Making a List and Checking it Twice!

I know that I have 67 followers.........I feel so lucky! But I wish I had a way to "alert" reads of my post, but it looks it BLOGGER doesn't have that feature.

I would greatly appreciate each of you to send me an email directily and I can build a email group of followers. I know there are many that are not registered also.

Please email me at thausman1@gmail.com and I will build a list to send a notice when I post.

Sincerely,
T.

PS: I know I have friends that I haven't spoken with in years! Like "Rocky McGuire" ....who sat behind me in home room for 6 years of junior high and high school! I feel so honored!

100 Days ~ Couldn't be Better

I am in the TOP OF THE CLASS! I don't have the results from the CT scan or the full body PET scan yet, but the doctors do not beleive that there is going to be any concerns. Praise God, Amen.


It has been a hard few weeks since I last posted. I have attend some support groups that have not been that helpful. In fact, AJ told me that I could not go to those groups any more! I found that most people that are not in "good" shape go to these meetings...at least the ones I have attended. Their stories have brought me down a little. Their stories are so different than mine. I have had such amazing results from each step of this illness! When stories are traded, I begin to doubt how well I have done, and then I start waiting for the "other shoe" to drop so to speak. it puts me in a funk, and AJ doesn't like that!


Dr. Dice has been awesome, and extremely supportive about how well I have responded to all of the protocal treatments, but I still wasn't feelling it. But after racing down the hall way, waving my glasses at Dr. Lemaistre like a crazy person yelling, "don't get on that elevator yet... I need some sort of closure!" He told me something that I finally understood about MY results. While he nor Dr. Dice, could not give me a time limit on my life....(because after visiting the support group, I was starting to think that I was looking at a timeline of 5 years).........OK, I can do that but I want to live my life differently if I am leaving this earth in 5 years.... Yes, CALL ME CRAZY! I was going crazy.


Dice and Lemaistre, both told me that I should do that anyway....a BUS could get me tomorrow! Here is what the doctors could tell me...I am at the top 10% of the group of bone marrow transplant patient (which means there is not a trace of myeloma cells any where...verse other that have slight traces of the myeloma cells still); that means statistically I am 5 years good! The people that fall under 10% may fall out or remission sooner than me. Dr. Lemaistre also told me that on the horizon is incrediable stuff for multi-myeloma, and that they are at the point of "entertaining" a CURE for MM. So I am going to take Dr. Dice and Lemaistre advice...let go of this and LIVE LIFE! Although, I kind of hate to miss the next support group, the guest speaker is speaking on "CANCER and SEXUALITY!"


Matthew 6:33-34 Seek first the kingdom of the Lord....but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therfore, DO NOT worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Isn't it wonderful how God just takes our daily WORRY away! He just lets us know that "trouble" comes every day and and we just don't need to worry about all of that. Praise the Lord for taking care of us! Amen!

I am thinking I will post monthly at this point after each of the doctor's appointment. At this point we are discussing "maintainence" meds.....I'll be back to you with that. Love to all!

60+ days and CLEAN!

It almost sounds like and AA statement of accomplishment! I must apologize profusely for leaving all of you hanging for almost 17 days...it is a weird thing, My cancer diagnosis was in March and here I am in July declared "cancer free"? First let me tell you my results are CLEAN, no signs of myeloma cells, so unofficially...or officially (depending which doctor you speak with) I am in REMISSION! Praise and glory be to God! I do have the 100 day check on October 2nd with the marrow transplant physician that will give me the "real" OK, but I am good to go!

I have to tell you, I don't think I really grasp the reality that I had/have cancer. I am not even sure how to refer to my illness as "here but gone/or maybe hiding", something that is "gone but waiting for it to return"...? OR, was "it" really here (or has this all been a bad, 6 month dream)? At this time, there is NO CURE for MM (Multi-Myeloma). However, there really has not been enough time for the research to prove itself, it could be true; one marrow transplant could do the trick. Some marrow transplants last 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, etc. At 54, if I get 10 years then at 64, surely things must have improved...is it possible that Myeloma won't be the cause of my leaving this earth? .........Woah! Pretty thought provoking. ......just wanted you guys to know at times I am just plain "scared"! Not scare to die, because I am not afraid of death, but I have so much to do....don't I? After all, these are human thoughts and I am human! Right? j/j

Here is a little recap of what MM is: MM is a cancer of the plasma cells in my blood. Plasma cells are white blood cells that make antibodies, which help the immune system recognize and fight infections. Plasma cells collect in the bone marrow--the soft, spongy inner core of the bones. They then travel into the blood stream, where the circulate throughout the body. Myeloma carries an extra tag word, "multi," because it typically affects multiple sites within the bone. The MM cells that take over are damaged and produce genetically "damaged" (soften word for malignant) plasma cells. These damaged cells collect in the bone marrow and continue to divide uncontrollably. These cells take over, crowding out healthy plasma cells leaving nothing to fight against disease. In addition MM cells can cause damage to the bones and kidneys, which has shown evident in my body scans. MM cells are kind of like terminates...but instead of eating from the outside, in...MM cells live in the marrow, they eat from the inside~ out...causing bone to look like "swiss cheese" and eventually collapse or crumble if not treated. This was the case with my back rib bone....the MM cells had collected in one spot and just "grew" out (tumorous) causing what is termed a "destructive-bony lesion."

I still have so much to learn about MM, and I am waiting for additional body scans so that a comparison can be made from the one taken in late February. Hopefully, I will have insurance clearance for these scans soon. Something that doesn't let me truly forget this cancer is the pain that I still carry in my spine, ribs and hip joints. These are all areas diagnosed as "diseased" from my first scan. I am anxious to see if there are more dark spots, indicating diseased areas, more than what were on the first scan, or if I have more destructive lesions. Do you remember my L1 on my spine, collapsed because it was diseased riddled? Here is where I get a little lost...I believe, because my marrow is "clean" I should not have new lesions or tumors because the MM cell would show in the marrow biopsy.........So I have to hold to this!


I ask that you give thanksgiving (by the religious means that you live your life) to God for his incredible mercy in regards to my healing. As you must know by now, I am Christian and believe wholly Jesus is the son of God, my personal savior, and that the bible is God's word. I use God's word, the bible, and prayer for direction in my life. Having said that, I will re-quote one scripture that has kept me stable throughout all of this (but don't forget, there are so many of them!), however, this one is so simple...I just love it. Psalms 50:15 "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” Yes, it sounds elementary for how difficult life can be at times, but that is the beauty of of it all...it can be that simple. Not easy, just simple. I love to give all the glory to God.

I am so thankful for all the support, love, special thoughts and prayer that you, my friends and family have devoted to me! ~ much love, T.

No results yet.

Sorry guys, I have no results yet. I have to go into the office today to take an "class" on the maintainence chemo drug (pill form) that they are going to give me....must be something, to have to take a class!....anyway, I am hoping for so news today.

Weekend!

AJ and I went to see the movie "Julie & Julia" loved it! So because I might not have much to blog about...and think I am going to cover different topics, other than my cancer, or hopefully lack of!

I have my marrow biopsy on Monday. I will let you guy know how that goes...but it does take a few days for the report. I am looking forward to it being clean, clean, clean.

At the lake, enjoying the breeze at night on the upper deck....it is as if we are at the coast with out the sand and humidity!

Love,
T.

Everything is Simply Good!

Sorry it has taken me a week to respond back from the doctor, but I have been going out some, and then I am really fatigued when I get home for a day or too. I did meet with LeMaistre last week and he gave me a clean go head until day 100...unless I have anything strange happen.

I will have a marrow biopsy on Aug 18th, and a few days later the results will come. My marrow should be VERY clean. If so, I will not be doing what they refer to as the "tandam" transplant~a second transplant. This was a very popular thing to do up until 3 or so years ago. Some clinics still do it, but Dr. LeMaistre is a beleiver that if it is clean it is clean. Now you must remember, this will come back. To date there is no cure, but I could stay clean for up to 10 or more years, or maybe only 5. I am shootiing for the 10 and will pray that NEW stuff will be out...maybe even a cure.

Like I said I am going out little by little. I am driving now, but just to places that are in close by, and I don't make real solid plans because I just don't know how I am really going to be feeling day to day. So I am not ready to book my calendar just yet.


