Not much to report after Chemo Round 2

I had my second treatment yesterday, and good news, not much to report. I saw the doctor, but she doesn't say much yet, except that I will likely be more fatigued with each round. But then the treatment means sitting in a recliner, watching TV, reading a little since I gave the remote to the older gentleman who DIDN'T want to watch Ellen, and I guess he didn't want to watch anything as he just flipped through channels all day. I enjoyed lunch with my sister, came home and took a nap, watched Becky win her basketball game, and slept well last night. Good medicine they give me has prevented all nausea, so far, so I hope that continues. I am loaded up with Gatorade and Immodium just in case, so stay tuned to see how the week goes! Oh, and I start my new job (still at P&G, just a new work group) Monday, and my hair is getting rather thin by now, so you might see me with my new 'do - or a ball cap in more casual settings since I'm still getting used to wearing a wig.

Serenity

Beyond the window there
 three trees--two maples and a fir,
 a patch of grass, a honeysuckle
 bush not yet in bloom.

 They are doing their great work:
 anchoring the earth and breathing in
 and out to give a great gift to the air.

 In here I share the silence that is theirs.
 I light a pure white candle
 and let it, too, proceed
 to do its work: to shine in silence,
 gather peace for me
 in its soft radiance
 from all four corners of the room.

 I make a cup of tea and break
 a wondrous scone
 a friend has made.

 In silence, too, I have my work
 to do. Breath in, breathe
 out, ask blessings on
 my body's earth,
 and ask for grace
 to give my own gift
 back to the holy air.

--Sr. Eileen Lomasney, CSJ Ballston Lake, N.Y.

Chemo Round Two Tomorrow!

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

Tomorrow is Mom's second round of chemo. Feels like she just did the first one and here we are again already! She'll have to update you on the details of how she's feeling. It's been a busy couple weeks at home (from what I hear) running around to all the kids' games. It's been a true blessing to see the community surrounding our family emerge and really lend time, thoughts, prayers and help in many ways. Thank you to all of you who've made things a little or a lot easier for Mom and Dad these past weeks. I know some of the stories, but I'm sure there are many more, and it's your love more than anything else that keeps everyone's spirits up! It's a true demonstration of why we participate in communities and especially our Catholic one. Going forward, we feel a tiny bit of fear that things may get harder, but also can look around at you and know that we have great friends and family there with us.

Good luck tomorrow, Mom!

Feeling like myself again

Boy, that was a hard week. Started off OK, but I felt like I was going into slow motion 3-4 days after the first treatment. No nausea, just couldn't focus and felt real fuzzy. Then, as Jenny said, I remembered I was supposed to be drinking Gatorade to replace electrolytes. That helped a BUNCH, and I felt pretty good for a day until problems on the OTHER end of the digestive tract slammed me, and I was not feeling very well of moving very fast, if at all, most of the weekend.

But today I felt a lot more like myself, could actually think and do some work, and am thinking I just need to be a little more sensitive to things - I can't just blow symptoms off and bounce back like my "pre-chemo" days. Things might get worse next cycle, I don't know, but I think I made this cycle a little tougher on myself than needed because I wasn't reacting to my body trying to tell me things. I promise, I'll listen better from now on!!!

So a couple more weeks before the next treatmet - and by then some of the fall sports will be wrapping up, which won't be all bad either!!

Thanks to all of you, especially for what you've done to help my kids, in ways I never imagined, and in ways you might have thought I'd never hear about, which makes your help all the more meaningful!

And yes, its still my hair, for now anyway!

Teri

Gatorade fights cancer

This week mom was pretty tired and feeling nasty most of the week. I think she was pretty worried about the toll this will all end up taking on her energy and ability to live normally for the next few months. She'll have to get into the details of that, but she seemed to be down and that Disney visit seemed less probable and more distant.

Wednesday of this week she was reading over the papers her doctors gave her and saw that she was supposed to replace a lot of electrolytes. So Becky, the little Gatorade Hoarder, fetched her a Gatorade, and I'm not sure the speed of it but mom says she felt much much better. Went to work all week even when she was struggling, which I'm sure made feeling better a huge relief so work would be a little easier.

Just to clarify the title, no, Gatorade does not fight cancer. Just helps ya feel better I guess! Mom's like an athlete right now fighting this every day, so guess she needs her Gatorade too. The turnaround due to the electrolytes seems to be a big boost for her, and things are looking up once again. She's up at Jenny's soccer game at Denison right now with Aunt Judi, so getting around and out fine! She'll be able to tell you better than I can how she really feels. But for now, prayers are helping her along and all of your thoughts and words are little blessings in each day.

On the Uphill

Mom is now on the uphill after feeling a little sluggish this week. She was given a shot to increase her white blood cell count. Since white blood cells are made in the bone marrow, the side effect was that her bones might feel pretty achey. After lots of Advil, working from home, and catching up on sleep, mom is starting to feel better. They say hair might start to go around day 10, so this weekend might bring us back down to the bottom of the hill, but mom will make it back to the top! Good thing she already has her wig! Updates might be slim since mom won't receive her next treatment until the end of October! Leave comments or e-mail us if you have questions!

Take care,

Jenny

(Mom in her new wig...can't even tell can you!)

Everything will be okay

It's been awhile since the last update, but mom is doing just fine! When I talked to her this morning, she said she hasn't been sick and hasn't lost any hair. The next few days are the ones the doctor was worried about, but we'll keep you posted on those! The next treatment will be 3 weeks from October 8th, so until the next update...Julie and I will keep ourselves busy learning how to STOP cancer!

Jenny

"Everything comes out right in the end. If it isn't right, it isn't the end."