Round 1

Well, tomorrow is the first day in a LONG journey. Mom's got her wig ready and starts her first round of chemotherapy tomorrow! Mom will have 1 round every 3 weeks, for a total of 4 rounds. So far everyone has been pretty upbeat with everything. Mom has been doing a good job of keeping things together at the house and seems to have pretty good spirits. So let's pray she gets a good night sleep and things go well tomorrow! Fight like a champion mom!

Cya cancer,

Jenny

New feature.

Added a new feature on the page last night. Normally there is a place for you to share your "reactions" to a post below it on the site- but I figured you can react with a comment if you so choose. So I altered the reaction feature to be a place for you to send a little virtual prayer, hug, squeeze of the hand, or a little chant. Feel free to check the box(es) right below each post!

Also in case you haven't noticed... there are RSS feeds for news on cancer from the Komen Foundation and Mayo Clinic on the right bar. And tips for living cancer free from the American Cancer Society.



Julie

I never knew what the heck a "port" was....

But if Julie's gonna make me explain, it's sort of a valve and catheter they put under your skin so they can give you chemo without having to hurt your veins so much. Arlene, my sister-in-law, had one, actually had to have two because one got clogged, or infected, or something. Now I see why that's a big deal because it's actually surgery to put it in and take it out. Hurt like heck today, until the pain meds kicked in. And gotta admit, watching Becky's basketball game go to overtime (yes, she scored the winning basket :) was great for taking my mind off how much it hurt, so it's feeling more comfortable now.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

To kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month.... Mom had her port put in for chemo! Here we go folks! In about an hour long surgery this morning, she had a port put in, which she can explain herself cus I don't understand it. She was home recovering this afternoon, and doing really well according to Dad! (Shh.. she's probably napping now...)

And Friday is Chemo Numero Uno. Stay tuned...

Chemo starts next week

So now the plan is use the chemo to kill off the cancer, or shrink it a lot. Then they'll decide if they need to do any more surgery. I have a small surgery next week to put in a port so they can "pour" the chemo and the anti-body in, and the chemo starts next Friday. I'm gathering good books to read on chemo day, but I suspect I will probably just nap :) Thanks for all the offers to sit with me, but I'm looking forward to just some "me" time, reading, watching TV, napping, maybe catching up on some of those movies I've never seen, only heard on the way to and from vacation. Maybe I'll even do some real work for work, who knows?

Teri

A little background

As I talk to many of you, I realizee how many new friends I've made since the "c" word hit our household, so I feel like a little background might be helpful for some - I'll condense and spare all the medical details!

In Dec 2003 I went for a routine mammogram (thanks to Robin Fuss for nagging me not to forget). It showed something and I went for a biopsy. Turns out I had Stage 0 Ductal Carcinoma (in situ, meaning it didn't get out any place yet). Two lumpectomies later they still didn't get it all, so in Mar 04 I had a mastectomy (yes, what you thought was a breast all along is really recycled abdomen fat - isn't medicine wonderful!). I was given the all clear.

In winter of 2004 Jim went for a routine checkup, which showed some prostate symptoms, and a biopsy showed he had an early but aggressive prostate cancer. He had surgery to remove the prostate, radiation, and was given the all clear.

Last summer, his PSA started going back up, slowly, but it shouldn't go up at all for people without a prostate - uh, oh, didn't get it all. There isn't enough there to be causing a tumor, but it's "out of the bag" so to speak. So the hormone therapy to kill it all off, slowly his PSA will rise, more hormones to kill it all off, well you get the picture.

This summer I notice a bump on top of my reconstructed bump. Doctor says the same formula we've heard before : "well it is likely this, but we need to rule out that", and of course, it turns out to be "that" - a new cancer, in the little remaining breast tissue left behind (sort of like scooping out a watermelon, you don't get every breast cell in a mastectomy, and there was just enough left for a new cancer to form in. )

That brings you up to speed, gives the details for those who didn't know us back then, and explains the Double Jeopardy title a little more .....

An intro and welcome

Thanks for checking the blog! As you all must know- Mom is currently battling breast cancer (round 2) and Dad is also battling prostate cancer (also round 2). Mom was originally diagnosed my sophomore year of high school (guess that was 2003?) and Dad my junior year (spring 2005?). Quick summary- Dad was placed on hormone therapy to basically kill off any food for the cancer. That treatment had the potential for some nasty side effects and potential to cause heart weakening. So Dad jumped into exercising and eating really healthy and has done an amazing job at it. He quickly moved from a novice runner to running 4 miles a pop, has lost weight, and his side effects seemed to be minimized by his hard work. Though he did experience some of them. The treatment was successful extremely quickly- and now they wait for the PSA to go up again, indicating growth/return in significant numbers of the cancer cells. Then he will go back onto the therapy. As indicated in the posts below- Monday he was tested again and its not back yet! The longer it takes the better!

The updates on Mom have been pretty much summarized in the emails that I have added below. This all kind of appeared in the last month.

Mom and Dad and our family will use this blog to update as she begins her chemotherapy and he continues his own trek. Jenny and I wanted to start this because from our past bouts with cancer, we've all learned that sometimes people want to ask but think it might be upsetting (to us it generally is not- Deans love to talk!), and it also helps to know that people do know what is going on. It's hard to keep track of who knows what- and especially with the hills and valleys Mom is about to face- news will probably come up quicker than it has before.

Storms have a way of finding us... but life's a beach!

Please share your comments, personal stories, prayers and thoughts on here. This is not just our family's journey, but all of our community's as we all push Jim and Teri toward good health with our prayers and support. A few words can go a long way!

Peace, love, prostates and boobs,
Julie

"Some days there won't be a song in your heart.  Sing anyway".  ~Emory Austin