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

I'M BACK!!!!

I'm back!!! I know its been a while since my mom or I updated, but today is the first day that I have started to feel like myself again, you'll have to excuse my rambles today. So chemo was less climatic than I though it would be. The nurses there are great and really take the time to walk me through what they were doing and what I would feel like. I also had more people there than the other patients receiving treatment, I know I probably shouldn't be keeping score but I'm competitive about everything. :) Friday was a normal day for me, didn't really feel any different. I was able to work the whole day and even went out and watched my softball team play Friday night.

I was in Rochester for the remaining of the weekend and noticed Saturday and Sunday that I had little to no energy and just really tired. I made it to the Bridal Shower and had a great time, with all of the excitement of that had to take a nap when we got home. Then went out on the boat with my parents and their friends for a boat cruise which was a blast. Sunday, I spent the day with my parents and took my dad out for lunch for father's day!

I've gone to work this entire week, I had waves of nausea hit me and some heart burn but other than that I've felt fine. Yesterday I hit what they call nadir, which pretty much means my low point. Basically having to do with my blood counts going low which is why I have to give myself a shot 24 hours after i have chemo so it can help with that nadir and balance me out. Yes, you read right I have to give MYSELF a shot, the girl who hates everything needles is putting one into my own body. I was at work when I did it and i dragged my best friend who happens to work with me into the big bathroom stall with me. I told her, her only job was to yell "DO IT" until I actually did it. I'm sure it would have been funny to anyone else who walked into the bathroom to hear her yelling at me to "DO IT"! :)

I'm finally starting to feel like myself again today and feel like I'm back on the upswing of things. I'm planning on being back in Rochester for the weekend, its the Relay For Life in Rochester. I plan on being there and walking the survivor lap with my grandma, uncle Dave and all the other survivors who have faced this challenge head on and won! I plan to be added to that number one day very soon!

So until next time, I will continue to fight the good fight and stay on my course of action!! :) I just want to thank everyone again for all the well wishes, cards and letters. I don't know how you all got my address but thank you thank you for all the cards they are all hanging up in my room for me to see everyday when I get home!

Peace, Love and Hope
Kaitlyn

Game Day

It's a pretty appropriate title for a young woman who has been an athlete all her life. Today was a "Cancer Day" and you know what that means....mom gets to blog.

When we went for our consultation with Kaitlyn's Oncologist, Dr Newton, she told us we could bring things that would make the chemo process easier for Kaitlyn. So, we packed a bag (a big orange and white bag) with all of her creature comforts. There was her Tennessee blanket, her I-pod, magazines, some choice candy and her big water bottle. It was like gathering her equipment to participate in any athletic event.

The first thing to happen was the nurse hooked Kaitlyn up to an intravenous tube thru her port. They hung some anti-nausea medicine and some steroids and let them drip thru. They do this before administering any chemo drugs. Once those are thru, they hung a bag of saline to keep her hydrated and began the chemo. The first chemo drug, Adriamycin, was pushed thru her port. The nurses had Kaitlyn eat a popsicle and chew on ice chips. This is to offset the effects of this drug, which can lead to mouth sores. Kaitlyn, of course, chose an orange popsicle. It's like selecting which bat you use during a softball game.

Because you push the Adriamycin slowly its takes a while to finish the portion of the treatment. On a side note, this drug is bright red and the nurse kept referring to it as the "red devil". Kaitlyn, not being in favor of that, began calling it fruit punch. I liken it to her version of trash talking someone on the basketball court.

Last drug for the day was Cytoxan. It was hung from the IV pole and took probably about 45 minutes for that one to complete. They pulled the iv tube out of her port, put a band-aide over the port and got her ready to go. We packed all her belongings back into her chemo bag and after making our next appointment, we were ready to roll. It's kind of like finishing a volleyball match with a kill.

I don't really know if my sports analogies are any good or not. What I do know is this, Kaitlyn stayed strong thru the whole process. She even learned how to give herself a shot. Twenty-four hours after chemo completes she has to take a shot of Neulasta. It will help rebuild her depleted white blood cell count.

So, she's home resting tonight. Heading to work in the morning. She'll be home again this weekend. We have Lindsey Overmyer's wedding shower to attend and, of course, celebrate Father's Day with her amazing Dad.

Next week we have a break. Kaitlyn is hoping to actually work 5 whole days. Her next chemo doesn't happen until July 1st. Today went well, Kaitlyn did great and it was like a small victory for her. If her Dad had been there, he would have smacked her on the butt and told her "Good Game"!

Keep Praying!

Love, Peace and Hope,
Kaitlyn's Mom

Great News

Yesterday was a "cancer day" and that involved more tests and then speaking with the oncologist and taking a tour of the infusion facilty. The first test I got to do was a CT scan for which I had to have an IV started for that. So they used my port and that was very interesting to say the least. I had to drink this awful orange drink for my CT scan, but no worries I took it like a champ and drank the entire thing. I still can't look at orange gatorade the same now but thats another story. I walk into the room for my scan and they tell me what is going to happen and they have to inject this dye into my IV and then the guy tells me what that will feel like his words excatly "You will feel a burning sensation that sarts in your throat and works its way down your body then you will feel like your peeing yourself but trust me you aren't"! My reaction was I don't want to do this test, but I did and yes after he injected the dye it felt like I was peeing myself but I promise I did not in fact pee myself. I was glad when that test was over. The next test was a bone density test piece of cake I just laid on my back and took a nap while this machine scaned my body.

The outcome from these tests was the best part: No cancer in the bones or anywhere else in my body. So all we have to concentrate on is the lymph nodes and the tumor that is in my boob. This was a great thing to hear, and a huge positive for me!!

After that we met with my oncologist and went over the next 5 months of my chemo treatment. Looks like for the first 2 months I will do 8 weeks of chemo every 2 weeks. After the 8 weeks are done then I will do 12 weeks of a different dosage every week. Yay!! :) So Merry Christmas to me I will have a mastectomy!! Or you can look at it this way by Christmas I will be cancer free!!

So chemo starts Thursday and thats the next hurdle that I have to face, the good thing is it looks like I will only be there Thursday for about 2 hours and not 4hrs. Yay!! and they have prescribed me a ton of anti-naesua medicine so hopefully I won't feel sick Thursday or Friday.

So thats what is going on this week, Im back at work today and tomorrow and hopefully Friday. It is a great distraction to my day and Im glad to be back to work. So everyone have a great week, and either my mom or I will be back Thursday to update you on "chemo day"

Peace, Hope and Love
Kaitlyn