Hi Everyone - It's Kev again taking over the post. Sorry it's been a while since our last post, but I will try to get everyone caught up.
Last week, we visited with the doctor on Monday, and had a long discussion about the next steps in Patti's treatment.
She's been off the chemo for about 7 weeks now, and she was supposed to be feeling a lot better, but she really is not feeling a lot better. She is very fatigued and unsteady on her feet, both side effects from the chemo and the cancer, and the doctor is concerned with her quality of life while trying to treat the disease, so there is a balancing act we are trying to achieve. Aggressive chemo hasn't had great results as far as getting rid of the cancer, and Patti has struggled with the heavy chemo.
So, we went and had another PET scan - a baseline to see what the cancer is doing after 6 weeks off. The results of the PET scan were that the cancer is still just about the same - liver and bone (primarily spine). We took that as a positive sign, since the cancer was not a lot worse being off the chemo for a while.
The doctor has prescribed a new chemo drug that she can take in a pill form. This is nice because she won't have to go to the chemo cafe to take it. The game plan is to take this for two months and then get another scan to see how it is doing. We are hoping for a positive result as far as the cancer goes, but also for her to find some energy and be able to get up and around a little better.
She is going to physical therapy twice a week to manage the lymph edema which has improved quite a bit, and getting massage therapy weekly too which relaxes her. She is going to counseling weekly as well. These things, along with the cards, calls, visits, and prayers are keeping her going. And, she has a wedding to look fabulous for!
We can't thank you guys enough for all the support - at this stage of the game it is just as important for her to be positive as to be in some sort of treatment, so keep up the good work!
Talk to you soon.
K
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Non-update Update
Hi everyone!
We apologize for the lack of posts here - there is not too much to report. Since Mom took a break from the chemo, things have been pretty quiet. In a typical week - Mom goes to acupuncture twice, to help with the nausea (and I am sure 100 other things if you ask Dr. Jie Wang, who does the pricking), and then various physical therapists, mainly for her arm. I am not sure if we mentioned it here, but her left arm has been very swollen since her trip to the hospital at the Cape. On the first go round with cancer, she had to get the lymph nodes under her left arm removed - which now causes lymph to build up in her arm if something is restricting it's flow. (What is lymph you ask - well, it is a colorless fluid containing white blood cells, which bathes the tissues and drains through the lymphatic system into the bloodstream. Thank you Wikipedia) Well, when mom was in the hospital, they put her hospital bracelets on her left wrist (bad idea), which causes the fluid to stop "flowing" properly, and since there are no lymph nodes there to keep things moving -her arm swelled up. The medical term for this is Lymphedema. To treat this, Mom wears a compression sleeve (very fashion forward) and also does Manual lymph drainage (or MLD). It is not as gross as it sounds, trust me - MLD is a light massage therapy technique in which the skin is moved in certain directions based on the structure of the lymphatic system. This helps the lymph fluid drain through the proper channels. See, not so bad?
Other than that, she is just sleeping a lot and trying to get some energy back. She heads back to the Dr. next week to see what's next on the chemo front, so we will let everyone know how that goes when we hear something.
On the Non-Mom update front - thanks to Blizzard Nemo this weekend, we had to cancel a shower for Beth up in Boston! It was just our luck that the storm hit at the same time our flight was to land at Logan. However, in true Beth fashion - she did not panic or even get upset! (Thank God she is a laid back bride!) The wedding is only 110 days away - hopefully the weather will cooperate in June :)
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Keep the prayers coming!
