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

b
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.

Things are Great

We met with the radiation oncologist last week. She told us there are three levels to consider: absolute, recommended, and not recommended. Absolute means there are 5 or more lymph nodes with cancer. Recommended means there are less than five, and not recommended means anything with 2mm, or smaller, tumors; or tumors that are non-existent.

While the doctor was explaing this, it was pretty obvious Lois was going to fall into the absolute category. Then she indicated a discrepancy between the referral she received regarding Lois' diagnosis and what the pathlogy report actually said. After talking to the patholgist on the phone, once while we were in the office, she reported that one of the sentinel nodes was totally clear of any cancer, while the other had a small tumor that measured 2 millimeters in size (about 1/16th of an inch). She said when they are that small they aren't counted to determine the level of radiation treatment needed.

While explaining all this she excused herself and left the examination room. When she returned she said, "you just went from a five to a three." She had talked to the pathologist again so she could be certain about what his report said.

So Lois went from "absolute" to "recommended," for radiation therapy. We take that as Good News. Still, she's determined to go ahead with radiation. I'm not very comfortable with the fact that the radiation, administered from the side, will strike the outer lining of the lung on that side. My dad had radiation that damaged some of his lung tissue, it became infected, he developed pneumonia, and passed away in 1995. Still, one has to do what one has to do, so I totally support her in the decision to go forward with it.

We will meet with the chemotherapy oncologist on July 20th. We were concerned with the time frame for moving forward with all of this, but the radiation oncologist said this is within acceptable time frames and we don't need to worry. This waiting is not easy.

The chemotherapy oncologist will tell us whether she will have chemotherapy, or hormone therapy. I'm hoping for hormone therapy because I think it's the lesser of the two evils, but fortunately for Lois, this will not be determined by "what I want," but by the type of malignancy we're dealing with.

The radiation oncologist said if we do chemo, then we'll wait until it is over before doing the radiation, however if hormone therapy is what is called for, we can do both at the same time (another reason we prefer hormone therapy).

While at the Cancer Center (where the oncologists offices are located) we discovered the Support Services where Lois found a wig she liked. The lady said for her to go ahead and take it as it might be gone when she actually needs it. So we have this "thing" lying around, waiting, and watching us. Lois also found a falsie there. Not a pair of falsies, like I've always heard about, just a .....falsie. It looks good on her.

Meantime, things are great. We're living our lives as we normally do and enjoying this glorious summer and all it has to offer.

Unless things change, I probably won't post anything until after the appointment on the 20th.

You guys are great! Thanks for everything!

Oops.....tubes and staples

In yesterday's post I forgot to mention the drain tubes and staples. Yes, the drain tubes were removed yesterday at the doctor's office, and he removed about half the staples. Her wounds have no irritation, no infection, and only a small bit of inflammation near one of the tubes which decided to clog up over the course of the last few days. He said this was all normal and nothing to worry about as all drain tubes eventually clog up. Any further drainage will be minimal and reabsorbed by her body. The remaining staples will be removed at the next appointment which is next week.
Thanks for asking Joanne.

We have an appointment with a radiation oncologist tomorrow morning. Our doctor recommended we talk with radiation and chemotherapy oncologists. I'm thinking there may be some radiation administered toward those remaining lymph nodes in her armpit.

So, A Little Chemo, huh?

The thing the doctor said today that I'll remember the longest was when he said to Lois, "You could be cured." But since there is no way to tell if there are more cells that weren't removed, chemotherapy, and possibly some radiation, will be used, just to be safe, to kill the little bastards that could be lurking around before they create any further havoc.

Our big question was since five lymph nodes with cancer cells were removed, are there more that weren't? And if so, why not remove them all? He said two years ago that would be the recommendation, but science has learned that whether the lymph nodes are removed, or not, doesn't matter. In other words, the number of successful therapies, out of the tens of thousands tracked, did not change, whether those lymph nodes were removed or not. Seems sorta odd, but I think I understand.

