"Five and One-Half Years Later"

Just a quick note to let all the readers out there know that Lois continues to thrive and enjoy life five and one-half years after the initial diagnosis of breast cancer in June of 2006.

And eventhough the doc said she can move from a visit with him every six months to only one per year, she continues with the six month check ups. All signs and symptoms are gone and she has just as good a chance to live another couple of hundred years as the rest of us; and probably better than some.

She has the family firm in the palm of her hand, running it like the CEO of "I Gotcha Taken Care, Inc."

All is well with the Bumgarners and the Canadas.

Back to Normal

On Sunday, the 20th, Lois got up, took a shower, then told me she wanted that last tube removed. The doc said when it no longer produced 30 or more cc's per day she could have it taken out. For the last couple of days it's been running at 10 or less, so Sunday was the day. She said she wanted me to do it.

The drain tube is held to her by one stitch. All you have to do is snip it close to the skin on one side and pull it out, with a pair of tweezers, from the other side. Easy. Some few years ago I took some stitches out of my self. I had watched the doc do it before and it looked easy enough; and it was.

So I removed Lois' stitch.

Now, I've never pulled a drain tube out of anybody. I wasn't sure how hard the doc tugged on the others to get them out. It appeared he put a little bit of a "pull" on them. I told her to grab my finger...no, not what you might be thinking..haha..and pull on it at about the same amount of pull that he had put on the others. She wasn't sure, but she gave it a try. That was all I needed.

I grabbed the tube, now unencumbered by that nasty little piece of thread, and pulled.

It came right out.

We put a bandage on and changed it once about 3 hours later, then she changed it Monday and today, Tuesday.

She's still walks with a bit of a "lean forward." That's due to the tightness of her stomach. Once the skin stretches a bit, she'll be back upright and shooting buckets out in the park.

But for now, she's already back to running my life, telling me to feed the fish, take the dog out, wash the car, you know . . . Honeydo's.

Two Outa Three Ain't Bad

What a day. We left home at 1 pm today for a 3:45 appointment with Dr. Cooper in Spokane to have the final three drain tubes removed. Timed it perfectly, pulling into the parking lot at 3:40, got into see the doc in about five minutes. He looked over the tubes and said he was going to err on the side of caution and pulled two of the three, leaving one for later removal. I guess we were just a little too anxious to get rid of those damned things!

A few minutes later we left the doc's office wondering what to do with ourselves. We weren't hungry. We had no plans. We didn't, after two hours on the road for a fifteen minute appointment, want to get back on the road and drive another two hours. So we went down the Riverfront Park and walked around a bit. Once we had talked enough about food, we went to a restaurant (Cyrus O'Learys) and split a huge plate of really good nachos; then drove back to the Tri-Cities.

We got back about 7 pm, drove over to Brooke's to get our dog, Aggie, visit with the grand-babies, who we haven't seen much of for the past week, and came home.

Probably on Monday we'll go get the last drain tube removed. Meanwhile, Lois continues to grow in strength and stamina. She looks pretty good sitting here in front of those petunias in front of Spokane's Clock Tower, doncha think?

Back to Spokane Today

Lois called the docs office this morning and told them the drain tubes are ready to be removed. We are leaving at 1 pm for a 3:45 appointment. Maybe we'll have dinner at Subway again. Just kidding.

Yes, Virginia, You Can Go Home Again

The doc came in early Monday morning, looked her over, told her she was doing well, pulled five of the eight tubes and told us we could go home. You can bet ol' Jim was hustlin' back over the hotel and jammin' those dirty clothes into the suitcase and the suitcase into the trunk; pulling into the hospital waiting area for cars; hustlin' back upstairs to get Lois' bags, bottles, gauze, tape, and flowers and getting them into the car. About two hours later, after some discussion about our preferences, we pulled into Burger King for some of those delicious (?) Whopper Juniors right here in the good ol' Tri-Cities. Yes!!

The Whoppers weren't quite as good as we thought were gonna be, but they were a whole hell of a lot better than that creamed rice; stale, and dry turkey sandwiches; and wilted lettuce salads with droppy carrot slices back at good ol' Sacred Heart!

We have an appointment to return to Spokane on Tuesday, next week, to get the threee remaining tubes removed; but we have the doc's permission to go earlier if the drain tubes are producing less than 30 cc's of fluid over a 24 hour period. We're not quite there yet, but we will be.

Meanwhile, we are fully enjoying being HOME!!

And thanks to all of you who have left comments, emailed sent cards, and phoned. We love you all!!

More later, but for now...we're resting.

Day Five

Today we have had a bit of a crash. Lois awoke this morning, ordered breakfast, then became nauseated for the first time.

We have lots of theories as to what may have caused this: too many nights without really good sleep; a coming down from all the drugs; a "messed" up G.I. tract from all the heavy-duty anaesthesia; hospital food (too many popsickles); too many days in the same bed in this small room; too much noise coming in the door; the nurses we really like - off this weekend (but the one we have today is good too); nothing good on tv; the Mariners not coming on until 4 today; but we don't really know what it is.

They gave her some more medicine (really?) and the nausea has been gone for a number of hours; but she's rather listless and ready to go home. She did take a shower this morning and that helped, a little; and we took a walk around the nurse's station. But she's tired today.

Maybe when the Mariners come on later she'll perk up. Yeah, right, the Mariners perking someone up? That'll be the day.

The doctor orginally said she could go home on Sunday. But, once we got here, he told us he would be out of town this weekend and wouldn't be able to see her on Sunday. He asked if we would mind staying one more night so he could check with her on Monday morning, so it looks like that's what we will do.

Day Four

Things are getting better and better. Today she was given "real" food, disconnected from all the I.V.'s and the catheter, and went for a walk with me down the hall. She is taking NO PAIN MEDS. She must have one of the highest tolerances for pain of anyone walking the earth!! I would be doubled up, lying on the floor in agony and despair. She's chewing ice, jotting notes in her journal and watching television....??

Visitors today included Ken and Carolyn J from Post Falls, ID. Ken is a building contractor who employed Lois when we lived in Sequim. They took me to lunch at the Sushi Bar downtown and it was delicious. Later in the day, a former student of mine, who is an RN here in Spokane dropped by, then later yet Kristi and Doug W from Kennewick came by (pic).

Kris is a special person for Lois. They met at the Cancer Center in Kennewick. Kris went through the same surgeries, by the same two surgeons here in Spokane last February. She is a bright spot in our lives because she has provided lots of encouragement, help, and hope for a brighter future. I don't think Lois would have been as interested in this surgery had she not came across Kris.

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Day Three

My mother and sister spent the night with me in the Madison Inn last night; this morning we grabbed a quick muffin and cup of coffee in the hotel, then walked over to visit Lois. She had the usual night in the hospital with aides, nurses, phones, lights, hall conversation and the sounds of sick people puking and stuff keeping her awake. She said she had a hard time getting to sleep (duh?) so she called for a sleep aid about 12:30 and after it arrived 45 minutes later she finally slept good for about 3 or 4 hours, then catnapped until the morning sun came streaming through her window.