XO,
Caitlyn
We apologize for the lack of posts here - there is not too much to report. Since Mom took a break from the chemo, things have been pretty quiet. In a typical week - Mom goes to acupuncture twice, to help with the nausea (and I am sure 100 other things if you ask Dr. Jie Wang, who does the pricking), and then various physical therapists, mainly for her arm. I am not sure if we mentioned it here, but her left arm has been very swollen since her trip to the hospital at the Cape. On the first go round with cancer, she had to get the lymph nodes under her left arm removed - which now causes lymph to build up in her arm if something is restricting it's flow. (What is lymph you ask - well, it is a colorless fluid containing white blood cells, which bathes the tissues and drains through the lymphatic system into the bloodstream. Thank you Wikipedia) Well, when mom was in the hospital, they put her hospital bracelets on her left wrist (bad idea), which causes the fluid to stop "flowing" properly, and since there are no lymph nodes there to keep things moving -her arm swelled up. The medical term for this is Lymphedema. To treat this, Mom wears a compression sleeve (very fashion forward) and also does Manual lymph drainage (or MLD). It is not as gross as it sounds, trust me - MLD is a light massage therapy technique in which the skin is moved in certain directions based on the structure of the lymphatic system. This helps the lymph fluid drain through the proper channels. See, not so bad?
Other than that, she is just sleeping a lot and trying to get some energy back. She heads back to the Dr. next week to see what's next on the chemo front, so we will let everyone know how that goes when we hear something.
On the Non-Mom update front - thanks to Blizzard Nemo this weekend, we had to cancel a shower for Beth up in Boston! It was just our luck that the storm hit at the same time our flight was to land at Logan. However, in true Beth fashion - she did not panic or even get upset! (Thank God she is a laid back bride!) The wedding is only 110 days away - hopefully the weather will cooperate in June :)
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Keep the prayers coming!
XO,
Caitlyn
Monday, January 28, 2013
Weekend Update
Hi Everyone!
Hope everyone has had a great weekend! Just wanted to update everyone on some changes in Mom's treatment.
We are going to take a month off the chemo to get Mom feeling better and stronger. The hospital stay and this last round of chemo was a little difficult so the doctors think a month of is a good idea. So today is the first Monday off and they will run some more tests after the 4th monday of her time off. This way she will have some time to focus on her nutrition, physical therapy, and the newest addition - ACUPUNTURE!
I got the pleasure of taking Mom to her first acupuncturist on Friday morning! This woman specializes in people with cancer and taking some of the pain away... let's hope this does some magic!
I stayed with Mom while the lady put all the needles in her body. Mom couldn't even feel them! She also was able to nap/relax while the needles were doing their thang :) She is going to start seeing this acupuncturist twice a week for a couple months in hopes to relieve some of the pain she is experiencing. I did take a picture but you cant see the needles in sticking out of her arms and head so its just a picture of her laying on a table- not too blog-worthy.
I came home for the weekend to spend time with the family and also celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays! I took some pictures that I find VERY blog-worthy so enjoy! Luisa and I have been friends for 18 YEARS so she is one of Mom's "Fourth Daughters" and she happened to turn 28 on Friday! Here are some pictures from her bday celebration!
For the rest of the weekend, Mom and I spent alot of time watching tennis, drinking lots of fluids :), and getting good sleep! I also got to see Geema's new apt at Freedom Pointe and even took her our for lunch and a Target shopping trip! She is slowly getting acclimated to her new surroundings... very slowly. Tonight, we will have a lovely family dinner at the Lumpkins, then its back up to the freezing Big Apple for me.
I will leave you with a dog pic as usual! Dad says he likes to "make eye contact" with the dogs before giving them a treat to show them who is the boss.... this was the only way he could get the eye contact he wanted. If you cant see, Dad has the treats in front of his eyes. HA!
Keep those prayers coming and we will update as soon as we know more! Thanks for the support! Y'all really are the best!
xo Krissy
Hope everyone has had a great weekend! Just wanted to update everyone on some changes in Mom's treatment.
We are going to take a month off the chemo to get Mom feeling better and stronger. The hospital stay and this last round of chemo was a little difficult so the doctors think a month of is a good idea. So today is the first Monday off and they will run some more tests after the 4th monday of her time off. This way she will have some time to focus on her nutrition, physical therapy, and the newest addition - ACUPUNTURE!
