December 31st update

Nancy met with the eye Doctor this am.  He believes there is no new cancer in the front of her eye.  The irritation is caused by radiation and chemo.  He did prescribe drops and some steroid gel for the night....but was not optimistic this would help much.  Also, we are starting home IV's today.  Happy New Year, we wish you all a wonderful and healthy 2014!

December 30th update

Nancy had her Doctor's appointment today.  Her numbers were basically ok so they gave her an 80% dosage of Kadcyla.  She also had Zomeda.  They are changing to IV antibiotics daily given at home starting tomorrow.  Also, Nancy's eye is not doing well.  They had an MRI of her eye tonight.  Tomorrow we see an eye specialist.  The back of the eye appears ok but the front of the eye is not right.
Hopefully tomorrow we learn more about this and get a game plan to improve. 

Nancy is having a great visit with her sister Sharon........Happy New Year!  Also, Nancy has a birthday on Thursday........no way will I say how many years!

December 28th update

Nancy came home yesterday afternoon.  She will get a portable oxygen setup today.  The fever never came back but the oxygen levels were not always in range.  Our next appointment is Monday at 1:00.  We are hoping for a restful weekend; Nancy's sister Sharon arrives tonight for a visit.  Thank you, BC

December 27th update

Nancy's first night in the hospital was restless and her fever was 102.5.  We met with Dr Anthony Thursday morning and here was the update:  Nancy is on 2 new antibiotics (Levaquin and Cefepine), then added (Deflucan) to attack any possible fungal blood issues.  The sepsis results will be back later today (Friday).  Best case, Nancy will come home tonight. 

Nancy will get better from the pneumonia if the 2 new antibiotics work.  The other meds are for possible blood infection issues. The fever must stay normal and her oxygen levels must be over 90% without her getting additional oxygen. Those are the 2 main targets.   The goal is to get her home and back on chemo treatment next Monday.  We hope you had a blessed Christmas.......Happy New Year!

December 25th Second Update

The first update was done at 10:18am.  Nancy got up at 10:30......and was not doing well.  Her blood pressure was low, had a 102 temperature, and was very weak.  We headed for Holy Family hospital around noon.  By 7:00pm, she had XRays and other tests and was checked in for overnight.  The antibiotic may not be doing what it is supposed to, or she could have a blood infection so they did blood cultures looking for sepsis.  I have not been briefed on sepsis so I know very little about it  On a positive note, .  Nancy had Christmas dinner made by our friend Patsy at the hospital.   We see the doctors again tomorrow around 7:00am......  Hope to have more news tomorrow.......again, Merry Christmas!

December 25th update

Merry Christmas!  Nancy did not have any treatments yesterday.  Her platelets were too low for the Kadcyla.  All was delayed until Monday.  She will hopefully have a restful and healing Christmas and resume treatments next week.  Enjoy this wonderful day!

December 23rd update

Nancy had a low key weekend....developed a cough and had a low grade fever Saturday.  This morning she was very weak.  She was scheduled to have PT at noon........and Melissa showed up, took her vitals and call Dr Anthony.  Her rested heart rate was over 135 and oxygen was less than 85%.  We were sent to the Doctor.  Nancy had labs, then EKG and a scan of her lungs.  She has pneumonia.  She had over 2 hours of IV's and got to come home tonight.  We have another appointment tomorrow at 11:30.  She is scheduled to have her second dose of Kadcyla tomorrow....we shall see.  We wish you all Merry Christmas.........and thanks for all your support. 

December 18th update

Nancy had another review today.  The initial report was the scans were ok....meaning nothing worse than before.  Further investigation by the radiologist show some small improvement in Nancy's right eye (the largest mass is a little smaller now).  The left eye had some pressure but they believed that caused by a sinus infection that was just starting.  So they gave Nancy strong antibiotics thru IV to start and should nail this infection before it gets any momentum.  They are also restarting Nancy on Nomenda, a drug for the brain.  Finally, they will start to decrease the steroid on a slow ramp.  Overall, the summary is that Nancy is slightly improved.  The 2 concerns are the eyes and her short term memory.  Next Tuesday we get the second dose of Kadcyla......and around dose 3 we should hopefully see more improvement. 

Thanks to all for support, and Merry Christmas from us both!

December 16th update

Nancy had her appointment today.  Most of her labs were ok or within the range.  The platelets were still low so she went to Holy Family and had 2 units of platelets (IV).  Also, Nancy's left eye now as well as her right eye are not right.  She also had MRI's of both her brain and an Orbital Scan that scans the eye areas. We left the hospital a little after 9:00pm.  Our Doctor's will have results tomorrow and we will review at our next appointment on Wednesday.

Our family celebrated Christmas on Sunday........it was a wonderful time for Nancy (and all).  More updates on Wednesday..... 

December 15th update

Nancy had a new set of labs on Friday.  The two pints of blood on Thursday corrected many of the lab issues from Wednesday.  However the potassium was still low and she had almost 5 hours of IV drip for that.  She did not receive platelets on Friday.  They did another CT Scan of her head.  The concern was swelling but the scans appeared ok.  We go back in again Monday for a 1:30 appointment.

Our family is together now and today we are celebrating Christmas!  Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!

December 12th update

Nancy had labs yesterday and they were not good.  Her potassium was really low and this morning she is getting 2pints of blood.  Tomorrow we go in for more labs and updates.  More info tomorrow. Thank you!

December 6th Update

Nancy had the first infusion of the Kadcyla Wednesday afternoon.  She was there for a few hours to make sure no big reactions took place.  Yesterday Nancy was tired and some aches.....and today some better.  This is a very strong drug and it appears that Nancy is doing ok.  We are now on the new program.  Her next appointment is next Wednesday.  Have a great weekend!

