A few folks have been asking what's up, so I'll try to update here...it's hard to want to be in on a computer when it's so nice outside, but I guess I need a break from obsessing over the yard. (Not that it looks like I have been, but there's bits of progress!!) Peas are about 4" high, and we've got more seeds ready for the next planting. Walla Walla onions and Swiss Chard went in yesterday, and the 3 artichokes made it through the freeze and are making a valiant attempt to thrive in this great weather. I'm trying to not get the tomatoes in too early only to have them get too cold at night. It's sooo tempting! The bed is now fertilized and is warming up under a red plastic tomato "mulch" ready to recieve this years babies. I'll try just about anything to avoid weeds, and the plants seem to like the red and the warmth. We've been putting in about 18-25 tomatoes/year, and I try to get them to ripen as much as possible before fall hits. I thought I'd try a new plant this year, similar to a potato in that it grows edible tubers. It gets 4-8 feet tall, has velvety leaves, and is supposed to be full of minerals, tastes good, and is good for blood cleansing. It's called a Yacon Bolivian Sunroot. Fun to try, anyway. Now I just need to find a place for it. I also just potted a new Meyer Lemon tree that I purchased with some b-day cash. It's got about 8-10 tiny lemons on it now, and about the same amt. of flowers, so hopefully I'll get some organic homegrown lemons this year. Valerie and I seem to be entranced with -or maybe in need of- some pretty colors and smells this summer, so we both keep coming home with a little flower here and another there to pot. New pots of spearmint and peppermint, and a revamping of the front herb garden feels great. We got hooked on bread dipped in rosemary/garlic plus some spices infused in olive oil. I can't do the bread this year, but the plants still are nice in the bath or in oil for massage, or....always experimenting.
Well, that's the outside report, so here's the "inside" scoop...
The last scan report showed that there were no tumors left in the brain, just some residual scar type tissue that will probably always show up. There are no New lesions, either, which I'm very grateful for. The spine seemed stable (no new lesions, just the little holes from the prior tumors that chomped through the bone.) No one on any physical exam can find remnants of the breast cancer in the actual breast. So that means that we're still just dealing with the liver. The CEA levels are fluctuating a bit-the lowest was 5.7 about a month ago, then 6.1 a couple of weeks ago. Still have hair, (am slowly losing eyelashes) no neuropathy, nausea, etc. Amazing.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), I'll be starting a new type of therapy. I'll be getting about 50-75 grams of vitamin C in my IV line, and I'll be also taking an oral form of vitamin K3. The combination of these two is supposed to cause a new type cell death; the cell actually scissors itself into little pieces. It affects only cancer cells, not healthy ones and is perported to be nontoxic. Sounds good to me! Until my body learns to recognize and destroy cancer cells on it's own, I need to rely on some other therapies to do it for me. It's nice to have some non-toxic options. The IVC will be on Wed. and Fri. for 2-3 hours, with chemo sandwiched in there on Thursdays. Oral K3 will be taken daily with oral V-C. (Oral V-C on non IVC days) The plan is to do this for 10 weeks. It is going to be a challenge to be stuck in a chair for that many hours for that many weeks, but ya do what ya gotta do, I guess! If anyone is bored and wants to hang out in a chair with me, I'll be easy to find!
Haven't found any live vaccines yet that are appropriate, so that's on hold.
There are some radiation techniques that the Cancer Treatment Centers of America have, in Tulsa OK, but our insurance won't cover that yet. I guess that specific center has some cutting edge liver cancer treatments, plus they could work with the systemic chemo. which, after Stanford, looks like I'd need so that the cancer doesn't grow in one area while they're zapping another.
I think that's about it...Nicole graduates with her accounting degree this June, so that's exciting. Her job at Benton County Health Dept. con't. to go well, and we're proud that she's going to be debt free when she gets her degree. She's thinking about what to do next, and will probably decide closer to graduation. The other kiddos are doing pretty well also, especially now that the sun's out!
