Great news!
Today, 9/10/08 we spoke with Dr. Rufo in Sedona, and he read the results of Debbie's bone marrow and PET scan tests."No indication of Lymphocites (Lymphoma) in the body."!!! Almost no (much less than 1%) cancer cells in the bone marrow!!! WOW! What a mighty God we serve!
Dr. Rufo was quite surprised and very pleased.
God is so faithful and merciful, often beyond our greatest hopes and prayers.
Debbie will now be on a "maintenance" program for the next two years, where she will receive one drug (Rituxan), once a week for only two weeks every three months. No other chemo drugs for at least two years! Needless to say, we are VERY happy.
Thank you all for your faithful and obviously effectual prayers. And thank God!
Dale and Debbie
Showing posts with label Mom's Cancer Journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mom's Cancer Journey. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!
Today is my mom's *#th birthday!! (No. I'm not going to disclose her age. Do you think I'm crazy??) It's so exciting to be able to celebrate this special day with her. We cannot be more thankful that my mom is doing so well after her chemotherapy and that we have her with us to celebrate her birthday!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! 
(mom and Gracie, her eldest granddaughter)
WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!
It was no coincidence that today, mom's birthday, was my personal fundraising deadline for the Team In Training century ride. Therefore, with the celebration of her birthday in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those, anonymous and named, who have donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to honor her and to support me on the century ride. I am 3/4 of the way to reaching my fundraising total. Your generosity has touched both me and my family. We continue to pray that the research done by LLS and others will find a cure for blood cancers, including hers, and that we will have many great birthday celebrations for years to come. Saturday, November 22nd will be one of the great experiences of my life as I ride across the finish line and see my mom and family. It is because of each of you that I will have this great opportunity. Words cannot express how honored I truly am - thank you. May God bless each of you and yours.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Metric
Yesterday I rode the Clarksville Labor Day Classic and completed the metric distance...62 miles. Cycle time 4:05, total ride time 4:41. That's an average of 15 mph for over 4 hours. I feel I have accomplished the largest athletic feat of my life, and I have many more weeks of longer rides to go. Weariness overcame me yesterday, and I slept most all day. Soreness has plagued by body today, but I am confident that I will recover. Rich and I are scheduled to hit the gym this evening; we have scheduled our lifting around my riding schedule. This week is our first go at it. I'll let you know how it works out.
Thanks again to all who have given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on my behalf. My mother is feeling quite well. She is back at school and teaching, which is her great passion. She has had an ECHO of her heart, which revealed no current injury to her heart, which her chemo can cause. She has had other tests done, but we are awaiting results.
Please continue praying, the Lord is definitely listening!!
Thanks again to all who have given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on my behalf. My mother is feeling quite well. She is back at school and teaching, which is her great passion. She has had an ECHO of her heart, which revealed no current injury to her heart, which her chemo can cause. She has had other tests done, but we are awaiting results.
Please continue praying, the Lord is definitely listening!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The last hoorah!!!
Today was mom's last chemotherapy treatment! PRAISE GOD!!!
Over the course of the next 6 weeks or so she will have more testing done to see if any cancer cells remain. We have been told that follicular lymphoma (mom's version) does not go into remission; instead it is a slow-growing lymphoma that takes years to become a nuisance and get to the point of needing further treatment. I am believing in faith that we will not need further chemotherapy treatments...ever!
If, however, cancer cells are seen on the follow-up tests, she will be given Rituxin (monoclonal antibody) treatments every 3 months until further notice [read 'years' here]. Up until today, mom's Rituxin was given at the beginning of her chemo treatments. However, it was given at the end of her treatment today, and mom is having a lot of nausea despite the meds they gave her to prevent it. Mom doesn't do well with nausea, so we've been lucky that she hasn't had any thus far. Each treatment has brought with it some strange symptom - visual changes, nose bleeds, joint/muscle aches - but nausea has been avoided until now. At least we know that may of these symptoms are short-lived and pass fairly quickly over the first week after treatment. We are praying that the nausea passes even more quickly.
Please keep her in your prayers as we await tests and test results, as she fights with this nausea, and as we wait on the Lord for full healing - should that be his will!!
God bless,
Amanda
Over the course of the next 6 weeks or so she will have more testing done to see if any cancer cells remain. We have been told that follicular lymphoma (mom's version) does not go into remission; instead it is a slow-growing lymphoma that takes years to become a nuisance and get to the point of needing further treatment. I am believing in faith that we will not need further chemotherapy treatments...ever!
