One to Go!!

I know what you are thinking.....finally a blog update:) When we started this journey numbers were in every conversation we had. The size of the tumor in centimeters, the stage of the cancer, how many weeks of radiation, and, of course, how long were chemo treatments going to last. At first, we were doing chemo every other week for eight weeks, then every week for twelve weeks. Then, when the tumor hadn't shrunk any we changed to every three weeks for 7 weeks. Then that was changed to every three weeks for three more treatments. The most important number you need to know now is.....one. That's how many more chemo treatments Kaitlyn will have. We couldn't be more excited to reach this milestone.

Our chemo day was a good one. Aunt Angie, Aunt Donna and I traveled to Indy last night and stayed in an apartment at the kid's complex that out-of-town quests can rent. We had supper with Kaitlyn and Scott and the Aunts got a tour of the new place. Kaitlyn's appointment was early this morning and we were up and on the way by 8:45. Kaitlyn's visit with Dr. Newton went well and the tumor continues to shrink. We are so thankful!! Infusion was good today as well. Scott was back on board this time and, frankly, kept us all entertained. Kaitlyn was happy to have the Aunts along but missed Aunt Dianna. She had work commitments. Kaitlyn continues to have the largest crowd at chemo. Kris was there as well and Andhra stopped in on her lunch hour. The nurses have started talking about how great it is that she brings such a large group and that we spend a lot of time laughing. Chemo lasted a little over three hours. It is a long process with the added chemo drug. But, that Taxotere is potent stuff and is doing the job, so we don't mind at all.

We've had a busy few weeks since Kaitlyn's last treatment. The weekend after treatment we moved the kids into their new apartment. Has I predicted Kaitlyn was really tired and feeling pretty nauseous. She toughed it out to help us get things organized on Saturday afternoon. After a trip to Walmart though in the evening, she was done. We finished up the next morning and then left her to recuperate. She got a cold the first part of the next week and battled thru that nicely. We were concerned for her because her immune system is pretty non-existent, but she rebounded by the end of the week.

The Sunday of that week we all went to the State Fair and had a great time. She got a little tired walking so we took it easy and rode the tram some as well. We hadn't been to the fair since the summer before she went to college so it was great to attend once again with both her and Scott. The State Fair is always a good time.

The last week she got back on track with her work schedule. She works a short week the week she has chemo and the week after because of the fatigue and sickness she suffers from the drugs. The next week she tries for a full 40 hours and then she's back to a chemo week. Once again, the Hartford has just been fantastic to her and it's been so appreciated. So she worked a full week and even got a couple of softball games in on Friday night. She loves her softball:) Saturday she and Scott were home to attend the Craig Open House. They got to see and visit with some of the people I work with and they really enjoyed themselves. Basically, I just want you all to know that she tries to keep pushing forward. She might not blog on here but it's because she's keeping herself busy and is out there living her life. Exactly what we want her to be doing!

Kaitlyn will have her last chemo on September 16th. After that, she will have an appointment to see Dr. Kennedy to discuss her operation and begin moving forward to schedule that. She'll need a little time to recover from the chemo and rebuild that immune system. She will begin, three weeks after the 16th, herceptin infusions. She will have them every three weeks for a year. This will not interfere with the surgery and she won't suffer any of the side effects she's been dealing with. They will only last about 20 minutes and she will have them either before or after work. After what she's gone thru this will be a piece of cake! Those prayers you all have been sending up are working so please keep praying and she'll keep fighting. Thanks and love to you all:)

Peace, Love and Hope
Lisa

Four Down and Two to Go!!!

