Cancer won- but not without a fight

mom passed away today at 1:45 PM. She was comfortable and without pain.

Cancer might have won, but mom put up a hell of a fight!!!

Some Bad News- Hospice

Quite a few things have changed in just a week. She has declined considerably. She has become very weak and has a lot of pain, sometimes uncontrollable.

This morning she was very weak and was unable to get up out off the couch to go to the bathroom, therefore i had to lift her a couple times. She was also unable to walk, because her legs would not support her, therefore her radiation appointment was cancelled. The doctor was called and some results were discussed.

(about a week and 1/2 ago- back story) She had been having radiation to the brain and thyroid because the cancer were in those areas. We were also told that the tumor in her uterus had grown a bit. Also a tumor on her side had surfaced and was increasing in size.

Today we were told that the radiation was not helping and that her tumors were increasing in size and that it was growing rapidly. Today, we were told that they were stopping all treatment because it is not helping.

The decision was made to have mom start hospice home care. There main goal is to keep her comfortable and reduce the pain. This is the most important thing! There will be a nurse that comes into the home everyday. This person will help with lifting and general care. They will deal with all of the medications and anything that revolves around her. We are meeting the nurse and aid tomorrow and will be discussing the schedule and what they plan on doing.

Mom started this battle with a fight and will continue to fight because she is full of courage, determination, love, humor, and support. Keep her in your thoughts!!!

Unitl i know more...

Love, Jess

CANCER Stinks!!!!

About two weeks ago mom started to have a cough- when it got worse she headed in to see the doctor. Her thyroid had enlarged and was very firm and was intruding into her air way- that was the reason for the cough. Also during this time she started to just eat liquid and soft foods because it is to difficult to eat. Then wednesday she had an apt with a surgeon to look at her thyroid. During her apt they did a needle biopsy of her thyroid and of two lymph nodes on her neck.

Today she had an apt with her oncologist and he gave the results of the thyroid. Her thyroid is cancerous- but is a metastasis from the other cancer that is in her body. This makes the cancer secondary (meaning that the cancer has spread to her thyroid from another area in her body).

We found in our appointment today that Chemo will stop. The chemo treatments are not helping Mom reduce the cancer in her body. There were small amounts of cancer cells that did conform to the chemo treatments, but the cancer has increased in several areas including her lungs. The radiation treatments to the brain have been a success- and we very thankful for that.

She has been scheduled for radiation treatments for the next 16 days to her neck area. New CAT and PET scans are to be scheduled to see how fast the cancer is growing, or if there has been a positive change in some of the cancer areas.

She is scheduled for a bone tap on Wednesday to see if the cancer has spread to the bone marrow. The reason for the bone tap is because of the long time it take for the blood counts to return after the chemo treatments.

Dr. Aronson will consult with Dana Farber Center in Boston for suggestions. We may need to go to Boston for a consult before the next suggestion of treatments.
Dr. Aronson said...It doesn't look good Honey. Rosemary responded, I haven't given up, I hope you haven't either!

All i have to say is - You Suck Cancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until i know more!

Love Jess

chemo today

Just a quick update... things are going well. Mom went into the doctors today so they could check her counts. Her counts have come up since wednesday, therefore, she is having chemo today. Her counts will drop again in about a week. She will be tired today but will not really feel the affects of the chemo until next week, when her counts drop.
until i know more...
love jess

status quo

Mom is doing really well. The visiting nurse was in the other day to take some blood. We are waiting to hear what mom's counts are. If her counts are good she will have another round of chemo in the begining of September. Her stamina is a lot better and is even walking without a cane around the house. She uses the cane when she is out and about for security and stability reasons.

She is staying active by sewing and knitting and has many projects in the works. She is quite the busy-bee.

Nothing much has changed medically and is taking one day at a time.

Until i know more...

love,

jess

Doing good

Mom is doing well, here at home. She had chemo on Friday and is recuperating. She feels really good. she will not really feel the effects of the chemo until later this week into next week. She went into the office yesterday to get a shot which boosts her white blood cell counts.

