol has some of the traditional side effects of chemo, for instance, intestinal problems, loss of hair, and maybe a bit more neuropathy (which I've not experienced much of thus far),etc. etc. All of the drugs would be given weekly to ensure our continuing relationships with all of the nice chemo nurses. Dr. Kenyon decided against adding Carboplatin. When Pat asked him why, he said something about people's fingernails falling out, stuff like that. Of course with all chemo, if you read the fine print, there's always the risk of anaphylactic shock, death, etc. Yuck. But, cancer can have it's own nasty side effects, sort of like the ones listed above. Yuck.

Pat and I traveled down to Ashland for an appointment with Jonathan, the Herbalist, and he put me on a bit heavier dosing of anti-cancer stuff, and we discussed the timing of beginning chemo again, which ones Jonathan can work with best and how, and the CyberKnife. He spent 1 1/2 hours with us, and was encouraging, but realistic. This is a nasty cancer. He offered suggestions on building the body for the radiation and recuperation after, and is revising the protocol he has me on a little bit.

A treatment we may have mentioned before to get rid of the liver tumors is the Cyberkinfe. The CyberKnife is a bit like the GammaKnife treatment procedure we had done in Portland in that it involves a very focused radiation on a specific spot, not over a widespread area. It can be used on the organs in the abdominal cavity because it utilizes a missile tracking device type thing that keeps the arm of the machine honed in on your specific tumor even as the organ is moving with your breath. Amazing. For the GammaKnife, my head was sort of bolted down so it couldn't move. With this, you can't jump off the table and do a jig, but it has good accuracy with normal respiration and movement. If you're lying really still. This is important, because one of my lesions is near a blood vessel. I don't want a little mistake to turn into a tragedy. There is also a chance that if it would miss it could hit another organ, like the bowel. Another major disappointment to say the least. I don't want leaks in my tubing! I had told Dr. Kenyon about the CyberKnife (they told me about it in Portland at the GammaKnife app't.) so his guys called their guys. The CK people called me this morning, the 1st, and said they have an opening on the 6th for a consultation. No problem. It meant the entire day on the phone since everything has to be organized today and tomorrow. I had to track down biopsy slides and make sure they Fed-Ex’d the right office at Stanford, call to make sure a CD of the brain MRI could be burned and the CT scans could be retrieved, call for a place to stay in Stanford, deal with the social worker stuff, insurance questions (thankfully Pat is an ace with that), and research the best transportation. We're not sure the cheapest, safest route to go- plane, train or auto. If we're there on the 6th for a consultation, we won't know if I qualify for the procedure until we talk with the doc. Then we need to hear when she says the treatment can happen. Hopefully within a couple of days of the consultation. It could be up to 1 1/2 weeks after the consultation in which case we have to decide if we/I stay down there the whole time or come home in between. There should be about three visits total, including a post radiation follow-up.

So for all my whining about the prep, and all the unknowns, it's exciting to think that I could concievably be rid of these little buggers and be home again before Christmas. I would still probably need to do some more chemo, but the chance of the existing tumors spreading would be nixed or at least severely reduced. A huge question mark is how many lesions there are at the time of the consultation. I'm hopeful that there will be just the three, with no more brewing, and that these three haven't shot off any "seeds" elsewhere in my body. They can do this new-fangled thing as long as the lesions are not too many in number, are accessible, and of course, insurance deems it worth paying for. Another cool thing is the timing. I can't get Avastin or the other drugs (oh boy) if I'm having a major procedure like this done because it's treated like surgery. (Avastin can make you bleed more, and the chemos can make you really sick) This way it's being taken care of during a break in the chemos that Dr. Kenyon had me on to clear out one batch before beginning the other. In Jonathan's office, they like to do the same-give bodies breaks every so often from any chemo treatment. So even though the oncologist and the herbalist work in very different realms, it seems as though the clinical processes are being worked out to please all involved. Pleasing people is not as important as getting healthy, but it's helpful when everyone's on the same page and not bickering over treatment plans. It's also comforting, as it seems that all the "counselors" are recommending the same thing. It gives me more confidence in the direction. Hooray!!

If you all are overwhelmed like I am, I apologize. This has been a harried day. It's also Dan's 16th birthday, tomorrow is a wreath making gathering, and Sunday is a violin recital for Valerie and Sarah. Monday I was going to take some doulas on a tour of the hospital L&D area, but I'd say that is on hold as of now.

Goofy Hazlenut humor...we were trying to get Daniel (for some reason) to say "Brood of vipers". He has a hard time with his "B" sound, so it comes out Rude o'wipers. Pat and I were discussing how much he (Pat) does for me now, and I said "at least I'm not in diapers yet" to which he replied "our family would then truly be a "Brood of Wipers". Sick, I know, and one day I may regret that conversation. But in the meantime, you take all the weird humor you can get.

Thanks for tuning in again, prayers could be for everything to get to Stanford, including Pat and I, in a timely fashion. For the children to do well while we're gone, for insurance to cover this procedure, for me to be able to get the CyberKnife done,and for it to be effective. We also need to finalize transportation, and a place to stay. Anything else you can think of would be appreciated too. Thanks.

Trusting in Him,
Jeanne Hazleton

November News

It's been a bit of a time here the last two weeks. It's harder than I'd like to admit waiting to get scans done. Waiting 5 days for results is also a huge challenge. Not that fretting will change any outcome-I'm well aware of that, but these crazy things do seem to have the capacity to alter the lives of those who need to access their information. So...here's how these latest scans have gone...

The two lesions in the brain seem to be completely stable from August. This is good. I really like stability. And we all especially like stability in Mom's brain. It just seems to be good news for everybody. The lesions in my spine also are still inactive. This I appreciate as the cancer in the spine seemed to be going so quickly through the bones.

The liver, however, decided to become a bit finicky and the two lesions that were previously inactive became active again, and they added a third to their ranks. Drat. This obviously is no good, and means that my body is beginning to develop a resistance to the chemo. Dr. Kenyon recommended that I not recieve any after our appointment on Friday, and no chemo over Thanksgiving. The week after Thanksgiving I get to change concoctions (sometimes called a "chemo" cocktail.)

There is a relatively new drug called Avastin which is a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factors. Got that? It basically means that it helps to stop the blood vessel growth to the tumors. This is not an actual chemotherapy drug, but has shown promising results in reducing tumor load and seems to be tolerated quite well. I'd still be getting the monthly Zometa for the bone strength and anti-cancer effects, and they'd add probably two chemo drugs-one from the Taxane family, and maybe some Carboplatin for good measure. These are supposed to have a higher chance of making the hair fall out, a bit more neuropathy, etc., but are also supposed to be tolerated ok. Go figure. I did tell Dr. Kenyon that it wasn't very nice to be making me lose my hair in the middle of winter as it's getting colder.

