My Heart is Full

This post is to thank all my very dear family and friends. Without all of your prayers,love, concern and support I couldn't have gotten through this past year; I truly mean that. I have never felt so much love in my life. My heart feels so full of love for EACH one of you. I am now three weeks out of treatments and I'm so glad that the year is behind me and I can get back into life again. I still have some effects of the chemotherapy; blisters on my face, infected fingernails and weird hair. I am caught off guard when I see people do a double take when they see me, then I remember how I look and just smile. Kellie said, "Mom, you should be proud of your battle wounds". Well, I'm not proud but I am sure glad that the cancer is gone.
I have learned a lot this past year. The most important being that I really do know that I am a child of God. The lyrics of a song ring so true to me:
"Right now I have a prayer deep within my heart
A prayer for each of you there is a special part
That you remember who you are and He who lives above
Please seek for Him and live his way
You'll feel his love
Walk tall, you're a daughter, a child of God
Be strong and remember who you are
Try to understand, you're part of his great plan
He's closer than you know, Reach up; He'll take your hand
This life on earth we knew would not be easy
At times we lose our way his path we may not see
But remember always that you are not alone
He'll take your hand He loves you He will guide you home"
Those words are very special to me.
I also can't express to all of you how dear Ron is. I love him so much. I couldn't have fought this battle had he not been my general.
My family is incredible, this includes my dear children, my twin, my sisters and brothers and sweet in-laws.
I have friends that are the best in the world, thank you for your encouragement and love.
I don't want to take any more of your time but thank you all so much. I love you, I love life, and now I CAN go and LIVE UP THE HOLIDAYS with a very thankful heart.
Jan

THE END!

Mom did it! She stayed strong and courageous throughout this year-long journey, and she had her last chemotherapy treatment today! It has been an emotional day for her. Doctors, needles, and sickness have filled her days this year, so it feels kind of surreal to know that this has really come to an end. She feels a little bit of anxiety and emotion over what the future holds. I think that she'll be shocked when, in a month or two, she starts to remember again what it feels like to be healthy. Here are some pictures of her last treatment at the cancer center and some of the staff that have helped her through this battle.

The chair that mom hangs out in all day while getting her chemotherapy.

Mom's right arm through this whole ordeal. Dad is a rock!

One of mom's nurses.

Blowing bubbles to celebrate the end!

COPING

Mom is cruising through this last treatment pretty darn smoothly. We can't believe that she only has 10 days left until she'll be free from chemotherapy treatments. We're wondering, though, if she'll have to seek other forms of treatment. She has turned to not-so-healthy habits to cope. ;)

1 MORE DOWN, 1 TO GO!

Mom had her second-to-last chemotherapy treatment yesterday, and she's still hanging on and being strong. It is all starting to seem surreal that almost 10 months ago she was re-diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. We really had no idea what the year was going to be like, but we were worried that our days with mom would possibly be limited. Every statistic out there for stage 4 cancer isn't very optimistic, but mom has shown ideal responses to all of the latest chemo treatments currently available. Her body has taken on a huge job fighting this ugly cancer, and the whole family feels so grateful that we still get to share more time with her.

Her blood platelet count is already starting to improve and we're hopeful that she'll have some energy back for the holidays. We can't say enough for the level of support that she (and our whole family) has received throughout this year. Every day the mailbox has been full of cheer from amazingly devoted friends and family who have shared inspiration, thoughts, love, and humor. I think mom's arsenal of jokes from Uncle Bill and Aunt Candy alone is enough to last for many years! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone. These last few years have been extremely trying for the entire Roberts family, but I think we can happily say that we are experiencing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Now, stay strong for 3 more weeks mom, and we'll celebrate with a little Thanksgiving!

TRUDGING THROUGH

Mom seems to get better and better at faking and/or forgetting her sickness. The other day she said she felt kind of tired, but wasn't sure why. KC reminded her that it might be due to the chemotherapy pump currently connected to her body. She replied, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"

Again, we asked her at Sunday dinner how she was doing, and she replied that she was faking really good for us! She seems to be getting healthier and healthier with each successive treatment, and it's truly mind-boggling! I know she's totally sick of this cancer (and definitely still sick inside), but I think she already feels a little bit finished with it all. We can definitely see the light at the end of this long, long tunnel!

Her hair is pretty goofy, we can all admit with a smile; but we're starting to see some cute, chick fuzz growing out from underneath some wiry, gray, old hair. That's a good sign!

10 WHOLE TREATMENTS DONE!!!

It's hard to believe that mom has only 2 treatments left! She went in today for treatment #10. Her blood platelet count is still low, but they expect it to be a long time before her numbers are up again. She received all of the usual chemotherapy treatments today, so her weekend will include a trip to the doctor's to remove the pump on Saturday, and a trip to the doctor's again on Sunday for her neulasta shot. Fun stuff! We're just grateful that she had such a great week last week while Jordon and his friend were in town. We celebrated the Fall season and the Balloon Fiesta with mom in full presence. She's pretty awesome!

TOUGHY

Mom is sure a toughy! After getting her neulasta shot on Sunday morning, she was down, but not violently ill like she has been the past few times. She is learning little tricks along the way to help her body stay calm and less nauseous. She has had a pretty good week so far, feeling less sick but still pretty tired. Her attitude is strong and positive as usual. Only 6 weeks left!!! Yahoo!

3 MORE LEFT!

Mom went in again today and got filled up with chemo. She has been sick all week long with a nasty head cold (she had it before Houston, but it held off a little until she got back), but apparently she was well enough to receive treatment. They had to put a mask on her and put her in an isolation room so that she didn't contaminate anybody else at the clinic. It was nice to have a private room, but I think it would make one feel like an Untouchable, too! It has been a quarantined, mellow, not-so-fun week for mom, but hopefully this cold will dissipate soon. Jordon will be in town on Thursday to inject some fresh air and liveliness in Albuquerque. Hopefully, mom will make a superhero comeback before then! She is quite a trooper!

WAIT...

You REALLY think that Mom and Dad were in Houston just for cancer? Dad had other ideas...

RESULTS

All of the results from the testing are in and all of the interviews are over. Mom is in good hands and everything was very positive. Her thyroid is enlarged, but they're going to keep an eye on it. Knowing that thyroid issues are in the family genes, and finding that mom's TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels are off, they're going to put her on thyroid medication and see if it helps with some of her symptoms. They will continue to monitor the thyroid every 4 months. Her liver was totally clean, and everything else visible from the CT Scan came out clear! Yahoo! She is going to discontinue the chemotherapy drug that has been causing her blood platelet count to decline so dramatically, but she will continue on with her 4 remaining chemotherapy treatments over the next 8 weeks.