I did have a fun experience that almost ALL women will never experience, and probably most men. I went to a professional barber shop and had my head shaved with a blade! It was great. Hot towel, cold towel, warm shaving cream, head massage, my ears too! To shave the pull the scalp very tight so the hair folical it standing straight up...so it actually cuts below the scalp. My head was so shiny and smooth, I love it! It has been 10 days now so I can see that I have new growth. I really don't expect to have much hair at least for a year. And after that shave, I really would like to just do that once a week, so simple! All for $12.50!

"The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me." Psalm 116:6

FYI~ No Doctor meeting tomorrow.

I got a call and they changed my 30 days meeting until nexdt Wednesday. Dr. LeMaister is going to be out of town, so they change it. I'll catch you guys up after the 29th.

<3, T.

Good Report from Dr. Dice

Although I wasn't really feeling all that great, Dr. Dice gave me a good report.

WBC 4.88 well within the normal range. A week ago I was down to 1.9....so I am doing great! My PLT is still a little low at 110, normal is 140-400. She wasn't worried about that. She said it would take just a little while to build but I didn't need any platelets by IV so that was good.

I was still having a little stomach problems....really never got better from leaving the hospital. It had been a week since I had IV fluids, and I was thinking she would certainly give me some, but she said no. Didn't need them. Over all she was very happy...so I am happy!

We discussed the stomach, nausea and other problems, she change me from prilosec to nexum (the purple pill) and gave me Dronabinol 2.5 mg cap..........Yes, it is a man-made liquid form of THC from "mary jane" plants! It is used when other drugs to control nausea and vomiting have not been successful. My kids keep asking me what does it feel like.........I don't know. I take it right before I go to bed, all I know is I sleep good! It is also suppose to help to increase my appetite. I have been eating but just little amounts. Now that my stomach is feeling better, I can eat better. Yes, I have now lost several pounds now, but I am sure that it will come back quickly with my stomach feeling better.

This Friday is my +30 days! I will go to the BMT clinic for just a minor check up and labs. On Aug 18th, I will have my next appoint with Dr. Dice and she will do a bone marrow biopsy, and give me my monthly dose of Zometa (calcium building med)....she told me she does not expect to see any myeloma cells! They my next appoint with the BMT in October 2nd....~100 DAYS! This is the date that they will proclaim a clear, clean remission. YEAH!

I'm not sure I will be posting much...but I still will post some photos from the head shaving party. It was too fun for you guys to miss out on.

Keep praying, God is SO good an I am so thankful!

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

Finally, right?

Sorry it has taken me so long to post since I left the hospital...I just am really tired, and I have sat down to post, but just didn't have the energy, almost a week, so things are good~better.

Something my doctor reminded me of; "Terry you have and a transplant!".... just like a heart, liver, etc.....but you don't have the surgery to complicate the recovery. Which also, keeps you down...but nonetheless, I have had a transplant. I need rest, rest and rest. I am not expected to pop up just like I was prior to the transplant. I actually started feeling fairly decently prior to the transplant. I cleaned out my office, was driving and felt pretty great! The first time since all of this started. But back to the facts, yesterday was only day +21. It has been 21 days since my transplant. Most of the information tells you that it takes any where from 6 to 12 months to fully recover. I wake up in the AM trying to first think of what day I am on. It helps to remind me that I feel great...considering I am day +??.

I have been released from the transplant office to return to my regular oncologist. That appointment is on Monday at 10. They will pull new labs and tell me about the next step~ getting to that day +100!

I am going to the lake this weekend, yeah! I can eat almost everything now and can go out in public, but it almost isn't worth it. I still have to where a mask, and it is so HOT! It was suggested to go to only around small crowds. If I go to dinner I need to go early, movies a afternoons... With a bald head, mask and glasses...I look a little like a spectacle!

Today is my first day to wear my contacts. they feel great! But I had to go to "dailys" and they are only mono-vision. So...I have to wear reading glasses! Can't win for tying!!

For those of you who have been wait patiencely here is me and my bald head! I have been waiting to put together a photo series...kind of a photo "tell it all," but I am having a hard time getting them all together. ....so here I am! Sometimes I look at myself and say who it that?! Then sometimes I look at that photo on my blog and say, "Who is that?"

My dear friend Lola, who is going through her own breast cancer issues...sent me this scripture; "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. " 2 Cor. 4:8-9

Still here~ not to Worry!

Well, they don't want to release me until I have NO FEVER for 24 hours. I did have fever last night around 6 pm, 101.1., and then at midnight, it went down a little to 100.9. It continued to drop down to being normal all day today, but as I said before~ my doctor doesn't mess around with even the idea of infection. It seems strange, but you have to continue to remember my immune system is extremely challenged. They don't really know what the deal is, but are more inclined to think that it is just what it is...I just had a marrow transplant 2 weeks ago...it is just a little "kink" that could, can does, maybe doesn't happen considering the stress and shock my body has been through.

So I hope to go home tomorrow! And I promise~ photos of the head shaving will come. Actually, I have a really pretty head!

"Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Genesis 1:2

<3, T.

Quick Update

I was release from the hospital last Monday, and I did shave my head along with other supportive boys....but I just have been to tired to post the photos. I will do that soon. I have to say, I have a good head shape! (thanks mom and dad) AJ told me not to even get a wig...he likes me even without scarves...hummmmmmm..........I think he is crazy! Still have not bought a wig yet.

I had a good day Tuesday and Wednesday was my +14 day. Which technically is the last day of the transplant process. LeMaistre released me from the clinic on Wednesday, which is rare to be on the schedule, but I was ready and made an appointment with Dr. Dice for Monday AM, to see what the next step is towards complete remission.

Wednesday night is when I started feeling a little pewny. Thursday was not good, I was cold all day and had very bad tummy problems, bottom end if you know what I mean. It didn't dawn on me to take my temp...but when AJ came home I was so cold, and it was 79 degrees in the house. I took my temp and I was 101.2. We called the after hours number as instructed and then had me come into the in-patient clinic for observation. They took blood for cultures and of course, gave me more antibiotics and fluids. I swear, I am addicted to having fluids everyday. There is nothing better to pickup the body than a bag of fluids!

Bottom line, don't have results from cultures yet, and LeMaistre has two ideas; one, a prescription conflict (which we knew about), or I have an infection that has just been kept at bay...So LeMaistre has taken me off ALL antibiotics for 24 hours. I am spending the night in the Methodist Hotel...and tomorrow I will either feel great and leave (if it was a prescription conflict) or I will so true signs of and infection and we will go from there. Infection grows better in the body than in little glass dishes. Pray that I am up and out of here tomorrow. If not, that the infection is easily detectable tomorrow and we can move forward with the healing process.

Love to all.....and just hold out for the shave head photos! FYI~your head gets really cold. It is true about heat just escaping from head. I wear a beanie to bed!

"...your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard." Isaiah 58:8

OUT of HERE!

Yeah! My WBC is 3.8 (normal is 4.5 - 10.5)
HGB is 10 .7 (normal is 12 - 16)
GRAN# 2.5 (this is the one that was .1 yesterday and LeMaistre wanted at least .5 to go home)

Praise the Lord! He is a living, working God: the medical teams he place me with are exactly what I needed, they not only are amazing medically (knowlege of muti-meyloma and its's treatment), their personal compasion for their patients is beyond copriousness; they both have such passion and it shows. Dr. Dice, my oncologist has stopped by to see me everyday while in the hopistal (she need not because at this time I am under Dr. LeMaistre's care) but she knows I am here and she takes time for me! I also like the fact that they both have a sense of humor too! LeMaistre's humor is right out there...on the other hand, Dice is a little more serious at first.

I really doubted that my numbers could come up like that~ I was really down last night thinking that I would be staying another day or two, or have surgery to remove my port. Not only did they come up, they came up much mored than was required. I am a believer, and of course, love giving all the glory to the Lord.

Stay tune, there might be a video posted of the head shaving...it depends how much guts I really have! haha!

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." John 20:27

Still in the Hospital

Yesterday was a fun day....if you have to be in the hospital. Keli spent the night and Pam brought up lunch from HEB Alon. Yummy! The three of us had a wonderful afternoon. Kate, James' wife. dropped by also with a portable DVD and Danille Steele moives that I had at home and haven't watch....just literary trash. I love it! Actually, I think Kate came the day before. My days are just mixed up here.