She's been hostessing all day: my mom and sister were here until about noon; then Lois' sister Sandi and her husband Dave and Boots (their mom) arrived about an hour later; Bob F., Lois' cousin Skeets' husband came in for a while, then he and Skeets came back about 5; Danni G and her husband Dennis came in the afternoon. Danni was our realtor in Richland and also a KHS grad, only a couple years behind us. She had a double mastectomy last December and is scheduled for the same type of reconstructive surgery as Lois in a few months. We wish her well in her journey and will keep close contact.

Presently it is 6 pm, Lois is on the phone with her aunt Pauline, who lives here in Spokane; I'm working on her blog, and getting hungry. Though Lois didn't sleep really well last night she's been mentally sharp all day and in hardly any pain at all. They got her up once and she sat in a recliner for about 45 minutes. Her drain tubes are all working and the nurse said she isn't draining nearly as much as some people do. It sounded like a good thing to me. Her "new" boobs are maintaining a fairly constant temperature (102 degrees-as the doctor prescribed)and that is a good thing! They have her do this by simply laying a light blanket across her chest. Her blood pressure is good, her fluids are fluidly moving right along as they should and she gets to begin eating soft foods tomorrow: toast, popsickles, jello. Today she had popsickles and broth for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tomorrow they remove the catheter and get her up a few more times. She's not really looking forward to getting up though, because her stomach is really tender.

Not much else to include right now. She wants me to take a few pictures of a couple of her nurses, so I'll take those and post them tomorrow.

Thanks for the comments! We love getting them.

Day Two: The Surgery Went Very Smooth

Lois came out of 7.5 hours of surgery yesterday about 3 o'clock. The doctor said everything went very smooth and that there were no surprises. Prior to surgery the surgical nurse told me that Dr. Cooper spends the majority of his time looking through a microscope stitching tissue together, "he's very meticulous. Probably the most meticulous of our surgeons." I told her that was something I liked!

My mother, sister, and I joined Lois about two hours later when they wheeled her into her room. I was surprised how good she looked after being "under the knife" so long! She said when she had awoke, about 3:30, she was in tremendous pain; she said she even thought she might not "make it." While talking she held the pain med button closely in her hand and punched the button, giving herself anther shot of pain medication (morphine) three or four times during the next hour; but during the next hour she pushed it only once.


While there, I answered the cell phone when our son, Derik, called. I handed her the phone and she talked to him a few moments, then they hung up. A few minutes later it rang again and it turned out to be a friend of ours who didn't know Lois was in the hospital and called to tell her that she(the frieind) had had a mastectomy a few days ago. While they talked, the conversation soon turned to Wal-Mart, Costco, Shopko and other places Lois is so very familiar with. I thought, here she is all stitched up, wrapped up, legs in those so comfortable plastic wrap things that squeeze'em every few minutes, tubes and needles stuck everywhere, plastic bulbs slowly filling red, and she's sharing information, with someone on the phone, about the prices of things. Lois is a hard woman to put down; and that's a good thing.

We left her to rest and went to get something to eat. Afterwards I went up to tell her good night.

Day One: The Second Mastectomy (by choice) and Full Reconstructive Surgery

We packed up and left home this morning about 8:30 so we could get to Spokane for the 11:30 appointment with Dr. Cooper, the plastic surgeon. After meeting with him and getting all the instructions regarding where we go, when we go there, how much Lois can have to eat, and not eat, and what time to be at check in tomorrow morning, we drove downtown and rather than fight the traffic and all those blasted one-way streets, we found a Subway and had lunch: her last meal until maybe Thursday!

Afterwards we drove back up to the hotel, The Madison Inn, located one block south and up the hill from the hospital, and checked into the room. Then after walking over to the hospital (Sacred Heart - where Lois was born!!) and finding all the necessary floors, elevators, offices, waiting rooms, and other places we needed to know about, we went back to the room and took naps.

At 4 we walked back over to the hospital to radiology. This was the part that Lois was most worried about: four little injections of a radionucleotide cocktail - in her breast, around the nipple. She squeezed my hand so hard I think it's bruised. Fortunately each injection only last about 10 seconds and the needle was one of the smallest they use. Still ... OUCH. After the injection she was placed under the magical eye of the MRI machine and pictures were taken. All went well.

Later, to take our minds off the ensuing few days, we went to see the movie, "Get Smart." It was at best an ok movie, but it did have some funny moments. I am reminded of lyrics from an old song, which I have long ago forgotten, "the original is always the greatest." Don Adams and Barbara Feldon can never be replaced!

As of this writing, it is the next day, July 9th, at 8:45 am. We got up at four am and walked over to Surgery Admittance where everything went like clockwork and they rolled her into surgery at 7:25. She'll be fine.

If you would like to leave a comment for Lois, click on the word "comment" below. If you need some help, check the link in the right-hand column.

thanks.

A Wedding in Sequim

Lois' cousin Janice's daughter Shannon married Greg Dayton in a ceremony at "The Cutting Garden" in Sequim, WA. It was a fun trip as we used to live there so we were able to visit with a few old friends.

Click on the picture of the wedding cake to see some of the photographs from our trip.

We leave Tuesday, July 8th, for Spokane.

Our Oregon Coast Trip

Last week we took five days and with our childred and grandchildren drove down to Lincoln City, Oregon, to play on the beach, fly kits, eat seafood (those of who like seafood), and play board games around the dining room table in the evenings after the little ones have gone to bed.

We thought you might enjoy some of the photos, so just click on Maia's picture above for a link to the album. Careful though, there's more than just a few. Jim hasn't had time yet to put in names so here are a few clues:

Derik: our son

Brooke: daughter and her husband is James.

Grandkids in order of age: Kiauna is oldest, then it's Izaiah, then Aidan, the youngest is Maia.

How to Make a "Comment" on the Blog Entries

We invite you to leave comments on the entries, but only if you are comfortable doing so. Comments left on the blog will tend not to be lost as emails do sometimes disappear into the deep black hole of "old emails" on the hardrive. So, if you are interested, here's the skinny on how to make a comment:

1. At the bottom of each entry, including this one, you will see the word, "comments." Sometimes it has a "0" in front of it. This means there are no comments. If there's a number in front of the word, then that is the number of comments you can find with the post, i.e., "4 comments,"...four comments.

2. To leave a comment, click on the word "comment." A window opens.

3. Enter your response in the window.

4. Below your entry you will see a nonsense word, i.e., "k7ja4fy." This is blogspot's way of protecting the comments windows from spammers: it's a good thing. Enter the nonsense word, and...

5. If you have a blogger account you can sign using it and you know how to do this; but if not, click the word "anonymous" at the bottom. BUT, if you really want Lois to know who you are, then sign with your name at the end of your message in the window.

5. Preview, then click "publish your comment." When you do blogspot sends an automatic email telling us you have left the comment.

It's fun and a great communication tool.

Again, if you feel comfortable only, please give it a try.

Jim and Lois

ps: check out the comment Jim left below.

A Second Mastectomy and Reconstruction

Lois is scheduled for the second mastectomy, by choice, and full breast reconstruction surgery on July 9th, at Sacred Heart Medical Center, in Spokane. She will be in the hospital for five days. Everything we've discovered about the surgeons has been positive and uplifting (no pun intended).

But before we go to Spokane, we're going to Sequim for a family wedding. We will leave tomorrow, Thursday, July 3rd; and return on Sunday. That Monday, after the Sequim trip, Jim will mow the lawn and get ready to take her to Spokane the NEXT day. Jim will be holed up in a nearby hotel in Spokane, one that is within walking distance to the hospital.