Pat and I got to go to the beach this last weekend with another couple, and we left all the kids at our friends' house. Nicole and Valerie had our younger 3 plus their 4 children, both families' dogs, a bunch of sheep, a guinea pig, 6 chickens and a cat. It was pretty exciting! I think the kids are all just about caught up on their sleep. It was a treat to go away with another couple. It's the first time we'd done that, and what a treat to be with real adults with similar values for a whole 2 days!! Our family got to go away about 2 weeks ago to a beach house in Waldport. I highly recommend this house. What a blast, and right on the beach. They have a room downstairs that has about 1 1/2 feet of sand in it, with swings, lots of toys, etc., and the whole house is very comfortable. Big wrap around deck, sunroom, lots of space to sprawl out...and extremely reasonable rates. Let us know if you want the contact info.: it's available for rent.
Ok, enough's enough. Prayers are still coveted, and many many many thanks for those that are helping out financially also. You are appreciated so much. A lot of this stuff-even the monthly supplements that help me deal with the chemo and help me keep going-wouldn't be possible without you. It's a relief to have the assistance. Thanks also to those who've furnished the beach house for us to get away in, the massages, the food, and everything else you folks do.
We love you guys so much. Each of you is such a blessing, and I hope you can feel how much you are treasured...by our family as well as our Savior!!
Have a blessed month,
Lots of love,
Jeanne H.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
March........Lions and Lambs
...and who knows which it will be when? It seems like anything's game sometimes in life, doesn't it?
This last weekend we spent some time with a scientist/friend discussing possible clinical trials to get involved in. (Seems like there have been enough of those, but I guess these would be different than just "life's stuff".) These would involve getting vaccines for the breast cancer once a month or more. I need to spend a lot of time getting reaquainted with the National Cancer Institute's website, and maybe call a few folks to see what there is I can be involved in. At first peek, it looks like you have to have "failed" a standard therapy at least twice to be eligible. I've become resistant to, or "failed" once so far. Then you have to be off of the chemo at least 6 weeks. That's a little spooky, but if it's not working anymore, there would be no use being on it. The good part is (other than possibly it could prolong or save a life) is that they could fly me out to Maryland, put me up in a nice hotel, then pay for medical bills for the rest of my life. Dandy. As long as that's a long life, I'll take it.
The next thing is that we got scans set up, finally. It's been since November that we've taken a gander at the brain, and it's probably just as glad to have had a little privacy for these few extra months. How intrusive!! The RN just called, and said we're set up for this Friday the 17th. The brain MRI happens at 11 am, then I'll trot over to the hospital, drink the bilge-one jug or two, depending on how brutal of a mood the techs are in that day, then get a full CT scan done at 2 pm. Can't wait. We will then get results from Dr. Kenyon next Monday at 3:40 pm. I'll probably kick around the vaccine idea with him. It sounds like you can do vaccines concurrently with chemo., there are no side effects, and they are non-toxic. (Just like Play-Dough!)
We're also checking out some IV vitamin C, around 50-75 grams, to build up the immune system a bit more. It would involve going in about 3x/week until my body registered it had received a "therapeutic dose". That is the protocol that is deemed cytotoxic. (death to cancer cells) This is given in a relatively slow drip, as the V-C can be very acidic to the veins. (I feel like a slow drip some days) Thursdays I'm still getting chemo, and that lasts from 3-5 hours depending on the number of drugs administered. I wish I really enjoyed sitting on my behind for hours at a time. It would make this more enjoyable!
We will still look into ozone therapy. There is a new Naturopathic doctor in town who can do this, but we would probably need to travel to Portland to have it done as he has equipment accessibility up there. Tim, (the N.D.) works with an instructor at the Portland Naturopathic College. She has her own practice and also oversees all of the IV and ozone therapy at the college. He has been extremely communicative, has spoken with Jonathan, the herb man, and is very willing to work along side everyone as a team member. Yeah!! This is good, as I didn't want to have a situation that got stressful or even dangerous, with everybody doing whatever they thought was good and right in their own eyes, then tripping up somewhere. These are time consuming and $ consuming, so we're trying to go slow enough to make sure we're getting the right combination of people with the right skills, but quick enough to hopefully make a difference healthwise.
