Almost postponed...

I was supposed to have my 8th (and last) treatment for this cycle Wednesday Jan. 5. But when my lab work came back, they discovered that my Neutrophile Absolute Count (aka ANC and has to do with my white blood count which helps fight infection) was below 1 and it has to be at least 1 in order to receive chemo. The nurse paged my doctor so see if I could receive chemo and they finally decided they would go ahead and give me the investigational drug, but would skip the other chemo since my counts were so low. In addition, they decided to give me a 3 day dose of an injection called Neupogen, which will hopefully increase my white blood count. I received the first shot Wednesday, the second one yesterday (Thursday), and the 3rd one will be given today. I'm feeling fine for the most part - just really tired and worn down, but that's probably because my counts are down. I just need to be careful not to be around anyone that's sick because I am much more susceptible to getting sick with my counts so low. I will still meet with my doctor next Wednesday Jan. 12 for the results, as well as see how my counts are. Thank you all for the prayers and we will let you know Wednesday what we find out!!

Nearing the end of Round 2

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted anything, but that's good news because it means not much has happened! Carrie has completed 7 weeks of chemo this cycle and only has one more to go before she gets scanned again. Treatment #8 will be this next wednesday, January 5. She is scheduled to have her CT scan Thursday the 6th. I will be flying out to Texas for the results, which will be Wednesday January 12. That day, we will meet with her doctor and find out if the treatment is still working. If there is less than 20% growth, Carrie will continue for another 8 weeks. And since we know many of you will be anxious to hear the results, we will post them as soon as we have a chance after meeting with the doctor on the 12th. Thank you for all of the love and support, and especially the prayers, over the last several months. It has certainly gotten us through this extremely difficult time and pray that it continues.

Results are in

After waiting for 4 1/2 hours to see the doctor we finally got the results from Carrie's treatment. The doctor said that any growth of the tumor less than 20% would be a good sign. Carrie's only has a growth of 4% which is very very good. So now we start two more cycles (8 weeks) starting today. Please continue to pray for us as we spend the next 8 weeks apart and try to find time in our schedules to travel to see each other.

Nearing End of Cycle 1

Sorry it's been so long since we've given everyone an update, but that means nothing bad has happened!! No news is good news for us! But we are nearing the end of the first cycle of treatment and I know many of you are curious as to my status and what's next. I've had 7 treatments as of right now, all of them given once a week on wednesdays. They do blood work every time before they even let me begin chemotherapy and so far, my blood counts have been good. My platelets and white blood count have been lower than the average person, but for someone going through chemo, they've been relatively good. My infection fighting cells have also been good! The only thing that appears to be affected is my cholesterol. One of the chemo meds they give me is prone to raising cholesterol and it has increased mine, but not dangerously high. They have put me on Tricor to help maintain it and it appears to be working.

This wednesday (Nov. 10) will be treatment #8 and will be the last one of the first cycle. I will then go back Thursday (Nov. 11) for my CT scan. I will then return home to Auburn for the weekend. The following Tuesday, Jason will fly with me back to Houston for my doctor's appointment Wednesday, Nov. 17. That wednesday, we will meet with my doctor and find out the results of the CT scan to see if the treatment is working. They consider it to be effective if there is less than 20% growth/spreading of the cancer. If they find it to be working, I will start the second cycle of 8 week treatments that afternoon (i.e. they have already scheduled me to start up the next cycle right after we get the results as if the treatment is working - they're being optimistic!!). I will go through 8 more treatments, after which they'll scan me again and reevaluate and so forth.

Please pray for excellent results, and also for traveling grace as we travel back and forth! We will let everyone know how everything turns out next week!

From Disneyland to Disney World

Well Carrie and I couldn't be more apart. I am at Disneyland for an IT Conference and she is in Disney World having a vacation with her parents. I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. On Wednesday Carrie had her 4th treatment and everything went fine. So now we are halfway done with this cycle. So far there have been no ill side effects. Carrie gets to come home next weekend for the LSU game, so we are looking forward to that. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support.

On the road again

The title pertains more to me than Carrie. I left Auburn on Thursday and flew out to Houston to spend some time with Carrie while on the way out to California for a conference. It has been a wonderful weekend so far as Alabama lost and Auburn won (War Eagle). We have also got to spend time with her parents as well as her sister and her aunt and uncle. The next couple of weeks will busy for us as I am leaving Houston on Monday to go to Anaheim, CA and returning to Auburn late Friday night. Carrie is leaving on Thursday to fly to Orlando to spend time with her mom, return to Houston for treatment on Monday and then leave on Thursday to come to Auburn just in time for the LS Who game. Please pray for us as we collect our frequent flyer miles and I will keep everyone updated on Carrie's treatments.

Treatment #3 Tomorrow

Well, things have been going pretty well, all other things considered. I go for treatment #3 tomorrow and so far so good! They did blood work on me last week and my cholesterol and lipids were elevated, but that is one of the expected side effects of the chemotherapy so no surprise there. The doctor has put me on Tricor to help keep both cholesterol and the lipids somewhat in check. And since the elevated levels are being caused by the medicines, I don't need to change my diet or eating habits (YAY!!) They will of course check those levels every week to make sure they don't get out of control. My white blood count was slightly lower than average, but it's still in a healthy range, as well as my platelet count so that's good news. But other than that, I haven't had any bad side effects!! No fatigue, nausea, or mouth sores so I've been very blessed. And since I've been feeling so well between treatments, I was able to go home to Auburn this past weekend to spend time with Jason!! It was a much needed, last minute surprise so it has done a lot to lift my spirits. And as long as things continue the way they have been, I'll be feeling well enough to travel as often as I can without worrying about being tired or sick! Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support and I will continue to keep you updated as things progress. Love you all!!