She is staying active and going out of the house on little adventures with dad and/or dad and I. The other day we went down to the mall- since her counts were good and she was in no danger of catching anything- and picked up a bridesmaids dress that i had altered and mom got some new shoes for a wedding in a couple weeks. She had fun and was able to be out amongst people.

Nothing much is going on. Just doing day to day things, relaxing, and she is enjoying sewing again. She is making little children's out fits. SO CUTE!

Thanks to all that continue to send their love and support. It is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Until i know more...

Love,

Jess

Mom is home

Mom came home yesterday afternoon from the hospital. She is doing well but she now has a new task to do at home. She and Dad had to be trained on IV antibiotics. Now that she is home she has to have the antibiotics by IV. Things are going well.

She had a CAT scan yesterday and is scheduled for a PET scan on the 10th- these are just to find out how the tumors look in her body and to see if anything has changed. She is also scheduled for a Dr's visit on the 13th which is also supposed to be another Chemo day, but we will see what happens.

Her counts are still low and are growing everyday.

All and all things are going well, and i am just happy she is home again.

until i know more...

love jess

Temperature put mom back in gibson

Well, yesterday mom went to have a check up in Scarborough. Her counts were down so they shipped her to Maine Medical to Gibson in order to get products, platelets etc. She did really well receiving the products and then was sent home. Once she arrived home she laid down and took a nap. When she woke up she had a temperature. Dad called the doc and they said to take tylenol and check her temp every 4 hours. Well, her temperature kept climbing to 105. they called the doc again and dad took mom into Maine Medical Center Emergency Room around midnight. She was still able to talk.  They put her in a triage room in order to get her away from the other patients because she is neutropenic. She eventually moved up to gibson. 

Her temperature has broken but they are monitoring her. they are taking blood cultures to see if she has an infection some place. They think it may be related to the chemo but are unsure. 

I am unable to tell you how long she will be at gibson, but i will update as soon as i learn any new information. 

until i know more...

love jess

Chemo today!

Mom had a good doctors apt yesterday and her platelet counts were up to 154 thousands, therefore, they scheduled for her to go to have chemo today in Scarborough. Yah. Finally, chemo after missing 2 rounds. You don't want to wish for chemo, but you kind of do so she can get them done. 

So, this morning mom and dad headed off to Scarborough early to be there by 8AM. She will be there all day, or however long it will take to finish the session. 

Until i know more...

love, jess

status quo

Things are going really well here in maine. The weather has been fabulous and mom is even better than that! She is moving around a lot better and is eloquent as she rises out of a chair. Wait until she reads that! haha. Really- she is doing so well. 

She has missed the last 2 scheduled chemo visits at the doctors office because her platelet counts have been to low. But not low enough to get some, therefore, she has to wait for her body to produce them. This may take some time. She has a doctors apt coming up in tuesday/wednesday where they will check her counts again. If everything goes well she will have chemo on wednesday. 

She continues to have physical therapy come into our home to work with her. She also has a nurse that visits once a week, just to check on things. Mom is very independent and does things on her own, which is wonderful! 

She is getting a little anxious sitting at home, so mom and dad have gone on little adventures almost daily. The other day they showed up at camp (where i work) and surprised me~ that made my day. And the other night we all went to the movies and dinner together, which was great fun!!! We went and saw sorcerer's apprentice, it was surprisingly really good! 

She has also started sewing again. Dad has brought up a table, her sewing machine, and crafts upstairs so she can work on things as she wants. She has her own little craft studio upstairs at home. It is great!!! 

Well, i think that is all from our neck of the woods. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the beautiful (but hot) weather. 

until i know more...

love, Jess

Pictures from Relay for Life 2010

Mom is doing great!! She has an apt on monday in scarborough. If her counts look good, she will have chemo then, on monday. She is still working with PT at home and is gaining some strength. Nothing much has changed. We went out today to walmart to get the essentials and then went to dinner. It was the first time we have gone out since mom has been home. We had a great meal at Buck's Naked BBQ. 

     She is keeping busy by going through her knitting projects, finishing some up, and starting new ones. 

until i know more

love, jess

YES!!

