APRIL IS "HEAD, ORAL, AND NECK" CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

CALLING ALL TALENTED PEOPLE.......WE ALL ASSOCIATE THE COLOR PINK

WITH BREAST CANCER. THE COLORS FOR HEAD, ORAL, AND NECK CANCER

ARE MAROON AND CREAM. IS THERE A TALENTED GRAPHIC PERSON OUT

THERE WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO VOLUNTEER YOUR TALENTS TO MAKE

A MAROON AND CREAM COLORED RIBBON OR A MAROON OR CREAM COLORED

SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE READILY RECOGNIZED AS HEAD, ORAL, AND NECK

CANCER. MY DAUGHTER "HAD" SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA OF THE TONGUE

WITH NOW METASIS TO THE NECK....WHICH IS HAVING ITS' BUTT KICKED BY

JESUS, PRAYER, AND HIGH POWERED CHEMOTHERAPY BEING GIVEN BY THE

GREATEST ONCOLOGIST DR. DEXEUS

I DON'T KNOW THE FEELINGS WE HAD SETTING THERE IN THOSE BLUE,

COMFY RECLINERS WAITING TO HAVE AMY'S PORT-A-CATH ACCESSED

AGAIN AND TO HAVE CHEMO RUNNING THROUGH HER AGAIN.

I CAN'T SAY I WAS ANGRY...I WATCHED HER BUSILY TEXTING LEILA AND

I WAS DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIND A MAGAZINE THAT WOULD TAKE

ME AWAY....BUT THERE WAS NO ESCAPING THE FACES OF THE PATIENTS

THAT SET THERE IN THOSE BLUE, COMFY, "RECLINERS OF HOPE"...SOME

SLEEPING...SOME EATING...SOME LAUGHING...NO ONE CRYING. EVERY ONE

TRIES TO STAY UPBEAT. TO HAVE A PORT-A-CATH IS A GUARANTEED ONE TIME

STICK BUT EVERYONE...EVERYONE SHOWS THE SAME FACIAL PAIN WHEN STUCK.

I ASK AMY WHAT IT FEELS LIKE.....SHE SAID THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO

DESCRIBE BUT IT IS LIKE A STABBING PAIN THAT FOR A SECOND TAKES YOUR

BREATH AWAY. ONCE HER PORT IS ACCESSED, SHE IS FINE.

MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY NIGHT, SHE HAS COME HOME WITH CISPLATIN

INFUSING ALL NIGHT....IT INFUSES OVER 20 HOURS.

THE SERIOUSNESS WITH AMY IS THAT HER WHITE COUNT WAS LOW BUT

THEY COULD NOT WAIT ANY LONGER TO START CHEMO....TOMORROW SHE

WILL BE THROUGH WITH THIS ROUND OF CHEMO AND FOR 5 DAYS I WILL

GIVE HER A NEUPOGEN SHOT.....AND KEEP HER IN A BUBBLE AWAY FROM

GERMS WITH THE 10TH DAY BEING THE MOST CRITICAL FOR WHEN ALL

COUNTS SHOULD DROP FROM WBC'S TO RED BLOOD CELLS TO PLATELETS.

NOW FOR AN UPDATE FOR LEILA........YES...UTERINE CANCER IS PEACH COLOR.

IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE A PEACH COLORED RIBBON.

THEY ARE WAITING TO SEE IF LEILA WILL BE ACCEPTED INTO A TRIAL

PROGRAM. SHE WILL KNOW BY FRIDAY...THE DEADLINE FOR ANY ONE

TO BE IN THE PROGRAM IS FRIDAY AND IT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A YEAR.

IF THIS PROGRAM SUCCEEDS, IT WILL BE A TREMENDOUS BREAK THROUGH

FOR UTERINE CANCER AS THEY WILL ONLY HAVE TO TAKE CHEMO ONE DAY

VERSES THE USUAL 3 DAYS, FOR EACH ROUND.

LEILA WENT TODAY FOR EKG AND CT SCAN. SHE HAS DONE VERY WELL AND

SHE FOLLOWS WHAT THE DR. SAYS TO THE LAW. SHE DOES NOT HAVE QUITE

THE BANTY ROOSTER IN HER THAT MY AMY HAS.

