Sisters are the best

My sisters came to visit over the weekend. We had a great time together. There were lots of laughs intermixed with some emotional moments. We went to the Draper temple together, went to see "Hello, Dolly" at the Hale theater, went to the doctor, ate out at yummy restaurants, and did crafty things. On Sunday, my good friend Staci took some pictures of us. Here is just one.
We made these clunky beaded bracelet watches with the help of my friend Julie.

They saw my glitter toes and wanted some so we were able to get theirs done as well. Every girl needs fancy toenails.

We had a great time and I love my sisters dearly. They left early this morning and I couldn't be sad for too long because I will see them on Friday at the cabin.

MORE FUN TIMES AHEAD!!

FYI- The ultrasound showed no fluid in my abdomen. I guess it was in my head that I was getting more bloated. It did give me peace of mind though to have it confirmed. The scans in a couple weeks will show more details of what is happening.

Fun times ahead

I thought I would post something not too sad this time.

My sisters are coming to visit tomorrow and will be here through Monday. I am soooo excited to have them here. We just got a new camera so I should have lots of pictures of our weekend together. I also decided a couple days ago that Mike and I are going to the cabin for the 4th of July. It should be fun and lots of craziness with everyone there. But it will be nice to have a great time and feel good before all the yuckiness starts again.

One bad thing is that I'm pretty sure the fluid in my abdomen has come back. So on Friday my sisters will go with me for an ultrasound and if they find fluid then they will just stick a needle in and take the fluid out. Should be pretty easy (I'm hoping). I'm just discouraged because it has been less than a month since they drained it out before. I guess my body is just used to making the fluid that fills me up.

I am healing well and still feel so much peace and comfort. The Lord is really blessing me each day and I am so greatful for His love.

I have a plan

I met with my oncologist yesterday and still feel really good that I am in the right hands. That's always a good feeling.

I didn't really learn anything new...he just mapped out what is going to happen.

I'm going back to chemo which means I have to go have my port put back in...I just had it removed in February and am now wishing I had just kept it in. Chemo will be a little different than last time as they are going to use a different mix of drugs. I most likely won't keep my hair this time. I will get a CAT scan and a PET scan (illuminates the cancer) every couple months as well as a blood test to use as markers. Every couple months we will just re-evaluate what the cancer is doing (growing, staying the same, shrinking, etc) to see where we go next. We are not treating to cure the cancer just to keep it from spreading as long as we can. My doctor said that his #1 objective is to help me feel good and #2 to help me feel good as long as he can.

One funny thing that happened yesterday is that I had to get on the scale. They weigh me everytime I go in. I got off and went to sit down and the aide said that he misread the weight and so I had to get back on the scale. I told him "No, it's right...it is 20 pounds less than last time." With the removal of all the fluid, tumors and organs, I lost 20 pounds and 7 inches in one day. Not a weight loss plan I recommend. :)
I'm a little scared to be going on this new journey because I don't know how fast the cancer will grow or how sick I will get with the chemo. I have put my life in the Lord's hands and have felt so much peace if it is my time to go. What makes me sad is all the heartache I leave behind. I'm not afraid of death and am ready to go but am going to enjoy every day I have left which I hope will be many.

Thanks to everyone for their continued prayers and support for me and Mike.

Not done yet

I thought I would have a longer remission than 3 months. The past week and a half has been filled with so many emotions.

About 3 weeks ago I started to not feel very well. My stomach was tight and I just felt nausea all the time. I had a schueduled cat scan coming up and so I kept telling myself I just had to make it to the cat scan. The cat scan showed a growth on one of my ovaries and the doctor told me it was most likely colon cancer that hid during chemo in my ovary. I had to meet with a gyno oncologist about surgery and by this time I was so uncomfortable. I looked like I was 8 months pregnant, I couldn't breathe, my back hurt and if I stood too long then my leg went numb. I didn't really eat anything for 3 weeks and just always felt full. It was AWFUL. So June 3 I went into surgery and the doctor did a full hystorectomy, removed 5 liters of fluid from my abdomen and took biopsies of a couple spots on my liver and abdominal lining. I feel so much better than before surgery even though the incision is still tender.

It all comes down that everything checked out to be Stage 4 terminal colon cancer and so it is back and I most likely have less than 5 years to live. I've gone through all the emotions (mad, sad, why me?, etc). But now the emotion I feel most of all is peace. I know it is because of all the prayers and fasting done in my behalf. I'm ready to go if it is my time...I just hope to have closer to the 5 years than the 1-2 the doctors predict.

So I meet with the oncologist tomorrow to map out the options. Most likely I am headed back to chemo and all that yuckiness. Mike and I are also going on a diet that is mostly full of vegetables and fruits and hope that will also help give me more time and help me feel better.

I'll update more after I talk to the doctor tomorrow.

Update - FINALLY!!

