Some better news...

Maggie here again! My mom is still in the hospital, but we received some good news today. She had her endoscopy and partial colonoscopy this afternoon and both came back showing NO NEW CANCER GROWTH! There was a chance that something new had snuck in and was causing all of her new symptoms, but that is not the case. Nice try cancer. Not this time. The GI doctor said that her colon looks like a work of art (to which she added, “maybe a Jackson Pollock,” and Kaplan said “more like Andy Warhol”), and Kaplan said that her stomach looks almost normal. THIS IS GREAT NEWS! Clearly I don’t need to spell that out for all of you, but I’m reveling in it a bit.  

So that being said, we’re not completely out of the woods. She’s still not feeling very well (cramping and diarrhea have lessened but not stopped) and she is spending at least tonight (probably tomorrow and maybe more) in the hospital. Basically she will be there until Dr. Kaplan thinks she can eat and drink enough on her own to be comfortable at home. Also the diarrhea probably has to stop first. She hasn’t had much to eat at all in the past few days, and she spent most of today fasting for her endoscopy. After the procedure she was able to eat some jell-o and yogurt. Her appetite is coming back, which is great! During the procedure they took some biopsies and cultures to try to figure out a bit more about what’s going on in there.  From what I understand, it’s either a reaction to the chemo pill or an unfortunate viral infection that she picked up.  Hopefully the tests from today will tell the doctors what they need to know, but right now she’s just waiting to heal up.

Thanks again to everyone! This is not an easy time and it’s always a comfort knowing you’re out there.

Not so great news...

Hate to disappoint, but it’s me (Maggie) again. I’m not nearly as eloquent as my superhero mother, but I will do my best!

I know what it’s like to feel disconnected from what’s going on, checking the blog constantly, hoping for an update. I can empathize.  So here’s a slightly more detailed update, picking up from Tuesday...

We were all riding the tide of happiness after finding out those fantastic results on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mom was feeling pretty good. As I remember she was having some of the typical post-infusion stuff (lighter appetite, sensitive to cold, minimal nausea), but nothing out of the ordinary.  Michael came up on Friday night, which was great!  On Saturday mom was having a new side effect. She seemed to be retaining a lot of water in her hands and feet, making them puffy, swollen, and sore.  She was also feeling a bit crampy in her chest and stomach.  She called the on-call doctor and started icing her hands, which seemed to help a little bit.  Sunday, the swelling in her hands had gone down, but her stomach was much worse and she was having bad bouts of diarrhea (I’m not having her proof read this and I don’t know how much detail she usually puts in so, Mom, if you ever read this, sorry if I’m over sharing!!)  She was feeling pretty miserable and we should have called the doctor but, in her own words, she’s always trying to play the martyr and didn’t want to bug him (we’ve learned our lesson!)  On Monday morning I went to work and called my dad around noon to see what was up.  At that point she was feeling quite a bit better and had even had a bit to eat.  Shortly after that phone call she had even more intense diarrhea.  Aunt Carrie was on duty in West Seattle and was at the house at the time, so they went to the hospital in the MedicOne aid car.  Now I’m a little unsure of the details of their arrival and admittance to the hospital, but I do know that by the time I called again after work, she was up in a room in Swedish receiving IV fluids.  I came home after work to collect a few things and then headed out to the hospital.  She seemed to be doing a lot better and was even eating a little bit (thanks for the soup Joe!) Betty came by after work as well, but we eventually left mom to sleep.  

This morning Dr. Kaplan came in to check on her, getting her set up on various meds to help with the side effects.  The consensus at this point is that the oral chemo has damaged her stomach lining, leading to the diarrhea.  She’s off that chemo at the moment and right now they’re just trying to find the right combination of things to help the symptoms.  Today did not go as well as yesterday.  She couldn’t keep much food or water down and was in a good deal of pain with the cramping.  She’s staying in the hospital again tonight and Dr. Kaplan is coming in the morning.  If she doesn’t get better tomorrow they’re going to do a scan, and maybe even an endoscopy if need be after that.  I’m going to go in the morning before work and see how she’s doing.  You all know how strong that woman’s will is, but I can take a day off if that’s what needs to happen, right? I’ll play it by ear. My dad is going to take the day off too so she will not be lonely!