So far I'm still experiencing only minimal side effects, and I think that the "nutritional accessorizing" has helped a ton. I do seem to get a few nose bleeds from the Avastin, and can feel a bit rugged on Saturdays, but by Tuesday I'm not recognizing that I'm on chemo-except for the schnoz and a few occasional foot cramps. And...I still have my hair. And...a friend pointed out that my birthday's approaching. At first I wondered why that would be a big deal. (I'm kind of slow.)
Our hopes/desires for the scan results are...miracles. We all want 'em, don't we? "Give me this, give me that, then I won't be such a brat..." Plead and bargain all I want, but it comes down to trusting and having faith. The childlike stuff. So, Dad, I'm still hoping that the radiation tech. sees no brain lesions. None, zilch, zero. (In November there were 2 left, but they were tiny enough that the medical oncologist, Dr. Kenyon, couldn't find them, and Pat and I couldn't remember where they were. They were inactive at that time.) It would be great if there were none in the liver or spine. Two weeks ago, my CEA level (tumor markers) were at 7.1. If they stayed on their current trend, they should be down to about 4.1 this week. We will probably find that out on Monday when we see Peter. A marker of 3.4 or less is the magic number that I'd like to be at, stay at, live at.
One thing someone told us is that if you have Inflammatory Breast Cancer, you are automatically qualified for Disability Benefits. Possibly the kids are also. (The younger ones.) We're looking into that at this time. The basic requirement is that your illness is expected to continue for a year, or result in death. (Cheery) And you have had to work a bit and put into Social Security. Aaah...More paperwork for Pat. I think I'd rather have IV drips. So if any one of you fit the above category, check it out. No one in "the system" ever told me about this, so again, you really have to listen to the people going through it as well as rely on the medical staff.
Take care, and bless you all with eternal thoughts, eternal joy, and eternal love through Jesus Christ.
Jeanne H.
This last weekend we spent some time with a scientist/friend discussing possible clinical trials to get involved in. (Seems like there have been enough of those, but I guess these would be different than just "life's stuff".) These would involve getting vaccines for the breast cancer once a month or more. I need to spend a lot of time getting reaquainted with the National Cancer Institute's website, and maybe call a few folks to see what there is I can be involved in. At first peek, it looks like you have to have "failed" a standard therapy at least twice to be eligible. I've become resistant to, or "failed" once so far. Then you have to be off of the chemo at least 6 weeks. That's a little spooky, but if it's not working anymore, there would be no use being on it. The good part is (other than possibly it could prolong or save a life) is that they could fly me out to Maryland, put me up in a nice hotel, then pay for medical bills for the rest of my life. Dandy. As long as that's a long life, I'll take it.
The next thing is that we got scans set up, finally. It's been since November that we've taken a gander at the brain, and it's probably just as glad to have had a little privacy for these few extra months. How intrusive!! The RN just called, and said we're set up for this Friday the 17th. The brain MRI happens at 11 am, then I'll trot over to the hospital, drink the bilge-one jug or two, depending on how brutal of a mood the techs are in that day, then get a full CT scan done at 2 pm. Can't wait. We will then get results from Dr. Kenyon next Monday at 3:40 pm. I'll probably kick around the vaccine idea with him. It sounds like you can do vaccines concurrently with chemo., there are no side effects, and they are non-toxic. (Just like Play-Dough!)
We're also checking out some IV vitamin C, around 50-75 grams, to build up the immune system a bit more. It would involve going in about 3x/week until my body registered it had received a "therapeutic dose". That is the protocol that is deemed cytotoxic. (death to cancer cells) This is given in a relatively slow drip, as the V-C can be very acidic to the veins. (I feel like a slow drip some days) Thursdays I'm still getting chemo, and that lasts from 3-5 hours depending on the number of drugs administered. I wish I really enjoyed sitting on my behind for hours at a time. It would make this more enjoyable!
