Sarah had her PET scan this morning, and all went well.  It was much quicker AND a lot easier than the first one (helped to know what to expect).  She will see her doctor on Monday, when hopefully they’ll have the results to share.

Also, Sarah had her first dose of Herceptin only today.  It will be a one-hour infusion she’ll get every three weeks, to help keep the cancer from coming back.  All went well there too!

Thank you for all your prayers this year.  God Bless You this New Year’s Eve!

Sarah saw the radiologist yesterday for a consult.  She got a general overview of what can be expected this next year.  At this point, the tenative plan for the new year is that surgery will be scheduled, and they will follow up the surgery with 6-8 weeks of radiation.  She’ll probably receive radiation treatments every day (5 days a week) for the 6-8 weeks. We’ll know more for sure after the PET scan and doctor visit in January.

Sarah is getting the last of her immunity booster shots this week (yay!), AND she also found out that she will only need to go in for blood draws once every three weeks after the 1st of the year.  This is GREAT news, because she has been going in every week (if not more) to have blood drawn for the last several months while on chemo.  But now that she is transitioning to Herception infusions only, she will only need to get blood drawn the day before the infusions (which will happen every three weeks).

We would ask for special prayers this week and next as our entire family gets together for Christmas.  As is usual with little ones, we have a varying range of colds and coughs and runny noses going on, and these can be dangerous for Sarah with her immunity low.  Please pray that everyone is feeling healthy and well this next week, so we can enjoy our visit together, and PLEASE pray that Sarah can avoid getting any of the “bugs” that we might still be carrying.

In case we don’t update before next Thursday, have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Sarah had her LAST chemo appointment and treatment yesterday.

They had a mini-party at the infusion center, and yes, Sarah dressed up to celebrate!

The nurses gave her a certificate of completion, and they all signed it:

And here is a fun picture of Sarah with her new kitty, Rascal.  Rascal has been Sarah’s companion on the many, many days when she didn’t feel well, or just needed to stay home due to her low immunity.  We’ve been meaning to mention Rascal, and finally have a picture to show you.  Isn’t he cute?

So, yesterday was FUN (not!)

Sarah ended up in ER with some symptoms that looked like a blood clot in her arm.  She  waited in the car most of the time, to keep herself isolated from germs and sick folks, since her immunity was low.

After all the tests were run (blood work, ultrasound, etc), it turns out she has some sort of infection in her arm, NOT a blood clot.  She doesn’t have a fever, so hopefully it’s just a minor issue.

Also, her blood work came back more positive, (immunity numbers were almost back to normal) and they are bumping up her chemo to tomorrow (Wednesday) instead of Thursday.  The nurses informed her that they are planning a PARTY for her last chemo.  We’ll post pictures if it works out.

Well, Sarah was supposed to have her last chemo today, but unfortunately her immunity was at ZERO yesterday, so she will be getting booster shots for the next three days instead.  The plan is for her to get labs taken Thursday morning, and chemo after the lab work comes back.  Please pray that the booster shots do their job and she can have chemo on Thursday.

Also, she has an official time and date for her PET scan.  It will be December 31st, at 8 a.m.  Please begin praying for that scan, for Sarah’s peace of mind during the scan, and for GOOD scan results!

Sarah had another positive doctor’s appointment yesterday.  The doctor can no longer find any tumors when doing a physical exam which is SUCH good news.  They made plans for her PET scan (which will be on December 29th) and for her Herceptin doses for the next year.  (She’ll be going in every three weeks for Herceptin, which is an anti-body for the genetic disorder that caused the cancer).  She has ONE MORE chemo to go, next Monday!  Please pray for GOOD NEWS in January after the PET scan.

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When this journey began, Sarah started saving every card that came her way, and they are all hanging on her living room wall.  She rests on the couch directly below these cards whenever she is tired or sick from chemo.

We really just can’t say thank you enough for all the cards, encouragement, assistance, prayers, emails, and thoughts…

May God Bless You and Yours during this coming holiday season!

Sarah saw her oncologist last week, and it was probably the most positive of all the appointments so far.  He was VERY pleased with her progress, and how everything is looking.  The cancer has been greatly reduced in all areas, which we are taking as a miracle in progress and huge answers to prayers!

The doctor will set up her next PET scan after her appointment next month, and we should get the results of that by the end of the year or the first part of January.  From there discussions will begin about possible surgery.  The doctor said he and other specialists will visit about her case and try to put together the best surgical plan for her.

Sarah also had her chemo today (Monday), and it went smoothly and quickly.  This was round 5 of 6 treatments, so at this point she has only one left to get through!  YAY!!  She also got the results of her latest bloodwork, and her immunity levels are very high compared to where they’ve been, so she is encouraged by that too.

All in all, great news!  More soon…

Sarah was right the other day when she felt like a little “under the weather”.  Her blood work showed low immunity, so in she went for shots this week.

She is getting a better feel for HOW she feels in relation to IF she might need some bloodwork drawn, and subsequent shots.  Thank goodness for modern medicine and the ease of which they can help her feel better more quickly.

And thank you for your continued prayers!

Sarah had chemo a week ago Monday, and had her usual very tired/run-down week last week.  However, she WAS feeling good enough by Friday night to go to a Harvest party with her family.  Because of her low immunity issues, and the need to be safe from getting sick or infections, it’s recommended that she wear a mask when she is public these days.  SO, smart thinker - she dressed up in scrubs and went to the party as a nurse, so she could have a “theme” for wearing her mask.

I talked with her this morning, and she had a call in to go get some bloodwork done.  She is continuing to feel over-tired, so she wanted them to check on her blood levels in case she might need a shot or two.  I’ll write again as soon as I hear whether she needed those shots this week or not.

As always, thanks a bunch for all your prayers!!

Sarah had an appointment with her oncologist last week, and it went well.  The doctor said the chemo is definitely continuing to work, and the cancer is continuing to shrink.  They discussed plans for her next PET scan which will probably be in early January.  That scan will show how much cancer is left, and will start the discussion about possible surgery in the early spring.  We were all encouraged by how positive the doctor was!

Today (Monday) was her next scheduled chemo date, but unfortunately her immunity numbers are really low (based on blood work yesterday), so they postponed this chemo treatment until next week.  She’ll get immunity booster shots this week, and hopefully will have better numbers so she can get chemo next Monday.  Please pray that she can stay healthy and well, even with low immunity.