NEG-A-TIVE!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

YUP! You heard it...the Pet Scan results were negative! We are all very excited. We went to lunch @ Steak-n-Shake and celebrated! I am sorry I am posting this so late, but after the doctor appointment we went shopping...what else! Went to eat dinner, came home and had several phone calls prior to getting to my computer. But what great news for mom and all of us. We are very grateful to God for answering all of the prayers! What all this means is that now she has to undergo the chemotherapy, radiation and a pill "Arimadex (spelling?) for 5 years thereafter. Per Dr. Popovic, they do all of this is for prevention and to cure her completely. As he explained, a dot of ink made by just placing an ink pen on a piece of paper could be a cell containing thousands of cancer cells and not be spotted on a Pet Scan, therefore the treatment is to kill anything that small and make her completely cancer free!!!! So like Joi says, Mom is ready and willing to "Kick some CANCER BUTT!" Prior to starting chemo, on May 16, mom has to go to a chemo class and Dad, Joi and myself have to all be present. May 21, is scheduled for her first chemo treatment. Chemo is to be 4-6 treatments, depending on how mom's body reacts and handles the treatments. Dr. wants her to have at least 4, preferably the entire 6. Instead of 3 medicines mixed for the chemo, she will only have 2. This being because testing has found that the 3rd medicine is actually not needed. Before they can begin chemo, mom has to have an outpatient procedure scheduled with the previous surgeon, Dr. Harris, to have a port placed inside her shoulder. This port will allow them to administer the medicine straight into her veins without risk of collapsing her small veins in her arms. Chemo sessions will last approximately 4 hours each, and to our surprise, Dr. Popovic says that she will probably not get nauseated or have the vomiting. He said he would be surprised if she did have any of the vomiting, etc.(this was good news to mom...We hope it works as he thinks it will). He says she may feel a little bad, fatigued, etc., but nothing she cannot handle. Yes, she will lose her hair, therefore DOORAG time! Mom and I already went out and she bought a pink breast cancer hat, khaki hat and a pink & black bandanna to start her collection for items to wear at this time. I told her that maybe her hair will grow back in dark, curly and thick! (I have heard of this happening, really!) The chemo treatments will be every 3rd week. And as a side note, he planned the treatments to coincide with Fan Fair and her best week will be the week of Fan Fair so she can have the best possible chance to feel good and attend! I will just push her around in a wheelchair if need be, since she wants to see Carrie & Alan, you know...Underwood and Jackson! Then, once the chem is done, she gets to rest for 4 weeks. At which point, then the radiation starts. The radiation is used to pin point the area where the tumor actually was in the chest to make sure that they get that area thoroughly. After radiation is finished she will begin taking the pill Arimadex and continue taking it for 4 years. But as mom said a couple of days ago "bring it on, get it started and lets get this over with!" She is a fighter, she has had a great attitude, she seems to be healing wonderfully, has a family that loves her dearly and supports her 500%, and wonderful friends that love her! We cannot not say it enough...THANKS TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! IT MEANS A GREAT DEAL TO ALL OF US! Mom says "Thank you!" for all the cards, flowers, t-shirts, telephone calls, prayers, etc. etc. etc., she appreciates each and every one of you!

BAD NEWS FOR TOMS FAMILY

I am beginning to think all we get lately is bad news. Yesterday, Tom found out that his brother, Randy Phillips, has leukemia. It is a slow kind of leukemia, but the doctors missed diagnosing if for some time. Tom did get to talk to Randy last night and he did sound pretty good Tom said. He was in the VA Hospital, but they sent him home until Thursday. He then goes back in to St. Louis University or Barnes for a three week set of intense chemotherapy. If this does not work, they will begin looking for bone marrow matches. Please keep Tom and his family in your prayers also. Randy needs your prayers!

As for mom, we are heading out to her oncologist in about 2 minutes. Keep up the prayers and we are expecting to receive great news! Joi and I will post an update as soon as we can after mom's appointment. Believe in those prayers! We love you all! Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!

MAWMAW

Ok, another update. Mom goes back to the surgeon tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. for her post op appointment and to make sure all is going ok. Hopefully he will release her to drive! I think she is probably feeling cooped up, I know she hates being without her wheels! As for the Pet Scan, it is scheduled for Monday, April 28, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. @ the CAM building at Barnes. Remember, we want her results to be NEGATIVE!!! So keep them prayers coming! We find out the results of the Pet Scan on Wednesday at 10:40 a.m. I will update everyone at that time. Thank you to each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, calls, flowers, visits, etc. etc. etc!!! We appreciate everything!