She is due back in Houston in January for follow-up appointments, and she will do so every 4 months for some time. They'll eventually move to 6 month intervals, and so on, for MANY YEARS (take that, Cancer!). I think that we'll just see this as a great excuse to visit the grandkids 3 times a year! :)

We're so excited that everything looks good. Mom will feel like a new woman in a few months!

HOUSTON UPDATE

Mom just got out of a full day of testing. She's glad it's over! She had to do another scan that involved drinking lots of barium. I will spare everyone the nasty details, but it was really gross, and she ended up having to drink an extra 10 oz. of the stuff. She said it's like drinking an atomic bomb.

She also had a biopsy on her thyroid. They noticed the swollen left nodule on her thyroid quite a while ago, but didn't want to focus on it until after all of this other liver stuff was taken care of. The biospy report so far is inconclusive. They'll meet with the endocrinologist tomorrow and find out if he has any more knowledge of whether it's cancerous or not, and if they'll need to do surgery or just watch it.

She's wiped out and can't lift a thing or bend over. The doctors want to make sure that her neck isn't strained at all after the biopsy. She'll be sleeping the rest of the evening, I'm sure.

JUST BECAUSE

I know that it's nice to SEE how people are doing. Although she was still feeling puny tonight, there is still a twinkle in her eye. We are really enjoying the crisp autumn air. Dad even got the fire going in the courtyard tonight. HEAVEN!

NEULASTA SHOT

Mom had her usual Neulasta shot this morning to help boost her white blood cell count. This time, though, she really felt the pain and was really sick afterward. After working through lots of pain, she fell asleep and napped all afternoon. We're now realizing (after all of these months) that the chemo definitely makes her sick, but the neulasta shot seems to do the real trick in causing the wrenching pain. She'll be much better after a day or two, I'm sure. Just in time to fly to Houston.

MOM'S LATEST CHEMO TREATMENT

Mom had another chemotherapy treatment today. Her blood platelet count was low enough that they normally don't continue treatment, but mom DOES NOT want to drag this out any longer! She wants to be DONE by the time Thanksgiving rolls around so that she can be with her family (yes, this does make me a little bit nervous). They ended up deciding to continue the treatment, but they decreased by 25% the particular brand of chemotherapy that causes low blood platelet counts. She's now getting half of the original dosage for that chemo and a full treatment with all of the others. She feels good and perky tonight, but she will probably be really sick in the next day or two. She'll probably stay sick into next week.

She and my dad are flying to Houston on Wednesday to meet with their oncologist, Dr. Kopetz. He'll do an analysis of her treatments as well as run lots of not-so-fun tests (mom will, once again, drink lots of nasty barium). A nice bonus is that Zia is celebrating her 2nd birthday while they're there!

She is now down to having only 4 more treatments (that's about 8 weeks if she doesn't have to take a break). Hang in there Mom...and don't you DARE pick up a knife, razor, letter opener, or get into a car accident! We can't have bleeding!

ANOTHER ONE OUT OF THE WAY!

This last week was definitely mom's bad chemo week, but she weathered it well. She was down and really sick from Friday - Tuesday, but she was up a running pretty well by Wednesday. She's a trooper and seems to get stronger and braver with every treatment. It baffles me. We had Brooklyn and Xochi in town for the weekend, which brought some fun, new life into the home. When mom was up and feeling okay, she got to be on the receiving end of Xochi's limitless supply of smiles. We're grateful to start a new week, chemo-free and hope that mom's platelet and other blood levels are high enough to continue to check off the number of treatments remaining.

DONE WITH #3! 5 MORE TO GO!

Mom's chemo treatment went well today. All of the levels measured through her blood draw were okay except her platelet count. Because her platelets were low, they chose to continue her treatment at a 25% reduction (except for the erbatux, which was a full dose). She's hooked up to the pump right now and everything else is the same, just less of it.

It was interesting to learn that there is a very definite culture in a cancer clinic. When I asked mom if she wore her new wig, she told me that it wouldn't be appropriate. When in a cancer setting, you are who you are. Mom and dad shared what a clinic is like, who you talk to and who you don't. It's almost as if words aren't necessary because everybody knows where you're at. There is always a good-bye and good luck as each patient leaves, though. All of the little mannerisms there are intriguing and I think a book needs to be written: The Culture of Cancer. Mom and dad both agreed that it is quite interesting.

Anyway, enough of that. Mom is doing great tonight and will hopefully cruise through this without too much weakening.

DAY EARLY

For some reason, mom's schedule has moved up a day. She is heading into the doctor's office tomorrow for blood work and chemo treatments. She knows she's "going down" for the rest of week (as she put it this afternoon). Hopefully her body's elasticity keeps up with these harsh treatments, and she'll be up and running again in a week. Her erbatux is really kicking in. The acne on her face and cracking skin and nails are pretty painful for her. She does make-up so well that we don't see it very often, but it looked painful today. She's feeling good and happy, though, so hopefully she can stay strong for the next week. Brooke is coming with Evangeline on Saturday and will spend some of mom's sickest days with her, which will be nice when mom's awake.

PATTERNS

We're definitely noticing patterns in mom's new course of treatment. She'll have about 5 really bad days after chemo, then she'll gradually perk up to feeling pretty darn good. She felt great over the weekend and managed to get out of the house for some errands and to attend church for 2 hours! We're excited to have another normal week before chemo starts again this Thursday.

IMPROVING

Mom is worried that this blog is going to make people sick of her, but I assured her that people do voluntarily read what's going on with her health. :) She looks much better today and feels a little bit better, too. She still gets little sleep and her appetite is pretty nonexistent, but she must be getting enough of both to be on the mend. We're so thankful that she has 2 weeks between these treatments!

ROUGH

The chemo is in full swing and it's not fun. Mom has been flat-out, wiped-out, sick and tired for the last 2 days. She had her neulasta shot (to boost her white blood cell count) this morning, but has slept almost all other hours of the day. We woke her up after a few hours of sleep, squeaked in a little Sunday dinner, then she was ready to get back in bed. I really hope that she bounces back after a few days, but this time is definitely rough.