LeMaistre came in around 10 and told us more about the infection. It is what he thought and he was hoping that with a little more blood...I might could get out of here late that afternoon. What he was looking for specifically was a higher count, .5, of GRAM # (nephils (sp) or something like that. Thank goodness Keli was here because I couldn't remember anything he said. Keli told me basically a white blood cell starts as a mono-something cell, the next thing to grow in the cell is nephils and those are what fiight infections. I need a lot of those...........we all do. Anyway my count was only up to .1 yesterday afternoon so I didn't leave. The nurse did tell me that they started exit papers for me to leave today, but we will see. Honestly, I am not feeling that great, but my low feeling could be just from being in the hospital for 5 days. LeMaistre is fairly sure the infection is coming from my port. I think also, because last night I began to feel soreness in that area. It isn't red or hot, just very tender. LeMaister will check my WBC and hopefully the antibiotic they have been giving me 12 to 15 hours of the day though IV will have served its' purpose and he can let me go home with an oral antibiotic for 10 more days, then check the blood again. The infection should be gone. If not the port has to go. And I did find out they will not replace it at that time. The area needs time to heal, and LeMaistre isn't sure that I will need it anymore! That is good news, so pray that whenever they decided to take the port out, it is the right timing so that I DO NOT need to have it replaced! Amen.

Anyway back to the fun part. I don't think I have mentioned that my hair is almost gone. Well if you were to see me, with a head band, front view, you might think........"hey, she has lots of hair still," but my back looks like a new born's head, you know they way the rub they hair off the back of their heads? Well, that's me. And top of head view is very thinning. I am so ready to shave me head! Hair is just every where, but I am wait to do it at home tonight. James does his own hair styling, and it is pretty much the style I am looking for ....I think they call it a razor cut 1/8 of an inch! Lovely, right!

I haven't bought any hair things yet, although I have gone wig shopping (that's a trip!) So Keli went and suprised me with serveral scarves and helped me learn different ties. I just couldn't resist the photo! I personally don't think it's so bad considering none of us have make up on, and my skin is peeling like I had some expesive chemical peel (a reaction to a drug)......nice! Pam looks like Mrs. Berry! I look riduclous, and Keli looks way to young to have a scarf tied around her head for that. God blessed me with her, all of the scarves are so cute, and have fun metallic thread running through them and some of them have jingle jangles on them. I think I will be wearing mostly scarves and caps at lease for the summer. I just think a wig is going to be TOO HOT!

I love you all, and will write later today tell you what the doctor has to say today. Also, I am not receiving guest at the hospital or at home, and NO FLOWERS. For right now, just my immediate family and Pam, but when I can see people and go OUT again, you will be the first to know!

I ususally end with a scripture that pertains to my daily feelings, but to day I am going to give a excerpt from a poem that I found on line; "Words from the Well" http://www.peggiesplace.com/well0.htm Copyright 1996 by Peggie C. Bohanon. Springfield, MO 65803. All rights reserved.

It is a long poetic prayer, so I just am giving your parts that fit for me and my trial. God bless you all.

...It's night, O Lord, be swift to hear;
To bring relief for falling tears.
Needless pain, don't let it be;
But healing pain, to set me free.

...I'll take the hurt; I'll take the strife;
In Hands so strong I'll hold your life.
I'll fill the well with heaven's gain,
When you, My child, give Me the pain.

...O, night, give way to endless day!
I've found His depths, His highest way!
O, night, give way to morning's dew;
The well is deep; the source is You!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Today is day 1o for me. This was suppose to be the a really good day for me. Actually, day +9 to +14 were suppose to be all up hill. But I hit a little bump in the road. Funny, I use to call multi-myeloma a little bump, and now I am calling a small infection a little bump.........I think I will call this infection a little PEBBLE in my path to remission!

As you know, I am in the hospital and will be until "Monday-ish" according to my doctor. I think he has learned that if he tell me Monday...I will be ready to leave on Monday! So he is stretching it for me~ How nice~! (said with a southern accent)

Here is the skinny: They took 5 or 4 cultures on Thursday, the day they checked me in, and by 24 hours, only one of the cultures grew bacteria. The culture grew an organism by the name of Gram Positive Cocci in clusters, or other wise called staphylococcus sp, coag neg. I tried googling, but it was all so boring that I decided not to include any info. LeMaistre said basically it is an infection and he still needs to find the source. It is possible that my port might have a small infection, and if so, 50% of they time they can fix it with meds, antibiotics, etc...but the other 50% of the time it has to be removed surgically and it is my guess that they will replace it at the same time.

The really good news is that I am improving everyday! Praise the Lord! Even with an infection! How's that for a working God? Everything is important, one very important factor is my white blood count WBC. it dropped just exactly as it should have to a <.1 and has begun to rise, just exactly as it is projected. On Friday it was at .1 and today is is already at .2! This infection is not effecting the rising of my WBC! And remember, I really have had very little "bad" side effects; no vomiting, no diarrhea and minimal mouth sores. Again, prayers and good thought are working! Thank you. Tomorrow is Sunday, and LeMaistre is on call, amazing right! Who gets put in the hospital the weekend "their" doctor is on call? So I will see LeMaistre, maybe he can tell me more about the location of the infection. He has told me that he WILL NOT release me from the hospital until my WBC are up. So I am thinking Tuesday for an out date. Keli spent the first night, Pam spent the second night, Keli is staying tonight and Martha will stay with me on Monday night....and I am breaking out of here on Tuesday! I did get "hospital privileges" that will allow me to go and visit my girlfriends on the 10th floor! These are the girls that are going through the same transplant; Cheyenne - 45 and Pam - 50.

"God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of Day. Psalm 46:5 "Be still, and know that I am God;" Psalm 46:10

Day 8 Twist

Dear Family and Friends,

This is Linda Joan-Terry's favorite sister......:)...since I'm her only sister I can have that title pretty much to myself! As we were leaving the oncology unit (not to long after we entered Day 8 info) we had a little set back. Terry had about a three minute set of chills---chin quivering kind and that was just enough to have the nurse call the Dr. Since she is at minus 1 white blood count the chills are a way the body shows a "possible" infection. Her Dr. is very conservative so we were wisked off to the oncology floor to spend the night. Keli is on her way to stay here tonight. Terry had her heart set on a cheeseburger from Chester's so you can tell she really was feeling good even with chills! We really think this will be just a one night visit as she really has done well. We will keep you posted.

Ps. AJ is on his way with the cheeseburger and don't forget your sister-in-law does not take onions on her cheeseburger!

Day 8

Dear Family and Friends,

Here at the oncology outpatient clinic-my port was clogged this morning so I was a little concerned that I would not be able to get my meds through IV....but roto router came and thankfully they unclogged me....My friend Shinna is here with quite a loss of hair since yesterday. Remember she is two days ahead of me in treatment as we both have Multiply Mylemoa. I feel very tired but overall pretty good. The BEST news is I don't have to take those horse tablets called penicillin (was taking 4 tablets a day) anymore! But really the BEST of the BEST news is that after my Dr. meeting this morning, he told me I was amazing that I am doing so well! To all of that I give the glory to God! Dr. said I might have two more rough days but overall he was very impressed at how I am doing.

"L0 Be still, and know that I am God; ... I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; God of Jacob is our fortress. Palms 46:10-11

Day +7

Dear Family and Friends,

Feeling pretty sleepy and woozy because of the liquid pain medicine that I have to take due to the mouth sores in my throat. The liquid pain meds help me to have some appetite. My day starts with getting to the oncology outpatient office by 9:30 or so (depends on when the Dr. can see me) I have all my vitals checked and blood drawn for testing. Take a seat in a lounger with my little support group of Pam-day 5 and Shianna -day 9-I wait for the hook-up of fluids. We wait for our daily results to see if we only get fluids, more meds-platelets or blood. Not to exciting and I'm not too perky through this. Usually done around 1 or so and head home for a light lunch---then straight to bed till around 6---and then a light dinner--took me an hour to eat a baked potato with chopped chicken last night but I have found if I eat slowly it stays down-yes the hair is going but the strands are in fighting mode--hanging on!