I AM THANKFUL FOR SO MANY THINGS TODAY....AMY'S LAUGH...I SAW SOME

BEAUTIFUL TULIPS AND PANSIES...FOR MY HUSBAND, MY SON AND DAUGHTER

IN LOVE...FOR LEILA AND CORBY...MY PARENTS, MY PARENTS IN LOVE, MY

SISTER SHERRY AND MY BROTHER IN LOVE TONY, MY DEAR FRIENDS ROBBI

AND DORIS, MY BROTHER TED, MY SISTER IN LOVE SUSIE AND MELT,

MY SISTER IN LOVE NANCY AND BOB

THE SUN SHINED BOTH MONDAY AND TUESDAY, THE LOVE OF THE LORD,

ALL 66 BEAUTIFUL FOLLOWERS OF MY BLOG AND ALL THE FRIENDS THAT

STOP BY AND LEAVE SUCH INSPIRING COMMENTS.

THE WORLD HAS BECOME SUCH A UGLY PLACE AT TIMES AND SUCH HORRIBLE

THINGS IN THE NEWS AND PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF LOSING THEIR JOBS

AND/OR HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS.

WHAT THE LORD HAS SHOWN ME IS "HOPE." THAT IS THE WORD OF THE HOUR.

WE MUST NOT GIVE UP HOPE.

I READ ON JOHNATHAN'S SITE A QUOTE BY ONE OF HIS HEROES:

"YOU CAN GO A MONTH WITHOUT FOOD, YOU CAN LIVE THREE DAYS

WITHOUT WATER, BUT YOU CAN'T GO MORE THAN SIXTY SECONDS

WITHOUT HOPE."

~~SEAN SWAMER

FIND REST, O MY SOUL, IN GOD ALONE;

MY HOPE COMES FROM HIM.

HE ALONE IS MY ROCK AND MY SALVATION;

HE IS MY FORTRESS, I WILL NOT BE

SHAKEN.

MY SALVATION AND MY HONOR DEPEND ON

GOD;

HE IS MY MIGHTY ROCK, MY REFUGE.

TRUST IN HIM AT ALL TIMES, O PEOPLE;

POUR OUT YOUR HEARTS TO HIM,

FOR GOD IS OUR REFUGE.

~PSALM 62: 5-8

I LOVE THE SENTENCE THAT SAYS, "I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN."

NO MATTER WHAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH....WHAT WE MUST FACE...

WHAT PAIN AND SORROW, WE MUST NOT BE SHAKEN AND TO CRY OUT

TO THE LORD. HE CERTAINLY KNOWS MY CRY AND HE KNOWS MY

WHINE....HE ANSWERS MY CRY.

THANK YOU FOR SPENDING A PART OF YOUR DAY WITH ME AND FOR

YOUR PRAYERS. YOU ARE EACH SPECIAL AND UNIQUE.

BLESSINGS

HUGS

debbie

><>

PRAYER: AMY, LEILA, OLIVIA, ROY AND ELISABETH, BEVERLY'S

MOTHER, EDWARD, MARIA, PATRICIA, CAROL, RICHARD, DENNIS, BOBBY, JENNIFER,

JENNIFER AND DAVID, IRENE, PEGGY, TED, BRUISER, CINDY J'S MOTHER,

BECKY, ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE HOSPITAL,

FOR THOSE WITH ALHEIMERS OR DEMENTIA, ALL OUR POLICE MEN AND

WOMAN, FIRE MEN AND WOMAN, ALL THOSE MILITARY WHO HAVE AND ARE

SERVING THIS COUNTRY, OUR SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, NURSING HOMES,

AGAINST VIOLENCE IN THE WORK PLACE, FOR JOBS THAT ARE NEEDED

HOPE......HOPE......HOPE......HOPE

A CHERRY TURNOVER FOR EACH OF YOU

ONE MUST ASK CHILDREN AND BIRDS HOW CHERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES

TASTE.

~~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Monday was the day Amy went to see Dr. Medina. Her appointment was not until 3:45pm

so we left early and went to the hospital to see Leila. They had taken off her morphine pump

and put her on oral pain meds. Her NG tube was out and she was moving very well considering

how long her incision is. Corby, her husband told us this was the worse case of cancer they

have seen in a woman 34 years old....usually it is found in women over 50. They are not

discussing chemo at this time...she has to recover from such a major surgery first.

Now for my AMY: Dr. Medina said they can not do surgery at this time...the tumor mass is

about the size of a walnut. The jugular vein is totally occluded. What the concern is: the mass

is pushing on the carotid artery which feeds the blood flow to the brain. There is not room

in this small area to safely do surgery..........so this means chemotherapy to try and shrink

it and possibly respond so well to chemo it goes away...........but.........the smaller it becomes,

the more room to do surgery. (WE GOT BACK HOME AT 10:00 PM!)

