Hi readers,

Karen went through her usual tiredness and soreness from the last round of chemo and shots.  By Tuesday (06/19) this week she was feeling pretty good, so she decided to take a small token of her appreciation to the outstanding staff at the doctor's office and chemo infusion center.  Over the past two weeks Karen voiced her visions of a very special thank gift and Marghi put them into reality.  Marghi made two huge bouquets of artificial flower arrangements, and placed hand-made individual thank you cards to each staff member throughout the bouquets.  The staff at both offices were overcome with Karen 's thoughtfulness.  Karen also gave the infusion center Red Vines, Jolly Ranchers, Werthers, and a Hershey's variety packs to refill the jars of candy.  During the chemo sessions "dry mouth" is one of the side effects, and a piece of candy seems to do the trick to get the saliva juices flowing.    

On Thursday (06/21), Karen went to the chemo center for her weekly lab work.  Glad to say all of her blood numbers were where they need to be, so she was able to dodge the shots that keep them in line.  The on-duty staff were still reeling about the delightful gift Karen had given each of them on Tuesday.  They all came over to give hugs to Karen, Mom and Marghi.  They were so appreciative.  The bouquet of flowers was proudly displayed on the counter-top, and the pink thank-you ribbon had been displayed on the wall by the clock.

Karen ventured out this morning (Fri 06/22) and drove her truck to the bank and to the gas station. She did great.  While no long trips are planned for anytime within the year, I can only say "Look out world, little by little she is transforming into her old self."  LOL :o)

Karen is still coping with the neuropathy in her hands and the extreme pain in her fingernails however, the complaints are few and far between. 

Marghi is planning to go home and back to work the first part of July.  Hope to have the NoCal household back to some kind of normalcy before then.  Marghi is willing to stay or return if the situation dictates.

Your support, thoughts, and prayers over the past five months have had remarkable results.  Thank you all!  :o)

Helloooooooooooooooooo readers,

Well since the last time we blogged Karen has reached some milestones. Karen saw the doctor on Tuesday and he reiterated that Karen is doing remarkably well despite the aggressive chemo she has endured over the past 16 weeks, her weight has pretty much remained the same for the past month.  He is just amazed.  While at the doctor's office one of the chemo nurses came in with her husband, suspecting he had cancer.  On Thursday (06/14) Karen completed her last round of chemotherapy.   We found out at that time the nurse's husband did not have cancer.  We were so thankful to God for their good news.  After Karen's chemo infusion, the nurses struck up the party favors, with a tambourine, noise makers, bubbles and applause, and presented Karen with a certificate of chemo completion.  See the attached picture.

Prior to the chemo, the nurses perform routine blood test, and all of Karen's numbers were "A okay."
It was a slow day at the infusion center, as management is trying to give the nurses an extra day off. As the nurse relayed it to us, she stated, "we are trying to DISPOSE of our patients on Thursday, so more of us can have the day off."  Karen was unsure what was meant by this statement, and was glad to get out of there alive.

She went on Friday for hopefully her last Neulasta shot, the one that keeps her white blood count up.
She has to go through some more blood tests over the next two weeks, just to make sure her blood numbers are good and holding, and to check the cancer markers.  After that it, if all stays well, it will be a monthly blood test, bone enhancing shots, and the clearing of her infusion port.  She will have an entire body PET scan sometime within the next four weeks comparing the tumors prior to and after the chemo.  We are praying for the best.

After partying at the infusion center, there is no holding her back.  Karen is ready to P A R T Y. LOL :o)   Yeah right! 

Thanks for reading and your support.  May God bless you! :o)

Helloooooo out there......

May was a very busy month filled with Mother's Day, visitors from Oklahoma, and oh yes the chemotherapy sessions and doctor's appointments.  We had a nice Mother's Day for mom by pampering her all day with gifts and food, and receiving calls from all her kids. Teresa (sis) and Kevin came that day to visit.  Marghi was able to go home and celebrate the day with her husband and her sons.  Anne (sis) took on the responsibilities of the Bradford household for Mother's Day weekend.  Louis (bro) took on the Bradford household responsibilities the following weekend 05/18-05/20, so Marghi could go with Dave and family to the annual BofA Bowling Tournament in Reno.  Louis thoroughly enjoyed staying with mom and Karen.

