Great Results!!!

We just got back from my appointment with Dr. Gupta. The PET Scan showed that all of my tumors have shrunk considerably. We are so excited!!

Dr. Gupta said he wanted to give my body a break from the chemo for awhile. I will start taking a pill daily called Aromasin. It is some type of estrogen blocker. It is a cousin to one of the meds I took previously, but different enough that my body should respond to it. I am also trying a new medicine for my bones (I can't remember the name and didn't write it down). Anyway, it will take the place of the Zometa infusion. It is a shot I will get once a month. It is supposed to be less harmful to my kidneys than the other drug.

I am scheduled for an ultrasound on April 9th. I will see Dr. Gupta on April 10th for the results.

We are so thankful for this good news. Thank you for all of your prayers and support.
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

PET Scan

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be getting a PET Scan on Monday, February 20th at 2:30. Dr. Gupta wants the full body scan to see if the chemo has been working to shrink my tumors and to see if any new spots show up. I will meet with him on Tuesday, February 21st at 1:30 to get the results. He will determine my next treatment plan at that time.

Update

I have a good friend in Tennessee that lets me know when I need to update my blog. She checks it often and usually assumes that no news is good news. She called me Saturday and I realized that I had not written for awhile.

I meet with Dr. Gupta tomorrow for my normal appointment. I will get my tumor marker results and get my PET Scan scheduled. I am also going to talk to him about my Neupogen shots. They boost my counts, but made me feel really bad this last time. I am going to see what my other options might be.

I have continued the same chemo schedule since October. I go two Fridays in a row and then I am off a Friday. The chemo is starting to wear me down and a few adverse side effects are creeping up. Hopefully, my tumors are shrinking so I can cut back on the treatments. I guess we will find out after the PET Scan.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Merry Christmas

Over the last month, Teresa has been able to keep a "normal" routine with the chemo treatments. This is due to the fact that the 2 shots after treatments has helped with the low white blood count issues. This past Tuesday, she had an appointment with Dr. Gupta. During the appointment, we asked if he had any plans to check the tumor on her liver. He responded by offering her the opportunity to get an ultrasound on her liver the following day.

Well, Teresa went and had the ultrasound and got immediate feedback from Dr. Pearce (Radiologist). Although the ultrasound and PET are two totally different scans, Dr. Pearce said he could see enough of her tumor in order to gauge that it had shrunk approximately 2 cm. Needless to say, this was the greatest Christmas present that we will get this year!

As a result, she will keep the same regimen for a while and get a PET scan after a couple of more rounds. That means she got treatments today followed by another on December 30th. It will be a busy next week or so with family coming in from Ohio and Florida but Teresa is looking forward to it.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.

Rob

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Please take time to enjoy your family and friends this weekend. Thank God for all of your blessings."It is good to give thanks to the Lord.." Psalms 92:1

I also wanted to update everyone on my health status. I apologize for not posting anything sooner. After a I get a few phone calls from folks that check my blog regularly, I realize that I better post something.

I was not able to get my regularly scheduled chemo this past Friday, November 18th. All of my counts were way too low to administer chemo. Dr. Gupta put me on a really strong antibiotic to help my body fight infection. He decided to let my body get built back up and then do chemo as scheduled on Friday, December 2nd. I will then get some sort of "booster" type shot on December 6th and 7th. The shots are supposed to boost my counts back up, so I can get chemo again on December 9th.

If the shots work, then I will probably continue to follow this schedule for the rest of my treatments. Dr. Gupta has not set a date for my next scan, yet. I figure it will be at the end of December or first part of January. He will determine at that time if my body is responding properly to the treatment or if we need to try something else.

The blessing in all of this is that I have been feeling pretty good despite what is going on in my body. I am so thankful that the pain in my lower back and leg is gone. The radiation did the trick! I am thankful that we live in the same town as the cancer center and that Dr. Gupta travels here to see patients. I am thankful for all of our friends and family that mean the world to us. I am thankful for all of Rob's co-workers that do special things for us all of the time. I am thankful for all of the prayers that continue to bless us. And most importantly, I am thankful to God for giving us the strength that we need to get through this.

Brain MRI Clear!!

Well, we can all breathe a little easier again because the MRI of my brain was clear. No cancer was found!! Words cannot describe the relief we felt when Dr. Gupta read us the results. Now, we can just focus on the current chemo treatment regimen that I am doing and pray for good results.

The chemo did not have any bad side effects for this first round. I mostly felt fatigued. The anti-nausea meds did the trick. I am hoping to feel as good for this next round on Friday.

Thank you again for all of the prayers. We truly believe that God is giving us the strength to battle this again. Keep the prayers coming!!

Love,
Teresa

Not the News We Wanted to Hear

We met this morning with Dr. Rhees (Radiation Oncologist) to discuss the results of the PET Scan that Teresa had on Monday. Dr. Rhees informed us that the cancer had spread to two more bones (base of neck/right hip) and that the spot on her liver had increased from 3 cm to 6 cm since the last PET Scan in June. Needless to say, this was not the news that we wanted to hear. Especially since she had been feeling better in the last week or so. Dr. Rhees told us that she knew Dr. Gupta would want to start chemo in order to treat the liver. So, before we left the office an appointment with Dr. Gupta was scheduled for next Tuesday. However, we didn't have to wait until Tuesday to find out the course of action.

Dr. Gupta called me this evening and talked about his plan. Teresa is going to start chemo on Friday. She will be given Gemzar and Carboplatin. These two drugs will be given one time per week for two weeks and the third week will be off. Dr. Gupta said that the side effects will not be as harsh as TAC was over 2 years ago. At this time, he said that we are not backed in the corner. However, he said that he is concerned with how fast it is growing on the liver. Dr. Gupta feels that there are two things that are working positively in her favor as she heads into the treatment. First, the spot on the liver is smaller than the first time. Second, the treatment the first time had significant response from her body for a long period of time.

I know that Teresa is a strong individual and she will attack the chemo and cancer with the same attitude that she has had over the last 2 1/2 years. Her spirits are down but she will battle. Her faith in God and the love for her girls will continue to help her through the next few weeks. Please keep her and the rest of the family in your prayers. We know that they have been answered to this point and have no reason not to believe that they won't be in the future.