We are still nervous about whether we should have had him remove her other breast. We've heard of women who have had both removed, no questions asked. Some have both removed even when there is no cancer detected, but their mothers and sisters have, or had, the disease. But the doctor still doesn't recommend it, eventhough the likelihood of tumors arising there are 22%, as opposed to 14% for women without any cancer. She could have it removed at any time, or during the reconstruction in six months. Right now I'm thinking the sooner the better.

****

After the doctor's appointment today, we did a little grocery shopping, then visited our friend Kaye K., then went over to Brooke's to see the little ones. They were very busy riding bikes, chasing one another with swords, jumping on the neighbor's trampoline, and crying over who got the red plastic Star Wars laser beam.

Later, we went to a movie: "The Lake House." Keanu Reeves and Sondra Bullock starred in this mainly "chick flick." You have to suspend some disbelief as it's a love-story that happens across a time-warp of two years. It had a few "holes" but overall we enjoyed it.

When we got home, we watched the Mariners win again, tonight - they've been on fire this month and finally fun to watch again.

Yesterday was a real "downer," and it took a while to overcome the "heavy" news the doctor delivered. Today, however, was a much better day. We learned Lois will have chemo - but we knew that already - and we learned that she "could be cured." Now how can that be a bad thing to mope around about? We're taking the high road, and we're gonna do what we have to to ensure that that's the one we travel.

Thanks again for all your support; unless you've been through something like this, and we sincerely hope you haven't, you can't know how much it means, especially to Lois, and me.

*****

Lab Results

We talked with the doctor today. The lab reports that the two sentinel nodes removed during the mastectomy and three lymph nodes in the removed breast tissue contain cancer cells. Thank God, all these tissues were removed. The doctor said thirty years ago we would have been given a clean bill of health at this point because the cells are not detectable by light microscopes. Thanks to the advances in modern biochemistry, they are detectable now days; thus the over-the-weekend wait for the stains to work properly.

Next we meet with a chemotherapy oncologist to discuss what happens next.

Jim

A Grandson's Question

This picture of our grandson, Izaiah James, was taken in March of last year; he's five years old this summer. Lois has this picture framed and in a place of prominence.

Not long after he started talking he labled me Papa, and Lois, Pama; thus "pamalois."

Today he amazed us. Brooke and her family came to use the pool this afternoon and the first thing Izaiah did when he got here, was go to Lois and say, "I want to ask you something in private." She took him to another room where the two of them were alone, and very quietly, he asked, "how are you feeling?"

Tomorrow is another day of waiting. Hopefully the news will be good, and it will come early.

Thanks for all your support.

From Betty, a sorority sister in Sequim

June 25, 2006

Sunday: A lazy day today with the temperature hovering near 100 degrees. Lois' tubes were worked pretty hard yesterday, so today she decided to "let it be." She relaxed all day: slept, read, and lounged. We ate dinner, then sat outside for a while, now it's shower time and preparation for the evening hours.

Tomorrow it's supposed to hit just over 100 degrees. I love it you know; I like to go out and sit in my car with the windows rolled up. I called Brooke and the gang and told them to come on over and get in the pool; the water's 86 degrees, perfect for cooling down on a hot day. Oh, and by the way, just kidding about sitting in the car. I roll the windows down.

Lois has many dear friends in Sequim. The following is from a sorority sister of hers, Betty. It was originally sent as an email, and I thought it deserved more; so after getting Betty's permission, I'm posting here for you to read. It's a great testimony from a very brave woman, one we're all proud to know and cherish.

*******************

Lois,

I know how/hard waiting for results is. I checked your blog several times on Thursday awaiting news of the result. I had to wait seven days for my sentinel node results. My mastectomy was Aug 31 and the lab was closed for Labor day.

However, when we heard the cancer had not spread to the lymph nodes we were greatly relieved!! My surgeon installed a port on my right side during surgery because my Oncologist planned chemo treatment. Sleeping was very difficult at first because I am a side sleeper. My left side was tender from the surgery and the right had the port between by shoulder & collar bone. I was also very bruised from my waist to where my breast used to be. My surgeon says it is very common for slender people to bruise more. I know Rick was very relieved when my drain tube with collection bag was removed eight long days after surgery. Since I only had one bag I was able to attach it to my sweat pants that had a tie waist. I was told gravity helped the flow of the blood and the faster it flowed the sooner it would be removed!