December 2nd update

Met with Dr Anthony today.  Nancy's labs were somewhat low.  She is basically down one pint of blood due to the last few weeks (normal for brain radiation).  She may get that pint on Wednesday.  Also, we got insurance approval about 5 minutes before our appt...........so on Wednesday she starts Kadcyla.  This treatment is once every 3 weeks.  Typically that means a tough few days followed by a couple of weeks of feeling pretty good.  The med will treat the head and the body, so the Lapinatib is no longer needed.  Dr Anthony has 2 other patients on this med......and both are doing well. The recent scans show the cancer is very active......we need this to work well.  

Also, Nancy has had home care visits for Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.  PT is exercises that she does twice per day.  OT is about how to get in and out of the shower, personal stuff.  Both visits gave Nancy some great tips.  Also, we got a lift chair that is both a lounge chair that can eject you....Nancy now can get out of this chair without help. 

So things are better than a few weeks ago..........we hope the radiation keep radiating, and the new med is effective.  Support has been nothing short of incredible.......thank you all!

November 27th Second Update

The MRI's show that the brain is basically stable.  It takes weeks or months for the radiation to complete its work.  No area was worse.....and her right eye was some better.  There are no appointments on the brain now for 2 months.  This is huge news.  If you look at Nancy's situation, the Doctor said there is the brain and then everything else.  For now, Nancy's issue is everything else (active cancer in the liver, bones, etc).

So Monday we see Doctor Anthony to hopefully start the new treatments........Happy Thanksgiving to all!

November 27th Update

Nancy's MRI's were combined into one visit.........She had just over 3 hours of MRI's last night.  Today we meet with Dr Call and are hoping for positive news..........

November 25th update

Nancy met with Dr Anthony today.  News is much the same.  They are going to the new meds hopefully next Monday, so they actually did not give her the Herceptin treatment.  There were also some changes to meds preparing for next week.  Tomorrow is 2 MRI's and results Wednesday.  Dr Anthony will work Friday and over the weekend planning for Monday's review.  This is a very difficult time for Nancy....... we are hoping tomorrow and the next day contain some positive news.  Thank you for all you do....

We will cover the new meds and expectations next Monday after we get the full review.   

November 23rd update

It seems like every set of scans is like a chapter in Nancy's journey.  Yesterday a new chapter started.  She had a PET scan at 8:30am.  We got preliminary results that showed new cancer spots in the liver and the cancer in the bones were very active again.  This means the current medicine regimen is not working.  So they also did a CT scan of Nancy's head.  They advised her to take it easy (she has been!) over the weekend.  Next Monday we have another follow-up, and now Tuesday an MRI of the brain at 2:00 and then due to schedule complications she has a 4:30 MRI of her spine. The first treatment is on the North side, the second on the South Hill.   Wednesday we meet with Dr Call and will have the results.  Monday December 2nd is when we know the new plan. 

Dr Anthony did start the process of ordering the next level meds for treating Nancy.  It takes at least a week to get insurance approval and the drug ordered.  This is a hard time for Nancy.  She has had very little strength and is tired.  Hopefully the new plan will improve that.  Thanks for wonderful and caring support.   

November 16th Update

The Wednesday appointment went better.  Nancy regained a couple of pounds.  Her labs were more in line.  So no additional appointments until next Monday.  Her Mom and Dad are here and will go meet the Doctor with Nancy.  We are just waiting for the PET scan on Friday, and the MRI on the following  Tuesday.  Then we will really know how Nancy is doing.  Thank you!

November 12th Update

Nancy had a Doctor's appointment yesterday.  She has lost more weight (not good) and the labs were not great.  They stopped the Lapinatib meds for a couple of days (meds for the brain).  She had a 2 hour IV of hydration and some additives.  She is still very weak.  We have another appointment Wednesday at noon. Will report again after tomorrow.....thank you!

November 4th Update

Nancy completed radiation last Friday.  She rested all weekend.  She had an appointment at Dr Anthony's today.  She was very weak and used the wheel chair.  Her labs were not as good as usual.  One example is she was short of potassium.  So today she had hydration and they added potassium.  Her liver activity numbers were also out of range.  Nancy now has hydration with some additives tomorrow and Wednesday.

Nancy will have a full PET scan on Nov 22nd.  This, along with the MRI on Nov 26th, will allow the Doctors to fully assess how the radiation and the new treatment meds are working.  That summary will be on the December 2nd Dr Anthony meeting. 

We are hoping that with this additional hydration and no longer having radiation that Nancy will start to get some strength back. 

Your support continues to be amazing, thank you!!!

October 29th update

Nancy had her 7th radiation treatment today and also met with Dr Call.  He was pleased with her progress.  He expects her to be very tired this week and the first part of next week.  Then some energy should return.
He has scheduled an MRI on Nov 26th at 2:00.  The following day we will meet him at 11:45 to review the results from all this treatment.  The next day is Thanksgiving.

Nancy is resting but both Doctors are pleased with the new treatment plan.  Thanks again to all.....

October 28th update

The very full day went well.  Basically, Nancy's labs are all in range (or close).  The new meds seem to agree with Nancy.  She is still very tired but no pain.  Dr Anthony was pleased with the progress.  We meet with Dr Call tomorrow after radiation.  Her eyesight has some level of improvement.  We hope this continues.  The support is terrific, thanks to all!!!!

October 26th update

Nancy has completed half of the radiation treatments and they are going well.  The treatment package appears to be helping her eyesight.  She is tired but no more than previous.  Next Monday is a marathon with all treatments and appointments plus the monthly Zomeda.  Thank you for all the support!

