Treatment #6 11-19-08

Another strong week for Rachel.... This was her 6th of 8 treatments and she had it on Wednesday and spent ... came home and laid low for a couple of days...then a weekend in Kansas City. Went to the PSU-NW MO game on Saturday and returned home that night. Still going to class and working a bit at the Love Bubble Coffee Shop.

Her overall energy is lower, but she is resting when needed and learning to pace herself pretty good.

As always, we're pretty amazed at her approach to all of this!

Treatment #5 11-5-08

Rachel took her 5th of 8 treatments on Wednesday. She handled it well and has rested much of Thursday.  She went through 2 tests prior to this treatment...since she is at the midway point of this round of chemo. The tests are for checking heart pumping and lung capacities. One of the drugs she is taking can negatively affect heart pumping for the long term, but her capacity level is well above the danger point (low danger point is 50/Rachel is at 65-70). Her lung capacity can also be affected long term since another of the drugs can create "fibrosis" in the lungs and cause breathing problems later in life. This number is still above the danger low level... but her number does cause the doctor to monitor it closely. She only has one more treatment with this particular drug and he will discontinue after her 6th treatment...and he feels there will be no long term damage to her lungs.  

This is the dilemma with cancer killing drugs.... you have to cure the body and rid it of the disease, but these are powerful drugs and some can cause long term damage to the body if not properly administrated.

Rachel's white blood count remains high after last weeks booster (neuprogen) shot... the doctor will continue to give that every 16 days...

We're getting closer to the end of this round.... Her hair has thinned quite a bit, so she shaved her head this week!  She put on one of the wigs we got her and she looks great!! Just like her hair is normally and her spirits picked up quite a bit as a result.  She said getting ready after a shower is so much easier than messing with her real hair!!  She has not lost any eyebrows or lashes.... She was supposed to lose her hair in week 2 and she still had some... we're hoping she won't lose any more.

She is starting back to work in the coffee shop.... and continues to be an inspiration to all of us!

Thanks for your prayers.... they're working !!! 

Treatment #4 10-22-08

Rachel had her 4th treatment last Wednesday.... we're halfway through Phase I of her treatments. Had the normal reaction... pretty tired for a few days... then she starts to bounce back a bit. On Thursday she had another Neuprogen shot to boost her white blood cell count which had again gotten quite low. I think the shot does as much to make her tired and sore as anything else. Rachel also had a flu shot... all of the family has to do this now... Kelly and Jan have had theirs... Eric and I get ours this week.

We celebrated Rachels 20th birthday on Friday... she was  a bit down that day... but we went to El Charro for Mexican... her choice!  She perked up quite a bit... later some of her friends came by and they all had a fun evening. On Saturday, she didn't go to Hays to watch Tyler play at Ft. Hays.. she stayed home and rested. That night she went to a wedding reception for a couple of hours. Sunday she and Jan went to exchange a couple of birthday gifts in Joplin. She is resting more, but will be back to normal by Tuesday.....

All in all, she is really handling this like a pro.... upbeat, positive and an inspiration to all. Rachel also wanted me to say how much she appreciates the cards and motivational stuff many of you send her!!!

Update on Eric: Eric's MRI and CT scans were returned. Doctor said he does not need knee surgery... good news!  Also, his collar bone was broken in several places instead of one??? But, all the various pieces have reset themselves in the proper alignment... so no surgery needed there as well!!  He can return to work with limited duty now... full duty in 3 weeks.

Treatment #3 10-8-08

Rachel had her third treatment today... going pretty well... she was up and around this evening with friends. She gets tired on treatment day and for the next 48 hours... then starts to bounce back. She is supposed to work on Thursday, but will probably stay home and rest. She is still going to class daily.

Had a consultation with her oncologist before the treatment and received some encouraging news. As we said in an earlier post, her white cell count was low and the fighter cells, which are a percentage of the overall white blood cell count, were extremely low. Last treatment her cell count was 3.0  (normal range is 5.0 to 10.0) and her fighter cells were .25 (normal range is 2.0 to 5.0). We were told she would not receive chemo with this number below 1.5 and she was given the 2nd treatment anyway. Welllll... last treatment they also gave her a drug that boosts her white cell count... the side affects can be pretty painful and Rach had a tough few days after that shot with some severe body pain. The shot was successful though... this week prior to the 3rd treatment... white cell count is now 14!!! and the fighter count is 7.5!!! really dramatic, positive increase... the doctor says she will receive this booster shot each treatment from her on, but he will decrease the dosage and hopefully some of the painful side affects.