Because the surgeon had clean margins and my lump was smaller than 2cm I did not have radiation. I did have four sessions of chemo every three weeks. My last chemo was right after Thanksgiving. I lost all my hair and spent four months BALD! Oct., November, December & January brrr.... My work was amazing and 25 people shaved their heads in support of me. WOW!! We even made front page of the Daily News. The gals at Copies Plus pitched in bought me a wig.

I had shoulder length red hair while I was bald. Many of my customers did not recognize me!! That was fun. I even got called "Miss" wow, I had not been called miss in years!! I guess with the gray gone I looked much younger. :-)
Now my hair is back and curly and back to gray. I am just grateful to HAVE hair!

I did have several weeks of physical therapy through the hospital and now have full range of motion back. I still have exercises to do daily. My therapist also guided me in other ways. Such as vitamin E is good to rub on your scars (once your Dr says it is okay) to help them fade. She also told me I could order my prosthesis through Jim's RX where they also had specialty bras it fits in. I decided to wait a year and let the scar heal before I even think about reconstruction. The scar is healing nicely and starting to fade. The port was removed in January and that scar is more noticeable.

On to more recent news. Tracey graduated from Sacramento State on May 19th with a degree in Child Psychology with honors!! We, Tracey, Claudio, Claudio's parents, his sister, her husband, their baby and Rick & I had planned a trip to Maui to celebrate her graduation. Once we arrived in Maui Tracey informed us they were getting married Thursday! We were ALL surprised and pleased. Claudio and Tracey have been together for over three years. He is very good for her and his family are very nice people. The wedding was held on Makena beach May 25th at 5:30 - barefoot! She was a beautiful bride! Afterwards the wedding dinner was at Seawatch restaurant. Which was delicious. Another interesting fact, Rick's friend Bobby is one of the head chefs there. This was unknown to Tracey until AFTER she had booked the dinner on line. She had a wedding coordinator to help her choose the pastor, photographer, flowers, location and cake. Everything went very smoothly. So, I am now a Mother-in-Law! I passed chocolate covered macadamia nuts and the wedding pictures at the last Beta meeting/dinner in June. :-)

Lois, would you please send me your phone number I cannot find it and I would like to call and talk to you. Since I have recently been through this we are Sisters in a new way. There has been so many blessings from having cancer, so much kindness and love from unexpected people you will constantly be surprised and overwhelmed. I wish you were closer and I would give you a huge HUG! Know you are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I could not have made it without Ricks love and support. Jim, one book Rick found extremely helpful was Breast Cancer Husband by Marc Silver. The cover states how to help your wife and yourself through diagnosis, treatment and beyond.

All for now. It's a beautiful sunny day and I am going to work in the yard.
Take care dear sister.

Love, Betty

A Very Good Thing

Knowing today wouldn't be a "waiting" day, we got up this morning feeling good. The remainder of the day was beautiful and warm with the temperature in the high 80's; and not even a single cloud tried to blemish the deep blue sky.

Lots of company came by to wish Lois well today, her mother was here for a few hours, as was my mom, then Lois' Aunt Wanda and cousin Jani were here for a while too. Brooke and her three youngest came by; the two younger ones slept while Izaiah had the pool to himself. Later some dear old friends from high school days came to visit.

Lois just came upstairs with the cards she received today. She really enjoys hearing from all of you; and I do too because it lifts her up. She's printed out all the emails and blog comments; she's kept all the messages in the voice in-box (which will have to be emptied soon), and is creating a notebook with all this communication we have going with all of you.

Her condition from surgery continues to improve; the drain tubes have slowed down appreciably since first coming home, she still feels NO pain in the primary wound, and only a small amount where one of the tubes pierces her skin.