"...his body well nourished, his bones rich with marrow.' JOB 24:21

Day +2 and +3

Things are a little slow I am lower in energy and less strength every day, as it should be. I just go to the hospital daily and get blood work checking 3 main things:
NORMAL
WBC 4.5-10.5 (white blood count)
HGB 12.0-16.0 (hemoglobin)
PLT 150-400 (platelets)

Monday June 22
WBC 3.6
HGB 11.2
PLT 104

Tuesday June 23
WBC 5.3
HGB 10.6
PLT 136

Wednesday June 24
WBC 3.0
HGB 10.3
PLT 162

Thursday June 25
WBC 1.3
HBG 9.6
PLT 160

Friday June 26
WBC 1.1
HGB 9.7
PLT 165

Saturday June 27
WBC 0.6
HGB 9.9
PLT 156

So the whole idea is to bring my white blood counts to below "zero".....that means that all of the old stuff is gone and all of the new stuff can begin to take over, making new clean, myeloma free cells.

They are keeping me way ahead of the game with vomiting and nausea, I may actually make it though without a hitch on that. I do get fluids daily to make sure that I stay hydrated. I am going to take it easy this weekend! Love to all of you! We will catch on Monday or Tuesday.


...I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

+1 Day

Yesterday was day "0." They call it day zero because it is the beginning of a new marrow system for me. Many of the nurses consider it like a new birthday...don't worry I am NOT changing my birthday to June 24th!

I feel amazingly well. As the calendar goes, I should feel ok from day +1 to +4, then day +5 to +8, are going to be rough; lots of the lows, vomiting, etc....but maybe I won't experience too much of that. My WBC (white blood count) will go to -.01.....so I am going to be feeling really, really low! I go to the clinic everyday, via my sister, Joan! She has been a great help.

Here are a few photos. It was truly amazing, it all took about 10 to 15 minutes!

Heal me, oh Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. Jeremiah 17:14

Getting Ready for the Big Day...Transplant Tomorrow

Here we are, Methodist Hospital 10th floor, Oncology Outpaitent Ward, day two of Mephalan, high dose chemo med~ sounds fun huh? Well actually, it has not been bad at all! No sickness, etc....the lady next to me has the same thing, muti-myeloma. She is from Austin, and is only 45. We are on the same schedule, but she did her chemo over the weekend so she is now 2 days ahead! She is carrying around the big pink vomit tub today.........uh oh! I have just "willed" that pink box out of my life!

The restrictions on diet from now on is very odd. Nothing FRESH, everything must be canned, frozen, or cooked extremely well and eaten immediately after cooking. Bacteria is everywhere! So last night I ate 6 pieces of cake, Keli's left over spagetti (not her's, but the spagetti she made from Sunday.....yumm!), Chinese including egg rolls.......etc. Like a prisoner on death row having his last meal. Thank you steroids.

I had to buy all new makeup, and throw away applicators, makeup sponges, etc.........but I realized that I haven't had makeup on in a week! hahaha so I am not to worried about getting anything from bad makeup! I did finally break down and buy some new glasses that were bifocal blended....AJ got tired of me wear cheaters on top of my regular glasses.

Anyway, the important information is that all your thoughts and prayers are at work and I thank you. I feel VERY blessed that I haven't had the normal side effects such as vomits, mouth sores, etc.....but they might very well be "yet to come." And if so, I will say and think only good things. (I might need a little reminding of this!?)

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

The Havest is in!

Good day! This week was long, but the longer and longest have yet to come. On Tuesday I did start my harvesting, it was much better than I thought. Getting the catheter in my neck wasn't so bad, it was as they said, "like getting a really big IV in your neck" Just with local deadening they were are to place the central line. The nurse was very pleased because I had a really "big" vein and they did not have to poke around to find it. I was pretty happy about that too!

I started the harvesting right away. (I hope you can see the two photos...if not, that is because I couldn't figure out how to post the photos) Sorry if the photos are too much for you, but I have many that are curious about the process. The machine looked like a lot of cris-crossed tubes with blood pumping through them and a number of spinning knobs and bags filling up. Actually, quite boring. I packed the suitcase with my computer, thank you notes, dvd's ipod....well I just slept for the 3 to 4 hours......so on Wednesday I didn't take anything anticipating just sleeping again, and I did. But on Thursday, I was wide awake...and wished I had something to do. 6 million stem cells were collected by 1:30 on Thursday and I was done. They removed the central line...that was a little tricky! They really had to apply pressure for 15 minutes to make sure the vein stops bleeding.

I am still on schedule to have two days of chemo starting Monday the 22nd, and the on Wednesday they will perform the transplant, which is really just like a blood transfusion (they call this day "day zero"). All of this will be administered through my port, so no more sticking or poking! Yeah! They will give me plenty of anti-nausea meds and other stuff that will make those two days OK. However, the fun of all this will start going down hill around day 4, Sunday June 27th. I should be feeling pretty yucky on day 4-8 or 9, and then start climbing out of it around day 10 and almost human on day 14. Day 14 will be the day that my marrow has been completely replaced and is all brand new~ cancer free, in remission!

Some of you have asked "if I was 'cancer free' after the Marrow biopsy, why am I still doing the transplant?" Good question. Here's the deal. Yes, my marrow showed absolutely clean, no myeloma cells. And yes, I could have just stopped there and gone to a maintenance program, however, multi-myeloma sometimes can hide. Remember, it does not have a cure but is very treatable, and in most cases will return. When?; is the question. The key is not just to be in remission, "waiting" for it to return, but to be event free~ clean to the point of no relapse. Now, there is absolutely no guarantee, but having a transplant will certainly make that goal much more obtainable for me. I chose to do the early transplant verse the late.

My sister comes on Sunday and she will be sit with me through July 4th, the worse of it. Today, I am really feeling well, well enough to have come to the lake this weekend. AJ and I just wanted to get away for a day or two before we hit this head-on running with the Lord's guidance. As most of you know I really rely on my faith, and I want to share that I have seen AJ's faith really blossom through out all of this. I pray, he prays, we pray together, when I am not up to it, he prays for me...we put all our trust in the Lord. Praise God!

Thank you all for your special thoughts and prayers, please keep them on going. One of the sweetest chemo nurses, Beth, gave me this scripture my last day of chemo in my oncology's office:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Ready, Set, Go!

Yes, everything has started, and I am on a roll. I have had my 4 shots of neupogen; which helps my body make white blood cells and gets my stems cells all excited. Remember, the stem cells live in marrow, but when they get to crowded they start exiting into the blood stream. I have to have enough activity in the blood before they can "harvest." Well, I do! They check my blood and I need a 10 measurement of stem cells before harvesting and I had a 14 and that was before my 4th shot...so I will have plenty for harvesting tomorrow. My white blood cell count is up to 40,000!

AJ will take me in tomorrow for the central line to be installed at 7:30 am (you all know what morning people we are!), and then start I start the harvesting. I should be at the clinic for 5 to 6 hours. They say no pain, just boring hours sitting in a lounger. I will have my computer, ipod and movies.

Lately I have been doubting my health and what direction it was truly headed (reading to much Internet and mind games!), even though everything has been so positive and the doctors have been very impressed with my progress. But I know that God is always with me, and so many of you have reminded me; For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 Scripture is so fulfilling and just brings me back home to my faith. I love the Lord! He has truly blessed me.

We will catch up tomorrow!

Love,
T.

Have Faith, Beleive in Modern Medicine, Postive Attitude

Some people call it Soul, Body, Mind. For me it is Faith, Medical, and Attitude. I believe in my faith and the faith of hundreds of others that have continually prayed for my healing. I believe in my medial team, Dr. Mosqueda, Dr. Dice and her staff, and appreciate AJ , my kids, my family and friends for keeping my positive attitude in check!~ My marrow shows no sign of myeloma cells, which technically means I am cancer free today! For me, I give all the glory of this amazing blessing to God.

Now we are on to the next path, stem cell/marrow transplant. My medical team will change to Dr. Charles F. LeMaistre and his staff from Texas Trans-plant Physician Group through the transplant process, but I have a feeling that Dr. Dice, my oncologist, will be close at hand! After all, I will return to her after the transplant for maintenance therapy.

Here is the low down on the transplant:

June 12, 13, 14, 15 Neupogen shots daily OPT (out patient clinic)
Neupogen shots are growth factors that encourage stem cell production. So the deal is, they are multiply my stem cells getting ready for the “harvest.”

June 16, 17 and 18 a “line” or sometimes called an IV catheter, will be put in placement and stem cell collection or “harvesting” begins.
This will be in a large vein in my neck because it releases so many cells in a rapid amount of time. This line also has an in and out port allows my blood to be withdrawn, have the stem cells spun out of it, and then return into my body. It isn’t painful, just boring! I will be in a lounger for 5 or so hours each day. I think I will pick up my crochet again!