Mom had her first night home last night and all went well! The PT person was in at 9 to work with her. It sounds like her oncologist is going to change her chemo schedule. I will update when i learn what the new schedule will be. Thanks for all of the love and support.
until i know more...
love jess

Mom is coming home!!

MOM IS COMING HOME TODAY!
It was confirmed last night that mom is coming home today. She is being discharged at 1:30 from rehab and then has an oncology appointment at 2:30. After all of that she is coming home!!!!!
We are all really excited!!!!!!!!!!!
Until i know more...
love, jess

Relay for Life 2010

Hello Everyone!!!
Mom had an amazing night on Saturday June 26th because she was able to leave the rehab hospital for a few hours, with a day pass, in order to attend the local Relay for Life that was held in Windham. Wow what a night!!!! Mom participated in the survivors walk by wheeling around the track, with yours truly as the driver. She wore she survivor shirt and sash with great pride as we looked on with all smiles. She even walked a total of a third of the track with the help of her walker. She is doing so well. Everyday there are many improvements.
Once the sun went down and we admired the beautiful sunset it was time for the luminary ceremony that dad and i participated in. Dad began the ceremony by discussing what a luminary is and then on to how they are important. Then each team came up and read the luminaries that they had for there team. There were luminaries in memory of people who had lost their life to cancer, and then there were luminaries to honor people who were currently fighting cancer. Then it was my turn at the mic. I read the poem: Every candle has a name. This poem was to tell the people that we were not just looking at a flame in a luminary bag but more important that each flame represented someone that had fought/was fighting the battle of cancer.
It was a very emotional night full of saddness, happiness, strength, encouragement, love, and so MUCH more!! After the ceremony was done, dad and I, had to rush mom back to the hospital because we kept her longer then her curfew was for. Oh well. What were they going to do. It was well worth it!!!
I have pictures but i will post them in a few days.
Mom, is doing well at rehab, so well in fact that they my kick her out early. Still waiting on the word, but i can not wait to get her home!!!! Her puppies miss her, oh, and so do we... ALOT!!

I hope that one day, the word "CANCER" will no longer exist!!!
Thanks to everyone for all of the love and support that you have shown our family. We really appreciate it, more than words can say!

Love to all
Unil I know more...
love, Jess

still at rehab

Mom is doing well at rehab. Each day is showing great improvement!!!! She is walking around the wing with her walker, doing stairs during her therapy treatments, and plunty of arm punches in her arm exercises. She is doing really well and you can definitely tell she is improving. She is eating and drinking better.
She has about 2 more weeks of therapy. She will then be readmitted to Maine medical center for her fourth round of chemo, which will last 5 days. She will then have a week to recover, to have her counts drop and then rise up. Hopefully, i have my fingers crossed, she will be coming home!!!!!
Thank you to everyone who have been so supportive by calling, asking about mom, sending cards, sending flowers, and so much more. It really means alot to me, my father, my family, and my mother. So thank you!
until i know more...
love Jess

Mom is at rehab

Mom moved to the rehab center today at 2 pm by ambulance. she is all settled into her room. She has a roommate but has not met her yet and her room is much smaller compared to her rooms she had in Gibson. But, hopefully, she will not be at rehab to long. She is doing well and so are her spirits. 

She is a machine and is chugging away! 

until i know more...

love, jess

WICKED GOOD NEWS!

         Mom had her third round of chemo on monday and it went really well. She did not have any problems with vomiting but she has had some side pain so they gave her some pain med and that seemed to help. Her counts dropped a little but are going back up.

          SO THE GOOD NEWS- Mom is moving to the rehab center tomorrow, wednesday! Yah!!!!!!!! At the rehab center they are going to work with her to get her stronger. They will work on walking, stairs, and daily activities. After she is done at rehab... SHE IS COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!! They do not know if she will be at rehab for 1,2,3,4, weeks. It is a daily evaluation of how she is doing. 

          She is doing well and will move tomorrow via ambulance. We are all really excited and i can not wait until she can come home. The two that are going to be most excited to see mom are the puppies, sunshine and junior. They miss her so much! 