Second October 21st update

Nancy had a very full day of medical treatment.  She got her port accessed and labs at 10:00, then to radiation and 2 hours of hydration after, then back to Dr Anthony's for meetings and Herceptin.  The radiation was actually comfortable for Nancy....she did have some meds to calm her........ and it is nice to have the first full brain scan done.  Tomorrow is the second session.  Nancy was weak and shakey this morning; at the end of the day tired but doing well.

Tomorrow is one radiation treatment.  That is all.  All in all, a good first day of radiation. We are thankful for that! 

October 21st update

Today is the start of radiation and full treatments at Dr Anthony's. Nancy is still very weak.  Last weekend we got her a wheelchair and the blue parking permit.  Nancy is not confined to a wheelchair....but it does allow her to do more things.  Last Thursday night she went to dinner with her sister Lori at the Davenport Hotel.  She did use the wheelchair.  For locals, you may see her in the wheelchair and wanted to give you a heads up.

October 18th update

Nancy is on plan.  She started the new meds Wednesday.  She was also fitted for a mask for next week's radiation.  Her sister Lori is visiting this week.  Next week starts Monday before 10:00 and will probably end around 5:00.....all on medical appointments.  Only one appt per day after that.  Thanks for all your help!

October 13th update

Nancy had her appointment on Friday and here is the plan. We started Herceptin and will have the second dose tomorrow. These will be given weekly. The Lapatinib was approved late Friday, will be ordered tomorrow and Nancy will begin treatment Wednesday. This is 4-5 pills taken daily. Also on Wednesday she will be fitted for a mask used for full brain radiation. This will start next Monday (21st) and have 10 treatments. This is the latest technique in full brain radiation. They now have a way to minimize/avoid the hippo-campus region of the brain where the short term memory is located.


Altogether, we are doing three treatments: 1) Herceptin for most of Nancy’s body 2) Lapatinib for her brain 3) radiation for the brain. Hopefully we can get back in front of the cancer. Nancy is very weak. It is also great having the kids and grandkids here.

We are in a tough place right now – the statistics are not good. Having said that, Dr Anthony has 2 peer Doctors that have patients on this same new regimen and they are in year two. We also do not know what will be invented or available by trial soon.

Many of you want to call or visit and help. This must be balanced with quiet and restful time for Nancy. Please understand if we say no to help sometimes or ask to you to leave or shorten a visit / phone call so Nancy can rest. Your support has been incredible and we must keep a balance for her well-being.

October 10th update

Nancy and I met with the radiation Doctor (Dr Jason Call) and reviewed the MRI for the second time.  Dr Call reviewed the possible role of radiation at this time.  We discussed doing no radiation, doing radiation on just the mass by her right eye, and using radiation on her total brain.  He explained the risks and probable benefits of each option.  When we were done, he stated that he represents an option that must be part of the total treatment and Dr Anthony is in charge of that.  Today we meet with Dr Anthony and will hopefully agree on adding or not adding radiation at this time. The Lapatinib is still not approved and we need to get this going.....maybe today.   

Nancy continues to be very weak.  She cannot wait to see Todd/Ally/Keeton/Deacon and Mike. 

October 7th update

Nancy had her appointment today.  The results of the lumbar puncture were "suspicious but not conclusive".  What that appears to mean is that there was cancer in the spinal fluid, however not so much that more radical treatments are required at this point.  Nancy received her first Herceptin treatment.  This is IV and will be given weekly.  The Lapatinib is not yet approved by our insurance.  We hope to have this done and Nancy start taking around Thursday of this week. This med is a pill and she will take 4-5 per day.  Nancy is still very weak and this is a critical time. 

There will be careful observation on her eye issues. There may be discussion about radiation on the eye later this week.   In 4-6 weeks, there will be another MRI and hopefully progress will be made.  If there is not improvement, more radical treatments will done......where a port is placed in Nancy's head and they inject the chemo into the brain directly.  We are hoping this will not be the case.

Nancy is resting this week.......Mike, Todd, Ally and the grand-boys Keeton and Deacon get here Friday night......maybe the best therapy of all!  Your support is special, thank you.

October 3rd update

Nancy had the lumbar puncture this morning.  The Doctor performing the procedure was Sanjiv Parikh.  He is from the west side adn is helping out this week in Spokane as they were short staff.  He works with Jeff Tomlin at Evergreen........everything went very well today.  Now we wait for results.  Best guess is we know nothing more until Monday at our 10:30 appointment.  Thank you, BC

September 30 update

Wow, a full day!  Nancy had her echocardiogram this morning and results were very good.  We spent this afternoon at our Doctor's......and we have a plan.  The lumber puncture will be done here Thursday morning in the Valley, under sedation.  Results will be to the Docs Friday end of the day.  We have ordered the new meds for Nancy to start next Monday.  They are Herceptin, the HER2+ drug of choice, and Lapitinib.  Herceptin is once per week and Lapitinib is a daily pill.  Herceptin attacks the cancer.  The brain has many natural protective barriers so the Lapitinib actually allows the Herceptin to go around those barriers and work in the brain.  All this will be co-approved by Matt at Evergreen in Seattle.

We reviewed the MRI's.  Nancy has cancer spots on both layers of her skull, in the brain, and the biggest spot by her eye.  Also C1 and C2 have cancer.  Radiation on her brain if off the table for now except possibly the eye.  This will be watched closely.  Also, possible cancer chemo treatments directly into the brain is also off the table for now. 

