Hope Abounds

Dearest family and friends,

I cannot tell you how very blessed I was by your outpouring of responses upon receipt of my request for prayer early this morning. I slept well last night after sending out my request. And now I have something awesome to share with you about my appointment.

But first, before we left for my appointment, we had the pleasure of having our dear friends, Linda, Cam and Johanna Jacobi arrive for a visit. They live in Yosemite National Park, and decided to make a visit to Lompoc! I hated leaving them for my appointment, but it gave me something to look forward to after returning home! They will be here for the weekend, so we'll have time to visit!

As we drove to Dr. Lossing's office, I felt the most calming sense of peace envelope me. I knew that no matter what I heard today, God was still in control, and that all would be well. Dave and I prayed before we left the car, and proceeded inside. Dr. Lossing came out into the waiting room and gave me a hug. He's such a caring doctor. He told me my Her2Neu test was negative, but that it was well worth the try.

Then, he left to go back into his office. Once I was taken back to see him, he took time to ask me how I felt I was doing, and wrote down all my symptoms. He told me that the Scripp's conference did produce a new drug that was of special interest to him for me. The drug is called Lapatinib, and he would be researching to see if I could receive this as part of the Phase II trial going on. He hopes that there is a hospital nearby for me to participate in this trial, or that they'll authorize him to give me the drug.

In the mean time, my liver function tests are overall, very good. The part of the function test that would prohibit me from taking chemo right now (billirubin) is within normal limits. There is only one function, the alkaline phosphate, that is elevated to 1000. Dr. Lossing said that is because the tumor is growing. At any rate, it has been decided that on Wednesday, I will resume chemo therapy on chemo drug number 17, Doxil. I will have some special instructions to follow for the first week while on this drug, like showering in a lukewarm shower and eating food at room temperature, to prevent hand/foot syndrome, along with taking Vitamin B-6 100 mg. tablets in large doses. This drug is administered once every 4 weeks, so that will be a nice reprieve from the weekly chemo.

The unfortunate news is that the chemoembolization was not successful. The inside of the tumor may have been affected, but the peripheral (outside) edges of the tumor continue to grow, and thus, are causing the pain I'm in. I will continue to need to wear my dilauded pain pump, until such time that the Doxil shrinks the tumor, and the pain subsides.

As I look at what all this means, I can only say that my hope is restored. I have options and a plan. And one of my favorite scriptures says, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Thank you for your prayers, e-mails, phone calls and support. I am so incredibly grateful that my only option wasn't hospice and a sad look. Thank you Lord.

Love,

Terri

May I be a blessing to you in each word I write today.

The past is history, the future is a mystery, but the present is a gift! Enjoy today.

Prayers for today

Well, I'm sure you're wondering why on earth I'm typing out a letter at 12:10 a.m. on Friday, but it's because I feel an urgent need to call on you for prayer. After I send this, I'm heading for bed, but I feel I'll sleep better once I've sent it out.

As you know, I'm down to just one possibility for a chemo drug, unless Dr. Lossing comes back with a miracle drug from the conference, or the blood test I took last Monday shows that I am now Her2neu positive, which would allow me to take Herceptin...another wonder drug.

But...with that said, I have my appointment at 1:30 today with Dr. Lossing. He will let me know if my liver function tests are good enough for me to even attempt chemo. But I need to get back on treatment. My tumors are growing, the pain is intensifying, and the battle is waging within my body. Please pray for God to have His way in my situation. I have so much more living to do, and so I'm asking you to pray in agreement with me, for a solution. Thank you so much for always praying. I know God is in control, and I haven't stopped trusting Him.

Love,

Terri

May I be a blessing to you in each word I write today.
The past is history, the future is a mystery, but the present is a gift! Enjoy today.

A New Ride

Good morning all,

Just wanted share my newest experience with you all, since you're such an awesome part of my life. My parents have been here for the weekend, and just left a few minutes ago. Dad's birthday is coming up on March 1st, and I wanted to send his gift with my mom so she could take it back with her today. Unfortunately, my pain level increases with each step I take, so walking any distance is uncomfortable. So I asked my mom to drive me to Wal Mart where, at least, I could pick out a gift for him, and then just walk back to the car while she took my purchase to the check-out for me.

