One week ago we were hustling around, trying to get two days work done in only one, as we prepared for our visit to MD Anderson. We were hoping to come back with a plan of attack and news that we would be able to go to China for Chrismas.
One week later Judy is on day 3 of her radiation treatment. The wonderful folks at MDA are continuing with their greatness and are working on a plan to have her finished with radiation by December 11, instead of Dec. 14. YEAH MDA FOLKS! She was going to stay in Houston over that weekend and fly home Monday following treatment. Now, if things progress as hoped, she'll be home for good Friday, Dec. 11. I like this new plan.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
New Day, New Info, New Plan
SUMMARY: Judy will begin radiation therapy at MD Anderson Monday. She will finish December 14.
EXPANDED COVERAGE:
Yesterday was a whirlwind day in Houston. We thought/hoped we’d come home with a game plan for Judy’s post-operative therapy. Did we ever! The appointments began with us thinking we’d have to miss our “Christmas in China” trip. Judy had hoped to delay radiation until after Christmas. Dr. Buchholz didn’t want to wait—he actually had Judy scheduled for a “simulation” on November 24. (The simulation is a meeting with the radiation team—highly technical—lasting several hours. During this time they simulate a radiation therapy and mark the areas to be radiated.) Radiation would begin soon after the simulation. When the good doctor realized we would be knocked out of the Christmas trip, he left the room and got busy. Upon returning he announced we could get in the required number of sessions (20) in time to make the trip. He also said they’d just had a cancellation for the simulation area and we would do the simulation NOW.
Judy will be receiving the Canadian Fractionation with Boost radiation. (Brace yourself, dear reader, for an extended explanation. Go get a cup of coffee—I’ll wait.) Standard protocol calls for 5 to 7 weeks of radiation. The Canadians, with their free-but-hard-to-get medical service couldn’t get the good ole government to fund 7 weeks of therapy. So the Canadians began to experiment (doesn’t that give you good, fuzzy feelings about the government being in the health care business) with innovative ways to get their cancer patients cured. [Confession: I’m more than a little intimidated about writing all this because Diane Johnston, APN, promised to review my blog to check for inaccuracies. I’M BEING GRADED BY A REAL LIVE MEDICAL EXPERT! HELP ME JESUS!] They finally discovered that by increasing the intensity of the radiation for each session they could diminish the number of sessions. (Standard protocol calls for 200 rads per session for 30 days. Canadian Fractionation calls for 265 rads for 16 days. But the highly intelligent folks at MD Anderson—people like Diane Johnston, APN, realized what the Canadians haven’t yet discovered which is that you actually need 20 sessions, not just 16. Thus, Judy is getting the Canadian Fractionation plus Boost {boost being an extra 4 sessions to give the therapy a boost}.) Their data for 15 years suggests no difference (for patients eligible for the Canadian Fractionation) between the patients who get 20 sessions at the increased intensity over the patients who get 30 doses in smaller proportions. (I told you to get coffee—you need the caffeine to be able to stay awake during the explanation. Wish it would get better—the explanation—but it probably won’t. Go get the second cup—wait, make that an espresso.) They don’t know about 30 years out, so this is still a little experimental in nature.
WARNING: more technical jargon to follow.
We still have a decision to make about chemotherapy. Judy’s medical oncologist, Dr. James Murray, told us about a new test we’ll willingly take. It’s called Oncotype DX and is a unique diagnostic breast cancer test that looks at the activity of 21 different genes (yawn) in a woman’s breast tumor tissue. The test measures the chances of that particular woman’s breast cancer returning and the likelihood of her benefiting from chemotherapy treatment. (Yawn! STOP IT—TAKE ANOTHER SIP OF YOUR ESPRESSO!) It will take about 3 weeks to get the results. If she’s in the high risk group, then we’re looking at strong chemotherapy. If she’s in the low risk group—no chemo. If she’s in the moderate risk—well, we’ll decide then, looking at the markers. We do know she will be taking a hormone therapy pill for the next five years. We’re hoping that’s all she has to do following radiation.