I'll still taking all the herbs. Jonathan is in England and I'll be chatting with him on the 30th of Nov. to alter things as needed, or maybe just add more of the same. I admit I was getting sloppier about taking 1 tsp. of pwd. herbs vs. the 3 that he'd have preferred. Wrong move!! There is another oncologist in Seattle that I'd talked with at the beginning of this, and he said he'd had good results with the Taxane/Carboplatin regime. Dr. K. had given us a choice of 3 combos, and that was also his first pick.

On the good side, my blood work looks great with all my tests in a good range-normal white and red blood counts, etc. etc. The CEA came back higher that I'd wanted, though, which reflects partly the added cancer growth. It also is an indicator of what a drag it is to be dehydrated and drink two Banana flavored pints of Barium after fasting all night and morning, then get a double dose of contrast media injected into the veins and be in a cold room with a thin blanket over you while you lie on your back in a tube and have 45 minutes of jack hammer like pounding in your head for one test, then lie on your back on another skinny table in another cold room in a very expensive donut shaped machine while the dye stings various internal parts of your body as it's working it's way through. MMmmmm. I highly recommend NOT getting any blood work done after that experience if you want it to look normal.

God did provide me with a vision of Guardian Angels surrounding my big donuts and self, and when the brain MRI machine began, one especially compassionate one stood up and was present over me throughout the procedure. Pretty Cool Stuff. Thanks, God!

Well, with tough times, good times come too, and you all know that my kids are a big part of the good times at our house (as well as the laundry and food budget). Today we went up to Portland so Daniel could participate in a huge Special Olympics swim meet. He did awesome, with a big grin on his face all the way down his lane, and took two gold medals, one in each of his two events. Very cute. Uncle Chris and Aunt Cheryl came and got to see him receive his last medal. Dan would probably improve his time a bit if he'd quit looking over his shoulders to see where the other guys were behind him, and also looking for family and fans in the sidelines. We all have our issues, don't we??? He's a tired pup tonight, so we'd better get moving toward bedtime here...

Thanks for continued. prayers for wisdom, healing, trusting, and just being in God's amazing hands.

Love you all,
Jeanne H.

Quite the Year!

I can hardly believe that it's been a full year since the first symptoms of this dragon called cancer appeared. It's a balancing act at this time thinking "I'm going toward remission-now things can seem normal again" vs. "I'm going toward remission, we're not done yet, I'm still on 2 chemos and another strong drug to keep this at bay, and I have to still monitor how much I can do." That's never been a strong point of mine, and this is where Pat has been a huge help. He enjoys saying no, whereas I agonize over it. He has protected me from so many extra activities this last year, and I think "Geeze-this poor guy is going to get sick of babysitting me at some point." A couple of friends are trying to counsel me in this area,(how to decline things) but I think in general that the male gender is the best at it. I can lay the blame on Pat and say "No, Pat doesn't think I should...", and he doesn't care!!! I think he kind of thinks it's fun sometimes to have the reputation of "the Ogre". Maybe I'll grow up someday and stand on my own feet...we can all hope...

We had an appointment with Dr. Kenyon yesterday. Everything looks good from the outside still-no enlarged lymph nodes anywhere, no swollen liver, no external signs of cancer. My last CEA test was a little higher at 4.9, but he's ok with it fluctuating between 3 and 5. The desire is to keep after it(the cancer) for this year until it is gone completely and can't remember my address I guess. Dr. K. says I can go with no chemo for the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas-he says he's letting me off for good behavior. Maybe it helped that I took him a huge piece of Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake that Nicole had just made, and a big Ghiradelli Chocolate Truffle that Valerie had made. I'm not beneath bribery for these people who have my life in their hands. (We had a couple of birthdays that somehow got trounced on this year and had to compensate.) Do you people know how HARD it is to not eat sugar with these girls around??? "...But we have to make the gingersnap cookies for the crust, and there are some leftover..." I've been good though. If I keep up my protein, and eat a LOT of fresh vegetables (red peppers rival any candy) it helps a ton. I'm getting more and more sold out on these dietary guidelines as time goes on, and it makes it easier to stay committed to it.

Well, needless to say, the Lord has been faithful beyond what I could've imagined, with my body's handling of these toxic drugs, Dad's death and the ability to be with him as much as I was, my immediate family holding it together for the last year-there is a lot to be grateful for. We're praying still for total remission, (that lasts and lasts) and that my body can tolerate this next year of treatment. Hopefully we'll be able to plea bargain for some more breaks in the chemo here and there-wisdom is so much needed here-as is God's hand. It's all really in His court. Always has been, always will be. And a few treats thrown in for the hospital crew can't hurt!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers-please keep the doctors, radiologists, pathologists, nurses, herbalists, naturopaths, etc. etc. in your prayers. They are working hard on all of our behalf, and carry a big load! Hopefully they can all work together one fine day!

Love you, Love one another,
Jeanne H.

Dumb move!

(This is the same message as the 9-19-05 email.)

I need your help (Pat here). I may have inadvertently erased most of our email addresses and previous messages! If you sent a message recently, and we have not responded, please re-send.

The real crime is that I may have lost all of the saved messages that you all sent, offering encouragement and kind words to Jeanne throughout the last year! (Man, I will need to buy lots of flowers!) So, if you have saved some messages you sent previously, please please please re-send them. Jeanne would very much enjoy reading them again. And I would enjoy Jeanne being able to read them again!

I want to avoid putting our email address out here on the blog, and I do not want you to put yours on a post either. So, if you do not receive an email from us, using our hopefully-correct address book, please contact us in some other way (phone, postal mail, in person, or some other analog method.)

When you send us your email, you may get the "Earthlink Spamblocker" message. We will respond.

PS Jeanne got good news again today. Her CEA level dropped again! I do not know the actual number, and she has already fallen asleep. The number obviously was good enough to compensate for this major blunder of mine. I do not even need to sleep on the couch!

Thank you again for your prayers, support, and especially, showing kindness that goes beyond dependence on electronic systems, (or husbands that think they know how to operate them.)

Pat

flex time

Well, I WAS going to get a break from one of the chemos...but Dr. Kenyon spoke with a collegue at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, who recommended that I stay on the Navelbine with the Xeloda for another year. When I asked Dr. K. about the outlook for this, he replied that there are some people who can come through this, and the chemo really works for them. Then he mentioned that when I'm 10 years out we can have a toast. He was encouraging, and we knew that altering it as we go was a possiblity, and that we don't want to quit too soon if the best results would be to hold out for a while. We'll check in with him again toward the end of October, and will be assessing the progress and the drugs about every 6 months, with scans I believe more frequently than that. Dr. K.'s outlook was very hopeful.
Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off for drugs I go...my appointment is in 45 min. for this weeks dose. Mmmmmm can't wait. I did have one week off, and Pat took me to Mary's Peak for a very sweet sunrise that day. Good guy!!!
Love you,
Jeanne

Post-Doc visit

Hi again:

Last Monday, Dr. Kenyon, Pat and I reviewed options for treatment based on the results of the Aug 15th scans. (The ones that show "near complete remission".) Dr. Kenyon is recommending that I take a break from the IV chemo drug, Navelbine, for awhile. I will continue taking the oral chemo drug, Xeloda, for a two weeks on, then one week off cycle. Dr. Kenyon will consult with Dr. Livingston (I presume :D )at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle regarding options on how to proceed. Jonathan, the herbalist, is also researching some options, so hopefully we'll get a good game plan.