June 19, 20 ,21 days off………… I suspect I will sleep a lot during this period!

June 22, 23 Melphalan Chemo Treatment
I will be admitted into the oncologist in-patient clinic and have two days (about 3 hours a day) of SERIOUS chemo! I will spend one or maybe two nights, unknown at this time.

June 24 TRANSPLANT!
They bring out my frozen stem cells, put them in a warm bath (not the microwave, like AJ thought) to defrost them…then via my port….put the CLEAN cells back into my blood. This works much like a blood transfusion. And then I go home!

June 25 – July 8 (13 days)

The chemo will kill everything~ red and white blood cells and all the platelets, which means my marrow will be destroyed, bringing my immune system to “0”. This sounds much scary than it really is. CAUTION is the key word. I will come home for the next 13 days after the transplant, but make daily visits to the clinic. I will be watch 24/7 and if there is any sign of infection, I will be checked into the in-patient clinic immediately for patient care. I have been told around day 4, 5, 6, and 7, I will feel really yucky! All fun stuff; nausea, extreme fatigue, possible mouth sores, etc……….but the UP SIDE is by July 4th the 10th day after transplant I should begin to feel like a human again. My marrow should be almost totally replaced by then. Is this not the most incredible thing? I am so lucky to have received this disease at this time because so much progress has been made in the last 5 years! It is a good time to have myeloma, IF you have to have it! Realistic recovery is 3 to 6 months. I am planning a great trip for the end of October….I will keep you guys posted!

I know this has been a long entry, but I wanted you guys to have a calendar so that you can keep your prayers going. We are only part of the way there. I do have a lot of local family for support. My sister, Linda, will be coming in during those critical 13 days, she and Martha will take turns watching me. I have all three kids and of course AJ and Pam! So know that I am truly taken care of. As you know scripture is food for me, so here is a wonderful desert!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Pretty Good!

I have to say, Dr. Dice is amazing, especially at giving a marrow biopsy! I didn't feel really anything...except the first little prick from a shot and a little sting from the deadening medicine. The next thing I knew, she already had the needle at the bone. It all took about 25 minutes. It was really nice to be clear headed when I left her office and not spaced out from a twilight drug.


Result will be in about 1 week. I did get a call from my transplant office, all my test were good and insurance approved the whole procedure. So I am figuring I will be finished with the procedure and healing just in time for my 54th birthday.

“Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35

Big Day Tomorrow

Well tomorrow is a big test day. I will be doing a bone marrow biopsy around 11 am. Dr. Dice does this test herself in her office, so I will just be getting local "shots" for deadening and then she will take a needle into the hip all through my lower back area. She said, she is really good at doing this test~! OK. I kind of liked the last needle biopsy where they did it in the hospital under a "twilight" drug...but OK, I am trusting you Dr. Dice.

My forth round of chemo should start on the 21st, but Dice has not scheduled me, so I THINK she will wait for the biopsy results and then make a decision about round four.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

3rd Round

Well I started my third round. I have been feeling fairly well, but have had to use the darvocet (sp) for break-through pain. I had been 10 days without the extra pain aid, remember I still am using the fentanayl patch, but the chemo meds do have a side effect of aching bones~ and they were aching! Just glad it wasn’t the flu.

Monday was my second session and Thursday was my 3rd. The most exciting event this week was yesterday. I went for all the pre-testing for my stem-cell/marrow transplant; about 4 hours, 13 vials of blood, a couple of more sticks, a breathing exam, a few various scans, chest x-rays, etc..........they will analysis and submit it all to insurance to make sure that BCBS (insurance) agrees that am a transplant candidate.

My 4th session of this round is set for Monday the 11th, then I have the 10 days off. However, on the 19th, Dr. Dice and set a bone marrow biopsy to check how clean it is after just the 3 round of chemo. It is possible that I might not need the 4th round, but if I need it I want to take it! Keep praying for the right answer. But certainly, avoiding any weird circumstances I will be heading for my transplant by summer.

Now I wish all Mothers a HAPPY DAY! Mine was delightful. All my kids, James and his family, Linda and her family, and Dot came to our house for a lovely brunch that AJ & James prepared…we played RumiQ and swam all afternoon.

My next posting will be after the bone marrow biopsy on the 19th.

Much love, and please keep praying for a VERY CLEAN MARROW Sample!

Pray so that; “She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come. ~ Proverbs 31:25”

It is working…God is working!

Again, sorry my updates are not more regular, but fatigue is what is really holding me back at this point. I am sleeping a lot, but have been told that is a good thing, so I am just letting my body do what it wants…sleep. I have good days and then bad days. There really is no rhyme or reason to which days I will feel better than others…but again, I just try to go with the flow. AJ has been amazing, tolerating my mental and physical swings and he has been incredibly supportive. Right behind him are my kids! God blessed me with such a wonderful family…and that is not to sell all the rest of you short…your kind cards, calls, emails are so helpful.

I have made a major decision. I am going to stay here in San Antonio, for all my treatment. As some of you might remember I was considering a couple of other options, a very well know place in Arkansas and also, MD Anderson in Houston. Since starting my treatment here, basically because everything escalated so rapidly, and after meeting the rest on the team that will be working with me towards remission, I am very confident the treatment and care that I will receive here is equal to and in some cases better than if I were to leave. They are very personalized here and to have my family and friends close by is very comforting and essential to my psychological and emotional well being. I am thankful for all the input and information that I received from you guys, and please know that this decision was well though out.

My back surgery is now a month past. I am starting to have normal movement again. I am sleeping in bed, finally!, but still cannot lie flat on the floor…it is just too hard, unforgiving surface. I can rotate from side-to-side, which is wonderful. AJ and I can cuddle again! I have started doing just a few yoga stretches but won’t be going back to class anytime soon. Standing, walking and in some cases sitting for a long period of time my back begins to feel strained, but hopefully that too will get better with time.

Are you wondering why I titled this “it is working…God is working?” Well, because it is and he is. There are several elements involved with evaluating the progress and how my body is responding to the treatment. However, I would like to share one very exciting test that really proves that I am responding well to the treatment; the Serum Free Light Chain Assays. These tests are also know collectively as “Freelite.” According to www.myeloma.org website, “It is therefore proposed that Freelite will be a useful tool in the diagnosis and monitoring of NSM,” (non-secretory myeloma) which is what my classification is. The amount of free light chain production is linked to the activity of myeloma or plasma cell growth. So here is the good news:

NORMAL
Kappa: 3.3 – 19.4
Lambda: 5.1 – 26.3
Kappa/lambda ratio: 0.26 – 1.65

On MARCH 11th, before any treatment my test results showed
Kappa: 54.59 (high)
Lambda: 2.15 (low)
Ratio: 25.39 (high)

On APRIL 9th, after the 1st round of treatment (prior to second round) my test results showed
Kappa: 4.36 (in the NORMAL range!)
Lambda 1.47 (a little low)
Ratio: 2.97 (still high, but much closer to normal)

These results are solid proof that I am RESPONDING to the treatment, AMEN!

I will start my third round of treatment this Thursday, April 30th. I feel really good about my advancement. Dr. Dice is fairly sure that she will do a marrow biopsy after my third round of treatment. She feels that my Freelite tests show great response, and because I am NSM, a marrow biopsy is the clearest testing for me to see how close to remission I am. A normal kappa/lambda ratio after treatment is a particularly good remission and is termed a “stringent complete response,” ~ according to what I have read that term is defined as “normalization of the free light chain ration and absence of myeloma cells in the bone marrow following treatment.” THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!

After I reach that point, then we will schedule the stem cell/marrow transplant. Keep the prayers and prayer chains going. I am almost ½ the way. The transplant will be the next major step.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Psalm 28:7

Fatigue

I haven’t posted since Good Friday mainly because of fatigue! If you will remember, I had 1 session of chemo before Easter and immediately after Easter on Monday, I had my second session…that is where it sent in. After the 3rd session on Thursday I was what I would call full blown FATIGUED! I am not really looking forward to Monday. It is my last session of this round of chemo, but I do have both meds…Valcade and Doxil (sp), and I expect to have my butt kicked…but that is OK, as long as the meds are kicking the mm’s butt! By the way, “mm” is short for multi-myeloma.