We will still look into ozone therapy. There is a new Naturopathic doctor in town who can do this, but we would probably need to travel to Portland to have it done as he has equipment accessibility up there. Tim, (the N.D.) works with an instructor at the Portland Naturopathic College. She has her own practice and also oversees all of the IV and ozone therapy at the college. He has been extremely communicative, has spoken with Jonathan, the herb man, and is very willing to work along side everyone as a team member. Yeah!! This is good, as I didn't want to have a situation that got stressful or even dangerous, with everybody doing whatever they thought was good and right in their own eyes, then tripping up somewhere. These are time consuming and $ consuming, so we're trying to go slow enough to make sure we're getting the right combination of people with the right skills, but quick enough to hopefully make a difference healthwise.
So far I'm still experiencing only minimal side effects, and I think that the "nutritional accessorizing" has helped a ton. I do seem to get a few nose bleeds from the Avastin, and can feel a bit rugged on Saturdays, but by Tuesday I'm not recognizing that I'm on chemo-except for the schnoz and a few occasional foot cramps. And...I still have my hair. And...a friend pointed out that my birthday's approaching. At first I wondered why that would be a big deal. (I'm kind of slow.)
Our hopes/desires for the scan results are...miracles. We all want 'em, don't we? "Give me this, give me that, then I won't be such a brat..." Plead and bargain all I want, but it comes down to trusting and having faith. The childlike stuff. So, Dad, I'm still hoping that the radiation tech. sees no brain lesions. None, zilch, zero. (In November there were 2 left, but they were tiny enough that the medical oncologist, Dr. Kenyon, couldn't find them, and Pat and I couldn't remember where they were. They were inactive at that time.) It would be great if there were none in the liver or spine. Two weeks ago, my CEA level (tumor markers) were at 7.1. If they stayed on their current trend, they should be down to about 4.1 this week. We will probably find that out on Monday when we see Peter. A marker of 3.4 or less is the magic number that I'd like to be at, stay at, live at.
One thing someone told us is that if you have Inflammatory Breast Cancer, you are automatically qualified for Disability Benefits. Possibly the kids are also. (The younger ones.) We're looking into that at this time. The basic requirement is that your illness is expected to continue for a year, or result in death. (Cheery) And you have had to work a bit and put into Social Security. Aaah...More paperwork for Pat. I think I'd rather have IV drips. So if any one of you fit the above category, check it out. No one in "the system" ever told me about this, so again, you really have to listen to the people going through it as well as rely on the medical staff.
Take care, and bless you all with eternal thoughts, eternal joy, and eternal love through Jesus Christ.
Jeanne H.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
February's Facts
It sure is nice to stay home for a while, though Pat and I were wondering if we should go hang out at an airport just to be in one again.
It seems so peaceful now compared to the last two months. In the midst of all the CyberKnife travel, there were 2 birthdays, Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Nicole began another term of college, and Valerie started working for a friend's business. Aaaah. It's done.
The latest health news is that my CEA levels are dropping again! It got up to 22 in December (Stanford's numbers). It dropped to 19 something, then 16.9, and as of last week 13.2. We're glad for that of course. The goal is that magic 3.4 or less number that says the amount of cancer is within control or not an issue. Then it needs to stay there with no chemo.
The Abraxane, Avastin (new chemo drugs) and Zometa, seem to be pretty tolerable. There are a couple of funky issues, but it's not bad at all, and I still have my hair, even through 4 sessions of ballroom dance class :D (Which was more like Jeanne holding on to Pat while we stumbled around. Pat's note.)
Prayer concerns: Continued prayer for Dr. Kenyon; Jonathan the Herb Man; some possible medical decisions re. "ozone therapy" which can help oxygenate the cells (which cancer does NOT like.) We will see a doctor in Salem for this treatment. He's checking my blood for a few extra things so we'll better know how to procede with treatments. Always looking for ways to make cancer dislike it's "host environment". Pat and I are doing pretty well most of the time, but this can get weary, so prayer for our relationship is appreciated. My port has held up beautifully, as has most of my health, so continued good health is a good prayer item, too. These are the big things.
Thanks a bunch-many blessings,
Jeanne H.
It seems so peaceful now compared to the last two months. In the midst of all the CyberKnife travel, there were 2 birthdays, Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Nicole began another term of college, and Valerie started working for a friend's business. Aaaah. It's done.
