Cancer, Birthdays, and Microwaves

Woops! I think I have gone kind of long without an update. I am so happy all the election hoopla is dying down and things can get back to some kind of normalcy. Although, anyone living with cancer never has a normal life.

Lauren has been doing quite well on her Xeloda this time. She has had no nausea or vomiting and her feet never got red or sore. I wonder if the combination with Oxaliplatin was causing all the bad side effects. She has been very tired and has had some back pain this time, though.

We all had a nice time last Sat. night. Lauren and Gio met us at Outback for dinner. Ryan and Stephanie also went with us. Steph got a special sundae because Monday was her birthday!! A whole 20 years old. I love when we can all get together and have dinner together. Lots of fun, good food, and laughs. I sure do wish Sis and Bruce lived closer so they could join us too.

I had e-mailed Dr. Zalupski (Lauren's Oncologist) last Friday and asked what he planned on doing with regards to Lauren. Since she had the allergic reaction to Oxaliplatin, I was wondering what he had planned for her. He e-mailed me back and said he would call Lauren or myself Sunday or Monday evening. He called Mark's cell on Sunday and said he would call back Monday evening. He called and spoke with Lauren Monday evening. He said he wanted Lauren to continue with her Xeloda, take a week off, and then take her Xeloda again for two weeks. He doesn't want her to come to Michigan on Wed. He wants her to come for a CT scan on Dec. 4 and will see us on Dec. 5 and we will go from there regarding what chemo to take. He may keep her on Xeloda and add another chemo or maybe something different depending on the scans. He said he could try the Oxaliplatin and give her a bunch of steroids before and draw it out for 8 hours instead of 2, but he doesn't know if her reaction was a mild one for her or a bad one. It was a really bad reaction, but he doesn't know if that is the worse it could get or if the next one could be life threatening, and he doesn't want to risk it. Thank goodness. Too scary. He told her he could load her with all sorts of chemo, but he wants to help her and not hurt her. Do you see why we love him so much. He is doing everything he can for her and we trust him so much.

My Mom and Dad had decided to give Gio a really nice housewarming gift for his house. So, last week they came down and my Dad and Wo measured and  did more measuring and planning. They wanted to put an above the stove microwave in his kitchen for him. We had a nice time with them last week and  and the huge box was left in Gio's basement all week and he never even noticed it!! They came back yesterday and my Dad worked on this project from 10 to after 7. I swear he is a machine!! He is 80 years old and would put any 20 year old to shame. He is such a perfectionist too, so I am sure it is the best installed microwave ever. He had to trim cupboards and doors down and fit brackets into a very tight space. Mark and Ryan helped with things. My Mom brought sloppy joes for lunch. We ordered chicken from my Mom's favorite chicken place for dinner. Lauren, my Mom and I moved a bunch of stuff Gio brought from his parent's house into the office. We had a really fun time together. Gio was so surprised and happy when he got home. It was great. Sorry, we don't have any pictures. We are slipping on the picture taking.

Our little chihuahua, Peanut was 5 years old on Tuesday. He is my little baby and I just love him. He can be quite cantankerous and mean at times. Probably because I babied him so much. I think we have all been bitten by him at one time or another. He used to chew up paper and if you stick your hand near his mouth to get the paper away, watch out. He only weighed 24 ounces when we first got him. Here is a pic of him when he was a tiny baby with Wo.

Our little chihuahua, Penny, will be 2 tomorrow. She is such a sweet girl. She does not have a mean bone in her body, but man does she have a loud bark!! And bark she does!! She is such a little yapper.
Penny is definitely Lauren's favorite pup. Penny sits with her any chance she gets and loves to sleep in Lauren's bed. I think she knows Lauren is sick and always tries to comfort her. She is way bigger than Peanut. They are both quite hefty because they love to eat. A little bite of this and that adds up for them. These little dogs are such a joy to us. Here is sweet Pen.

That's about it for the week. We have a sad week. Our CC warrior, Tim passed away last Friday. He fought so hard and will be missed by so many. Marta, our friend with stomach cancer is in hospice care. It is even hard for her to post on FB or her blog. Please pray for her and Tim's family. Also for Lauren and all of her CC buddies. Some have had bad news lately. Thank you all so much for caring.
Until next time...  Love, -Pam