I know that many have wondered where I have gone. I'm still here and I just have to say that it feels good to feel good. I still can't believe that just a couple months ago I was still having chemo treatments.

I have had a blood test and my cancer score is staying low. It was 2.4 at the end of February and should be in the 2-3 range. I am having a CAT scan done at the end of May as well as another blood test. I then have a colonoscopy in June. So hopefully everything will come back with good news and I can finally enjoy a summer.

Now my thoughts and prayers are with my dad who has prostate cancer. He is undergoing surgery next Friday and hopefully the outcome will be good.

I was able to get up to Washington and see the family. I went to the beach with my mom and sisters. It was nice to get away from work and just have some relaxing time. The weather wasn't that great but just the sound of the ocean is always soothing.

My nieces and nephews all seem to grow up way to fast. I didn't get a lot of pictures but here are some cute ones of my 2 youngest nieces.

with Amelia...love the binkies & matching jammies

with Grandma

playing together nicely

Aren't they too cute? I had fun spending time with all my nieces and nephews and look forward to seeing Jared's family in May. We are headed up to Washington again in May for a quick weekend.

Mike is enjoying working with the Deacons although he realizes that on Sunday during class it isn't that different from Primary. The boys still don't listen and get pretty rowdy. I have enjoyed working with the Laurels and getting to know them. We have a lot of youth in our ward (about 80) so there is lots to do.

Here are some crazy weather pictures I had to show from last week.
Wednesday morning - 8 inches of snow
Wednesday afternoon - all gone

I'm Done!!!! Woohoo!!!

I'm finally finished with chemo. I didn't think I would see the day. It has taken me a few days to update my blog because I have had some sort of food poisoning the past few days. Not fun!!!

My mom was here for the week to help me out and it was so nice to have her here. My poor sister Alison was also in need of her since she just got her tonsils out. Ouch...I can relate since mine came out 2 years ago. It hurts but is so worth it.

My friends Cori and Mary Ann showed up at chemo and we had a little graduation party. They brought cake, balloons, flowers, a candy bar poster, a diploma, a gift basket full of yummy smelling goodies, and the best part was the homemade cap. I cried when they walked in and it was so great to know that I am done with chemo and have such great friends who love me.

Thanks so much for the party. Here are some pictures from the eventful day.

Mike even snuck away from work to join the festivities.

Here is Mary Ann with the poster. How clever!!

Here is the yummy cake. Strawberry mousse filling with cream cheese frosting!!It was a great day although I felt bad because the lady next to me receiving chemo was getting her first treatment for colon cancer. Luckily I gave her a bunch of hints and things that worked for me to get through it. Cori and Mary Ann even got her address so that in 6 months they can send her a diploma too. I am so glad to be done although I'm sure it won't hit until next week when I would have gone in for the next treatment. I don't have to go back till the end of February and that will just be for a blood test. Yeah!!!! I still remember around treatment #5 thinking there was no way I could do all 12 treatments and here I am. I know that it is because of the encouragement I received from those around me. Thanks so much to you all.

One more to go!!

Only one more chemo treatment to go and then I will be done with all this yuckiness. I didn't think I would ever make it. The holidays for us have been pretty low key. We had a huge snow storm for Christmas and so we stayed home and hunkered down where it was nice and warm. In the afternoon a lot of the neighbors were out with their snowblowers digging out. We have gotten so much snow and it has been soooo cold. We heard on the news last night that it was -7 in Highland. Here is a picture of Mike digging out our front walkway yet again the day after Christmas.

New Year's was pretty uneventful for us since I had a treatment that week. It was my birthday on New Year's Eve and I was in bed at 8:30 p.m. I didn't even make it to celebrate the new year in NY time. Mike just reminded me that I was like a lot of people who were recovering from late night festivities...I just laid around and felt yucky on the 1st.

I'm feeling pretty good which means I will have a good week and then my last bad week starts next Tuesday. My mom was going to come for this last treatment but I talked her out of it since Mike was going to be home all week and off work. So she is going to come for the last treatment. Mike has been so patient and helpful. I don't know how I would get through this without him.

We officially got our new callings yesterday. Mike is a Deacon's advisor and I am the R.S. transition specialist for the YW (low-key calling...but fun). I will miss the primary kids but it was a perfect time to change since our kids were all moving on to a new class. Mike will be going on monthly campouts with the scouts. Glad I won't have to be going...especially in the winter. Their first campout is this weekend. What troopers!!

I did watch a full football game and cheered on the Utah Utes as they played in the Sugar Bowl. It was an exciting game and since Mike is a Ute, I figured I could put my BYU allegiance aside for this game. They were the underdogs and came out victorious. We noticed that the announcer's were pretty biased towards Alabama and were scurrying to find things to say when Utah came out with such a big lead at the start. Who would have thought that I would enjoy football so much?...my brothers would be proud.