Following her surgery and our return home, we will be "Staycationing" at our home here in the Tri-Cities for the remainder of the summer while she recuperates.

I'll be posting further events as they occur in Spokane for all you blog readers.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

A breast cancer that few women know about was recently highlighted on KOMO News, a Seattle ABC affiliate. Newscaster, Kathy Gurtzen, speaks candidly about Inflammatory Breast Cancer and provides a neccessary glimpse into this deadly disease. Please watch, copy and save it to a file on your computer, then link it to an email to everyone you know!

Richland Woman Completes Radiation

(Richland, WA.) Lois Bumgarner, cancer survivor extraordinaire, completed the final of twenty-seven radiation treatments on Friday, August 24th of 2007. She reported no pain throughout the ordeal. When asked, the radiation oncologist replied the reason for no pain is due to the severence of the nerves during Mrs. Bumgarner's mastectomy last year. Only during the final 5 or 6 treatments did she begin to voice concern over the feelings of dryness and irritation. When scrutenized by this writer, the areas she refers to are 'red as hell' and there is more than a slight hint of burned flesh in a few spots. The doctor said she would continue to cook (sic) for a few more days, then she will begin to heal and return to normal.

Mrs. Bumgarner assures us that after a couple days of sleeping-in, she will indeed be returning to her normal schedule of shopping for low valued items at Valu-Village, Shop-Ko, and the Goodwill Stores, as well as any and all grocery items by updating her memory bank regarding the prices of all grocery items in every grocery store in town; babysitting her grandchildren while their mother teaches school; and, of course, taking care of Bronco Jim.

The Bumgarner's celebrated by attending the local county fair where, Mr. Bumgarner: aka, Bronco Jim (click here), celebrated by joining the rodeo.

Monday's RAD Report

We didn't know until today that on Mondays the doc sees Lois, so this morning we were at the cancer center just long enough to let the outside temperature creep from the cool upper eighties, to the warm and toasty upper nineties. I had to mow the lawn and was planning on being home by about 8:45 to get'er done. Didn't happen. Got home at 10 am when the thermometer was reading "97" degrees. About half way through the job, I stopped and soaked my hat in water and poured a gallon or so over my head and finished just as this eastern Washington oven hit 100 degrees. Lois saw all the water dripping off the bill of my hat and thought it was perspiration. I shouldn't complain though, it's s'posed to hit about 105 by the end of the week. The lawn don't get mowed in that kind of heat.

The doctor said Lois is doing fine. She answered the few questions I had about radiation and just exactly what it is, and showed us the pictures in Lois' file which show where the beams are directed and how deep they travel. She told Lois to get some large t-shirts to wear, and stop wearing her bra. It doesn't bother her now, but the doc said the pressure points will get more sensitive quicker if she continues wearing them. She puts on large doses of a special Aloe formulation the night before radiation, and afterwards each day. The doc said eventually she will be using a white paste instead; "sorta like toothpaste," she said. Thank goodness for good air conditioning in this weather. I can't imagine how miserable this condition could become in this heat. I'm probably not even going to ask her if she would be interested in mowing the lawn.

Two Famous People and Two RAD Days

The picture is to showcase the hats we purchased while on our mini-vacation in Seaside, Oregon, last month. Next to Lois and I, the prettiest thing in the picture is obviously that hanging basket of flowers over our heads (click on the pic for a larger view). Beautiful isn't it; reminds me of all those huge flower baskets Daryl Sharpe and the ag kids at Sequim High School hang all over town in the summer. Can't grow stuff like that in our desert here in Eastern Washington.

We just finished up the first two days of radation. She goes in each morning at 8:20 and the whole process took about 25 minutes this morning. I sit in the waiting room and read. Yesterday she woke me up when she came back into the lobby. I was tired; but she managed to drag me all over town; Brooke's, Lowe's, Valu Village, and Costco, before we got home and I was able to take a real nap.

We'll keep you posted, and please feel free to leave comments, flowers, coins, or paper money if you prefer.

Yes, Virginia, There Will be Radiation

The meeting with our radiation oncologist yesterday afternoon, for follow up to the PET/CT scan, went as expected: "there is no evidence of any recurrence of the cancer." Lois goes in this morning for measurements for a body mold which will hold her body in the exact same position for each session of radiation. There will be 28 sessions, Mondays through Fridays, 10 minutes each, and they are scheduled to begin next Thursday.

The odd thing is that Lois says she never thought she would be "excited about getting radiation." I think I know what she means. If you're confused here's a synopsis: A surgeon in Spokane, who was scheduled to removed her other breast, questioned why she hadn't had radiation, so we returned to our two oncologists in Kennewick for review consultations. The removal of four or more cancerous nodes mean required radiation, three or less, not so. She had three. The surgeon in Spokane said she would have strongly recommended radiation anyway, and our radiation oncologist here in Kennewick had said the same thing; but our chemotherapy onocologist had "swayed" us away (the evidence for survivability with women with three or less, who had radiation, was statistically no different than those who didn't). After the review consultation a few days ago with the rad oncologist, we walked out bummed thinking we had made a bad decision a year ago when the original decision was made, especially since the radiation oncologist said this time it was too late to do radiation, but it was also probably "ok" since she was in the recommended, rather than the mandatory category (even though only one node away from mandatory). whew!

The next day we got a call from the rad oncologist saying she had consulted with a colleague at UCLA and she was now recommending Lois get a PET/CT and "if it shows no cancer we can still do radiation;" so here we are.

I questioned her about why she said "if it shows no cancer," then the she would do radiation, I thought radiation was to reduce tumors. "That is correct," she said, "the reason we would do it now (with Lois) is to kill any microscopic cells that remain in the region of the breast that was affected; and they are there." I didn't like that last comment, but sometimes reality smacks you up side the head. "And the radiation will kill them before they start growing again, and spreading." Zap away doc.

Before meeting with her I was thinking there's no good way out of this. She's either going to tell us that the cancer has spread and we have to start all over with the chemo, or she's going to tell us Lois will have radiation. Not much of a good news/bad news scenario; but taking everything into account, we both agree, it was good news and we're both excited about radiation.

Here's a picture of Brooke and Maia (is that a binkie?) taken at Twin Lakes a few weeks ago on a nice cool day with natural air conditioning. It was 107 degrees here in Kennewick yesterday; today we're having a cool spell, only going to be in the upper nineties.

The Oregon Coast and Radiation

Top Left: Lois, Maxine (mom), Kiauna, Brooke -Middle: Maia, Aidan, Izaiah, Derik

Bottom: James

Vacation:

We went to Seaside, Oregon last week with Derik, Brooke, James, Kiauna, Izaiah, Aidan, Maia, and my mom. Lois and I each bought a new hat and had our pics taken in one of those booths. Aren't we handsome? lol We had a great time building sand castles, flying kites, barbecueing some great food, bicycling on bikes built for six, roasting marshmellows and making s'mores, driving up to Astoria, and just being together. None of us was quite ready to come home. The weather was perfect.

* Click on the pictures for enlargements.

Medical:

Getting back to the radiation oncologist took much longer than we wanted, or what we thought it would take. To get to her, we had to go back to our chemo doc and he was booked for about 5 or 6 weeks, including being out of town for one week. After visiting with him, where he continued to believe the odds of an advantage with radiation for Lois were equal either with, or without, radiation, we were able to get back with the radiation oncologist.