I got the pleasure of taking Mom to her first acupuncturist on Friday morning! This woman specializes in people with cancer and taking some of the pain away... let's hope this does some magic!
I stayed with Mom while the lady put all the needles in her body. Mom couldn't even feel them! She also was able to nap/relax while the needles were doing their thang :) She is going to start seeing this acupuncturist twice a week for a couple months in hopes to relieve some of the pain she is experiencing. I did take a picture but you cant see the needles in sticking out of her arms and head so its just a picture of her laying on a table- not too blog-worthy.
I came home for the weekend to spend time with the family and also celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays! I took some pictures that I find VERY blog-worthy so enjoy! Luisa and I have been friends for 18 YEARS so she is one of Mom's "Fourth Daughters" and she happened to turn 28 on Friday! Here are some pictures from her bday celebration!
 |
| Cristin, Morgan (Luisa's Husband) and Me |
 |
| Luisa, Angela, Catalina, and Mary Joe- Sisters :) |
I will leave you with a dog pic as usual! Dad says he likes to "make eye contact" with the dogs before giving them a treat to show them who is the boss.... this was the only way he could get the eye contact he wanted. If you cant see, Dad has the treats in front of his eyes. HA!
xo Krissy
Friday, January 18, 2013
The sun finally came out...
Happy Friday! We made it through the week...yay!! This has been a rainy, cold, icky week in the ATL. I really didn't think we would ever see the sun again. But today it came out and it's cold but gorgeous!
Mom had a week kinda like the weather.
Monday was chemo day. It was the last one of this round so she was pretty beat at the end of it.
Tuesday we had a lymphedema massage appointment at Turning Point, the cancer wellness center. This place is amazing! They are a non-profit facility that takes all kinds of patients with breast cancer and on staff they have nutritionists, massage therapists, and counselors. Since Tuesday was the first day after chemo mom was very wobbly and tired. So as soon as we got into the massage room she fell asleep (shocking I know). So the massage lady and I chatted the whole time about weddings and such while mom was taking a nice little nap.
Wednesday was another lazy day filled with many naps. Also Geema arrived from NYC. For those of you who don't know Geema (mom's mom) is moving to Atlanta from Brooklyn. As she says "I'm now a Georgia Peach". Geema is staying with mom and dad for a few days until she stuff arrives from NYC. Everyone please say an extra prayer for Kev over the next few days :)
Thursday we had a chance to see Geema's new apartment and it's great! We are going to have such a fun time decorating it. She's staying at an assisted living facility by our office in Roswell. Mom didn't come because she was tired but Caitlyn, dad and I went. Geema met some of her new neigbors so that was nice. Her direct neighbor's name is Hugh and she asked the guy showing us around if he was single! I think she's going to be just fine there.
Friday brings another set of appointment at Turning Point. This time it's the nutrionist and councelor. Then more naps and rest.
The weekend brings relief from all the appointments. Luckily next week is a non-chemo week so hopefully mom will begin too feel stronger and better.
We don't yet know the next steps in treatment. I think there is one more round of chemo to do and then probably another scan. After that we don't yet know.
Love to everyone! Have a great weekend!!
xoxo
Beth
Mom had a week kinda like the weather.
Monday was chemo day. It was the last one of this round so she was pretty beat at the end of it.
Tuesday we had a lymphedema massage appointment at Turning Point, the cancer wellness center. This place is amazing! They are a non-profit facility that takes all kinds of patients with breast cancer and on staff they have nutritionists, massage therapists, and counselors. Since Tuesday was the first day after chemo mom was very wobbly and tired. So as soon as we got into the massage room she fell asleep (shocking I know). So the massage lady and I chatted the whole time about weddings and such while mom was taking a nice little nap.
