chemo

Mom had her 3rd chemo treatement yesterday. She was tired when i talked to her last night, but doing well.

still doing well

Mom is still doing very well.

Mom had blood work done again today, and her white blood cell count is low again, so she needs to take extra precautions when having visitors and leaving the house. But she is feeling very well.

She really wants to share her gratitude with all of you. She is very thankful for all your prayers, support, dinners, and gifts of hats and scarves. She has plenty of hats and scarves now, so thank you for helping her to keep her head warm.

swimming update

Mom swam yesterday and afterward she felt a little nauseous and low energy, but today she swam with her head out of the water, so using the kick board a lot, and using weights walking in the shallow end, so she feels better today. She did about 20 laps.

update

This Thursday-Monday mom needs to especially stay away from anyone sick and children because her white blood cell count will be at its lowest. Thank you everyone for bringing my mom and dad food for dinner. It has been helping out alot. From now on they request that salads are only for Nick, my mom can't eat raw vegetables for a while because they are especially hard to digest. Another request, please no more desserts, i've been told they are delicious, but are alreadying adding to the holiday pounds. Thanks again.

singing

Mom and the rest of her voice class, sang at the annual Festival of lights tonight.

swimming

mom swam this morning. She did 30 laps and she says it felt great.

she finished her 2nd round of chemo

She says she feels more tired after this chemo treatment, 4 and half hours of treatment

She did lab work and got the results before the chemo today and her kidney, liver and blood is where it should be. So that is good. Her CA125 came back at 17 which is great.

The doctor says she can start swimming again so she is very happy about that.

And pictures of mom with a shaved head.

thanksgiving and hair

thanksgiving went well, we had dad's side of the family with a few of mom's side. It was lots of fun.

Mom's hair started falling out, and she couldn't get over how much hair she has. She said she got her hair shaved today so she won't have to deal with that for a while. Mom is going hat shopping with my godmother Pat today. She's looking for something soft and warm, more of a beanie than a hat.

Mom's next chemo treatment is wednesday the 28th.

update

the tests results from yesterday came back negative. So we are waiting to hear what will happen next.

update

Mom had blood work done yesterday morning and was called with the results:
neutropenia: low white blood count that can put chemo patients at risk for severe infection and may interrupt chemo treatments.
Mom does not have (or had at any time) a raised temperature, but will go into UCSF todayfor a urinary test to see if there is any infection there. She was given a list of things to avoid...sick people (and sick children especially). She will wear a mask when needed and as recommended and take her temperature every day.

Mom and dad thought the person who had called, was somewhat of an alarmist when she first called, and then calmer when she called back after talking to the doctor.

Mom says she feel fine though, so we'll see what result she gets back today

opera

Mom was feeling well enough to go to our annual opera outing with Pat, Helena, and myself.

chemo went well

She didn't have any allergic reactions to the chemo or anything. The Nurse told her that friday she should be the most tired. And the 14th through the 19th she needs to stay away from crowds and sick people because her immune system will be at its lowest.

thank you everyone for being so wonderful and kind. We are very thankful for all the meals people will be bringing mom and dad. And Sheri is doing a great job of corrdinating the food schedule.

chemo

Chemo starts today at 10:30, lots of prayers and good thoughts please!
Thanks!

halloween

mom dressed up for halloween as usual.

chemo

chemo treatments start november 7th. In the morning.

updates

Dela and i had dinner with mom and dad tonight. We are still waiting to see when mom will start chemo, probably the 1st or 2nd week or november, but we just have to wait and see.

Sheri Schroder and Wendy Ricks are coordinating a calendar to help mom and dad with meals once mom starts chemo. If you want to help with meals contact mom at purplemcs@aol.com

Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts, they are definitley helping.

chemo

mom will start chemo sometime in early November. They said its more of a preventative measure since she's at a stage 2 and it looks like they removed it all. The doctor said after chemo about 70% of the people are cancer free for the rest of their lives. She will have 6 treatments in all, the first 3 will be every 3 weeks, then a break and 3 more treatments every 3 weeks. Hopefully that makes sense.

chemo appointment

mom has a chemo appointment on wednesday to talk with the doctor about which treatment he thinks is best, and her post operation appointment on friday. We'll let you know what happens.

