So far so good, no bad side effects this week. She goes for scans next week which again will let us know if the chemo is stopping the cancer from progressing. It is the best we can hope for at this point.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Popsicle Party
Yeah.....once again, Lisa sailed thru chemo last week. While she gets a little more tired than usual, it doesn't stop her from having a Popsicle party with her Motts' buddies!
So far so good, no bad side effects this week. She goes for scans next week which again will let us know if the chemo is stopping the cancer from progressing. It is the best we can hope for at this point.
So far so good, no bad side effects this week. She goes for scans next week which again will let us know if the chemo is stopping the cancer from progressing. It is the best we can hope for at this point.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Happy Spring!
Things have going very well. Lisa sailed thru the last chemo round without a hitch. The weather here in Michigan has been warming up and we've been able to wear our lighter jackets a few times in the last week. Lisa loves being outside and going for walks. Only problem is the spring weather seems to bring on spring colds. Lisa is sniffling and coughing since Friday. While normally not something to be alarmed about, it always makes me nervous when she enters a chemo week with her immunity down. We start another round of chemo today and I'm hoping the cold doesn't throw her off track!
Keep your fingers crossed and send up a few extra prayers that she sails thru chemo this week!
Happy Spring...yeah!
Keep your fingers crossed and send up a few extra prayers that she sails thru chemo this week!
Happy Spring...yeah!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
See the PSA of Lisa with Gerard Butler on YouTube
Lisa has been doing awesome. She sailed thru her last chemo without a hitch. She continues to go to school for 1/2 day of kindergarten and then returns home to run laps around the house, boss everyone around and then take a 2 hour nap in the late afternoon. She's even started kicking a soccer ball which may not seem like much, but it's tremendous giving the instability and pain she's always had in her legs!
We received news today that the Public Service Announcement that her Kids Kicking Cancer class did with Gerard Butler was finally posted on YouTube. We are hoping soon that it hits the public television stations...how exciting!!
You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/rabgkkc#p/a/u/1/iqoAGDvyr6Y
Keep praying and keep living every day to its fullest!
We received news today that the Public Service Announcement that her Kids Kicking Cancer class did with Gerard Butler was finally posted on YouTube. We are hoping soon that it hits the public television stations...how exciting!!
You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/rabgkkc#p/a/u/1/iqoAGDvyr6Y
Keep praying and keep living every day to its fullest!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Lisa is doing great
Well....Lisa seems to have sailed right through the chemo last week and we are mid-way thru the "week after" and she still looks good, feels good and is running around. I'm starting to think chemo is laced with caffeine!
Her limited side effects from the chemo this time give us hope that she can continue on the drugs for a while and that last month was just a fluke caused by some virus. At this point, all we really have are these drugs because she is responding and the studies that are available are just that...studies. There is no known success rate and putting her into one of the studies would mean she would have to discontinue the chemo. Doc's feeling at this time is that this chemo combination has been effective in the past and scans show that at this point the chemo is keeping cancer at bay so it's in her best interest to keep her on it. In other words, if it ain't broke don't fix it...unless something comes along that we know will work better or her body starts shutting down from the toxicity level of the chemo we stick with it.
So...while it's not the miracle of a cure or all cancer is gone...it gives us the one thing many of us wish we had...more time. She has been fighting for nearly 3 years now, almost double the 18 mos they originally predicted. I continue to pray that she will just keep going and going like the energizer bunny she appears to be. She is so remarkable in her wisdom and attitude for such a young age, I can't imagine her succumbing to this horrible disease. So I continue to pray, keep my fingers crossed and remind myself to breath and be thankful for each day...it truly is a gift.
Her limited side effects from the chemo this time give us hope that she can continue on the drugs for a while and that last month was just a fluke caused by some virus. At this point, all we really have are these drugs because she is responding and the studies that are available are just that...studies. There is no known success rate and putting her into one of the studies would mean she would have to discontinue the chemo. Doc's feeling at this time is that this chemo combination has been effective in the past and scans show that at this point the chemo is keeping cancer at bay so it's in her best interest to keep her on it. In other words, if it ain't broke don't fix it...unless something comes along that we know will work better or her body starts shutting down from the toxicity level of the chemo we stick with it.