I will let you guys know how it goes. I am going to ask my doctor about this fatigue. I am looking forward to my 10 days off. My 3 rd round, 1st session of chemo will start on April 30th. Keep up the prayers and good thoughts. I am losing a little steam, but all the kinds words, prayers and thoughts are keeping my head above water, so to speak.

I love you all!

T.

Good night!

I am getting ready for bed, but wanted to post something out there for my dear friends and family. The weekend at the lake was wonderful. It is so peaceful there and AJ and I get a lot of rest.

Monday, I did get the famous pedi-port. I have been a little sore, but that is typical. Tomorrow my port will “lose it’s flower!’, so to speak. They will use if for the first time and I am a little anxious. Although it is still covered with a bandage, I know that there is skin over the port. I have read that I should use numbing cream at least 1 hour ahead of time to stick the port, but I don’t have any! I am going to my appointment early in hopes that they will have the cream and apply it early enough that I am not going to feel the stick…or the “aching” afterwards that I heard about at to night’s support group.

Yes, SA has a myeloma support group. It meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month. AJ hosts and plays his regular poker game on Wednesdays so it is a perfect time for me to go. Keli was my driver and it proved very interesting for us both. Most of the people there were older than me, and the good news is that over ½ of the group was in remission, and the other ½ working towards it. I found out that pain in a forever part of the cancer, whether you are in remission or not. So I don’t feel so bad about popping the pain pills. And secondly, I learned that I have much more to learn. I will probably attend the group occasional, especially when there are specific guest speakers that will speak on topics I am interested in.

The BIG news is I met my “most likely” transplant doctor. The groups name is Texas Transplant Institute, and his name is C. Frederick “Fred” LeMaistre, M.D. http://www.texastransplant.org/ for those of you who are interested. He is amazing! He spent about 1 ½ hours explaining myeloma in layman’s terms and also went into dept about the transplant process. I will say this, it is not a easy task. I kind of was thinking it was just a surgery deal that wasn’t to comfy….but no….it is much more than that, but no need to get into all that now. I do have detailed questions and answers, and WHEN I can figure out how to attach a scanned document to the blog I will give it to those of you who are interested. It is a fascinating process.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful Easter/Passover! God is so good! I thank you all for the many, many cards I get everyday in the mail. So many have beautiful scriptures noted, I hope to journal these scriptures for all to read~ very inspirational! For tonight I will close with some very simple words that came on a card yesterday, “I’m praying that the God of miracles…overwhelms you with His incredible goodness.” He already has with all the prayers, well wishes and love sent by all of you.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and
the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…2nd Corinthians 1:3,4 NIV

Next Week, Busy!

I had a good week. I am still processing everything, in fact I think I spent both Monday and Tuesday in denial! I did read that denial, depression, hopelessness and fear are a few of the feelings or emotions people may experience! ....AJ wants to know if there is anything else he should expect?

Next week is busy. I had the PICC removed last Thursday, and by the way, my blood report was good on the Thursday the 2nd. I will have a “port” in place on Monday, the 6th, with a Dr. Brad Gurwitz...it is out patient surgery. Tuesday I have off, and then Wednesday I will meet with a transplant doctor to get info on the marrow transplant that I will need after my chemo treatment. This is more like an interview. On Thursday, I will meet with Dr. Dice to discuss more about the treatment plan and the interview with the transplant doctor. I will also start my second session of chemo, with a calcium treat called Zometa.

AJ and I are off to the lake. I will posted more after my port installation. I am really looking forward to that. It will be so much better than the PICC. I finally took a real shower last night! It was wonderful to wash my own hair! God is good and I choose life.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Aldino's Patio

I feel really good today! So good, that Keli, Pam, Lindsey and I are going to Aldino's patio to have a little pasta and vino. Tonight is POKER night...so AJ is busy.

Here is a website that I found that is easy to understand, for those of you who are interested. http://www.multiplemyeloma.org/about_myeloma/2.02.php At the bottom of this article, the last paragraph speak of:

Nonsecretory myeloma - Rare form of myeloma affecting about 1% of myeloma patients where the malignant plasma cells do not secrete M protein or light chains.

Of course, I am in that 1%. I am finding out more about that area, but most importantly, I go tomorrow for blood work to see where my white cells are.

Taking a Break!

Well, I guess you could say I am on a break. Yesterday was suppose to be my last chemo treatment for this 1st cycle, however, my white cell count was too low, so Dr. Dice decided not to administer the chemo. I am going in for blood work next week so that she may continue to evaluate the effects of the first three treatments. Dice is pleased with the results. I wish I could explain it better, but I am working on that.

I have decided to replace the “picc line” http://picclinenursing.com/picc_why.html with a “port.” The pick line is really nice because they do not have to stick me for blood, most shots, and/or chemo treatments, but it is outside of my body and needs to be flushed a few times a week. Where as a port, is an out-patient surgical procedure, but is much more body friendly and will last a long time! Nothing hanging and I can just live normally... I am looking forward to getting rid of my “jue~jue beads” (the extensions that hang off of the picc) as I call them.

I must tell you I feel really good and have had no side effects to date, with the exception of sore joints, but I still tire easily. My next treatment is scheduled for April 9th. I am still gathering information and thoughts about getting a second opinion. I will keep you updated. God is good!

TGIF

Thank you all.....I am sorry I haven't posted lately, but the last few days have been long, I'm recouping from the back surgery. In my haste to get off pain medicine, I failed to realize their value for the healing process. I did have my 3rd chemo session yesterday and still have been very fortunate to have little to no reactions to the chemo. Monday will be my last treament of the 1st round of chemo. Each treatment is a 21 day cycle, 4 treatments over an 11 day period, then 10 days off. After Monday I will have the 10 days off to research, regroup, stay the course etc. I plan to use that time wisely and take in all of the wonderful suggestions and information that all of you have sent.

Rest easy, I feel really good! AJ and I are headed to the lake. Hopefully, AJ can get some rest and sleep! I will read-up over the weekend, so I can give you all more information I can now, actually concentrate while reading the material about multi-myeloma. Love, T.

Good Morning! I am "ALIVE," in the words of Dic McGoon.

I had my second session of the 1st round of "kimo" in the words of Teal Hausman. I should be going home today and will serve the rest of the beginning~11 week treatment by out-patience...I haven't been able to absorb everything but I am so grateful for my husband, ALL of children, family and friends....especially Pam my buffer, my sister Linda, the note taker, and Keli for really keeping my blog up and just being the best caretaker.

I love you all...will get settled at home and hopeful play a more active roll in the blogging. ...Gotta go...maybe the M.O.M. is working! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keeps the prayers, thoughts, the light and of course; giving all the Glory to God.

<3, T.

Doing good....

Just to let everyone know, I am feeling good.... just a little tired. Dr. Dice says that I have have had an excellent response to my first chemo treatment. No more news until mid week!
I did get my hair washed and blow dried by the fabulous room service~ Blue Bird Salon!!! Sarah was great!

CHEMO

Thursday, March 19^th

Mom woke up feeling much better from back surgery this morning.  They went in through a very small incision in her back and placed a balloon in the fracture for balance then used bone cement to fill in the gaps.  They also went ahead and took bone marrow biopsies from the spine and from the hip. Today they put in her PICC line to prepare for chemo and whatever else they give her (steroids, liquids, etc.).  This way her poor arm will not be so used and abused anymore!  She will be receiving chemo through her PICC (like a permanent IV) about 4 o’clock today.  She will be on an 11-day treatment to starting today.  Today she will be receiving Velcade and receiving it every 72 hours for the next 11 days.  On day 4 she will be receiving Doxil as well.  Yes, there are the typical side effects that could always happen to any patient going through chemo, but we will not know anything until later…. Planning on posting again this weekend.  Thank you to all of those who have called, email, sent flowers, prayers, etc.  I have had the settings on the blog changed, so you should just be able to post a comment if you would like.  My mom is not checking her messages or email, so it would probably better to check the blog and comment there if you would like.  Please understand that our family’s decisions are being made by talking and researching with several medical doctors and nurses.  We appreciate your opinions and thoughts.  We are confident and comfortable with what has happened up until now.  At this time they have not told us anything about the cancer’s stage.

Keli

BIG UPDATE!

Thursday, March 5th- Went into to have a biopsy from the mass attached to my rib cage. Doctors went through my back and took a tissue sample from the mass as well as a three inch rib bone sample. I now have a 5 inch cut on the upper left side of my back, healing with stitches. This was supposed to be an outpatient surgery but I ended up staying in the hospital overnight and maybe another day.