She had talked with the surgeon in Spokane who raised the issue of Lois not having radiation, and both agreed that since standard protocol is to have radiation when four or more lymph nodes are removed, and Lois had three, she is borderline. But the research isn't clear about the advantage; still, both these doctors agree that it would have been advisable to go ahead with radiation with the three (only one away from mandatory). Apparently we read our rad oncologist incorrectly last year, thanks in part, to the chemo doc. And since my father passed away eleven years ago after an infection developed in a radation-damaged lung, our focus may have been blurred. Damn.

The rad oncologist said that since a year has gone by, radiation is no longer advisable since if the cancer has spread, microscopically, radiation would not be beneficial. We talked further, she read the chemo doctor's notes aloud. I just about fell out of my chair. Since the outset of our discussions, he had led us in the "no radiation" option, even when we met him just a few weeks ago; however in his notes he made the comment, "should she choose radiation..." leading me to believe he was simply covering his a _ _ (cya).

Where are the experts? Who has the ultimately correct answers?

The next day, the rad oncologist called Lois. After further thought and checking with a colleague at UCLA, her recommendation now is for Lois to get a PET/CT scan. If it is clear (no cancer appearing), then the rad oncologist and her colleague agree that radiation is still a viable option.

We learned today that our insurance company will cover this approximately $5,000 procedure. She's scheduled for the scan on July 3rd. We assume the insurance company will cover the radiation as well. We no longer complain about $800/month insurance billings.

Who Are These People?

Here's a picture we had taken recently. You can see Lois' hair is coming in nicely, and speaking for myself, I think it looks great at this length.

Can't say much 'bout the guy she's with in the picture, but you know, you gotta go with what you got. I particularly like the way the photographer got me to crink my neck like this: looks like pain medication is just a few minutes away.

Just for fun, this picture, taken the night before our wedding in 1970 provides some context to the one above.

I like this picture of Lois, and yes, that's a pack of Winstons in my shirt pocket.

Brooke was born seven years later; that's when I quit smoking.

Lunch at Cyrus O'Learys

Ok, so it was a little early for dinner, and late for lunch when we arrived. You don't really expect the place to be jumpin' at 3:45 in the afternoon do you? Thanks to the doctor who was TWO HOURS LATE for our appointment, with no explanation or apology prior to FINALLY coming into the room, we were starving when we left.

We used to go to Cyrus O'Learys when we went to the conventions in Spokane for principals and other public school leader types who needed some R&R once the school year was over. We've had some great times in this place with friends and collegues over the years. Kinda sad to see it so empty...but it was 3:45 in the afternoon.

Lois did not have to eat her lunch alone! I repeat, she did not have to eat her lunch alone. I sat with her and kept her company and we ate our lunches together. My lunch was so good, I had to take a picture of it; so here it is, about half gone: It's honey glazed salmon on a bed of spinach drenched in a roquefort with slices of avocado and cucumber. Mmmmm. Lois had a sandwich and she didn't like it, so it didn't make the cut for posting with my salmon.

To Reconstruct or Not To Reconstruct

Hi everyone, it's been a while since any updates were posted here and now we have one. We just got back from a lightning trip to Spokane, WA., for consultations with two surgeons: one a plastic surgeon for reconstruction; and two, a surgeon who specializes in breast cancer surgeries who would perform a mastectomy on the other breast.

We saw the plastic surgeon first and felt good about what he had to say. He even hooked us up with a couple, also from here in the Tri-Cities, who had the second breast removed and reconstruction surgery at the same time, about two weeks ago. She and her husband were very encouraging; she said she was very happy with the choice she had made. We also were shown pictures of patients who had had reconstruction. I was amazed. This guy is good!

The other surgeon gave us concern. First, she was TWO HOURS late for the appointment, my patience wore out about half an hour earlier; and once she sat down and started reviewing the reports Lois brought, she started questioning why there had been no radiation treatment. Lois deferred to me to explain and I did the best I could by telling her what both our radiation and chemotherapist oncologists had told us (for the number of nodes which were identified with cancer in them, there is no clear evidence that radiation makes any difference in long-term survivability); but it was pretty clear she wasn't convinced. We told her we would feel better if she contacted our oncologists. She said she would do so and call us back tomorrow; so here we are feeling like it's last summer again when we were in limbo with "what to do."

Here's a "not very good picture" of the both of us following the consultations. You might be able to see we didn't sleep the night before and we're both sick with chest colds. A rather miserable day in many respects; but...we stopped in one of our favorite places, Cyrus O'Leary's, for a very late lunch. It's the green roofed building behind us.

Christmas Picture: 2006

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from 2006. Funny how the youngest member of the family had the most pictures taken of her this year. In this set you will find pictures of Lois, Derik, Brooke, James, Kiauna (10), Izaiah (5), Aidan (3), and Maia Rose (22 mos.) Since we ran out of room, Daisy (dog), and Rusty (dog) didn't make the final cut. Oh yeah, Jim's in there too.

There's Hair on the Horizon

Lois was standing by the window today, looking out across the expansive acreage of our back yard, and I thought since there is more than clouds on the horizon I should get out the camera. Luckily, she didn't see me coming, so I was able to get a good shot!

Yep, there it is - Hair! It's about the same color as it used to be (before chemo, that is), and we can't locate any curls, yet; but hey, it's winter and she's finally growing some insulation.

Cute as ever, bossier than ever, and still going strong: that's Lois!

PS: Click on the image for a closer view!

Gimme a head with hair
Long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming,
Streaming, flaxen, waxen

Give me down to there hair
Shoulder length or longer
Here baby, there mama
Everywhere daddy daddy

She's Done

Lois has completed all her chemo sessions! No more. Not that it was "all that bad" - we met some wonderful people: doctors, nurses, and other patients. Always smiling, always caring and extending themselves to make their patients as comfortable as possible, these medical professionals can't be topped anywhere. And special thanks to Mitra and Debrah - thank YOU, ladies! You are terrific!

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, mainly because Lois' sessions have continued to be rather routine and, thank God, uneventful. She did develop a bit of a rash on the back of her hands and fingers, and a bit more on her neck during the past couple of weeks, but the doctor said it was usual and would disappear now that she is done. She was also experiencing some fatigue in the last few weeks; but, due to this ordeal, we know her better. It will take a lot more than this to slow her down, especially to my favorite pace - one that involves mainly a hot cup of coffee and the early- morning news.

What's next? The doctor wants to see her every three months for the next two years, then every six months until the fifth year, then yearly. She will take a small pill, daily, to prevent her body from manufacturing any more estrogen. That's because it's estrogen that stimulates breast cells to grow and if they are cancerous, then estrogen is a very bad thing: prevent the estrogen from stimulating the cells to grow, and any cancer cells that may be left behind can't grow either. Bada-bing. There are no indications that any of the cancer remains.

She's been very much a "trooper" throughout this past twelve weeks of chemo. She's my inspiration for toughness and determination in facing some of life's most bitter challenges.

We can't say enough about how much your emails, comments, phone calls, visits have met to us. Thank all of you so much!

