Today I had my 4th treatment of Ipi (Yervoy). I was surprised that after the fourth treatment, I am done.
I will have an MRI on my brain in 2 weeks (this will tell us how the 2-3 tumors are and if they reacted in any way to the treatment; of course, it will also tell us if there are any new tumors).
In 3-4 weeks, I will have another PET scan. This will show if the tumors in my hip and liver (as well as brain) have gotten smaller, bigger or the same size. It will also tell if there are other areas with new tumors. If the tumors are the same size or smaller, I will not have treatment; if they are bigger or there are new ones, I will start a different drug for treatment. The thing about Ipi is that even if you have a slight increase in tumor growth after the fourth treatment, 30-40% of people will have a decrease in tumor size a while after the fourth treatment is done. If I do not have treatment, I will have PET scans every 8 weeks for follow up.
I will meet with my oncologist again in 4 weeks.
I had received holy water from a retired teacher and friend who worked with my mom. It just happens that she got it from one of the nurses at the oncologist office who had cancer and is now in remission. This morning I used part of it. I will keep some more for my next few appointments.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming :)
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Fun Weekend & Back to A Somewhat "Normal" Routine (At Least for a Week) - 09/18/2011
On Friday, Kurt and I went for my 10 day checkup after having my 3rd treatment. My blood work came back really good - my hemoglobin is still a bit low but did increase since the last blood work on treatment day; plus it is not extremely low so it shouldn't be a problem. I will go back on Tuesday, September 27th and hopefully will have the 4th treatment. I will find out more on what will follow - my guess right now is that I will have both a PET scan and an MRI to see how the cancer has reacted to the treatments. From there, I am not sure where they will go. I could still continue on the Ipi (Yervoy) or they could try me on something else - possibly the newly FDA approved drug. We'll wait to see what my oncologist says on the 27th.
This weekend our family went camping at Van Riper for Harvest Fest (campsites are decorated for Halloween and the kids dress up to go trick or treating). It was a great weekend spent with my mom and dad, my brother and his three kids, other family and friends!
Tomorrow I will be returning to work since May 9th! I was given the okay by my oncologist and neurosurgeon to go back but my oncologist would like me to do a week at a time and take it slow. Since I am still in treatment, I will be off for those weeks. We will see how this next week goes and go from there. I'm anxious to get back to 'normal' life and to see my co-workers! My top priority though is to keep myself healthy and if it gets to be too much, I will have to slow back down.
Finally, today is my Grandma Porter's 84th birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'COOKIE GRANDMA'!
This weekend our family went camping at Van Riper for Harvest Fest (campsites are decorated for Halloween and the kids dress up to go trick or treating). It was a great weekend spent with my mom and dad, my brother and his three kids, other family and friends!
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| The Ball Family @ Van Riper for Harvest Fest - 09/17/2011 (This picture also shows that my hair is growing relatively quickly) **Nicest picture we took - not to keen on the fake gun Nathan is pointing at Ashley though!** |
Tomorrow I will be returning to work since May 9th! I was given the okay by my oncologist and neurosurgeon to go back but my oncologist would like me to do a week at a time and take it slow. Since I am still in treatment, I will be off for those weeks. We will see how this next week goes and go from there. I'm anxious to get back to 'normal' life and to see my co-workers! My top priority though is to keep myself healthy and if it gets to be too much, I will have to slow back down.
Finally, today is my Grandma Porter's 84th birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'COOKIE GRANDMA'!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Emotional Moments Being a Mom Battling Cancer - 09/10/2011
This day started out fairly normal with Kurt working (scheduled on a Saturday), Nathan signing up for flag football for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders, etc. My mother-in-law, Kay, drove us to Negaunee for flag football and then Ashley and I spent two hours hanging out with grandma!
