Wow - I am way behind on posting here. Sorry about that.

The surgeon removed Lynn’s drain tube Monday, May 11 and said everything looks good so far. Lynn is still feeling a bit sore and there is some residual swelling, but removing the tube was a big relief.

Lynn's first radiation treatment is today (June 9th). She will receive 33 treatments; the last will occur July 24th.

Lynn reported that getting her tattoos hurt (they mark target points for radiation), so adding a creative design to them is out of the question. Too bad.

Lynn's hair is growing back, though not as quickly as she would like. It is about 1/2" long now.

We appreciate all the calls, e-mails, cards, letters and flowers (beautiful flowers from Fresno!). Your support continues to be a tremendous blessing.

Doctors can stitch up a wound, but God heals.

Doctors administer Chemo, perform surgery, and expose wayward cells to radiation, but God cures the disease.

Lynn's surgeon called Lynn late yesterday with some news. The pathology report on the tissues removed during her April 23 surgery is complete. The results are in.

There are no living cancer cells in any of the tissues they removed. None. All of the cancer cells are dead. What this means is that Lynn's prognosis for a complete recovery is now extremely high. Praise God.

I don't know why God chooses to heal some and not others - we have experienced both sides of this - but I do know that if miracles were commonplace they would cease to be miracles.

We are thankful for this miracle.

Surgery went well (as well as a surgery can) today. Lynn was released early and made it home by about 4:30 this afternoon. She is sore and tired, but glad to be home.

They did a lumpectomy, and removed some lymph nodes.

We are waiting for the pathology report on the tissues they removed today. The report should be done by our next doctor’s visit – May 4th or 5th. Our hope is that the report shows no living cancer cells. There remains a 30% chance that Lynn will need at least one additional surgery, and we will know more in about ten days.

Lynn has about a five-week recovery period, and then radiation will begin. We do not know how long radiation will last, but it will probably be 4-6 weeks.

We anticipate a “done” date for the entire treatment to be around August 1.


Then, we get back to doing this:

Lynn kayaking, Union Valley Reservoir, April 2008 - almost one year ago today.

Quoting from a book she read, Lynn said recently “Anyone who calls cancer a “gift” will not be invited to my birthday party.”

Lynn is slowly recovering from her last round of Chemo, and she is very excited about being “done with that”.

We met with the surgeon on Monday, March 23, and Lynn decided that, all things considered, having the lumpectomy is the best choice. It was a difficult decision to make.

Surgery is scheduled for Thursday, April 23 at Sutter General. Lynn will probably stay in the hospital overnight, but she may be released the same day – depending on how things work out. Lynn’s preference is to come home as quickly as possible.

Radiation will follow the surgery, but we do not have any details on that just yet.

Lynn has a few weeks to heal from the Chemo and recover some blood cells before surgery.


Her recovery continues to be aided in large part by your visits, calls, cards, e-mails and prayers.


We sincerely appreciate the kindness and generosity everyone has shared with us these past few months.

The last chemo (we hope) was on Monday, March 16. Lynn is still tired and has joint aches from it, but knowing she will not be going back is a big relief.

Overall, this is going quite well. The tumor has shrunk significantly, and Lynn’s lymph nodes have returned to normal size. These are certainly encouraging signs.

We meet with the surgeon on Monday, March 23 to discuss surgical options and schedule the surgery. We will post an update when we have a surgery date.

Hello everyone:

Lynn felt nearly normal last week, just prior to her latest round of Chemo. She did have Chemo yesterday (Monday, March 2). Chemo went well, and she feels tired today, but otherwise OK.

The new Chemo concoction has a few interesting side effects, the most notable of which is bouts of sudden – and intense – itchiness on various parts of her body. Arms, neck, back, etc – you name it and she has had an itch there. Antihistamines have helped reduce these symptoms a great deal, but they do not completely go away. When I got home from work the other day I greeted her by saying “Hi honey, I bet you’re just itching to tell me how your day has been. Why don’t you start from scratch?” Being housebound can reduce some people’s sense of humor…

Lynn’s next (and hopefully last) Chemo is scheduled for Monday, March 16th. That will be the last one to scratch off the list.