Amy went to see Dr. Dexeus on Tuesday ..........he wanted to start chemo on Wednesday

but Amy wanted to wait until Monday so she could spend some of Easter with Leila.

She will receive chemo on Monday and Tuesday. Two of the drugs she has not had:

1. TAXOTERE- she has had before and they generally use it for patients with locally

advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

2. CISPLATIN- she has had before...this is a ugly chemo which can be very hard on your

kidneys.....she also took this as a child

3. ERBITUX- she had this before...it is usually used for patients who have colorectal

cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and whose tumor expresses a protein

called an Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)

4. IFOSFAMIDE (IFEX)- the most serious side affect is Hemorrhagic cystitis.......blood

in your urine

5. MESNA (MESNEX)- this helps to prevent hemorrhagic cystitis but does not work

for all patients.

ALL OF THESE DRUGS WILL BE GIVEN IV PER HER PORT-A-CATH.

AMY HAS HAD A LOT OF CHEMOTHERAPY IN HER LIFE. OUR PRAYER IS THAT

HER IMMUNE SYSTEM WILL NOT FAIL AND THERE WILL BE A BARRIER OF

PROTECTION AROUND HER THAT WILL NOT LET ANYONE WITH ANY KIND

OF GERM COME HER WAY. WHEN YOU ARE MYELOSUPPRESSED A COMMON

COLD COULD BE LIFE THREATENING.

DR. DEXEUS TOLD HER SHE WOULD LOOSE HER HAIR AGAIN BUT HE LOVED

HER RED WIG...HER BLUE WIG.....HER GREEN WIG.....HER PINK WIG......AND THE

OTHER 10 ALMOST NORMAL LOOKING ONES, AND SHE COULD DIE.

WE APPRECIATE AND NEED YOUR PRAYERS FOR AMY AND LEILA AND ROY AND

ELISABETH (WHO BY THE WAY IS A HUGE STRENGTH TO HER ROY AND THE

RELAY FOR LIFE), JOHNATHAN AND HIS DAD NATHAN, JONAH AND HIS FAMILY,

JONATHAN AND HIS FAMILY, EDWARD AND HIS SISTER MARIA, BEVERLY'S SWEET

MOTHER, CINDY J'S MOTHER, KATS DAUGHTER, RICHARD, MYRA, BOBBY, DENNIS,

PATRICIA, JERRY, CAROL, MADONNA, CONNIE, JOYCE, MY MOTHER IN LOVE,

IRENE, MY MOTHER, PEGGY, SAMMEY, BRUISER, KATHERINE, JENNIFER, JAY

JENNIFER AND DAVID, ALL THOSE DAD'S, THE PEOPLE IN ITALY WITH THE EARTH-

QUAKE AND AFTERSHOCKS...SOME 200 PLUS LIVES LOST....THOUSANDS INJURED,

THE FAMILY OF THE BEAUTIFUL 8 YEAR OLD GIRL MURDERED IN CALIFORNIA,

PROTECTION FOR OUR POLICE OFFICERS, FIREMEN AND WOMEN, MEDICS, ALL

THOSE SERVING OUR COUNTRY...BRAVE SOLDIERS, THIS COUNTRY AND THE

PREACHERS THAT STAND IN THE PULPIT, OUR SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS, OUR

BLOGS AND ALL THE FRIENDS WE TALK WITH, SHARE WITH, PRAY WITH, AND

ARE A PART OF MY FAMILY.

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME AT MY BLOG

YOU ARE EACH UNIQUE AND SPECIAL

YOU ARE A JOY

YOU MAKE ME LAUGH AND CRY

I HURT WHEN YOU HURT

I REJOICE WHEN YOU REJOICE

GOD IS IN CONTROL

GOD LOVES YOU AND ME

HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT

"I WILL GIVE YOU BACK YOUR HEALTH AND HEAL THY WOUNDS," SAITH THE LORD.

~~JEREMIAH 30:17

BLESSINGS

SMILES

HUGS

debbie

BE SURE AND TAKE YOUR CHERRY TURNOVER....THEY ARE YUMMY AND SHERRY,

THEY ARE CALORIE FREE........THEY ARE MAGIC CHERRY TURNOVERS................