Another treatment down

Jill had an uneventful treatment today, which is a good thing.  She is feeling okay, but is running out of steam as the day wears on. 

Nothing to report from the doc, which is just fine.

Back to treatment tomorrow, and some updates

Jill has a blood draw today to check her counts and then chemo tomorrow.  This is #6 of 8 and #2 of 4 Taxol treatments.  She was fairly miserable last time, so I see a low key weekend in our future. 

Not a whole lot to report, which is why this blog has been quiet.   This past Friday we had some friends over and had a great time.  This is a group of folks we get together with every month or two and reinforced how life is in so many ways still normal.  When we last got together with these folks, just had just been diagnosed, so it was the first time they got to see her bald.

Saturday evening Jill and I went to a movie (just go with it) and then out to dinner (Brockway pub in Carmel).  A date!! 

This week Jill has been working and feeling nearly normal. 

Meals are coming in twice a week (not a single person has missed!).  Gifts, cards, and kind words seems to appear every day. 

I will post tomorrow or the next day. 

Ultrasound negative!

Today at the breast surgeon, the ultrasound and manual exam could not find cancer in her breast.  Just to be clear, I want to make sure this information is being stated accurately:

1.  This does not mean Jill is officially cancer free or cured.

2.  This was the hoped for and expected outcome of the chemo treatments.  Maybe not this fast, I am not sure.

3.  This does not change any of the treatment plans.

I do not mean to be a downer with the above 3, I just want to avoid people thinking that this is largely over.   It is not.   IT IS, however, WONDERFUL NEWS.  It means she is very receptive to the chemo and it means we should be proceeding ahead with the course or treatment without delays or setbacks.  Yeah!

So, 3 more treatments.  A month off.  During the month off there will be advanced testing (MRI at least) of the areas to make sure the cancer is 100% gone.  Then Surgery to remove the sites. 

Jill and I are so happy. 

One day at a time . . .

My last post, and some conversations this week, made me really think about the one day at a time mentality.  Now that Jill is past the half way point of chemo, someone commented that we were on the downslope.  At first I sort of agreed.  But in reality, that is not the case.  Make no mistake, the progress so far has been awesome.  The support we have had has been awesome.  Jill’s attitude has been awesome.  But my mind snapped back to the fact that we have a long 2011, at best, ahead of us.  Feb and March will be chemo.  April will be recovery.  Then Jill has 1-2 surgeries to remove the impacted breast and lymph nodes.  Then the plan gets a little foggy, but I suspect it will be radiation for 6 weeks, some recovery and then more surgeries.  Other breast, maybe other lymph nodes, and then ovaries.  After all that recovery, she will have reconstruction at some point.  Many people wait 6-12 months for that just as they are totally done with going through all this.

Even with that being the case, we are continuing to only focus on the moment.  We have been doing a good job with that and will continue.  I have been saying something to myself a lot lately – fear, pain, sadness, and grief are not savings accounts.  Worrying about 6 months from now, or even 6 days from now, does nothing to lessen the blow should something happen down the road.  

Bring the pain

Sorry for the delay in update after her treatment on Thursday.  I have been so busy . . . with things like making Brett Favre on Dancing with the Stars twitter jokes . . . and some work and house chores. 

Jill had her first “t” treatment – Taxol – this past Thursday.  Her first 4 treatments were the “a” treatments – Adriamycin -  The last 4, “t”.  Taxol is supposed to not have the nausea that the “a” series had and so far, that is 100% accurate.  Jill has been so excited that she was not stuck on the couch for the days after the treatment.  However, Taxol carries with it pain.  Aching, joint and general pain.  As of last night, it started.  She thought her hands hurt because they were so dry.  Now it looks like it is just the pain.  She is having a good deal of pain and difficulty doing things with her hands (like opening things, tying shoes, etc).  She just took 2 Tylenol.  She has a script for Vicodin.  We will see if she needs it.  One gal she met said that after 2 of the 4 Taxol treatments she went to the Oncologist and said ‘no more treatments’ because it was so unpleasant.  Fortunately, she was talked into finishing.  I have already told Jill I will not allow her such talk.  .  And that I would carry her in myself if need be.  Of course, everyone is different, so maybe Jill will not get that bad. 

Feb 9 update

We have been quiet simply because there has been nothing to report on Jill’s road to recovery.  She has felt good the past few days and has been able to work, take care of the kids, etc – live a normal life.  Tomorrow she has her 5th Chemo treatment, and the first of the 2nd protocol.  The only thing we know is that this one takes longer to administer.  6 hours instead of ~3.   We have no idea if this treatment will be better or worse as far as side effects. 

On a side note, while Jill’s road has been quiet this week, others have not been as lucky.  As we detailed before, Jill has tested positive for the BRCA gene mutation, aka – breast cancer gene.  I am not going to get into the big picture of everyone who might be impacted by this knowledge, but one of her sisters has also tested positive for this gene.  Lyndsay has made this known via Facebook, so I am comfortable putting it out here.  She has some tough decisions to make, so please keep her in your prayers.  See her on facebook for more details.  

Snow days update

Jill has really had her energy return in the past few days – in fact, I would say she has been as close to pre 12/2 Jill as we have seen yet.  Of course this comes after some of her worst post treatment days, but everything is a balance I guess. 

I think the entire house has cabin fever . . . but I am at work today, so I got a pass.  .  Jill is going to the airport today with her mom to pick up some kids (mail order).  Actually, Pam is watching a few of her grandkids while Jill’s brother goes to Dallas to watch that little game on Sunday night. 

Jill and I are really hoping that the groundhog’s prediction is correct . . . Jill would love the ability to get outside every now and again.

Until next post . . .