This Thursday (Sept. 1) will be the first week in about 8 months that I will not be receiving the Navlebine. And the first week the chemo nurses will have a three hour plus break from the goofy Hazletons. It sounds like we just go a month at a time, keeping an eye on things, trying to improve my immune system so it can take over and fight off the ugly dragon. It is a possibility that within 4-12 months I'll be back on the Navelbine, so again-it's all an experiment and we watch, wait, and try to be really healthy in the meantime.

Nothing is set in stone, but will be based on the results of future scans and blood work. I'll still have two appointments per month at the hospital; one for a blood draw, and the second for a monthly Zometa injection. But the appointments should be really short in comparison.

Just like this blog posting!!! Incredible! (Sorry again about that last one. Our 12 year old was afraid you might still be reading that one when I began writing this one :(

Keep praying for complete, continuous remission, and wisdom for the doctors!

Thanks again (and again and again)
Jeanne H.

August Scan Update

Ok everybody...a few of you have been wondering what is going on, because I had scans done on the 15th, and haven't given out results yet! Sorry about that. I didn't want to post prematurely until we had a game plan for the next phase of all this, but I should have at least let you know what was happening.

We have not been able to visit with my regular oncologist to discuss the scans. (That is partly why I have no game plan.) He had an emergency the day of our visit, and we saw a new doc, who was very kind, but didn't have all of the results in my file, nor were the actual scans available for us to look at. It was disappointing, and I was nervous. We will see Dr. Kenyon this Monday the 29th to go over some options regarding the next phase. The good news is that from what they did see on the written reports, (and if I'm understanding things correctly) is that the lesions in the brain are inactive, and lesions in the liver are inactive, and the lesions in the spine stopped progressing. This, according to Dr. K's notes, is "excellent", and puts me close to remission. This is what I'd asked for prayer for last time. I want to know which of you have this straight line up to God!! Please, nobody stop-you're doing great! I would have liked to see some extra healing happening, but a stop in progression is fantastic. We'll shoot for that this next time. They gave me an extra dose of the contrast dye before the brain MRI, so the two remaining spots did light up a bit, but they believe it's from the extra dose of stuff, not that anything dire is happening.

The question we'll be discussing on Monday is how to proceed with the chemotherapy drugs. I'm still on an I.V. dose of Navelbine each Thursday. He is thinking of omitting this drug so my body can have a chance to rebound from the toxicity. I could be off of it for approximately 6-12 months before needing to be on it again. The other drug, Xeloda, is in pill form and is taken am and pm, 2 weeks on then one week off. It's a fairly high dosage,is tough on the system and really messes with my blood counts but evidently it does cross through the blood-brain barrier. We just don't want it to take out all my bone marrow in the process. Kenyon will likely suggest I stay on Xeloda. We'll be asking him his opinion on this, vs. using one drug one week and the other the next, or any other options and their potential outcomes/risks. Whichever way we decide to go, the supplements and diet are going to continue to be important. They've been a great asset so far, and have carried me through a crazy summer, so I'm really hoping that they will be a key ticket in helping my body to recover and pick up some of the healing process on it's own. I think this will be the only way I will ever get off of these drugs totally. (I'm Hopeful) I will still be on a monthly dose of Zometa, the bone density protecting I.V. drug. It should help bring my bones back to a normal level hopefully within a year. I've shown some bone loss due to the lesions in the spine. I am not at a level of osteoporosis yet, but it would be the next jump.

So, pray for healing, con't. "no-growth" of the cancer, and for wisdom in how to proceed from here. It may take a few months of playing with stuff to see what works or doesn't. Yikes. At least we're off to a good start, I think.

I'll be participating in is a "Sail for the Cure" on September 25, 2005. My brother, Chris, and his wife,Cheryl, are avid water people, and have invited us to participate with them. And since they just bought a really cool 36 foot sail boat, it would be insulting to not go check it out, right? :D This event is a benefit for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. They are good about getting current info. out there, and helping people walk through the process. They don't seem quite as "bogged down" as some organizations, and have some good research. (I have mixed feelings about some of these groups, as I am a big proponant of saving the big guns of some of these heavy drugs for when NEEDED, and using more natural means whenever possible. A lot of these places scoff at that idea, but don't give you much hope or options and their motivation is not "cure based", but maybe fear based or dare I say profit motivated??? That's what I liked about Dr. Kenyon-he encourages people to see a Naturopath, admitting that he sees good results with the combination. Anyway, enough soap box. For information re. the Sail, you can to go their web page at www.owsa.net. (This is the Oregon Women's Sailing Association) If anybody's interested in donating to the event, you could mail a check to us at home here, and we'll take it up when we go. Checks should be made out to the "Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation", and let us know if you want a receipt to see if it's tax deductable. (They say to check with your tax advisor about that). Please send anything so it gets here in plenty of time for us to get it before Sept. 24th. If anyone's interested in participating, you get a t-shirt, and it sounds like if you don't have a boat, they'll find one you can ride in. They will have the sail from 12:30-3 pm with registration from 10 am-12 pm. From 4-6 is a silent auction and awards, and from 6:15-9 pm is a benefit dinner with a speaker. I've never done this before, but Cheryl has, and says it's a lot of fun. If you're interested, early registration is Sept. 1, and after that the entry fee goes up a bit.

Well, I've done it again-taken up a good portion of your day reading this blog. I keep thinking they'll get shorter somehow. Maybe when life is less complicated? Does it get less complicated? Always an adventure, anyway!

Love you all, and may God bless you ALL! Thank you for caring, and your continued kindnesses.

Jeanne H.

A New Season

From Jeanne:
August 9th was Pat's and my 24th anniversary. It feels a little bittersweet this year. Dad passed away on the 17th of July, with one of his brothers preceding him in death by about 4 hours. I'm happy for them that they could cruise out together, but it did leave a bit of a hole here for the rest of us.

Dad was a very gentle, patient person, with a great sense of humor. He will be, and is very missed. I know now that he has no pain, has no more earthly concerns, and gets to rest. The rest of us still have to pay our taxes, work out our daily routines, deal with telemarketers from Pakistan and be concerned about identity theft. (Although if anyone were foolish enough to exchange identities with me at this stage of the game, they'd be NUTS!) It's a sad time, but also a season of release: release of Dad's illness, his discomfort, the pain that I had because I was not being able to be with him to care for him during his last months due to my own health. That's still a tough one to get around. I miss stroking his silky hair, and seeing his sparkly eyes.

There was a great DVD made of his life. It helped to remember the days in Alaska when we were all together and he was full of health. (*to view his obituary, see below.) It was a very strengthening time for me to be with my brothers, also. I am very grateful that we were all able to be there for the funeral, and be a support for one another. Kay's children also were there, and it was good to be able to have the extended family around. They were extremely helpful with many of the details of the funeral, housing our kids, etc, as well as being able to be with Dad as he died, as Pat and I were on the road and couldn't make it down in time. Thanks also to my friend since high school, Shelley, her husband Steve and their family, for their hospitality and care.

Thankfully, Dad's passing was quick, and he didn't have to suffer much. The Pastor who performed the funeral was the one who's church we attended as a family in Medford. He did the funeral for Mom, married Dad and Kay, and Pat and I. It was perfect to have someone who had all of that family history with us. It feels a little lonely now doing cancer myself without Dad around, but at least he doesn't have to battle anymore.

From Pat:
Jeanne was very blessed this week by a friend (her timing was perfect) who nominated her for the “Delicious Living Spirit Award.**” While the award is immaterial to us, the words and thoughts that she expressed in her essay about Jeanne touched both of us. As I read it, I was impressed how little things to us, can have a huge impact on others. Jeanne is impacting people in such a lasting way, it makes me proud to be married to her.

Jeanne and I spent our anniversary evening watching the sunset from Mary’s Peak. For those of you that do not know, we were married on Mary’s Peak. During the funeral service for Jeanne’s Dad, the Pastor, (who also married us) fondly recalled our “field fairy” wedding. We have come a long way!

As far as medical news, on Monday, August 15th, Jeanne will have a CT and MRI again to check the progress. We will get results on Thursday the 18th. After all that has been going on, we were concerned there may be some setbacks. Yet, Jeanne's CEA level dropped to 3.6 at her last test. And, her blood test results have been good enough to receive full chemo doses weekly. So, please pray that the scans once again reveal continued reduction in size and number of the tumors. (Ideally, complete absence of tumors in the liver and brain, and no new lesions in the spine.)

* electronic version of Lloyd Lund Sr’s obituary: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0719/obit/obit.htm
** Delicious Living is a natural foods, healthy living magazine. This is not meant as a pro or con endorsement. (http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com/win/spiritawards/)

July 2005 update

Hello, everybody: Well, I think my body is recuperating from company and running around for two weeks plus. Three weeks ago I went to do chemo on Thursday am, and afterward went to Medford to be with Dad and our step-mom. My 2 brothers also came, one from Portland, and one from Texas with his wife and two daughters. We got quite a bit done in the way of prearranging my Dad's funeral, and sitting in with Hospice so they can get some help, and my step mom can get some more breaks in. Dad loves to see everyone, and especially for times like this it would be nice to be closer physically. Pat and the kids came home on Sunday so he could return to work, and my bros.,Valerie, and I stayed until Wednesday to finalize some things. We got home Wed. eve., then got up and I had chemo Thursday morning.

Right after receiving the chemo, we once again jumped in the van, and this time went to Lincoln City on the beach. My brother Lloyd (TX) and his family were there, our sister-in-law, Sherry, Pat's dad and step-mom and our whole family. (It was a big house.) It was great to see Bob and Ginny, Pat's folks, and spend some more time with my brother. We don't get to see each other much! Sherry and all the girls had a nail painting evening, and a few got to go shopping at the outlet malls nearby, and there was quite a bit of time for walks on the beach. The World Championship Kite Flying Festival was happening, so we saw people from France, Germany, Japan, and all over, and the weekend concluded with a huge fireworks display over the ocean. The house we stayed in had a balcony, so everyone ran upstairs for the best view. We got back from the beach on Wednesday afternoon, and were going to go out for dinner, but my body gave up and rebelled. Due to some chills, rough muscle aches and pains, and general cruddy feelings, Pat put me on bed rest for the night and brought back some food for me. Chemo was the next morning, and an extra blood draw, so we thought I'd better settle down. I put ice on my feet on the way to the infusion office, and did some hot/cold in the shower to boost the white blood count. If my counts are too low, I don't get a full dose of chemo. I had two weeks of a half dose, and was determined to get a full one this time. Something worked, God answered some prayers (again) and I got a full dose. Yeah! (NOT that I love the stuff!!! I just want it to get in there, work hard and get out of my body fast!) The last CEA I got on June 23rd registered a slight increase-up to 4.2 from 3.6, so I have been a little nervous between that and the cancer in my spine. It was probably due to the nature of the trip to Medford and the ensuing stress, so I'm hoping that now that things are settling down it will reduce down into the 3's again. I heard that dehydration can make this happen also. Dr. Kenyon says that staying between 3 and 5 is going to be fine, it’s if it keeps going up that we would get worried and think about changing things. Jonathan T. (Herbalist/nutritionist) had said to expect it to go up and down a bit, and to not panic if it did this, but to rely more on the scans as to how much cancer was progressive or regressive. Dr. Kenyon has also reassured me that we're going in the right direction, so I have to sit back and trust. And take the supplements, which are still helping a tremendous amount, and take the chemos which are as well. Pray for no ongoing damage from the cancer treatments, please! It would be a drag to make it through all of this and have kidney damage or something. Hopefully I'm drinking enough to avoid that and the supplements are protective enough.

Robert and I just returned from the Hartwig's house a bit ago, where he and a group of other home-schooled boys took their test for the year. We are supposed to test after 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades, so this was Robert's first. He thinks he's done all right, and doesn't seem too traumatized, so we're both happy it's hindsight now. We've spent this week in preparation for it, so that was great. Thanks, Linda! He said he had fun, but I think that was because he had a whole group of boys he was with, and no girls for once! Time to get the next batch of kids and bring them home-thanks for your prayers. Keep them coming! Mentally and spiritually I think I'm in one of the most challenging places I've been in since the beginning of this diagnosis so prayers for peace and of course ongoing healing are coveted. It’s amazing how much mental energy this disease can consume, as well as physical. It’s a huge journey for myself, but to not be able to be there for my Dad as much as I would like because I need to protect my own health goes against my grain in a big way. God has shown Himself to be very large on my behalf, and I have to trust that He will be there for my earthly father as well.

Housekeeping note: We still have many pans and containers from folks who delivered meals. If you have a pan or dish missing, please contact us And we found the lid to Deb's soup pot. Deb, I’ll try to get that back to you-it’s been a little busy.

Post script...sort of...
Daniel had Special Olympics this last weekend, and received a gold medal in the 100 meter relay, a silver medal in the soft ball throw, and a bronze for the 100 meter dash. Fun.

Time to rest!!!

Love you all, and many blessings to you-
Jeanne H.