We meet with the surgeon the following Monday, March 23, to discuss surgical options. They are going to perform some imaging of the tumor site to determine how much tissue to remove and how best to perform the surgery. One of the options that Lynn has to decide is to opt for a lumpectomy (removing the tumor and some surrounding tissue), mastectomy (removing the entire breast), or bilateral mastectomy (removing both breasts). Each procedure has its own pros and cons. The lumpectomy would be the least invasive and have the quickest recovery, while the bilateral mastectomy would give the highest guarantee that the cancer would not recur in either breast. This will be a very difficult decision.

We would again like to thank everyone for the meals, visits, calls, cards, and e-mails. We cherish each and every one.

Our friend Karen C. shared with us a passage out of the book of Habakkuk in the Bible.
Habakkuk, witnessing the injustices and evil acts being committed all around him, asks God why He does not intervene in these events. Habakkuk is wrestling with issues of faith common to us today – namely, how a loving and just God, who is sovereign over all events, can withhold intervention and delay justice by allowing evil to continue. God answers Habakkuk (no plot spoilers here – you’ll have to read it for yourself), and the answers leave Habakkuk assured that we can trust God in the midst of any circumstances, regardless of how bleak things appear. With this background, here is what Habakkuk wrote:

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes me as surefooted as a deer;
he brings me safely over the mountains.

-Habakkuk 3:17-19

_________

Special request:

We would like to ask folks to please pray for the Jones family of Lodi. Their 16-yr old daughter, Stephanie, was critically injured in a vehicle collision Friday night and remains in intensive care at the UC Davis Medical Center. Your prayers for the family - and for Stephanie specifically - are greatly needed and appreciated. Thank you.

Lynn finished chemo treatment # 6 of 8 today. Only two more to go!

Treatment #7 will be on Monday, March 2nd and #8 (and final) will be on Monday, March 16th.

Lynn is feeling much better today than she was last week, the elusive infection now a thing of the past. The side effects of today’s chemo will likely hit on Wednesday or Thursday, but may dissipate over a few days.

Fatigue remains her constant companion, though all things considered, it could be much worse.

I will post updates as things progress, but I am hoping to not have a reason to post until next week.

We appreciate the meals, visits, cards, calls, and e-mails everyone has so generously given us.

Lynn is back home!!

She escaped the confines of the hospital today, albeit via a painstakingly slow process.

She feels much better, and has a new regime of antibiotics to take that we are hoping will finish-off whatever was ailing her. We still do not have a definitive answer on what the infection was, but we have experienced medical mysteries before and we’re just glad that she is doing so much better that she was able to come home.

Lynn still has her cough (though nobody really knows why), and she becomes winded walking short distances (very short – like across a room), so she will not be going on any outdoors walks for a while.

She is also going to have to avoid large groups of people, particularly in confined spaces, where germs are easily transmitted. We need her to stay healthy enough to complete the next three rounds of chemo.

Thank you all again for all the cards and calls – we appreciate it.

Hi everyone.

Lynn’s respiratory infection was not responding to the antibiotics prescribed by her doctor. She is now in Sutter General Hospital where they are going to administer antibiotics via IV, and run some additional tests.

She is alert and optimistic – just very ill.

We hope her stay is brief, and I will post additional information as things develop.

*** Monday 8:20 pm update below ***

They do not know what kind of infection Lynn has. They do not think it is pneumonia and they say it does not look like her illness is caused by a respiratory infection, but there is some type of serious infection her body is fighting.

They are testing for some other things now (like bacteremia), but culture results will not be available for a couple of days. At this point they say Lynn will be in the hospital for "a day or two".

She is very tired and sleeps all but about 3-4 hours a day so having visitors would not be a good idea. She needs her rest.

I will post additional updates as soon as anything changes.

*** Tuesday Feb 10th 7:30 AM Update below ***

Lynn was moved from ER to a room at 1am. She got to sleep around 2am, but they came in and gave her meds around 4am so she is not getting the rest she needs. She is trying to nap a bit this morning.

