"And for my next Halloween costume"

Well, 2010 certainly had a rocky start and the effects of the radiation and the pneumonia have sure hit hard. My quickest healing was the short stint in the hospital - I came home Sunday, January 10th and it's been a slow go from there. The hospital staff is absolutely wonderful but I would rather be home! I finished the two weeks of radiation on Jan. 15th and will see Dr. Kee and Dr. Chen (radiation oncologist and neurosurgeon) at the end of February to review the neck scans and x-rays. Both seemed happy with the preliminary results of the treatment but radiation continues to work for several days/weeks afterward and I'm hopeful the two weeks worth of treatment zapped this little tumor for good.

There is some chronic pain/numbness associated with the tumor - even it it's zapped, the bone and surrounding soft tissue have been compromised and I will always have some residual discomfort, though, thankfully, nowhere near as painful or frequent as what I experienced at the start. Praise for that!

The picture of me in the mask is how I was positioned for radiation each day. My head and upper body had to be completely immobile so the flex mask (literally molded to my face and upper body) would be put in place each time and then tacked down to a body board underneath me. The mask fit like a second skin - I could open my eyes and blink, breathe through my nose and swallow carefully. Definitely not for the claustrophobic and I'm grateful that, once the mask was in place and all coordinates verified, the actual process went quickly. A wonderful staff, very caring and concerned, and I am so glad to have them. Very glad this was only two weeks and not six weeks like the lung radiation!

The time at home has been slow healing. Between the soreness and inflammation in my throat from radiation (thus back on liquids only for several days) and the extreme fatigue from both the radiation and pneumonia, it has been a tough couple of weeks. I completely lost my voice for several days so my apologies for not returning all phone calls just yet. My voice is back but it's squeaky and doesn't always last all day. A very large portion of my time has been spent just sleeping (always the best medicine for me!) and I am on oxygen again, off and on as I feel is needed. My sister, Stacy, came out from CT on the 15th and stayed with me for a week, taking very good care of her big sis. Truly, she and my mom were lifesavers taking care of every little thing even when I would stubbornly insist I could do simple tasks.

That stubbornness didn't last long and I was so grateful to have Stacy here to help, plus just hang out with me. She went home yesterday morning and I sure do miss her. So does Corbett - she keeps going into the guest room expecting to find Stacy and then comes to me with a bewildered expression. Corbett has been quite the trooper too, she sits like a sentinel next to the bed when I am napping and doesn't leave my side much. Gotta love that dog!

I've been off work for 2 1/2 weeks and am going to attempt part time (half days) this week. I'm hopeful to have the energy to return but am realistic about healing too and will take it day by day. The other picture is our school Geography Bee, held last Weds. (Jan. 20th) in my classroom. I proctor it every year and was so glad I could do so again this year. It's an all school competition and the school winner has a chance to compete in the State GEO Bee in April - wish us luck!

I start a new chemotherapy protocol this week on the 28th to go after the liver tumors again. This one is an IV treatment given every three weeks and no infusion pump this time. We're still praying for the miracle.....

Sending all of you lots of love and hugs and heartfelt thanks for the cards and calls and prayers and support. My community is my medicine and I love you all for the dear people you are to me. Enjoy every day for the gift that it is!

Love,

Susan

Update on Sue

Yesterday (Friday morning), Sue was admitted to Emanuel Hospital (503-413-7711) in Portland due to having trouble breathing. The doctors have determined it was pneumonia and she is currently transferring from the ICU to the 6th floor (room 682) which is where they house cancer patients. She is responding well and on medication. The good news is that she is on the road to recovery and the current radiation is working. The troubling news is that they found two additional nodules in her liver and a few existing smaller nodules have enlarged over the past few weeks.

Sue will continue with radiation and will start the chemo procedure this Friday to address the new liver nodules. As you can imagine, Sue's attitude is positive and if you wish to send her a note or call with support, make sure the nurse checks in to see if she is awake. They had her on morphine last night which knocked her out.

Prayer support is also appreciated.

Matt

"Won't be dancing the Argentine Tango anytime soon...not such great news this time"

After a brief respite, it seems the cancer has taken another road trip and stopped in yet another place in my body. A couple of weeks ago I started experiencing pain radiating from the top of my neck down into my right arm, with tingling in the lower part of the arm and numbness in my right thumb. Talked to Dr. Karamlou about it during my last visit and he scheduled a CT scan and MRI to check it out - said it was clearly nerve pain and it could be anything from a pinched nerve to a bone spur to arthritis. A tumor was a possibility but the symptoms and other tests (arm and hand grip strength, etc.) didn't jive with other symptoms that would indicate a tumor so it did come as a complete surprise (more like total shock) to discover that there is a tumor on a cervical vertebrae, affecting blood flow and causing the nerve pain.

