April 28th update

Hey everyone,

It’s been a couple weeks since the last update. Laurie had her 4th weekly chemo treatment of this 2nd round (Taxol and Herceptin) yesterday and appears to be doing well. Her dad went with her this time and that gave them a chance to have some one on one time. We had been told that she will get used to the Taxol and Herceptin after a few treatments and I’m hoping that is the reason for her new found strength. The answered prayer is that we were able to drop the steriods from 5 to 2 pills on the 3rd and 4th treatment of this 2nd round, and her hemoglobin reamined the same as last week, which is very positive. It means the body is learning to create the red blood cells by itself (during the 1st Round of A/C, I gave Laurie Neulasta shots to help the body create new blood cells).

Looking back, the past two weeks were a time of trial and error. During the 2nd chemo treatment, the nurse told Laurie that her hemoglobin had been dropping regularly, and we should be watching that. When we asked how we could help raise it, one of the options was “eat red meat.” What was very interesting about that is that the weekend before this, Laurie had spaghetti with meat sauce on Friday and steak on Saturday! So even though this food leaves a metallic taste in her mouth, after this advice, she was determined to do better the following week. On Tuesday, April 14th, we went out for the twins' 8th birthday, and she got pork barbecue, and even had some dessert that night courtesy of Terry and Gail. Thanks for the pies ladies! Unfortunately, perhaps because it was too much for her system to handle, on Wednesday, she had some stomach issues that ended her work day at 12:30 and left her very weak thereafter. Over the next two days, working and resting were the only order of the day, and she was ready to make the trip on Friday to Rehoboth Beach to watch Forrest’s baseball team play in the Spring Fling tournament at Sports at the Beach.

Again, very aware of the hemoglobin deficiency, on Saturday night, she decided to get a very well done hamburger (that’s the way she likes them) at the restaurant we went to. It was very tasty but somehow, Laurie’s gastrointestinal system just wasn’t ready for it. The good cells that chemo attacks are the “fast creating” ones, such as hair and gastrointestinal ones. So these immature cells or limited cells just couldn’t manage this fantastic hamburger, so Laurie again suffered from stomach issues that evening. But Sunday brought a new day, and a softer diet. :-) At that point, Laurie decided to see if she could get a consult with the dietician on other possibilities, but if any of you health experts have ideas on how to get her hemoglobin up, please let us know!

One more note on the hemoglobin. The nurse Laurie saw during the 3rd treatment had many years of oncology experience and when asked, said there is nothing Laurie can do to increase the hemoglobin number. The body will do it by itself, and her levels should begin to increase soon on this weekly regiment as it is not as harsh to the body as the 1st round of A/C. If it doesn’t, the doctors would have to consider a blood transfusion, but that is not a consideration right now.

As noted above and in earlier notes, Laurie was very concerned about continuing on a high dosage of steriods. Since she didn't have any reactions during the first 2 weekly treatments, during her 3rd weekly treatment, the doctors let her take only 2 instead of 5 pills the night before and 2 hrs before so that she actually cut the steriods substantially. We believe this success is again a result of your prayers so thank you once again for your diligence. All went well, and Laurie felt rather good that evening. Her mom went with her to that treatment so I could work a little longer and then be with the kids that afternoon. While my bosses have been great about me going with Laurie to her treatments, we are also conscious of my work demands, so we are letting family and friends who wish to go with her to the weekly sessions have that opportunity. They just have to not mind seeing her at “her sleepiest best”. It definitely is a learning experience and gives her an opportunity to catch up with friends and family.

Also, during Laurie’s last check up with the doctor, she mentioned that she wasn’t seeing as well as before. The doctor said that although he hates the term, chemo can “accelerate aging”. Thanks Doc! Anyway, he said that other examples include bringing on menopause earlier as well as needing reading glasses and similar things. Well, the good news in all this is that within two weeks after the end of the 1st round, Laurie’s eyes were seeing better, and she was able to read Bible verses on Sunday morning again without reading glasses. Before that, most of them were blurry. Once again, God answered another prayer. Thanks God! So it seems that particular symptom was due to the first round of A/C and things are looking brighter!

You can probably tell that some of this was written last week and some written today. Yes, I tried to combine the two. I just want to get the updates out so all of you that are praying for Laurie and supporting us know what’s going on. Thank you all so much for your time, thoughts and prayers. You make it possible for us to get through this to the end when we will hear the doctor say: “Laurie is cancer free”! Keep praying and we will hear that soon. Many thanks again to you all!

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