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