WIG

Mom's hair has continued to thin and thin and thin. Her scalp was showing so much that she decided a wig was in order. Here it is:


Okay, Okay! Here it is on mom:

ROUND #2 DONE!

Mom had chemo round #2 today and is doing well so far. She spent the day at the doctor's office and will probably rest/sleep for the rest of the evening. Dad said that her platelet count was fairly low, but high enough to continue with chemo. Hopefully, her neulasta shot on Sunday will help with that. She went into it strong. She walked 2 miles on Tuesday and was eating pretty much anything she wanted without side-effects (including coconut cream birthday pie). :) We hope that she has a good recovery again over the next 2 weeks. GO MOM!

60

Today will be (and always is) a good day! It's mom's 60th birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I feel so lucky to have her as a mother. She's kind, patient, loving, thoughtful, funny, optimistic, energetic, extremely unselfish, and caring. Mom has had a horrendous last year or more, and she has endured with courage and optimism. She always has room in heart to love people, even if they don't deserved to be loved (in my book). I am amazed at her resiliency, and I have decided that she's made of half steel. I don't know how many needles and doctors she has encountered over the last year, but she always seems to have energy reserves to do it over and over and over. She doesn't complain. The other day I saw that she had over a dozen huge blisters in her mouth, and she had not whined or complained about it ONE BIT! She's an incredible person and we're lucky to have her example.

DONE WITH #1

Mom is unhooked from the chemo bag, has had her neulasta shot, and is now in full-blown chemotherapy fun. She did go to sacrament meeting this morning, but barely made it through. She's definitely feeling puny and tired, but she's happy. She slept most of the afternoon and ate Sunday dinner with us. She said that she's already nauseous and has lost her appetite, but she forced a good amount of food down. The side-effects have definitely taken root faster than we anticipated. Hopefully, she'll be able to get good rest and keep food down well enough to gain strength and energy over the next 2 weeks.

ONE TREATMENT DOWN!

Mom and dad just got home from spending the day at the doctor's office. She did well and she's in good spirits. She went in to this with quite a bit of strength. She was walking 2 miles each night by last week, so her body is ready for a fight!

We were excited to find out that they can combine her erbatux treatment (the one every other week in-between the heavy duty treatments) with her heavy duty treatments. What that means is that she doesn't have to go to the doctor's office every single week. Instead, her extra erbatux will be given along with all of the other chemotherapy drugs every other week. So, she'll go in on Thursdays for her chemotherapy, come home with her chemo pump to administer the rest for 48 hours, get the pump removed on Saturday, then receive a neulasta shot every Sunday (neulasta boosts her white blood cell count). She will then have almost two weeks to recover before visiting the doctor again. It will be psychologically and emotionally easier to be away from the doctor's office. Although the nursing staff has been great, one of them told her yesterday, "You and one other guy are the only ones still alive who had this kind of cancer!" She was trying to be optimistic, but I think that's enough to freak anybody out! Luckily, they read a memo faxed to the doctor here in ABQ from Dr. Abdalla in Houston. The memo said that he thinks her 5 year prognosis is excellent. Thank heaven for Dr. Abdalla! We just hope that mom stays strong and continues to respond as well to the chemo as she did prior to the surgery. We're optimistic and have no reason to be anything but!

HERE WE GO!

We have been so grateful to have 3 weeks of bliss with mom feeling healthy and strong before starting the toughest fight with her battle so far.

She went to the doctor today to do all of the blood prep work to start chemo tomorrow. Tomorrow's the big day! She'll have chemo treatments once week for the next 15 weeks. If all goes well, and she doesn't need to take some breaks to regain health and strength; she will finish this crazy year on November 15th! We certainly hope that all goes well, and that we can celebrate the holidays with a cancer-free mom. Thanks to everyone for their continued fasting, prayers, notes, and love. The support has been sustaining for us all!

AWESOME NORMALCY

We are absolutely eating up this time with mom. Her recovery continues to go well and life seems pretty normal again. She can eat most foods without harsh side-effects, and her energy level is high. She has been able to drive and get out of the house. As long as she doesn't eat beforehand, she can go to church for one hour too, which is always uplifting. Life is good and we'll savour this time with mom before chemo goes into full swing again.

MOM'S NEW REGIMEN

It's a doozy! We found out that the weeks when she had erbatux didn't count toward the magical number of 12 rounds. That means that she has really only had 4 rounds of chemo. She has 8 left (with erbatux each week in between). That totals 15 more weeks of chemotherapy treatments. Phew. She will start on August 5th or 6th and she won't finish until November 15th. We're all in shock right now, trying to process it, but we do know that we just have to take one day at a time. Mom will do what she can, and if she has to take a break and get strength back, so be it. We'll just hang in there.

MOM'S NEW DO

After all of these years of trying to convince mom that she would look gorgeous with short hair, she finally took the plunge! Her hair has been falling out in clumps ever since she started chemo, but she has been hesitant to cut it. After looking at some cute magazine pictures of short haircuts, she decided that it would be psychologically therapeutic to have short hair. We went down to Robert's salon this morning, and he did his thing. He has been mom's stylist for years and years, and he was so good to her. He reminded her that it didn't matter what she did with her hair, she'll always be beautiful. I agree...but I also think her hair looks awesome!Robert also told her that if she was ever feeling too weak to come down to the salon, he would come to her house and cut it. He's a good man!

PHYSICALLY STRONG, MENTALLY SAGGING

Mom is getting stronger and stronger physically. She has been keeping food down for the past few days, and it's awesome! We think that part of the culprit is the amount of dairy she consumes. It must come in small doses. I'm sure there are other factors, but that is definitely one of them. Mom has been strong enough to get out of the house with me a few times. We made it to Target, Smith's, and even Marshall's this afternoon and found some non-saggy bum pants. After losing close to 20 pounds, it was time to do away with the elephant bum pants!

Mom thinks that she's at a point where her courage is feeling a bit depleted. She has held up and been so strong since her diagnosis in February, and now that the big surgery is over, she has felt a big mental and emotional release. She had to go to the oncologist yesterday, and just walking in the door made her physically sick. It was just a simple, follow-up appointment, but it was enough to conjure up a lot of anxiety. I don't think it helped that her oncologist at MD Anderson is thinking that mom might need 8 more treatments, instead of 5. That would put mom at finishing treatments in November! We'll see what they decide over the next little while, but for now, she's supposed to start up chemo again August 6th.