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This isn't the last of the updates. This blog has been too much fun to quit, I'm just not sure the direction to take now that the chemo is over. I will keep all of you up-to-date with the three month check-ups, etc., but I'm thinking the blog may expand into some of the more pleasant, non-chemo/cancer, related parts of our lives: family events, some of our day trips, good movies, pictures...we'll see.

Oh, and by the way, have you done your self-exam lately?

Jim

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is NATIONAL BREAST CANCER MONTH and we wanted to take the opportunity to spread the word to all our loved ones and friends. In particular, our message for this month is Self-Examination.

We relied on mammograms. Had we relied on regular self examinations, we would have caught this tumor before the mammogram did, because the mammogram did not catch it. Lobular cancers often do not show up on mammograms, but once we knew where the tumor was located, we couldn't believe how obvious it was.

Many women, including Lois, report not self-checking because they don't know what it is they are feeling for. What we learned regarding what to look is simply this: CHANGE. Without regular self-exams the change is undetectable. Then after a few months, the change is obvious; but no self-exams are happening, so now it is undetected - and growing!

We no longer trust mammograms and both our surgeon and chemotherapy oncologist seem to agree that in our case, we're not unreasonable.

Are you running regular self checks? Do.

Not sure about how to do a self-examination? Check out THIS SITE, and if you have a life partner (husband, etc.) have that person read the article too. It could SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Jim and Lois

Bellingham or Bust

Friday night we stayed with Bill and Judy S in Lake Stevens. It was a five hour drive, but the weather was perfect we enjoyed the trip. We went to high school with Bill and Judy. He was a year ahead of us, but Judy was in our class and she and Lois were "best buds" back in those days.

Some years ago Judy started painting "folk art" scenes of early America. Check out some of her art here: it's worth a look!! (She signs her work "Judy Wickersham-Schauermann"). She's also listed on eBay at this site.

They live in a lovely home just above the lake and have great views of both the lake and the Cascade mountains to the east. This picture could have been taken off their deck; it wasn't, but it "could" have been.

Saturday we drove on into Bellingham and attended Stacy's wedding. Stacy is the daughter of dear friends who lived next door to us in Sequim. The wedding was elegant and well attended. When we sat down I started scanning the announcement and recognized the name of the man playing the piano; and it turns out his younger brother was a classmate of ours in high school. In my travels through three high schools and literally, thousands of family names, I had never heard their name again; it's a fairly rare name. So another example of how small the world is: Paul graduated in '62, left Kennewick and had only been back a time or two for class reunions.

After the wedding we met up with friends from Centralia whose son lives in Bellingham. Lois met Joanne in '84 not long after we moved to Centralia. They've been practically bosom buddies ever since. We had a great time with them, and Shelly S (another acquaintaince of Lois' and good friend of Joanne's who came with them to Bellingham), and their son Chris and his girlfriend Andrea.

They took us to Fairview where a community of quaint shops, taverns, bistros, art galleries, coffee houses, and eclectic eateries have sprung up in recent years. Fairview used to be a separate village from Bellingham, but I believe it's been incorporated into Bellingham proper. This is George and Joanne.





We were hungry so we went to get some pizza. Here are Joanne, Lois, Shelly, Andrea, Chris and George sitting on a bench waiting for our name to be called.



Here is a picture of Joanne after the first pizza was delivered. It took us a few minutes to explain to her that she didn't have to eat the whole thing by herself. Well, that's not really true, but Joanne's such a trooper, I thought I would tease her a little. Actually I think what she was thinking was when's this jerk gonna take the picture?, because I waited for a quite a while with her in the view finder, hoping for her to give me a "good" expression.


We spent the night with former Sequim neighbors, Steve and Debbie, whose daughter was married earlier in the day. They were exhausted from weeks of wedding planning and we were exhausted too. Sunday morning Debbie fixed a breakfast of eggs and chantrelle mushrooms that was TO DIE FOR. We left shortly aftwards and drove on home to the tri-cities.

We had a wonderful time visiting with old friends and their kids! We miss them all and had a great time visiting with them. Sure wish I had gotten a few pics of Judy, Bill, Steve, Debbie and the bride and groom. Sorry guys, next time, ok?

Jim

A Pink Hat, an Angel, and Pair of Praying Hands

Sandra, one of Lois' many high school friends, lived every moment to the fullest. She had a promising life ahead of her; lots of friends, a career. Then sometime, not long after high school, she came down with diabetes; but she pushed it off - not diabetes, or anything else, was going to slow her down and for many years, it didn't. She worked hard, she loved hard, and she remained full of life and surprises for all who knew her. And all who knew her, loved her dearly.

After high school, Lois and Sandra communicated enough so their bond was never broken. And as the years progressed, her diabetes became more difficult to handle: she carried the classic symptoms, but her spirit always did its best to protect her heart. She was a fiercely spiritual person, so because of that, and some forty years ago, Lois bought her a pair of praying hands.

Ater we moved back to the tri-cities, in 2003, Sandy re-entered our lives. We would pick her up and bring her over for dinner. We learned she had a huge collection of angels. It was fun to visit with her again, and though it was obvious her body was weak, frail even; it was good to see that spirit still vibrant and kickin'.

Then about a year ago, God played his hand and released Sandra from her frail and weakened body.

When we got home from chemo today, a package addressed to Lois, from Patty, Sandra's sister, was waiting on the doorstep. Inside she found the pink hat with the golden angel pin, that once belonged to Sandra, attached. We thought it only fitting to take a picture of Lois wearing the hat alongside the praying hands on our mantel - the ones returned to Lois by Patty, after Sandra's passing.

We were both touched by the gift and the sentiment.

Sandra, you know "Loisann" and I think of you often - you will always rest comfortably within our hearts.

Thank you, Patty, for the lovely gift!

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Nine down; three to go!!

The picture above was taken only half an hour after getting home from her ninth chemotherapy session. Wish I looked that good, hat or not!

Chemo went well, her blood counts are good. White blood cells above the minimum, platelets way above the minimum, red blood cells slightly below, but up from last week due to the procrit injection. This is all good!

We're going to Bellingham this weekend for a wedding. If all of you show up there and we can celebrate together. The parents are dear friends of ours from Sequim (our next door neighbors) and I know they wouldn't mind at all. Right Debbie?

Jim

A Breath of Fresh Air

Ok, so, see, we didn't tell anyone; but last week we got a call from our primary physician. What he had to say was alarming because it involved some evidence that an image had been reviewed and there appeared something "suspicious" in the remaining breast.

We went to see him. He performed a manual exam, said there "might be something at 7 and 11 o'clock" (the "geopositioning scheme for locating lump position" which the medical profession uses - call it the "Geolumplocatorpositionator," or "GLLP,"). An MRI was ordered and administered on Thursday, last week.

We've been moping around ever since.

Just got the call reporting the results of the MRI - IT'S CLEAR!!!!!!!! There's NOTHING THERE!!!!!! Just like a breath of fresh air.

Here's a picture of Gramma Lois and Maia Rose. They're discussing the comics, as you can see.

7/12's there

The seventh appointment was this morning at 10am. We were sure her blood counts wold be down since she's been tired all week, but instead they were actually higher than they were last week. So were her white blood cells and platelets (blood clotting cells).