This Month's Muse

Well, we spent a week with multiple visits to multiple diagnostic areas at Good Samaritan Hospital this week, and here are the latest findings...
The Pros...
The first news we recieved was last Thursday, which was the blood work. My CEA level has dropped once again and is now at 3.6 down from 4.0. 0 to 3.4 is where I'd like to be/stay. That was great news.
Next was the liver lesions-Dr. Kenyon went over the scans with us, and I'm now down to three lesions from six at the last visit. They look "hypodense" and "may reflect inactive lesions", according to the doctor who read the scans. Yeah!!
Dr. Kenyon also reviewed the brain MRI with us, which was a little difficult, as the lesions there were so hard to even see. We couldn't remember where they had been, and finally Dr. K's trained eye found a tiny circled pinpoint-the radiologist had evidently circled it for us. According to the report, there are still two lesions, but are shrinking still, and there were no new lesions found. This is a huge blessing.
The questionable part of this whole thing (besides the liver being able to carry on and complete it's healing) is the bone involvement at this point. Evidently there was more than we had thought at first, which hadn't shown up in either of the last scans. I had shown 3 vertebrae affected last scan, and they are "lytic sclerotic" which I believe means that the cancer had made a hole in the bone (lytic) but the calcium deposits (sclerosis=hardening) indicated that the lesions were being healed. This is good. On this scan, however, new lesions appeared involving 8 more vertebrae-some are "blastic", meaning they were new, and some mixed. Dr. Kenyon's interpretation was that the chemo, etc, was working on the liver and breast, and it's also working on the bone as well-that's why the scerosis is happening. While I'm quite pleased with the liver/brain reductions, and I'm glad that the calcification is happening to stop the cancer growth, it is admittedly nerve wracking to have the added bone involvement. The report reads "progressive osseous metastatic disease to the spine." I definitely prefer the "hypodense, inactive" conclusion. I have this sense of the chemo and herbs having to chase the cancer around, and it is a cat and mouse thing. This is one area I don't want to be "progressive" in. Please be praying that everything works for good to stop this stuff!! They are giving me an injection of Zometa once a month for the bones, and this is supposed to have an anti-cancer effect on them. I just had the 2nd one this last Thursday, so my hope is that this will be taking effect along with everything else. Dr. Kenyon's attitude has been great, and I go back to the day when I was asking him about expectations re. my first scan after beginning chemo, and he said "there is always hope".

The other area of prayer we could use is for my Dad. He is coming into his last days, and will probably not last for another month or two. He has had prostate cancer for over 14 years, and has done amazingly well with it. His cancer was discovered in his bones in January of this year, and it had spread with a vengeance. We don't know how long it had been there. He has been bed ridden for about 2 months now, and requires more care, but still has a fantastic sense of humor, and his patience and kindness are still very intact. He's a great guy. If you could pray for peace, comfort, and healthy communication for our family, that would be appreciated. It is a hard time for everyone, and an easy time to "short circuit". Dad's walk with the Lord has been varied through his life, so if you could pray for his relationship to grow strong at this time as well, it would help. We will be traveling back and forth to Medford more frequently in this next season, and will need to guard against fatigue and illness (esp. for myself). My brother and his family will be coming from Texas to visit, and Pat's folks from Florida, so June will be a busy time.
All the kids piano and violin recitals/concerts are done now, and Dan's Special Olympic track meets (One left in July) are about done, so that helps a lot. We'll continue with dog 4-H through the summer, and the kids are planning on entering a variety of things in the fair, so we'll still be quite occupied. Hopefully just not on such a crazed level.
Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers,etc.-you are very loved.


Jeanne H.

Next News

It's been a while since we've updated everyone-there hasn't been a whole lot to report on as of late, but we got some good news again.
A dear friend had let Pat and I use her townhouse over at Eagle Crest last weekend--she said she thought we needed a vacation! While we were there, Dr. Kenyon called home and talked to Nicole. The CEA level had fallen to 4.0, so it is still going in the right direction. Yeah!! Now both he and the surgeon in Lake Oswego are thinking that a mastectomy may not be the way to go-it could be unneccessary, and put added stress on my body and weaken it so the immune function isn't as strong as it could be. We are still waiting to make a decision on that. It seems a little premature to be thinking about it, and as I said it the last blog, it is with a definite air of caution that I'm going ahead in my mind to a day where I will be cancer free. (Any surgery would need to be postponed until I am free of cancer cells and could go without the chemo for a period of time.) I believe that a lot of the changes that I've made will need to stay in place to keep this at bay. The next scans of the brain and liver will be on May 31st, and we'll recieve results on the 2nd of June from Dr. K. There were still about 6 lesions left on the liver at the last "scanning", which sounds and looks wonderful compared to the first scans. They looked like the liver shouldn't even have been functional. It's odd to think that 6 lesions would be good. 9 months ago, I would've thought it would be awful and terrifying, which it can be if I let my mind go in that direction. This is the ultimate challenge in "taking every thought captive to the Lord".
Jonathan Treasure, the medical-herbalist in Ashland, has increased some of the supplements that he wants me on-he's been awesome about staying a few steps ahead of where he sees me headed. He now has me on an anti-osteoporosis protocol with herbs and vitamins, and has increased some of the other stuff I was taking so I will still be able to tolerate the chemotherapy. As he said, this is a crucial spot, and I don't want to bottom out and develop a resistance to it, or have my body not be able to tolerate chemo while it looks like we could be in an extremely good place! It has helped tremendously. I have hardly any peripheral neuropathy, (none at present)which people can get easily with these drugs. (Even to the point where their skin peels off of their hands and feet) A lot of the other side effects I've been able to avoid as well, or have experienced a reduced level of discomfort, fatigue, nausea, etc. Many of the herbs have anti-cancer effects, and he knows which ones can work with which chemo drugs. He also is recommending options that I can go to the oncologist with, for instance yesterday I recieved a drug that helps stop bone weakening called Zometa, which I'd requested based on J.T.'s recommendation. Hopefully doing some of this earlier rather than later will prevent some long term problems, as chemo is so toxic to every system of the body! There are still some things that I could do to help this process out for the long run. If I can become free of lesions, etc., then I'll need to be aware of relapses. (It couldn't just be simple!!) I will be on a maintenance plan with Jonathan, and Dr. K. is talking about the chemo going on for a very extended time. We'll need to proceed with a lot of wisdom, so if you could be praying for us, we'd sure appreciate it!! Knowing whether to do a mastectomy, keeping up with the finances of all of this, getting the appropriate therapies at the appropriate times...it's a bit overwhelming sometimes. The Lord has been extremely faithful to bring just the right people with just the right information or encouragement at just the right time, and that has been a huge blessing.
Thanks for staying posted, and for your thoughts and prayers.

Many blessings to you all,
Jeanne H.

Even MORE Great News!

Sooo...at last count, I was a 4. (More specifically a 4.5) This blood work, what they refer to as "tumor markers", was for the CEA level, a tool they use to track the amount of cancer in the blood. As noted before, normal is 3.4 and I was at a whopping 57 when this whole ordeal began. We just got the second blood test in, which is called a CA 15-3. Probably named after it's founder. (Just kidding. Chemo brain.) Dr. Kenyon said that at the start my counts were at 142, and we knew it could be a long shot to get them to a normal range, which is 35 or under. Praise God-as of last Thursday it is at 23!!!