(THE TECHNICAL STUFF KEEPS COMING)
We’re also interested in still another test, a genetic test to see if she has the Brca gene (brca comes from breast cancer). Since Judy’s grandmother and cousin on her father’s side had breast cancer, and an uncle (that’s right, an UNCLE) died of breast cancer just two months ago, we think we need to explore this test further. At some point during her 4 weeks in Houston, she’ll meet with the Genetics Department at MDA to fill out a questionnaire to see if she should take the test. This will have implications for our children and grandchildren.
(BRACE YOURSELF, HERE COMES THE SLIGHTLY DISTURBING NEWS)
One bit of eye-opening news came yesterday. We thought that Judy’s chances of having her cancer recur were very slight following successful surgery. The glitter came off that rose a little. As it turns out, based upon the data they’ve collected, she has a 1 in 4 chance of the cancer recurring within the next 5 years IF WE DO NOTHING MORE THAN SURGERY. Obviously we’re going to do more than surgery. We’re going to do all we can to keep her cancer free.
So my sweet wife is in full panic mode—not really, just running at mach one with her hair on fire—trying to meet work deadlines before she begins the “exile in Houston.” She’s planning to come home on weekends and I’ll go there for Thanksgiving (already got my tickets). We’ll adjust and before we know it, this will just be a memory. (CONGRATULATIONS DEAR READER, YOU MADE IT TO THE END!)
EXPANDED COVERAGE:
Yesterday was a whirlwind day in Houston. We thought/hoped we’d come home with a game plan for Judy’s post-operative therapy. Did we ever! The appointments began with us thinking we’d have to miss our “Christmas in China” trip. Judy had hoped to delay radiation until after Christmas. Dr. Buchholz didn’t want to wait—he actually had Judy scheduled for a “simulation” on November 24. (The simulation is a meeting with the radiation team—highly technical—lasting several hours. During this time they simulate a radiation therapy and mark the areas to be radiated.) Radiation would begin soon after the simulation. When the good doctor realized we would be knocked out of the Christmas trip, he left the room and got busy. Upon returning he announced we could get in the required number of sessions (20) in time to make the trip. He also said they’d just had a cancellation for the simulation area and we would do the simulation NOW.
Judy will be receiving the Canadian Fractionation with Boost radiation. (Brace yourself, dear reader, for an extended explanation. Go get a cup of coffee—I’ll wait.) Standard protocol calls for 5 to 7 weeks of radiation. The Canadians, with their free-but-hard-to-get medical service couldn’t get the good ole government to fund 7 weeks of therapy. So the Canadians began to experiment (doesn’t that give you good, fuzzy feelings about the government being in the health care business) with innovative ways to get their cancer patients cured. [Confession: I’m more than a little intimidated about writing all this because Diane Johnston, APN, promised to review my blog to check for inaccuracies. I’M BEING GRADED BY A REAL LIVE MEDICAL EXPERT! HELP ME JESUS!] They finally discovered that by increasing the intensity of the radiation for each session they could diminish the number of sessions. (Standard protocol calls for 200 rads per session for 30 days. Canadian Fractionation calls for 265 rads for 16 days. But the highly intelligent folks at MD Anderson—people like Diane Johnston, APN, realized what the Canadians haven’t yet discovered which is that you actually need 20 sessions, not just 16. Thus, Judy is getting the Canadian Fractionation plus Boost {boost being an extra 4 sessions to give the therapy a boost}.) Their data for 15 years suggests no difference (for patients eligible for the Canadian Fractionation) between the patients who get 20 sessions at the increased intensity over the patients who get 30 doses in smaller proportions. (I told you to get coffee—you need the caffeine to be able to stay awake during the explanation. Wish it would get better—the explanation—but it probably won’t. Go get the second cup—wait, make that an espresso.) They don’t know about 30 years out, so this is still a little experimental in nature.
WARNING: more technical jargon to follow.
