August 28th, a note from Nancy

Thank you for all your love, prayers, and support. Thank you for all the cards and calls. I am very blessed. I have had no bad side effects from the estrogen inhibitor. The once per month IV causes aches. My part now is to drink 3 quarts of water per day. Whew!

There appears to be as much disease as bone in my spine. Please pray the medication works.

Aug 27th update

Not lots of news this week. Nancy has been fighting headaches.....and has had to take the Maxalt pill to cure. We have a call today with the Oncollogist about this. Taking too many Maxalts is not a good thing.

Nancy has been taking walks daily and her spirits are good.

Weekend update

Nancy had a good weekend. The biggest plus is that she has now been on the Femara for 6 days, and there are no serious effects. So she will be on Femara until the review on Sept 21st (at that time, they do the scans to make sure of its effectiveness). The meds do drain some energy, and she has bone pains..... but one pill per day beats chemo.

For those of you who would like to email Nancy directly, she is at nancycurry@comcast.net.

Again, your support is amazing, thank you.

August 21st update

Nancy felt great...went to Red Robin for lunch with our friend Patsy....no aches and good energy levels!!!

August 20th update

The first treatment made itself known yesterday morning. About 10:30am, Nancy's whole body ached and she got very tired. So we got in the car and got her home to Spokane. The Doctor's said her experience was normal. Sounds like this may last for a couple of days. Her spirits are very good.

Again, thanks for all the support, BC

August 18th update, treatment begins

Nancy had great news today, no chemo, no radiation at least for now. Her first treatments are done. Her daily regimine will be Femara, the estrogen inhibitor. Every four weeks, she will have an IV treatment of Zometa, a phosphotase that helps to build up bones. She had her first IV of that today. The next scheduled treatment is Sept 21st here in Kirkland.

This was the best news we could have given the circumstances. The oncologist wants Nancy to not put stress on her back and spine..... steps one at a time, no heavy lifting, no bike riding, etc. Walking is good.

Tomorrow or the next day, Nancy will add her own words to this blog, with her thoughts and prayer requests. She will also cover the possible side effects for the meds she is taking.

The only real bad news was Brett Favre signing with the hated Vikings!!!!!!

Thank you for your calls, cards, thoughts and prayers.

August 17th update

Hi from Bothell, we are here at the Tomlins. This afternoon Nancy's Oncologist called, advised her that the PET scan showed some areas in her lower back and spine that may require radiation. That is the first mention of possible radiation. We will meet with him tomorrow at 10:30am.

That is all to report until tomorrow's appointment.

Note: This is my first attempt at a blog.......please email me with inputs on what should or should not be included. Just want to make sure to know what you want to know! Thanks in advance for the comments. Email those to bcurry@huntron.com.

August 15th update

The PET scan is now done, and Nancy has at least 4 days of no tests. We are back in Spokane, today is Mike's birthday (25th). The first thing that Nancy did when we got home last night was to review the new tape of Todd and Ally's baby, due Dec 8th..... being a grandma is very motivating for Nancy.

We did receive a preliminary update on the bone biopsy. The spots on the bones are the same cancer as the breast biopsy. There was concern there could be two sources or types of cancer, and that is not the case.

Tuesday at 10:30 we are back at Evergreen with the Oncologist to hopefully make a plan of attack. We also have made contact with the Oncologist here in Spokane that Nancy will also be seeing.

So the diagnostic tests are hopefully done, our medical team is set, and next week hopefully we start treatments.

Thanks for all the support, have a good weekend, the next update will be after Tuesday's appointment.

August 12th update

Nancy had a bone biopsy today....we waited for a guy with a collapsed lung to go first (seemed reasonable). She had the best bartender in the place......not sure what they gave her in the operating room but she never even felt the biopsy. They took the samples from her spine (not the hip as originally planned). The feeling of the this afternoon's operation may be realized tonight....

Tomorrow is a day of healing and rest, then Friday a PET scan.

We will not have any new information until next Tuesday, when we meet with the Oncologist again at 10:30am. Hopefully, all the diagnostic tests and results will be completed, and we can make a plan to proceed beating this disease.

