The First Update

I have been sending out update emails to a group of friends and family who tell me they want to know what's going on with me.  As I continue to update them, I realize that these emails are getting long and cumbersome.  So in the interests of time (and keeping friends!), I decided to repost these emails to this blog and, going forward, will put all my updates on this site instead of sending out long winded emails.  That way people can check them at their leisure.  So here is the first update I sent:

September 26, 2011

All,

I apologize for not getting this out sooner.  After my meeting last Wednesday with the oncologist, I was completely overwhelmed and honestly just could not vocalize my thoughts.  It's taken a couple of days to wrap my head around all of this.  But in essence, this is where I am right now and this is what the oncologist told me...

The standard treatment for this type of cancer is chemo and radiation.  The chemo is 3 treatments, each 3 weeks apart.  The radiation is 5 days a week for 7 weeks.  I do them both together.  Then I'll have another 3 rounds of chemo (once every 3 weeks)  after I'm done with radiation.  The chemo comes with the normal side effects (nausea and vomiting, fatigue) but also comes with some issues with low red blood cell count, so they will have to take my blood every week and I may have to have blood transfusions.  

Everyone that has this radiation has side effects that affect your quality of life, but the degree of the effects is different for each person.  Generally, people lose their sense of taste and smell.  They lose the ability to produce saliva which brings a whole host of other problems with it.  If your mouth isn't constantly moist, bacteria grows in it and causes tooth decay and all kinds of problems with your teeth and mouth in general.  Because of this, I have to get my teeth cleaned and checked and have any dental work done that is necessary (cavities being filled, teeth being pulled, etc) prior to starting treatment.  After about the 2nd week of radiation treatment, my throat is going to become so sore (and dry) that swallowing and eating will be very painful, so a lot of times they insert a feeding tube into your stomach so you can get nourishment.  People usually lose a lot of weight with this treatment (the bright side for me!  I've always been a "glass half full" kinda girl!  Haha!).  

Because of the harsh side effects of the radiation, I'm going to try to get into MD Anderson for treatment.  They have a different kind of radiation, Proton radiation, and it has a much finer beam to pinpoint the cancer and cause less damage to surrounding tissue.  I have been told that they may not accept me if I am on a county medical plan (which they are trying to set me up for for my dental procedures).  I have to be accepted for treatment first (I should know something by Wednesday), then I go through the financial aid process.  I hope this is God's will.  I have a friend who has volunteered to live in my house and take care of my animals for the 2 months I'd have to be gone.  

All of the above treatment plan is based on the assumption the cancer has not spread.  They are trying to schedule a CT scan, bone scan, and MRI for me to determine this, but I have not heard back from them for an appt. date or time yet.  If the cancer has spread, I'm sure treatment will be much more aggressive.

I'm NOT looking forward to any of this!  I guess my prayer request would be to pray for the cancer to not have spread and for MD Anderson to grant aid and care so that I can have the less harsh treatment and the side effects will be less severe.

I know this is going to be a hard road but I also know that there is a plan and, while it may not seem very good right now, in the big scheme of things, it's going to be perfect.  God is sovereign.  He can't make a mistake.  So, I'm doing everything in my power to keep my faith strong and keep moving forward.

Again, I'm so sorry I have not sent something out sooner.  Between the cancer and all that that encompasses, the financial aid for the cancer, the hoops at MD Anderson, and just trying to figure out how to pay the bills from day to day, I've got a lot of moving pieces in my life right now and it gets kind of overwhelming sometimes.  But as things develop, I'll let you know.

I want to thank all of you who have emailed and called and offered to help and already done so much for me.  You have no idea how much it helps and how much it means to me!  Without you, I don't know how I'd be doing this.  I know God is here and He shows Himself to me through all of you every single day.

I love you all!