Wednesday was another lazy day filled with many naps. Also Geema arrived from NYC. For those of you who don't know Geema (mom's mom) is moving to Atlanta from Brooklyn. As she says "I'm now a Georgia Peach". Geema is staying with mom and dad for a few days until she stuff arrives from NYC. Everyone please say an extra prayer for Kev over the next few days :)
Thursday we had a chance to see Geema's new apartment and it's great! We are going to have such a fun time decorating it. She's staying at an assisted living facility by our office in Roswell. Mom didn't come because she was tired but Caitlyn, dad and I went. Geema met some of her new neigbors so that was nice. Her direct neighbor's name is Hugh and she asked the guy showing us around if he was single! I think she's going to be just fine there.
Friday brings another set of appointment at Turning Point. This time it's the nutrionist and councelor. Then more naps and rest.
The weekend brings relief from all the appointments. Luckily next week is a non-chemo week so hopefully mom will begin too feel stronger and better.
We don't yet know the next steps in treatment. I think there is one more round of chemo to do and then probably another scan. After that we don't yet know.
Love to everyone! Have a great weekend!!
xoxo
Beth
Friday, January 11, 2013
First post 2013
Happy 2013 everyone!! I hope everyone had a wonderful new year! I made a new years resolution to blog more frequently :)
The first part of the year will be more of the same for us. We are back on the chemo cafe train for a few more months. The appts have switched to Monday's so it's a great way to start off the week! Mom's been feeling just so so. She has been very wobbly and unsteady on here feet from the Cape episode. So no driving or heavy activity! It's a mental fight too so keeping moms spirits up are main focus.
We found a cancer wellness center that mom has gone to a few times. They have everything from nutritionists to therapists and everything in between. We've go to get mom eating foods that will help make her feel stronger. As you can imagine its been difficult for mom to kick her diet soda habit. There are lots of events this year (namely my wedding:) ) so we need mom as strong as possible!!
Again we cannot thank everyone for the notes, letters, prayers, cards, flowers, etc over the last 4 months! It's so unbelievable the support you all have shown.
Xoxoxo
Beth
The first part of the year will be more of the same for us. We are back on the chemo cafe train for a few more months. The appts have switched to Monday's so it's a great way to start off the week! Mom's been feeling just so so. She has been very wobbly and unsteady on here feet from the Cape episode. So no driving or heavy activity! It's a mental fight too so keeping moms spirits up are main focus.
We found a cancer wellness center that mom has gone to a few times. They have everything from nutritionists to therapists and everything in between. We've go to get mom eating foods that will help make her feel stronger. As you can imagine its been difficult for mom to kick her diet soda habit. There are lots of events this year (namely my wedding:) ) so we need mom as strong as possible!!
Again we cannot thank everyone for the notes, letters, prayers, cards, flowers, etc over the last 4 months! It's so unbelievable the support you all have shown.
Xoxoxo
Beth
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
A visit from great friends!
Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!! We have had a great time on the Cape. We didn't get a white Christmas but being by the ocean isn't half bad. We are all heading back to our respective homes tomorrow.
Today we received a visit from our life long friends Dianne, Ryan and Kevin. Mom and dad went to BC with Dianne and we have known Ryan (and his bro Alex) since they were born. Today is Ryan's 27th bday!
Christmas bday babies!
We hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!
Love,
The Murphy's
Today we received a visit from our life long friends Dianne, Ryan and Kevin. Mom and dad went to BC with Dianne and we have known Ryan (and his bro Alex) since they were born. Today is Ryan's 27th bday!
Dianne and Caitlyn
Ryan and mom
We hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!
Love,
The Murphy's
Friday, December 21, 2012
Cape Cod Christmas
This is Kevin and I am hijacking the blog once again. There are many details to fill you in on since the last post.
Round three of four chemos was completed last Wednesday, and the PET scan was last Thursday. Patti wanted to take her chemo "week off" at the Cape to hibernate a bit before Christmas so on Thursday AM we had the PET scan and went off to the airport.
