Third Chemo Postponed.....

This past week has been great. Mom's been eating, resting, and feeling full of energy. YEAH!!!!
Since she's been feeling so well, she was able to join her small bible study group on Thursday and spent the weekend catching up with family.
Thank you for your prayers!!!!

On Monday, my aunt took mom to have her third chemo treatment. However, after her lab work came back, the doctor decided to postpone her chemo treatment. Mom had a low white blood cell count and platelet count. It was nothing to worry about, but it was too low for her to get the chemo treatment. The doctor said that she might need to have two weeks of chemo and then one week off. So, she rescheduled this appointment for next Monday.

While mom was at her appointment, she did talk with her doctor about her legs. Mom had noticed that her legs were feeling a little swollen and uncomfortable. The doctor went ahead and had mom go to Community East to get an ultrasound done to make sure there wasn't any blood clots or anything else of concern. Thankfully the doctor did not find anything.

My dad is planning to take a few vacation days this week to spend time with mom and to take her to her appointment on Monday. She is so excited to have this week off of chemo and hopes that she continues to feel great.

Second chemo treatment....

Today mom had her second chemo treatment. Mom was able to enjoy time with my aunt and a book on CD during her chemo. She also ate a pretty big lunch. :) Mom did end up losing two pounds since last Monday; however, we feel this was mainly due to the acid reflux. The doctor suggested that she continue to use the Pepcid AC. The Pepcid AC really worked for mom last week, so we're hoping it continues this week. After her treatment, she went home to rest.

Please pray that mom is able to get plenty of rest this week and that she'll be able to eat. :)

Port check-up.....

Mom went to have her port checked on Friday at Community North. The doctor told her that everything looked fine and that she was healing well from her port surgery.

After that appointment, mom decided to stop by the cancer center to ask about some other options to control her acid reflux. The gas that she'd been having did get a little better; however, the acid reflux was worse. She did have a lot of trouble eating anything on Thursday and Friday. The doctor gave her a prescription for the acid reflux, but did suggest trying Pepcid AC first. Thankfully the Pepcid AC has been working. Mom has felt great since she started taking the Pepcid AC. She's been able to eat without worry. Yesterday she even got to get some ice cream at Dairy Queen. :)

On another note, mom had a surprising phone call from her pastor yesterday. Last Wednesday, mom and I met with her pastor to talk about her journey with God. I can say that this was a part of God's timing, because he asked to share some of her story during his Sunday message. Wow, huh?

Today, we went to hear his message. He was speaking about the what the kids at their VBS had been learning about God. The big message was about how we are to not fear, for God is always with us. They learned this through the story of how God used Moses to save the Israelites from their captivity under Pharaoh. He also relayed how God is with us during all our "plagues" or challenges in life and how each one gives God an opportunity to show himself to us and bring us closer to him.

After the service, we were able to enjoy a wonderful breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Mom was excited to eat eggs and bacon. She's planning to on eating more later today and finishing the night with ice cream again. :)

For our family, we believe that this cancer is another opportunity for us to share what God is doing. We have been encouraged that mom's journey is already being used to spur others on. We pray that we will continue to be aware of what God is doing in our lives and the lives of those around us.

After Chemo....

Mom's first two days after chemo having been going well. She has been very tired and resting a lot. Thankfully, she hasn't had any nausea from the chemo; however, she has been experiencing a lot of gas and acid reflux. Last night was the worst of it. She was very uncomfortable and unable to eat anything. Mom did contact her doctor and he recommended trying some Maalox. After taking some, she did begin to feel better. We are hopeful that the Maalox will continue to alleviate her discomfort.

Today, we were able to get out of the house for a little bit. We went to her work to pick up a few items and she was able to catch up with those there. We enjoyed all the laughs and hugs. From there, we went to visit her pastor. We appreciated the time to share our story with him and receive prayers for my mom and family.

First Chemo Treatment

At 9:00 this morning, we arrived at the Cancer Center at Community North. Mom got checked in and got taken back to the area where she'd receive her chemo treatments. We thought she might be in a private room, but instead she was center stage in a large room with a few other patients. We were put in an area right across from the nurse's station. We were told this was the best location to keep a close watch on first time chemo patients.

Our amazing nurse for the day was named Beth. She began by outlining our day in detail and then got to work. First, Beth accessed mom's port. The power port she has is awesome. It took the nurse less than 30 seconds to get it in. Mom is so happy to have it!!

Once the port was accessed, the nurse took blood for labs, hooked up an IV, and then the first hour wait began. Her labs came back fine. Beth went through all of the blood work results with us and really helped us know what they are looking for. Then, mom's oncologist came to check in with us about the chemo medications and gave the go ahead.

The nurse then filled mom up with some anti-nausea meds before the actual chemo treatments began. Those meds made her a little sleepy, so she dozed some throughout receiving her chemo medications. The chemo medications were given over the course of two hours. Once those were done, we were cleared to go home around 3:30. It was a long day!!!

Overall, everything went really well today. We have continued to be blessed by outstanding nurses and doctors. Mom's plan for the remainder of the day is to rest, monitor her temperature, and to drink plenty of fluids.

Her next chemo treatment is scheduled for next Monday and will last about the same amount of time.

Note from Sue....
Thank you all for your heartfelt prayers. You are a wonderful family!!! I love you all!!!

Chemo Teach.....

Yesterday our entire family went to hear all about mom's upcoming chemo treatments. We spent about an hour hearing the lifestyle changes that mom needs to make and the good/bad of chemo. Here's the break down:

Lifestyle Changes....

1. New toothbrush every 3 months and gargling with mouthwash twice a day. Chemo patients can often develop mouth sores, so she needs to be very diligent in taking care of her mouth.
2. Nutritional diet. Mom needs to start eating more organic foods and working on keeping a stable weight. This seems very challenging, since she already doesn't have much of an appetite right now. This does change from day to day. When she is craving something, we get it for her. Last week it was Dairy Queen and strawberries. :)
3. Eating with plastic ware. Apparently the chemo makes metal taste very bad in one's mouth and can prevent someone from eating, so she's going to start caring her plastic ware with her.
   

Good/Bad of Chemo.....

Bad:

• Hair loss
  
• Loss of appetite
• Increased fatigue
• Decreased immune system
• Leaves a poor taste in one's mouth
• Nausea....but hopefully not with the anti-nausea medicine they prescribed
• Can attack good cells....like hair and red/white blood cells
  

Good:

• Attacks the cancer cells

Rough list, huh? Does anyone else hate lists that aren't equal? I know I'm one of those people.

I really want there to be more good on that list for my mom. Now I know that the main thing is that the cancer cells are about to get the stuff kicked out of them, but I want to know that she'll have more. That's the human side of me I guess. We all want the the biggest bang for the buck.

Yet after thinking about this more, I've realized that mom has already received so much in the last two weeks. The overwhelming number of phone calls, cards, emails, and more have been showering her with love. Jesus came to show us how to love. He even gave us that command in John 13:34..... Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

It's been so amazing to see God's word coming to life through those that love my mom and family. Thank you!!!

I know many have asked how you can pray or how you can help. Here are some ideas below. I will continue to offer ideas regularly.

1. Prayer for my mom and family as she begins her chemo treatments. They begin on July 13 at 9:00.
   
2. Prayer for completing the paperwork for my mom to stay off work. We have all the forms now, so we just need to get them all filled out.
   
3. I know some have offered to help with meals, but since mom's appetite is not predictable and we are trying to get her what she craves. Gift cards to restaurants that offer carry out, to Trader Joe's, or to Whole Foods would be awesome!!! Some restaurants ideas are Crackle Barrel, Bob Evan's, McAlister's Deli, Panera, Subway, Arby's, and Olive Garden.
   

One last procedure before chemo...

Today Mom had an upper GI and a colonoscopy done at the same time. Not fun!! Her oncologist wanted to have her do both just to rule out any other possible primary locations of cancer. The doctor performing the procedure today did not find anything abnormal in her colon. He felt that everything looked fine. He did note that she had some inflammation in her stomach, so he went ahead and did a biopsy of it. I believe he said it might just be some kind of bacteria. Our oncologist should have those results once we see him again on Monday.

We were so glad to have this last procedure completed. Mom was very tried today. She's been going....going....and going to so many appointments over the past two weeks. Tomorrow there is nothing scheduled, so she's planning to sleep and rest.

One huge blessing over the course of these appointments is that we've had excellent doctors and nurses. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful they've all been with my mom. Even today one of the nurses shared about how God's been working in her life. She talked about how there were days she didn't want to get out of bed, because it just seemed easier to avoid everything. As we left she reminded us to stay joyful no matter what. I'm so thankful for that because God reminded me of the scripture below through her.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

How awesome is that?

Note from Sue:
I love you all and appreciate all your prayers.

Getting a port....

Today mom had a port put in on the right side of her chest at 8:00 this morning. The procedure only took about 1 hour. Everything went well and she was able to leave the hospital after about 20 minutes in recovery.

Getting this port is a huge blessing, because mom's veins haven't been very willing to be found. With all of the procedures and blood needing to be withdrawn, she's been stuck a ton. With the port, doctors and nurses will now be able to draw blood and administer medicine through it. The port will specifically be used during her chemo treatments that will begin on Monday.

The beginning....

Our journey first began two weeks ago with a trip to the ER at Community North. My mom, Sue, was given a blood test and CT scan. The CT scan showed lesions on her liver and lungs. With these results, we were then sent to the Cancer Center at Community North to see an oncologist. The oncologist confirmed our fears that she did in fact have cancer. In order to determine the primary location of the cancer, she needed to complete a variety of tests. Her liver biopsy was the one that identified the form of cancer that she has.

She was diagnosed with metastatic biliary tract cancer on July 6, 2009.

Now that we know her diagnosis, the doctors are now beginning to take steps towards developing a treatment regimen for her.

Our entire family wants to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and support as we begin this journey. I will be writing updates often to let you know how my mom is doing, how you can help, and how you can pray for us.

We believe that God was with us at the beginning of this journey, is with us now, and will be with us as we take steps forward. Here is a scripture reference that has helped us get a perspective.

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior (Isaiah 43:2-3)