And of course that's all very good and we were really pleased with these numbers. Still, she's been tired this week. So what do you think? She went to her mother's cabin last Friday, slept well Friday night - due to her sleeping pills, her mother and sister had to "take" her to bed - but not Saturday night, so she comes home Sunday dragging her "you know what" across the floor. She went upstairs and rested for the rest of the day. That was Sunday and she slept pretty good that night because she took a pill; so on Monday, I asked her if she wanted to go the Prosser State's Day parade and take the kids to the carnival in the city park. She said, "sure," so we did.

When we got home, the kids hit the pool and Lois hit the bed upstairs for some rest. Later we had hamburgers with the Whole Gang (Derik, his roomie, James, Brooke, Kiauna, Izaiah, Aiden, and Maia Rose). Lois was doing ok, after everyone left we watched some tv. (We like to watch "Everybody Loves Ramond," and "Frasier" everynight at 10 on Fox.) Then she couldn't sleep last night again.

She was actually looking forward to the benadryl drip at chemo today so she could sleep for a while.

Right now she's on the couch in the tv room, snoozing. I'm telling her it's all over for the next five weeks: no more running around, shopping, taking trips to the cabin, organizing all our lives - it's time to start storing up some energy. But then I know - it's going to be like Raymond's poor attempts to gain control in his household.

Wish me luck, and if you have any ideas how to regain the control I had before I was married and living alone, drop them in the comment box below.

Halfway Home

Lois completed her sixth of the twelve scheduled chemo sessions today. Her red and white blood cell counts remain good and the only way anyone would suspect chemo is her hair loss.

After chemo today, she went with me to my barber appointment because afterwards we were going to Brooke's to pick up James to move some furniture. We've known the barber, Jerry, since high school days, so Lois went in to visit with him while he cut my hair. When he finished with me, he told Lois he would shave her head if she wanted. So now she is now TOTALLY bald; but she feels a lot better because her head was itching and bothering her quite a bit.

This weekend, Derik and Lois will be traveling with her mother and sister Sandy and her family to their mother's cabin near White Pass. I'll be heading to Seattle with one of my best old friends, Alan W, from Prosser, to the opening series of high school football games being played at Qwest Field. Prosser will be playing Southridge High School which is located here in Kennewick. Our nephew plays for them, so I guess I'll be rooting for whichever team is on offense.

Meanwhile, all is continuing to go well.

Thanks again, to all of you who have contacted Lois in one way or another.

5/12th's Done

Since she learned she shouldn't consume caffeine, Lois has been drinking caffeine-free diet coke, eating no chocolate and sleeping well. Sunday night though - once again - the night before the chemo treatment, she didn't sleep well; so when the benadryl began dripping into her vein at yesterday's session, she promptly went to sleep. Then when the session ended and she was awake, we left for a funeral for a long-time friend of her mother's. When we got home, she crashed and slept most of the rest of the day. It's just after 7am, Tuesday, right now and she's still asleep.

We saw the doctor yesterday for the first time since the chemo began. He said she was doing "wonderfully;" her blood counts remain good; and she's experienced no nausea and no fatigue directly related to the chemo. Of course, she has no hair; but I told the doc I think her hair loss a good thing. She's been doing so well, I was beginning to wonder if she was getting saline rather than chemo - now we know it's working. I know, it's another of my weak attempts at some strain of bad humor (something I'm quite adept to, as many of you know), but he chuckled and said, "There's plenty of strong medicine there."

Next Monday's session will mark the half-way point.

Thanks again for the many emails and correspondences - she prints the emails out and files them in a three-ring binder.

Jim

Buzz-Cut Day

On August 16, 2006, Lois decided to have her head shaved. She wanted her family to gather for the event, and since James, our son-in-law, buzz-cuts his boys, she wanted him to do the deed.

Left to right: Maia Rose, Aiden Charles, Lois, Izaiah James, and in the background, James the Butcher.




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Brooke, holding their new puppy, Daisy Mae; Maia Rose, Lois, James, Derik, Izaiah James, and Maxine (Jim's mother); watch while James' electric razor mows across her head.


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Some family members have seen resemblances in this photo to Lois' dad. This is the Final Buzz Cut.






NOW WHAT?

Well, there was a time for sharing hats; but by now Izaiah and Aiden have found other things to occupy their time.




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Slumber in the Chemo Forest

After being informed that caffeine is a "no-no" with the type of anti-nausea meds she takes on the day of chemo, and listening to the rather "self-hypnotic" cd on relaxation they gave her, Lois finally got a Good Night's Sleep last night.

No nausea, no fatigue, no hair.

4th Treatment, etc.

HAIR LOSS

We had our fourth chemo yesterday, but before we go there, let's talk about hair. Lois was more concerned about the possibility of hair loss than the loss of practically "anything else," also - you will remember - in an earlier blog, I commented that the doc said "she may not lose any hair," and that was reinforced by the oncologist nurse, sorta. Now, don't get me wrong, no one said she WOULDN'T lose any hair, but they did say that is was POSSIBLE that she might not. We were encouraged.
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The hair started falling this week, a little bit, then a little bit more, then a lot. I think it was on the day after she noticed hair on her pillow and in the shower, that I asked if I could take her picture; thinking maybe I could get a "before," then an "after" shot. I got permission on the "before" ------->

Then, to make a long story short, in the last two or three days, she has lost all her inhibitions regarding hair loss, and has fully embraced her apparently pending baldness.

"She might not lose her hair" - two things -

1. She went to the Cancer Center to check out the hats, scarves, and wigs. She found out she could take "all you want," and that they are free; so she brought home a few bags of hats, scarves and wigs. Then she went to Michael's (arts and craft store), bought a bouquet of artificial flowers, brought them home, cut off the stems, stuck some pins on the flowers and started decorating her hats. Some of them remind me of Annie Hall (do you remember her?). One of the wigs has long, straight hair; it's auburn with definite highlights of RED, and it's "just for fun." Hmmmmmmm: this one reminds me of Haight Ashbury, remember? But then - it does look like "fun."

2. I found a book at Amazon and bought it for her, Uplift - Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. Last night she read the section on Hair Loss and this morning here's what she told me: Someone in the book had mentioned they were sick and tired of hair falling out, shampooing, drying, cleaning hair out of the sink, the shower, etc., so - she gathered her family around and celebrated the loss of her hair by having it shaved off. Lois wants to bring her grandchildren in and let them watch while our son-in-law shaves her head (he cuts the grandsons' hair). She wants them to see their Grandma lose her hair. This way they will know what happened and won't be afraid. I'm impressed. (I'll try to sneak some pics on here for you.)

NO SLEEP

She has continued having a lot of trouble sleeping. Turns out it's probably due to the steriods she gets in the anti-nausea mixture they giver her prior to the actual chemo. They told her today, for the first time, she should NOT be consuming anything with caffeine: yesterday she downed a diet coke, or two; a Large Mocha Blast at Baskins Robbins (chocolate has caffeine too); then she promptly didn't go to sleep until about 5:30 am this morning. The amazing thing is that she woke up one hour later and has been on the go ever since. It's 10 pm right now and I hear a cutting knife snipping something into pieces downstairs in the kitchen as I write.

I may just have to konk her on the head with a dull object.


OLD FRIENDS

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I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Lois went to Walla Walla to visit one of her girlfriends from high school. On Monday, Judy and Bill, and Judy's sister, Sandy, stopped on their way back to the Seattle area at the Cancer Center and visited Lois while she was getting her drugs. Here's a pic of Lois and Judy.



