It’s been a while since we had an update, but in this case, no news is good news. Allison has just completed three week of radiation (every weekday) and it went pretty well. She can definitely feel the radiation as it is being pumped into her, but overall she has felt quite good. We shall see how it continues to go through the course of her treatment. If it is like chemotherapy, she will continue to get progressively more tired as the treatment schedule progresses.
Right now, she is starting to feel a little more of the cumulative effects of the treatment, so we are scheduling meals to be brought in on Mondays and Thursdays for the majority of March. Log in to her calendar at http://www.carecalendar.org, using the Helper Login of 23876 and the Security Code of 8103 to sign up for a date.
Allison continues to be so grateful for all the rides for herself to the radiation appointments and in transporting the kids to and fro. It has helped so much. There has been many times she has not been able to get home from the hospital in time to transfer Mackenzie. The help for the other kids after school has also been much appreciated.
Who could ask for a better community of friends to help and rescue during this difficult year. You are all the best.
For those of you who are interested, here are some of the interesting facts she has learned recently from her caregivers and also from experiencing it for 3 weeks:
1. All but a few mastectomy patients have the same dosage of radiation. There is a certain amount that they can give you. It is the angles/arch and positioning of the dose that are fingerprinted just to you. The recipe can vary slightly throughout the course of treatment, but they put a big screen up on the wall and it will list numbers. Some of Allison’s are 94.7/11.4, plus 3 other big numbers. This relates to the radiation somehow. It is interesting how they get you positioned. She have 2 different angles and has found that the one that comes directly over the chest wall doesn't bother her as much. The other one comes in on the side of her chest, under her arm and seems less protected and that is the one she really can feel.
2. You don't always feel the radiation. But when you do it is a weird feeling of a burning going through you. They do put on a special bandage over the chest to protect and help absorb some of the radiation. The most intense spots are where the beam directly goes into the body. The bandage is thick/gauze/ and jelly-like. It takes longer to set/position her with the machine, then program in the other numbers, and put in the beam reflectors than it takes to actually have the treatment.
3. With each treatment they take pictures so they know exactly what is going on. The doctor told Allison that she has a textbook perfect score so far. He gave her an A+ for her ability to relax and lay still long enough for a treatment. The machine calculates for breathing but twitching and moving will adversely affect the treament. By moving you put your vital organs at risk. Holding still and relaxing put you in less than a 1% risk.
4. Only 10% of all cancer patients have the molecular structure that Allison has. It just happens to be the exact make-up that chemo loves to kill. Chemo works at different degrees and percentages for almost all cancer, but Allison was told she just happens to be the best "BANG FOR IT'S BUCK." She also has a (HER 2+) and the chemo I will need to be taking until October (Herception) kills this variety very well. Herception has only been around for almost 10 years. So they tell me that if she had this type of cancer 15 to 20 ago she would NOT have had a very good chance of survival.
5. Sometimes it seems like the beams are on longer and/or shorter. This does not affect the amount of radiation she gets. An example would be if all the air conditioners were on pulling a lot of electricity, the machine would not be able to put out as much in the normal time and would adjust to deliver the dosage amount of radiation and stop when that was reached.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Long-awaited Update
We apologize for not sending out an update sooner. This most recent 12-week series of chemo treatments has been rather exhausting, but it comes to an end next Tuesday, December 29. The treatments have been weekly, with a “harder” treatment every third week. Allison has been very tired throughout this whole series; the hard treatment every third week really knocked her out for about a week to 10 days each time. One of the drugs that she has been given during this round makes it so toenails and fingernails can “die,” so she is feeling very lucky to have lost only one during this time. She is also very excited to be at the end of this series of treatments!!
Allison will find out her radiation schedule on December 29. She will be on chemotherapy every three weeks from January until October, with a 6-week round of radiation thrown in, beginning probably the end of January or first part of February. The chemotherapy will be of the “lighter” variety, so she will not have to worry about the extra shots to boost the white blood count but the doctor said the energy level will be down for several more months. The radiation will be daily during the weekdays, with the weekends off, for 6 weeks. She’s told that compared to chemotherapy, radiation will seem like a “first-class upgrade,” so she is looking forward to that.
During this past 12-week series of treatments, Kirk has been taking on a lot of the cooking. They have kept meals coming in to the home at a minimum during the busy holiday season, but Kirk has been especially grateful for the meals on the days that they have been brought. The girls have also been learning how to cook. Once Allison has her radiation and chemo schedule for the next 10 months, we will plan meals and have dates available on the calendar.
On Sunday, Allison had to say goodbye to Sister Karen Fife, who, along with her husband, has completed her year of missionary service, and returned to California. Karen has literally been Allison’s right hand through all of this, driving her to chemo appointments, teaching the girls to cook, and generally being of service in every possible way. Karen’s service was greatly appreciated, and she will be sorely missed.
