April 30th is the next big test day

It's a beautiful spring afternoon and we're finally getting some lovely sunny days and slightly warmer temperatures. Everything is so green and flowers and trees are blooming like crazy. I love it!

My chemo treatments are going well and I am still feeling really good, no symptoms or significant side effects to speak of. The horrible rash on my face is almost gone - Dr. Karamlou said it would diminish with occasional slight flare ups from time to time. He was pleased with the quick onset and severity of the rash, actually. He says that the earlier the rash appears and the more severe it is seems to correlate with the best response to the Tarceva. If that's true, then it must be doing good things in my body!

The next test is on April 30th when we do a complete scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvic area to check the progress for both the lung and pancreas. This is the first "official" scan of the lung after the chemo-rads and also to see how the pancreas is doing after two rounds of Gemsar. I'll get the results when I see Dr. Karamlou on May 7th.

Please pray with me for good results. The initial scan of the lung showed almost a 70% reduction and I'm confident the results will be even better after another month of the chemo-rads doing their work. Obviously, the pancreas is the big concern and I am praying to see significant healing in this area. As Matt has said in a previous update, please pray hard, pray sincerely and pray focused. Thank you so much.

It's been a busy time, back in the classroom and all that goes with that, but I sure enjoy the time there. Two dear friends were here to visit me this last weekend and we had such a good time, laughing and talking, enjoying the beautiful weather with enough snacks to feed half the block. It was great!

Tonight I'm going to the theater with mom and friends to see the stage production of "Grease". Should be a lot of fun and I will try to only hum quietly under my breath as I know all the songs. I think I saw the movie 5 times?! Oh come one, who didn't? :)

Sending all of you much love and many hugs, enjoy your days!

Susan