Unscheduled Appointment

So this morning I had to call the doctor because I have been having almost the same cough that I had while pregnant and shortness of breath. Dr. Kanard asked me to come in to be checked out. So I went in at 2:00 to see Tricia the dr's assistant who scheduled a CT scan to see if it was a blood clot in my lungs. Luckily after 2 hours it was negative. The only problem is that I don't know why I have the cough. Dr. Kanard said it could just be this whole sickness season and it will pass in a few days. I will have to call back if it doesn't go away in a week and then we will run more tests.

Playing with my wig!

Yesterday I wore my wig to take Lizzie to her 4 month check up and when I got home I took it off and plopped it on Isaac's head. He didn't automatically take it off so I went to get the camera. Then Isaac and I convinced Ethan to wear it and finally we put it on Lizzie. They are just so cute.

Waiting for #6

So my next treatment is on Thursday. I was talking to a friend about it yesterday at church and I came up with an analogy about waiting for the next treatment to come. It's like waiting for the end of school because you're suppose to meet the school bully at the swings and it's only 10:00 a.m. The worst thing right now is knowing that your about to feel bad again and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

I also had to call the nurse last week because two of my finger tips and an earring hole all of a sudden became yucky and infected; so I have to take pills for that. One of those finger tips is somewhat separating from the skin, not too pretty. I am also noticing that my eyebrows are really thinning and so are my eye lashes; hopefully that's all they do, and then grow back. The good news is that the hair that was left on my head is starting to grow a little bit so I have several 1 inch hairs everywhere, kind of like Homer Simpson.

#5 is through!!

Now I have 3 more treatments left. My pet scan on Wednesday was long but well worth it. I reviewed it with Dr. Kanard yesterday before my treatment. I will post pictures of the last pet scan verses this one. She said that there are now no sign of the tumor!! But only a certain size will show up on the scan; so there could still be small cancer cells around so that is another reason it is best to do as many treatments as possible. She also said that I will be doing the Retuxan every 6 months and not every 3 and there are 4 of those treatments that are 3 hours each. So in two years I will be done with that. I also asked her "what if it comes back?" If it comes back within 2 years we will have to have a bone marrow transplant; if after we will do R-CHOP again. So now I really need your prayers to make sure it doesn't come back.

Thank you all again for all of your love and support! I love all of you!!

The reason for 8

So I talked to an oncology nurse yesterday that my insurance had set up for me. I asked her why I have to do 8 treatments now. She said that it was because I was doing so well with the treatments. She said 6 is good but 8 is better and the doctor will always try for 8 if you are tolorating everything well enough. Derek was saying that it's like having to have 6 spankings and since your not crying yet you get 2 more.

One way of learning patience

I talked to the doctor before the Chemo on Thursday. I actually remembered to ask her about what will happen after the tumor is gone. She is planning on having another Petscan the week of the 17th which is right before the next chemo. She expects the tumor will be a lot smaller if not completely gone; still Dr. Kanard said that I will most likely have 4 more Chemo treatments instead of the two I was expecting, yuck; so, all in all I will go through 8 treatments instead of 6. I will see her every 3 months and have a pet scan every 6 months. Every 3 months I will have a treatment of Rutuxion which is the R in the RCHOP. The Rutuxion won’t hinder my hair to grow back, or have that bad of side effects, but it is the 3 hour drug! She said they do that because the Rutuxion and the extra treatments will help make sure that the cancer doesn’t come back. I don’t know how long I will have to have the Rutuxion, but hey it can’t be forever, I hope.
I didn't pray for patience, but it looks like I need to learn it. It seems a lot harder to keep enduring knowing that there are more treatments that I have to go through. I did find that there is a clinical trial that is like a immunization shot for kids. It would help my immune system fight the cancer if it ever came back. I think I am going to try to learn more about it.

Chemo #4

So tomorrow is the next chemo treatment. I will go in at 10:50 a.m. and probably leave around 5:00 p.m. I am so not looking forward to it but oh well. Tammy (my sister) is probably going to come with me (she might be a little sick so I am still hoping she can). She is going to teach me how to crochet. I did not get to ask the oncologist about what to expect after treatment because she wasn't there the day before Thanksgiving. Well the boys are getting a little wild in their room. They still have nap time and if they don't sleep then it becomes quite time; which usually isn't so quite; imagine a slumber party everyday.