           Hope this wonderful news makes everyones day, because it made mine.

Until i know more...

love, jess

Mom is doing well. The tentative date for her to start chemo is on the 14th. This round of chemo only lasts one day. After that chemo is done, roughly 3 days after finishing chemo, she will then head to rehab. Other than that things are going well and she is status quo. 

until i know more...

love jess 

Hi all- sorry that i have not updated the blog in a while. Things are going well mom. She is still in Maine Medical but are hoping to get out of here soon and go to rehab. She is moving more and walking around more. She has now walked to the other nurses station and back which is a huge accomplishment. She is continuing to meet with PT and OT to work on daily activities. She is also eating better, which is a plus. She even had a baked potato today for dinner. 

    She is still here at maine med because for some reason they can not control her potassium levels, they keep dropping. She is getting potassium through IV and Pill form. When she takes the pills she sometimes becomes nauseous that is why they are supplementing with IV. The reason her potassium is dropping is because of her kidneys. Her kidneys are not holding on to the potassium but the doctor said that it will take time and her kidneys will correct themselves. There was some question about dialysis but the doctor said NO WAY. THERE IS NO NEED FOR HER TO HAVE DIALYSIS!!!

    OTher than that she is doing well. Once her potassium is corrected she will go to rehab. The next possible date for chemo is on June 14 or 15. But that is possibility if everything goes well.

Well, i think that is all, until i know more...

love jess 

"One day at a time!" 

Mom is doing well and finished chemo on friday. She did well but did have a few of the side effects such as nausea and vomiting. She now has three weeks off before she has to have another round of chemo. She is resting now and is waiting for her counts to drop so they can bring them back up. She is eating more solid foods such mac and cheese and cheerios. 

Other than finishing chemo nothing is really going on. Until i know more...

love jess

The entire crew that came out to celebrate Mom's  Birthday!! Just wanted to share the picture with everyone! hugs...

Mom is doing well with the chemo but is having a few side effects- such as being tired and confused. She also looses her function in her arms after a few hours into the chemo but goes back to normal after the chemo is washed out of her system. She is back to normal by the normal. The doctor says this is normal but it is some what frustrating to mom. She is doing well and is taking one day at a time. Her chemo treatments end on Friday and recovery is the following week. Her counts are normal and probably will not drop until the weekend. OK... that is all that has changed for now. until i know more...

love jess

Mom started her second round of chemo today which consists of two different kinds. She was given pre-meds before starting chemo and she is doing well. They really help with nausea, which she does not feel at this time. She did well today but is just really really tired. 

She had a great day yesterday with all of our family in attendance for her birthday. She was able to go down to the court yard to celebrate where we had pizza and cake.  

Things are looking great and she went for a walk today to the nurses station outside her room, which was excellent and the farthest she has gone. 

until i know more

love jess

Had a great day and a wonderful birthday! 

She had a new pick line put into her right arm which is available when she starts chemo. She is starting chemo on monday- they have postponed the start of her treatment because this weekend is her birthday weekend and alot of people are coming up to celebrate. She is continuing to do physical therapy and she is doing better with it. She is doing a little bit better getting in and out of bed. All and all not much has changed. She is doing very well. Until i know more...

love, jess

Mom has moved to a different room, 555 (still in gibson), because there is a lift in the room to help her get up if she needs to use it. She also went down to radiology, which they looked at her leg with the blood clot. Nothing has changed with the clot- it is still the same size. The doctor also said that there is a possibility for her to start chemo this friday. It is still up in the air. 

Until i know more...

love, jess

Mini update

Mom is doing well and not much has changed. The doc came in today and said that there is an adjustment to mom's chemo schedule- he will possibly start chemo on Monday, May 24, instead of this monday. Her mouth is still pretty sore which the doctor said it looks like a burn inside her mouth. He said that that is what he calls a chemo burn which indicates that the chemo is starting to wear off, which means that it is time for more chemo. She is doing well. Until i know more...

love, jess

Update May 12th

Hi everyone-

Not much has changed with mom and her treatment. She is having problems with having temperatures. They seem to come about in the late afternoon. She is still getting antibiotics and the docs are trying to figure out where the infection is coming from. Therefore, mom is having to give quite a bit of blood for cultures. She is also very weak and having a hard time even standing therefore PT is coming in and trying to work with her. She has a long road ahead but is doing well. Thanks to everyone for all of your kind thoughts.

until i know more...

love, jess

Update May 9th

Mom is doing ok-

We were able to celebrate Mother's Day together, which was amazing. She also moved to a larger room on gibson- room 561!