It dawned on me when we got into the parking lot, that I could just use one of the electric carts Wal-Mart has in the entry to the store. It was perfect~! I didn't wipe anyone out...well, ok...I did manage to knock down a group of clothing hanging down low, because they caught on the corner of the cart. But as I got a handle on it, I was cruisin' around the Lompoc Wal-Mart!!! Thankfully, I was able to take my time shopping for Dad, as well as picking up some other gift items for others with special occassions. Speaking of which...Congratulations to Jenny and Eric Klinedinst on the birth of their daughter, Lillian. Barb called yesterday to tell me Jenny's water broke and they were on the way to the hospital. I don't have any other details yet, but we just praise God for a healthy baby and safe delivery. Congrats, Barb K. and Tammy M. on your granddaughter!

If the pain continues to be troublesome, I just may need to look into renting one of those little carts to get out and about with. What fun.

Blessings to you all. Happy Presidents' Day. What an awesome country we live it, and with so many presidents who served our country well. Let's remember to pray for those in leadership...especially President Bush, today. He has a huge responsibility.

Love,
Terri

May I be a blessing to you in each word I write today.
The past is history, the future is a mystery, but the present is a gift! Enjoy today.

Wonderful Week

Hello friends and family,

I hope you're enjoying this wonderful week. I certainly am. There's just something about the holiday of Valentine's Day that brings forth people's love and kindness. Even if you don't have a special "love interest," there are so many to love around us, that we smile more and pass around sweets and thoughtful cards. Of course, just thinking of God's love for us makes me smile. Dave's prayer request at our Sunday evening home Bible study was for God to give me a nausea-free, pain-free day for Valentine's Day. And you know, I woke up Tuesday morning, feeling very good. I felt so good that I actually was up to eating breakfast at one of our favorite "hole in the wall" types of places here in town, The American Host. I ate a delicious pancake, and Dave managed to put away most of a meal from the "special of the day" board.

The really nice thing is that I've continued feeling better all week. I'm careful to rest up throughout the day, in the midst of the feel-good times, so that my body doesn't over-do and get me in trouble. Dave gave me gift certificates to have some pampering, so I had a pedicure/manicure yesterday. It felt so good to have my hands and feet pampered, and the chairs I sat in were quite comfortable.

Tomorrow, Dr. Lossing and his wife will head out for the Scripps Convention in San Diego, hopefully, to bring back the promise of new drugs to treat all his patients with, but especially, I pray he finds one for me! In the mean time, we wait upon the pain to subside, and tummy to completely heal, so that I can resume some chemo regimen. God knows the perfect time and hour for me to be well. I saw him today, and he seemed reasonably pleased that my pain and nausea are better under control. He also gave me a lab slip to have some blood drawn to check on my Her2Neu status. One of the tests I had run on my tumors after my mastectomy was to check for the presence of a certain oncogene that over expresses itself. For women who have this, there is a wonder-drug available that's doing awesome things to halt the growth of the cancer. Now, they're finding that you can find this over expression through a serum blood test as well. So...since I have new cancer since my mastectomy (all the mets...to the lungs, lymph nodes, etc), there's a remote possibility that I may be tested positive. So there's a prayer request or two for you, if you will, please.

Chris is completing his week working for Celite as a Computer Help Desk guy, and he's enjoyed this very much. I think doing temp work for Excel might expose him to many different work environments, and perhaps put feelers out for more permanent employment down the road. He seems to be fairly calm knowing he's closer to me. He's helping out quite a bit around here, too. March 2nd, he can sign up for some 8-week classes at Hancock to count toward his general education requirements at Cal Poly when he returns in the fall.

Jen has still been quite sick from the asthma and bronchitis, so Dr. Blifeld sent her to Lompoc Hospital for a chest x-ray today. I haven't heard of the results, yet, though. EJ will be going back to Pasadena on Monday. He tried to leave yesterday, but the transportation bus had their wheelchair lift break while EJ was on it. So he was thankful to find the hotel room still available for a few more nights.

Dave has really poured himself into his new title as Relay For Life Online Chair. I knew this would be right up his alley, since it involves donating through the Internet. I had great success with my fundraising last year, using the Relay online. Since I'm not well enough to be a team captain this year, I'm considering joining an existing team just to aid with the fundraising. Walking for an hour around the track isn't something this body could do at this moment. But it's such a worthy cause, that I want to support it in some way.

Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, thank you for standing strong beside me, as we fight this battle to win! This is my parents' weekend to visit Lompoc, so please keep them in your prayers tomorrow as they drive down from Sonora.

Love,
Terri

May I be a blessing to you in each word I write today.
The past is history, the future is a mystery, but the present is a gift! Enjoy today.