The latest health news is that my CEA levels are dropping again! It got up to 22 in December (Stanford's numbers). It dropped to 19 something, then 16.9, and as of last week 13.2. We're glad for that of course. The goal is that magic 3.4 or less number that says the amount of cancer is within control or not an issue. Then it needs to stay there with no chemo.
The Abraxane, Avastin (new chemo drugs) and Zometa, seem to be pretty tolerable. There are a couple of funky issues, but it's not bad at all, and I still have my hair, even through 4 sessions of ballroom dance class :D (Which was more like Jeanne holding on to Pat while we stumbled around. Pat's note.)
Prayer concerns: Continued prayer for Dr. Kenyon; Jonathan the Herb Man; some possible medical decisions re. "ozone therapy" which can help oxygenate the cells (which cancer does NOT like.) We will see a doctor in Salem for this treatment. He's checking my blood for a few extra things so we'll better know how to procede with treatments. Always looking for ways to make cancer dislike it's "host environment". Pat and I are doing pretty well most of the time, but this can get weary, so prayer for our relationship is appreciated. My port has held up beautifully, as has most of my health, so continued good health is a good prayer item, too. These are the big things.
Thanks a bunch-many blessings,
Jeanne H.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
We're Back...again
(See below for a synopsis of the activities of the last few weeks. The first long part is Jeanne's-the synopsis of course is from Pat.)
I believe Valerie sent out an e-mail about my not being able to receive the CyberKnife treatment, so most of you are up on that. It is disappointing, but is certainly not a hopeless situation. On the way home we flew into Portland-through heavy clouds of course. How like this whole process...not being able to see in front of us, behind us, and just barely out of the windows! The incredible thing is that when we were flying above the clouds the sun shone brilliantly. It was a reminder of how we cannot only rely on what we see with our earthly eyes, as we don't have the entire perspective consistently. In Oregon lately it's been extremely dreary, but just above those clouds is an entirely different reality. I need to keep my mind fixed on that, and not just on a tidbit of "bad" news-it's not the whole picture.
Here are some bits of more of the "picture" I've seen...
The radiation oncologist told us that my liver lesions are still very small, which is a good thing. They've also responded to chemo very well before, and there is no reason why they won't again. There are a total of 8 lesions in the liver, and if they radiated all of those at this time, my liver would be too toxic and would not be able to tolerate chemotherapy. This would be bad-the cancer is traveling through my whole body and needs to be treated systemically. She checked with the Stanford medical oncologist who only treats breast cancer, and was told that they've been having good results with the new chemo I just began, Abraxane. They are going to do a trial with the Avastin soon (the anti-VEGF drug--see earlier blog) and I received my first dose of that, along with some Abraxane this morning. (As of 9:20 pm, no bad reactions) The radiation onc. said that sounded very good, to go for it, and if at some point I'm in a place to get just a few spots blasted, I'm welcome to come back to Stanford. I think I'd want to be on chemo at the same time maybe, to discourage the extra growth that's happened this go round. I hadn't wanted to be on a new drug while traveling and then have a potential reaction on the plane, shuttle or ???
The other positive thing, cancer-wise, is that my liver (amazingly) is in very good shape. The hepatologist and radiation onc. both agree that I should have no trouble with the chemo, etc. Good job liver! Our oncologist here is positive about this next treatment as well.
We left for California last Tuesday, had PET and CT scans on Wednesday, and attended the Stanford/OSU basketball game on Thursday. We got the news of "no CyberKnife" on Friday, and afterward went to my new all time favorite restaurant in Menlo Park (all organic-look on line for "Flea Street Cafe" or JZCool's eatery and catering service for a menu. Inspiring.) Incredible food, wonderful service, everything is prepared beautifully. Had to get her cookbook. mmmmmm.