Allison is so very, very grateful for all who have taken on the responsibilities of shutting the kids back and forth to their various activities and commitments. Driving doesn’t seem like such a big endeavor until you try to do it when your bones ache from chemo, and you need a nap after going from the house to the car. Allison literally could not have made it through these 12 weeks without the many kind drivers, and she will continue to gratefully rely on the drivers through the coming months of treatments.
In addition to driving the kids, now that Karen is gone, Allison will need rides to her various chemo/radiation appointments. We will be setting up a schedule on the Care Calendar as soon as she knows all the dates and times. Her immediate need is for a ride to Evergreen Hospital on Tuesday, December 29. She will need to be picked up at 9 a.m., to arrive for a 9:30 a.m. appointment. The appointment will be a long one; 2.5 or 3 hours in duration, after which she will need a ride home. Please call Allison directly or leave a comment here on the blog if you can be her escort and her companion that day.
Thank you to all of you for whatever role you have played in supporting Allison and the Davis family in the months since she was diagnosed. The blessings have been marvelous and great and they are so very grateful for every act of service they have received.
Allison will find out her radiation schedule on December 29. She will be on chemotherapy every three weeks from January until October, with a 6-week round of radiation thrown in, beginning probably the end of January or first part of February. The chemotherapy will be of the “lighter” variety, so she will not have to worry about the extra shots to boost the white blood count but the doctor said the energy level will be down for several more months. The radiation will be daily during the weekdays, with the weekends off, for 6 weeks. She’s told that compared to chemotherapy, radiation will seem like a “first-class upgrade,” so she is looking forward to that.
During this past 12-week series of treatments, Kirk has been taking on a lot of the cooking. They have kept meals coming in to the home at a minimum during the busy holiday season, but Kirk has been especially grateful for the meals on the days that they have been brought. The girls have also been learning how to cook. Once Allison has her radiation and chemo schedule for the next 10 months, we will plan meals and have dates available on the calendar.
On Sunday, Allison had to say goodbye to Sister Karen Fife, who, along with her husband, has completed her year of missionary service, and returned to California. Karen has literally been Allison’s right hand through all of this, driving her to chemo appointments, teaching the girls to cook, and generally being of service in every possible way. Karen’s service was greatly appreciated, and she will be sorely missed.
Allison is so very, very grateful for all who have taken on the responsibilities of shutting the kids back and forth to their various activities and commitments. Driving doesn’t seem like such a big endeavor until you try to do it when your bones ache from chemo, and you need a nap after going from the house to the car. Allison literally could not have made it through these 12 weeks without the many kind drivers, and she will continue to gratefully rely on the drivers through the coming months of treatments.
In addition to driving the kids, now that Karen is gone, Allison will need rides to her various chemo/radiation appointments. We will be setting up a schedule on the Care Calendar as soon as she knows all the dates and times. Her immediate need is for a ride to Evergreen Hospital on Tuesday, December 29. She will need to be picked up at 9 a.m., to arrive for a 9:30 a.m. appointment. The appointment will be a long one; 2.5 or 3 hours in duration, after which she will need a ride home. Please call Allison directly or leave a comment here on the blog if you can be her escort and her companion that day.
Thank you to all of you for whatever role you have played in supporting Allison and the Davis family in the months since she was diagnosed. The blessings have been marvelous and great and they are so very grateful for every act of service they have received.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
November 3
This past week was a really tough week. The taxotere, which she receives every third week, really made Allison's bones ache. She had gastrointestinal distress and general flulike symptoms (minus the fever) and was in a lot of pain. Her medical team is working on finding some fillers and buffers to add to the taxotere next time to help alleviate the worst of the symptoms.
Today's treatment included only herceptin, her weekly drug for this 12-week cycle and also all next year. The treatment went much easier today. As of today, she is 1/4 of the way through this second round.
Thanks to all who drive Allison (and the kids) places that they need to go. She really appreciates the company during her chemotherapy. The meals have been wonderful; I hope you are all finding the Care Calendar easy to use (http:\\www.carecalendar.org; login is 23871, security code is 8103). I will be adding dinner on November 24 to the calendar today, then dates after Thanksgiving week will be added later.
Today's treatment included only herceptin, her weekly drug for this 12-week cycle and also all next year. The treatment went much easier today. As of today, she is 1/4 of the way through this second round.