STILL HANGING IN THERE

The long break in posts is a good sign. It only means that mom is just hanging in there, making her recovery back to health and strength. As time goes on, she feels less tired and less pain. She has to stay close to home, though. Her digestive system is always on the fritz, but we're hoping that as her body heals and adjusts to life with fewer painkillers, things will normalize. She still does her nightly stroll around the block to get healthy and feel alive. Life is slow and mellow as we let mom's body do its healing thing.

EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT

Yesterday was a great day. Mom got plenty of rest and felt energized when she was awake. It almost felt like a normal day. Today has been more challenging. She's feeling weak and tired today and food has decided to give her a few challenges again. We've been trying to keep it simple and healthy, but for some reason, her body likes to surprise her. We'll just continue to experiment with good, wholesome food (I guess we won't go to Pop Pop's for Italian Ice again) and pray that it sticks. Mom has a really good internal radar as to what will probably sit with her. She only has to take one bite and she usually knows. The last two days, we've been more mystified as to the source of it not being settled. Luckily, she's still eating enough that we're not too worried, but it sure would be great if all food would just agree with her. She is getting around well, though. She was able to walk a lap around the neighborhood with dad last night (1/2 mile). I think that's pretty impressive!

I wanted to include this picture of Dr. Abdalla, her liver surgeon. When she told him that she needed a picture with the doctor who saved her life, he replied, "I didn't save your life! God did. I just took out a tumor!"

I DON'T WANT REPLACE THE LAST POST

The news that we received from the doctor on Friday was sooooo good that I just don't want to replace it, but time does go on and mom does have updates.

She is home in the good ol' Duke City now and so thrilled to be in her comfy house. We're grateful for Aunt Donna and Aunt Jane's injection of emotional encouragement while they were there. She raved and raved about Emily's butternut squash tostadas and Mott's apple juice bars. Mom and dad were well cared for the last couple of days, and we're grateful that Dane and Emily live down there. I'm still in shock that they moved there last summer. It all seems so divinely orchestrated.

Anyway, mom looks great and seems to be doing well. She still seems pretty weak, but we don't really expect her to be doing jumping jacks anytime soon. She'll be getting lots of rest for the next little while. She's supposed to eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day, keeping a continuous intake of healthy calories. So that's our new goal: naps and nutrition.

GOOD NEWS

Mom and dad visited Dr. Abdallah's office this morning and got a great report. The doctor told them that the liver tumor was 90% dead after the chemo had done its work, and he only had to take about 4-5% of her liver. I asked my mom about 3 times to make sure that I was hearing her correctly, and she's pretty sure that's what the doctor told them. Absolutely crazy! He took some perimeter tissue where the tumor was, and the pathology report on that was 100% clean. He said that mom has responded to everything about as ideally as possible, and he feels like she has a really good prognosis. I think it goes without saying that she's in a really good mood today! :)

Mom and dad are flying home on Monday. She is on a plan to gradually wean from the pain medication, and she'll be able to drive once she's off it. Hopefully that will be within a week or so. She will start her chemo in about a month. Because it is recommended to do 12 rounds of chemo, and she has already completed 7, she will have 5 more rounds of chemo once she begins again.

Wow, we're so grateful for the great care, love, and support that has carried her through this crazy ordeal. While we're at, we're also grateful that dad's cousin, Coach Dave Rose, also received a great report from his pancreatic cancer. There is a lot to be thankful for, indeed.

NOT MUCH TO REPORT

Mom is doing fine. She was really tired today and just needed to get a lot of rest. Dane and Emily have spent most of the day with her, and dad gets there late tonight. We'll see what the doctor says about her progress tomorrow.

SHE'S OUT

Mom took a shower, got dressed, put on some makeup, took a chest x-ray, and convinced the doctors that she was good enough to leave the hospital today. She is staying at the Rotary House (a hospitalish hotel connected to MD Anderson) until tomorrow. She'll then be with Emily and Dane at their house for the remainder of her stay in Houston. Dad gets back in Houston Thursday night. He'll be able to go to her follow-up appointment with Dr. Abdallah, the surgeon. She was ECSTATIC to be out of the hospital and reassured me that she really is good enough to be out (dad reassures me that the doctors have the final say, and they wouldn't let her out if the indicators/tests didn't show that). She is still eating and keeping things down and breathing on her own. Everything seems to be good.

I had to share this quote from a famous doctor who discovered her cancer while isolated in Antarctica. She ended up treating herself for a long time:

"I would rather not have it. But the cancer is part of me. It's given my life color and texture. Everyone has to get something. Some people are ugly, some people are stupid. I get cancer..."

Mom has definitely experienced color and texture!

PROGRESS

After a rough night last night, mom made a lot of progress today. She was able to eat and go without oxygen. She still has one drain tube, but we'll see how soon that will come out. My information is now third hand (it's not easy for me to have dad gone), so I have to be careful that I get the information correct. Supposedly, she can check out and still have the tubes. They can teach her how to care for them, but we'll get the whole scoop tomorrow. Mom has talked to dad and left some happy, optimistic messages, so I think she's doing much better today and tonight. Hopefully, she'll stay on that course through the night and into tomorrow.

LITTLE BY LITTLE

Mom is hanging in there. It was a big day yesterday, with many milestones, but there are still obstacles to overcome. She tried to take her painkillers this morning and needed to eat some food with them. The food didn't want to stay down! I'm sure that didn't help the pain at all. She is required to be off of all tubes and I.V.s, go to the bathroom, and keep food down for 24 hours before being released. She still has the drain tubes in and can't seem to keep everything down. She has been on oxygen all day today, too. The doctors will probably remove the drain tubes tomorrow, but time will only tell when she'll be able to keep food down. Hopefully, she'll make some progress in the food and oxygen category over the next 24 hours.

Aunt Jane and Aunt Donna got there today, and hopefully they can keep mom on the right track. Dad flies home tonight and will be here in Albuquerque for 3 days before going back. Aunt Jane and Aunt Donna will be there until Thursday. Dane and Emily have been awesome to be there whenever help is needed, and I'm sure they'll jump in where any gaps in time might be.

Although this surgery has been absolutely horrendous, and far more intense than her colon surgery, I'm willing to bet that she's in good spirits today after seeing two of her sisters. She still needs a lot of rest and major TLC, though.