Friday, March 6th- Now I am home and very sore/uncomfortable from surgery…. sleeping a lot. Keli is home from spring break and will be taking care of me.

Tuesday, March 10th- Visit to Dr. Dice- diagnosis only for the mass attached to my rib cage…. Plasma cytoma- of the multiple myeloma family- instead of being multiple lesions, this is one lesion. Still need diagnosis for lesions found in my hips….Dr. Dice now wants to take a bone marrow biopsy from both of my hips sometime within the next two weeks. She says that there is a possibility that I have multiple myeloma and the plasma cytoma and that possibly the plasma cytoma could turn into multiple myeloma. She suggests taking some time to get better, get ready for the bone marrow biopsy, and discusses possible treatments to be decided upon within the next month. Possible treatments- Staying here in SA and taking multiple meds, including chemo in a pill. Also suggests chemo in radiation form further along the way. We talked about MD Anderson and Arkansas, but I am not sure that I want to go. Dr. Dice believes that these are all great places, but I must keep in mind that I will be part of clinical trials. Dr. Dice makes me feel very comfortable with her suggestions and why go so far if this is something that I can treat here…..

Thursday, March 12th- Moving around, sleeping and trying to recoup from surgery….
About lunch time I was nauseated and began to vomit. In the process of all of this, we heard a loud pop and I felt a sharp pain in my back- WOW! What the h*** was that?????? Now back in bed, receiving some TLC from family and friends as well as wonderful massage therapy from Tammy and Lisa. Maybe I have a pulled muscle, but we are not sure. All I know is that I am very sore!

Monday, March 16th- Checking into the hospital, still not feeling well at all and my back is hurting!!!! Doctor Dice is not happy with the way I have been feeling this last week, and would like to run more tests. Dr. Dice says I should be getting better by now, and I am really not much better. MRI and CT scan scheduled…. Pumping me full of liquids, I am very dehydrated.

Tuesday, March 17th- MRI and CT scans today….
Tuesday, March 17th Evening- Dr. believes that I have multiple myeloma that has now spread into my spine. Treatment needs to be scheduled ASAP…. Possible chemo (radiation form) beginning tomorrow. Not sure yet. While sick last Thursday, the pop I heard was a collapsed fracture of my L1 in my spine. Tomorrow I will see the doctor about possible back surgery and chemo may be pushed to Thursday.

Wednesday, March 18th- Dr. Atkins will be doing surgery on my back this afternoon. He will go in and put balloons to balance the fracture as well as use bone cement to fill the fracture. While I’m under they are also going to do my bone marrow biopsy. Now on my way to a BQ scan for the lungs…. Just checking everything…. Breathing should be deeper, but the pulmonologist says that because I have had surgery (my biopsy on my back) and have been laying down all the time, my lungs are not expanding as much as they should. He doubts the possibility of pneumonia b/c I have no fever, etc.

Multiple myeloma ribbon color: BURGANDY!

Psalms 6:2
Be merciful to me Lord, for I am faint. Oh Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony.

The rest of the diagnosis is coming

I hope the finish the diagnosis part, later today. There is much more to tell, but bottom line~ I am not going to do anything until 2 weeks. I need to heal from the surgery first!

Added problem...

After I meet with the Oncologist on Wednesday the 11th, I was feeling pretty good. Mainly because I knew that I was not imagining the pain I was experiencing, it was very real and was exactly what to be expected after the bone biopspy. It was much more than they excepted to do, so it should have never been expected to be out patient. So the pain wasn't from advancing cancer (which was my first fear)...So I was feeling really good! I knew this was going to go away in a few short weeks. Yeah!

But the yesterday, I was sitting at the kitchen bar eating fantastic chicken soup that Keli made for me for lunch. Oh yes, Keli has been an amazing caregiver this week over her spring break; peeling tape strips off my back, walking me slowing to the gate and back, tracking my meds, cooking lunch and dinner, Family dinner is back at the Hausman House! Anyway, back to the story...I wait sipping the soup and began to feel a little queasy. I asked James, my brother who was visiting, to get the trash can....just as he did....oohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, projectile right into the trash. The another, by this time Keli was next to me, holding me gently, around the stomach and back and she felt it....James heard it..."POP!".....my first reaction, I broke one of the verdebras in my lower back. You see, my hips and legs were facing one way, and I was a little twisted at the waist turning to hit the trash can....but what ever it was BAD!....The good news is "it was just a snap, pop" and I am mending, but this has really restricted my movement when I was mentally ready to get up and go! .......Well, I will be patient. My fingers are slipping all around the keyboard because the pain meds I am taking make me very woozy! God's blessing to all!

Diagnosis better than we could ask for!

As you can see, I started this on Wednesday, finished it Thursday, hoping to post last night....well, I did even finish the guts of the posting......and it is Friday AM?so pretending you are on March 11th.

Today was the day. The drive to Boerne was pleasant! Of course AJ and Keli were talking about what restaurant where we were going to eat lunch...Italian, Bistro Style or so much to choose from, after all ‘it’s’ Boerne, Texas! I ate vanilla ‘light’ yogurt, my pain pills and water.

Get to Boerne and the doctor’s office is small~townish. I like it. One level, lots of windows, very clean. Keli notice that behind me on the wall was a beautiful quilt. It was just a 4 patch, an easy pattern that I have done several times. But what made this quilt so lovely was inside of each square was a “ribbon pin” all different colors~the different colors that signify the different kinds of cancer; pink for breast, and a website~ www.choosehope.com. Multi-Myeloma is “burgundy!” Couldn't’t have asked for a better color!..........(Linda please don’t go there and by the their cancer junk….j/j) Pam told Keli that she still have my bridesmaid dress and would make headscarves, book markers, etc from the remains of the dress. Just the same exact shade! I love it.

They took just 1 vial of blood, and of course, NO weight loss, and I asked if the results from the biopsy were here, and the nurse immediately called San Antonio Methodist and had the sent STAT. I like that! We were waiting for Dr. Dice and she came in the exam room ready to get to business. First she asked me how I was doing, she was consoling about the extensiveness of the biopsy, but expressed the necessity of it all it all and handed me the report. The bone and mass areas’ final diagnosis was “plasmacytoma,” from the family of multi-myeloma, but different. I was please to hear it all had a name. Well, not of it, but at least the bone area and mass. It is better than we could have expected!

I am exhausted…will write more, tomorrow, it is Thursday night ….yesterday I just got burned out. Prayer groups, kept it up!

Love,
T.

Dr. Appointment Set

Well, at least I have a doctor's appointment, Dr. Dice this Wednesday, 11:45 to discuss the bone biopsy results from last Thursday. Yeah! This should give us the “conclusive diagnosis” we have been waiting for.

I must tell you, taking 3" of rib bone and a little of the mass, is much more painful than Dr. Davis lead it to be! Partly my fault, I guess. I have done more than a few "out patient" surgeries, so when Dr. Davis said, "this could be out patient," I really thought that it would be for me..........not so! One thing I failed to asked is how long does it take to replace the 3" of rib bone?...I still don’t know the answer to that, but I decided this must be a huge part of my pain. And then of course the swelling in the area of the chest, the shortness of breath, etc....is a little un-nerving.

I will keep you guys posted, but really expect to be off to MD Anderson seeking a second opinion or to Arkansas, http://myeloma.uams.edu by next week.

Again, thank you all for you prayers, and thoughts! They are working for me. For those of you who are new to blogging…that’s ME! I hope to get some instructions out to you guys. I will figure out how to may comments, and more. Just think how ‘hep’ you are, blogging!

<3, T.

Special Thanks to B. Holland, of BlackStone Studio

I love the custom template of my blog. Those who know me, know that I had to be involved...I created the title, picked the fonts, the colors, the fabric pieces from my 1st quilt, and most of the art elements....BUT I could never had put the "whole thing" together! Many thanks to Ms. Barbara Holland, an extremely talent, young graphic artist of BlackStone Studio ~ And in 24 hours! http://www.blackstonestudio.com

Bone Biopsy 2

I checked into the Methodist Hospital, on Thursday, March 5th, around 10:30 in the morning. Dr Davis made room for me on his schedule so I was the last surgery of the day, “1:30 to follow.” But it wasn’t too late, they took me into the ‘OR’ around 2:30. As I told you all on my last entry, I was going to do this out-patient…….OK, I have NO idea who would do a bone biopsy as an out-patient? I stayed the night. The choice was go home with pills, or stay overnight and get injections…well that was a no-brainer! AJ was exhausted and went home around 10 pm. Martha, came and stayed the night with me. God bless her! She kept me on the schedule for my pain meds, and kept me on “ice chips.”