Some new updates- she has an infection in her blood and also in her bladder. They are treating it with antibiotics. She had the catheter taken out today because of the bladder infection. She also has the chills and is trying to get warm with multiple blankets on her. Hopefully, no fever!  She got some more platelets today. She still has a plug in her nose from the nose bleed and is still on oxygen. She also still has thrush so that is making it hard for her to swallow and eat- ice chips have become her new best friend. 

She still has restrictions of no fresh fruit, fresh veggies, or flowers. 

She is doing well, just tired, but is holding her own!

Until i know more...

love jess

update May 8th

A quick update-

Mom is doing better and she was moved back to gibson late last night. Her room number was changed and she is now in room # 567. She has gotten some blood products but is doing well. 

until i know more...

love jess

Mom has been moved back to SCU- she is holding her own! 

update quickly-

mom's counts have dropped so she now has restrictions on herself and the room. She is not allowed to have fresh fruit, fresh veggies, or any flowers. Although, fake flowers are ok! Also, anyone coming in have to wash there hands in the sink outside her room. She is considered nutrupenic (spelling is wrong-sorry), which means her immune system is non-existent. She received blood products today-which included platelets and red blood cells. She also has an infection somewhere so they are going to treat with anti-biotics, they think it may be a bladder infection. Still waiting on test results. Also, her blood pressure is low-so they are watching her closely. 

until i know more-

love jess 

Back up to Gibson

YAHHHHH!!!

Mom is doing sooooo much better and she is almost back to her old self. She can talk to us again and has her humor back. She is breathing better and is having sherbet and ice chips. She has developed blood clots in her legs so her legs are quite swollen. They are giving her medication to help dissolves those blood clots. She is also taking some diabetic medications because her sugar is high and that is from the other medications she is getting. Other than that she is doing so much better. At 1:15 AM this morning she was moved back to her Gibson room, room 569. YAHH. So happy that she is back in her old room. They saved it just for her! 

Thank you to everyone for all of your kind words, thoughts, and hugs. They really help. Positive thoughts really do work ! YAHH! 

UNtil i know more...

LOVE JESS

She has moved to SCU

Hi all! 

Things are not going well at all. Mom has moved to SCU (Special Care Unit) here at Maine Medical because of breathing complications and temperature. They called in a rapid response team and she was moved to SCU. At 4 am on saturday they determined she had: multiple bilateral pulmonary embolisms. She had a procedure on saturday where they put a filter in one of her main arteries to her heart to stop blood clots from traveling up to her heart. At this time she is resting here at SCU and we will be here for about a week. She has limited visitation times were people go into see her for a few minutes and then back to the waiting room. 

It is a day to day thing- each day brings more news. Hopefully, she will be able to go back to Gibson soon. 

Will keep you all posted. 

Love, Jess

CANCER- i wish you were a person so i could kick your A**!!!!

Well, not good news! So she has Poorly Differentiated Sarcoma which looks like Ewing Sarcoma but its not ewing sarcoma. They believe that the cancer started in her uterus and then spread to all of the areas i mentioned before. The Doc said that her uterus has been entirely replaced by the tumor. It also looks like the cancer has spread to her liver and possibly to her bone marrow. These are two new areas that the cancer has spread to. It is a fast moving cancer so he feels that we need to get going on treatment before it spread to other areas even though it has spread since she was admitted. 