Mom is still doing good, keeping positive and relaxing.

biopsies

mom talked to the doctor, but he was on his way to surgery so he didn't have time go into details. He said the biopsies showed cancer, but he didn't say if it was just from the arena he took out, or if it was further up. And he didn't say what stage it was. So either mom will call and find out more or she'll wait till her appointment with him next week.

outside

today mom and dad went on a short walk outside, down trinity (not too hilly). They have been reading and watching baseball. Also mom is sketching some of the flowers she received. She is still doing well.

october 8th

mom slept much better last night. And is still doing very well today. Dad got her a post surgery appointment with the doctor for the 19th.

home sweet home

I helped out mom during the night and this mornign she says she feel a lot better. No more hospital noises and things. We walk and do laps around the bedrooms, kitchen and living rooms. She is doing fine going up stairs. Thanks again for everything, we have plenty of soups in the fridge, dad and mom should be set for a while. we were able to bring all the flowers from the hospital back to the house, so they are everywhere. She'll probably get online later today if you want to send her an email. Thanks again, she is really making break throughs in healing.

she is home!!

it is 8:30pm and she is home in Brisbane. Yay! she did really well getting up the stairs and is now relaxing on the couch. She did really well today, ate some solid foods, walked without the walker, and doing just great. The doctor came in and said as long as she didn't get nauseous from eating solid foods she could go home. so here we are, thank you all for all yoru prayers, cards, flowers and support, it has definitely helped with her quick progress.

october 6th

i saw mom after work on friday. and hung out for a few hours while dad went home for a break. he's back to stay with her tonight. mom said he had a lot of visitors today, by the time i got there at 7:30 she was really sleepy. She's not on morphine anymore. She not in pain unless she gets out of bed or coughs. She had a little broth soup and tea for dinner, and still chewing on ice chips.

i've tried to email as many people as i can through mom's emails and mine, please forward this on to anyone that hasn't gotten it yet.

the doctor came in again friday, and said she might be able to leave sunday. So i'll let you know if/when she does.

She walked down two corridors of the hospital again, so she is really doing well.
thank you for all the support and emails. we appreciate it.

october 5th noon update

i just talked to mom again. she walked down two corridors at the hospital. So this is awesome. She has been just eating ice chips up until now, but today she is sipping sierra mist.

She had a few visitors today at lunch. which is great.

I know last night when she had visitors, she seems to perk up a bit more and really do well. she was very tired afterwards, so if you do visit can you please do'nt stay too long, and if her eye lids start dropping a little she'll definitely need to nap. Thanks again everyone.

october 5th

I talked to mom this morning on the phone, she sounds great. The doctor said she'll be in the hospital for a total of 5-7 days. Dad's at the hospital with her today, and i'll be heading back there after work today.

Thanks for all the flowers and things people have sent and brought. Her hospital room is full of color.

October 4th

She is doing much better today. She is just eating ice and wetting her mouth with a sponge right now. She got up and sat in a chair, she was in a lot of pain but the nurses said she must have a high tolerance to pain because most women would be screaming when sitting up and moving. She sat in the chair for a while, then stood up again and used a walker from the chair to the door of the room and back to bed. She said the walking is fine but the getting up and sitting back down hurts the most.

She has been mainly napping all day. But she did get a few visitors and she was able to talk for a while. My godmother Pat is staying with Moira tonight at the hospital. I just called her and she said the doctor came in. He is saying it will take about 7 days for him to get the biopsy results and figure out what the next steps are for recovery. We won't know until 7 days or so if and when chemo starts and for how long and what kind. He said the cyst was about 8 cm (the size of a cantaloupe). From my understanding after he left, mom got up again and was able to walk around some more, and she said it wasn't as painful getting up and down. So she is doing really well.

Oh and she is now in a one person room just across the hall from her last room.
7428.

Thank you for all your prayers and good thoughts, they are definitely helping.

october 3rd

surgery took 3 hours. They had a hard time removing the cyst but were able to, and they did find it to be cancerous, the doctor thinks its a stage 2 so definitely treatable. He removed all the reproductive organs, and said he didn't see any cancer anywhere else, but he did do biopsies to find out. It will probably take at least 7 days before we get the results of the biopsys. the surgery went well and she didnt' lose a lot of blood. She will be in the hospital for at least 3 more nights and will be recovering from home another 6-8 weeks after that. After the 6-8 weeks she'll start chemo. As of 10pm tonight she is starting to wake up and talk alittle more. Dad is staying with her tonight, and i'll go back in the morning so he can go home to change.