Merry Christmas

We have done a terrible job in keeping the blog up-to-date. Teresa continues to feel good. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season wears her down faster than it use to and I worry about her doing too much. However, she has been able to enjoy it with the girls. In particular, she is looking forward to spending time with family over the next couple of days.

On January 4th, Teresa goes back to Dr. Gupta for her 10 week check up. We continue to pray that her tumor markers stay in check. Hopefully, they will be down. That would be an awesome late Christmas present!

We hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please find the time to enjoy your family and friends. I will post the results of the appointment on the 4th.

Thank you for your continued prayers. We are very thankful for each and everyone of you!

Merry Christmas!

Rob

Wonderful News

I know that we have been negligent in keeping this blog updated and we apologize. However, we wanted to share the wonderful news that we got today. Teresa had her 10 week check up with Dr. Gupta and found out that her tumor marker dropped even more. It went from 103 at the end of July to 86.6 today. This was truly music to our ears. All of the prayers are being answered. We continue to pray for a miracle and God continues to answer. Teresa and her positive attitude also continue to amaze and inspire all that know her.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!

Rob

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K Walk will take place at Wabash College in Crawfordsville on Saturday, October 2nd. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the walk begins at 10:00 a.m. I will be participating again this year; my team is Team T. If you would like to make a donation or join our team to walk, please sign up at www.cancer.org/stridesonline.

Also, we can order event t-shirts with our team name on the back for $12. They are black with pink letters like our Team T shirts from the past, so old members can just wear those if they want. Let me know if you want a new t-shirt and what size.

Lets take this opportunity to honor breast cancer survivors, remember people we have lost, and raise funds and awareness to help end this disease.

Back to School

The girls started school yesterday. Rachel is in 7th grade and Kendal started Kindergarten. They both hated for summer vacation to end, but were excited for school to start.

Kindergarten is full day, so it seemed strange not having Kendal here with me. She attended preschool the past two years, but she was always home by 11:00. It will take awhile to get used to the quiet.

We are all excited for soccer season to start. Rachel will play for Tuttle and Kendal will play at the Boys and Girls club. Kendal will also start dance class again soon.

I plan to keep busy by doing volunteer work at the school and completing some household projects. I pray that my good health continues throughout the school year, so that I can enjoy the girls and all of their activities.

I feel very fortunate to have had such a great summer with my family. We are looking forward to a great school year. Please continue to pray for us!

Thankful!!

Just got back from Dr. Gupta's office. My tumor markers were down to 103 from 128 back in May. Rob asked him if the results were what he was expecting to see. His reply was that I was defying the odds. This is due to the fact that I have such an aggressive form of breast cancer. We feel so blessed with these results. I do not go back until October 5th. He tried to get me to go 12 weeks but I compromised with 10. Now, I can focus my attention on getting the girls ready to return to school.

I know that I have said it many times before, but thank you all for your continued prayers. Through God, all things are possible!

It's That Time Again

We have not been very good at keeping the blog up-to-date. However, this summer has been great. We were able to take a couple of short trips to Chicago and Cedar Point between all the basketball camps, workouts, etc. that Rachel has been involved with.

Teresa is feeling well. Battles swollen feet and legs after being up for extended periods of time but overall everything is good. You would not know by looking at her that she is battling breast cancer.

On Friday, July 23 she will get her blood work for the tumor marker done. On Tuesday, July 27th she has an appointment with Dr. Gupta. We hope and pray that the numbers continue to go down.

Thank you all for your continued love and support!!

Birthday Wishes!

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of their good wishes for my 39th birthday. I am so thankful to be another year older. I had a wonderful birthday!!

I can't believe it is already the middle of June. The girls' summer break seems to be flying by. Rachel has been busy with basketball. Kendal finished off her dance season with two performances. We have been enjoying our pool with these hot, humid days.

Thanks to all for their continued prayers.

Love,
Teresa

Great News

We just got back from the doctor's appointment. Teresa's tumor marker was down again. It went from 152 to 128. Her next visit will be on July 27th. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We are very grateful to have all of you in our lives.

Rob

2 Month Check-Up

On Tuesday, May 25th, Teresa has her 2 month check-up with Dr. Gupta. The days leading up to the appointment are always stressful for her and the rest of the family. Please pray that she handles the stress well and that her tumor marker comes back with good numbers. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Rob

Spring Break

We were able to get away for a vacation during Spring Break. We had such a great time! It was wonderful to spend so much time together. The girls loved playing on the beach. We went with another family and really enjoyed hanging out with them for the week. We had great weather, an awesome condo, and lots of good food.

What a difference a year makes..... this time last year, we didn't even know if I'd be around to go on a Spring Break vacation. We thank God every day for making me feel good enough to enjoy activities with the girls. We are finally used to the new "normal" for us and all have adapted well.

We feel truly blessed to have such great friends and family. We appreciate everyone keeping us in their prayers.