So...while it's not the miracle of a cure or all cancer is gone...it gives us the one thing many of us wish we had...more time. She has been fighting for nearly 3 years now, almost double the 18 mos they originally predicted. I continue to pray that she will just keep going and going like the energizer bunny she appears to be. She is so remarkable in her wisdom and attitude for such a young age, I can't imagine her succumbing to this horrible disease. So I continue to pray, keep my fingers crossed and remind myself to breath and be thankful for each day...it truly is a gift.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Hair is falling out...again
Lisa hair has started to fall out. Besides being a nuisance because it shows up everywhere...on pillows, shirts, floor, your mouth.....it's depressing. It's another physical reminder that this kid is sick. It's a total bummer and while you would think we would be used to it by now, the shock still runs thru me as my gut reaction in HOW will we do this? I know, the answer is...we just will, because we have to and we've done it before, but still the initial reaction takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes. Lisa is fine with it....when asked is she wants a wig, she says no, just hats and tattoos on her head.
Other than the hair loss, Lisa had a great week last week. The kids and Mike were all home on winter break. The kids and I kept things pretty low key while Mike worked like a madman painting and updating bathrooms and other things around the house. I think it was his version of therapy....he could take something, fix it, make it better, he could control the outcome....something cancer has robbed us of.
Lisa's week consisted of eating, playing and goofing around. With a lot of mom willpower, she even went to her last ballet class. (That means her third for those who were counting). She did a great job even though she was having pain. She managed to even have fun and was very excited about getting a sucker at the end....ahhhh, the life lessons we learn from 6 year olds!
Unfortunately Lisa started off today by throwing up....she's fine now...eating breakfast and wanting to go to school. We think it was just congestion. She is scheduled to start chemo this week. We meet with doctor this afternoon to see if it's a go. Mike and I are on the fence how we feel about this. Without the chemo, her days are numbered. With the chemo, if she reacts the same way she did last time, her days are numbered and they are spent in bed with her feeling like she's dead.
I've come to realize we really do need a miracle to save her. Not a cure, but a good ole fashion water-to-wine, fish multiplying, laying of hands miracle. Interestingly enough the sermon at mass this weekend was "don't worry". Worry takes more energy than dealing with the problem one step at a time. So, we will face today, this week, this month, one step at a time. And, BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE that God is watching over us and will choose to heal Lisa with a miracle.
Other than the hair loss, Lisa had a great week last week. The kids and Mike were all home on winter break. The kids and I kept things pretty low key while Mike worked like a madman painting and updating bathrooms and other things around the house. I think it was his version of therapy....he could take something, fix it, make it better, he could control the outcome....something cancer has robbed us of.
Lisa's week consisted of eating, playing and goofing around. With a lot of mom willpower, she even went to her last ballet class. (That means her third for those who were counting). She did a great job even though she was having pain. She managed to even have fun and was very excited about getting a sucker at the end....ahhhh, the life lessons we learn from 6 year olds!
Unfortunately Lisa started off today by throwing up....she's fine now...eating breakfast and wanting to go to school. We think it was just congestion. She is scheduled to start chemo this week. We meet with doctor this afternoon to see if it's a go. Mike and I are on the fence how we feel about this. Without the chemo, her days are numbered. With the chemo, if she reacts the same way she did last time, her days are numbered and they are spent in bed with her feeling like she's dead.
I've come to realize we really do need a miracle to save her. Not a cure, but a good ole fashion water-to-wine, fish multiplying, laying of hands miracle. Interestingly enough the sermon at mass this weekend was "don't worry". Worry takes more energy than dealing with the problem one step at a time. So, we will face today, this week, this month, one step at a time. And, BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE that God is watching over us and will choose to heal Lisa with a miracle.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!! Scan results in!!
YEAH!!!! I've only wished on one birthday candle today and already got good news. Scans show:
MIBG results: Findings are consistent with interval response to treatment with residual MIBG avid widespread osseous metastasis.
CT scan chest, abdomen, and pelvis results: 1. Stable postsurgical changes/soft tissue in the retroperitoneum and enlarged left inguinal and iliac lymph nodes. No interval progression of disease.
