#3 down, 2 to go......remain flexible

Well 14 days until the last chemo. However, Sheri will continue to visit the nurses and the red leather chairs for a while, as we continue her non-chemo infusion of Herceptin. We'll go down every three weeks for a quick check up and some medicine. That will last for.......well lets just remain flexible......it may go on for years. The Herceptin drug inhibits Sheri's type of cancer from growing, and allows her immune system to fight the cancer back. It is working well thus far.

On the surgery front, we have decided, along with Sheri's doctor, to wait 6 months on a mastectomy surgery. She will be having an overectomy in a month or so, but for now we're holding off on the mastectomy. The whole debate is very complicated and emotional. Since Sheri's cancer advanced beyond the breast to the liver and bones, the doctors are more worried about the cancer there than the lump in her breast. She is responding well to her treatment of treating the whole body, so as the body goes, so goes the breast. If you have time it's easier to explain in person. In short we're waiting on one surgery, and having another next month. We'll let everyone know the dates of things as we know. We go in in a few weeks for some update scans as well. Pray for good results.

Brett (Sheri went to bed early tonight)

Walkers for cancer

We appreciate the support!!!!!

Snow in April

We awoke this morning, on April 20th, to snow.......and lots of it. It is flat out dumping! We judge how hard it is snowing by how far we can see. If we can see across the lake, it's light. If we can still see down town, it's snowing pretty good. We can hardly see the houses 200' from our house, it's snowing that hard! Bryce poked his head up, rubbed his eyes and groggily said, "sledding?." Anyway, we thought it was interesting. Like the weather, life teaches us to remain flexible. What you think is a given, just may not be. Our appointments in Spokane went well. We came away confused, encouraged......and know we need to be flexible. We meet with Sheri's doctor Thursday to sort out all the new info and formulate a plan for the months to come. We'll share that info when we know it. Keep looking up.

Brett and Sheri

Live from the Davenport in Spokane.....

#4 down, 3 to go. Today was a quick visit to the chemo room for Sheri's off week (no chemo, but herceptin). The end of this (chemo) road is drawing near. We drove to Spokane this afternoon, and tonight we had dinner with Sheri's Aunt Patti and Uncle Jim (he's the one who got us the Wii at Christmas, he manages a Fred Meyer. The kid's think Santa rocks....we know better, Uncle Jim does.) It was great to see them. Sheri's Aunt also had breast cancer, so she's been a great support. After dinner we did what Sheri is calling "retail therapy" .....it involves buying stuff......I was a supportive husband and bought a few things myself. Tonight we're staying at our all time favorite hotel, the Davenport. The best part is they give a huge break to Cougar Alum....I knew that piece of paper was worth something! Tomorrow we have two Doctor appointments with a surgeon, and a reconstructive doctor. The information we gather tomorrow will set our path for the next few months. So there you go, keep moving forward.

Brett

...setting surgery dates...

This Thursday we will be traveling to Spokane to meet with a plastic surgeon on Friday morning. Our hope is to coordinate all of the doctors, surgeries and treatments so it goes as smoothly as possible. At this point I need a mastectomy, ovarectomy and then reconstructive surgery. The first two surgeries may be done at the same time or separately. The mastectomy and reconstructive surgery could also be done at the same time theoretically, but I don't think that will happen. The bottom line is we will be meeting with a plastic surgeon now to make the best plan possible. My wonderful oncologist will coordinate it all.

At a later time my doctor will decide whether the next set of scans will be done before or after the surgeries. There is also the possibility that I may continue chemotherapy after surgery, but possibly not too. The good point is that there are options. I liken it to a basketball game. There are many plays the team has practiced, but you wait to choose the right play when you get to that point in the game. My scans, blood tests and surgeries will determine where we are in the game medically.

I will continue to go down for Herceptin every three weeks for ...a long time. We don't know how many months that will go on.

At the risk of sounding completely redundant, we are continuing to pray for a BIG miracle. I know God is ultimately in control. We choose to trust Him and are thankful for His guidance and direction. Thank you for praying with us.