There is no question that Nancy has a real challenge here. The cancer has been in her breast, lymph nodes, bones, liver, skin and now her brain.  However this new drug is FDA approved and Steve knows of cases where this has been very effective.  So we are hoping for the best......thanks for all the support, BC

September 29th update

Nancy went into the Doctor on Wednesday to see if she could get something to help her energy.  They made a couple of adjustments in her meds.  Friday she was no better so we visited again.  She still had no energy and her right eye was still not right.  It was determined to have a PET scan of her head.  Initially, there was no findings, then further review from the radiologist showed some differences to her previous scan.  The next step was an MRI scan of Nancy's head Friday night at 10:00 at Holy Family.

The results were expedited and the news was not good.  The cancer has changed to HER2+.  We knew that.  What we did not know is that it was agressive and had spread to her brain.  Nancy has cancer in the bone of her skull, on her brain, next to her right eye and in the top 2 vertebrae.  Nancy had no symptoms other than the eye to detect this.  She has not had a headache in 2 months.  This weekend she is to rest.

Monday we start with an echocardiogram.  The probable new treatments are very hard on the heart and the echo results are important.  Then we visit Dr Anthony for an update.  We know another test, a lumbar puncture,  will also need to be done before they can determine treatment.  It is possible we will have this procedure done in Kirkland and also meet with the Doctors there to have 2 opinions on what to do next.

We will do our best to keep this blog updated.  Your support and prayers are appreciated. 

September 23rd update

Nancy had her appointment with Dr Anthony.  All her labs were good.  Nancy did not get any treatments.  She will have Zomeda on Wednesday and resume chemo next Monday.  Nancy's eyesight has been hampered by the steroids.  Also, she lost weight last week and another 2 pounds since last Friday.  She was too weak to start the chemo today.

Looking forward, she will have 6 chemo treatments (2 cycles of 3 weeks on, one week off).  There will then be a full series of scans.  Then right around Thanksgiving, Nancy will start a new medicine treatment as her cancer has fairly dramatically changed to HER2+.  Dr Anthony has at least 3 FDA approved drugs to try.  He will base the final decision until the scans are done. 

It could be another few weeks before Nancy is recovered from post radiation tiredness.

Your support is great........we have a new plan.......and hoping for the best!

September 21st update

Nancy was not supposed to have a Dr appointment this week.......but Friday she had to go in.  Nancy had very little energy from 3 things: 1) steroids 2) after radiation effects 3) the amount of pain meds she had been on.  So, they decreased the steroids ramp (you have to gradually have to come off steroids) and decreased the Fentanyl or pain meds she was taking.  There is nothing to do but wait when it comes to post-radiation tiredness.  Hopefully starting this morning she will gain some energy.  Good news, no real pain.  We see Dr Anthony and will discuss the changes to the cancer and future new treatments.  Have a great weekend!

September 14th update

Friday Nancy completed the radiation therapy on S2.  We then went to Dr Anthony's office and had a review.  It was determined that the pain medication system was no longer needed.....which is good news.  Nancy now has no scheduled appointments until Sept 23rd.  Hopefully she can rest as the radiation makes you very tired.  Your support continues to be wonderful, thank you!

September 9th update

Nancy had her Doctor appointment today.  No chemo was given.  Her labs were good.  The genomic tests are now back and she is positive for Her2Neu.  That is what Dr Anthony was hoping.  The cancer has changed and this gives him the most options to treat Nancy.  This will not change anything in the near term.  Nancy will have radiation this week, a break, then the same chemo for some period of time.  We will learn more about Her2 in the next few weeks......but this is good news.

September 3-7 update

Nancy started the week (Tuesday due to the holiday)  at Dr Anthony's.  After labs and review, they chose to give Nancy a chemo treatment.  Wednesday Nancy had the MRI of the S2 area.  Thursday she then met with Dr Call and he confirmed that the S2 needed treatment (The concern is that if they did not radiate that this nerve pressure could become permanent).  So they got her set up with a fitting for the radiation (2 more spot tatoos).  They set up a schedule for 10 treatments (daily except weekends) starting Tuesday, Sept.10th. By the end of the day Nancy was in bad pain again, so Thursday night she was hooked to a portable pain med machine.  Friday morning she was still in too much pain so we visited Dr Anthony's to get the machine cranked up a little.  After further review and discussion, the decision was made to start radiation now.....so Friday afternoon at 5:30 Nancy had her first treatment.  It was also decided to double the amount of radiation and be done in 5 treatments.  Nancy resumes treatments on Tuesday and ends Friday Sept 13th. This weekend Nancy has rested and the pain machine is doing a good job. 

This is the hardest couple of weeks Nancy has had in some time.  Both Cindy Lupton and Patsy Enkema have been unbelievable support and help.  Thank you!

Monday we start at Dr Anthony's for a review.  No chemo now until after radiation.  It is possible the genomic testing results will be done.  Then Tuesday-Friday at 2:30 daily she will have radiation.  The week  of Sept 16th (in theory) Nancy will have no scheduled medical appointments.

Thanks to all for wonderful help and support.        

August 31st update

First things first, Happy Birthday Todd, who is 34 today!

Yesterday Nancy's pain returned in a fairly big way.  So we spent 5 hours at the Doctors and here are the findings:

-Nancy had another scan

-after 3 phone calls with the scan interpreter in Arizona......they found a shadow of a new spot in Nancy's S2 part of her spine.......that appeared to be pressing against the nerve there.  This could be the cause of all the pain.  It would show up completely better on an MRI.  The MRI given to Nancy last week stopped at S1;  so they just missed seeing it.  They put Nancy on turbo steroids and bed rest for the next few days. 

-Tuesday is supposed to be chemo day.  However, if Nancy is not better, they may want to spot radiate the S2.  They would determine that after another MRI.  The tricky part of this is that radiation would mean no chemo again for some time........and we know the cancer regained some momentum after no chemo for 2 months. 