Ken and Carolyn J., friends from Sequim that now live in Couer d'Alene, came through on their way to the Oregon Coast, then came back through on their way back home. Lois used to work for Ken in Sequim and they've been dear friends since the early 90's. We took them on a big tour of the Tri-Cities and shot a few pics down in Columbia Park. Looks a little like Waikiki....right?



CHEMO No. 4

(1/3rd done)

Things to watch for from chemo: 1. nausea, 2. fatigue, and 3. hair loss. She's experiencing some fatigue from lack of sleep, but technically this isn't from the chemo. She's had no nausea. So we figure two out of three ain't bad.

Jim

Early Signs

Lois discovered she's losing hair this morning: it was on the shower drain, and on her pillow. She had a hard time sleeping again last night too, so she took a sleep aid.

But - there's no slowing her down. She went with her sister and mother today to Walla Walla to visit friends they haven't seen much of since high school days. She said she would ride in the back seat with her mother and get some rest if needed. They should be back sometime early afternoon.

Third Treatment & Peanut Brittle

Three treatments down and still no fatigue, no nausea, no loss of hair. She had a little trouble sleeping lately, so the doc prescribed some Ambien. Sunday nights, before the past two Mondays when she had treatements, she didn't sleep well at all. Last night she took half a pill, slept good all night, had her chemo this afternoon; it's now a little after 9 pm and she's still going strong - talking on the phone, of course.

After treatment we came home, grilled up some chicken and corn-on-the-cob, she tossed together some salad, sliced some watermelon, and we had a nice dinner. Then we drove across the river to Pasco where our son-in-law and nephew were playing a softball game. Brooke was there with the kids so we watched them all play for a while and came back home just as the sun was setting.

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Evelyn, Lois' sister's mother-in-law, sent us some special treats this evening. She said she wasn't much for writing cards yet she wanted to do "something." Her peanut brittle is as they say, to die for, and that's what she sent.

I caught Lois sneaking some extra pieces before bed.


We had a spectacular lightning disply this evening! It's supposed to be cold Tuesday, only 89 degrees. We'll have to break out our jackets.

Jim

Second Treatment

I wanted to wait until this treatment to add any further posts, mainly because this first week was smooth and there was little to post. The thing that slowed us down more than anything else last week, was the stifling heat we experienced here in the tri-cities (one day the thermometer hit 113 degrees). Thank goodness we have central air and a heat pump; so we didn't suffer . . . too much.

Last Tuesday a medi-port was "installed" right below her left collar bone. It's a device designed to circumvent the damage chemo can do to wrist veins. About the size of a pecan, it has one surface engineered to accept a needle inserted through the skin; it also has a long plasic tube which is inserted into a chest vein. Lois had more pain with the port insertion than with the mastectomy. Then yesterday, the nurse who tried to insert a needle into the port, couldn't find the edges of her port with her fingers (still too much swelling from the insertion). The second nurse (a supervisor?), brought a longer needle and shoved it right in. Ouch!, but once it was inserted, things settled into a routine session.

We've discovered her anxiety has been keeping her awake on the nights prior to the chemo. She was dog-tired yesterday by the time the appt. rolled around at 1:40. During the session she finally slept some. The benydryl they give prior to the chemo helped; and we got a prescription to help her sleep next Sunday night.

When we got home, we fixed a quick meal; and she laid down on the couch with her pillows and went to sleep. I went upstairs to let her sleep, then at 11pm I went down and woke her up enough to get her to bed.

I knew immediately after she woke up this morning that she wasn't nauseated, fatigued or depressed. She got on the phone, first to check in with her mother, then to call her sister. She's been on the phone for over an hour and it's 8:46 am. Not bad for somebody who had the dreaded "chemo" yesterday!

She's been grousing about a few things on the phone this morning, nothing serious; but I told if she keeps this up, I may have to tell them to "up her dose" next week. We laughed and she continued on.

The Lord willing, we're still doing fine. The weather broke and now we're suffering the chills that come with high 80's/low 90's. The sky is blue again this morning and it looks like another beautiful day. We're thinking about taking our bikes down to one of the many bikepaths and going for a ride.

If I can get her off the phone.

Jim

First Treatment

It is done. We weren't exactly sure what to expect. We'd seen the room with all the recliners, and televisions hanging from the ceiling, and people with their intravenous hook-ups, and the nurses' station, but we didn't really "know" what to expect. Will she get nauseated and throw up? Will I need to bring the car close to the entrance and help her get in? Will she turn purple? Sprout warts? Grow extra limbs?

None of those things happened. She sat back in her recliner, they hooked her up, and for the next two hours we watched a short instructional video, read a little, drank some water/coffee, listened to some country music over the earphones connected to the tv; and talked, queried and had a few laughs with the nurses. Well, I did most of those things, Lois slept through most of it.

In a "pre-chemo" cocktail, she received (intravenously) zantax, benadryl and I forgot the third one. These are to help her body receive the main cancer killing drug, paclitaxel (taxol). This is the drug discovered in 1971 in the bark, and later the needles, of Yew trees. Yews are coniferous trees that do not grow in our desert. There are plenty of them on the Olympic Peninsula where we used to live. We had one on the high school campus in Sequim, and our friends Jenny and Dave H., in Sequim, have one growing beside their deck. (Jenny is the lady mentioned previously in this blog who is a breast cancer survivor. We visited with them after church when we went to Sequim.)

We know a little more about what to expect now: any associated nausea will probably take place later today, or tomorrow (we have some expensive drugs to counter it); the fatigue usually happens somewhere about the second day; she will lose some appetite, so eat about six small snacks a day (stay away from the three big meals per day, and stay away from spicy, greasy food). By next weekend, she'll be feeling better and we go back for the second treatment on Monday. I guess the roller coaster has pulled away.

That's it for today. I'll post more as more happens.

Hope it's cooler where you are than it is here. 106 so far.

Jim


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We did tell you we babysit overnight, right? Here are Maia, Izaiah, and Aiden (hiding somewhere on the right side). Note two things: what they are watching, and the condition of the floor. Click the pic for a larger image.




And here's Maia Rose: she's "all business," however, since she's still a bit short of her first perm, we call her the "wild woman." It's all in the hair-do.

Chemo #1 Tomorrow

Due to some rescheduling, our first chemo treatment will be Monday, tomorrow, at 1 pm.

As usual, things on the homefront are in sort of a turmoil. We are babysitting the grandkids today, they will spend the night, and their father will pick them up tomorrow at 12:30. Brooke is off to a reunion of sorts in Seattle this weekend. Some of her old Centralia girlfriends are re-collecting and then going to the Mariner - Tigers game on Monday; and as it turns out, one of their former classmates, Lyle Overby, is a starter for the Tigers. They're hoping to talk to him.

Then James is working swing-shift, so he'll be here as soon as possible after working all night. I think he's going to try to sleep a few hours before getting here.

Originally Lois wanted me to DROP HER OFF for her appointment, then take them home, then . . . pick up her mother for her 2:30 doctor appointment right across the street from the Cancer Center, then come pick up Lois, then go back and get her mom, take her home, then the two of us could come home. This is fairly normal around here...this type of scheduling...and driving....and picking up and dropping off... the exception, of course, will be the chemo.