Once the shock of the news wore off, or better said, sunk in the next questions were "How bad is this and what do we do for treatment?". Unfortunately, the news is not good. The tumor is in the bone and the soft tissue around the vertebrae - this means that even if surgery is an option, we can't get all of the tumor because it's invaded the bone too. Of additional concern is weakening of the bone which could cause a pathological fracture. That could mean compression or collapse of the vertebrae and quite possibly, paralysis to arms and legs. Now before everyone freaks out, that is worse case and something I need to be careful of in not overexerting my neck (thus hanging up the dancing shoes for the tango for awhile) until we begin treatment. And the good news is there are options.

I'm meeting Drs. Kee (my radiation doc) and Chen (neurosurgeon) on Monday morning and we'll develop a plan for treatment. Best case is Dr. Kee can zap this tumor (it's about 2.3 centimeters in size) with radiation and no surgery is needed. If radiation isn't an option, then we talk about surgery. In this mix will be an adjustment to the chemo protocol (I think) and I'm guessing Dr. Karamlou is going to want more full body scans to be sure this "cancer road trip" hasn't stopped somewhere else we don't know about.

I must say, these doctors are on it....I had the scan and MRI late in the afternoon on NYE and Dr. Takahashi (the on call oncologist) was on the phone with me at noon yesterday. He had already been in touch with both Drs. Kee and Chen to get things scheduled for Monday and had my latest prescription ready to be called into the pharmacy. All this on a holiday weekend. When I hear people talk about unresponsive doctors or having to wait days or weeks to hear from their medical team, I am so grateful for the good care I am receiving.

One big question I had was how can I be healing in one part of my body, have the other two areas stabilized and then have another tumor show up somewhere else? That's the mystery on metastasis......I was told months ago that cancer, once it gets in the blood stream (lymph system) is like a car on a road trip that, unfortunately, no one knows where it's going or where/when it will stop. This tumor is another aggressive one....it didn't show up on the last scan and now, here it is.

The good news is there are treatment options and I am feeling really good, strong both physically and emotionally, and ready to take on this newest development. I cried my tears long and hard after hanging up the phone yesterday and dreaded another round of suck phone calls to my family. There was a short period of just feeling too exhuasted to think about this latest tumor and all it's implications and after some time in deep prayer, was fully renewed in His strength. Thank you, God, for the peace and comfort. I got off the couch, threw off the pity party mood and said "The heck with this, I'm going with friends to see a George Clooney movie"....what better way to restore my spirits than to gaze adoringly at him on screen :) And for what's it worth, "Up In the Air" is really a good movie.

My Christmas holiday was absolutely wonderful and I hope your's was too. It was low key and close to home with a few surprises thrown in....a very dear friend from SD and her husband showed up for a surprise visit and it was wonderful to spend time together. That's her, Tricia, in the photo. We've known each other since 1985 and the friendship just gets sweeter every year. My niece, Kelli, came to Portland to celebrate NYE with college friends and stayed with me for a couple of days. We had a good time together and she loved our other surprise.....a snow storm on Tuesday. Completely unexpected and as a result, a traffic nightmare for many but it sure was fun to watch her get so excited with the snow and send photos to all her friends. Portland does rain well, but snow? Not so much. It's been a time of rest, relaxation, reading, movies, friends, laughter, a project or two here and there, great food and wonderful celebrations. I've enjoyed every minute of it!

Not sure what this treatment for the neck tumor will mean for the rest of the teaching year. I'll know more Monday and will go from there. Clearly, I'll have to take time off for radiation and/or recovery from surgery but I am praying that I will still get to finish the school year with the kids. God knows my heart and my passion for my kiddos and I pray I can quickly return to the classroom. May be in a neck brace this time around, but that's ok, I can deal with that.

Please continue to pray with me and pray hard for recovery as the next step of the journey begins. It's been a long haul, but I am still fighting this cancer with everything I have and am determined to come through it healed. Still too much to do! I'll update as soon as I can after Monday to let you all know the next steps.

Love and hugs and Happy New Year!

Susan