September 26, 2007

Mark and I were able to meet with Dr. Aggarwal yesterday to get the results from my brain MRI. She reported that I have had a FANTASTIC response to the whole brain radiation. The original tumor has shrunk down to half of its original size with NO SWELLING! This might not sound positive, but they expect some scar tissue from the original tumor to always show on a scan even though it’s not considered active cancer at this point.

Dr. Aggarwal also started me back on Herceptin treatment yesterday, which I’ll continue every three weeks until something changes. We were denied taking the new drug, which I’ve explained before, but the Herceptin has worked for me very well and there are no side effects. I’m also continuing to take the steroid drug that I’ve been on at a very low dose, and the doctor has urged me to exercise and stay active in order to keep my energy level up. I haven’t been a regular exercise person since college days at Ball State, so this should be a treat.

Dr. Aggarwal has scheduled a PET scan to look at the rest of my body for cancer on October 9. This is also a follow up from the treatments that I’ve had and part of my routine care.

I read this passage in my morning Bible time, and it seemed appropriate to share:

Psalm 148:13-14 (The Message)
“Let them praise the name of God–
It’s the only Name worth praising.
His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;
He’s built a monument– his very own people!”

God has exceed our expectations through this whole ordeal over the last 4 years, and we’re humbled and honored to be a monument to His great miracles. Thanks for your continued support and concerns.

Sandy

September 24, 2007

My MRI is done, and I’m very thankful for your prayers. I was more anxious than normal for a test like this, and it makes it hard to lie still during the scans. I’ve always had trouble with my body shaking when I get really nervous, and that happened to me again. Between deep breathing, fervent prayer, and several mental renditions of “Jesus Loves Me,” I was finally able to calm down and get through the test. It didn’t help that the technician had to stick my arm twice to put the contrast into my body, and the first stick really hurt.

Thanks to my ever faithful driver and waiting room support person, my mom, for another day of taking me to appointments. She has been so unselfish and willing to give anything we need from her during this ordeal, and I don’t know what we’d do without her.

We love you, Mom.

Sandy

September 24, 2007

We had an excellent day yesterday at church, and we always receive so much encouragement. Several people have asked me what treatment I’m on, but I am not taking anything right now. Since I don’t have any active signs of cancer, there’s nothing to treat. I should also be off of my steroid drugs after seeing the doctor this week, unless we find something negative in today’s MRI.

Thanks for your prayers this week as I have the brain MRI today and get results later in the week. I’m having trouble concentrating on much of anything while we wait, so your prayers are really helping us get through.

I’ll write more this week to keep the site updated.

Sandy

September 21, 2007

Thanks for all of your prayers and support during the last two weeks. I’m feeling better and haven’t been sick since I started taking my steroids again. I’m very tired most of the time, but I’m beginning to think that this will always be the case. Dr. Aggarwal warned me that I might not feel like myself anymore, but I hate admitting she might be right. I’m also finding that my energy level is swaying up and down dramatically, and I think this is caused by the drugs I’m back on. One day I feel like sleeping all day, and the next I’m fidgeting like crazy.

On Monday, I’ll have a second MRI of my brain to see what has happened since the radiation I had in July and August. We’ll meet with Dr. Aggarwal a few days later to get results, and we also meet with the radiation doctor on Friday. It’s a big week for us as far as this test result goes. I’m praying for no new signs of tumors or swelling in my brain, so we can just keep moving forward without trouble.

Our family had a great one-night trip to Pokagon last weekend to visit our friends at their campsite, and we stayed in a cabin that night. It was a great chance to reconnect with our friends and their daughter, and we all had fun. We hiked, made s’mores, ate a fabulous breakfast brunch, and the kids went swimming. We’re trying to make time for little trips like this, even though we cannot get away too much with the store hours. The kids and I miss getting to spend as much time with Mark as we always did before the store opened, and I know he would like to have more time with us, too.

We’re excited about a possible housing opportunity around Markle that is coming available, so please pray for our decisions about when to get our house on the market and move. It would be temporary until we sell the house and purchase something, but it would get us to the Markle area before Winter!

God bless you.

Sandy

September 12, 2007

This hasn’t been a very good week for me. I’ve been sick several times, and my symptoms don’t add up to anything specific. After a bout of throwing up, fever, and exhaustion this weekend and Monday and Tuesday, Mark talked me into calling the doctor for some help. At first they put me on an antiobiotic because I had a fever, and Shelby was diagnosed with strep throat on Friday. The antiobiotic didn’t make much difference for me, so I called the doctor again yesterday.

Dr. Aggarwal has put me back on the steriods because my symptoms could all be related to more swelling in my brain, and I feel better already. This is not what we wanted to hear, and it scares me to think that my swelling could be coming back. I see her in two weeks to talk about how this treatment works, and I have an MRI of the brain on September 24.

Please pray for this situation and our ability to cope with the news. It’s really hard for me to be sick…does anyone understand that? Yesterday I was too sick and weak to get off the couch at home, so my household and family suffers. They are all doing a great job of helping me and taking care of me, but I know it’s tough on them.

Thanks for your continued support and comments.

Love

Sandy

September 3, 2007

Thanks to our awesome help at the hardware store, Mark was able to go to my follow-up appointment with Dr. Lee last Thursday. Dr. Lee thought that I was doing really well since my radiation, and he scheduled a follow-up MRI of the brain for late September. He encouraged Mark and me to keep me as active as possible, but he warned us that I might have a rough weekend since I just finished the steroid drug earlier in the week. He said I might be exhausted, grouchy, short-tempered, etc. as an effect of the drug. I laughed a little and sighed…that describes me too closely sometimes. He also said that I would still be tired and not feel like myself for a long time. I did crash on Saturday, but it was from the flu. Mark was able to come home early from the store (Thanks, Blake!) and take care of me, and the flu was gone by Sunday morning.

I had my Herceptin treatment on Friday at the chemotherapy office, and it went well. My sister, Sharon, was able to come up and sit with me for the first time, and we had fun. She’s been a great encouragement to me through this ordeal because she’s always happy and full of life. We have fun doing anything together and always laugh. A year ago today, we were sitting on Clearwater Beach and eating seafood by the bay. She flew with me to pick up our van from Clearwater and drive it home! It was one of the most fun Labor Day weekends that I’ve ever had.

We’ve had some encouraging news about a potential place to move closer to Markle. I don’t want to share too many details yet, but please pray specifically that we can get our house ready to sell and move ahead with these plans.

Many of you have commented to me about my strong faith, inspiration, strength, etc. through all of this cancer ordeal. While I appreciate your encouragment very much, I pray that you know where my source of strength comes from. There’s no way that I would survive any of this ordeal if I wasn’t absolutely confident that God was with me through each minute/day/diagnosis/pain, etc. I also pray that it doesn’t take a terminal diagnosis for some of my closest family and friends to realize that God loves you the same way. I expect you to join me in Heaven in 40-50 years!

On a lighter note…we heard from Whitney last night and they are back from their honeymoon. We also had a great birthday party yesterday for Savannah, Shelby and Mark at our house. Today is a holiday, so we’re relaxing at home. Yeh! The store is closed, and we’re already planning where we might travel for a nice dinner tonight!

Thanks for your continued support and prayer.

Sandy