Thursday we spoke with a Stanford dietician. She was impressed with the "diet" that I'm on, and was glad to see I'd been including L-Glutamine in the morning smoothie. It's supposed to help with the neuropathy you can get with chemo, and also protect against losing lean muscle mass. She had no recommendations, and suggested I keep eating the same way. The key thing according to her studies, is to get enough fresh fruit and vegetables (esp. veggies) whether you eat meat or not, (if you don't eat meat, be very careful to get the zinc, B-12, etc. that could be lacking, and tons of protein for dealing with cancer/chemo) and to eat things in as whole a state as possible. No white stuff. She said she'll be recommending more and more people go organic over the next couple of years. She was very nice, and like all the Stanford docs, gave us her card along with her e-mail address in case we ever have any questions. These people are incredibly accessible. And they all have PhDs that they probably got when they were 14. Lots of Lexus, BMWs, Mercedes, etc. We were trying to count how many cars we saw over 10 yrs. old. I think we got up to 2. Oh well.
Saturday we cruised along the beach, and saw about 50-70 surfers along the Santa Cruz coastline. They looked like they were going to bean one another, but everybody seemed to be able to escape injury just fine. There was an otter or something swimming along with them. Saw some redwoods, some beautiful countryside, and a lot of the inside of my eyelids. Pat drove and caught the Redskins game on the radio and relaxed a bit. Nice day before traveling home on Sunday. GREAT to see the kids again. Not used to this much time away from them.
One of our favorite things that occurred was being able to stay at a dear woman's home this visit. We had met her at a little church on our prior visit. We'd wished to attend a small quiet service and be incognito. After the service, the woman in front of us turned, asked us about ourselves, why we were in Palo Alto, etc. etc. Then she unabashedly said that the next time we were in town, we should stay with her. She had the extra space, we'd have the freedom to come and go as needed, and she was close enough to both the airport and Stanford as to be convenient. What were we to do other than take her at her word??? She served us a lovely dinner upon our arrival, and our schedules revolved around each other nicely. It was the most dear thing to have what could be a quite depressing meeting with the oncologist, then come home to the encouragement and prayers of this saint. A true example of how we make our plans, then the Lord directs our steps. There have been so many examples of how we've been watched over, directed, encouraged, and blessed over and over in abundance through this. Many of you have been such an example of God at work in your lives and ours, and it has been truly a treat to watch and a necessary gift to receive. That part is a little tricky sometimes. As another friend said, "it's such a bittersweet experience-there is so much pain in it, but yet so much love being shared, so much good being done." I sometimes think it would be impossible to see the depth of Christ's love without experiencing some amount of the pain, suffering and sorrow this world brings. What would we have to compare it to? To what would we compare the joy? In what way would we measure the comfort we receive from our precious friends and family? What need would we have to be rescued and how would we know we even needed it? Who would we rely on to do it? Where would we draw our standards from if there were no God?
Thanks again for tuning in, and caring for us and our family. As for prayers, as always, we need prayer for Dr. Kenyon and the herbalist, and all those who are being involved in resolving this cancer-wisdom, grace, timing, and of course, the healing of my body quickly. For continued patience and strength for Pat and the children and I as we support one another in this. This season has been tiring and sometimes frustrating. Pray for grace to stick with a "clean diet", lots of exercise and the resolve to be faithful. For trust in our Father's plans-that His plan is perfect, that His timing is best, and that He will continue to walk us through each step of this. His guidance has been evident. Valerie got Pat and I some Ballroom Dance classes for Christmas-we attended our first one last night. Please pray my hair stays in my head, and my health (and Pat's) stays good so we can take advantage of this to play, and not be "doing cancer".
Thanks again,
Love you,
Jeanne
Quick chronology of the past months: (from Pat)
Nov. 18th
CT scans revealed the remaining three tumors in the liver were increasing in size.
Dr. K felt the chemo was no longer effective, and recommended we start a new chemo regimen in a few weeks (take a break to build Jeanne’s immune system.)
Mid-Nov to early Dec.
Began investigating the Cyberknife treatment to radiate/eliminate the tumors in the liver. The closest facility to offer this is Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
Dec. 5th - 7th
First trip to Stanford. Met with Drs. and found out that Jeanne was a good candidate for treatment. She would receive the treatment in the next month or so.
