Weeks 11 & 12

Hi all – since we were not able to post last week, we’re covering 2 weeks worth of news in this post. General news is that Sharron has still been doing great overall. There have been slight ups and downs but nothing major to report. She has had no nausea in weeks, a normal appetite, and continues to take the steroid pills as part of her treatment once a week. She says the steroid pills make her feel really good the next day. She is still having soreness in her hip, which we’re looking into with her doctor. A bone marrow biopsy to confirm the status of everything is still planned for the end of her treatment cycles. At this point, we wanted to clarify from previous posts that “remission” is determined by a series of tests/results that we have not yet completed. Of course as soon as we can confirm remission, we will send out the news.

Week 11 (March 15-21) marked the middle of cycle 4. Treatment was the quick “push,” which makes for a very short visit in Kaiser (i.e., no meeting with her oncologist). Week 12 (March 22-28) marked the end of cycle 4. Again, the plan is 6 cycles total, so she only has 2 left. Week 12 was an off week so not too much to tell. Due to her hip troubles, Sharron’s been a little less active in the last couple weeks. She is still attending physical therapy sessions to keep her stretching and workouts on track. In fun weekend news, Sharron and Val went to a play this weekend at the new Cosmopolitan theater downtown and then dinner afterwards at McCormick & Schmicks.

Week 10

This week kicked off Sharron’s 4th cycle of chemo treatment and an update from her oncologist on Friday. He said that her bloodwork is showing her to be on the way to the early stages of remission! This is huge and we will know more based on some pending blood tests, a bone marrow biopsy in the coming weeks, and the remaining tests that will be run upon her completion of all 6 treatment cycles. With this good news, Sharron went in and had her chemo treatment with no problems. She’s also continuing her work with a local physical therapist once a week to increase her muscle strength and endurance. A minor hip muscle strain came with maybe working out a little too hard, but the soreness is fading.

With this beautiful weather and her increasing energy, we even made a few shopping trips this week to get some new spring clothes! Sharron says she loves reading everyone’s messages/comments so keep on sending the love. :)

Week 9

We are halfway through Sharron’s treatment schedule! It’s looking like the first part of May will be the end of the 6 cycles projected by her doctor. He will evaluate her more in depth at that point.

Last week was a rest week from IV treatment, except for the regular steroid medication she takes at home weekly. We’re happy to report that it was an uneventful week in the way of icky things and cancer; rather, the week was filled with fun and normal things. Sharron and her girls went to lunch and to see “Slumdog Millionaire” (Sharron hasn’t been out much, let alone to a movie theater, in months!). It was a great thing to do on a rainy day and nice to get out of the house. Sharron and Val also met up with some friends for dinner and visiting this past weekend.

Our at-home physical therapist through Kaiser unfortunately had to stop Sharron’s home physical therapy (PT) since she is clinically strong enough and able to attend outside PT sessions. This was a bummer since it was very convenient, and she has been excellent at showing Sharron great exercises she can do at home with simple things like a beach ball, ankle weights, and Thera-bands. Sharron is continuing the exercises that she showed her at home, and taking plenty of walks when the weather is nice, until we decide if we want to trek into Kaiser’s PT center each week, or find a new local physical therapist.

All in all, another positive week!

Week 8

Wow, we realized we are almost halfway through Sharron’s treatment cycles, as next week is #9 and that will be 3 of 6 cycles complete. It is satisfying to see marked improvements over the last couple of months. We’re so happy (as we’re sure all of you are too) to generate such glowing reports each week!

There is not much to write about for Week 8 and no major setbacks. She had a small treatment on Friday and continued to work on her physical therapy. Sharron did seem to lose a pound or two, which was a bit discouraging considering she’s been diligent about eating and trying to pack on the pounds. Her body must be working so hard to fight those bad cells that it is burning the fuel we put into it! Here’s to hoping next week her weight will go back up again.