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.