We came home and were relaxing, watching t.v. and waiting for Kurt to get home from work. Not sure how the discussion began but Ashley started telling me how she talked to a couple of her classmates about me and they asked if I was going to die. I asked her how she answered and she said, "No!" I gave it some thought before I proceeded ... Do I want to give her false hope that I will not die? Does she know that there is a possibility that I could? Both Kurt and I have been pretty open with the kids since the beginning and want them to know what is going on without trying to have them stress or worry about it. I decided to ask her if she knew that it was a possibility? She told me she did and when I asked her if she thought like I did and that I am going to fight it, she said yes. Of course, I shed many tears during our talk (and many more since)!
I got a phone call which broke up our discussion for a moment. When I returned into the living room, Ashley just kept looking at me. Of course, that made me cry more! I told her that I plan to fight cancer and hope to be around for a LONG, LONG time. Ashley told me that one of her classmates was really worried about me and I asked if Ashley was also. She told me she was (even though I already knew the answer)! I told her that there should not be any child (especially an 8-year-old) who has to worry about their mom!!! Ashley and I both began crying. Nathan walked into the room and joined in the conversation. He is usually more silent about things but mentioned he talked with a friend who asked if I survived. Nate told him that I did but that I still have cancer. Again, I told him that I plan to be around a long time and hope that I can be here to see them graduate, have babies, etc. We all sat together and cried!
The reason I tell this story is not because I want our emotional family moments to be out there but because I don't think alot of people (including myself) realize how much children are affected by a parent or loved one with cancer. I know my kids think about it but I guess I didn't realize how much they talk to their friends about it. As Oprah would say, it gave me an "Ah-ha" moment - how much I LOVE my children and how if something should happen to me, how much I want them to know what they mean to me! I know they showed me today how much I mean to them!
We came home and were relaxing, watching t.v. and waiting for Kurt to get home from work. Not sure how the discussion began but Ashley started telling me how she talked to a couple of her classmates about me and they asked if I was going to die. I asked her how she answered and she said, "No!" I gave it some thought before I proceeded ... Do I want to give her false hope that I will not die? Does she know that there is a possibility that I could? Both Kurt and I have been pretty open with the kids since the beginning and want them to know what is going on without trying to have them stress or worry about it. I decided to ask her if she knew that it was a possibility? She told me she did and when I asked her if she thought like I did and that I am going to fight it, she said yes. Of course, I shed many tears during our talk (and many more since)!
I got a phone call which broke up our discussion for a moment. When I returned into the living room, Ashley just kept looking at me. Of course, that made me cry more! I told her that I plan to fight cancer and hope to be around for a LONG, LONG time. Ashley told me that one of her classmates was really worried about me and I asked if Ashley was also. She told me she was (even though I already knew the answer)! I told her that there should not be any child (especially an 8-year-old) who has to worry about their mom!!! Ashley and I both began crying. Nathan walked into the room and joined in the conversation. He is usually more silent about things but mentioned he talked with a friend who asked if I survived. Nate told him that I did but that I still have cancer. Again, I told him that I plan to be around a long time and hope that I can be here to see them graduate, have babies, etc. We all sat together and cried!
The reason I tell this story is not because I want our emotional family moments to be out there but because I don't think alot of people (including myself) realize how much children are affected by a parent or loved one with cancer. I know my kids think about it but I guess I didn't realize how much they talk to their friends about it. As Oprah would say, it gave me an "Ah-ha" moment - how much I LOVE my children and how if something should happen to me, how much I want them to know what they mean to me! I know they showed me today how much I mean to them!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
An Amazing Weekend, 1st Day of School for the Kids and 3rd Treatment - 09/06/2011
I must start by writing a bit about this past Saturday, September 3rd, and the benefit that Negaunee Township Fire Department and many other helpers, people who donated, etc. provided for my family and I. (It also happened to be my mom's birthday!) One day soon I will write more about it in detail but I didn't want to forget to mention it right now! It was very overwhelming (yes, my word - I should look up another word in the thesaurus)!!! There was such amazing support with people who attended, gave donations, organized and helped with the benefit. We are very grateful for the support! It was a long day but I made it until the end with only a few breaks.
Today was the start of school for the kids. Nathan is now in 6th grade and starting his middle school career. Ashley is in 3rd grade and will now be on her own until she is a freshman and Nathan is a senior. They both had an excellent day and are VERY tired out!