We still have a decision to make about chemotherapy. Judy’s medical oncologist, Dr. James Murray, told us about a new test we’ll willingly take. It’s called Oncotype DX and is a unique diagnostic breast cancer test that looks at the activity of 21 different genes (yawn) in a woman’s breast tumor tissue. The test measures the chances of that particular woman’s breast cancer returning and the likelihood of her benefiting from chemotherapy treatment. (Yawn! STOP IT—TAKE ANOTHER SIP OF YOUR ESPRESSO!) It will take about 3 weeks to get the results. If she’s in the high risk group, then we’re looking at strong chemotherapy. If she’s in the low risk group—no chemo. If she’s in the moderate risk—well, we’ll decide then, looking at the markers. We do know she will be taking a hormone therapy pill for the next five years. We’re hoping that’s all she has to do following radiation.
(THE TECHNICAL STUFF KEEPS COMING)
We’re also interested in still another test, a genetic test to see if she has the Brca gene (brca comes from breast cancer). Since Judy’s grandmother and cousin on her father’s side had breast cancer, and an uncle (that’s right, an UNCLE) died of breast cancer just two months ago, we think we need to explore this test further. At some point during her 4 weeks in Houston, she’ll meet with the Genetics Department at MDA to fill out a questionnaire to see if she should take the test. This will have implications for our children and grandchildren.
(BRACE YOURSELF, HERE COMES THE SLIGHTLY DISTURBING NEWS)
One bit of eye-opening news came yesterday. We thought that Judy’s chances of having her cancer recur were very slight following successful surgery. The glitter came off that rose a little. As it turns out, based upon the data they’ve collected, she has a 1 in 4 chance of the cancer recurring within the next 5 years IF WE DO NOTHING MORE THAN SURGERY. Obviously we’re going to do more than surgery. We’re going to do all we can to keep her cancer free.
So my sweet wife is in full panic mode—not really, just running at mach one with her hair on fire—trying to meet work deadlines before she begins the “exile in Houston.” She’s planning to come home on weekends and I’ll go there for Thanksgiving (already got my tickets). We’ll adjust and before we know it, this will just be a memory. (CONGRATULATIONS DEAR READER, YOU MADE IT TO THE END!)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sing it Willie
"On the road again, just can't wait to get back on the road again...." Willie Nelson's song has almost become our theme these past two weeks. Last week we made two (count them, 2) road trips to Oklahoma City. Monday evening we drove to Yukon for the dedication of Chad's new Chick-fil-A restaurant. Tuesday morning we drove back to Lubbock. Friday evening we drove to Yukon--arriving around 10:30 P.M.--for the birth of our ninth (yep, that's right 9--again, count them folks--9) grandchild. Macy Gerlt was born Saturday morning, November 7th at 8:56 A.M. (She weighed in at 7 pounds, 9.56 ounces and is 19 inches long--oh, and she's beautiful.) Saturday evening we drove home, arriving Lubbock shortly after 11:00 P.M.
Tonight we fly to Houston for three appointments tomorrow. We'll meet with the radiologist, oncologist, and surgeon. We'll fly home tomorrow night, hopefully with a game plan for keeping Judy cancer free. More news to come.
Tonight we fly to Houston for three appointments tomorrow. We'll meet with the radiologist, oncologist, and surgeon. We'll fly home tomorrow night, hopefully with a game plan for keeping Judy cancer free. More news to come.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
CANCER FREE
The wait has paid off and the weight is gone. We got the word a few minutes ago via Judy's brother via our nephew (the M.D. Anderson radiologist). Here's what the report said:
Results look great. 3 mm low grade cancer removed with free and adequate
margins (7.5 mm from superior edge).
This officially confirms what we have believed for over a week--Judy is CANCER FREE!!!!!!! We return to Houston for an appointment the 12th to consider post operative therapy to help her stay CANCER FREE. Thank you for your prayers and concern. Check back here from time to time--I've become addicted to writing. (Probably just proves I need therapy.)
Results look great. 3 mm low grade cancer removed with free and adequate
margins (7.5 mm from superior edge).
This officially confirms what we have believed for over a week--Judy is CANCER FREE!!!!!!! We return to Houston for an appointment the 12th to consider post operative therapy to help her stay CANCER FREE. Thank you for your prayers and concern. Check back here from time to time--I've become addicted to writing. (Probably just proves I need therapy.)