So this is a set back. It’s tough, but not all bad. First, we think we know what’s caused this, and she is already off that chemo so now we just need some time to heal.  Second, the tumors shrunk! This stupid poop can’t take away from the good news we got on Tuesday.  Third, she’s exactly where she needs to be, getting the help she needs when she needs it. 

Our lovely Janet needs to rest so I’d be happy to field any questions people have as best I can. Feel free to email me (mjoliver16@gmail.com) or text me (I’m not super into the idea of putting my phone number on here so if you have it or can find it, go for it! Otherwise I should be just as easy to reach by email). I just want her to be able to relax as much as possible.

Thank you all for your help along the way!  She has such an incredible support system. Everyone has been overwhelmingly wonderful and there aren’t enough words to express our gratitude.  

Guest Blogger

Hello Blog Land!

Maggie here on for my mom.  On it's mission to kick cancer's ass, our dear friend chemo has caused some collateral damage.  Janet hasn't been feeling too great these past couple of days and has asked me to let you all know that.  We are all trying our best to look on the bright side: this poison is working! She will be back up and running as soon as she can but until then we are continually appreciating your love and healing thoughts.

continued from yesterday…

…and thanks for the necklaces and charms and the god’s eyes and the magic mineral broth, and the fuck cancer voodoo doll and the fuck cancer salmon charms, and the hats and scarves and scarf hangers and the plants and flowers and the qi gong lessons and the yoga sessions and the fairies and the butterflies and the candles and the mugs and the beanie baby bear and the glass heart and the cards and the tree with all your thumbprint love and the books and the socks and the flowers…

Really I have not been ignored! You all are awesome at sharing the love and propping a family up!

Talk about highs and lows and roller coasters! Monday and Tuesday held quite the example of a low and a high in those 2 short days. 

Poor Rudy, we miss her so much. I can’t help but think she took the fall for me. It feels that way. In some Pacific Northwest salmon stories, the salmon are salmon people in their village underwater. When they return up river they are offering themselves to humans. And as long as we respect them and their home, they will keep offering themselves. I feel like Rudy offered herself to me. It was an honor and a joy to be her human mom.

Then on to Tuesday…I really don’t think I’ve ever had that much anxiety in my life. I had a near panic attack and have a heightened empathy for those with panic disorder. It was no fun. I had to keep summoning Roz’s red butterflies (the color changes from time to time),to simmer me down. When I was getting the port accessed I just had to keep my eyes closed and see the butterflies. They were gorgeous, powerful, and the shades of the most vibrant, brilliant reds. So strong, they got me through some tricky moments…thanks, Roz!

But here is a coincidence…another coincidence! 

Eva had to leave on Monday but Michael had work on Tuesday morning in Seattle; a crane to inspect downtown. It happens to be the crane right next to Swedish. When I was in the hospital there was construction going on across the street. Little Kincaid and Gideon loved watching the construction while Jennifer and Allison visited. The crane was in that spot! I get a text from Michael mid-morning that he could see into the hospital room. 

So while waiting for our visit with Dr. Kaplan, in his waiting room, what could we see…Michael’s crane! Then while in the waiting room, waiting for chemo we could walk out onto a balcony and watched the crane!  We never actually saw Michael up on the crane, which was probably better for my anxiety as it was a rather blustery day! And then of course once we got a chair for chemo, we had a chair with a view of the crane! There are a lot of cranes in Seattle right now and there are lots of windows and waiting rooms at Swedish…just another  crazy coincidence in this story!

When Michael got done with the crane work he was able to come join us for lunch. He visited us for a bit and we got to revel in the good news! He had to leave as he was due back in Portland today, and we were so glad to have a little time to celebrate the good news with him in person!

Maggie was at work all day and instead of going home on the bus she came up and was able to end our chemo session with us. It was great to be able to give her a big hug so soon after hearing our good news and listening to her teacher stories made chemo go so much quicker!

It was a late session at chemo. I think we got out of there after 6:00 sometime. We made a quick stop at PCC and by the time we got home it was late! My head was spinning from joy, exhaustion and chemo as I wrote that quick post last night. It was the best I could do at the time…but here are a few number details from the report:

“The area of previous mass like appearance of the neck/body of pancreas not as evident on today’s exam, with normal pancreatic duct width. Posterior gastric wall 1.0 cm now, 1.4 cm previously.”

