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.