We will know more after Tuesday.  Due to schedule, the blog may not be updated until Friday of next week........

Your support is special.  Thanks to all!  Happy Labor Day weekend!

August 27th update

One comment left off yesterday.......  there is the question of whether Nancy will lose her hair again on the restart of chemo.  Nobody seems to know.......guess we just wait and see.

August 26th update

Nancy had her review with the Doctor today.  Note: the past week has been very hard for Nancy; needing IV pain meds twice and no energy at all.  After review, here is the status:

-the biopsies all came back positive, which means the breast cancer has now spread to the skin and in more than one area.  (Had it been in one area, radiation was a possible treatment...that is now off the table).  This means the treatment for the skin must be for her whole system.

-the PET scan results were back and there are 2 new spots of cancer, a new one in the liver and a spot on a right-side rib.  The cancer is active.

-The genomic testing to see if the cancer has changed structurally is not done yet and may be another week.

-Dr. Anthony restarted Nancy today on the same chemo she was on 2 months ago.  There is a recommended lifetime amount one should take of this med and Nancy will be exceeding that amount after 4 more treatments.  This drug has been around a long time and Dr Anthony has done this before under these circumstances.  Nancy needs the cancer less active and the skin treated now.  So here we go again, 3 weeks of one treatment per week on, then one week off. 

-Nancy felt good about this plan.  She was relieved to get going again on treating the cancer. 

-No firm date was established for the how long we will be on this plan.

-All her lab numbers were in range.

I hope this makes sense, and thanks for all the wonderful support!

August 16th update

SBRT is done.  Nancy now gets off until next Thursday, when she will have the PET scan.  I little rest from medical is a good thing.  There will be no updates probably until after the 8/26 Doctor's appointment.  Your support is special, thanks.

I know this blog is about Nancy, however Todd, our oldest, bought a medical trials company in Austin Texas.  Our whole family is excited about this venture!

August 14th update

Nancy got the scan results back, and they were good.  She has a sore eye but it is not due to the cancer.  She will see an eye Doctor 8/29.

SBRT number 4 is now complete, tomorrow is the final.

We met with Dr Anthony to review the whole situation.  Dr Anthony will be checking to see if the structure of the cancer is changing.  This new cancer on the skin may be treated by electron beam radiation.  Due to her new issues, Nancy may qualify for a medical trial.  The biopsies taken this afternoon will be sent off for 2 reasons 1) to see if the structure really has changed and 2) does Nancy qualify for the trial.  Additionally, Nancy will have a head to toe PET scan next Thursday.  If all of the test results are back, we will know the new plan on Aug 26th at 11:00.  It is very possible we will not have the data but should know that week of the treatment plan. 

Nancy gets 5 days off from any treatment.........hopefully to rest.  Thanks for all your support, BC

August 13th update

Today Nancy had her scan (we should know results next week).  Also, we discussed the SBRT treatments and have good news...it will be a 5 treatment series so Thursday will be the final radiation.  Thank you.

August 12th update

Today was routine and very not routine.  The routine...  Nancy had her third treatment of SBRT; it took about 25 minutes and went ok.  It appears we have 2 more treatments with the last being Thursday.  We have a call with the Doctor tomorrow to confirm this.   

The non-routine was not good.  Two weeks ago Nancy had a biopsy on a spot on her left side.  I did not even put this in the blog as we thought it was no big deal.  It turns out the biopsy was positive...which means the breast cancer is now active in the skin.  So......tomorrow Nancy has a scan of her head (there is some swelling and pain in her right eye).  Wednesday, we have SBRT and more biopsies.....they are not fun.  Thursday we have a review with Dr Anthony and the final SBRT. 

So what is next.  Dr Anthony is working on Nancy entering a medical trial for a new drug that could/should treat her combination of symptoms.  There are other alternatives if we are not in the trials.  This is clearly a new hurdle.....

Nancy is scheduled to have next week off from all appointments.

Thanks for all your support.  I am sorry if I do not explain this well........but we have only preliminary information and we know you want to know what is going on.  Your support is fantastic.  Thank you.

August 7th update

The first treatment of SBRT is done.  The "time on the table" was about 36 minutes.  This will be less on future treatments.  Those are tomorrow at 6:00pm, Then next week Monday at 4:38pm, Wednesday at 11:00am and Thursday at 12:12pm.  After that treatment they determine if they are done or if they need 5 more treatments. 
We are back on the original schedule.

August 6th update

Nancy will have her first SBRT treatment tomorrow at noon.  The plan is complete and the insurance questions are settled.  The tentative schedule is 8/8, 8/12, 8/14, 8/15.  The schedule will be confirmed tomorrow. 

August 5th update

Nancy is still on hold to start the SBRT due to insurance denial of some part of the upcoming procedure.  This is getting worked between Dr Call and the insurance company.  Nancy had a very quiet weekend....she really does not have much energy.  We hope to have an update soon, thank you!

August 3rd update

Nancy is no longer on pain meds.  She has had a good couple of days.....not tons of energy but feels ok.
The SBRT is now delayed (we will not start on Monday).  The staff did not complete the review of scans and the plan for her radiation.  It could be started as early as Tuesday.  Your support has been incredible.

July 30th Update

Nancy has one more day of pain medications (our guess).  The SBRT treatments start next Monday with a noon check-in.  In theory, she will be done on August 16th.  Yesterday she had her monthly Zomeda treatment.  She is not getting any chemo treatments at this time.  Basically, she is tired but is feeling a little better each day.  Thanks for the support, BC

July 27th update

Nancy completed the final fitting and set up for the SBRT.  She was in more pain again yesterday. We also made another visit to Dr Anthony's.  The weekend is about rest and no medical appointments.  We should find out next Monday or Tuesday when the radiation actually begins.  Let's all have a good weekend!