Lynn cannot have flowers in her room (which is a bummer because she loves flowers), and has made a "no visitors please" request because she is so exhausted. We remain optimistic that her stay will be brief and I will continue to post updates/changes as information develops.

For those of you who know, today is Andrea's 14th birthday, so being in the hospital is particularly difficult for Lynn.

*** Tuesday Feb 10th 11:30 AM Update below ***

Lynn's fever has not dropped, but her blood cell count is looking better. They are still speculating on what is wrong, with three doctors giving three different opinions (maybe that's why they call it practicing medicine).

Lynn is trying to rest, so we have the phone to her room unplugged and she has requested no visitors. Feel free to send us a text or e-mail, Lynn responds when she is awake and I respond when it occurs to me to check and see if I have any messages. I can access both Lynn's and my surewest e-mail accounts from the hospital.

The clinical speculations aside, doctors are estimating that they will be able to send Lynn home sometime Thursday. Shelby and I are looking forward to having her home again.

If you see Shelby, please give her a big hug. She's a strong person, but could use a little extra support. It's hard on her seeing her mom this sick, and she is the only family member that she recalls leaving the hospital alive (when she broke her collar bone), and I'm sure these memories weigh heavily upon her mind.

Lynn's parents could use some encouragement as well. They do not have the extensive support network that we do, and they are sick with worry - as you can well imagine. You can text or e-mail me for their phone number if you don't have it. I am sure they would appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you all for your kind words of support. We do appreciate each of you very much.

*** Tuesday Feb 10th 10:00 PM Update below ***

Lynn received a blood transfusion this evening, and by the time the first unit was almost complete (she received two), she was looking much better. She said she felt better as well. Chronic fatigue has plagued Lynn the past two weeks - a result of the chemo-induced anemia commonly experienced by cancer patients. This boost of extra blood has somewhat lifted this fatigue and will enable her body to function more efficiently for the time being.

She did not have the spiking fever this evening either, a likely result of the intravenous antibiotics she has been receiving. Her congestion remains, but her chronic cough has diminished as well.

I will post an update in the morning after I see her and have a chance to talk to the doctors.

Hello everyone:

Lynn has been very sick this week. On Wednesday, she ran a fever and showed signs of a respiratory infection. Her doctor prescribed an antibiotic (along with some cough syrup and an inhaler to clear her lungs). Her fever increased to 102 on Thursday, and her breathing became labored going into Friday as the respiratory infection worsened.

I took her to the Oncologist’s office Friday morning and a chest x-ray revealed congestion in one lung, but it had not (yet) developed into pneumonia. There were no signs of any tumors in the lungs either, for which we are thankful.

The doctor prescribed an additional antibiotic Friday. Lynn slept nearly 16 hours from early Friday evening going into Saturday, and seemed to be doing better on Saturday afternoon, though she still felt exhausted.

After another long rest Saturday from evening into Sunday, she looked better Sunday morning around 9, but shortly after noon her fever was back up – it hit 102 again. Her breathing continues to be labored and rapid; after walking across a room she looks like she just did a 3-mile run at a good pace.

If she has not made marked improvement by Monday morning we are going to go back to the doctor’s office and see what other options we have.

Here is a picture I took of Lynn and Shelby a week before Lynn began chemo treatments:

Hello everyone.

Sorry about our negligence in updating the blog.

Lynn received her fourth and final round of a Chemo combination known as “AC” on Monday, January 19th. She was able to bounce back from the first three treatments within 7-10 days of the infusion, but she did not completely recover from this fourth one. She continued to feel “dragged down and wrung out” from it, and is glad that regime is over.

Two days ago, on Monday, February 2nd, Lynn had the first round of her next Chemo drug (a combination that includes Taxol plus some other stuff with long names). She will receive four rounds total of this combination administered every other Monday (same schedule). Her final Chemo treatment (we hope it will be her final one) will be on Monday, March 16th.

