June 5th update

Hey everyone,

Last weeks chemo treatment the day after Memorial Day went well. Laurie’s hemogloblin went up .4, so she was excited about that even though she wondered if it was due to the fact that she got one extra day before her treatment due to the Memorial Day holiday. This week’s treatment would tell us since she will have one less day between treatments so perhaps the numbers will reverse, but hopefully remain stable for the most part. We also had lots of help last week from Laurie's Mom and Dad. The first issue was that Brooke had no shorts that would fit. She had to wear Ridge's shorts! And for those of you that know Laurie, even when she had energy, shopping was not her forte! So Laurie's mom went out and searched the stores and found some adorable outfits that Brooke loves! And her Dad went with her to the treatment on Tuesday, while her mom fixed dinner for all of us. The treatment took a little longer than normal as there was a "kink" in the Herceptin drip so it slowed down, and she didn't realize it until the timer went off but the bag was still 1/2 full. The nurse fixed it and it finished in about 20 minutes. It’s amazing that this is the first time that has happened! You never know.

Last weekend was the Reston Relay for Life, and while Laurie and I used to participate in this American Cancer Society fundraising activity before we had children, this was Laurie’s first “survivor” participation. Laurie had nominated her primary care physician, Dr. Maura Sughrue from Fairfax Family Practice, as ACS’s Healthcare Hero, and the award was announced at this reception. Unfortunately, Dr Sughrue could not make it due to recent knee surgery but many of the other survivors agreed that she deserved it, as they shared very different experiences with their doctors when they learned of their cancer.

Laurie’s nomination included: Dr Sughrue was on the phone with me within 30 minutes of my failed mammogram. She immediately gave me an action plan, which is important to feel some control in this situation. She provided a wonderful list of referrals, which lead me to some other great doctors that I could trust with my life. She kept in contact with me, sometimes even daily, calling me on Friday night from seminars she was attending, just to offer me support, listening and offering any advice that she could. I believe that first 4-6 weeks of a diagnosis is so difficult and she was my lifesaver during that time. We have had a patient doctor relation for many years, but this was when I counted on her the most and she was my Hero!

After the reception, all of us joined Laurie at 1 pm for the kick-off survivor lap. Laurie definitely saw it from a different perspective than from past relays!

On Monday, although it had only been 6 days since the last treatment, Laurie’s hemoglobin went up .5! That was the most it had gone up in a single week so now it is at 11, only 1 below the “normal range.” That was great news for her! We’ve been very open with the children from the start of our journey through cancer, and we’ve shared with Brooke that since her maternal grandmother had cancer, and now her mom as well, she has a higher chance of getting cancer. So several weeks ago, when we were talking about Laurie’s weekly treatment, Brooke said “Can I come with you so I can know what it would be like in case I get cancer?” We believed there was only one response to such a request, so we arranged for all 3 children to accompany us last Monday. We got the “luxury suite” so we had room for all, and they stayed through the cleansing of the site, the blood draw and results, the Benadryl and Pepsid infusion, and then they left soon after the Taxol infusion began. It was more than enough for them to realize that the process is not painful for Laurie, just tedious, and that was our hope.

At this time, we’re counting down the remaining 3 treatments of this round. While Laurie lost some weight during the first round, she is maintaining her weight during this round of treatments. She has learned that small meals are the best way to go and is now learning to deal with mouth sores and frequent tingling in her hands and feet. These reactions to the chemo should dissipate over the next couple of weeks and we look forward to that.

As always, we thank you for your continued prayers for us as well as others who may be going through similar and/or difficult times. Keep the faith! We are!

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