At the latest doctor's visit on Tuesday 05/29 the doctor informed Karen that her cancer markers, were way over 300 when she was first diagnosed, the April test checking for markers was 140. This is Great news!!!!!!!! The doctor stated Karen is doing remarkably well. He is inspired by Karen, her determination, her attitude and mental outlook, and the fact the she has attacked the situation and the pain with just a little Tylenol, now and then.

Chemo sessions went well this month.  Karen has braved through them and knows exactly what the reactions will be and when they will set in.  This second round of chemo has not been as rough on her appetite as the first round.  She is, however, experiencing neuropathy in the tips of her fingers as well as the browning of the fingernails.  Typical side effects for Taxol.  Karen has stayed true to form, she gets herself and sometimes the nurses in trouble with her levity and gut wrenching laughter.  In fact this past Wednesday, the nurse told Karen she had passed the test, referring to her blood numbers.  Later Karen and Marghi were talking about the blood test results and Karen said, "at least she (the nurse) didn't say I passed gas."  Some other nurses overheard this and they just started to laugh. 

Marghi is so grateful she is able to be with Karen through all of the chemo sessions.  It is heart breaking to see how many folks come by themselves, or are dropped off.  This past Wednesday, we met a lady who was 88 years old, she had surgery a week ago, was receiving radiation every day, and was getting her first chemo treatment on Wed.  No one there with her while the nurses tried several times to get an infusion line started, final after an hour they did, then premeds started.  Her daughter stopped by for a short minute, then left.  This poor little lady, was hungry, didn't know the ropes,  really had to use the bathroom, and there was no one with her to be her advocate.  When she finished chemo (4 hours later) we offered her a granola bar and a bottled water to tide her over.  The little lady stated Karen was very "cheerful."  (Little does that lady know LOL)   She thanked us for lunch and stated we should do it again. She made several calls to her daughter to be picked up, but never got through.  When we left she was sitting in the lobby of the medical center, still trying to reach her daughter by telephone.  It was truly heartbreaking.

AS PROMISED HERE IS THE PIX OF KAREN WITH HER NEW HAIR.  LOOKS GREAT

Thanks to everyone for reading the blog and most definitely for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.  They truly are very important to us.  :o)

Greetings:
Karen went to the doctor on Monday and got the okay to continue with her Taxol chemo treatments.  She had her second Taxol infusion on Tuesday, which took about 3-1/2 hours.  Karen faired well.  No immediate reactions to the Taxol.  Karen went today for her Neulasta shot which assist with keeping her blood numbers up where they need to be.  Lately her numbers have been in the appropriate ranges.  While at the infusion center, one of the nurses again reminded Karen to keep the laughter down, this time however she was sitting in the waiting room, minding her own business.  Karen checked for the "NO LEVITY OR LAUGHTER" signs to no avail.  What gives???? After the shot we went and picked up the wig at Wigs R You.  It is a brown short cut do, looks very becoming and sassy.  The sales lady there must have been been on something, she stated, " Karen you are such a delightful person." Karen was as shocked as I was, she had never been complimented with those descriptive words before. LOL  She pegged my right, she gave me an angel pin, don't know if she thought I was an angel, or it is something for me to emulate. LOL   Mom was surprised when Karen walked in the door, but Mom gave her approval saying "she looks so young with it on."  Somehow I will get a pic on the blog. 
Thanks for following.  Love to all.  :o)

Hi all,

The past few days were very hard for Karen, she has been extremely tired, and aches all over.  The Taxol chemotherapy causes arthralgia and myalgia symptoms.  Karen immediately experienced neuropathy in her fingers.  She describes it as having jammed her thumb nails, ouch!, yes very painful.
:-(

Due to feeling poorly Karen did not want to keep her appointment for the wig, however she was convinced to go to the wig shop on Friday and had a great time.  Ann at Wigs R You in Roseville was so helpful and comforting to Karen.  Karen tried on at least 5 wigs of varying styles and colors, decided on one, ordered it and will have it by next week.  Yes, a picture will be posted. 