After dropping both kids off to school, Kurt and I headed to Marquette for my blood work and visit with the PA. My blood work came back good again but he was wondering why my hemoglobin was slightly low so before I could do my treatment, he wanted to have another blood test done in the lab to make sure my body wasn't fighting my hemoglobin. It ended up that I got my 3rd treatment in the end after some waiting for the lab. I came home and took a 2 hour nap but I feel pretty good. It's been a few very long and emotional days; I plan to take it easy for a few days and rest when needed!
As of right now, I am scheduled to have my 4th treatment on September 27th. I will have to wait three weeks after that appointment to go through another PET scan to see how the spots of cancer have reacted to the Ipi!
Thank you again to EVERYONE for your support!
Today was the start of school for the kids. Nathan is now in 6th grade and starting his middle school career. Ashley is in 3rd grade and will now be on her own until she is a freshman and Nathan is a senior. They both had an excellent day and are VERY tired out!
After dropping both kids off to school, Kurt and I headed to Marquette for my blood work and visit with the PA. My blood work came back good again but he was wondering why my hemoglobin was slightly low so before I could do my treatment, he wanted to have another blood test done in the lab to make sure my body wasn't fighting my hemoglobin. It ended up that I got my 3rd treatment in the end after some waiting for the lab. I came home and took a 2 hour nap but I feel pretty good. It's been a few very long and emotional days; I plan to take it easy for a few days and rest when needed!
As of right now, I am scheduled to have my 4th treatment on September 27th. I will have to wait three weeks after that appointment to go through another PET scan to see how the spots of cancer have reacted to the Ipi!
Thank you again to EVERYONE for your support!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
News On EEG, Driving, Etc! - 09/01/2011
I contacted the nurse at my neurosurgeon's office again this morning since we've been waiting almost two weeks for results of the EEG that I had. This morning the nurse told me that the EEG had not been read yet but he would contact me as soon as he got the results. I also asked if he could get clearance from the neurosurgeon for me to return to work as my oncologist gave me the 'okay' - I also mentioned that I have already discussed with my boss about going back for a week and then seeing how it goes ... basically going week to week depending on how I am doing.
The nurse returned a call to me this afternoon. He told me that he had good and bad news. He said my EEG came back great (no seizure activity), my neurosurgeon gave me the 'okay' to go back to work but the bad news was that they could not okay me to drive as the day I was in the ER, a doctor documented that I was having some seizure activity in my hands. This means that by law they cannot give me approval to drive until 6 months of being seizure-free.... November 10th! I could tell he felt bad as he knew how much I wanted to drive. It is a bummer BUT I would much rather be safe than sorry! (I think about the many times that I drove before my surgery that I wasn't feeling right and probably shouldn't have.)
I am also able to start weening myself off the anti-seizure medication - it should take about two weeks.
Good news all in all ... and now I only have 10 weeks (EXACTLY) before I can drive. (There is a bonus to this... it will give us time to find another vehicle eventually since we sold my Tahoe and I wouldn't have a vehicle to drive anyway!)
The nurse returned a call to me this afternoon. He told me that he had good and bad news. He said my EEG came back great (no seizure activity), my neurosurgeon gave me the 'okay' to go back to work but the bad news was that they could not okay me to drive as the day I was in the ER, a doctor documented that I was having some seizure activity in my hands. This means that by law they cannot give me approval to drive until 6 months of being seizure-free.... November 10th! I could tell he felt bad as he knew how much I wanted to drive. It is a bummer BUT I would much rather be safe than sorry! (I think about the many times that I drove before my surgery that I wasn't feeling right and probably shouldn't have.)
I am also able to start weening myself off the anti-seizure medication - it should take about two weeks.
Good news all in all ... and now I only have 10 weeks (EXACTLY) before I can drive. (There is a bonus to this... it will give us time to find another vehicle eventually since we sold my Tahoe and I wouldn't have a vehicle to drive anyway!)
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