We have an appointment set up to see Dr Kenyon on the 11th and the 28th, and will be discussing next steps, although I'm not sure at this point anything will be changing. There are still some lesions on the liver and in the bone, and since they need to be gone we will keep at it as long as necessary.

Thanks for sharing in our excitement, but don't stop with the prayers, as we're not out of the woods yet. I'm very pleased with the results, but have an air of caution as well. This has been too much of a roller coaster ride. Besides you guys have us completely spoiled now, and it would be a tough adjustment if ya'll bailed on us !

Love you all,

Jeanne H.

More GREAT News

We just found out that one of Jeanne’s tumor markers is practically normal. It was at 57 before she first started chemo, and now it is 4. A normal score is 3!!! This, coupled with the “significant decrease” in size and numbers of the tumors on her liver, is GREAT news!


So, a little explanation. There are many ways that the presence of cancer is determined in a person’s body. Tumors themselves are viewed with CT, MRI, radiology, etc. They are counted and measured according to location and size. As well, blood is analyzed by a variety of tests. One test is called a “tumor marker.” The marker is not cancer itself, but these markers increase or decrease depending upon the cancer type and aggressiveness.

The doctor called us at 9:30 this evening, to deliver us the news about the tumor markers. Any call from a doctor sends chills down our spine. But, we will take more of those kind of calls.

We thought, well I, (Pat) thought, about creating an April Fools Day posting, but this is too good of news to joke about.

We are not out of the woods yet, but we certainly are making great progress.

Thank you all again and again for your faithfulness in prayers, and for meals, cards, gifts, and, and and....
Pat

The Latest and Greatest (almost!)

Well, after about a week of wondering about scan results...is the chemo effective? Are the supplements helping the chemo to be effective as well as keeping the majority of negative effects from chemo at bay? Have I bargained with God enough, or have I strived enough in finding the right health care team etc. to warrant healing? (yes, I got a bit desperate :D)...

God has answered prayers for healing. We got the brain MRI results back today, and while we were not able to actually view the MRI or the CT body scans, the written reports are saying that the Gamma Knife worked-the three nodules are showing a "decrease in conspicuity". It goes on in big language to basically say that I have an "unremarkable brain". About the only time I like that terminology!!! (No comments, please!!) They can see no new lesions, and everything else looks normal. Yipee-no whole brain radiation at this point.

The CT scan also revealed that the lesions in my liver had "significantly decreased" in size and in number, with no evidence of cancer in my pancreas, spleen , adrenals or kidneys. This was a thrill. Not as fun as being first on the slope downhill skiing in new snow on a big mountain with perfectly ahaped moguls, but--we'll take it!!

It was a disappointing to hear that it has metasticized into my spine a bit-while my bone scan came back clear at first, evidently it takes the cancer a long time to reveal itself. Dr. Kenyon says, again, that if the chemo is working in my liver, it will be working in my bones. The findings, according to the report, are "probably stable", at least in part of the spine.

Now we need to pray that my body continues to handle the chemo well, and heal quickly before developing a tolerance to it. I'm on a manageable combination that allows me to be fairly functional, and it's such grace to have access to it. To see a "significant change" within about 7 weeks seems like a good start. We are hoping of course that this keeps up, and that the Lord will finish His good work in working through all of this treatment. There is no word on a mastectomy yet-I believe it would be counterproductive to interfere with the chemo schedule to have a major surgery while we're making good progress. It's great to have the dietary guidelines and supplements though, to feel like I'm part of the healing process and not totally reliant on the big guns for when blood counts are low and I'm unable to recieve the full amount of chemo, or when I just feel like I need some reassurance that I'm doing everything I can be doing.

Thank you again for your faithfulness in all you're doing, and for your prayers. They truly keep us going, and are obviously effective. May God grant us all faith, hope and love in our daily dealings, and a heart after Him.

Love you all very much,
Jeanne H.

No real "news" to report

Jeanne is doing well.. Her health is good, considering. As many have said to us, and we have said before, she does not look like she has cancer. What a person is supposed to look like who has cancer is a mystery to us. She is in her eighth week of chemotherapy (every Thursday), with only one instance of her blood counts being too low. As well, she has been diligent in taking a boatload of daily supplements, and making changes to her diet. Jeanne is more tired than usual, and has limited her activities to reduce fatigue.

On March 28th, Jeanne is scheduled for a CT and an MRI, with results on March 31st. (Read: please do not expect an news until after the 31st.) Probably the wait between the 28th and the 31st will be an anxious one.

These tests will let us know the status of the cancer growth, specifically in the brain and liver. We are hopeful that the tests will indicate the tumor growth has slowed, and better yet, has regressed. We appreciate your prayers for the outcomes and for us to be at peace with whatever the results are.

A prayer focus would be wonderful for:

• showing a decrease in size/quantity of tumors in the liver,
• no additional tumor growth in the brain,
• for our minds to be clear, and our hearts to be hopeful,
• and to be grateful for every day, and not focus on fretfulness, fear or confusion.


Love you all,
Pat and Jeanne

Life goes on...

The Gamma Knife was evidently a success, as we posted before, but the next day, my white blood count was too low to receive chemo. The regular oncologist was out of town for two weeks, and his back up guy said to just give it a week to see if my counts would rise to the occasion. We went this morning, and indeed they had come up beautifully and therefore was given the regular dosing, and began taking the daily oral chemo again as well. Now it's just waiting to see how my body responds to these next rounds of chemo, and try not to be anxious for the next rounds of tests on my liver, etc. They will check on the brain in about 6 weeks with another MRI-please pray that it will stay clear of microscopic and any other growths. The liver, and other scans should begin in about 3 weeks maybe? The interim doc thinks it should show some positive response from my liver based on how everything else is looking. We are praying for that to be the case!!
The herbalist in Ashland that I went to see had some good suggestions, and lots of things to augment the chemo, help my immune function, and support my liver while going through the chemo and radiation. Sugar and sweets are out, as they depress the white blood count for about 4 hours after you eat them. (Hello viruses and bacterias) Sugar also feeds tumors, and he's concerned that I don't have a lot of room to play, so he's also having me severely limit my grains, especially refined grains, and even beans, as they convert to sugar pretty quickly in the body. While I thought I'd be making a lot of raw vegetable juices, he thinks they will contain too concentrated of a sugar content, so that's out as well. I'll be trying to stick with pasture fed, hormone and antibiotic free meats, wild fish, lots of organic vegetables, and fruits in moderation. Cultured, and organic dairy products are good as well (yogurt, kefir, sour cream, raw cheeses, etc.) Some of my children are THRILLED with this development...(creme fraiche anyone??) We found a great cookbook-it looks like a lot of fun-called "Nourishing Traditions". It's got recipes for all of the above types of foods, and I just went to Bald Hill Farm to get some "clean meat" (lamb and goat) and found that Harriet Hughes is one of their favorite suppliers of goat meat as she does such a faithful job in raising such a high quality product! Good Job Harriet! Julia Sunkler already had us supplied for the year with her beef, which my dad and brother raved about on a recent trip to Medford to visit. That, and some elk sausage provided by the Morris duo kept everybody happy, happy! Thanks, folks!! And thanks to everyone else, who is helping to lift us up over these current circumstances. I can't tell you what a blessing you all are. The meals have been a tremendous help on many levels, and all of the other gifts and prayers, childcare and "running" are always so appreciated. I'm sorry if I can't get to all of you with thank you cards, (there's a pile of you!!) but please know that we are extremely grateful for you all. We couldn't do this without you.
In His Hands,
Jeanne and the gang.

