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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Update, August 21

Allison had her second chemotherapy treatment on Wednesday of this week, and returned on Thursday and again today to have a shot that helps her maintain her white blood count (as those get attacked by the chemo along with the cancer cells). She now totally "gets" what the doctors were telling her about each subsequent chemo treatment being a little more difficult, as more and more cells are killed. This time, she has felt a lot more wiped out. "Wasted" is the word she used. So far, though, she has not been very nauseated, which is good. Hopefully the no-nausea trend will continue.

All is going well, though. Thanks for all your kind words, prayers, and the many acts of service that have already been performed.

Update, August 8

Allison has had a quiet week, continuing to recover from her first dose of chemotherapy. She had her blood tested again this week and "all the numbers" came back above average, which is good. She said they tested for a bunch of things, but one of the things tested for was her white blood count. She got another shot this week to help keep her white blood count up. Chemo tends to wipe out white blood cells as it attacks the cancer.

Allison says that some days are good and others she is really tired. Thursday was one of those "really tired" days, she says, but today is better. It just comes and goes. It may be this way through the entire course of treatment.

She is grateful for all the friends who have taken the kids for play dates and other adventures. Keeping them entertained has been a great help. And, she is also grateful for all the wonderful meals that have been brought in.