Lois and I had a very nice dinner for two this evening, then took a drive along the Columbia River in Columbia Park. This time of year, when the sun goes down behind Rattlesnake Mountain, the sky fills with those beautiful oranges and reds which then reflect off the river. I should have taken my camera.

Derik: As many of you know, our son has obsessive compulsive disorder. We were both very concerned about him knowing his mother had cancer. It is one of those "things" that could trigger an extremely heavy episode of ocd. I told him a few days ago simply that his mother had a growth removed and the doctor said everything looked good. Derik asked if it was anything that could be bad, and I responded that it could. He didn't say anything more about it. So yesterday, when I was in his apartment and his roommate was gone, I took the opportunity to give him the full story, keeping it upbeat and full of hopeful promise. He came home with me to see her and he did very well. We haven't heard anything from him today with the exception of his call earlier asking if we wanted to take him and his roomie out for "burgers." I guess we're all ok, for now.

Not much to report today, and that's a Very Good Thing, right Martha?

Waiting

We have learned on the days when we are waiting for news from the doctor, the waiting is a heavy experience. It's sorta like a ton of gloom is over behind one hill, and a million sunny days behind another and you're holding your breath to see which way the wind will blow, but the clouds just sit still.

The lady in this painting expresses our feelings quite well today.

However, the wait for today is over; the doctor's nurse called, she said he called her a few minutes ago - just as he was getting out of surgery. Turns out the results won't be ready for a few more days. He said they were running some special stains that would take longer; probably next TUESDAY! Sheesh, we've been on pins and needles all morning and he says . . . "Next TUESDAY."

The nurse did say not to worry anymore than we already are (easy for her to say). Waiting a few more days is not out of the ordinary and doesn't mean anything one way or the other.

Isn't this the way things always go? I swear every time we get in a grocery line, or other line in any other store, the cash register goes belly-up and the people at the back of the line we chose NOT to get into are in their cars on the way home. Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait.

Well, at least it's a beautiful day. Lois has been resting in the shade out by the pool this morning, reading about Taylor Hicks in a People Magazine someone gave her, and taking phone calls. The first I heard her laugh all day was a few minutes ago while talking to her sister on the phone. That doesn't mean it's been all doom and gloom around here today; we did some shopping. Took a some bras back to Wal-Mart, bought some new flowers for our front door pots at Fred Myers and one of our local nurseries.

We're planning some grilled salmon, grilled potatoes, fried okra (it's a southern specialty I've learned how to cook - something I enjoyed when I was a Texan), a spring-mix salad (Costco) and a bottle or two of some stiff wine.

Come join us.

Internet Woes

For those of you who are checking frequently, our internet provider was kaput most of the day. I'll have a posting in a few hours for you. Nothing to worry about today, lots of family. We should get the results of the lab analysis tomorrow.

Today: June 21st

Lois was tired today. She camped out most of the day in the family room, of course she had the phone nearby along with a People magazine her sister gave her with a picture of Taylor Hicks on the cover. She likes Taylor Hicks, I think because he reminds her of me - you know, all that gray hair.

My sister, Jo; Brooke, James and kids visited Lois today while I got the tree-man to finally remove the tree off the neighbor's deck, and the main pump to the pool replaced. It's been a costly day. I went to get a hair-cut and my son-in-law snuck in to visit Lois (with Brooke and kids) and he didn't mow the lawn while he was here. Doggone it, I mowed it before he got here, earlier in the day. Next time, James.

Lois took a shower a few minutes ago. The doctor told her she could get her wounds wet today in the shower. I 'm not sure but it seems to me when I was a kid and had three stitches in my eyebrow I couldn't get it wet for like two or three years. Makes me think, with all these changes/advancements in medical treatment that someday we'll get surgery and not even know it happened.

She got out of the shower and complained about not losing any weight. Before surgery I told her she would probably lose a good ten pounds . . . ahem.

We're going to settle down in the family room for some tv this evening and call it a day.

Once again, thanks so much for all the "cards and letters."

Jim

By the way, our list of people being notified of this blog is growing. Anyone reading this for the first time will need to know the most recent entries are on top, so if you're looking for chronology, you need to scroll to the first entry, then scroll up to read the rest.