The Tomlin family has been great hosts as well as providing great help at the Hospital. I am sure they will be happy to see the Yukon heading back to Spokane Friday.......

Thanks for all the calls, emails, etc.....

Meetings on August 11th

Our day started early with a stress test. All is ok in this category. We then spent almost three hours with our friend Beth who had the same cancer and stage 9 years ago.......incredibly helpful and eye-opening on our situation.

The Oncology meeting was very hopeful. First, there is a recommendation to do additional testing before starting a program. So tomorrow, Nancy will have a bone biopsy to verify the spots on the bone match the breast cancer. There is still some question that the breast lump/mass may not be the only issue. Second, Nancy will have a PET scan on Friday am. So next week, we will know all the info to complete the diagnosis.

Surprise....Nancy may not need to have chemo!!!!! Unless we have new findings, there are two ways to go after this kind of cancer. The first is chemo, the second is Estrogen inhibitors. Please note, Nancy has breast cancer, it is stage four....however it may be just as effective to use the Estrogen inhibitors (which are pills) and not have chemo. There are side effects....and if it does not work for Nancy, chemo is the second step.... But the hope of no chemo.......

The Oncologist has in-laws who live walking distance from Whitworth. His mother in law works at Whitworth Presbyterian......brother in law at Whitworth in IT.......very cool

We will probably meet with the Oncologist the middle of next week. For now, its more tests....more waiting......but maybe no chemo.

I may try to put some of the more medical stuff on later tonight with the help of Jeff Tomlin.

Again, thanks to all of you for the support and prayers, BC

Monday Aug 10th

We drove to Seattle this am....Nancy met with the cariologist. There is a difference in her EKG of one year ago and now. So tomorrow am Nancy has a treadmill test....at 7:30am. Tomorrow is also the meeting with the Oncologists.....the critical part of this trip. We should also see Dr Tobin at the end of the day.

We had dinner with Mike tonight....which was a very good thing for Nancy (and me). Mike is 25 this Saturday, so they did a little shopping.

Hopefully, we have a basic plan of attack after tomorrow. Thank you all for your support.

This week (Aug 10 and on)

We are headed to Seattle tomorrow am........we have the Cardiologists on Monday afternoon (Nancy had a wave change in her EKG that needs to be reviewed)...Tuesday am with a friend who has experienced the same basic situation over the last 9 years.....for advice. Tuesday afternoon is the Oncologists....maybe the key to success. We have to get a plan that includes Spokane chemo........ Wed am Nancy is scheduled to get a port installed, the way they administer chemo to you. That is surgery. Then we know when the first chemo begins.

Nancy and I are amazed and thankful for all the thoughts and prayers......this kind of support is both wonderful and humbling. We have a hill to climb......this week we start. More to follow, BC

How this all started

Nancy had some hip pain after a long walk at Whidbey Island. We went in to the Coupville hospital, had an X-Ray, they gave her some pain relief for her hip.....and on the way out, the Doctor said the radiologist saw some spots on the X-Ray that might be cancer............

So the next night we met with Jeff and Merrie Tomlins......they reviewed the files......and Jeff said he would have it reviewed by his group at Evergreen Hospital the next morning. They scheduled a bone scan for Tuesday am(July 28th). Our Doctor in charge, Mike Tobin, met with both of us on thursday.......and said he had real concerns about the results.... so Nancy had a mammogram and two and a half hours of MRI's......there was a lump in her left breast. They took a biopsy Friday am at 9:00.....and then we waited until Tuesday for all the results.

Tuesday, Aug 4th (our 36th anniversary) Nancy was told she had cancer, stage 4. She then had two more tests. We are now scheduled for Monday with the cardiologists (Nancy had a wave change in her EKG)....Tuesday with the Oncologists, Wed am she will have a port installed, the device they use to give you the chemo with....and soon after we start the chemo.

Dr Tobin advised us this is a marathon, not a sprint. Since then, the support from family and friends has been amazing.

This is the first entry in the blog. I am stopping here for testing on how to work the rest of this...more to follow, BC