Dec. 15th - 19th
Second trip. Met liver specialist; she gave Jeanne an affirmative to get treatment. Also, gold “seeds” or markers were placed in Jeanne’s liver in anticipation of the radiation treatment.
Jan 3rd -8th
Third Stanford trip. Jan 4th, CT was performed for planning. Set a tentative plan for Cyberknife treatment on Jan 9th or 10th. On Jan 7th, the Dr. informed us the # of spots has increased to 8. This is too many to treat with the Cyberknife because it would create too much toxicity in the liver. Doctor recommended we return after chemo has reduced tumors to a smaller number again. Gold seeds stay in liver and will probably freak out our radiologist when he scans next time. They look like rays of a star when they're being scanned. HA!
I believe Valerie sent out an e-mail about my not being able to receive the CyberKnife treatment, so most of you are up on that. It is disappointing, but is certainly not a hopeless situation. On the way home we flew into Portland-through heavy clouds of course. How like this whole process...not being able to see in front of us, behind us, and just barely out of the windows! The incredible thing is that when we were flying above the clouds the sun shone brilliantly. It was a reminder of how we cannot only rely on what we see with our earthly eyes, as we don't have the entire perspective consistently. In Oregon lately it's been extremely dreary, but just above those clouds is an entirely different reality. I need to keep my mind fixed on that, and not just on a tidbit of "bad" news-it's not the whole picture.
Here are some bits of more of the "picture" I've seen...
The radiation oncologist told us that my liver lesions are still very small, which is a good thing. They've also responded to chemo very well before, and there is no reason why they won't again. There are a total of 8 lesions in the liver, and if they radiated all of those at this time, my liver would be too toxic and would not be able to tolerate chemotherapy. This would be bad-the cancer is traveling through my whole body and needs to be treated systemically. She checked with the Stanford medical oncologist who only treats breast cancer, and was told that they've been having good results with the new chemo I just began, Abraxane. They are going to do a trial with the Avastin soon (the anti-VEGF drug--see earlier blog) and I received my first dose of that, along with some Abraxane this morning. (As of 9:20 pm, no bad reactions) The radiation onc. said that sounded very good, to go for it, and if at some point I'm in a place to get just a few spots blasted, I'm welcome to come back to Stanford. I think I'd want to be on chemo at the same time maybe, to discourage the extra growth that's happened this go round. I hadn't wanted to be on a new drug while traveling and then have a potential reaction on the plane, shuttle or ???
The other positive thing, cancer-wise, is that my liver (amazingly) is in very good shape. The hepatologist and radiation onc. both agree that I should have no trouble with the chemo, etc. Good job liver! Our oncologist here is positive about this next treatment as well.
We left for California last Tuesday, had PET and CT scans on Wednesday, and attended the Stanford/OSU basketball game on Thursday. We got the news of "no CyberKnife" on Friday, and afterward went to my new all time favorite restaurant in Menlo Park (all organic-look on line for "Flea Street Cafe" or JZCool's eatery and catering service for a menu. Inspiring.) Incredible food, wonderful service, everything is prepared beautifully. Had to get her cookbook. mmmmmm.
Thursday we spoke with a Stanford dietician. She was impressed with the "diet" that I'm on, and was glad to see I'd been including L-Glutamine in the morning smoothie. It's supposed to help with the neuropathy you can get with chemo, and also protect against losing lean muscle mass. She had no recommendations, and suggested I keep eating the same way. The key thing according to her studies, is to get enough fresh fruit and vegetables (esp. veggies) whether you eat meat or not, (if you don't eat meat, be very careful to get the zinc, B-12, etc. that could be lacking, and tons of protein for dealing with cancer/chemo) and to eat things in as whole a state as possible. No white stuff. She said she'll be recommending more and more people go organic over the next couple of years. She was very nice, and like all the Stanford docs, gave us her card along with her e-mail address in case we ever have any questions. These people are incredibly accessible. And they all have PhDs that they probably got when they were 14. Lots of Lexus, BMWs, Mercedes, etc. We were trying to count how many cars we saw over 10 yrs. old. I think we got up to 2. Oh well.