The Rest of the Day

Since coming home today, things have gone well. She has two drain tubes emerging from where her boob used to be and each terminates in a plastic apparatus that looks like a hand-grenade (really), and I've been trained in the intracacies of expunging the red liquid they fill with over the course of 7 or 8 hours. We ran some tape around the tubes so we could safety pin them to her blouse. The "grenades" hang down and need to be supported since the other end is somewhere inside her chest . . . I told her, now she knows what it feels like to have testicles.

She's also sprung a leak. I made a phone call and found out though it's to be expected . . . duh. The reason we were a little alarmed is that she didn't leak in the hospital. Figures when I'm in charge she would start this nasty little habit.

Then there's the big wound. It's sorta like the Grand Canyon has been pulled together and stapled shut across the top. Thankfully there are no leaks there. The staples look just like those in the stapler on your desk. Lois asked if they were the type that closes on the other side, like the stapler on your desk does when you staple papers. The nurse laughed and said no, they just go straight in. I guess they don't have to use one of those staple pullers to get them out, but just use some tweezers or something. Anyway, this thing looks like it would hurt - all to hell! But she's numb; feels nothing. "That's a blessing from God," the assistant pastor who called today said. I'm wondering if someone cut a nerve?

We were talking about our luck today. In the last week, or so, my job at the community college came to an end (the grant ran out of money), a pine tree in our back yard blew down and is presently lying across the neighbor's deck and they can't get out the door leading to the deck, the main ciruculation pump went out on the pool so now the pool is fermenting under this heat, and then Lois. Still, we know God is being good to us because we're laughing about it all. Well, most of it.

Home

I think I'll get out more often at 6 am. The air is clean and pure, the roads are empty, the sunlight was low and warm, and it just felt good.

The doctor came in, as scheduled, at 6:30 sharp this morning, gave her the "once over" and said, "if you can find a ride home, you can leave this morning." It's nice to know a man with such life-saving skills has a sense of humor. We feel especially blessed to have this man. Many people think they have to go to Seattle or Spokane to get top-notch medical attention. I'm sure there are others just as good, but I'm convinced there is no one better than our doctor B, right here in the Tri-Cities. A couple of days ago I asked him how many of these operations he had performed. He said, "I stopped counting when it got into the thousands . . . about twenty years ago." Not only does he have all this wisdom from this experience, he's simply a very nice guy. We love him.

We got home about 10:30, it would have been earlier; but you know Lois, we had to stop at Wal-Mart and Albertson's on the way home. They had some sales going on cotton bras at Wal-Mart, and some narcotics at Albertson's that she needs.

Once home, we put our new bra on and padded up the left side real good with gauze and nylon stockings, sized things up, straightened, uplifted and then said, "Awesome." She looks great!

Change the dressing once a day, take the pain meds once every three to four hours, bathe beginning tomorrow - let the water run across the wound, no soap.

It's amazing: remove one total breast, stay one night the in the hospital, and go home the next day, and go ahead and get it wet on the next day. Of course there are excercises needed to get that left arm back in shape, it's weak; maybe I won't need James to mow the lawn afterall....??

The nurse who checked her out was kind. She tossed in some extra tape, gauze, and safety pins. I figure the bill on those items will be close to $350.

We're good, Lois is good, thanks to you all for your wonderful words of support and love!

We'll keep the posts going.

Surgery

Hi everyone,

Lois checked into the hospital this morning at 7:30. The first procedure was to inject her breast with a radioactive dye which would find its way into the lymph nodes in her armpit. The procedure didn’t take very long and soon she was sitting in the waiting room with my sister and me: in a wheel chair; wearing her hospital garb; with the IV-tree and all its nasty looking plastic valves and tubes inserted into a vein, standing tall nearby.