Thanks to all who drive Allison (and the kids) places that they need to go. She really appreciates the company during her chemotherapy. The meals have been wonderful; I hope you are all finding the Care Calendar easy to use (http:\\www.carecalendar.org; login is 23871, security code is 8103). I will be adding dinner on November 24 to the calendar today, then dates after Thanksgiving week will be added later.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Update, October 21
Yesterday, Allison had her first of twelve weekly chemotherapy treatments. This round of treatment includes a couple of new drugs. The first drug was administered with no problems. The second drug, which was supposed to slowly drip for an hour, caused an allergic reaction of sorts. One minute she was laughing and playing games with Maggie Bentley, and the next she felt like she couldn't remember what she was doing. This was after only about 20 minutes of receiving the drug. Allison's throat closed up with tightening in the chest that it became very difficult to breathe, lost her voice and could hardly speak to communicate. Always a good thing for hand signals at this time. They were able to quickly reverse the reaction with about 4 or 5 other injections. It took about 30 minutes for her to recover. During that time she even received oxygen. Once she was recovered, she had to have an EKG to be sure there was no damage to the heart. What should have been only a few hours turned into an all-day ordeal, though in talking to Allison last night, I would have never guessed at what she had been through during the day. She was peppy and upbeat and sounded great.
Allison is still scheduled for treatment #2 next Tuesday, though at this point her doctors are unsure what drugs she will receive. Based on her allergic reaction, they need to choose another drug, and hope that her insurance company will pay for what they want to use. Allison said this is one of the most frustrating parts of the process. Being at the mercy of some pencil-pusher at a desk at an insurance company is unreal--it is her doctors who know what the best treatment options are. They should be allowed to treat the patient without fear of the insurance claim being denied.
Allison said it is frustrating hearing that her reactions from the beginning of cancer, surgery and into chemo is "an exception, highly unusual, rare, seldom occurs, not the norm." Is there really a "norm" when it comes to treating cancer? This is definitely a process--a puzzle--to find what will kill the cancer without causing too much harm to the patient! No two cancer patients are alike.
In other news, the new website for signing up for bringing meals is working very well. (In case you haven't seen the website, it is http://www.carecalendar.org. The Calendar ID is 23876 and the security code is 8103.) As ever, thanks for all your concern and support.
Allison is still scheduled for treatment #2 next Tuesday, though at this point her doctors are unsure what drugs she will receive. Based on her allergic reaction, they need to choose another drug, and hope that her insurance company will pay for what they want to use. Allison said this is one of the most frustrating parts of the process. Being at the mercy of some pencil-pusher at a desk at an insurance company is unreal--it is her doctors who know what the best treatment options are. They should be allowed to treat the patient without fear of the insurance claim being denied.
Allison said it is frustrating hearing that her reactions from the beginning of cancer, surgery and into chemo is "an exception, highly unusual, rare, seldom occurs, not the norm." Is there really a "norm" when it comes to treating cancer? This is definitely a process--a puzzle--to find what will kill the cancer without causing too much harm to the patient! No two cancer patients are alike.
In other news, the new website for signing up for bringing meals is working very well. (In case you haven't seen the website, it is http://www.carecalendar.org. The Calendar ID is 23876 and the security code is 8103.) As ever, thanks for all your concern and support.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Update, September 30
Four months ago, on May 27, Allison received her diagnosis of breast cancer. How far she has come, how much she has learned, and how much her life has changed in those 4 months!
Allison had her last chemo treatment of Round 1 on Tuesday. She is glad that this stage is over, as the last 3 weeks have been very rough. Her blood count got so low that she was very close to needing to be admitted to the hospital. She has learned--the hard way--that even running children here and there is enough to knock her completely off her feet. Thank you so much to those of you who have taken on driving the kids where they need to be. That is such a help to all the family.
Allison's plan for the coming three weeks is to lay really low, rest as much as possible, and steer clear of anyone who might be carrying germs (that, she says, is a losing battle with 5 kids in the house...she may have to lock herself in her bedroom). She's definitely in "taking care of Allison" mode, as she should be. Today, she will be receiving a shot to help maintain her blood count. Because of her low count the last couple of weeks, this shot will be 7 times the usual strength.
In the coming 3 weeks she will have another echocardiogram and a series of other appointments to get ready for Round 2 of chemo, which will begin October 20 and continue for 12 weeks. This round will have two new drugs, and she will receive one treatment per week. She's told that this round of chemo does not include the "highs and lows" as far as how good or bad she will feel. But, of course, she won't know how she will react until it happens.
The meal plan for the next phase of chemo will be to have meals provided for 3 to 4 days (Tues-Thurs or Tues-Fri) each week. Email will go out in the next week or so to start lining up meals. As she progresses into the 12-week cycle and knows what her needs will be, this plan may be adjusted. Thank you to everyone who so willingly provides meals! We had enough volunteers for the last round that we could have provided two meals each night. You are all wonderful!
Every time I talk to Allison, she expresses her utmost appreciation and gratitude for all the support that she and her family have received. It is truly a blessing to all of them to have their needs taken care of during this time. Thank you!