Eventful Day

I think that mom and dad both had a great Father's Day. Mom was taken off her epidural (her right midsection has been numbed this whole time). She was taken off I.V. painkillers. They removed the catheter. Her temperature has been good. She's sleeping well. She walked 3 times today. Her fluid drainage levels have dropped. She's doing well! Of course, she's in a lot more pain now, but they have oral painkillers now to keep that somewhat under control. Her oxygen level is still fluctuating, but she's doing a lot better. She's showing all of the signs of progress, so we're all happy. Emily and Dane brought them a Father's Day dinner, complete with beef stroganoff and ice cream. Mom even got to enjoy a little bit of the ice cream!

I did get to talk to her last night and she sounded just like her happy self again. It was really good to hear her happy and alert. I'm sure she's happy to be disconnected from so many tubes and needles and feel human again.

I must give a big shout out to dad on Father's Day. He has been a rock through this whole ordeal. I'm sure he's a huge peace for my mom. He hasn't left the hospital this whole time and wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so grateful for his dedication and love for his wife and family. We're so lucky to have him.

STILL RECOVERING, BUT DOING WELL

Mom is still recovering, but making good progress. She's still draining a lot of fluids, but now she has the drain tubes to do it correctly. This has eased the pressure and she's breathing a little bit better. She's still in a lot of pain and breathing is still difficult, but it isn't as bad. The doctors think that she'll still feel a lot of pain until Monday. She has been able to get up and walk around a little bit. She's a tough cookie and hanging in there.

IN RECOVERY...AGAIN

Mom's procedure is now over and they have put the drainage tubes in. Dad said that she is in recovery and feeling better. They took 600 cc (approx. 20 oz.) of fluids from the chest area and 50 from the liver cavity. Hopefully, this will ease the pain and help her breath better once again.

A MINOR SETBACK

Mom was doing well and has been taking her 3 laps around the halls of the hospital, but she has suffered a minor setback. The doctors assure us that it's minor. She has been having a hard time getting her breath. She had a fever that was up to 103 at times, and she was feeling quite a bit of pain. Because of the pain, difficult breathing, and high temperature, the doctors said that these were all indications of fluid being in places that it shouldn't be. She had to drink 2 cups of barium for breakfast (after not eating anything really since surgery. yuck.) and get another CT scan and chest x-ray. This definitely caused some nausea (even with the help of medication) and throwing up (this is not fun with sutures and healing). They found drainage fluid from her scar tissue under her right lung in the diaphragm and also below her diaphragm in the liver cavity, with leakage from her bile duct. They have to go back in and put a drain above the diaphragm and below the diaphragm. They will have to keep the drain in for another week. This should allow her to heal and get her lung capacity back and prevent infection. Apparently, this is somewhat common. They usually don't have to put drains in young and/or healthy individuals and they felt that mom fit in those categories. Dad said that mom was really discouraged this morning, but she's happier to know what the problem is so that she can start breathing better. Her surgery will be within the next couple of hours. It is more of a local anesthetic, so she won't be completely under, but enough to be comfortable for the procedure.

RECOVERING WELL

Mom is still recovering from surgery today. All is well, and there's nothing too major to report. All of her vital signs are still good, and we're hoping that the dopey drugs start to wear off more and more so that she can start to walk. Dad says that the care from the nursing staff has been phenomenal, and they're grateful to be there. Thanks for all of the prayers and support!

DONE

Mom's surgery is over. Dr. Abdallah said that it couldn't have gone any better. It was a picture perfect surgery, and he said that he isn't used to seeing such a healthy liver (my faith in the word of wisdom has been strengthened by this experience. I bet he hasn't seen many livers that have never filtered alcohol before). Mom is in recovery now and dad is hoping to be with her within an hour. We're so grateful for such good care. Phew. We'll let you know how mom is doing later on. For now, she has conquered another big step in her fight. Yay mom!

SO FAR SO GOOD

I just talked to dad. All is going well. The surgery itself got underway at 8:40 this morning, so she has been in surgery for almost 3 hours now. Her vital signs are good and, luckily, there isn't anything more to report. Dad will get another update in about 45 minutes.

INCREDIBLE NEWS - and update

I'm on the phone with mom right now and she just left her appointment with Dr. Abdallah. Her tumor has shrunk 2/3 of its original size, her CEA tumor count is negligible, and the Dr. will only have to remove 45% of her liver. He isn't going to have to cut any major arteries or veins. The Dr. was sooooo excited. He said mom's response to the chemotherapy was incredible. Mom asked him if that meant that she still needed to do follow-up chemo. His answer, "Yes. We're going to kill every d$#*! cancer cell in your body!" I think I like this guy! :)

As for the surgery, she has lots of prep work to do for the remainder of the day. It's similar to colonscopy prep (phew!). The surgery itself will take about 6 hours total (1.5 hours of it is prep). The doctors will give dad an update every 2 hours. Mom will get an epidural before sedation to help with the pain. Many of us ladies can relate to that one! :) HER SURGERY IS SCHEDULED FOR A 6:00 a.m. CHECK-IN TIME. PRAYERS. PRAYERS. PRAYERS...

We're so thankful and excited that mom is such a fighter and responding so well to her treatments. I have a feeling a lot of it has to do with the level of love, support, and prayers that she feels from all of you.

POKES AND PRODS TODAY

Mom had a busy day today at MD Anderson. They poked and prodded and drew lots and lots of blood in preparation for Wednesday. Tomorrow she has a few more tests, followed by an appointment with Dr. Aballah, the surgeon. If all is well, she'll have surgery on Wednesay, as planned, but we still don't know a specific time.

Mom is in good spirits, but definitely feeling a normal amount of anxiety. She gets to meet many patients while waiting for procedures, and some are just slightly stubborn and bitter about their whole predicament. It isn't extremely healthy to hang with the other patients, but luckily, she has dad at her side.

Many people have asked for Dane and Emily's address in Houston. If you want it, just email me at kvigoren@gmail.com and I'll give it to you.

Thanks for all of the support. We have a big week ahead, for sure!

AWESOME

We just returned from a wonderful time together in Sedona. Mom was way more strong and healthy and happy than we ever imagined. She promised us that she really did feel as good as she was acting, so we're very excited! She seems to be about as strong and healthy as one can be for surgery. She leaves tomorrow morning for Houston. She'll be doing a lot of prep-work for the surgery to remove 80% of her liver on Monday and Tuesday. Surgery is on Wednesday. Keep her in your prayers as she tackles the next stage of her fight!

CLEAN!

Mom just came out of her colonoscopy with great news! NOT ONE POLYP! She was clean and clear and now she's ready to eat and sleep! We're so happy that there isn't another colony of cancer to worry about. Phew! Good day today!