The radioactive dye finds it way to the lymph nodes and concentrates itself in what are called sentinel nodes. The doctor told us some people have no sentinel nodes, some have 2 or 3. Lois had two. In the old days of breast surgery, the entire regiment of nodes in the arm pits was removed. They no longer do that. The sentinel node(s) stand as sentries to lymph draining from the breast. I don’t understand all there is to understand about how this works, but apparently by taking only the sentinels, they are able to determine the severity of the cancer, its degree of spread, and the type of therapy that will be prescribed (radiation, chemo, etc.). The two sentinel nodes he harvested from Lois were small - “a good sign,” the doctor said. He also told us they “felt good” when he inspected them manually.

The doctor said the lump in her breast had a “clear margin” around it. The “margin” is a standard by which surgeons measure the distance between the malignancy and the closest, clearly unaffected tissue surrounding it. The measure is 10 millimeters (roughly the length of a fingernail): her were all within this range. There is some evidence that there were other microscopic growths near the lump, but they appear to have all been contained within a “clearly defined margin.” This is preliminary news, but it is GREAT news.

Now we wait for the lab results. The doc said they would be in by late Thursday and that he would be calling us as soon as he has them.

Right now she is resting comfortably here beside me in a very nice, private room on the fourth floor of the hospital from which she can see off in the distance the Horse Heaven Hills and good ol’ Jump Off Joe (the highest of the hills for those of you living outside the area).

She has a button to push when she feels pain, for which so far there has been none (but then she’s been pushing the button about every ten minutes or so, until she fell asleep – the nurse said if she needs pain medication while she’s sleeping, she’ll wake up and push the button); she’s been for a short walk; she and I each had an outstanding cheeseburger from the kitchen (the food at Kadlec is good!); she’s in excellent spirits, and it’s good to see her resting peacefully with no pain.

The doctor said he didn’t see any reason why she wouldn’t be able to go home in the morning, Tuesday. I’m not looking forward to being the ONE responsible for her drain tubes (2), and her regularly scheduled pain medications over the next few days, but as long as my son-in-law knows where I keep my mower, I’ll be ok. James, did you read that?!

Thanks for all your responses here in the blog, and by email and phone calls. One thing we’ve learned is that it’s true, cancer patients don’t mind talking about their experiences, and the support from family and friends is so important.

More tomorrow.

Annual Physical to Tonight

About 10 days ago Lois went for her annual physical exam. Before the appointment she had a mammogram so the doctor could examine it as part of the exam. It was clear, yet when he examined her manually he discovered a lump in her left breast. Once she felt it she was amazed that she hadn't discovered it herself. Me too.

A couple days later a core-needle biopsy was conducted using an ultrasound device. Lois was most worried about the needles and any pain they may inflict. The doctor explained the procedure carefully telling her the first needle he would use would have a very small diameter that it wouldn't be the "shot" so much that might hurt as it would be the "three second" burn when the lidocaine was injected. She took it like a trooper, but when he went in with a larger needle to deaden a greater portion of her breast, she let out a squeal. (The lady who held the ultrasound device was the daughter of a couple of students of mine from the early years when I first started teaching. It's a small world.)

The biopsy came back positive: malignant. There are two types of breast cancer: ductal carcinoma, and lobular carcinoma. This one is the latter: lobular carcinoma.

The milk glands produce the milk which is then transported to the nipple through ducts. Ductal carcinoma is in the ducts, lobular carcinoma occurs in the milk glands. Ductal carcinoma is the most prevalent and the one reported most often in popular literature: Ladies Home Journal, Oprah, etc. Lobular is much less prevalent, but is the second most common type.

Why didn't it show in the mammogram? Lobular masses do not collect calcium like the ductal masses do. Calcium is what makes bones and teeth show up clearly in x-rays. Since lobular masses don't calcify well, they are more transparent, 15% of mammograms will not detect them. Because of this, there is no way to know whether there are more masses, possibly microscopic in size, that can't be found.

Ductal carcinomas generally occur in fairly clear view of the mammogram, and they are usually alone: only one. Because of this they are generally removed as a mass, leaving the breast in place: lumpectomy.

Lobular carcinomas are generally removed by removing the entire breast: mastectomy.

Tomorrow morning she reports to the hospital for the surgical procedure.