If, however, cancer cells are seen on the follow-up tests, she will be given Rituxin (monoclonal antibody) treatments every 3 months until further notice [read 'years' here]. Up until today, mom's Rituxin was given at the beginning of her chemo treatments. However, it was given at the end of her treatment today, and mom is having a lot of nausea despite the meds they gave her to prevent it. Mom doesn't do well with nausea, so we've been lucky that she hasn't had any thus far. Each treatment has brought with it some strange symptom - visual changes, nose bleeds, joint/muscle aches - but nausea has been avoided until now. At least we know that may of these symptoms are short-lived and pass fairly quickly over the first week after treatment. We are praying that the nausea passes even more quickly.
Please keep her in your prayers as we await tests and test results, as she fights with this nausea, and as we wait on the Lord for full healing - should that be his will!!
God bless,
Amanda
Friday, May 23, 2008
Update on mom/Debbie - New Diagnosis!!
What a crazy month it's been! Mom has successfully started chemotherapy and is tolerating it well. A few weeks ago she had a repeat CT scan that showed ALL of her nodules/masses have decreased in size, some 30-50%! And that's only after 2 treatments! Praise God for that!
Yesterday she had her 3rd treatment and found out that her diagnosis had changed. Originally, she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's large B-cell lymphoma. But after her lymph node biopsy and bone marrow biopsy results were reviewed by the lymphoma pathologist at City of Hope, it was decided that she has Non-Hodgkin's follicular lymphoma.
For mom/Debbie, new news kinda throws her off kilter a bit. She was prepared for how to handle her initial diagnosis, and then things changed. The great thing is that follicular lymphoma is a better diagnosis! Follicular lymphoma is slow growing and responds very well to chemotherapy. So well, in fact, that she may not need all 6 treatments originally planned. Also, there will be NO need for a stem cell transplant! Follicular lymphoma tends to reoccur every 5-7 years at which time she will simply be treated again. This cycle may continue for the rest of her life, but that sounds much better than a 5 year survival rate that diminishes after 10 years.
We could not be happier about the change in prognosis, even though we have some research and reading to do on the new diagnosis.
Please continue to pray for mom/Debbie and dad/Dale. Thank you to the friends and family who continue to bring food and help around the house. For information on how you can help please click here. You will be asked to log-in and list how you are connected to this community. Mention Debbie's name to start the process. A web coordinator will respond to your request for 'membership' in the community.
With Love,
Amanda
PS: I have signed on with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training (TNT) to train for the Nike Women's 1/2 marathon in October. Please see my team page for more details on my training and fundraising progress: http://pages.teamintraining.org/tn/nikesf08/zooga. If all goes well with this training and fundraising, I plan to sign on to run with TNT for the PF Chang's Rock-n-Roll marathon in Phoenix January 2009. Mom will be able to be at this race, which excites me greatly!!!
Yesterday she had her 3rd treatment and found out that her diagnosis had changed. Originally, she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's large B-cell lymphoma. But after her lymph node biopsy and bone marrow biopsy results were reviewed by the lymphoma pathologist at City of Hope, it was decided that she has Non-Hodgkin's follicular lymphoma.
For mom/Debbie, new news kinda throws her off kilter a bit. She was prepared for how to handle her initial diagnosis, and then things changed. The great thing is that follicular lymphoma is a better diagnosis! Follicular lymphoma is slow growing and responds very well to chemotherapy. So well, in fact, that she may not need all 6 treatments originally planned. Also, there will be NO need for a stem cell transplant! Follicular lymphoma tends to reoccur every 5-7 years at which time she will simply be treated again. This cycle may continue for the rest of her life, but that sounds much better than a 5 year survival rate that diminishes after 10 years.
We could not be happier about the change in prognosis, even though we have some research and reading to do on the new diagnosis.
Please continue to pray for mom/Debbie and dad/Dale. Thank you to the friends and family who continue to bring food and help around the house. For information on how you can help please click here. You will be asked to log-in and list how you are connected to this community. Mention Debbie's name to start the process. A web coordinator will respond to your request for 'membership' in the community.
With Love,
Amanda
PS: I have signed on with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training (TNT) to train for the Nike Women's 1/2 marathon in October. Please see my team page for more details on my training and fundraising progress: http://pages.teamintraining.org/tn/nikesf08/zooga. If all goes well with this training and fundraising, I plan to sign on to run with TNT for the PF Chang's Rock-n-Roll marathon in Phoenix January 2009. Mom will be able to be at this race, which excites me greatly!!!
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