CHURCH AND COLONOSCOPY

Mom is recovering well! She felt good enough this last week that she was able to attend sacrament meeting yesterday for the first time in months. I think she is confident that her white blood cell count is high enough to be exposed a little bit more to the public.

Coincidentally, she is due for her routine colonoscopy at this time. Tomorrow she goes in for the procedure, so the last 3 days have been spent in preparation. Today she has to do the pure liquid breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She has to drink all kinds of gross liquids today. I can't believe how much torture her body has been through lately!

We're grateful that she has been so strong and healthy. She can eat cold things now, and her skin is gradually recovering. Her energy level is much higher too. Her hair has thinned dramatically, but luckily, it was thick and beautiful to begin, so she had some to spare.

Mom Update

Mom and Evangeline taking a long nap together last week.

Almost a week out from her last chemo treatment, and she's hanging in there! She definitely has chemo in her system still. She's anxious to get her energy back, and we're hoping that she hits a turning point soon. We're still figuring out what foods are going to stick. Managing one or two tasks a day is about all that mom has on her plate right now.

I apologize for so many unreturned phonecalls. I have been spending most of my time and either mom and dad's or Isaac's school. Thanks for all of the continued support. Mom misses the company of others. I think she's anxious to get out of the house...and I think she has escaped a couple of times lately....:)

The End of Chapter 1

Yay! Mom had her last chemo treatment for a long, long time, and we're all so excited! She came home from getting erbatux this afternoon and was welcomed by Dane! Dane is driving through ABQ en route to the Grand Canyon to meet his school kids, so we get to have him for 12 hours.

Mom is feeling really good, and I imagine that most of it is psychological - just knowing that she's done for a good, long time is very exciting! When the doctors told her that erbatux would cause acne, we never expected it to be in her elbow pits!


We'll all be excited to see mom gradually gain strength and energy and get her skin back over the next month! Yeehaw!

Encouraging News

Mom went to the doctor today for her third neulasta shot (a shot that increases her white blood cell count). She also received numbers on her other blood tests. It looks like her chemotherapy is doing what it's supposed to. Numbers that we want to go up are going up, and numbers that we want to go down are going down. We're so happy that she isn't going through this for nothing!

She's still staying strong, but definitely lacks energy and an appetite. If we can just get through two more weeks, we'll be ready to feed her all kinds of good stuff to fatten her back up! I think she's ready to eat more than just jello and white stuff. :)

DOING WELL SO FAR

Mom had her chemo pump unhooked this morning and is handling this round of chemo pretty well so far. She was able to get a lot of rest the day and night that she got chemo, and she slept well last night, too. Getting rest makes such a difference! It was nice to spend Mother's Day with her and Brooklyn and the kids. Hopefully, we have got her diet figured out so that we don't have any more sleepless nights and bad reactions.

She is looking forward to one more chemo treatment on Friday, followed by 4 weeks of chemo-free recovery! Thanks so, so, so much for the continued support. All of the little surprises, notes, comments, letters, etc. have meant so much!

To clarify for Sue: After surgery (June 17th), she will get 4-6 weeks of recovery, followed by 8-12 weeks of chemo (just like she did from March - May).

Figuring Things Out

Mom is still a trooper! The side effects from chemo are definitely strong these days. We have spent the week trying to figure out what (if any) foods will sit with her. We have decided that we're down to brothy soups, saltines, chicken, potatoes, rice cakes, white bread, etc.. We are down to eliminating as much fiber as possible. We think that mom will be able to keep things down if we stick to the bland diet. This was very typical of her last bout with cancer, so we just have to remember what we did back then. On top of that, she can't eat anything cold. The other chemo treatments cause strange side effects, too. Mom is doing better today, though.

She has her last "bad" (4 kinds) round of chemo on Friday. Next week, she'll have her last erbatux chemo treatment, then she'll be done for a while! Yay! For those interested in what will happen after this:

May 8th: Quadruple chemo treatment
May 14th: just erbatux chemo treatment
One month of recovery (a week in Sedona with the whole family included)
June 17th: removal of 60-80% of liver in Houston (will require at least two weeks recovery in Hosuton).
6 or more weeks of recovery
After healed from surgery: Next round of chemo just like this last round. We think she'll finish up in early Fall.

Brooklyn is here in ABQ, staying with me at the Vigoren house. Brooklyn is visiting mom during the day, while I keep the other girls and cook at my house. It has been a nice change of scenery. Mom gets to hold baby Evangeline and visit and relax!

QUICK UPDATE

Mom is 2 days out from her erbatux treatment. She's doing well, but definitely much more sensitive to the chemotherapy. Food isn't sitting with her as well as it used to. She has a very sensitive digestive system now. She looks good and slept well last night, so we're still grateful that she is responding so well to all of the treatment. She's a trooper! Her acne is holding off much better than expected. Thanks to Chris and Ellie, Arbonne is the only lotion that doesn't sting!

ERBATUX DAY

Mom spent the afternoon at the doctor's office today receiving her 3rd to last dose of erbatux. All of her counts were up and within the allowable limits to continue treatment. Her white blood cell count was actually quite high, so maybe her body was just reacting to food (on top of normal side-effects). I imagine she'll still be pretty tired from this treatment, given that she was pretty tired to begin.

Overall, they were really encouraged by the numbers they got at the doctor's today, and we're hoping that the news will translate into a good coming week! If anyone wants to share a favorite recipe that includes cooked vegetables or cooked fruit, that would be great. She has to be careful with raw stuff.

Hanging in There...Still...

Well, it's Wednesday night and mom is still fighting side-effects from the last round of chemotherapy. Her bowels have been acting up pretty bad, preventing her from sleep and normalcy. Usually, the day before her next treatment is good because she needs to be, but I guess it's like getting knocked down over and over again. Eventually, your body isn't as excited about getting back up! Mom is still in good spirits, but physically, she's definitely in the middle of rough times. Her appetite is still really supressed. I love all of the suggestions of potatoes, crumb donuts, Parker's...

Tomorrow is supposed to be her next round of erbatux. We hope that she can feel decent for the next 15 hours, or so, until she visits the doctor's office again. They'll evaluate before her treatment to make sure that her body can handle another dose. Keep her in your prayers! Thanks for all of the love and support!