Saturday we cruised along the beach, and saw about 50-70 surfers along the Santa Cruz coastline. They looked like they were going to bean one another, but everybody seemed to be able to escape injury just fine. There was an otter or something swimming along with them. Saw some redwoods, some beautiful countryside, and a lot of the inside of my eyelids. Pat drove and caught the Redskins game on the radio and relaxed a bit. Nice day before traveling home on Sunday. GREAT to see the kids again. Not used to this much time away from them.
One of our favorite things that occurred was being able to stay at a dear woman's home this visit. We had met her at a little church on our prior visit. We'd wished to attend a small quiet service and be incognito. After the service, the woman in front of us turned, asked us about ourselves, why we were in Palo Alto, etc. etc. Then she unabashedly said that the next time we were in town, we should stay with her. She had the extra space, we'd have the freedom to come and go as needed, and she was close enough to both the airport and Stanford as to be convenient. What were we to do other than take her at her word??? She served us a lovely dinner upon our arrival, and our schedules revolved around each other nicely. It was the most dear thing to have what could be a quite depressing meeting with the oncologist, then come home to the encouragement and prayers of this saint. A true example of how we make our plans, then the Lord directs our steps. There have been so many examples of how we've been watched over, directed, encouraged, and blessed over and over in abundance through this. Many of you have been such an example of God at work in your lives and ours, and it has been truly a treat to watch and a necessary gift to receive. That part is a little tricky sometimes. As another friend said, "it's such a bittersweet experience-there is so much pain in it, but yet so much love being shared, so much good being done." I sometimes think it would be impossible to see the depth of Christ's love without experiencing some amount of the pain, suffering and sorrow this world brings. What would we have to compare it to? To what would we compare the joy? In what way would we measure the comfort we receive from our precious friends and family? What need would we have to be rescued and how would we know we even needed it? Who would we rely on to do it? Where would we draw our standards from if there were no God?
Thanks again for tuning in, and caring for us and our family. As for prayers, as always, we need prayer for Dr. Kenyon and the herbalist, and all those who are being involved in resolving this cancer-wisdom, grace, timing, and of course, the healing of my body quickly. For continued patience and strength for Pat and the children and I as we support one another in this. This season has been tiring and sometimes frustrating. Pray for grace to stick with a "clean diet", lots of exercise and the resolve to be faithful. For trust in our Father's plans-that His plan is perfect, that His timing is best, and that He will continue to walk us through each step of this. His guidance has been evident. Valerie got Pat and I some Ballroom Dance classes for Christmas-we attended our first one last night. Please pray my hair stays in my head, and my health (and Pat's) stays good so we can take advantage of this to play, and not be "doing cancer".
Thanks again,
Love you,
Jeanne
Quick chronology of the past months: (from Pat)
Nov. 18th
CT scans revealed the remaining three tumors in the liver were increasing in size.
Dr. K felt the chemo was no longer effective, and recommended we start a new chemo regimen in a few weeks (take a break to build Jeanne’s immune system.)
Mid-Nov to early Dec.
Began investigating the Cyberknife treatment to radiate/eliminate the tumors in the liver. The closest facility to offer this is Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
Dec. 5th - 7th
First trip to Stanford. Met with Drs. and found out that Jeanne was a good candidate for treatment. She would receive the treatment in the next month or so.
Dec. 15th - 19th
Second trip. Met liver specialist; she gave Jeanne an affirmative to get treatment. Also, gold “seeds” or markers were placed in Jeanne’s liver in anticipation of the radiation treatment.
Jan 3rd -8th
Third Stanford trip. Jan 4th, CT was performed for planning. Set a tentative plan for Cyberknife treatment on Jan 9th or 10th. On Jan 7th, the Dr. informed us the # of spots has increased to 8. This is too many to treat with the Cyberknife because it would create too much toxicity in the liver. Doctor recommended we return after chemo has reduced tumors to a smaller number again. Gold seeds stay in liver and will probably freak out our radiologist when he scans next time. They look like rays of a star when they're being scanned. HA!