Saw the Doc

Carlene had an appointment with her medical oncologist this week. He was very complimentary about how Carlene handled all the treatment that she went through over the last 16 months or so, and he is more than satisfied with the results. Given the clear PET/CT, the doc said Carlene doesn't have to see him for 6 months. We are relieved that she won't have another doctor visit to be concerned with for awhile. Carlene is feeling great, and looks terrific. She is happily sporting her new short hairdo. (Not so much that she will let me post a picture here!!) Thanks for all your prayers, emails, phone calls, and cards.
Happy Thanksgiving

PET Scan Results

Carlene had a PET scan this morning. The nurse navigator just called with the results. NO CANCER!! Praise God!! The PET showed some residual infection in her lung, but that was it. We are just thrilled. We had way too long to think about all this since she had the CT scan in September. We are so relieved. Carlene was praying the she could just have some peace for awhile, without having to worry about scans, or x-rays, or biopsies. Looks like she is going to get her wish. Thanks for all your prayers.
God Bless.

CT Results

Carlene received her CT scan results yesterday. She got good news, praise God. The radiologist's report concluded that the scan was showing an infection and/or scar tissue in her lung. He is recommending that Carlene undergo a PET scan to rule out malignancy, given her history. So her radiation oncology doc is putting Carlene on antibiotics for two weeks to clear up any infection in her lung prior to a scan, as PET scans can show false positives when infections are present. (That's what they tell me...what do I know, I'm just an accountant.) Her scan is scheduled for November 8. Sure is nice to get good news for a change. Carlene and I are very relieved. It's been a stressful month. Thanks for your prayers.
God Bless

Test Results

Carlene recently had a MRI done. The MRI revealed that there is no cancer in her chest wall, which is good news indeed. However, the MRI did show something suspicious in her right lung. The radiologist recommended that Carlene have an x-ray to get a better look. Apparently, MRIs are not very good at looking into the lung tissue. Carlene waited awhile to get the x-ray so she could recover from some congestion. She had the x-ray on Monday, and we got the results on Tuesday. The x-ray shows there is still something in her right lung. It could be scar tissue, an infection, or something worse. Given all the radiation treatments Carlene had over that lung, we are praying that it is just scar tissue. It stands to reason that she would have some damage to her lung from the radiation. The doc now wants Carlene to have a CT scan. It is going to be done tomorrow, Friday. Sharon, our nurse navigator, told us that if a CT scan doesn't give us all the answers, a PET scan would probably be next. We are asking for your prayers regarding the outcome of the next scan. The apple cart has definitely been tipped over once again. But we don't really have bad news yet....so I guess that's the good news. Thanks again for your prayers.

God Bless

July 4

Carlene is doing very well. We went to the mountains with our family for the 4th of July weekend. Saw the fabulous fireworks display in Avon on the 3rd then went to the crazy parade in Vail on the 4th. The famous Vail Precision Lawn Chair Drill Team finished off the parade.
One of Carlene's goals all through her cancer therapy was to be well enough to go up to the mountains for the 4th, and to hike up to Crater Lake in the Maroon Bells wilderness area. It's not a long hike, but it's at altitude and very steep. She was able to hike it with no problems. We sat up there by Crater Lake for awhile, praising God and thanking Him for getting Carlene through her treatment with so few side effects. Her heart and lungs handled the steep hike and altitude just fine. We both have to work on our overall conditioning after so many walks at the mall during treatment, but we couldn't be happier for how Carlene came through this. Exercise is so important during cancer treatment. Carlene kept up with it even when she didn't feel like doing much. She felt that was when she needed to get out and do something even more.
Thanks again for your prayers and support.
God Bless.

A Week After

Carlene is steadily feeling better a week after her final chemo infusion. She is getting stronger and recovering from nausea and "chemo head." Her appetite is good, sometimes ferociously so. When Carlene feels hungry, I gotta get her some food in a hurry. We laugh about it at times. I think her body is demanding fuel to repair the damage chemo does to fast-growing cells. This will probably be my last post for awhile. Life is going to get back to normal for Carlene now. It will be a process, but she's well on her way. Thanks again for your prayer and thoughtfulness.
God Bless

Finish line for chemo

Carlene had her last chemotherapy infusion today. She handled it extremely well, as usual. She is doing well tonight. Carlene is relieved and very happy to be finished. She has one more neulasta injection tomorrow to help with white blood cell growth. Carlene will start on a daily dose of femara in a couple of weeks to inhibit estrogen in her body, as the tumors she had were estrogen receptive. She will have to take femara for five years. At the end of June, Carlene will see her radiation doc to discuss the schedule for follow up scans. It looks like she will receive MRIs and PET scans, alternating every six months. But that hasn't been finalized yet. The docs will also do blood tests looking for telltale markers to keep a close eye on her. We don't know yet what else they may want to do. It feels great to finally be at the end of the treatments. Thanks again for all your prayers and support.
God Bless.