Day 10

You can be very proud of me! Today I gave myself my first injection of Neupogen :-)

My energy level has been pretty good again today. I made a new recipe in the bread maker and a pot of soup. But that depleted my energy for the rest of the day.

Tedra (my youngest daughter) and her husband Jesse should be arriving momentarily...oh and I better not forget Brynn (their dog). I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with them. This will be their first visit since the wedding.

Day 9

Today, I feel so amazingly blessed!

As the first week has passed, I “feel” much better – still can’t do much, but it feels good to feel good. Though my tongue is constantly coated and flavours are affected, my appetite is not bad.

God’s people have been incredible – from family and friends to near strangers – I am sooo humbled by God’s love poured out through His people. Never underestimate how impacting your words and acts of kindness are!

Day 7

I woke up around 3:30am this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Unfortunately I woke Scott up so he was up for the day.

I find having a shower seems to wash my energy down the drain. I tried to push through so I would sleep through the night, but think I pushed a little too much.

I am beginning to learn how to give myself Neupogen injections. I have trouble seeing me stabbing myself :-)

Thank you to all the family and friends who have been so supportive. You are a great encouragement. We can't tell you how much your prayers mean.

Tomorrow will be a big day for Scott as he heads out around 6:00am for a hospital conference in Barrie for his dad and then to the retirement home to clean out the room. Please pray that a space opens in a nursing home close by soon.

Day 5 & 6 (Sun/Mon)

Sunday - Day 5

My queasiness finally subsided today but hiatus hernia is giving me quite a bit of trouble. However, it cleared as the day passed. I don't have much energy today and slept most of the morning. It's hard for Scott to cook as I have no inspirations for him.


Monday - Day 6

Really good night last night. More energy today - enough to make breakfast and supper.

Day 3 & 4

I offered to update the blog for mom today... :-)

Friday - Day 3

Mom was having some abdominal pain through the night. The chemo and medications have irritated her hiatus hernia so it's causing some discomfort in her stomach. She's also been having the odd queasy moment...but overall (considering all of the possible side effects) is doing very well!

The CCAC nurse came to the house to begin the Neupogen injections. This is the insanely priced medication that mom mentioned in the previous blog. The purpose of it is to produce white blood cells which help the body fight infection. 2 days after every chemo treatment she will receive the injections for 8 consecutive days. The plan is for the nurse to teach mom (and/or dad and I) how to do the injections so that mom will have freedom and not be dictated to by the nurse's schedule.

Mom has also found that her appetite has decreased. She has been eating smaller portions but more frequently - not to mention the 8-12 glasses of water she must drink each day. Mouth sores are a common side effect to chemo so she also has to make sure that she rinses her mouth after every meal.

By evening, mom was very tired.

Saturday - Day 4

Today, I had the privilege of spending the entire day with mom. Dad and Joel (my brother) had to go to Barrie to my grandfather's retirement home to finish packing some of his things. He is currently in the hospital and is in the process of being moved to a nursing home. **Thank you Uncle Keith for going with them and lending a hand!**

Today was a day of up and down moments. Mom had a good morning. Her queasiness had pretty much subsided and her appetite was much better. I made her some soup and she ate the most she has since coming home from chemo on Wed! .... of course it must have something to do with my cooking! haha

The nurse came in at lunch time to give her the 2nd shot of Neupogen. They inject it into her leg. This one hurt more than yesterday's. It was a rough afternoon. Her stomach continued to give her discomfort and by mid-afternoon she was experiencing flu-like symptoms - chilled, achy etc. This is a side effect to Neupogen. She took her temperature just to be sure she didn't have a fever and it was normal. By dinner time her chill was almost gone and she was well enough to eat.

Before the day ended we had an enjoyable moment planned for mom ... a manicure! They suggest that all chemo patients have a manicure before treatment begins to reduce the chance of hangnails which could cause infection...but what woman needs an excuse! We knew she had only a few days before her white blood cell count would drop so I took the opportunity to ask a friend to come by and give her a manicure. **Thanks Jen!**

I just checked in with mom again...she is quite tired but feeling "pretty decent".

Thank you for your words, prayers and kindness. We read the comments you've left often and it has been so encouraging for us. We know that mom has experienced next to no side effects to this point because of your prayers...we can feel them! So on behalf of our family, thank you for your continued support!

Andrea (Joy's daughter)

Chemo - Day # 1 & 2

Chemo Day (yesterday) went well. The staff at the Juravinski Clinic are very nice. Last night went quite well. I woke up several times and felt a little queasy. Scott brought me some crackers in the early morning and that helped. This afternoon I started experiencing some abdominal pain. Hopefully, we can get this under control soon.

We did run into a snag with one of the drugs that I need to start taking on Friday. Our drug company would not automatically approve it. It takes ten days for approval. At a cost of $1606.00 every week of chemo (16 of them), we weren't about to pick up the bill. Staff worked hard to get something in place, and late today (Thursday) we received the necessary bridge financing. Scott was able to pick the drug up today - lots of trips to Hamilton this week!

We so appreciate the wonderful support of so many friends and family. The Lord has allowed us as a family to go this way - not without purpose. Though we face challenges, He shows us in many ways that He is near and brings answers to our needs. We affirm that He Is a Good God.

The journey begins...

The summer of 2007 has been a busy and hectic one. My youngest daughter Tedra was married on Oct 6th (Thanksgiving weekend). Five days after her wedding I discovered a large lump in my left breast. A day later I noticed there was also inflammation and redness. After doing some research on the internet, it did not come as a surprise when our family doctor said "this is worrisome"and "more than likely cancer".

My doctor proceeded to schedule me for an ultrasound guided biopsy and consultation with a surgeon. The biopsy confirmed that I had ductal carcinoma. The surgeon was uncertain whether surgery or treatment would need to be first, however he was quite certain that I had IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer). After further tests (mammogram, bone scan, ultrasound, xray) there was no evidence of the cancer spreading (thank you Jesus). They concluded that because of the size of the tumor (approx 5cm) and possibility of micro cells within my body, chemotherapy would be the first route of action. I was then referred to the cancer clinic.

On Friday, November 16th I met with an oncologist at the Juravinski cancer clinic in Hamilton. After examination, he determined the tumor had grown to a size of 10cm x 8cm...it had more than tripled in size in just a few short weeks! He chose AC & Taxol chemotherapy for me. This means 2 drugs, AC (Adriamycin & Cyclophosphamide) will be given every 2 weeks and repeated 4 times. The Taxol treatment begins after the AC treatment is completed. It will also be administered every 2 weeks and repeated 4 times. The total treatment time will last 16 weeks. To my surprise, he wanted me to begin just 5 days later.

This has been a time of learning to trust the Lord, one day at a time, one step at a time. We chose to share the news early on and are grateful for the prayers and wonderful support we have from friends and family. We are continuing to trust God for good things because God IS good!