Success!

Jeanne is doing well after the Gamma Knife (radiosurgery) treatment today. She is tired, and is in some pain from the mechanism used to stabilize her head (sorry, we will not show you any pictures) but otherwise is in great spirits.

The radiosurgery treatment was very successful. The MRI done immediately prior to the procedure showed that there are no other tumors, and the three present were not any larger. The physicians who performed the radiosurgery felt it was very effective in “zapping” the tumors.

Thank you for all of your prayers, thoughts, meals, and gifts.

Prayer requests

Hello all~

Please pray for Mom as she and Dad head to Portland tonight for the gamma knife operation tomorrow. She's scheduled for an MRI at 8:15 a.m. and the Gamma knife procedure at 10:00 a.m. She and Dad will return home tomorrow evening.

Thank you!
Valerie

Gamma Knife!

An MRI scan revealed that Jeanne has three small cancerous tumors in her brain. Our two treatment options are 1. Whole brain radiation and 2. A Gamma Knife procedure.
Due to the small amount and size of the tumors, the doctors believe she is a good candidate for the Gamma Knife procedure.

We met the neurosurgeon last Thursday. He agreed that Jeanne is an ideal candidate. He did caution us that if the MRI, that is performed immediately prior to the Gamma knife (and which is more detailed in its views), shows multiple tumors, the Gamma knife procedure may not be effective, and/or may be cancelled. If this is the case, the whole brain radiation treatment is our only option.

We will be scheduling an appointment for the Gamma Knife procedure at the Providence Medical Center in Portland.

Dr. Livingston, a prominent medical oncologist at the University of Washington, reviewed Jeanne's medical record, and he believes that our doctor is following the best possible course of treatment for her.

The doctors are not in complete agreement on the need for whole brain radiation, though. The radiation oncologist believes that there are likely other, smaller tumors growing in her brain. These undetected tumors may be too numerous to warrant the specific nature of the gamma treatment. His understanding is that the chemo drugs do not pass the brain/blood barrier, thus are not effective on brain tumors. The medical oncologists believe Xeloda, one of the drugs Jeanne is taking, may in fact impact cell tumors. Time will only tell. Gamma treatments can be repeated, to a certain extent, while whole brain treatment is only done once in a person's lifetime.

I realize this is a lengthy posting, but I felt the extra information would help you in your specific understanding on Jeanne’s current medical options, and our specific prayer needs.

Pray that:
- the Gamma Knife procedure is effective
- Jeanne has no other tumors in her brain
- the chemo drugs kills all her tumors, regardless of where they are.
- she can keep her immune system strong during chemo, which generally compromises the immune system.

For more information on the Gamma Knife procedure, see attached link.
http://www.providence.org/oregon/programs_and_services/gamma_knife/default.htm

Thanks again to everyone.

Busy Day ahead, Feb. 3rd

Jeanne will be having a venous access device (VAD, or "port")* surgically implanted in the morning. Shortly after surgery, she will have her weekly chemo-therapy treatment. At 12:30, we have our bi-monthly appointment with our medical oncologist. Then, we will go to Portland to see a nuerosurgeon regarding a procedure to treat the small tumors in her brain.

Please pray that Jeanne will hold-up to the rigors of the day.

For the medically squeamish, you may not want to read further...

*The VAD, or port, is a catheter inserted into an artery near her clavicle bone. Its purpose is to provide semi-permanent access to a larger blood vessel for the chemo-therapy drugs. Chemo drugs are notoriously hard on veins, as they have been on Jeanne's arm thus far. It is a short out-patient procedure, completed in less than one hour.

Encouraging Thought

I know this blog is supposed to be used for updates on Mom, but I wanted to share something the Lord used to encourage me recently.

Lately I've been in quite a whirl-wind of emotions and at every new complication' having difficulty understanding "why?" (of course, aren't we all)! On Sunday, during communion, the pianist played a medley including "Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go"; it being one of my favorite hymns, I looked it up. I was struck by the third verse:

"Oh joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee.
I seek the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be."

Funny how God knows just what we need, isn't it! I've sung that verse many times since, and it --along with many other scriptures/encouraging words that people have sent us-- has been a huge help during this time. Thank you so much for all the thoughtful cards and e-mails y'all have sent, they're greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Valerie

Are you sitting down?

Well, we have more news, the kind that none of us want to hear. The cancer has also spread into Jeanne's brain.

I do not expect you to get over the shock of that news quickly. We have not. But, once you have, then you may be better able to read the rest, and feel the same sense of hope that we have.

As you may recall, from the last posting, the CT scan revealed that the cancer has spread to Jeanne’s liver. She also underwent an MRI on Thursday to scan the brain for cancer cells. We found out on Friday that there are three cancerous areas, the largest being 1 centimeter. The doctor believes that due to the small size, and the limited number, that Jeanne is a good candidate for a procedure called Radio-surgery. Basically, it is very focused, precise radiation aimed at the cancerous areas. He seem hopeful that this will shrink, or eliminate, the cancer in her brain area. This procedure will likely occur sometime in February.

It will be performed in a Portland hospital, not sure which one yet.

We also will likely be going to a doctor in Seattle for a consultation, but do not have a time frame, yet.

In the meantime, Jeanne will continue with the chemo-therapy each Thursday. Her appointment yesterday went well. She is not feeling too many side effects due to precautions she is taking, some lifestyle changes, and the number of other medications available. In general, Jeanne feels ok. In her own words, she does not feel that she has cancer.

We do not know where this odyssey will take us next. But, we do know that wherever it goes, we are in God’s hand. We thank you for being there with us, too. Keep praying, hoping, and loving each other.

Beginning Anew???

As stated in the last update, Thursday was the first chemo day. Friday was beautiful, sunny, and there were no side effects at all. It was a nice day, even though my head is still reeling from having to do this at ALL. Each day, I'm taking some chemo pills, in the am and pm. On Saturday, I was a bit more queasy. Thankfully, I was able to go to Sarah's Willamette Chamber Orchestra concert in the afternoon, and Valerie's "Promusica" concert in the evening. Music is definitely therapeutic, especially when it's your own kids playing!!! They did awesome! We were able to see some great friends at church this morning, and squeeze some babies' cheeks, and I think it's about nap time now. This stuff is potent. We are praying for potency against the bad cells, and grace toward the good cells.