Waiting and Celebrating
This morning is a study in contrasting emotions. We're waiting on word from M.D. Anderson concerning Judy's pathology report. We want to hear "all clear" and celebrate her being cancer free. At the same time, we're celebrating with our son.
About 5 years ago Chad moved his family from Crane, Texas, to Arlington. Chad had investigated Chick-fil-A and believed it to be a company he'd like to partner with. They made the move, basically, by faith. He had no long-term promise when he moved. However, our son worked hard and learned everything he could. Chick-fil-A provided training in Atlanta to qualify Chad to be an interim operator for troubled stores. He packed up his family in their mini-van and moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, to manage a store, not knowing how long they'd be there. He became the owner/operator of the Chick-fil-A in Crossroads Mall, in Oklahoma City. No one knew the mall was in financial trouble. All the anchor stores moved out within 6 months of Chad's getting the store. Business bottomed out.
During these last 5 years our constant prayer has been that Chad would find favor with Chick-fil-A. He did. Today is the grand opening of his new restaurant in Yukon, Oklahoma. It's a state-of-the-art restaurant located in the fastest growing county in Oklahoma (and one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S.). He's positioned to do well. Five long years of working for very low wages is paying off today.
So today is a study in contrasts. Waiting for news that will have an effect on our lives--celebrating news that is effecting our family. What a day!
About 5 years ago Chad moved his family from Crane, Texas, to Arlington. Chad had investigated Chick-fil-A and believed it to be a company he'd like to partner with. They made the move, basically, by faith. He had no long-term promise when he moved. However, our son worked hard and learned everything he could. Chick-fil-A provided training in Atlanta to qualify Chad to be an interim operator for troubled stores. He packed up his family in their mini-van and moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, to manage a store, not knowing how long they'd be there. He became the owner/operator of the Chick-fil-A in Crossroads Mall, in Oklahoma City. No one knew the mall was in financial trouble. All the anchor stores moved out within 6 months of Chad's getting the store. Business bottomed out.
During these last 5 years our constant prayer has been that Chad would find favor with Chick-fil-A. He did. Today is the grand opening of his new restaurant in Yukon, Oklahoma. It's a state-of-the-art restaurant located in the fastest growing county in Oklahoma (and one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S.). He's positioned to do well. Five long years of working for very low wages is paying off today.
So today is a study in contrasts. Waiting for news that will have an effect on our lives--celebrating news that is effecting our family. What a day!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Frustration
Apparently M.D. Anderson attempted to contact Judy earlier this afternoon while she was in a meeting. She rushed out of the meeting but couldn't make connections. Earlier this year we got her a new cell phone--a smart phone--that would enable her to connect to the internet as well as receive her office e-mail. What a disappointment. She chose the LG Incite phone. It's not a smart phone, it's a STUPID phone. We've had nothing but trouble with this phone but if we take it back for replacement--guess what--she gets another Incite. (I think the name was chosen because it's enough to incite a riot against the LG corporation.)
Oh, while I'm venting, I'm convinced the Windows Vista system stands for: Very Incompetent System Totally Annoying. (Take that, Microsoft!)
Judy's trying to make contact with M.D. Anderson but is getting voice mail. The hospital is incredible and we love it. However, because of it's size and the number of patients they serve, when you call you have to leave a message and be available when they call. So, this afternoon contains a little frustration.
Oh, while I'm venting, I'm convinced the Windows Vista system stands for: Very Incompetent System Totally Annoying. (Take that, Microsoft!)
Judy's trying to make contact with M.D. Anderson but is getting voice mail. The hospital is incredible and we love it. However, because of it's size and the number of patients they serve, when you call you have to leave a message and be available when they call. So, this afternoon contains a little frustration.
The Weight of Wait 2
When we were dismissed from M.D. Anderson a week ago Monday, they told us to begin calling the next Tuesday (8 days from dismissal) if we'd not heard from pathology. Yesterday was 8 days later, and we couldn't reach anyone. So, this morning we live with the weight of waiting. We're expecting a good report, but will breathe a sigh of relief when it's official. As soon as we hear anything, I'll post the results. Thank you for continuing to check here and to pray for us.
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