Fall 2009: Jake and Nancy learned that Nancy's breast cancer was stage four. Winter 2013: They are still fighting. This is a gathering place to follow their story, offer support, love and prayers... to be by their side.



Thursday, August 15, 2013

More updates

Hello again family and friends,
In spite of the bumps, we are still hanging in there.  Jake's back is a tiny bit better, though still really painful.  We are doing our best to take care of each other.

I had an informative appointment with the radiation oncologist yesterday to talk about post-surgery radiation options.  We talked about doing either cyberknife (targeted radiation) versus doing whole brain radiation and decided cyberknife makes the most sense.  I'll start it in about 10 days or so, after they get it cleared with insurance.  The treatment will run for 5 days straight, versus the single high dose treatment I had earlier this year, but otherwise will be similar, which is to say hopefully very easy, mostly I'll just be tired.  I hadn't contemplated whole brain radiation, but based on what he explained yesterday, it seems at some point we may cross that bridge and there's even an argument for doing it now to reduce the risk of other lesions popping up (my risk for this is quite a bit higher than I thought, something like 70%).

The scar from surgery is healing well and I haven't had any trouble with additional headaches.  My final dose of those awful steroids is today (thank God), so I'm hoping to feel back to my old self soon.  It has been smooth sailing on the combo of aromasin/affinitor, so hopefully I'll get a nice long run on it before needing further chemo.  Now that my black eye is healing up, I'll have to get some updated photos.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Couple bumps in the road, but we're still going strong

No sooner had I posted how well things were going that I got my first terrible post-op headache in the middle of the night on Wed.  It came on suddenly and was quite severe, so I tried to wake Jake up to see whether we should call the doctor or tough it out, but it was nearly impossible to wake him up (he had a procedure earlier in the day for his back and was literally down for the count, not allowed to drive for 24 hours, so it was crazy for me to attempt it). Since I couldn't wake him, I took my pain meds, wrapped the heating pad around my head, and went back to sleep.  The next morning, I was still hurting and, because I'd taken pain meds on an empty stomach at 2am, had terrible nausea and couldn't keep anything down, not even a small sip of water.  After talking with the neurosurgeon's office around 8am, we were told to go to the ER to make sure I didn't have bleeding in the brain or some other horrid problem.  Quick CT showed a little swelling, nothing too impressive, but enough to give me a big dose of steroids, pain pills and anti-nausea drugs.  I'll follow up tomorrow morning with another CT and visit with the surgeon, but am doing much better now.

On a happier note, I went into the office on Friday for a social visit with my wonderful coworkers/friends.  Everyone kept commenting on how much color I had in my face and neck...wondering if I'd actually been on vacation in Hawaii versus out for brain surgery.  Turns out, it was those darn steroids!  I had a visit with Dr. Rinn right after and she noticed it right away, along with my puffy round face, which she assured me would go back to normal soon.  Amazing Dr. Rinn apologized for all the drama I've been through lately, but was incredibly reassuring (as she always is) that we will continue with the current plan of Aromasin and Affinitor.  She made me promise never to take percocet on an empty stomach again, even taking a couple crackers at 2am along with an anti-nausea med will be enough to ward off future trips to the ER.

As some of you know, Jake has been struggling with terrible back pain for four years now and while we are hopeful this latest procedure to cauterize the nerves in his back will help, he tweaked his back today and is in so much pain he literally can't move.  Since I'm on strict orders not to lift more than 10 pounds, you can imagine the comedy of me trying to "help" him get around.  We might as well be a couple old folks ready for the nursing home, but he toughed it out and is hopefully on the mend.

Thanks again for all the support and help...we really are doing well in spite of the ups and downs.  Here are a few of my favorite new photos, the bulldogs on top of Jonathan Adler ottomans (birthday present from my marathon of birthday celebrations), a photo of us pre-op on vacation in Santa Monica with my snazzy new wigh and enjoying birthday cake with friends.  Love to all, thanks again for supporting us!!




Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Post cranio update

Nancy here again, happy to report I'm still doing well, continuing to get stronger each day.  We met with neurosurgeon, Dr. Srinivasan, on Friday and she reiterated what Jake posted earlier, that the post-surgical MRI showed the tumor was gone and all looks well.  She also told us the surgery was anything but routine due to the location of the tumor and the amount of blood vessels.  

Again, I can't say enough about how loved and supported Jake and I feel.  The meal delivery service is amazing.  Also, since the surgery happened to fall on my birthday, I've had a marathon of birthday celebrations.

Thank you, everyone!  Here's the caregiver-in-chief!!