Here's a little update from my last note... It's been 3 weeks since my last treatment in Vienna. Remember I told you about getting two new chemo drugs? Well, I was spoiled by the lack of side effects with the chemo I was getting for the past 6 months. No longer...Now I've been having low energy, caught a cold, and my hair is falling out! This is why I've been reluctant to embrace the approach suggested by my oncologists here in Calgary. I'm not sure it's worth it. I have managed to keep putting one foot in front of the other, getting through each day. Hopefully things improve soon.
On a good note, I haven't had much pain since recovering from those last injuries, and I'm off all pain medications. This weekend, I'm going to a Christian healing retreat (not exactly sure what to expect, but hoping to learn about God's perspective on illness and healing). I'm still praying for wisdom about which treatment options to pursue, and amazingly, there are still options. I have definitely not ruled out returning to Vienna and receiving the dendritic cell vaccine. My Mom actually came across a study out of Harvard that is looking at those same vaccines. It looked promising...unfortunately, I don't qualify for the study. I'll keep you posted.
Will has been really looking forward to returning to work. However, he has had a set-back. His scar on his head has become quite sore and he had a fair bit of swelling recently. An x-ray was taken and he is awaiting his surgeon's review of that x-ray, but it may mean he needs to have surgery again to replace his bone flap with something synthetic. Again, we'll keep you posted.
We had a great weekend at Pine Lake family camp. Alexis especially enjoyed being with her friends, catching frogs, eating treats and staying up really late!
I rarely give an update on Penny, our dog, but she had an eventful week too. After reading about our family in the paper, someone in charge at Petland contacted us and offered Penny some treats from their store. When I went to pick them up, I needed help getting everything to the car. Penny was given a new bed, grooming supplies, lots of edible treats, and a year's supply of dog food! Isn't that another example of generous, loving community spirit?
God bless,
Shawna
Shawna, Will & Alexis 2011
The 3 of Us
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Never a Dull Moment
Greetings, family and friends! Here's a little update after my latest trip to Vienna. Hmm...where to start.
I was feeling quite well after our little spring break holiday but it was short-lived. I had a couple minor injuries while walking the dog and pulling up my sock (pretty risky, I know) and ended up with new back pain. I went earlier than planned for a CT scan and thankfully, no new fractures were found. My bones overall look the same as in February (still full of sclerotic lesions, but not worse). The only bone that is worse is my skull, with a bunch of mixed lytic and sclerotic spots. Thankfully my brain is still clear, which was my main worry. What was found, however, is that my liver is full of new spots; this is not good. I've had a few bad nosebleeds which can be related to liver problems. My other organs are still clear of cancer. I am due for a bone scan this coming week.
So in light of these findings, my doctor in Austria decided to change my chemo drugs to the other two that were shown to be effective against my particular cancer cells when I was tested last winter. He also focussed my local hyperthermia sessions directly over my liver. I don't feel quite as good as usual coming home, likely due to the new chemo drugs, but I'm not too bad. Pain is not much of an issue, just more tired and weak.
In addition to the changes to my treatment in Vienna, Dr. Kleef also suggested receiving a Dendritic Cell Vaccine. After reading up about it, here's my version of what that entails: My blood is drawn and sent to a lab in Germany where they separate out my cancer cells and my dendrite cells. They merge the two together in a petri dish and re-inject it back into me. With my dendrite cells coded with my cancer antigens, they inform the T-cells of my immune system exactly which cancer cells need to be destroyed. This treatment is showing up in tons of studies, but it's too soon to know if it's effective in my kind of breast cancer. The good news is that it's safe with no side effects. The bad news is that it's expensive and may need to be repeated.
Along the lines of expense, now would be a good time to tell you all about a successful fundraising event that just took place to help us out. Parents of some classmates of Alexis organized a massive online auction that raised over $24,000! We were humbled and so thankful all at the same time. Check out http://www.communityofcaring.ca/ to see some of the great donations. And thank you again to everyone involved.
So now that money for the treatment isn`t a barrier, I am still weighing options and praying about what I should choose for future treatments. I will keep you posted.