Karen went to the infusion/lab center today to have blood work done and get an Xgeva shot.  Karen numbers are off the chart in a good way which is absolutely great news.  The wonderful nurses at the infusion/lab center are always so happy to see Karen, as they really enjoy Karen's attitude about her situation and the tall tales she tells.
 
By the way, we talked with nurse Jill about the thermometers as mentioned in the previous post, she just laughed at us.  It prompted her to tell us a funny story when she was on vacation in Pennsylvania visiting her husband's family.  In a rush to get ready to visit her brother-in-law, she grabbed a tube put it on her toothbrush and began to brush her teeth.  She stated the toothpaste tasted funny and her mouth was foaming like heck.  She kept spitting out the foam but it just kept getting worse and worse.  She checked the tube of toothpaste, only to discover she had grabbed the Preparation H.  She went over to her brother-in-laws, and every so often she had to excuse herself to go to the restroom and rinse the foam out of her mouth caused from drinking fluids and saliva.  As Jill put it, needless to say "her mouth swelling and oral hemorrhoids were in check." LOL

Thanks for the cards, letters and calls, we are blessed with all of your thoughts and well wishes.  We pray and thank God everyday for the fantastic support of family and friends. :o)

Hi readers, if you are still following...so sorry we haven't posted anything in two weeks.  Karen has been going to the doctor and to labs for test.  Her blood numbers and other vitals have been good, which are a blessing since she is to start her next round of chemo on 04/30.

On Saturday (04/28), the neighborhood had a garage sale, Karen, although she stayed in the house, kept watch on Marghi and Mom to make sure they did not sell the clothes off her back.  Mom has been known to sell things, that weren't actually for sale.  Hehehehehe

On Monday (04/30) Karen had her first round of Taxol chemotherapy.  We were gone from the house nearly five hours, with the chemo taking more than 3-1/2 hours due to air bubbles getting in to the IV line.  They said the air bubbles posed no risk, but the IV machine would stop dripping.   I repeat they (the nurses) said it posed no risk, but we all know how Karen deals with air heads, and she was not willing to join that group.  Prior to the Taxol, Karen was infused with four other pre-meds to ward off any of the immediate side effects from the Taxol, rash, breathing and heart problems, nausea and vomiting.  The days following the chemo Karen has felt very tired, and has slept quite a bit.  She has talked with some of you over the telephone, which she has truly enjoyed.  She has kinda reverted to early childhood, eat, poop, and sleep.

As you may or may not know, Karen's temperature plays an important part in the chemo process.  Too low or too high causes trouble and can delay chemo treatments, so we are constantly taking her temperature.  Being old fashion we use the "old glass/mercury, hard to read" thermometers.  These thermometers are left overs from when Mom was a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) back in the 70's & 80's.   Question? ... what's the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer, other than the obvious.  I took Karen temp orally with both and the temp reading was the same.  Is that normal? Or other than csncer, is there something amiss with Karen?  LOL FOTG :o)

Scheduled an appointment with Wigs R Us for Friday (05/04).  More to follow on this.

Thanks to all of you for reading, your resonses, your thoughts, prayers and well wishes.  They are truly appreciated.  If there is other information you would like to know, let us know.

Greetings:  Karen was to the doctor on Monday, after having been there for Chemo on Friday, and shots on Saturday and Sunday.  Too put it lightly, she is completely whipped out.  The shots are to help her blood counts, but they take all of her energy and put her on an emotional roller coaster.  She pretty much has slept the last two days and has no appetite.  While at the doctor's office we were able to schedule tentative appointments through the middle of June.  Karen mustered up enough energy to go to the DMV this morning and secure a much needed disabled placard.  We were in and out in less than 10 minutes.  Kudos to the DMV staff at the Rocklin office.   It was back home and to bed.  Keep Karen in your prayers.  Thanks! :o)