When they give Lynn the chemo, they administer a couple of drugs that have drowsiness as a side effect. She usually starts drifting off after 30-45 minutes and sleeps through much of the infusion process unless the room is noisy. Watching her fade away always reminds me of the Pink Floyd song “Comfortably Numb”.

Lynn is going to undergo testing for a genetic alteration to her BRCA genes (there is a 1 and a 2 – you can Google it) to determine if hers is a hereditary form of breast cancer. Knowing this will help guide surgical decisions (lumpectomy vs. mastectomy). If Lynn tests positive, we will have our daughter Shelby tested as well.

Lynn does not feel well this week. She is running a mild fever, possibly due to a cold or some type of viral infection. It is definitely a respiratory issue. Her joints ache as well, but this is likely due to the Taxol (muscle and join aches are a common side effect of Taxol). In short, she feels crappy.

We have received several WONDERFUL meals from many of you, and I want to say thank you very, very much. We so appreciate it.

We also appreciate all the visits, cards, calls, and e-mails. We owe a big thanks as well to all the walking partners who have accompanied Lynn. She would not have made it this far (or that far) without you.

Mike is suffering from time constraints and “bloggers block”, so the blogging duties have fallen to me. I’m not quite as entertaining as Mike, but hope to provide you with some updated details just the same.

On Monday, we saw the Oncologist prior to chemo and received more good news. The tumor has shrunk more from just two weeks prior. In addition, one very enlarged lymph node can no longer be felt at all. YAHOO! The Dr. explained that the tumor may not shrink more as it is possible that the cancer is gone, but the remnants of dead tissue (from the cancer) remain. During surgery, this tissue will be removed, along with level one and two lymph nodes. Further testing will then take place. It has not yet been determined if I will need a lumpectomy or mastectomy. Not to take away from the excellent medical care I am receiving, but my sense is that God will make this path and decision clear when it is necessary. He is, after all, in charge of all of this. I am trying to remain focused on the “next thing”, which at this point is getting through the remaining Chemo treatments.

After the Dr. appointment, we were very happy to mark off Chemo #3. Shelby accompanied Mike and I. I felt very supported to have both of them with me. You all know that Mike is the love of my life, soul mate and strength. You may not know of the strength of character that Shelby, at age 16, has also demonstrated – she is not afraid to do the hard stuff - I am so proud of her. God has richly blessed me with Mike and Shelby.

I will have one more chemo round with the drug that I’ve had thus far. Treatments 5-8 will be with another drug. I’m hoping that I am as fortunate to weather the new drug with continued mild side affects. I’ve yet to have any nausea and have additional drugs that I could take had this occurred. The next drug is supposed to cause more fatigue and body aches – all very doable. I am very grateful and Praise the Lord constantly for a shrinking tumor, lymph node and such mild side effects!

A book was recommended by Joy Stevans (thanks Joy!) at our church called “Praying through Cancer – Setting Your Heart Free from Fear” , this little gem offers 90 days of short devotionals that has been of tremendous comfort to me. One that I would like to share is found on page 14/15 and is written by Sister Sue Tracy a Hospital Oncology Chaplain suffering from non-Hodgkins Lymphoma – her niece writes her telling her she wants the “Big C” (Christ that is) to conquer the ‘little c” (cancer). I thought this was a wonderful reminder that Christ is always the Big C – regardless of any of our life’s circumstances. Instant perspective! Later in the written prayer – Sister Tracy writes, “Help me focus on You as my “Big C” ready to crush and triumph over the “little c” that I am coping with now. Above all, I deeply desire that You are praised in this experience. If I can be assured of this, all that is happening is worthwhile for my growth and your glory”. I wish I had the eloquence to write these words, but nonetheless, this is also my prayer in overcoming cancer, and to the extent possible the heartache of Andrea’s death.

Many thanks to those whom have brought meals, sent emails, commented on the blog and my walking partners! Many blessings have been shown us through our wonderful support network of dear friends! Please continue the prayer support for destruction of all cancer cells, continued ease of chemo treatments, wisdom on the “next step”, and strength and peace for my wonderful husband, daughter and parents.

Much love to all,
Lynn