July 25th Update

Nancy met with Dr Anthony yesterday.  Basically now she is stabilized as far as her numbers which is good news.  She did have the MRI procedure yesterday so part 2 of the SBRT preparation is now complete.  During the MRI Nancy had some severe pain.  They gave her morphine to get thru the test. After that went back to Dr Anthony's.  The pain is caused by the blood that is in her system caused by the bleeding liver last Saturday.  She will have up to another week of the pain caused by the body clearing this out of her system.  So she now has a portable pain system where she can push the button and get pain meds on demand.  It looks like a fanny  pack.  It works really well.

Friday means the last part of SBRT prep.  Nancy should have a restful weekend.  Thanks for the wonderful support. 

July 24th update

Forgive me for saying Nancy would have 2 days off.  Tuesday night Nancy had some delayed reactions to the blood received at the hospital (shortness of breath, higher blood pressure, etc).  Called the Doctor and agreed to go in Wednesday am first thing.  So, today spent over 5 hours with the Docs and getting IV's.  Nancy's blood pressure was still high when we left.  At 5:00 got a call for Nancy to go get a chest X-Ray...so we did. We then went to Walgreen's and she now has an inhaler. The X-Ray's showed some fluid in her lungs.  Not much of a day off........

Tomorrow we start at the Doctors at 9:00, then leave by 10:00 for part 2 of the SBRT process.

So it has been a journey......thanks for the calls and texts........and sorry if I did not get back to you.....

July 23rd update

Nancy just got a new schedule for the SBRT.  She will have part 2 on Thursday at 10:30am check-in, Part 3 is still Friday at 2:00 check-in.  This gives her the next 2 days off.......which is a good thing.  Thanks BC

July 22nd update

Nancy is home.  All her numbers were good today.  She is currently sleeping soundly in her own bed.  They did reschedule Part 2 of the process to get ready for SBRT.  It is due now tomorrow and is an MRI starting at 2:15. 

If you must be in a hospital, Sacred Heart is a good one.  Nancy was treated very well.

Thanks for all the support.  I am sorry if I did not get back to everybody......it was a busy replanning weekend for both of us. 

July 21st update

Nancy had the markers placed into her liver Friday around noon. After the procedure, Nancy had some troubles. When she tried to get up to get dressed, she got pale, dizzy, and her blood pressure dropped. They suspected it was hydration or maybe needing more to eat. Over the next 3 hours they tried two more times and got the same result. So Nancy was admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital for Friday night. Nancy also started to have significant pain on Friday night; they gave her morphine. Saturday morning Nancy’s blood pressure was normal but the pain was very high (She was getting morphine every 2 hours). It was determined to do another scan to see if she had internal bleeding. The scan showed internal bleeding, so they wheeled her into surgery for an angiogram. This was successful as they found a damaged vein and blocked it. Nancy had to lay flat for 5 hours post-surgery. She was given 2 bags of blood and more pain med. Sunday morning Nancy needed no pain meds at all. However her labs showed some numbers out of range, so today was pills and drip bags (calcium was one of them). She is having a third bag of blood tonight. She is in no pain and she has no appetite. We are trying to get her to eat more. Our hope is tomorrow morning after review with the Hospital doctors and Dr Anthony that she will be released. We are scheduled tomorrow afternoon for part two of getting ready for SBRT. This will probably be rescheduled.


We have had many texts and calls and emails. Thank you all for wonderful support. Hopefully Nancy is home tomorrow.

July 17th update

Today Nancy met with Dr Jason Call of Cancer Care Northwest. He is a radiation oncologist. Nancy will start the process Friday for SBRT or Stereotactic Body Radiation Treatment. This will be for pinpointing radiation to 3 specific spots on Nancy’s liver. The process is as follows 1) Placing markers. Nancy this Friday will have 3 metal markers placed next to the spots in her liver (outpatient and done at Sacred Heart Hospital) 2) MRI will be done Monday at Sacred Heart 3) Friday July 26 the CT Scan with additional RF camera set up will be done at the Cancer Care facility downtown. These first 3 are required to make set-up for the treatments. 4) Planning by the Doctors which will take 7-10 days. Treatments will start somewhere around the first full week of August. There are 2-3 treatments per week, and it will take probably 5 treatments over 2 weeks (it is possible it could take 10 total treatments) for Nancy. There is a 2 week sabbatical of no treatments after radiation has been completed. Nancy would then resume chemo with Dr Anthony.


Dr Call says Nancy starting now is optimum as she has not had chemo for 2 weeks. The sooner the treatments start, the better the result.

July 15th update

Nancy had her appointment today with Dr Anthony.  The liver spots are smaller now, and Dr Anthony would like to focus on this area now.  So Nancy did not have chemo today and will not have white count boosters tomorrow.  Wednesday afternoon we are meeting with a Radiation Oncologist to discuss radiation treatment of those liver spots.  We really do not know much until the Wednesday meeting as for timing, frequency, etc.  Nancy's next appointment with Dr Anthony is for Zomeda (bone builder upper med) on July 29th.  We will try to keep you up to date on next moves. Thanks, BC

July 1st update

Nancy had her appointment with Shanna today, we see Dr Anthony next time.  The scans were as expected; the liver was much improved over the last scan......maybe 5-10% down from around 25%.  There are no new spots.  Nancy and I thought the hips were maybe not as good; we will review with Dr A in 2 weeks.

Nancy had chemo and zomeda today........along with the support meds.  Tomorrow she will get the Nulasta booster.  We hope the new plan for pain meds will do the job.

Happy Fourth of July.........thanks for all your support.