Hanging in There

Mom is hanging in there. Her chemo is in full swing right now, and her energy is definitely limited. Her acne/sores on her face have spread somewhat, but it still isn't too bad. Her voice is REALLY hoarse and sounds like she has laryngitis. Her positive attitude is still there! When I came over this morning, she had windex in one hand and had just made her bed. That was about all she could do for the day. So, energy = low, attitude = good and courageous! We're trying to think of some foods that sound good because her appetite and nausea are a little stronger now than after past treatments. Hopefully, she'll start feeling better by Wednesday.

CHEMO LOADED

Mom had her chemo pump removed this morning, and she's hanging in there while the chemo does its thing. She was able to get a decent night of rest last night (she was making up for Thursday night, I guess). Her voice is really scratchy from her sore throat and mouth, but she really is more rested than she sounds. She said that she's feeling "kind of puny." I have a feeling that's an understatement! She really does look strong and is being so brave. I don't think that we'll ever really understand how mom feels inside because she still has a beautiful smile.

QUADRUPLE CHEMO DAY

Today was the mega-heavy-duty-dose-of-chemo Day. Mom spent all day at the doctor's office getting hooked up to her pump with 3 different chemos (earlier I said it was 2. It's really 3). She also received her weekly dose of erbatux. Included in her chemo are lots of drugs that make her sleepy and wiped out! She slept the entire rest of the day and woke up at 8:00 tonight, wondering if it was already tomorrow!

She is feeling good and in good spirits, though. She's just extremely tired. Dad doesn't believe that she'll have a problem sleeping tonight. We're just hoping that we can get through the next 3-5 days okay. These are the rough days, for sure! She is starting get open sores and acne-like bumps more and more on her face.

The pump will be removed on Saturday, and we will have only 1 more quadruple chemo day left (two weeks from today)! The doctors did decide that a "complete" chemo regimen will require her to get one extra erbatux treatment on May 15th. So, scratch the 8th of May. The 15th of May is now mom's glorious day! She'll then have 4 weeks to recover until surgery.

THIS WEEK

I thought I'd post a new update on mom. She has done amazingly well this week. Having only erbatux has been a much easier dose to swallow. She has had some normal side effects that have made her somewhat uncomfortable, but nothing too harsh that she hasn't handled well. I think the hardest part this week is cabin fever. She knows she needs to stay away from the public, but for a social gal like mom, that has proven a challenge. She does have to stay on top of the anti-nausea medication. Yesterday, she had a close call. If she doesn't take the medication IMMEDIATELY upon feeling nausea, the medication doesn't work. She starts her round of quadruple chemo treatments tomorrow. We know that those days aren't good days, but we'll enjoy today as much as we can and prepare for the next major treatment.

Again, thanks so much for all of the messages, jokes, letters, and gifts. They mean so, so, so much!

SUPER SLEEPY SATURDAY

Mom had another sleepless night in Albuquerque last night, but was able to get to sleep at 8:00 in the morning. The doctors never told us that werewolf-like behavior was a side-effect! Luckily, she slept soundly until noon, and woke up feeling pretty decent. She has some cute, hardly noticeable zits on her nose, but otherwise, she's feeling pretty darn good. Her voice is still scratchy. She think it's from the tissue in her esophagus being sensitive to the chemo. She is doing an awesome job at finding projects to start today, but dad has to finish them! Dad is such a hero!

To sum it up: so far, so good with this week's round of chemo!

TODAY'S DR. VISIT

Mom did excellent today with her doctor's visit. She had a white blood cell count of 2.6. That's very good! Her neulasta shot on Monday must have done some good! The erbutux only took about 2.5 hours to administer this time. She is feeling fine so far. Hopefully, it will take a while to kick in again!

We Love Thursdays

Yes we do. Thursdays are usually happy, healthy days because it's the day before chemo starts, and mom MUST feel good on Thursdays. Maybe it's a catch-22, but we'll take healthy days when we can get them. Mom's voice sounds a bit scratchy. She has mouth sores now, but she acts like it's no big deal. I have a feeling they're not very fun...

We're thankful to have a good, strong day today. It makes us feel a little less anxious about her next treatment. She goes in tomorrow morning for her erbutux (the treatment that takes about 5 or 6 hours to administer). She won't need the pump with the additional chemo this week. We'll see what that means for her health next week.

We made spaghetti, ham and bean soup, and chicken enchiladas today to prepare for next week and get through the weekend. Go mom!

FULL SWING

The chemo took a little bit longer to do its thing this time, but it is now in FULL SWING. Mom was absolutely wiped out yesterday. It was pajama day for her and it wasn't easy keeping her eyes open. Knowing that she has to go through another round on Friday, we're hoping that she can regain some energy over the next couple of days. Life is rough right now. We will definitely be looking forward to May 8th, when mom gets her last dose of chemotherapy.

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful mail, thoughts, encouragment, messages, gifts, and prayers. Mom needs it, feels it, and it means more than you know. The phone is pretty much on do not disturb 24/7. She still feels your love through mail and messages, though. Thanks so much for all of your love.

ROUND 2 UPDATE

Sorry it took so long to update. Mom is doing pretty darn well with round 2. Based on the lab results from her liver biopsy, they have her on a new regimen. The new regimen is much more intense. She will now go in every Friday for one of her chemo treatments. It's called erbutux. It has been proven to be more effective, but it also has harsher side-effects. She is expected to get an acne-like rash on her body within 2-3 weeks of starting the treatment. So far, so good. Mom said she really is getting younger - she's getting acne and losing weight! She's pretty wiped out, but other than that, her side effects aren't as bad as they could be. She didn't get a wink of sleep last night because the discomfort was just enough to prevent her from sleeping. Luckily, she fell asleep this morning as dad was getting ready for work. Hopefully, she'll catch up a little bit and energize her body.

So she goes in every week for erbutux (which is a procedure that lasts about 5 or 6 hours in the doctor's office) and every other week for the chemo pump that administers two other kinds of chemo. Those two kinds are the ones that she has to have for 48 hours. I can't remember the names of those, but if you're interested, I'll ask dad again.

She also found out yesterday that her liver is extremely healthy, so they won't have to perform embolization during her liver surgery. That is huge! It's a testament to the word of wisdom!(More embolization info: Embolization is a form of palliative (non-curative) treatment for liver cancer. This includes tumors originating in the liver or those that have spread (metastasized) to the liver from other areas of the body. The artery to the liver is blocked off (embolized) with small particles to starve the tumor of oxygen and nutrients.