A quick update on my dad: He finished his 9th week of radiation treatments on April 9th. He will be off work for 2 more weeks as his body tries to heal. He has had a lot of discomfort the last 2 weeks. Pray that his upcoming scan shows that the cancer is gone.

Good News!

I had my appointment with Dr. Gupta this evening. My tumor marker levels had dropped from 157 in November to 152. Not a huge drop, but we'll take it! All of my other blood work came back great and my liver is still functioning normally. I do not have to get any tests until the end of May. Please keep those prayers coming my way!!

Brief Update

I just wanted everyone to know that everything is still going well at the Ramey household. Rachel is in the middle of her 6th grade basketball season and is really enjoying playing with her friends. Kendal continues to keep us entertained at home and is loving her hip-hop/jazz dance lessons. I am feeling fine. I am really thankful to be able to take the girls to their activities and enjoy watching them play/perform.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and concerns. My next scheduled tumor marker test is March 12th. I will get the results back on March 16th.

A quick update on my dad, Bob Denhart: Dad just finished week #3 of radiation treatment for his prostate cancer. He has to do it for 6 more weeks. He seems to be getting along really good with the treatments so far. Thankfully, he has only had pain a few times. Please continue to pray for him, too.

One Year Ago.......

On January 27, 2009, I received my 2nd cancer diagnosis. I remember everything about that day. What a punch in the gut! We were definitely not ready to hear those words again. We were shocked. That wasn't the way things were supposed to happen. The breast cancer I had two years prior was the non-invasive kind. No lymph nodes were involved. I had the radical mastectomy to just make sure it was gone. I remember thinking, "How on earth did this happen?".

I was most worried about breaking the news to Rachel. She was at Hoover playing in her first 5th grade basketball game. Rob had to go to the game and act like everything was fine. He avoided eye contact with my dad because he didn't want to tell him the news. My mom and grandma stayed home with Kendal and me. What a terrible night!!!!

My first oncologist painted a grim picture for us. He said I could try chemotherapy, but with Stage IV Breast Cancer in the Liver, it was very advanced and aggressive. He predicted that I could be dead in 3 months.

We wouldn't accept that. Dr. Williams suggested another oncologist that he thought we would like, Dr. Gupta. He gave us hope. I'll never forget his words, "Your cancer is not curable, but it is treatable." He confirmed that the cancer was advanced and aggressive, but he said we would treat it aggressively. He also stressed quality of life. He wanted me to be able to be a mom to my girls. That was so important to us.

With a lot of hope, faith, and prayers, I am still around. My tumors continue to shrink. I have not had chemo since the first week of July. My liver function is normal. Overall, I feel really good.

Please continue praying for us as we are on this journey. Thank you so much for praying for us and keeping us in your thoughts. I think it is fitting to end the post with this: Nothing ahead of you is bigger or stronger than the power of God behind you.

Great News!

I just returned from my appointment with Dr. Gupta. My tumor markers were down to 157 compared to 185 in November. What a relief!!! It feels so good to know that my tumors continue to shrink. My last chemo treatment was in July, so my body is getting a really nice break.

My bone density scan showed that I have experienced some bone loss, so I am starting on Boniva for that and also increasing my dosage of Calcium and Vitamin D. I will continue taking Femara on a daily basis. I don't have to see Dr. Gupta again until March 17th.

I bet we all sleep better tonight. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Lets keep praying for a miracle!

Tumor Marker Test

I just wanted to remind everyone that I get the results of my tumor marker test tomorrow. The CAT scan that I had done the week of Christmas showed that the tumors were getting smaller and had not spread to other areas. We are praying that the blood test will show that my tumors are still shrinking (or at least not growing at this point).

I did not feel well last week; I did not have a single ounce of energy. Of course, our minds started wandering.... what if the cancer is growing again, what if the calcium levels have spiked, etc. Thankfully, I started feeling better yesterday. I'm still tired, but do feel better than I did last week.

My doctor's appointment is at 3:00 tomorrow. Please pray for continued good news and the strength to deal with whatever comes our way.

Happy & Hopeful New Year!

I've had several people tell me they have checked my blog and noticed I hadn't posted anything recently. I thought I better give a brief update. We had a wonderful Christmas Break!! We were able to spend a lot of quality time with family and friends. That is really all we wanted to do; none of us wanted it to end. We love just hanging out together.

After you have been faced with a life-threatening illness, you really learn to appreciate what you have. Things do not matter, but people do. We would not have been able to make it through last year without the love and support from our family and friends.

I have been feeling really good. I will get my tumor marker test on January 18th. I have an appointment with Dr. Gupta on Wednesday, January 20th.

We are still praying for a miracle. My hope is to be healthy. I want to be able to celebrate Christmas with my family again. I don't want to miss out on anything!

Please continue to pray for us. We want a happy and healthy 2010!!!