MORE MAWMAW NEWS!

Well, more news. We all went to the oncologist today with Mom for her 3:40 p.m. appointment. She is seeing Dr. William Popovich. He seemed like a very up front, no nonsense kind of doctor. First things first, she is being scheduled for a Pet Scan this week at Barnes Hospital (previous one done several years ago at Barnes, therefore they will have one to compare to). Appt. 4-30 at 10:40 a.m. for the Pet Scan results (the Pet Scan is to see if there is cancer anywhere else in the body). If the Pet Scan is positive, she will just take a pill, Rimaden (spelling ?). If it is negative (the one we are praying for), she wil have to have a port put in (for the chemo) and undergo 4 to 6 treatments of chemotherapy. Each treatment consists of 4 hours, which consists then of one treatment every 3 weeks. Therefore chemo will last from 12 to 18 weeks depending on number of treatments. Once the chemo is finished, she will undergo radiation in the chest area. After this is done, she will then take the pill as above, Rimaden. I know, it seems that praying for negative results which then puts mom through more pain, etc., but that is the way this stuff apparently goes. On a good note, Dr. Popovich said that he would be very surprised if the results were positive, plus as I have told you all along, God is awesome and she is going to be ok! Keep that army of prayers a coming!!!!

As my daughter said, SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL!

Can you believe it!? Joi is upset because she missed the earthquake! I know, she is my daughter, but... I myselft do not think they are fun at all! I was at work this morning, I heard a rumbling noise, thought it was an unusually loud bus, then a loud crash, thought it was a bus with a stuck accelerator running into the buildin I was sittting in & right behind me. I was sitting in a desk chair, with rollers, my feet on the legs of the chair up off the floor, therefore when the crash happened, YUP! my chair was sent, with me in it, crashing into the desk in front of me. I grabbed the desk and my chair was doing the Watusi!! I looked out the dispatch window in to the lounge area and the walls were doing the HULA! Not my idea of fun. My next thought, EXIT STAGE LEFT! Then all went quiet. My heart was on 90 million beats a minute for about the next hour. My dear daughter, be glad you missed it. I hope to never feel another one, EVER! Then I got to feel the aftershock, enough already! Hopefully no one had any damage. Looking at the news online, seems there was quite a bit of damage in different areas. Hope if you did, you had earthquake insurance. Well, let's hope tonight and from here on out thinks are alot more SOLID!

ANGEL

Well, I hear Uncle Lester went home. Mom is doing great, both emotionally and physically. I took her shopping again today, she bought a couple of new shirts and a capri pant to match a top I picked up for her the other day. She is doing really good. We are just waiting for the April 21 appt. for the oncologist to see where we go from here. Lynda, my friend, sent pictures of her son's house to me today, whew! I cannot imagine losing everything in a fire. I know my Aunt Linda can empathize with him. I have offered help, with some spare blankets, dishes, etc. and she is going to let him know. Hopefully we can help him in some way. Well, Susan G. Komen foundation did their kick off for this years walk the other day, therefore we can sign up at any time. I will post the information when I get the time to go over it all. This year I hope we have alot of walkers, to support our survivors- Aunt Norma, Aunt Dooie and My Mom! So lets go girls (and boys too!). I felt that with all the bad news lately and the losses of some loved ones, Aunt Ceil, Aunt Elva and cousin Darlene, that we all need an angel on our shoulder, therefore, I am asking God to send an angel to all. Ask and ye shall receive....Love Connie

Hello there!

Well, I haven't been around for a couple of days, but I have been very busy. As you can tell from Joi's blog, we went with mom to her post-0p appointment, got her staples and drains out, Dr. Harris said she was doing excellent, excisions looked excellent and scheduled her appointment with the oncologist. She will be seeing Dr. Popovich up in Maryville by Anderson Hospital on April 21, 2008 at 3:40 p.m. We will find out what she needs to do from here. All of us will be with her on her entire journey! She is going to do great, just like she has so far. I went with Tom Thursday, for his colonoscopy, and he passed with flying colors, worked Friday 11am-8pm, Sat 5pm to 2am and today I go in in about an hour from 1pm to 10pm. So not much time, to be on the computer, but I promise, Joi and I will keep you updated on everything going on. I last heard that they were going to keep Uncle Lester until today. Once I find out more, I will let everyone know on that also. I also got more news today from my friend Lynda Matveychik, her son Allen is living in a rental house in Mitchell and it apparently caught fire and he lost just about everything. So lets keep all of these people in our prayers! God has a lot of work to do, but boy is he an awsome God and extremely overqualified for the job!! Thank you to everyone, always!

