Keep Truckin

So for fear of being redundant, it has been a while since I have updated this blog. Typically no news is good news, and for the most part, that has been the case over the past few weeks. We continue to receive chemo treatments and Katie continues to battle the nasty cancer and chemo symptoms. But we have learned a few more things.

Her dosage was slightly reduced over the last two infusions, that has proved to be a very positive thing as the symptoms have seemed to be a little less severe than the first couple rounds. The first week after chemo continues to be a battle, but we are grateful for modern medicine no matter the temporary cost.

After visiting with the oncologist today we have good news and not so good news.

First the not so good news.

It appears that the outlook of surgery more decisively now points to a mastectomy. The details of this surgery will be revealed in more detail to us as we meet with the surgeon in the very near future. We thought we might be able to get away with just a lumpectomy, but the initial damage from the multiple cancer tumors would show that that is becoming more unlikely. That was tough to hear for Katie. We have a few options for this surgery that we will explore over the next few weeks. We are 100% confident in our team of doctors, they have Katie’s best interest in the forefront of their minds, and we are thankful for the care she is receiving.

We are also looking more certain that radiation therapy will need to be applied following the surgery. They are thinking a 6-7 week course of daily radiation to treat the damaged lymph nodes and prevent a chance of relapse. This means that Katie will be going in for radiation treatments Monday-Friday for about 6 weeks straight. Still less intensive than the current chemo regimen, but still no fun. We should begin that radiation therapy immediately following her recovery from the surgery.

We will also continue to receive infusions every 3 weeks for the next 9 months to receive hormonal treatments. These hormonal treatments will not be as intensive as the current chemo regimen, but are a necessary part of her treatment to continue to prevent any relapses in the future.

The good news!

Upon a physical examination, the oncologist believes the the tumors are subsiding and that the chemo is working. The intended response from our care is occurring, and we are confident that we are moving in the right direction and that this cancer will lose its battle to the mighty Katie!!! So with that… what more could we desire to be thankful for 🙂

Yes the symptoms are horrible. The emotional, mental and physical turmoil are sometimes too much to bear. This has been the hardest thing we have ever had to go through. Its tough on our kids and family.  And we are not done yet. However we really are grateful for the subtle and not so subtle blessings and miracles that have lifted us up through all of this. Our oncologist continues to refer to the analogy of fighting in a boxing match, and each chemo is getting knocked down only to try to pick ourselves up just to get knocked down again. Well I told our oncologist, we are ready to get out of the ring… but we know that time is not yet, and thats ok. There are still some uncertainties until chemo is finished and we are closer to surgery, but we have high hopes, and we continue to feel lifted by the care of others. We appreciated an opportunity to go on a date this last week while friends and neighbors cared for our kids. We love the times we find a doorbell ditched package on our doorstep, or someone comes by unexpectedly with a meal or thoughtful gift. This past week we also had a chance to get some family pictures done because of the thoughtfulness of one of my students. We continue to recognize the guiding hand of divine care through all of this and we feel grateful to recognize that.

Katie is strong. We are excited for the holidays with family. We have much to be thankful for. Hopefully some portion of thanksgiving dinner will be appetizing to Katie… 🙂

We are receiving number 5 out of 6 chemo treatments today! Only one more left scheduled for December 9th, and we hope to be past a very large and daunting hurdle in this whole process. We appreciate everyones support. We love you all!