It was a chemo day and by now you all know what that means.......mom gets to blog! Seriously, when Kaitlyn told me she was going to do this blog I said "Good for you". I mean it was a good idea....she could write down everything she was going thru and you could all read and comment about it. What's not to like?! Little did I know at the time that I was going to be dragged (kicking and screaming) into writing on it also. All in all, it's been a pretty amazing experience for the both of us. Each time we write we get to release a little of our emotions out on here. So, really it's been extremely therapeutic for both of us:)

Now, having said all that, today was a GREAT day! Finally, some good news. Dr. Newton told us today that the tumor has shrunk a little. That means the new chemo cocktail is working. Yay!!! So, we sailed thru our appointment with Dr. Newton and headed back to the infusion room to begin the fourth round of chemo. Today, Tracy and Katie stopped in for a quick game of Rummy and then they had to head back to work. Sara came from St Louis and Kaitlyn was thrilled to see her. Andhra showed up and the three of them became absorbed in an intense game of Farkle. Sadly, Scott wasn't able to come today. He called this morning and sounded horrible. I believe it's just a summer cold. But, Scott, knowing how fragile his sister's immune system is right now made the call to stay at home. He was greatly missed.

Kaitlyn was in good spirits today. I'm pretty sure it had to do with the gift bag she received before we left for her treatment. The Hoff's gave her orange Tennessee scrubs and a tangerine cap. Needless to say, she wore the scrub top and the hat to chemo. I was able to convince her to save the pants for later when she was lounging. Seriously, and I know I have mentioned this many times before, my girl adores all things Tennessee and/or orange! I'll post those pictures for you all to see.

So, more good news, Kaitlyn has just two chemo treatments left. She goes again on the 26th and then again on the 16th of September. Once chemo is done she will rest for a few weeks to build up that immune system and then she will have her surgery. So, she will definitely be cancer free by the end of this year...which was her goal:)

Now we are gearing up for the big move this weekend. Kaitlyn and Scott are going to share an apartment in Indy. Tomorrow Brad and I will move her things in and Saturday we will go to Bloomington and move Scott's stuff. We plan to spend the weekend getting them settled and everything put away. I know Kaitlyn won't feel like doing a thing for the next week besides going to work. So, we'll make it nice and neat for her while she supervises us from her bed. Here's hoping the Lakeshore people know what's in store for them.

And finally, thanks to you all. You've read our blogs, made comments, sent cards, sent packages and most importantly, included her in your prayers. We can't thank you enough for that. By now you know the drill.....you all keep praying and she'll keep fighting!

Peace, Love and Hope
Lisa

Round 4 of the Boxing Match that is my Life!

So tomorrow is treatment number 4 and I can't sleep tonight which is no big surprise, since I had to start my steroid medicine today in preparation for chemo tomorrow. The steroids keep you awake and make it hard to sleep, I'm waiting for the day when I become aggressive and start bulking up :) I had a great week last week of having energy and feeling great and I know whats coming next. This is the part that I truly dread the extreme tiredness, sickness, and overall body pain for the next week. In better news I was able to work everyday last week and the three days this week. I played 2 softball games on Friday, which felt amazing to be back on the field with my softball buddies playing a sport that I absolutely love. I also played tennis on Sunday evening, which I have only played like twice in my life so that was very interesting to watch to say the least. I was back to the old athletic Kate. Which is probably why i dread tomorrow so much, but I know it tomorrow has to come and then it will one less treatment that I have to do and closer to being done. My whole goal is to have 2010 be the year of cancer and go into next year with chemo and surgery behind me and 2011 be a fresh new start

Oh and I miss my hair, I can't say the many times I have reached the back of my head in an attempt to put my hair in a pony tail and there is nothing there. I catch myself people watching more now and staring at people's heads, or watching infomercials about hair care products. Its pretty funny actually, and almost pathetic I know but its like part of my identity has been taken away from me and body is going through this change that I didn't sign up for. I know its just the chemo and that it will grow back in time, it just sucks a little bit right now. I get a little tired of wearing the hats and scarfs but not quite ready to walk around bald.

There's not much to report I have been pretty normal this past week which has been great, and my only thoughts right now are on the tumor and hoping that the chemo last time did its job and started to shrink the tumor. Hopefully the report tomorrow from the doctor will be a good one, at least that what I pray for. I pray for high white blood count, strong immune system so that I can have the chemo and for it to shrink the tumor and kill the cancer..