NEWS-UNCLE LESTER

Well, I am posting this for my mother to everyone. Uncle Lester is in the hospital in Peoria. She said to tell all that he is in the hospital that he is always in. He has pnumonia, he is on an IV and oxygen. The doctor put him there to keep an eye on him. He was yelling through the phone at mom about having on "her" IV and "her" nose thingy, so..she says he is ok, he is just there so they can monitor him. If you want to call him, he has his cell phone with him, or at 309-677-7494. Per Dion, they said he would be best in the hospital and are keeping him a couple of days. He will possibly come home on Friday. Please pass it on. Thanks. to all.

IT PAYS TO COMPLAIN.

Recently I held myself up in bed with my elbow while turning over one night. My sheets just ripped to shreds. This upset me, since the sheets were only approximately 2 years old, were king size sheets that when purchased "on sale" they were still $79.99. I bought these after Christmas to match the comforter set I received for that Christmas. The entire set was from Kohl's and made my Martex. I was upset because they acted like they were dry-rotted. Therefore, I looked Martex up online, wrote an e-mail regarding the above and sent it, not really thinking anyone would even answer. I explained to them I still have sheets my grandma gave my mom, which are still in good shape and that these were pretty expensive to be ripping like this in only 2 years, plus the fact I changed these and didn't use them all the time. Within about 4 weeks I received an e-mail asking me to send them the sheet and if they felt it was the manufacturer's fault, they would replace the sheet. I knew that a new sheet would not match my old one's (because I only mailed in the fitted sheet-the rest were ok.) WELL!!! to my SURPRISE!!! yesterday I received a box in the mail and inside that box was 2-king size pillowcases, 1 king flat sheet and 2 king fitted sheets by Ralph Lauren all in matching patterns. They are not my exact set, but believe it or not, they are actually pretty close to what I previously had!!! As my daughter would say WHOO HOOO!!!!! MARTEX is no longer, from what the woman told me, it is now Westpoint Home, Inc., and it apparently now owns RALPH LAUREN, Westpoint Home, Inc. you ROCK!!!

MORE NEWS REGARDING MOM.

Sorry that I have not been on sooner, but I am down sick with "viral sinusitis", whatever that is. I cannot even go see or help my mom at this time, all of this is landing on Joi and Dad for right now. I cannot see her until I am on the medicine for 2-3 solid days per my doctor, per mom's doctor-they do not want anyone to see her that is even slighlty sick. Therefore I have to relay to all what Joi has told me. Mom went home yesterday, Friday, and is doing very well. She surprised the doctor by how well she was doing. He also informed them that the test results on the lymph nodes was positive for 2 of the 7. This means she will have to undergo chemotherapy. She goes back to Dr. Harris this Wednesday and I guess we will find out what happens from there. Hopefully I will be ok by Monday to see Mom and then I will give everyone more updates. Joi did put and update on her blog (http://daveandjoi.blogspot.com/) Everyone's prayers for mom are very much appreciated by all of us. God Bless all of you for everything.

MOM IS OUT OF SURGERY

Well it has been a very long day! Mom had to be at the hospital at 10:45, first they said they were starting on her at 12:00, then they called and said 1:00, then they called and said they were actually starting at 2:00. The surgery was finished at 7:00 p.m. It took 5 hours (doctor said to allow at minimum 4 hours). He came ans talked to us around 7:20 p.m. said she went through the surgery wonderfully. He did not see any cancer on the chest wall. He did however feel several swollen lymph nodes, took tissue samples and they will be sent to the lab. We should hear about these within 2-7 days. They could just be swollen from reaction to the biopsy. If they are cancer, she will have to have chemotherapy. But we will wait and see on the results. Whatever the case may be, as I have said before, she is going to be OK! She may have to go through some things, but again she will be OK! I worked this morning from 3:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m, and have been sick all day, getting worse as the day rolled on, therefore this is very short. I am going to bed and plan to stay there all day tomorrow to get better, so I can help with mom. Joi is off tomorrow and Friday, therefore, hopefully I can get better. Do not want to make Mom sick. Please keep her in your prayers, as you all have been, and with all our wonderful family and friends, she will pull through better than before. We love and appreciate each an everyone of you. Thank you for the bottom of our hearts!