We still do not have the PET scan report back but we will meet with the doc tomorrow afternoon to hear those results. Her treatment is going to follow how Boston treats this and that is with chemo first and then radiation or surgery later. They are going to treat this sarcoma like ewing sarcoma even though it is not. Therefore, they are going to use the same kind of chemo cocktail. She is going to start chemo today for one day. And then in 3 weeks she will have more chemo that will last for 5 days. It is a 3 week cycle. They are going to give her the full dose in order to knock the cancer on its butt and then kill it. They are also going to give her medications in order to counter act the chemo affects on her body. The medications will help with the nausea. Some also side effects from the chemo are fatigue, skin rash, diarrhea, numbness in fingers and toes, hair loss, etc. After several months of chemo they will take a break from chemo and do radiation or surgery. After she picks one of those options they will go back to chemo, which will last for about a year. Damn, this is going to be a long road. But, after speaking to the Doc, she said that she was ready. 

Her platelet count is low- so they may have to give her some blood but they will do that whenever they need to. Also, her calcium is high which is making her loopy and having a hard time comprehending and having a problem keeping control of her arms.  

One thing that is great is her BRAIN looks excellent! yahh! Keep Mom in your thoughts! We need all the positive thinking we can get!!

Until i know more...LOVE Jess

U

Well, today was not such a good day. Her pain is still pretty bad so they are still giving her "high test" pain killer. She went today and had her PET scan. Did not have such great service there, but dad will take care of that!  Will not know the results for a few days. Her calcium levels were a little high so she is out of it a little bit. She is having a hard time telling you things but that is because she is drugged and her calcium is up. She is also starting to loose her hair from the radiation treatments that she had completed. 

The Doc said earlier today that there was a possibility that she would have started chemo after she got back from the PET scan but that did not happen. There is nothing in her chart for tonight, so they may start chemo tomorrow sometime. I guess it is just a waiting game. She also has thrush again in her mouth, therefore she is having a very difficult time swallowing. They are crushing her oxycodon pills and putting them in serbert. 

So today was not so great, but i am hoping for a better day tomorrow!!! 

until i know more... LOVE, Jess

Today was not such a great day for mom because she was in a great deal of pain which she can not pin point. In order to relieve some of this pain they have started to give her "Dilotin" (sorry i don't know the spelling) which is the "high test" pain killer. Tomorrow the doctor is coming in to tell us the plan of action (treatment and etc). Mom is also going to go for a little adventure to scarborough by ambulance to have a PET scan. She has to go to scarborough because they do not have the machine at Maine Medical. It is a traveling machine. I will update tomorrow night when we learn what the plan of action is going to be. Until later... Love Jess

LAST DAY OF RADIATION

YAHH! Today was Mom's last day of radiation treatment to the brain and she said it went well!! Yesterday was not such a good day because her pain was extremely bad so they gave her a different type of medication a "high test" pain reliever.  

We found out some new information about what she might had for a kind of cancer. We saw her oncologist again today and he said that she MAY/POSSIBLY have Ewing Sarcoma but that is not a definite prognosis because they are still doing microbiology tests to the sample they took a while back. Hopefully, we will know more by tomorrow when we meet with the oncologist again. 

Today, is a good day. She went outside and sat in the court yard and got some fresh air. Some of her counts today were a little off. Her calcium was up again to 14 so they gave her meds to lower the calcium and put her back on potassium. Her platelet number also lowered so they drew some blood to figure out why. 

That is all i know for now. Thank you to all who are sending their love and good wishes! Thank you! Until i know more...

LOVE, Jess

Mom had an ok day yesterday but very busy. In the morning she went down and had her surgery to put the meta-port in. It is located around her right clavical. The surgery went well but she was pretty uncomfortable after because the pain got to great. She later went down to radiation and had her second to last treatment. Her final treatment is on Monday! yahh. She became more comfortable later that night. 

Mom was working on chemo hats before she became diagnosed so i brought those in (21 hats and she has more at home that need to be tied off) and she is donating them to the floor. Always go giving! 

This morning went well and it has been a pretty relaxing day. we watched a couple movies and then got clearance to go outside so we went outside and sat in the patio for a while. That was good because she was able to get out and get some fresh air. 

