CT Scan

Scan  looked good DR said.  Yeah.

CHANGES

I have devided to try Take Them A Meal website and put a link on the side of the blog if you are interested.  The password is 3013.  Let me know what you think. My emaiil is kanglim@sbcglobal.net
Have a good weekend. The sun is looking nice out there.  How  about them  Tigers! Cmon Lions!

Peace
Kelly

New Drug

I started my new Chemo Drug called Havalen yesterday. Time will tell how it treats me.  It's the newest drug on the market and suppose to be good on the body. By the time I got home I had a killer of a head ache. I can ask for something before I head home next time to help prevent that. Side effects are the usual. Hair loss, don't have to worry about that, fatigue...got it, neuropathy-got it, constipation would be new to me. Those are the most common. I'm still on herceptin too.
I go for my next treatment next Thursday and then have a week off. So I will be doing the opposite of what I was on.

My CT scan of my chest and abdomen results were in. Stable through-out. Only one slight growth of new tumor in liver. One slight decrease in one of the tumors in lung.

My CT scan of pelvis was done two days ago and I go to the radiologist Monday to get those results.

Rachel didn't make the volleyball team but joined the cheer team now.
James starts football games this Saturday. Emily waiting for swim stroke clinics still. Paul is in full swing of teaching and he is busy. Wow.

stay warm everyone...lets see how long we can keep the furnace off. I have my winter hat on my head already.

Prayers for peace to all
Love
Kelly

Craziness

Well I said I  would update my blog after my chemo today  but I really don't  have anything to update you on.  I have a few  things so here they are.
I had a doctors appointment    last Thursday. This appointment was a routine appointment that is usually done before my chemo treatment.  I had my chemo appointment switched to Mondays for September because we have a wedding to go to at the end of September. IF I had my chemo on the Thursday before the wedding I knew I wouldn't feel good travelling out of town.  So I asked for Monday afterwards.  So back to the doctors appointment.  I checked in what I thought to be 30 minutes early, they want you 15 minutes early. When she said I was early , I was 45 minutes early.  AND the doctor is running an hour behind...UGGG.  So I finally got called back 2 hours after my scheduled time.  I complained that my toes were now completely numb..which  is neuropothy...a common side effect from chemo.  And I complained about right hip pain.  This has been bothering me and slowly getting more prominent the last two -4 weeks.
Dr said well lets cancel your chemo on Monday, I want to put you on a new drug and I want to send you to the Radiologist to see what we can do about that hip pain.   HUH?   So I left being confused and went to see my chemo nurse and she explained   to me that the radiologist will do any test to determine if I need radiation.  All right that makes sense.   Thank goodness I thought of talking to her .  My brain just could not think fast enough to ask the Dr right then and there.  And the Dr does give me a chance to ask questions.  I just couldn't think of any.
And he scheduled me for a CAT scan. So Friday I received phone calls that both appointment would be Monday (today).  But of course even though they were at the same building they were 4 hours apart.
I arrived early enough before my CAT scan to have the chemo nurse access my port because they are just better at it then anyone else.  I then headed to the floor  where I had to have my CAT scan and registered and filled out paperwork and drink my lovely juice.  And then there was a nurse in front of me before I even started on my juice.  I said:you're ready for me already....30 minutes early...she said not exactly. I looked at her confused and she said...you have to go back upstairs they didn't use the right needle for a CAT scan....NOWAY  you got to be kidding.  Sure enough  back upstairs I went. The nurse that did it was so apologetic. I hugged her and said I forgave her. The rest of the scan went with out a hitch.    We went to lunch and then headed to the dr appointment with the radiologist.  He couldn't tell us anything because we hadn't had any test on my hip.   He thought my oncologist scheduled something and my oncologist thought he would let the radiologist decide what test he wanted to do.  So now I 'm having another CAT scan on my hip.  The other scan just covered my chest and abdomen.   My chemo is scheduled for Thursday and this drug I need to have on Thursdays once a week for two weeks in a row then off a week then another treatment. Off a week and then back  to the  beginning I think.  I'll find out Thursday for sure.  This will not mess up the traveling for the wedding as my old schedule would have.
Wow  that was more than I thought.
Paul's teaching m w  nights and all  day on Fridays. James has football t and  Thursdays and  games on  Saturdays.  Rachel is doing gymnastics to get ready for winter competitive cheer and Emily will be doing swim stroke clinics on Saturday starting in October. Mom will just try to keep up with everyone.
If I can ask a favor please pray for good results from the CAT scan today and for the one I will have whenever they schedule it.  And Two pray that this  new drug I will be having  for Chemo is as good as they say it is.
Thanks again for all the support through everything you have done.
Love and Peace to you
Kelly