I said, "No." The grandkids' father will pick them up here, at our house; and I'm going to go with her to chemo. Then, since there really isn't anyone to get her mother to her appt., (Lois' sister and husband are in Tennesee visiting their daughter) I'll go pick up her mother and take her to her doctor.

And then, on top of all that, it was 109 degrees here yesterday. Ah, summer . . .

The Good Lord

More "good" news: The chemotherapy oncologist is not recommending radiation therapy. He said since the cancer was found in only three lymph nodes, and since she is progesterone negative and HER2 negative, and since she is estrogen positive, but post-menopausal, he isn't recommending radiation therapy. As I understand it, the number of women who at this same stage of cancer have radiation and chemotherapy have the same survival rates as those who do chemo, but not radiation.

She will have a medi-port installed next Tuesday. It's a small device implanted just below the skin near the collar bone through which the medicine will be administered, saving the small veins in her arms. The chemo is scheduled to begin following the implantation.

Chemo will be once a week for twelve weeks and he said the type of medicine and dose he will use may not cause her hair to fall out.

HER2 (Human Epidermal Growth Factor 2) is a gene (section of dna on a chromosome) involved in the production of estrogen receptors on the surface of normal cells. Sometimes in cancer cells, especially those of the breast and ovary, the HER2 gene will replicate itself over and over causing the production of many more estrogen receptors than normal. Then, when estrogen joins the receptors, it stimulates the cell to divide uncontrollably: cancer. Following chemotherapy, the doctor said she will take a medication that will stop estrogen production and therefore any further estrogen molecules from coupling with the estrogen receptors: no cell division - no cancer.

There will be a quiz on that last paragraph on the next update, so study hard.

SO: We feel, once again, the Good Lord is working with us on this evil-doer, and in another 30 years or so, the kids will get their inheritance: two worn out old cars and an empty pool full of dirt.


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AND SO: To create a little more interesting blog, I've decided to start tossing in a picture or two ocassionally. Here's a picture of a real beauty I found in downtown Kennewick earlier this summer. She reminds of what I used to drive in high school.

Lois looks good too, doncha think?

Road Trip to Sequim

A few days ago I asked Lois if there was anywhere she wanted to go to get away for a few days before the radiation/chemo therapies commence. She didn't hesitate to say, "I'd like to go to Sequim." For those of you who don't know about Sequim (it's pronounced Skwim), it's where I was once the high school principal and where we lived from 1989 until 2003 when we returned to eastern Washington.

It's rather odd how we feel our friends are mostly in Sequim, while here in the Tri-Cities, we have mostly family. We thought if we could get everyone to move, say to Yakima, or Ellensburg, we could have both worlds in the same town. Hmmmm, we'll see, eh?

We drove over to Sequim late Thursday evening, and returned on Sunday about 10:30 pm. We had a wonderful time while there. The weather was the best Sequim has to offer in the summer time, about 70 degrees, blue skies and the annual Lavender Festival was happening. This festival has become a "big deal" in Sequim with over 35,000 visitors in 2005. There are 8 or 9 lavender farms and they are beautiful to visit this time of year. The biggest of the farms is the Purple Haze Farm. Mike Reichner is the owner and the ex-husband of a former teacher at the high school in Sequim. I remember one day Mike came into the office and told me that he had found what he had been looking for. I asked him what it was and he said, "Lavender." See the magazines Mike's farm has been featured in here.

On Saturday, Randy and Deanna W., owners of Tarcisio's Restaurant (pronounced "tar cheese ee ohs"), graciously reserved an area for members of Lois' sorority group in Sequim to get together. (Our daughter Brooke, babysat-nannied for Randy's and Deanna's children when they were little, they are in high school now.) We have missed these folks and being able to sit with them and enjoy a wonderful Italian meal was special. So special in fact, that I'm going to post some pictures of those who were there.


Betty and Rick G. Rick is a chef, previous owner of his own restaurant in Port Angeles and provider of some great meals at our socials in Sequim with the ladies.

Betty is one of our great inspirations; a three year survivor of the same type of breast cancer as Lois. You may have read her message to Lois in an earlier post.

This is Don and Claudia. Don is a retired professor of astronomy, and Claudia is one of the sorority sisters.




These gracious folks gave us a place to sleep while in Sequim. I once hired Lorena to work in the high school office; and we've enjoyed George's stories for many years now, especially the one about the knife in the tree . . . right, George?


Leon and Lindy moved to Sequim from the Tri-Cities some years ago. The sorority group she left is now the one Lois belongs to here in Richland. The small world continues to shrink.

Charlotte is another special friend to Lois. I remember her most as the sister who drove with Lois to all the meetings. I don't know what it is, but I know these two have a special connect.







On Friday evening we visited with our dear friends Carlos and Mardell in Port Angeles. Carlos is a multi-talented man who plays the flute in a number of venues around the Sequim/Pt. Angeles, he also plays the piano, and is a story-teller in the elementary schools, an artist and wood carver. We met in an art class and have been friends since. Mardell is Carlos' lovely wife; she loves STRONG coffee and is a most gracious hostess.

Also on Saturday, I visited with my artist buddy, Chris M. He and I, and another Sequim artist, George Z., went clamming on Indian Island. We had our limit of 40 clams each in about an hour and were they ever delicious! In this picture George Z. is digging with a garden tool while Chris M. digs in the background. I was the last one to "limit-out," perhaps you can see why.


Chris and I used to find interesting places and things to sit down and draw. We've drawn barns, the grain elevator, cows, sunflowers, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember right now. In honor of our many pleasant hours spent as such, we went over to Pt. Angeles on Saturday and sketched this huge oil tanker sitting in the bay. These are the Alaska tankers coming down from Prudhoe Bay. They anchor in this harbor and change captains; the open ocean captain brings them this far, then the inland waterway captain takes over and pilots the tanker to the refineries in Anacortes and somewhere over around Everett.

We went to church on Sunday morning at the Dungeness Community Church. We've always enjoyed Neal Smith's sermons, and he did not disappoint us this morning. We were especially surprised when he introduced us to the congregation as returnees and then prayed for Lois prior to the sermon. After church we visited with Jenny and Dave H. When we moved to Sequim in 1989, we bought their house. Dave is a builder and he built that house. Jenny, like so many other women we know, is a breast cancer survivor. They invited us to their beautiful home after church and we spent a wonderful hour on their deck overlooking the Dungeness River delta where we spotted three bald eagles flying over a small herd of cattle. Jenny is an inspirational woman, courageous and so very helpful.

We've been gone from Sequim for 2.5 years. I never missed it until these few days we spent there. I think we'll go back for many visits. We can't afford to move back, the price of homes has surpassed our ability to get back in, so we'll just visit.

On our way home Sunday, we stopped in Gig Harbor to visit with April and Jim O. The four of us all went to Kennewick High School in the '60's. April has visited with us a number of times since we moved to Richland and has become a dear friend. Jim and I talked about old times while April and Lois talked of family and grandchildren. We had a great time with them and wished we could have stayed longer. We left Gig Harbor about 5 pm and got home about 5 hours later.

Hope this long post hasn't bored you to tears. It was an important trip for us, and we decided we wanted to make it part of our journey.

Tomorrow: We will go to the cancer center and get some blood work done prior to the meeting with the chemo therapist on Thursday.

Later.