Dear Angels,
The latest news is good news. Last Monday, we got the results of the latest bone scan and CT scan back. Dr. Landis, our Oncologist, told us the bone scan was GOOD. That means no new spots in the bones anywhere. The bone scan will never be normal again. Once the damage is done, it's done and will never go away, but there are NO NEW SPOTS. To us that was more than good, it was GREAT! The CT scan was good also. That meant there were no new spots in any organs or tissue anywhere. Again, we were overjoyed with the news. That means the chemo treatments have been working, or holding the cancer in check for the time being.
We talked to the doctor that day also, about having a port put in for Joyce. We have been having problems getting the IV into a vein on her hand, wrist or arm each time. Some days she comes out looking like a pin cushion, 4 or 5 gauze patches on her arms where they attempted multiple times before getting the IV in. The port is a device that is implanted under the skin on the upper right side of her chest. It's like a little cup with a self sealing rubber cover over it. This enables them to insert the IV through the skin through the cover into the cup and then there is a catheter from the cup into a vein. This is a one shot time, every time, you might say. Fool proof and so much less pain from poking than before. We had that put in last Friday. Took about an hour and a half for the surgeon to implant it. And then we used it for the first time at today's treatment. Joyce was so much more comfortable than she has been. Just knowing that she's not going to get stuck 4 or 5 times put her more at ease. It worked really well.
Dr. Landis also told us that what he would like to do is continue the chemo treatments up through the end of October. Then we will make a decision as to whether to continue the chemo, or try and go to some drug in pill form, like the Femara that we first started off with. But hopefully one that would work, or hold the cancer in check like the chemo has been doing. He said he would really like to see us be able to go onto a drug in pill form that would work and give us at least 2 years of something closer to a normal life style than what the chemo does. That would be great if we could do that. It's just the thought of having to maybe go 12 weeks on it and then find out it's not working that's going to make it a hard decision to make.
I hope all you Angels don't mind me "dumping" all this personal stuff on you like this. If you only knew how much you all mean to me, and how much support you are, not only for Joyce, but for me also. It really does help me when I can kind of "open up" and share what's inside with someone. So you are not only Joyce's Angels, your mine too.
Well, the training walks are getting harder and harder. Last Saturday morning I got up at 4:00 am and drove over to another town in Georgia where there was a 13 mile walk scheduled. It was a fairly hilly route that we walked. I think there were somewhere around 30 or 35 people there. The walk took about 3 and a half hours to complete. Fortunately it wasn't as hot and humid as it has been the last couple of weeks. There was a guy by the name of Gary, that was riding the route on his motorcycle back and forth. Each group he would come to he would pull over and open the back chest on his cycle, and he had iced down bottles of water and Gatorade and had a bunch of bite sized candies like Twix and Milky Ways and Snickers. Little bursts of energy you might say. :-) What a great guy. Had a Breast Cancer Ribbon Flag flying from the back of the bike, and he was wearing a pink t-shirt that had "REAL MEN WEAR PINK" on the front of it. I thought he was such a cool guy. They have a whole crew that do that sort of thing on the 3Day walk itself in October.
My left knee started bothering me two weekends ago after a 12 mile Saturday walk and a 9 mile Sunday walk. I went to the doctor and had it X-rayed to make sure there was nothing wrong that might need fixing before the walk. I told the doctor that I was committed to doing this walk, regardless of what it took. Well, the X-ray didn't show anything bad, so he told me to try and just take it easy walking and not push too hard. He said that he could give me some cortisone shots if it got worse, and suggested maybe getting one like 2 or 3 days before the 60 mile walk. I think I'm probably going to have to do that. It seems to stiffen up after I sit for awhile and aches some when I'm walking. I told you all of this, leading up to another personal moment I wanted to share with you.
I told you how much I depend on all of your support, well the same holds for those other special people that I walk with every weekend. I have met some of the most wonderful, loving, caring people that I have ever met in my life on the training walks. I've been told over and over that the 3Day is a life changing event, and I believe it. Because the training walks that are leading us up to the 3Day have been part of that over all life changing event so far. I have made friends that I feel like I have known for a lifetime, and have made friendships that will last the rest of my life time I know.
On Saturdays walk, somewhere around 11 or 12 miles into it, my knee started really aching. I had been walking with a father and his daughter, who are walking for his wife and her mother who is a cancer patient. It seems that every weekend we all share our personal stories with one another. There's a never ending supply of them. Anyway, I had told the daughter about my wife and what she has been going through. When my knee started hurting, she noticed that I was limping a little bit and she asked if I was alright. I made it about half way through what I told her before I broke down and started crying, something that happens every once in awhile on weekends. It's my pressure relief valve mechanism. :-) I always feel better afterwards when that happens, and there is always someone there to hug and hold onto and get through it with. I had told her that no matter what the pain I had, when ever I had some, I would think to myself that it was nothing compared to the pain that Joyce is experiencing every day, and that mine will go away in a day or two and hers never will. I guess you can see why I didn't make it all the way through telling her that.
Again Angels, forgive me for being so personal with you all, but I'm going through something in my life right now, that on the one hand, not many people go through, and then on the other hand, way too many people are having to go through it. But it's something that I think should be shared with as many people as possible, because in doing so more and more people are being made aware of this terrible thing called cancer. And with more awareness, together we can be successful in eliminating suffering and death due to cancer.
I WALK for all those who have
bravely fought against
breast cancer and won.
I WALK for the thousands
who are just beginning the
fight.
I WALK for those beautiful
souls who battled so hard and
now look down on us and smile.
I WALK for me and
I WALK for YOU!
As always, I say thanks again to all of Joyce's Angels, God Bless each and every one of you for your love, your prayers, and your support..
-- Michael