In certain circumstances, chemotherapy drugs are administered at the time of embolization or mixed with the particles to block the artery (chemoembolization). This allows a higher concentration of chemotherapy (compared with systemic chemotherapy) to be administered to the liver where it remains for up to one month within the tumor. This increases the effectiveness and decreases the systemic side effects).

Following embolization of the liver you may experience significant abdominal pain that may start during the latter part of the procedure and usually lasts 2 or 3 days. This may also be associated with fever, nausea and vomiting, which is known as "post-embolization syndrome." You will receive medications to control the pain and nausea during your hospital stay, which can last up to 5 days depending upon the severity and duration of the post embolization syndrome).

Looking good 3 hours after pump removed on Easter Sunday!

JUST WHEN WE THINK...

that life is normal again, the reality of mom's cancer sinks in. She went to the doctor's office at 9:30 this morning and will be receiving chemo treatments until 5:00. Apparently the blood draw indicates a white blood cell count of 2.6, but the doctor says it's really 1.6. I'm not sure how and what that means, but dad will have to give an explanation later. She will definitely require a neulasta shot on Monday, the day after they end round 2 of chemo treatments.

They started to administer the same chemo treatment as last time, even after Dr. Kopetz from Houston told them to change the regimen based on the lab results from the liver biopsy. Luckily, dad is REALLY on top of things and made sure they got it right. They said that the new chemo causes a rash in 88% of cases. How that feels and where it manifests itself, we'll find out. Dad said that mom is already resting at the office and feeling tired. Essentially, this is going to be a tough weekend.

FRIDAY'S DR. VISIT

Mom's appointment with the doctor went great yesterday! She was thinking that her white blood cell count would be low enough to require a shot of neulasta (a HUGE needle stuck into her stomach to increase her white blood cell count). Luckily, she was at a 2.0, and she would only need a shot if she was at 1.5 or lower. She started her chemo at a 2.8. They were optimistic about the numbers, knowing that she still has a full week to increase her white blood cell count before her next chemo treatment. She will need lots of prayers on Friday, the 10th. That's when Round 2 of chemotherapy begins!

5 DAYS IS BIG!

It's amazing to see the transformation that takes place when chemo slowly makes its way out of your system! Mom went from rough, rough times, to being the perky Jan that we all know and love. She was a trooper this week. By April Fool's Day, she had enough energy to come down to our house and play a few tricks! Yup, that's the mom that I know! Today she said that she felt great! She has another blood draw tomorrow to see where her body is at, then starts her next round of chemo next week. We'll find out the date soon. She just might need a tranquilizer when she goes to get hooked up to the chemo again. Now that she knows what she's getting into, it DOES NOT make it easier. Cancer treatment is definitely one of those things where experience isn't necessarily a good thing. :)

Maybe I can convince her to take another stab at this blog (I think her first posts were great!). I think her sense of humor is one of the best, and I would love for her to share this experience from her perspective. Until then, I hope you all don't mind the updates from me! Your love and support is needed, felt, and deeply appreciated!

1 DOWN, 3 TO GO

Mom had her pump removed Sunday morning. It has been rough going. The chemo is in full swing in her body, depleting every bit of energy. It has caused extreme fatigue, dizziness, some chest pain, and overall weakness. Sunday was the worst day so far. Mom said that it was worse than any chemo she ever experienced during her first round of cancer. She feels a little bit better today, and we're hoping that she'll get better each day from here on out. The doctors will probably give her a neulasta shot soon to boost her white blood cell count. Her counts were low before they even started the chemo. Hopefully, that will help with her energy level.

So far she has been able to eat pretty well. She's keeping the anti-nausea medication down so that she can eat. We were able to have Sunday dinner together, followed by a few bedtime stories. Eliza even snuggled grandma to sleep for her Saturday nap (yes, it really worked!).

THE PORT AND THE PUMP

To get an idea of what mom is experiencing right now, she is showing what happened this week in pictures.

On Monday, the doctor (the Dr. was Roger Cronk, my high school friend's dad) installed the port:


This morning, they hooked her all up with a pump, petite chemo bag, and handy dandy fanny pack!


Mom says the only side effects she's feeling so far are dry, tickling, "it-feels-like-knives-are-pricking-away-at-my-throat" kind of sensations. Sounds awesome! For her bravery, she received this awesome gift pack full of advertisements from leading pharmaceutical companies:

It includes 2 blankets, 2 pairs of gloves, a book about colorectal cancer, a coffee mug, and a pair of socks with gel-warmer packs. She is a winner!


The doctors don't want mom around crowds of people or little children. She needs to take it easy, but also keep active in order to keeps things circulating.

SURVIVING DAY ONE

This is Kellie. Mom is hoping that I'll help her keep this current.

Mom just spent almost the entire day at the doctor's office receiving her first chemo treatment. The process went about as smoothly as it could go. The entire procedure took about 5 hours. She was pretty wiped out and is home sleeping. The doctors gave a long list of possible side effects and precautions to be aware of. We're in new territory now. This is a whole new chemo than last time, so we just have to wait and see how her body responds. She'll have the chemo administered until Sunday morning. They'll remove the chemo ball then and let her body process it all through the week. Hopefully, we can get her honest account of everything soon.

TREATMENTS BEGIN

It's always fun to do a before and after. This is me as I look today, beginning four months of cancer treatments. Yes, I was a little upset when I heard the news. I didn't think it would show on my face so prominently.

This will be me in 5 months of great cancer care from MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, Texas.

THE PORT

After spending a week in Houston last week, getting a 2nd opinion, we have decided on a treatment regimen. I will receive 5 chemo sessions, starting tomorrow morning. The chemo will be administered with a chemo ball like last time. I had a port installed in my chest on Monday through which the chemo ball will be attached. I will have the chemo ball connected for 48 hours, then removed. After 12 days of recovery, I will get my next treatment.

After 5 sessions of chemo, I will go to Houston for liver surgery. They will remove 60-80% of my liver. Luckily, livers regenerate! Right now, the surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17th. We will be in Houston for approximately 2 weeks for surgery and recovery.

We are optimistic that everything will go well. The Houston experience was amazing! The doctors know their stuff! We were so excited about their expertise.

Thank you all for your love, concern, and prayers!

Jan & Ron

KEEPIN' UP

I really wanted to find a way to keep in touch with all of my loved ones during this time. Knowing that I'll be resting and recovering a lot, I have been trying to figure out how I can keep everybody in the loop. Hopefully, this will help.