No new update really. We will learn more after her final radiation treatment. We will see after we see her oncologist on Monday or Tuesday. Until then... Love, Jess

Update for 4/22- finally some answers

Ok we finally have some new information! The pathology report came back and it appears that Mom has Sarcoma but we still do not know the kind. Boston is still studying the make up of her cells and once we know the make up or kind of sarcoma they will determine the kind of chemotherapy treatment that they want to use. 

Tomorrow they are going to put a Mediport in on 4/23 which is more for long term rather than the pick line which is for short term. Chemotherapy treatments will begin as soon as radiation therapy stops on Monday. Monday 4/26 is her last radiation therapy session, number ten! yahoo! 

PT and OT are still working with her to try and keep her strength up by walking with a walker and by doing some upper and lower body exercises. They are also working on her balance. 

So we finally have some answers which is some what of a relief. 

Until we learn more... Love Jess

Status Quo

No new information, she is status quo. She is continuing with her radiation treatments and will have her last treatment, number 10, on Monday. She is doing well getting up and walking around. To everyone- thank you for the constant love, prayers, hugs, and thoughts that are being sent our way. We love you all very much and thank you for all of the support. Bear Hugs, Love Jess  

Round 6

Status quo! 

Mom had another great night and has more energy because of that. She got up and showered and put real clothes on, shorts and a shirt. Yah!! She took a couple strolls around the pavilion with her walker and did really well. We have been on a holding pattern this weekend until after Patriots day on Monday. On Tuesday she will start radiation therapy again. So everything is status quo. I will let you know if anything changes. Hope she has another great night. Love to all! 

Love Jess

Round 5

Another good night was had by all.

Mom had a great night last night and a wonderful day today. She got up and showered and then walked around a little bit with the help of her walker. She then was taken off of her IV fluids because she was drinking enough on her own and her stats looked good. She also had her catheter taken out and is doing great on her own. All in all a great day. 

Until tomorrow... Love Jess

Round 4

Good Evening!

 Mom had a another great night last night which was good because she was so busy today. Her day started bright and early with the Pick Team coming in and putting a pick line into her right arm. What was awesome was that we (Dad, myself, and Aunt Midge) were able to watch the procedure but we had to put protective stuff on our heads and over our mouths. It was so interesting to watch. After the line was put in they brought her down for a chest x-ray to make sure that the line was in the right area, right above the heart. After the x-ray they decided to take her into radiation. At least she was able to get things done early in the morning. She then had physical therapy come in and worked with her on how to get out of bed and into a chair. So know we have a fancy new recliner in her room along with a walker. 

Also, throughout the day she had multiple multiple visitors which she was happy to see. Some visitors we had not seen for quite some time which made for some special visits. 

We also saw Dr. Aronson this afternoon and did not really give us any new information at this time except that her spine looks great from looking at the MRI taken yesterday. That piece of info is wonderful amazing news. So things are pretty much status quo on everything else.  She is now sleeping and we all hope for another great night of rest. 

Until tomorrow... love jess

Round 3- Can't we just get a diagnosis PLEASE!

Good Evening All...

Last night Mom slept awesome!! She got some pain med last night around 11 and then got a boost of pain med around midnight. She then slept through the night and woke up at 2:30 to get some more pain med. She then slept until 7 am, but only woke up because the nurse came in for vitals. 

Dr. Aronson, who is her oncologist, came to discuss mom's case this morning and we found out some not so good news. Yesterday, they told us that mom had Spindle Cell Sarcoma- but that is not the case. She does not have spindle cell sarcoma. Dr. Aronson said that the pathology report came back as- poorly differentiated malignant neoplasms- which in normal people terms means: We don't know what the hell she has for cancer because the biopsy sample was not good enough. 

What he could tell us was that she has solid tumors in: her brain (5 total with smaller ones affecting her eyes, speech, and emotions), lungs (with one tumor growing into her bone), lymph nodes (including her chest, abdomen, and pelvis), Uterus, Spleen, Thyroid Gland, and it is attacking her muscles and connective tissue. 