The PET Scan results were a mixed bag - no new cancer but still had old cancer. Overall, the doctor said it was about the same as the initial scan. Back to chemo next week as planned.
Hibernation was going as scheduled through the weekend, but on Tuesday it got a little extreme. She was very lethargic and also not very coherent - like a bad drug reaction or something. We talked with the Atlanta doctors and decided to get her over to Cape Cod hospital to have her checked out. That was on Tuesday afternoon. The doctors discovered that she was extremely dehydrated, had almost no white blood cells, and elevated ammonia levels in her blood - a side effect of a liver that's not working too well - which was causing her to be very disoriented. All in all, she was not feeling well, so they admitted her.
She is still in the hospital today (Friday) but she is feeling much better and I hope to get her hope today or tomorrow. At dinner last night she was sitting up and talking - after dinner we took a little walk around the floor - so she is making great progress but still needs a bit of rest. They are giving her IV fluids, antibiotics and something to get rid of the ammonia, and the view is not too bad either.
As luck would have it, the doctor told me that she couldn't travel for a week or so with her white cell count so low - so we are staying up here for Christmas! Patti always wanted a Cape Cod Christmas - so this is our year. It was a little short notice, but all the girls and boys in Atlanta are coming up, and KB and Geem have changed their flights from Atlanta to Boston so the whole family will be here - Patti is very thankful that we will be together.
On Thursday AM I let the Cape Cod neighbors know that we will be stuck/hanging around here for Christmas. When I returned from the hospital Thursday after lunch, there was a wreath on the door - what a nice gesture...
Round three of four chemos was completed last Wednesday, and the PET scan was last Thursday. Patti wanted to take her chemo "week off" at the Cape to hibernate a bit before Christmas so on Thursday AM we had the PET scan and went off to the airport.
The PET Scan results were a mixed bag - no new cancer but still had old cancer. Overall, the doctor said it was about the same as the initial scan. Back to chemo next week as planned.
Hibernation was going as scheduled through the weekend, but on Tuesday it got a little extreme. She was very lethargic and also not very coherent - like a bad drug reaction or something. We talked with the Atlanta doctors and decided to get her over to Cape Cod hospital to have her checked out. That was on Tuesday afternoon. The doctors discovered that she was extremely dehydrated, had almost no white blood cells, and elevated ammonia levels in her blood - a side effect of a liver that's not working too well - which was causing her to be very disoriented. All in all, she was not feeling well, so they admitted her.
She is still in the hospital today (Friday) but she is feeling much better and I hope to get her hope today or tomorrow. At dinner last night she was sitting up and talking - after dinner we took a little walk around the floor - so she is making great progress but still needs a bit of rest. They are giving her IV fluids, antibiotics and something to get rid of the ammonia, and the view is not too bad either.
As luck would have it, the doctor told me that she couldn't travel for a week or so with her white cell count so low - so we are staying up here for Christmas! Patti always wanted a Cape Cod Christmas - so this is our year. It was a little short notice, but all the girls and boys in Atlanta are coming up, and KB and Geem have changed their flights from Atlanta to Boston so the whole family will be here - Patti is very thankful that we will be together.
On Thursday AM I let the Cape Cod neighbors know that we will be stuck/hanging around here for Christmas. When I returned from the hospital Thursday after lunch, there was a wreath on the door - what a nice gesture...
But when I walked in the house.....
The entire place was cleaned and decorated with a real Christmas tree - fully lit and filling the house with a piney Christmas smell - unbelievable! I was trying to think of who could pull this off, and on such short notice -I later found that the Obed Brooks and Hillcrest Elves were out and about.
I was overcome with the thought that we have so many friends and family who would do something so special for us - for Patti. We are so fortunate to have these people in our lives. I really wish I could express the feelings we have for you all but I can't find those words - you will have to trust me on that one.
Merry Christmas and thank you everyone.
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