Thanks for letting me rant, and get some much needed feelings out! Keep the prayers coming this way they are greatly appreciated and I feel them. God works in great ways I can be having a bad day and I'll get a message or a card saying how some one's thinking of me and I know that he is working and letting me know that everything will be okay and that there are people out there thinking of me and still praying. I'm truly humbled and moved by it all.

So until tomorrow when I know my mom will be on to post

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

One more week down

Welcome back to another installment that is the cancer blog!! Just a quick update on me, last Saturday the parents and I were in Bloomington to help Scott celebrate his birthday. Sunday we went and packed up all of my stuff out of the house in Indy to bring back to Rochester to get ready for the big move in August. It was mostly me supervising my parents packing everything as I had no energy to actually lift anything. Monday and Tuesday were bad days, I was extremely exhausted and had no energy to do anything. I spent all day Tuesday on the couch watching movies and sleeping. The rest of the week though I was able to work and felt a whole lot better, even made it out to the ball diamond Friday night to watch some softball.

So my next round of chemo isn't until Aug. 5th and I'm hoping to actually work an entire week this week. I know I'm probably the only person who is excited about going to work, but being at work is a great distraction for me and I'm able to have somewhat of a routine and be normal. So the news we got last week wasn't the greatest news but I trust my team of doctors and if they think that doing chemo first is the best way to go then that's what we are going to do.

I've also posted some new pictures from chemo and from the wedding I went to a couple of weeks ago. I want to spend the remainder of this post though talking about my support team. Everything that I have read and everyone I have talked to says the way to get through this is to surround yourself with positive people and a strong support team. And I think Team Thomas pretty much rocks. I couldn't ask for a better team. First and foremost are my parents, who have been my rock in this whole thing. They are the first people I call when I have any news from the doctors. So early on in my diagnosis they would have to listen to me crying and yelling and they were able to calm me down and let me know that I wasn't alone in this. My brother Scott has been to every appointment and treatment, and I don't know that I can express in words what all he has done for me. He reads my blood counts and explains to me what my they are, as well as help me understand what side effects I'm going to feel with the different drugs they are giving me. He's also been great at making me laugh when I need a good laugh. The rest of my family, the Thomas's and the Dittman's have been amazing with just taking care of my parents and brother as well. And to everyone who follows this blog, comments, sent a card, a gift, prayed, or just asked how I was doing I consider you all apart of Team Thomas. To see the amount of love and support towards not only me but my family has been very overwhelming and humbling and makes me want to fight even harder to beat this disease. You are all going to be invited to the "I survived cancer party" this time next year!!

So in closing I would like to say that everything is a fight for me. But, I will fight everyday because I have a lot of people praying and pulling for me to win this battle and that's what I plan on doing.

Thank you Team Thomas for everything you have done and continue to do for me and my family! Keep those prayers coming I truly feel them and know they are working! :)

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

Two Steps Forward.....One Step Back

It's a chemo day....so mom gets to blog. The day started out per normal. Our chemo day regiment has been the same the previous 2 times and we saw no reason for this one to be any different. We usually grab some breakfast so Kaitlyn can take an anti-nausea pill that is part of a tri-pak. The pill has to be taken with some food on chemo day and then she takes one pill for the next two days after chemo. One hour before chemo begins we rub some of the numbing creme on Kaitlyn's port and then cover it with press and seal saran wrap. It's not a fashion statement most people want to make but the wrap keeps her clothing from becoming stained.

We arrive at Dr Newton's office and the nurses immediately begin prepping Kaitlyn for chemo. They insert the intravenous tubes into Kaitlyn's port and draw blood. Her blood has to be checked each and every time before chemo can begin. Can't start the process till we know what her white cell count looks like first. With the blood off to the the lab, we wait in one of the exam rooms for Dr. Newton to arrive. We meet first with one of Dr Newton's interms. He goes thru the list of questions (any adverse side effects, how's the nausea, fatigue, etc...). When Dr. Newton arrives she goes thru Kaitlyn's responses and then answers any questions we might have. Lastly, she checks the lump in Kaitlyn's breast. It's the last part that changes everything today.