Dr. Davis felt like the surgery went well; 3 inches of a rib bone and most of the mass taken out. It should be plenty to get a conclusive diagnosis. Oh, and by the way, “she will feel like she has been beaten”….well it’s been a while since I was beaten (haha!)…..and I guess I forgot~But it hurts!

It was a rough day today, but I am home now posting to the blog…walking slowly around the house~smelling Keli’s pecan pies baking. Thank you all for calling, your cards, and emails. So now we wait again, approximately 5 days to get the results.

Exodus 14:14 God will fight for you, all you have to do is be still.

Bone Biopsy Scheduled

On Tuesday the 3rd, I did receive the results from the last group of labs. Everything was NORMAL. Dr. Dice ran many, many test and markers, and they only thing that showed poorly was an iron deficient, a slight anemia. Dr. Dice’s words, “the results are very perplexing.” She asked me to take an appointment with Dr. Bill Davis, a cardio thoracic surgeon and if he offered me a more evasive biopsy, “she would do it.”

Dr. Davis’s office call me with an opening today the 4th, and AJ and I went into hear what his suggests were. After all, we still do not have a clear diagnosis. Dr. Davis reviewed all of the tests, scans, labs and said that nothing proved conculsive…but the fact is, there is something wrong. The next step is to take a bigger tissue sample (larger than what the needle biopsy could take), a bone biopsy and if possible scrape a little marrow. He had and opening for tomorrow, early afternoon. So you know where I will be Thursday, 3-5-09, 1-ish! It takes around 5 days for test results to be reported. Stay tune!

Why "Crossing Cancer"

Being in advertising and marketing for so many years, I just couldn’t have an ordinary blog title! I spent a lot of time researching blogs and their titles, to create a title that really meant something to me, and that was a little ‘catchy,’ so to speak, something my Daddy would have liked. As most of you know, my reason for even starting a blog is due to the sudden news that I could very well be a cancer patient. No need to go into the details, you all ready know them by now. The purpose was to create a place where information could be gotten quickly, and quite frankly…so I didn’t have to talk about this day in and day out! I found titles like; “I’m to Sexy to lose my Hair, Beth’s Breast Cancer Blog, Adventuress Cancer Girl, Cancer Sucks!. The Unwanted Journey,..I could go on. None so appealing to me. I hear attitude it the answer! So my thought is something positive, uplifting, of course me!

CROSS (the 1st syllable of the word “crossing”)
What is first and foremost for me? My faith. The “cross” is a symbol of my faith, and it is a symbol of God’s blessing. I live by faith. Another definition for “cross” is a sign or mark (X) made of two straight lines that bisect each other, used to mark or “cancel” something. I like the idea of "canceling" the cancer. Lastly, it can mean something that goes against, or that annoys or frustrates…I like the idea of going against what cancer wants and I want to annoy the cancer, instead of it getting the best of me.

I am “crossing cancer” in every way that I can. Thank you all for you prayers and kind thoughts.

The Beginning

Here’s from the beginning. I had noticed a few pangs and twangs since October. My first thought was shoulder problems, maybe a rotator-cup issue. I had a little numbing in my left arm~ coming and going. As most of you know, I am not a person who runs to the doctor. I just thought I would wait it out. At the end of December I was have some real chest pain on my right side, but it also came and went. I finally decided that I was 53 and needed to grow-up and get a real doctor. I ask a few of my, what I consider to be reliable, researching friends who their doctors were and I booked an appoint with an Internist, Dr. Albert Mosqueda, but it was two weeks before I could get in to see him as a new patient. On January 7th, AJ and I were out to dinner, and I really was hurting on my right side...so badly that I had him drop me off at the Med Clinic at 10 pm. They took a chest x-ray and the doctor told me I had “costochondritis,” an inflammation of the cartilage of one or more ribs, most commonly the second or third ribs. I thought ‘oh brother,’ and I googled it as soon as I got home. Amazingly, he was right, all my symptoms match and I went to sleep thinking ‘great’ and I will see my new doctor in a week.

I was ready to go to Dr. Mosquesda, mainly because my right side had stopped hurting, but my left side was starting to hurt, and still numbing. Three days before that I cough and hear or felt a ‘pop’, and then it really hurt, almost like a cracked rib would feel. I thought I would stick it out for just a few more days......well, Lucas’ grandmother passed away, and I had to move my doctor’s appoint for another two weeks, Februar12th. Okay...well I really started to hurt and tried to move it up, but there were no slots. I finally arrived at the doctor’s office to meet the ‘Oh, so cute!’, Dr. Mosqueda. All of 43, but I really liked him. Since I had no medical information to speak of, his recommendation was to run a battery of test in order to establish a baseline for me; blood work, upper GI (because of my acid reflux), and this new thing call a CT Calcium Scoring scan. Now insurance doesn’t pay for the calcium scoring, but it was only $75, so I decided....let’s do it. Especially being a woman and all the heart-disease stories you hear about in women~ and after all, it was just a scan...no needles! You people who know me, know that I am really turning a leaf ‘over’ here, not only am I in a doctor’s office, I have accept to take this whole battery of test. Go Terry!

Blood on the 17th, upper GI thing on the 18th, and Thursday, February the 19th I had the Heart Scan thing. Dr. Mosqueda called me that afternoon to give me the good news!~ My calcium score a “0”, no plaque, nothing, clear as a bell. However, the fortunate thing about this particular scan is they can get a peripheral, so to speak, view of the chest. And there were some extracoronary findings; a small mass, 1.5 x 3, cm on my left side. The descriptive words used by the radiologist were, “destructive bony lesion...this soft tissue mass...is concerning for a metastatic depositor even a component of myeloma.” The reporting doctor suggested a CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis areas. And a PET CT would further findings as well as a biopsy, if clinically warranted.

Dr. Mosqueda set the path for at needle biopsy with CT the next day and on Monday the 23rd a PET scan. I couldn’t do the needle biopsy on Friday because of insurance approval. So I waited. I did the PET scan on Monday the 23rd, and again Mosqueda called me to tell me the unfortunate findings, but nothing is sure....not enough information. He sets a meeting with an Oncologist, Dr. Gia Dice, for the next day, the 24th, in anticipation for my needle biopsy that was already schedule for Wednesday the 25th.

Dr. Dice is amazing. AJ and I were both impressed with her knowledge, straight forwardness, her presentation of the information, her exactness and attention to detail, but also......she could be on “Grey’s Anatomy” or “The Practice,” if anyone watches those TV shows. She too, like Dr. Mosqueda, is young,....but really at AJ’s and my age, what doctor isn’t? I really like Dr. Dice! She took 9 vials of blood and is running extensive labs on me, marking all cancer types, said the biopsy report probably would be ready until Friday, but she would call and update me daily on the progress of the results. Dr. Dice called Wednesday evening (the day of the biopsy) and said it just isn’t ready yet, and again on Thursday at 9:30 pm, to tell me this: the “biopsy proved to be inconclusive.” Which means, not putting an end to doubt or question, just that there is not enough evidence to say either way? So that is a good thing!

Dr. Dice’s feels more tests are needed, others that will yield more results, and is going to consult with a surgeon today on exactly how to achieve getting a larger piece of tissue. However, she wants to wait until she gets all of the labs from the blood work which should be here by mid-next week. So we wait patiently.

So there you have it! I love you all, and I love that there are so many friends and family behind me and willing to go the distance with me (what a cliché, but sometimes a cliché’ is the best way to say it!). The amount of prayer lists and chains are over whelming to me and awesome. I thank God for those many, many blessings. I promise that I am going to do what it takes. I will admit, “It” is a little scary, but as I said “it,” not “me.” My plan is to start a blog, but I am waiting to get a firm diagnosis, and besides, you know...it has to be artistically pleasing to MY eye!

Know that I am not fearful, I know God is with me. I leave you with one of my favorite scriptures, Psalms 50:15 ~ And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. My life is constantly blessed and I love giving all the glory to God. Much love to you all.

T.