Doctor is encouraged by her progress and so are we!! She's a tough cookie!!

Side Note:  Eric is better.... going to class again and starting to move around again...

10-1-08 Update

For awhile more... it's an Eric and Rachel posting.... Eric is getting better. He went to an orthopedic doctor this week. Eric will need an MRI and CT scan for his shoulder and knee. Doctor thinks his knee has cartilage damage and his shoulder may be separated and possibly not broken. But despite all of this, he's much better and off pain medications... getting out and about.

Rachel's booster shot to increase her white blood cell count has helped. Her weekly blood test showed an improvement in that area and the doctor is much less concerned. She has had a couple of bad moments this week with pretty bad back pain, headaches and body aches from the booster shot. Those are side affects she was told about... but she's better this weekend and is in KC for the Pitt State - NW Missouri game at Arrowhead. She has not slowed down a bit on schedule... but she does rest more in between classes, work and activities.  She also comes in earlier on "party" nights....  

All in all, she's been quite inspiring.... Her 3rd treatment is scheduled for this coming Wednesday.... 

Tough Day 9-23

Pretty tough day yesterday.... Rachel seems to be okay, but had to get a Neuprogen shot. That shot stimulates her bone marrow to produce more of the white blood cells that are quite low. Shot went fine... the side effect is pretty bad bone pain the next 24-48 hours, primarily in the sternum, hips and shoulders where much of your marrow is produced... 

but the additional tough part was with her brother Eric... he works for the City of Pittsburg part time while going to school. At 3pm yesterday, his boss showed up at my work to inform me that Eric had been in a work related accident. He was on a mowing tractor on a steep incline and the mower rolled downhill. Eric was able to jump off enough to keep from being crushed, but was injured. The tractor rolled to the bottom of the incline, about 80 feet and Eric fell down the hill about 50 or so. He luckily had his phone in his pocket... pushed his "send" button, which dials his last call and that happened to be his boss. EMT and Police showed up right away and he went to the hospital. He broke his left collarbone and has numerous cuts on the left side. His right leg has a deep puncture wound that can't be stitched and it has to bleed out and will heal..plus his left knee is pretty messed up. He can hardly walk on it. We will see an Orthopedic doctor on Friday or Monday.  I went over the to site of the accident last night, and I don't want to be overly dramatic here, but Eric is lucky to be alive. It is a very steep incline and he could have easily been crushed had he not jumped off in the correct direction. Normally you are supposed to wear a seat belt on those tractors, but Eric did not have his on... that is what saved him.

Eric is at home... as you can imagine... very sore....but he'll be okay in a week or so... you can't set collarbones, just immobilize them as best you can... it broke where the bone attaches to the sternum... so you can see the break push up towards his skin when he moves in the wrong way... pretty painful!  It will start to reattach within a few days.... we'll keep you posted on his progress as well.

Jan and I took the day off today... I went to the liquor store as soon as it opened this morning and purchased a fifth of vodka... we hope to be drunk by mid-afternoon.... 

Our house is a hospital ward right now... but again "this too shall pass"

Despite all of this... it really could've been a lot worse...

We know we're in your thoughts and prayers and we are very appreciative. 

Treatment #2 9-22-08

Rachel spent last weekend hanging out... went to St. Joe on Saturday with girlfriends to watch Pitt State play.... Her attitude is really great... expecting complete recovery and acts like nothing has changed in her life!

Rachel had her 2nd treatment yesterday...  Took an entire entourage with her... I think she actually would like to go with her friends and sister... Jan and I ask too many questions??!

On to the treatment....the part of her blood count (Neutrophil) that fights infection was pretty low yesterday.  Last week they told us if her Neutrophil count was 1.5 or lower they probably wouldn't give her chemo.  Last week  (her off week) it was at 1.6 and this week  it was   0.2 !!!  Very low-----they surprised us and went ahead with her treatment  - because they really don't want get behind.  Her other blood counts were pretty good, so that is probably why they went ahead with chemo.   She will get a shot today to boost her white blood cell count.    She feels fine, but is staying in for a couple days since she is so susceptible to infection right now.

Typically... the chemo wipes out your white cells... your body replaces them...The nurses told us that Rachel will probably be one that her cell count drops later in the 2-week treatment cycle rather that earlier.   

2 down..... 6 to go!!