My friend, Shawna and I had a wonderful time together during our week in Austria. We have actually travelled a bit together in the past as well (Italy, Florida, other school trips). Vienna is truly beautiful in the spring! A couple of our touristy highlights were seeing the Sound of Music at the opera house, and pedalling rental bikes through the park at Prater. It was such a privilage to catch up with each other after living in different cities for so many years. Thanks to her husband, Duane and children, Tianna and Daniel for letting me steal her away!
Will and Alexis had a great week as well. Will is actually quite busy right now as he is part of a study and attends daily sessions for magnetic brain stimulation followed by intense hand rehab. It is looking promising for him to return to work sometime in the near future as well.
Alexis is full into soccer season right now and looking forward to our time this weekend as a family at Pine Lake Christian Camp, with our friends from church. Hopefully it will not snow on us as it did this past week, right after I planted some garden veggies. Gotta love Calgary!
Ok, not such a little note, but hopefully that gets everyone up to speed. Thanks again for your support and prayers. We love you!
God bless,
Shawna
I was feeling quite well after our little spring break holiday but it was short-lived. I had a couple minor injuries while walking the dog and pulling up my sock (pretty risky, I know) and ended up with new back pain. I went earlier than planned for a CT scan and thankfully, no new fractures were found. My bones overall look the same as in February (still full of sclerotic lesions, but not worse). The only bone that is worse is my skull, with a bunch of mixed lytic and sclerotic spots. Thankfully my brain is still clear, which was my main worry. What was found, however, is that my liver is full of new spots; this is not good. I've had a few bad nosebleeds which can be related to liver problems. My other organs are still clear of cancer. I am due for a bone scan this coming week.
So in light of these findings, my doctor in Austria decided to change my chemo drugs to the other two that were shown to be effective against my particular cancer cells when I was tested last winter. He also focussed my local hyperthermia sessions directly over my liver. I don't feel quite as good as usual coming home, likely due to the new chemo drugs, but I'm not too bad. Pain is not much of an issue, just more tired and weak.
In addition to the changes to my treatment in Vienna, Dr. Kleef also suggested receiving a Dendritic Cell Vaccine. After reading up about it, here's my version of what that entails: My blood is drawn and sent to a lab in Germany where they separate out my cancer cells and my dendrite cells. They merge the two together in a petri dish and re-inject it back into me. With my dendrite cells coded with my cancer antigens, they inform the T-cells of my immune system exactly which cancer cells need to be destroyed. This treatment is showing up in tons of studies, but it's too soon to know if it's effective in my kind of breast cancer. The good news is that it's safe with no side effects. The bad news is that it's expensive and may need to be repeated.
Along the lines of expense, now would be a good time to tell you all about a successful fundraising event that just took place to help us out. Parents of some classmates of Alexis organized a massive online auction that raised over $24,000! We were humbled and so thankful all at the same time. Check out http://www.communityofcaring.ca/ to see some of the great donations. And thank you again to everyone involved.
So now that money for the treatment isn`t a barrier, I am still weighing options and praying about what I should choose for future treatments. I will keep you posted.
My friend, Shawna and I had a wonderful time together during our week in Austria. We have actually travelled a bit together in the past as well (Italy, Florida, other school trips). Vienna is truly beautiful in the spring! A couple of our touristy highlights were seeing the Sound of Music at the opera house, and pedalling rental bikes through the park at Prater. It was such a privilage to catch up with each other after living in different cities for so many years. Thanks to her husband, Duane and children, Tianna and Daniel for letting me steal her away!
Will and Alexis had a great week as well. Will is actually quite busy right now as he is part of a study and attends daily sessions for magnetic brain stimulation followed by intense hand rehab. It is looking promising for him to return to work sometime in the near future as well.
Alexis is full into soccer season right now and looking forward to our time this weekend as a family at Pine Lake Christian Camp, with our friends from church. Hopefully it will not snow on us as it did this past week, right after I planted some garden veggies. Gotta love Calgary!
Ok, not such a little note, but hopefully that gets everyone up to speed. Thanks again for your support and prayers. We love you!
God bless,
Shawna
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