Keep looking up!

Sheri

Remodel Pictures

Yesterday Was #5 with 4 to go. The end of this chemo marathon is near!

OK. So here are the much anticipated (well maybe not so much).......OK the much asked about pictures of our remodel project. We actually planned this project before Sheri was diagnosed. After a few months of sitting around looking at each other in the evenings.....well lets just say I got bored. We did: All new doors throughout the house with new moldings and lock hardware. We gutted the master bath and installed a new walk in shower, with river rock tile floor (no it doesn't hurt your feet, it feels cool!). We painted and reused the cabinets and installed two sinks and new counter tops and back splash in the master (we had one sink before). In the guest bath we replaced the counter tops, back splash, sink and faucet. There's new paint in both baths. Not bad for two months, and minimal interruptions to life. We actually enjoy this stuff, it's not that stressful to us. I know it's hard to believe. Anyway, there it is, enjoy it for what it is. We will!


New Doors! Cherry Shaker


Guest Bath


Just after the old shower was ripped out




During Construction


River Rock Tile Floor


Master Shower



Master Vanity

Funny Kid Questions

My kinders are so much fun. Upon returning to school I had some wide eyed students and fun questions to answer. "Mrs. La Mar, did you use special shampoo to make your hair grow back?" "Are you still Mrs. La Mar?" "What happens when you put your head upside down?" I showed them the answer to that one and when the wig didn't come off they wanted to know... "Did you super glue that on?" "How do you get it off?" What can I say? I love my job.
Today they wanted to see under my wig so I showed them. My hair is about 1/8th of an inch long (in places). They were so impressed and excited! "Oh, it's Abbie's color!" they said. Abbie's hair is blonde. Brett and I keep thinking it may come back on the white side of blonde...ugg! Anyway, I love looking at my hair color through the eyes of my kinders best. How fun.
Tomorrow we run down for another chemo. Weeeeeee! Here we go to our penthouse suite again - up on the 4th floor. It actually does have a nice view from up there. We'll probably see the results from the heart ultra sound that was taken last week, chat with my doctor and then relax in the big red chairs while getting chemo.
Life is great. We continue to pray daily and are thankful for the progress and for each day.
Keep looking up!

Sheri


On February 11th I blogged that we started a remodel project, after two months we are nearly complete. What started simple: grew, and grew and grew. That never happens?! Originally we were just going to redo our master bath, then we included the guest bath, and then all new doors throughout the house and new moldings too. Oh and we redid the master closet as well. I think I'll stop there for now. I'll post some pics in the next few days. I think it turned out great, better yet Sheri loves it! All in all it has had semi-minimal impact on our lives. I'll turn my attention to paintng the siding we replaced last fall, and rebuilding a deck. Then landscaping the back yard. Some day this house will be totally redone, then we'll probably sell it, but not now. It's funny how many people ask about the remodel, it's their way of saying they read the blog I think. Thanks for asking! It's going well, now that it's almost done!.

Brett

Loving Spring Break!!!

What a wonderful week! I love Spring Break! Relaxing, sleeping in, snuggling with the kids and watching cartoons or reading a book, eating well and tackling those small projects around the house (at least my projects are small). Brett is continuing to work on the bathrooms. They're looking great. My projects consist of trying to organize one small part of the house at a time. OK, I'll admit it. There's a lot more organizing to do than I realized! How does that happen so fast?!

Chemo went well this week. My blood numbers looked great. I did take nausea medicine Friday in the wee hours of the morning but felt much better after waking up later. Honestly, I think it could have been the Joe Joes I ate for lunch with my sandwich. I haven't eaten anything that unhealthy in a long time and I'm happy not to touch them again for a VERY long time.

We just finished Chemo 6; just 5 more to go! I have to be careful not to over do it. I told Brett today that my heart and mind move so much faster than my body wants too. Of course, today is Saturday, so my body's energy will grow better each day until we hit chemo again next week and begin the process again. We continue to ask God for healing and are thankful for the opportunity for each treatment.

Keep looking up!

Sheri