Dr. Aronson said that at this point he does not have enough info so he has scheduled mom to go through more test. She had an MRI, is going to have more blood work done, and another biopsy. They are going to put in a Pick Line so they do not have to keep poking her with needles for blood work. The pick line will also be used for her IV fluids. Once all of the new tests are done we should get the results back in a week. Hopefully, then we will have a damn label to put on this cancer. I would feel better if there was a label to what mom has so i could al least research it and have a better understanding. They are also going to schedule some physical therapy to get her up and walking around. They also feel that physical therapy will help with the weakness she feels in her legs. 

They are continuing with full head radiation and she had another treatment today. She said it went well. She also likes the tech guys down at radiation because they crank Billy Joel while they prep her and tell her to get down and boogie. haha. You have to find humor in the little things. For instance i dyed a strip of my hair in the back purple for cancer awareness and mom just had a hoot looking at it. She said it was cool. I was happy to see her smile. 

I think that is all for know until tomorrow. I hope she has another good night and i hope tomorrow gives us better news. Thank you to all of our family, friends, and wonderful staff here on the Gibson Pavilion. We appreciate all of your love and support during this time. Positive thinking gets us far and so does Mom's will to fight. Love you, Jess

The Fight is On- Round 2

Good morning everyone-

Yesterday, mom had her second treatment of full head radiation and it went well. When she came back to the room she said, "Two down!" The treatments make her pretty tired where as the medication, Decatron (which is used to reduce swelling of the brain), makes her feel hot and makes her face flush. She gets frustrated at times because she wants to get up and go but can't without getting a nurse. Yesterday and today she got up and sat in a chair for about twenty minutes. Which is excellent! She will have another radiation treatment today. 

  Aunt Midge and I had a sleepover last night with Mom- and we are now designated as the party room! She did not have a good night last night because she could not get comfortable. She had pain so they gave her some pain medication and also sleeping medication because she just could not sleep. She maybe got a couple of hours of rest. Hopefully, she will be able to rest some today. They are going to look at some different sleep medications so she can get some rest tonight because the past two nights she has not been able to get alot of rest. 

We just learned the identity of the pathology of the cells. She has been diagnosed with SPINDLE CELL SARCOMA. We have not talked to the oncologist yet-but they should be stopping by soon to tell us what the treatment options are. Spindle Cell Sarcoma is a connective tissue cancer in which cells are spindle shaped. They think that the cancer started in the uterus and then spread everywhere else. It is a RARE form of cancer. What i also found during research was: if the tumor begins inside the abdomen, near the back, it may become quite large before it causes any symptoms, which may first be noticed as a mild ache or discomfort in the back. HELLO- Bingo!! I will let you know when i know more!

Thank you to everyone who is sending their thoughts, prayers, and love our way. We greatly appreciate all that everyone has been doing for us (family, friends, and staff here at Maine Medical Center). 

Mom had been complaining of back pain for about a month and was using wet heat and taking advil. The pain got to great so she went to see her physician, Dr. Murray. She was put on some antibiotics and pain killers. The pain continued and got worse so we took her to Maine Medical Center's ER twice before learning on the third visit what really was going on. In her CT scan they identified that her uterus looked enlarged. With further testing we have learned that mom has Uterine Cancer. The cancer has metastasized to her ovaries, lymph nodes, bone, lungs, and brain. We still do not know the pathology of the cell that they biopsied from her back. 

     The doctors are focusing on her brain cancer first and then the rest of her body after that. She is going to have Full Head Radiation that consists of 2 weeks of treatments. The treatments will run from Monday to Friday, one treatment a day, last about ten minutes, with a total of ten total treatments. After the two weeks the radiation in the brain will stay for three to six months after. They are treating the brain with radiation to prevent further attack of the brain so that the cancer in her body will not travel back up to her brain. She had her first radiation treatment yesterday at 3:30pm. She will have another treatment today.

She is doing well and so is the family. We are just trying to educate ourselves about what is going on. We are staying strong, trying to stay positive, and are ready to fight like hell. Mom is a fighter and will get through this. Tomorrow will be a better day!! I will keep you all updated daily about her progress. 

Mom's address is: Rosemary Simmons, 

Maine Medical Center

Room 569 Gibson Pavilion 

22 Bramhall Street, Portland, Me. 04102