Micro Summary of Day One, Trip Two at MD Anderson

Haircut -looks good so far - will post pics later.
Ultrasound of Thyroid/neck - NO biopsy needed! Praise God!
Blood Draw - couldn't count the number of vials required - yikes!
Chest X-ray
900 ml of Berry Barium 'smoothie' later only to find out they decided against the contrast CT!! Arrgh!
Chest CT
Contrast MRI of abdomen and pelvis.

Will give more details later.

Appointment with Oncologist today at 11AM. Don't expect full report until Friday night, but perhaps sooner. I will try!

Thank you for your prayers, texts, e-cards, and support.

Triann

Making the Most of It

In an earlier post I mentioned the Cleaning for a Reason foundation. I am still working on getting all of the required paperwork to them, but once I complete that, they will come in and clean my house once a month for 4 months. I am REALLY looking forward to that!

Yesterday my sister *lovingly* told me I really needed to figure out how to budget for a haircut! I agree. But it is tough to 'justify' such things right now. I figure I can always put it in a ponytail and spend my money in other areas that are of a higher value to me. I won't go into it, but let's just say it has always been hard for me to spend money on myself to begin with and things have been such that it is even tougher for me to make an appointment that I know will not be cheap and seems selfish.

So...I thought to myself, if there is a program out there to help women clean their homes while they are on Chemo, perhaps there is a program for women with cancer to get their haircut as well.

I am happy to announce that, 'yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus'!!

MD Anderson actually has a beauty salon/barber shop on site and they give shampoos, haircuts, scarves, and wigs to all patients FREE of charge! Thankfully, I don't need the wig/scarf benefit with the type of chemo I am on, but the haircut is certainly a welcome treat! It is on a first come, first serve basis - so pray that I get in!!

Typically I am VERY picky/nervous about who cuts my hair because it is naturally curly and the wrong cut can be disastrous! But I think I am up to the adventure and certainly willing to take a risk for such a great price! (my dad would be proud =)

Perhaps I will post before and after pictures and you all can decide!

Pray that I am able to get in and that the end result doesn't make me cry!

Triann

Mito-'drain' Update

'You take the good, you take the bad, you take them all and there you have the Facts of Life, the Facts of Life...'

Is it stuck in your head yet?
Oh good. Mission Accomplished! =)

I just got off of the phone with my Oncology nurse and now I feel about 2 inches tall and technically it is not my fault. But I still feel like I am in Time Out for being STUPID! (I would be scolded by Emily if she heard me say that!)
This is how the story goes. Eric cancelled our home phone number TWO months ago with Verizon. Apparently...our voice mail is still active. Well, I called and left a message for the nurse about my new cell phone number but they were still leaving messages on my home number.
THEREFORE, I did NOT get the message that I needed to go up -again- on my Chemo pills (Mitotane). Arghh.
I was scolded and told that I had to 'confess my sins' to the Dr next week!(not her words, but my interpretation)
She was nice about it, but still irritated that I hadn't started on the 10 chemo pills a day yet. But I didn't know! And I did call and give them my new number. And she has left messages on my new cell, so I knew she had it and assumed that was the only number they were using. What other messages am I missing when people think they are reaching me?? Arghh again!

My mitotane level is at a 3. It needs to be a minimum of 13. I cannot imagine what that means for my energy level and confusion/memory loss in the future. Perhaps nothing, but I am nervous. Part of the questioning I have for my doctor is if I have to take 4 times more pills will my side effects be 4 times worse? Or will my body adjust as I go up on the 'meds' and I will basically feel like I do now? Perhaps only time will tell...

I will let you know how 'confession' goes next week with my doctor!
Triann

Gearing Up for MD Anderson

I thought I was ready to go back to Houston. I think the closer it gets, the more reservations I have!

We will leave the afternoon of February 24th. I have CT scans, MRI's, and blood work all day Wednesday which will leave me crashed out Wednesday night! Thursday, Eric and I will meet with the oncologist and get the results (pray for great ones) and the next course of action. Hopefully, I will be done in time to get a nap in so we can take the kids to the Houston Children's Museum Thursday night. It is FREE on Thursday nights and we took advantage of the free admission last time too. There is a ton of stuff for the kids to do and they really enjoyed themselves on the previous trip.
Friday, weather-permitting, we will head to the zoo before driving north. We were gifted a zoo membership in November - yet another free activity for us to enjoy! The perfect way to celebrate Daniel's 3rd Bday as well - which is the 27th.

Detail-wise things are coming along. Some friends of ours have generously donated hotel points for our stay, so that is covered (Thanks you guys!) Eric's Mom is flying down thanks to some friends whose husband works for Southwest Airlines who have given her a voucher for the flight. She will help out with the kids again, allowing Eric to be there as a support to me while at the hospital and another set of ears to take in everything I hear from the oncologist!

Please pray for a safe trip, that every detail will be taken care of, and that in the moments that don't HAVE to revolve around the cancer, we can enjoy spending time as a family.

Triann

A Great Day for Up!

Monday started out rough. Really rough! But I have an amazing friend who took Daniel for the day so I could run some much needed errands and clean my kitchen. (Thank you Liz!!) It was a big debate for me: Clean the kitchen or Take a nap. A nap might have been the 'right' choice, but I went with clean the kitchen. I haven't seen my counters in weeks - perhaps longer. The satisfaction of having CLEAR counters was TOTALLY worth skipping the nap. I posted the above photo as proof!

Tuesday I had Bible Study and it was so nice to be with other women. My table group has been very supportive and they send dinner home with me on Tuesdays - I LOVE not having to think about what to fix on Tuesdays =) My amazing friend from Monday, came over Tuesday after Bible Study and did my dishes and swept my kitchen floor. Seriously an angel here on earth! Not to mention having 'company' for lunch.

I had the kids in bed by 6:30. I think that's a record.

Today started out as a blank page in my daytimer (I like those), but is quickly becoming a day of necessary things that are being added to my calender by others. Which I suppose is OK since I didn't have anything else planned! =)

I went in for another set of labs last week. The results for my Mitotane levels won't be available until next week, but the rest of the results should be in by Thursday - I will give updates as I receive them. Most of my symptoms are remaining the same - fatigue, some nausea (but that is less and less) and dizziness. The only addition recently has been headaches. And it is questionable as to whether or not my memory is worse now than previously. You can't ask me though, I don't remember!

I cannot believe it is already February. We have three family birthdays this month and at least one friend birthday. It is a good month to celebrate!
We are heading to MD Anderson the last week of February. Eric's mom is flying down again to help us with the kiddos, which will be great! And we will be celebrating Daniel's 3rd Bday while in Houston. We plan on going to the zoo - pray for great weather on the 27th!

I am looking forward to the scans - not actually doing them, but getting the results. I fully expect wonderful news from the doctor. Please keep this in your prayers for me - us! I know many of you have prayed faithfully for me and my family and I am so grateful and truly blessed because of this.

Two of the gals at Bible Study had heard about a program for women with cancer called Cleaning for a Reason. It is a non-profit that works with local cleaning businesses to provide once a month house cleaning (for a total of 4 months) to women undergoing treatment for cancer. I submitted my application last night! How could that not be part of my already excellent day? Now I just have to get rid of the clutter so they CAN clean =)
Their website is http://www.cleaningforareason.org/ if you know of someone who could also benefit from this incredible service.

Here's to another great day ahead!
Triann