Unfortunately, the cancer has spread into my liver, and this puts it at a stage 4, which really stinks. Our hold out, is that God is bigger than any number, and we're asking for folks to pray accordingly. There are new treatments coming out frequently; maybe we can eventually irradiate the liver, and maybe God will miraculously dissolve the cancer cells away. My step-mom has graciously suggested a place in Ashland that works with cancers, so I'm hoping to be able to check that out and get some additional help. Other than that, we're trying to keep life as normal as possible for now. (I never HAVE figured out what that's supposed to look like :)

Thanks again for your being there for us. The Lord has blessed us greatly with all of your hearts toward us. It's very humbling.

May Christ be with us and for us all, and be actively blessing all of you as you walk beside us.

Jeanne H.

Chemotherapy, here we come!!

Jeanne begins chemotherapy on Thursday. We appreciate your prayers that the side-effects will not be adverse, and more importantly, the treatments are effective. The current plan is to have weekly sessions. But, one thing we are learning is to be very flexible.

Some church members blessed us with a "chemo survival basket" full of treats, a blanket, music CD, a portable DVD player, and many other goodies. Thank you.

"recent happenings"

Note: this is the a copy of our Jan. 17th email.

O.K. everyone-are you as confused as we are???

Here's the latest, which seems to change quite frequently these days. Last Thursday we were going to meet with a doctor at OHSU, then our specialist doc was going to take all of our reports, films, etc. to her "tumor board" to review and give their opinion. We were prepared (ha) to go to OHSU Thursday am, then potentially spend the night in Portland and have a mastectomy on Friday. I hope none of you showed up at the hospital on Friday. We were not there. We went to the beach instead. Because of scheduling conflicts, we couldn't get all of our info. to both the OHSU folks as well as the doctor's review board and had to make a decision as to which one to go with. Because there were 5-6 doctors at the tumor board, and only 1 that we would be speaking with at OHSU, we decided to go with the "multitude of counselors". They all concurred that it would be best to begin with chemotherapy, then after a couple of months of that, get a mastectomy, then some more chemo, with maybe a round of radiation thrown in, just so I get to experience more of what modern medicine has to offer. We had wanted OHSU's input since occasionally you can get in on clinical trials, which can include the most updated advances, but since the Inflammatory Breast Cancer was so elusive in it's detection, not revealing itself in any of the pathology, I will not be considered for any trials. This is disappointing, but our oncologist here seems very willing to chat with other docs who see more of IBC than we typically get around here. (It is only about 1-3% of all breast cancers nationwide) He also plans on using the same chemo agents that are being used in the trial that is happening at OHSU, (minus one) and seems to be up on the research that is available, which admittedly, doesn't seem like much.

The good news is that I had a bone scan on Friday, and my bones look clean. Tomorrow I'll be getting a CT scan to see if the cancer has spread to any organs, so I'd appreciate your prayers for that.

I apologize for any lack of communication to anyone-this is hard to keep up with emotionally as well as having a BIG learning curve, plus having to occasionally wash a load of laundry or two, etc. so please bear with us. If you have questions, feel free to e-mail, especially. I'm using the phone a lot for research, and Dr. questions, etc, and we can get to e-mails fairly quickly. The chemo should begin this Thursday, barring any more changes in schedule. It will be happening every 2 weeks for a period of time, then we'll do the mast. and check for pathology, then cont'd. with either radiation and chemo, or just chemo.

Thanks for all your prayers, thoughts, food, firewood, quilts, the chairs, the childcare, the notes, the hugs. You all are a wonderful cheering squad, and we love you all dearly.

Jeanne H.

P.S.--the beach was lovely.

Quote of the Day

John Wesley's Rule for Life

Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as you ever can.
The fruit of the spirit is GOODNESS

Thanks to all who are proving this to be a well followed rule! We are very grateful for all the help and support!

Sincerely,
The Hazle"nuts"

Jeanne Update as of Friday, January 6

Hello, everyone-

I'm not sure what got sent out last, but this is the latest test result that we've received, and the implications. I had an MRI on Friday last week and the results came back Tuesday. This test was the only one that has been able to pick up the possibility of Inflammatory Breast Cancer. None of the pathology reports picked up any cancer cells, but I was still experiencing symptoms, so this doctor kept digging, until this finally showed up. Evidently ultrasounds and mammograms are going to be considered useless for me from here on out. (They didn't show any of this, or the tumor that they found and removed during the last biopsy) The MRI is showing that at this time the lymph nodes are clear, as is the other breast and the chest wall. This was great news. The Doc is going to still do a sentinel node biopsy next week, and make sure no cancer has traveled into the lymphatic system. We are going to need to do a mastectomy, and get rid of any tumor remnants as well as the skin that carries the IBC.

sooo...next things to do are get a chest x-ray and blood work up for the surgery. These are scheduled for tomorrow the 7th, and the surgery is scheduled for next Friday the 14th. It will be up in Lake Oswego with Dr. Richmond, I'll stay overnight, and come home mighty drugged the next day. We have a friend who will come over to help with any stupor type behaviors I may be exhibiting, (geez, I can't wait) and we'll be taking it pretty easy for a while.

Thanks again, a million, for the foot rubs (please don't stop!), the cards,calls and e-mails,offers for help and friendship. We appreciate you all, and you make this uncertain road a little less rocky.

We'll try to keep you posted, thanks!!

Jeanne Hazleton

Medical Background up to the Jan 6th update.

This site was created (by Valerie Hazleton, thank you also to the Bacho family) to provide you with a quick method of keeping informed of Jeanne Hazleton's health and medical condition. While this is a public website, we are trying to maintain some anonymity. For example, we do not list any personal information, or addresses. With the use of this site, we may reduce the number of emails that we send out.

If you have not been on our previous bulk mailing email list, here is a brief history of Jeanne's medical journey.

In November 2004, Jeanne was experiencing some discomfort in her left breast. After two rounds of antibiotics, and two ultrasound exams, there was no improvement. A mammogram revealed the same thickening of the derma (skin)that the ultrasound showed, but no tumors or masses. The radiologist recommended that we see a surgeon immediately to rule-out inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). (for more info, you can visit http://ibcsupport.org, or http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Cancertype/Breast/Typesofbreastcancer/Inflammatorybreastcancer)

The surgeon performed a "punch" biopsy, which indicated there was no IBC, but there was a suspicious finding in the pathology report. Due to the this, and the surgeon's concern in another part of the tissue, she recommended a second surgical biopsy. The second biopsy also showed no IBC, but the surgeon did remove part of a cancerous tumor.

So, the plan is to possibly undergo a surgery, possibly a mastectomy soon. First, though an MRI is scheduled to ensure there is no concern elsewhere.

Please read the next postings for further information.

Thanks.