2. Stable diffuse osseous metastatic disease.
In English...this means, that yes, Lisa still has lots of cancer, BUTTTTTTT the cancer in her bone is reduced including the skull bone on the left, spine, sternum, ribs, and pelvic bone AND there was no progression shown on CT Scan, in fact some of the lymph nodes are smaller. This means cancer did respond to the chemo and has shrunk in some areas and not progressed any since last scans in January. It's a small win, but we will take it!!! Best birthday news EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MIBG results: Findings are consistent with interval response to treatment with residual MIBG avid widespread osseous metastasis.
CT scan chest, abdomen, and pelvis results: 1. Stable postsurgical changes/soft tissue in the retroperitoneum and enlarged left inguinal and iliac lymph nodes. No interval progression of disease.
2. Stable diffuse osseous metastatic disease.
In English...this means, that yes, Lisa still has lots of cancer, BUTTTTTTT the cancer in her bone is reduced including the skull bone on the left, spine, sternum, ribs, and pelvic bone AND there was no progression shown on CT Scan, in fact some of the lymph nodes are smaller. This means cancer did respond to the chemo and has shrunk in some areas and not progressed any since last scans in January. It's a small win, but we will take it!!! Best birthday news EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Still Waiting for Scan Results
Lisa has been improving a bit each day and seems almost back to her old cheerful eating self again. She is still getting IV fluids at night because her potassium levels were low when she was checked last week. She still has quite the annoying cough, but then again, so does Chrissy. I think both of them must have had the same bug....Chrissy has been nauseous for the past two weeks, coughing and very tired. It gives us hope that Lisa's problems could have been bug-based and not all cancer/chemo related.
Lisa finished all her scans last week and we are anxiously awaiting a call from the doctor tomorrow. The doctor opted to push chemo out for another week so Lisa could have this upcoming week to build up her strength. It also gives us a chance to review the scans to see if the cancer has progressed and have a better idea of whether or not we should continue with this chemo regimen.
The kids are off from school this week and we don't have anything special planned. With Lisa and Chrissy being sick the past couple of weeks, we're a bit reluctant to expose them to any big crowds. Mike and I have been keeping busy painting and updating the house. It gives us something to do and keeps both our hands and minds busy.
We finally got some good news!!! Maranda saw both her orthopedic doctor and neurosurgeon because of some neck pain she had been having. Based on scans and exams, they see NOTHING wrong with her. The neck pain and popping she gets comes from a way she is manipulating her neck. Both docs have said "just stop doing that" it was so wonderful to here those words...what an easy fix....it's nothing, no worries, we walked out of their and it felt like a weight had been lifted!
Now, if Lisa's docs could just give us good news!! We are anxiously waiting for Lisa's scan results....I've had my fingers, toes, legs, everything crossed and have been praying, praying, praying for good news on the scan. We'll let you know when we know!
Lisa finished all her scans last week and we are anxiously awaiting a call from the doctor tomorrow. The doctor opted to push chemo out for another week so Lisa could have this upcoming week to build up her strength. It also gives us a chance to review the scans to see if the cancer has progressed and have a better idea of whether or not we should continue with this chemo regimen.
The kids are off from school this week and we don't have anything special planned. With Lisa and Chrissy being sick the past couple of weeks, we're a bit reluctant to expose them to any big crowds. Mike and I have been keeping busy painting and updating the house. It gives us something to do and keeps both our hands and minds busy.
We finally got some good news!!! Maranda saw both her orthopedic doctor and neurosurgeon because of some neck pain she had been having. Based on scans and exams, they see NOTHING wrong with her. The neck pain and popping she gets comes from a way she is manipulating her neck. Both docs have said "just stop doing that" it was so wonderful to here those words...what an easy fix....it's nothing, no worries, we walked out of their and it felt like a weight had been lifted!
Now, if Lisa's docs could just give us good news!! We are anxiously waiting for Lisa's scan results....I've had my fingers, toes, legs, everything crossed and have been praying, praying, praying for good news on the scan. We'll let you know when we know!
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