Gina does such a great job of updating people on Judi that I’m not going to try to rehash her excellent work. Here is an update she sent out today:
Well, we finally have something to report, so
here’s an update on Judi. She has completed 4 rounds of chemo now and felt
better after the last round than she has since all of this first
began. It’s been nice to see her with a little more energy and a good
appetite and an occasional Margarita in her hand!
Judi had her first CT scan since the
surgery on Monday, an appointment with the radiology oncologist on
Thursday, and another appointment with her oncologist today. The CT scan
looks really good. The doctor said there has been NO spread of the cancer
and that some of the previously affected areas are now clear such
as the liver.
Judi is scheduled to begin radiation on Tuesday,
Jan. 29. She will receive radiation treatments every Monday-Friday for 5
weeks. Unfortunately, she was told to expect nausea as a side effect of
the radiation because of where her cancer is.
In addition to the radiation, she will continue to
get chemo treatments at the same time. These will be somewhat reduced in
intensity during radiation meaning she’ll have only two days in a row rather
than three days in a row. She will receive 2 rounds of chemo over the next
2 weeks, then the oncologist will assess to see how she is doing and decide how
often to administer chemo during radiation. She will also have a PT scan
on Tuesday to get a clearer idea of what some affected areas are doing. I
know there’s a better way to explain that one, but I just can’t come up with it
right now!!! They threw a lot of stuff at us today, and we’re still
"processing" the information!
She is trying very hard to keep her positive
attitude up and running. We find a lot of things to laugh about as we
drive back and forth to doctor and treatment appointments. She’s added a
whole new level of things to laugh about because her oncologist is Dr. Malik and
her radiology oncologist is Dr. Malik–husband and wife. Ahhhh, what
stories she carries back and forth between appointments with both!
Judi’s college roommate is in town for the weekend
which is wonderful. Each embarkation on a new treatment or procedure
brings substantial anxiety with it, so having Annette here to visit will
limit Judi’s time to dwell on the upcoming radiation. We don’t know for
certain how she will react to the radiation. We don’t know for certain how
she will react to the combination of radiation and chemo at the same time.
What I can guarantee is that she will continue to face each day with what she
calls her "stubborness" in moving closer to remission. As always, please
keep her in your thoughts, prayers and practices. She is one tough lady
fighting one tough disease.
Love to all,
Gina
What Judi would do without Gina—or what those of us that love Judi would do without Gina—I can not imagine.
I think yesterday was a tough day for Judi….she called just as I was getting ready to go pick up the guys from school so I sent Ernie on ahead and talked to her a bit. Then I called my mother to update her and during our conversation she told me that the calendars with pictures of the boys that I had made at Christmas and gave to her as well as my sisters……well I made 2007 calendars instead of 2008. Can you believe that? What does this say about my mental status or competence? sigh. So I guess I have to have new calendars made. Later as I was trying to do some cooking my mother called in tears…my father’s hearing aids didn’t seem to be working. Ernie ran some new batteries over but today she said he still doesn’t seem to hear. I don’t know. It took him two hours to get dressed this morning. Owen and I are going to take him to church tomorrow—-hopefully we’ll manage to get him dressed and out the door in time.
So this morning I was in a gray kind of mood but we gathered the troops together and headed out to the Cisco Model Railroad Show. One of those things you never really imagined yourself doing….
but it’s worth it:
