Today, Shirley went for her MRI on her hip. She was very nervous because she is soooo claustrophobic. She did take a couple of valium but I really don't think it helped very much. And we are really nervous awaiting the results, because of the pain she has been having.
Tom and Cindy threw a wonderful graduation party for Brandon. It seemed like everyone had a great time. And Tom and Cindy were very proud.
Shirley has been having some side affects to her chemo pill. And they suck. Her feet hurt her and are peeling pretty bad. Her hair has started falling out. That is very upsetting to her but I'm sure Mike is looking forward to the wig shopping.... I promised her I would shave my head if she goes bald, so we will see. She has other issues that go along with the cancer and the chemotherapy. I really hope that they go away - at least for her week off of treatment. She is proving everyday what a strong woman she really is. She is dealing with so much, more than most of us even realize... I know that she feels like she isn't handling things well most of the time, but trust me, I am watching her very closely and she is doing great.
I am going to try and put some pictures on here of our weekend and the family together. Wish me luck.
Please, everyone, pray for Shirley to have a good week. To feel so good, that she feels like there is no cancer in her body. So she can prepare to have a great party on Friday for the fourth of July and for Sammy. I love you Shirley.
Teresa
June 30, 2008
June 26, 2008
Thursday
Well, it's the Thursday after Monday Chemo and I just got off the phone with Shirley. Of course I woke her up from sleeping. I'm sure she loves me for that. She is really tired today, which is normal for the Thursday after her treatment.
We have a fun weekend planned. Brandon's graduation party is on Saturday. He is awesome and deserves a big celebration. And then of course next weekend is the big Fourth of July weekend. We will spend it at Shirley's and also celebrate Sammy's birthday!!!!!! Yea!!!!! The kids love the Fourth of July. And why not...you raise your kids not to play with fire, and yet on this day, we let them set fire to explosives. Makes sense. We have had no trips to the emergency rooms yet, let's hope our luck holds out for another year.
Shirley will not have chemotherapy next week, so we will pray that Shirley feels great next week and finds some of her energy that she has been missing.
We love you Shirley and knowing that this is an awful day for you, we pray that it gets over quickly.
We have a fun weekend planned. Brandon's graduation party is on Saturday. He is awesome and deserves a big celebration. And then of course next weekend is the big Fourth of July weekend. We will spend it at Shirley's and also celebrate Sammy's birthday!!!!!! Yea!!!!! The kids love the Fourth of July. And why not...you raise your kids not to play with fire, and yet on this day, we let them set fire to explosives. Makes sense. We have had no trips to the emergency rooms yet, let's hope our luck holds out for another year.
Shirley will not have chemotherapy next week, so we will pray that Shirley feels great next week and finds some of her energy that she has been missing.
We love you Shirley and knowing that this is an awful day for you, we pray that it gets over quickly.
June 23, 2008
Chemo Day
Well, it was chemo day again. Pretty uneventful. Blood work was good. This is the good chemo week because Shirley is off next week. Yea!!!!! Although next Tuesday is the MRI for the hip. But we can handle that.
Shirley will need that week off chemo. She has Sam's birthday party and the 4th of July to celebrate.
We also need Shirley to stay strong because we are planning a girls weekend trip here in the next month or so. Maybe a train trip to Chicago. It's still in the early planning stages. But something nice and relaxing.
I will write more when I have more to report. I like the uneventful days. We will thank God in our prayers tonight for good days like today! :)
Teresa
Shirley will need that week off chemo. She has Sam's birthday party and the 4th of July to celebrate.
We also need Shirley to stay strong because we are planning a girls weekend trip here in the next month or so. Maybe a train trip to Chicago. It's still in the early planning stages. But something nice and relaxing.
I will write more when I have more to report. I like the uneventful days. We will thank God in our prayers tonight for good days like today! :)
Teresa
June 19, 2008
Update
Well, I just got an update from our girl Shirley. She was very tired today, which is normal. That's what Thursdays are for Shirley and she plans on that. Mom did take her a diet coke and I am sure it was delicious!
We are instant messaging right now and she said that her daughter Sam made her grilled cheese for lunch. Now, I do want to point out that Shirley does have some wonderful kids. And Sam is so good for her mother. She is a great girl and does almost anything Shirley needs. She is definitely a gift from God. Now more than ever. It is so much easier not to worry knowing that little Miss Sam is there taking care of her mom. And I am sure Alex is too, but he's a boy. They are good for hugs.
Anyway, looks like we have had a good week and I am grateful to God for that!
We are instant messaging right now and she said that her daughter Sam made her grilled cheese for lunch. Now, I do want to point out that Shirley does have some wonderful kids. And Sam is so good for her mother. She is a great girl and does almost anything Shirley needs. She is definitely a gift from God. Now more than ever. It is so much easier not to worry knowing that little Miss Sam is there taking care of her mom. And I am sure Alex is too, but he's a boy. They are good for hugs.
Anyway, looks like we have had a good week and I am grateful to God for that!
June 17, 2008
WOW
O.K. I just had to write a quick note. My stubborn, red-headed sister just informed me that she actually likes my little website here. So, I appreciate all your feedback and we will just keep it going.
Make sure that you read her complete profile. She actually got in here and filled that out. I am very proud of her.
Also, you can leave Shirley comments under the blogs. Just click on comments and let her know that you are thinking of her and praying for her.
Teresa:)
Make sure that you read her complete profile. She actually got in here and filled that out. I am very proud of her.
Also, you can leave Shirley comments under the blogs. Just click on comments and let her know that you are thinking of her and praying for her.
Teresa:)
June 16, 2008
Back From Chemo
We are done with chemo. Long day. But worth it. Tumor markers were down again and bloodwork looked pretty good. Shirley is having some hip pain but not bad just irritating. They are going to do an MRI in a couple of weeks to check it out. She does get valium for the MRI because she is a little claustrophobic. But don't ask her to share because we already did and she said no.
All in all, mom, Shirley and I decided it was a good day. We went and ate Italian after the appt. which was delicious. So that made it even better.
Will update again when I have something. Keep the prayers going. God is listening:)
All in all, mom, Shirley and I decided it was a good day. We went and ate Italian after the appt. which was delicious. So that made it even better.
Will update again when I have something. Keep the prayers going. God is listening:)
Chemo Day
Well, today we are going to Chemo. Mom and Shirley are on their way to pick me up now. Yesterday was Father's Day and really Shirley looked great. I know she wasn't looking forward to today. And she wasn't "thrilled" with me when I told her about this website. But I think down the road she will see how much people will appreciate knowing how she is doing and it is a way for them to check up on her without bothering her.
Will post tonight and let everyone know how she did today!
Will post tonight and let everyone know how she did today!
June 14, 2008
My First Blog
Hi everyone. I have decided to start this "blog" to kind of help everybody keep updated on Shirley. I know that there are a lot of people who love and care for Shirley and would love to know how she is doing. I think this makes it easier for everyone to stay updated.
So here we go. Oh, let's remember, I am not a computer genius, so I hope this works.
Most of us know that Shirley has been diagnosed with this rare form of cancer called Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma). I will give you a brief background on how this started. It began with a pain in Shirley's side that wouldn't go away and a visit to the ER. At that point they thought she had Shingles. Well, guess what...you also have a spot on your liver. And the tests began!!!! She was diagnosed with this awful cancer on March 11th. Dad, Shirley and I went to this awful doctor's appt. and met with this horrible doctor and poor mom was not able to go because she was struck down with the awful flu. Mom and I think God was doing her a favor. Anyway, we were told her cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and some of her bones.
The next few weeks took Mom and Shirley to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. They pretty much agreed with the treatment KU had offered so back to Kansas they went.
Shirley chose a doctor to use here at the Cancer Center at KU and we have started treatment. She gets an IV of a chemo drug called Gemzar and a chemo drug in pill form called Xeloda. She does her treatment once a week on Monday for 2 weeks and then has a week off. Recent tests have shown these drugs are working. Her tumors on her liver have shrunk, some have disappeared and her tumor markers are down.
These drugs make Shirley nauseous and she is very fatigued but I think she has these drugs figured out and handles it pretty good. She continues to hold down her full time job, takes care of her house and two children or 5 children if you include Mike, Tasha and Ping. She is doing great at holding it all together. I'm not sure she would agree with that, but I am watching from the outside and trust me, she is.
Mom, Kathy and I go to every chemo appt and doctor's appt. with Shirley. They call us her entourage. She is so cute - every time she sits down in that recliner and tries to go back, her feet fly up in the air. We all visit and laugh the couple of hours we are there. And then we either go to lunch or go back to work. Mom takes Shirley home and we wait for the next week.
Well, that is pretty much it for my first post. Hopefully I will continue to update on a regular basis, maybe get some pictures on here, who knows, maybe even get Kathy to post on here too. She is a great support on Chemo days and I am sure has a lot to say.
My main reason for doing this again, is for people out of town or in town to keep up on the medical condition of a person we hold very dear to our heart. I have no doubt that this is going to be really long and hard fight, but I have no doubt it's a fight that Shirley can win. There is no other choice.
Please keep her and our family in your daily prayers. I love you all.
So here we go. Oh, let's remember, I am not a computer genius, so I hope this works.
Most of us know that Shirley has been diagnosed with this rare form of cancer called Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma). I will give you a brief background on how this started. It began with a pain in Shirley's side that wouldn't go away and a visit to the ER. At that point they thought she had Shingles. Well, guess what...you also have a spot on your liver. And the tests began!!!! She was diagnosed with this awful cancer on March 11th. Dad, Shirley and I went to this awful doctor's appt. and met with this horrible doctor and poor mom was not able to go because she was struck down with the awful flu. Mom and I think God was doing her a favor. Anyway, we were told her cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and some of her bones.
The next few weeks took Mom and Shirley to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. They pretty much agreed with the treatment KU had offered so back to Kansas they went.
Shirley chose a doctor to use here at the Cancer Center at KU and we have started treatment. She gets an IV of a chemo drug called Gemzar and a chemo drug in pill form called Xeloda. She does her treatment once a week on Monday for 2 weeks and then has a week off. Recent tests have shown these drugs are working. Her tumors on her liver have shrunk, some have disappeared and her tumor markers are down.
These drugs make Shirley nauseous and she is very fatigued but I think she has these drugs figured out and handles it pretty good. She continues to hold down her full time job, takes care of her house and two children or 5 children if you include Mike, Tasha and Ping. She is doing great at holding it all together. I'm not sure she would agree with that, but I am watching from the outside and trust me, she is.
Mom, Kathy and I go to every chemo appt and doctor's appt. with Shirley. They call us her entourage. She is so cute - every time she sits down in that recliner and tries to go back, her feet fly up in the air. We all visit and laugh the couple of hours we are there. And then we either go to lunch or go back to work. Mom takes Shirley home and we wait for the next week.
Well, that is pretty much it for my first post. Hopefully I will continue to update on a regular basis, maybe get some pictures on here, who knows, maybe even get Kathy to post on here too. She is a great support on Chemo days and I am sure has a lot to say.
My main reason for doing this again, is for people out of town or in town to keep up on the medical condition of a person we hold very dear to our heart. I have no doubt that this is going to be really long and hard fight, but I have no doubt it's a fight that Shirley can win. There is no other choice.
Please keep her and our family in your daily prayers. I love you all.
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