June 27th update

Nancy got preliminary scan results today.  There are no new spots and the liver is a little better than last time.  Good news.  We will see all the comparisons on Monday with Dr Anthony.

June 25th update

Nancy did have the PET scan today.  We will probably not get results until next Monday, July 1 at her chemo treatment.  If we hear before that, we will update the blog.   Thanks to all!

June 23rd update

Nancy was still not feeling well on Thursday, so Friday she went in and had IV's of fluids and anti-pain meds.  She also has another appointment tomorrow and a full PET scan on Tuesday. 

She did have a better day on Saturday after the treatments.

It has been a challenge to get the right combination of meds after restarting the chemo.  Thanks for all your support, BC

June 18th update

Nancy has been very tired again today.  She did get her chemo treatment today.  Tomorrow she will get the Nulasta treatment.  The scan has been approved by insurance and tomorrow they may or may not do this.  They have a new routine for pain management that we will try starting tomorrow.

Will update again tomorrow, thanks BC

June 17th update

Nnacy had her appointment today, and chemo was delayed until tomorrow.  Nancy was down with back pain Saturday and all day yesterday.  After review, all her numbers were ok to give chemo however they gave her IV's with pain meds to get her more comfortable first.  They think this is bone pain caused by the Nulasta white count booster.  We will know more tomorrow.  She should resume chemo tomorrow.

They did say there could be a scan tomorrow, as a precaution. 

Thanks to all, BC

June 10th update

They added an additional labs and appointment today to see if the Nulasta was working.  It appears to be an improvement over the Nuprigin.  For now, the every other week will be the schedule for Chemo......maybe we are now dialed in for a while.  Nancy will have a scan in either July or August.

Thanks to all!

June 4th update

Nancy had another appointment today.  Her white count was very low again...... they did decide to give her the chemo (again, 15% less dose) and will be changing the white count booster to Neulasta.  This is a shot given the day after each chemo treatment.  So Nancy will have less appointments, and hopefully this new medicine will boost the white count.  Nancy's sister Sharon was here and accompanied her to the Doctor's. 
Thanks for all for wonderful help and support, BC

May 20th update

I was half right on the direction of Nancy's medication schedule.  Today she did get 15% less chemo and all her lab numbers were good. The next 4 days she will get white count booster shots.  However, Dr Anthony had decided to give her every other week off....making the cycle 6 weeks instead of 3.  He hopes this is enough chemo to treat the cancer and the lesser amount would result in Nancy having more energy and feeling better.

Sounds good, so that is the new schedule. 

May 18th update

Nancy's heart test went well.  She will start a new schedule starting next Monday.  The chemo dose will be reduced by 15% and be given on Mondays.  This means the white count booster shots will be increased to 4 times per week. 

Thanks for all your wonderful support!

May 13th Update

Nancy had a blood draw/labs and a Dr meeting today.  Her white count has improved.  Her energy levels have not.  They are having Nancy get an echocardiogram on Wednesday to make sure her heart is doing well.  If that looks ok, she will most probably restart chemo (maybe at a 15% less doseage) next Monday, followed by 4 days of shots to help the white counts. 

Nancy enjoyed Mother's Day as Mike visited from Seattle. 

May 8th Update

Nancy (and I) got the best therapy you can have, time with Todd/Ally and the grand-boys last week.  The Curry's of Austin are doing well.

Yesterday Nancy was to start Cycle 4 of chemo.  Her white count was too low so she has to delay until next Tuesday.  This is the second time that the white count prevented getting treatment.  It does sound like this is somewhat expected at times.  It is a reminder that the treatment has been good at going after the bad cells, however it still does go after the good cells as well.

Thanks for all your thoughts and support, BC

April 23rd Update

Nancy had her Doctor appointment today.  The good news it was very routine.  Her numbers (especially the white count) were in line.  She had her final injection of her third cycle of chemo.  Next week is off.  She will stay on the same routine again starting May 7th.  Another good day!

April 9th update

The scans show the liver has improved.  Last scan the liver had about 60% of very active cancer.  Today, it shows about 25% of much less active cancer.  This is huge news.  Nancy will stay on the chemo treatment for 4-5 more months, as long as her bones and white counts are ok.  She also got her normal Zomeda treatment today, and has white count booster shots for the next 3 days.  Today was good news!

April 6th Update

Yesterday afternoon Nancy was advised by Lisa at Dr Anthony's office that they had previewed the scans on a preliminary basis.........and the liver has improved from the last scan.  This means the chemo is working (in fact, appears to be working well).  We will learn more on Tuesday......but this is very good news!

April 4th Update

Nancy had her scan today.  It was all routine.  We did not get any advanced information on how the scan looked.  That is next Tuesday.  Thanks to all for wonderful support!

March 26th update

Nancy had her third chemo treatment yesterday.  This completes two (three treatments each) cycles.  The additional shots for boosting white count appear to be working.  Next week on Thursday at 8:30 she will get a complete scan.  Those results will be reviewed on April 9th with Dr. Anthony.  Thanks for wonderful support, and Happy Easter!

March 20 update

Nancy has new CTC numbers and they went down.  That is good news.  On Monday she also had chemo again.  We are still on schedule for another scan in a few weeks.

March 15th update

Nancy's CTC numbers will be available next Monday.  Have a good weekend, BC

March 12th update

Nancy's numbers were all good yesterday.......so the second cycle of chemo was started. She will go into the Doctor's for the next 3 days to get booster shots for her white cell count.  She also had additional blood draws for the CTC (tumor markers).  Those results are expected Friday. 

Thanks for all your help and support!

March 5th Update

At yesterday's appointment we were scheduled to have the additional blood draw for the CTC numbers (also referred to as tumor markers that show cancer cell activity).  This will be done next week. 