Allison had her last chemo treatment of Round 1 on Tuesday. She is glad that this stage is over, as the last 3 weeks have been very rough. Her blood count got so low that she was very close to needing to be admitted to the hospital. She has learned--the hard way--that even running children here and there is enough to knock her completely off her feet. Thank you so much to those of you who have taken on driving the kids where they need to be. That is such a help to all the family.
Allison's plan for the coming three weeks is to lay really low, rest as much as possible, and steer clear of anyone who might be carrying germs (that, she says, is a losing battle with 5 kids in the house...she may have to lock herself in her bedroom). She's definitely in "taking care of Allison" mode, as she should be. Today, she will be receiving a shot to help maintain her blood count. Because of her low count the last couple of weeks, this shot will be 7 times the usual strength.
In the coming 3 weeks she will have another echocardiogram and a series of other appointments to get ready for Round 2 of chemo, which will begin October 20 and continue for 12 weeks. This round will have two new drugs, and she will receive one treatment per week. She's told that this round of chemo does not include the "highs and lows" as far as how good or bad she will feel. But, of course, she won't know how she will react until it happens.
The meal plan for the next phase of chemo will be to have meals provided for 3 to 4 days (Tues-Thurs or Tues-Fri) each week. Email will go out in the next week or so to start lining up meals. As she progresses into the 12-week cycle and knows what her needs will be, this plan may be adjusted. Thank you to everyone who so willingly provides meals! We had enough volunteers for the last round that we could have provided two meals each night. You are all wonderful!
Every time I talk to Allison, she expresses her utmost appreciation and gratitude for all the support that she and her family have received. It is truly a blessing to all of them to have their needs taken care of during this time. Thank you!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Settling In
Allison is "settling" (if that's the right word) into her chemo schedule of every three weeks. As usual, the day after her chemo she went back to the doctor for a shot to help maintain her white blood count. She was "bumped up" to a stronger drug this time, one which will last longer and provide more white blood count protection. When she asked why she didn't start off on this drug, she was told it was because the stronger drug is much more expensive, so they try to use the cheaper drug when possible. She continues to take antibiotics as a preventive measure. She says that it is wonderful to be so carefully watched and even "micromanaged" through this whole process.
As expected, with each subsequent chemo treatment, she finds herself more and more tired in the days immediately following treatment. So far, her experience has been that Day 2 after treatment (Thursday, in this case) is the day that she is most tired.
The family is also settling back into the school-year routine. Back-to-school can be hectic enough without cancer treatment going on! Many thanks to all the children's friends and teammates who have helped with rides and the like.
Thank you also for all the meals provided and the rides. Allison's "usual" drivers have been out of town this week, but she was able to find the transportation she needed for her doctor visits. It's truly wonderful to have such a great team assembled. Allison's next chemo is scheduled for September 29. A sign up for meals will go out closer to that time.
As expected, with each subsequent chemo treatment, she finds herself more and more tired in the days immediately following treatment. So far, her experience has been that Day 2 after treatment (Thursday, in this case) is the day that she is most tired.
The family is also settling back into the school-year routine. Back-to-school can be hectic enough without cancer treatment going on! Many thanks to all the children's friends and teammates who have helped with rides and the like.
Thank you also for all the meals provided and the rides. Allison's "usual" drivers have been out of town this week, but she was able to find the transportation she needed for her doctor visits. It's truly wonderful to have such a great team assembled. Allison's next chemo is scheduled for September 29. A sign up for meals will go out closer to that time.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Update, August 26
Just a little mini-update tonight. Allison said her white blood count was low at her normal checkup today and she got antibiotics in addition to a shot, and she gets another shot tomorrow. These shots help regulate her white blood count. This is normal with chemotherapy, killing white blood cells along with cancer cells is par for the course, which is why her blood count is so often checked. Aside from that, Allison reports feeling OK, all things considered. She is tired a lot, and definitely has her better times of day. She finds she does better if she has small meals and snacks throughout the day. Keeping her energy up helps in fighting the fatigue.
The kids are all enjoying their last week of summer vacation, with Kirk taking time off this week to share in some family activities. Starting with her next chemotherapy treatment on September 8, her chemo treatments will be moving to Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays (which is a short day in the Bellevue School District).
Thank you for all the phone calls, messages, and service. It is such a blessing to Allison and the entire Davis family.
The kids are all enjoying their last week of summer vacation, with Kirk taking time off this week to share in some family activities. Starting with her next chemotherapy treatment on September 8, her chemo treatments will be moving to Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays (which is a short day in the Bellevue School District).
Thank you for all the phone calls, messages, and service. It is such a blessing to Allison and the entire Davis family.
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