“The large lesion in right lobe of liver subcapsular lateral to the gallbladder fossa has decreased in size currently 2.5 x 2.2 cm, previously 3.7 x 4.2 cm”…that sounds pretty good right?

“Hypoattenuating lesion more inferior to the larger lesion in the right lobe also decreasing in size, now 0.9 cm, perviously 1.5 x 1.8 cm.”

“Inferior aspect of the anterior margin of right lobe of liver previously hypo attenuating lesions with solid imaging characteristics and hyper metabolic on PET scan now subtle, 6-8 mm in size previously 0.9-1 cm in size”  

Those are the highlights. There were other area that were stable, but that’s ok, we are focusing on the positive! It’s still hard to believe!

I’m feeling pretty good today and now that I know the chemo is working I laugh at the side effects! Bring ‘em on!!

love and life

Janet

WOO HOO!!!

I have no words that adequately express our relief! Dr. Kaplan came in, said “Good morning.” and gave us a thumbs up. Then he described how each tumor had shrunk, some by nearly a half!!! Such good news!! The plan is to keep on keeping on with this chemo, so we celebrated our success with our favorite poison, and we just got home from the hospital!

That’s it for now…short and sweet!  I need to curl up with a nice cup of tea. Just wanted all of you to know as soon as we got home.

Thanks for all your love and support and tea and chicken noodle soup and lentil soup and fresh veggies and...

Feeling joyous relief and love!

Janet

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Rudy at our chalkboard wall, and a couple more from this summer. She was so cute! She was a dear girl. In the end she went peacefully with me, Mike, Michael, Maggie and Betty by her side. We miss her.

Highs and Lows

First things, first…the pizza was yum! By Sunday night my appetite had improved quite a bit, just in time for pizza. Betty made a gorgeous salad and I really could not bring myself to eat any. But, pizza…I had my fair share!

The pizza oven and the party were a huge success. Mike, Michael and Vince manned the oven, but Michael really took charge and seemed to enjoy the work. Mike had made a pizza peel using some wood from he had here and some purple heart wood my brother Paul had sent back with me from Kansas City last year. The pizza peel was a little beefy and the boys got very creative in finding tools to use to work the pizza in the oven. In the end, they discovered that using cherry wood made the oven super hot and the pizza cooked and handled beautifully from then on. 

What a night! Eva had come up with Michael, and Nora, a dear friend of Maggie’s drove up from Portland as well. Maggie and Michael had each invited friends to join us and Lizzy and Vince had invited a couple of friends and a number of neighbors. Then it was us along with Betty and Jennifer and that was perfect! 

The pizzas were plentiful! Betty, Lizzie and I had all made dough to see what might work best. I’ll try to list the variety of toppings that we had available, though each pizza was lightly topped as that is what works best in the wood fired oven. Here are some of the toppings: cooked red sauce, raw red sauce, pesto, pine nuts, salami, italian sausage, crispy pepperoni, goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, goat mozzarella, manchego cheese, parmesan, feta, figs, honey, anchovies, onions, mushrooms, mixed roast veggies, basil and I’m sure I’m forgetting something! We had birthday s’mores to end the evening. The pizza and the shared neighbor party was a huge success and a blast! First of many we hope!

The weekend is winding down. Nora and Eva headed back to Portland. Michael gets to stay one more night. I’ve had plenty to distract me from thinking about possible outcomes tomorrow. I’m assuming I’ll continue on chemotherapy of some kind or another, but that is just an assumption.

I’m sorry to report that our Rudy is doing poorly. Yesterday she seemed quite off and today even more so. We are not going to make her go through another night, she is in too much pain. She will eat her favorites, pumpkin, banana and peanut butter, but she won’t drink any more water. She is showing some other signs that she is at the end of her life. She has been such a trooper through this. She has had some bad days and then rebounded nicely, but she has gone on with this growing tumor long enough.

I can’t even try to make sense of the timing of her illness and mine. It is just too sad. I’m going to spend the next hour rocking her before we finally call the doctor to come here or we’ll take her in. 

I’ll let you all know what we find out tomorrow. Requesting extra prayers….some for Rudy and some for me.

lots of love

Janet