It seems the lump has not changed in size at all. Which means the chemo isn't doing what it was intended to do. So, we have to change the chemo regiment. Enter Taxotere. It will now become the third chemo drug in Kaitlyn's drug equation. Instead of having one more round of AC, we will now have ACT every three weeks for 7more rounds. So today, after the the other two drugs are given, a bag of Taxotere is hung. It takes a full hour for it to drip thru. In addition, Kaitlyn is given more steroids to help with Kaitlyn's absorption of this chemo drug. In all chemo takes a little over three hours to complete and we spend a total of four and a half hours at the infusion center.

We will continue to monitor the lump thru another round of ACT. If there is still no change, then surgery could happen sooner. If you remember, the goal of chemo first before surgery, was to shrink that tumor. So if chemo isn't doing that then instead of adding additional drugs or changing the regiment again, surgery now... chemo later might be a more viable option. We will make that decision when it becomes necessary.

How is Kaitlyn handling all of this? Well to be frank (and hopefully not to offend any of you) she's pretty pissed off right now! Like she told us today..."I'm fighting pretty hard right now, so chemo needs to get it's act together and do what it's suppose to". Her dad and My's opinion is this in a nutshell...there is absolutely no reason to put her thru the whole process if chemo isn't doing what it was suppose to do. Surgery will happen no matter what, so it will just happen faster then anticipated.

Right now we just don't know what for certain the next step will be. We do know that Kaitlyn will have her next round of chemo on August 5th. And aside from that we know that this last round was somewhat grueling for her. She was pretty wiped out within an hour of completing it and was glad for the anti-nausea medicine prescribed for her.

So, she's resting right now and getting ready to be back at work tomorrow. She's hoping to celebrate her brother's birthday with him this weekend. Have I mentioned how much we appreciate Scott being there thru all of this? Today, he kept the Grandmas company while we were in the exam room, went over Kaitlyn's blood work with us (her results were better than last time), brought us up to speed on the new chemo drug (he had made a dose of this type in chem lab just this year), helped his sister with her IV pole when she had to use the restroom, did the Sudoko puzzle and the Cryptoquip in the Rochester Sentinel on his own in record time, got coffee for Grandma Thomas and himself, and entertained us with golf commentary on the British Open! Love, love, love that boy!! I know his sister will probably comment on that in her next blog.

Until then, thanks again for reading our posts, making comments on our blog, and most importantly, keeping Kaitlyn in your prayers!!

Love, Peace and Hope,
Lisa

Hair today gone tomorrow!!

Sorry for the delay in posting a blog its been a busy week for me with my new work schedule. So as the title says and as you can see in the pictures that I posted last weekend, I came home to cut the hair. It started falling out(or as I started referring to it has releasing) Wednesday and by Thursday morning of treatment I was pulling chunks of it out in the shower. Its funny to me the girl who has never really cared what my hair looked like, I mean I have had 7 perms and I believe one of them was also a mullet perm. How emotional it was to pull it out and watch it gather in the drain of the shower. So with that happening I called my mom to call my hairdresser Lora, who has been cutting and styling my hair from my first haircut to schedule an appointment with her to cut it this time. When we got there she washed it and started cutting, the goal being to cut it short and see how that looked. Well while she was cutting it I could tell that even wearing it short it was still going to be releasing and I just didn't want to deal with that so I made the decision then to just have Lora shave it off. The chemo might have started the process of my hair releasing, but I finished it with deciding when and how it was going to go. So some tears and hugs later I had my bald head.

This past week as been a little rough on me, I have never been really sick before. Yes I have had the occasional cold, but nothing that I haven't been able to push through. So with that being said one of the side effects of the chemo is fatigue, and I thought before we started treatment "Oh fatigue so I'll feel like I need a nap and it will pass no big deal". Boy was I wrong, my whole body feels heavier and like I'm dragging just to get through a day. I'm not trying to complain because it could be sooo much worse I just want to help people have a better idea of what its like to have this disease and what is actually happening to my body. So I've made it through another week and another treatment down. Only 2 more of the A/C treatments left and that's good. I'm taking it treatment by treatment.