Beautiful Weather

I don't know to many people that can complain about the weather lately.  Sunshine, blue ski, warm in the day and cool in the night.  Just enough rain to keep the grass green.  Beautiful!
     I am on day 4 after my last treatment.  I have a lot of bone pain from the drugs I am getting.  It starts at the end of day 2 and last through day 7 but subsides alot after day 5. Other side effects that I experience is tiredness and lack of taste buds. Nothing tastes the way it should.  The doctor/physicians assistant asked  if their was anything new and I showed her my finger nails....I whined that they were falling off and she confirmed that they are coming off.  YUCK!  This too is from my chemo treatments.  If i pull down the skin in front of my nail I can see all the way under my nail.   Kinda cool kinda gross.  I'm still tolerating the drugs I am  on quite well.  No mouth sores or nausea.  So that is great.  I'm scheduled through September for treatments.  I should have a CAT scan before the end of September.  I am hoping that I can start Oral Chemo soon but only if it is as kind to me as the drugs I am currently on. PROS and CONS.
    The business is about to start for the Anglim household and for a lot of you too.  Football starts today for James.  Three days a week.  School is about 3 weeks out I think.  Paul is going to be teaching a few classes in the evening to.  can you say Crazy!
Enjoy the rest of the summer there is plenty of it left to enjoy.
thanks for all the help since my last update.  Again all of these small things help.  Hang out dates, dinners, prayers, taxing,, phone calls, texts.  All of them!  Thank You!
Love
Kelly

Round # 5 Complete

Today I completed round #5.  And it took 5 months from 2007 and 6 months in 2011 to have an appointment go pretty much on schedule.  Once I was hooked up to my meds I was in and out of there in record time.  I believe 10-1 on meds. Lab draw and doctor appointment was a little slow but not terrible. So a pretty good (if you can call it that) day.  Sure does wonders for a patients attitude.  The doctors appointment was quick.  Just asking how side effects are treating you and if you need any refills on medications. My blood sugars are in normal range  with the diabetic meds I am.  I hope in 3 weeks I will be able to come off of those to see if it will regulate with out them.  I also asked for stronger pain meds for the bone pain that sits in before night fall and gets pretty bad for the next 4 days.  I took a vicodin 7 hundred or so and I'm still awake...what the?  Oh well I'm updating my blog and eating a salad. :)
     July has flew by.  Nice weather has probably made it feel that way.  Or busy kids could have done it too.  Rachel's still doing horse back riding lessons and sometimes works at the barn. Emily finished the summer swim team but now started water polo lessons two days a week.  James is at Camp Geneva for the week for the first time.  Mom is anxiously waiting for him to get home.  Two days of storms in his week. He usually sleeps through everything but his mommy is always here for him! And with all of that activity and my treatments we found time to send the kids with Auntie Ann (Paul's sister) and her two daughters to the U.P. for 10 days touring the beautiful upper Michigan and learning about where their Grandma and Grandpa Anglim lived.  And a few stories were shared about their daddy's childhood too. They had a great time. Then after they were home for 4 days we met up a my siblings minus one brother and his family, and my parents at Silver Lake. IT was a tad hot but it was fun. James is starting a golf class next week, Emily will have water polo still and Rachel riding lessons.  Then Emily will go to camp Geneva the next week.  I think we will be down to 4 or 3 weeks left of summer when all is said and done.
      Paul has about 3 weeks left of normalcy and then he will begin his business big time.  He will begin teaching at GRCC  an evening class. He will also teach at downtown campus for Ferris for a week. He will also be teaching in Big Rapids one day a week.
Thanks for the comments, prayers, thoughts, dinners, drives to treatment, visits and phone calls.  They all help in the healing process.
Family and Friends Forever
Love
Kelly

  

Good while it lasted

The reprieve was good while it lasted.  Doctor put me back to it today. C.A.T. Scan did not show any growth and it did not show any shrinkage so the chemo is keeping the tumors stable.  Yes, most of us and myself mostly was hoping for better results and no more infusion of chemo and be put on the oral drugs.  I asked when that might happen and the doctor said he would like to give me 4 more rounds of this chemo before looking at oral drugs.
So the vacation away from one treatment put my sugars back into normal range with the help of some diabetic drugs that I am still on for the next 60 days. Maybe until chemo is done. ????
The house is quiet.  The kids needed to get away and they are having a blast.
The house has been clean in the areas that I cleaned on Wednesday for more than 2 hours. :)  I'm almost ready for them to be home. ALMOST.
I'm up because I have a nice head ache. Bones are aching already too.  I knew I didn't miss going to get a treatment.
Well thanks again for all the support.  You know what you are doing for me,and the rest of the Anglim Family in this time of need. Praying, cooking, thinking, cleaning, friending, texting, driving, and most of all
LOVING!
Thank You
Kelly