4th Treatment

We talked with Dr. Rich today about the CT scan she had on Monday. He was very enthusiastic, saying that the radiologist had said her liver had markedly improved. He showed us the pictures and it was nothing short of miraculous! What had been possibly 20-40 areas of cancer had been reduced to just a handful.

With this amount of success we discussed halting the remaining chemotherapy to begin radiation on the cancer in her brain. This will give us a chance to treat the cancer in the brain as well as to begin treating her with blood thinners to reduce her risks of another blood clot. Once this is completed we can finish out the chemotherapy and are hopeful she can stop taking the steroid that is likely contributing to her weakness and fatigue.

CT Scan Results

Misties CT Scan showed a reduction in the cancer!

Unfortunately, it also turned up a pulmonary embolism, so we went straight from the scan to meet with our Oncologist. After that we were off to get a ultrasound to check for blood clots in her legs.

The Result: No blood clots in the legs and we probably wont do anything about the one in her lung as blood thinners have a small chance of making a cancer situation worse.

Follow up: They are comparing this scan with the one we had last month and we can talk about it on Wednesday when we go in to get another fresh helping of chemo.

My conclusion: Blood clot... smud smot

CT Scan

Mmmmm! Nothing like a liquid Barium smoothy on an empty stomach. We are here for a CT scan to see how the chemo is working.

It is a crazy day so far.

It is snowing outside like the middle of January.

Derick remembered just as he was about to leave for school that it was a class party and he needed to wear pajamas and bring his favorite toy.

Calvin had a field trip today where his class was going to walk down to the Salem Pond and fire station, about a mile from his school.

And with just a few hours of sleep last night Im looking forward to a nice long CT scan.

Yesterday my mom, dad, and Delaina came up and had lunch with us. We had a picnic out on the deck and a good time just sitting around.

3 Down 9 to Go

Here for my 3rd treatment today. The tumor marker in my blood had gone down (another good sign that the treatment is working). Dr Rich is hopeful that the aches and pains will improve in the next few treatments. He also gave me a prescription to hopefully increase my energy. My sister Cheri came with me and that was nice and made for a good day.

A Piece of Good News

Yesterday we went in to get her blood sampled and the Dr said that everything looked really good. He also said that the results from the MRI last week showed that the cancer in the brain was not progressing and possibly had shrunk slightly. This was a big relief as we were concerned that we may need to stop the chemo treatments to do some radiation on the brain.

Night at the Movies

Went and saw 'How to train your dragon'. Cute show!

Hair Cut

Last night we went and got Mistie a new short hair cut. It looks great and she likes it too. I posted a couple of pictures from the kids school carnival with her new hair cut. the boys had a great time.

A Tough Week

It has been up and down this week for Mistie. She has been acting extremely tired, which seemed to be a bit more then what I expected, so Monday while she was at Radiation I got her an appointment to get her blood drawn. We have been concerned that her white blood cell count was low. It was low at 2.2 but not dramatically, so that was a relief.

Tuesday was the last day of Radiation on her right hip. The nurses were great and gave her a certificate of completion. Unfortunately the day didn't stay upbeat as she began to lose her hair and became nauseated.

Today we came back in to check her blood and it turned out to be back in the normal range. She had lost some weight, so she plugged in and got a Liter of fluid. We mentioned how tired she has been and Dr Rich ordered a MRI this afternoon.

Russ: We had a good weekend. We got some pictures taken and a video made on Saturday. To bribe the kids we went and saw the Tooth Fairy afterward. They did a great job and it was one of the most pleasant picture taking days that I have ever had. It seems to be easier when you take pictures outside instead of being paraded through a dept store.

Friday we had a great time at the Sugarland concert. I lost some hearing, but I think it was the first concert that I had been to since well... my brothers high school concert, which for me was pure torture (sorry but true). On the way up we stopped in at Chipole for a romantic 3 taco dinner.

Having a good weekend

Mistie has been feeling well. Now with a few days of recovery after chemo she has more energy. We got a prescription for some "magic mouthwash" that has helped to numb the sores in her mouth. Her treatment plan is 2 weeks of chemo and then one week recovery. This is considered one cycle. Dr Rich is anticipating 6 cycles with a CT scan every 2 cycles. We are glad to finish the first cycle and are encouraged that it has gone this well.

He called it the "Jolley Roger". He may have had a little help from his dad but it was the wind power that put it across the finish line.

Rain Gutter Regatta

Here for Chemo today. White count is still normal and I am feeling well. I uploaded this photo of Derick at the rain gutter regatta last night. He sure was excited and got 1st place.

Blood Test

She had her blood drawn today and the White Blood Cell count was 5.7. Good news the average range is between 4 and 11. We will probably have it tested again before her next chemo treatment on Wednesday. Usually after chemo it may take 7-14 days to hit its lowest point. We will be watching it closely since it was her low counts that nearly killed her last time.

Typical Side Effects (thank goodness)

Lucky so far with only typical side effects (sores in the mouth and sleeping like a newborn). She should be getting closer to her normal level just in time to get the second round on Wednesday. Wednesday is actually a big day with a surgery to insert a portacath at 6:30am then over to Chemo and finally a dollop of radiation to top it all off, luckily I just get to watch. We are actually looking forward to the "port" since some nurses are better then others at hitting veins. A few time we have joked around about them using a worm on the end of the needle with as much fishing as they are doing inside her arm to hit the vein. Tomorrow she will head in to get her radiation and have her blood drawn to check her white blood cell count. As always with Mistie you wouldnt even know if she had a cold by looking at her.