My final thought is there is a lot of things that I can't control right now, but the one thing that I can control is my attitude in how I deal with everything. So I choose to have a positive outlook on everything and stay as positive as I can. Yes I have my days where I cry, yell, or am just angry and I allow myself to feel that way and then I get right back in the game and start fighting again with my humor.

So three days of work this week and then round 3 of treatment, I'm sure the nurses, as all of you, are anxiously waiting to see what type of orange I wear Thursday! :) I'll make sure mom takes lots of pictures as well.

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

The Journey Thus Far

It's been a busy few days since either Kaitlyn or I posted on her blog. Let me fill you in. Last weekend Kaitlyn was home for the Fulton County Relay-for-Life. Our family has always been involved in the Relay. My mom, Kaitlyn's grandma, is a breast cancer survivor. My brother-in-law, Dave Fincher, cancer survivor. Brad's dad, Kaitlyn's Grandpa Thomas, also a cancer survivor. We lost my grandmother to breast cancer and Brad's brother, Chris, to leukemia. My Uncle Dick just passed away last week from lung cancer. To say my family has been effected by cancer is a vast understatement. So, what does a family who has been touched by cancer that much do? We Relay!!

Kaitlyn received a phone call Saturday afternoon asking her to be the torch bearer for the opening lap of the relay. There was no way she was going to turn that offer down. The University of Tennessee has a statue on that campus. It's called "The Torch Bearer" The statue depicts volunteerism and the man is carrying a lighted torch. Like I said, there was no way she was turning down that offer! She opened the relay leading the other survivors in the first lap around the track. She walked with her Grandma Dittman and her Uncle, Dave Fincher. The Rochester Sentinel made them stars by posting their picture on the front page of Monday's paper. Kaitlyn got to carry the torch again that evening when they did the Luminary Lap. If you have never been to the relay, the Luminary Lap is especially touching. The track is dark except for all the lit luminary bags that circle it. Kaitlyn was very pleased and honored to see her name on some of those bags. A big thank you to any and all who dedicated a bag to her. She was deeply touched.

Today we were back in Indy for round 2 of chemo. It seemed to go quicker this time around and we were done in a little over 2 hours. That was still plenty of time for some of Kaitlyn's softball team members to teach her and her Aunt Yvonne how to play Rummy. So thanks Mama Trudy, Lauren and Tracy for all of your guidance and Kris for just being there to support us. We enjoyed you all. Scott was there too and was very helpful in deciphering Kaitlyn's blood work results for us. Turns out that chemistry degree is really coming in handy for the rest of us, who knew?!

Kaitlyn is feeling pretty well. She tires easily and was slightly ticked off that 4 laps around the high school track last Saturday was all her body would allow. And of course, has is the case with chemo, she's losing her hair. It's been a shock to her how upsetting that has turned out to be. She has even shed a couple of tears about it. I tell you this to let you know that she does have her moments. But, then she dries her eyes and gets back to the business at hand. Today at chemo she arrived in a beautiful orange scarf (courtesy of the Shafer's)an orange cardigan, watch and her toes were painted orange as well. I mean if you are going to have chemo, why not look and feel your best! The nurses all came in to check her out and they loved loved the orange scarf. What can I say, my girl can sure rock the color orange. Oddly enough, I was surprised the first time they drew blood from her. I was certain it would be the color orange but it turns out her blood is just as red as the rest of us!

So next week is our "off" week and Kaitlyn is going to try out a new work schedule that will give her a little more flexibility. Can't say enough good things about the Hartford. They sure have been super to her thru this whole process. She's coming home this weekend courtesy of her brother. We've got a few things to take care of. Thanks again for reading our blog, writing your comments and most importantly, just caring about her. You all keep praying and she'll continue fighting!

Love, Peace and Hope,
Lisa