The delay was that on last Friday, Medicare stopped covering this test.  So many requests for coverage (even from insurance) were rejected.  This will be cleared up this week and our insurance covers us.  We are not under Medicare.

March 4th update

Nancy had a restful week in Maui last week.  We stayed with our friends the Brices.  It was great therapy. 

Today she was to start cycle two of the chemo.  Nancy's white count was below the numbers required, so chemo was delayed until next week.  The counts should improve by next Monday. 

Next Monday's treatments will be followed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with booster shots for her white count.  This rountine will be repeated on the weeks of March 18th and 25th.  Nancy's week off is now rescheduled for April 2.  April 2 is a Tuesday, Nancy will be on a Tuesday schedule going forward.

Nancy lost most of her hair in Hawaii.  Her head was shaved on Sunday.  She already has wigs as this is the second time around for this to happen.  She looks great!

One big discussion on our beach walks last week was about the wonderful support for Nancy by all of you.

Thank you all and Mahalo, BC

February 12th Update

Nancy met with the Doctor yesterday.  Here are the changes from yesterday:
-The treatment will be 3 weeks on, one off.  Nancy had her second treatment of this cycle yesterday (one day early) as they wanted her on a Monday schedule.  She will have another treatment Monday the 18th, then have the week of Feb 25th off.

-The next check on the tumor markers will be on the March 4th appointment.  The results take about 3 days after the blood draw so we should know about the general cancer activity on March 7th or 8th.

-The next scan will be the last week of March or the first week of April.  This is when we will see and the Doctors can analyze the activity levels in the liver. 

Nancy's main side effect is to be very tired.  Your support has been special.  Thank you!

February 6th update

Nancy started treatments yesterday afternoon.  We were able to get the echo-cardiogram at 11:30 on the South Hill and got the call to come in at 3:30 for her initial dose.  This medicine is to be taken once per week (no weeks off).  Nancy will lose her hair over the next 4 weeks or so.  We will have more of a review with the Doctor's next week.  Yesterday the key was to get started.

The scan to show progress in treating the liver will around 6-9 weeks away.  We know there will be some other baseline checks (like another echo, etc) coming up.  Nancy has been very tired.

She enjoyed homemade soup from Patsy last night.  Thanks to all for your support.

February 4th update

Nancy was to start treatment this morning, however the insurance denied the use of Halaven.  So.......
they are now trying to get approval for Adriamyacin.  We have not done homework on this one until we know we will be taking it.  Also, this drug requires first an echo-cardiogram baseline (this drug can cause heart issues).  They are trying to set the echo up now.  Hopefully this can be done tomorrow. 

Will try to keep you updated as we learn more.  It has been a hard day of waiting for Nancy. 

Thanks for the support.......

February 1st update

Had a full review today with Dr Anthony.  The cancer is very active in the liver.  Nancy will start an IV chemo treatment starting Monday.  The medicine is called Halaven which is the brand name for eribulin mesylate.  Nancy gets her first treatment at 8:45 Monday.  The schedule is two weeks on, one week off.  There is only one treatment each week. Treatments will go for the next 6 months.  There will be another scan in 9 weeks to make sure this is going after the cancer in the liver.  On a positive note, the cancer in her bones is mostly the same; some spots worse, others a little better. 

Your support has been incredible.  Thank you all.

January 28th post

Last update it was noted that if Nancy's numbers changed much there would be a scan scheduled.  That has happened.  This morning the Doctor called and the results from Nancy's blood tests last week were not good.  So this week Nancy will have a full scan on Wednesday at 8:30 check-in.  Friday we will review the results and also have the Zomeda infusion.  Start time on Friday is 8:45.  Should be able to post an update on those findings Friday afternoon.  Thanks for all your support. 

January 21st update

Had an unplanned visit to the Doctor today.  They gave her IV's and are monitoring here numbers closely.  She will also have IV's on Wednesday and Friday this week (3 times).  If any of her numbers change significantly, they will have a scan done.  The AFINITOR will be here tomorrow am and we restart at the lighter dosage.  Guess it is kind of a tricky time........  will keep you posted. 

January 19th Update

Nancy had a Doctor appointment yesterday.  After the review, they are restarting her on the AFINITOR next Tuesday.  The dosage will be smaller.  Also, they are doing weekly visits and blood tests to monitor her numbers.  A couple more support meds were also added.  The full scan is now delayed until Feb 18th. 

Thank you all for all your support.

January 11th update

Nancy had about 5 bad days in a row, very tired and not feeling well.  It was determined that this was side effects from the new drugs.  So last night the Doctor told her to stop taking the 2 new cancer drugs.  For now, that is all we know.  We were told initially that sometimes patients start AFINITOR, then stop for a little while and restart at a different dosage.  That might be what is going on.  It is possible we will not have a new or re-plan until Nancy's appointment on the 21st. 

We will update as we know more.  On the lighter side, GO PACK GO, and as long as they are not playing the Packers, GO SEAHAWKS!

January 5th Update

Nancy met with Dr Anthony on Friday.  Some of her numbers were up concerning the liver.  This is to be expected and should improve over the next few tests.  He thought Nancy was doing well considering the meds she is now taking.  She will have another 2 week evaluation and then Feb 1st will have the PET scan.

The Packers have a play-off game today.......that is a big deal in our house GO PACK GO!

January 3rd update

Dr Anthony was sick today..... so we just had blood draws and the infusion of Zomeda.  We are scheduled to see the Doctor tomorrow at 10:15.  Nancy celebrated her 39th birthday again yesterday.  I forget how many times she has done that.........  Will keep you posted.  Happy New Year, BC