Happy 2010, Radiation is under way!

Hope every one is having a great new year so far!

Mom had an appointment on Tuesday to have the mapping done for her radiation. She had a series of XRays and a Catscan to mark where her tumor was so they know exactly where to point the radiation. She had 3 little tattoos placed on her skin, this way they can line up the radiation machine just right so that the tumor site gets hit with the radiation and not her heart or lungs.

Yesterday was day one of radiation- 1 down 32 more to go! Mom said it went well- the actual radiation treatment only takes about ten minutes. Yesterday it was a few minutes longer since they did a few XRays to 'tweak' where they administered the radiation. She said she was in and out in 15 minutes though! Now she will go every weekday at 9am until February 19th. Mom and the rest of us are so excited to be on our way with this next step of the process!

Radiation should be a bit easier on mom than the chemo. It still can make her tired, but shouldn't effect her as much as the chemo. She may also get some skin irritation, kind of like a sunburn later down the road, but hopefully that won't happen.

Thanks for checking in- stay warm and keep in touch!

Love the Petersons

It's a Merry Merry Christmas!

Happy holidays everyone! Hope your Christmas was warm and cheery! Everyone made it back home to MN safely and on time despite all the snow. We had a great and thankful few days spent together with family.

Mom has been feeling great the last few weeks and is even back to work full time. Her hair has been growing back sporadically- so on Saturday we took turns and ended up shaving it all off (lathered her up with shaving cream and bic'd it!). Now it can grow out evenly and fee of toxins from the chemo!

Taylor needed a bit of medical attention himself on Saturday... he was playing in an annual softball game out on Lake Minnetonka and was hit in the forehead with a flying metal bat! Thankfully he didn't loose consciousness and just ended up with a swollen forehead with 7 stitches in it!

On Monday mom had a quick surgery to remove her port that was used for chemo. She's a bit bruised and swollen, but happy to have it out!

Our next hurdle to tackle will be mom's radiation. She will start next week most likely. She will have treatments 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Each treatment lasts about 10 minutes and everyone has said it will just make her tired- shouldn't be bad compared to the chemo, I'm sure she'll continue to get through this next phase like the champ she is!

It's been great looking through everyones Christmas cards and letters! We have so many people in our lives to be thankful for. We love you all, thanks once again for the continue love and support! Take care~

Love The Petersons

p.s. Congrats to the UW Badgers for winning the Champs Sports Bowl tonight, woo hoo!

Chemo Conquered!

So good news everyone, we are officially done with the chemo phase, woo hoo time to celebrate! Mom completed her 4th round of chemotherapy today like a champ. Dad, me (Andrea) and Mom headed to the clinic around 8:30am this morning, slightly delayed due to the dusting of snow we received. That was quite a rude awakening for me this morning after not seeing the nasty white stuff since pre-Hawaii last December! We snuggled into our room by 10:00am after finding out Mom's labs were perfect yet again and getting the go ahead from our practitioner Heather. It is surprising how "routine" this has become after just 4 rounds even though chemo is something you never truly want to get used to. Roxy was our nurse today and she was fabulous. She loved listening to Mom's stories, which is a blessing since Mom was talking a mile a minute, which we are contributing to her steroids! ("Yeah right says Dad, she always has a motor mouth!") We read magazines, surfed the Internet, did word puzzles and Dad even got some work done. Lindsey came a little later and brought us a tasty Subway lunch and a cake for dessert in celebration! And that was it. We are so blessed to have had such a positive experience through all of this. Our prayers have definitely been answered.

So whats next you ask? Mom will hopefully relax these next 3 weeks and let this final chemo work its course. We are all looking forward to a wonderful Christmas at home together. Then on Dec 28th, Mom will visit North Memorial and Dr. Mestitz again to have her port removed. She will need to heal for a couple of weeks and in the meantime will have the mapping done and tattoos placed in preparation for radiation. Mom will most likely start radiation therapy the second week of January, which will consist of 5 treatments a week for about six and a half weeks. So there you have it. We ask for your continued prayers for strength, healing, and no side effects for the next few weeks. We also pray for safe travels as Lins is heading back out to Vail on Monday for the ski season and me back to Chicago. While we are at it I also ask for prayers for Mom and Dad as they rediscover empty nesting! We hope this update finds everyone well and you all had a great Thanksgiving. This holiday season we have so much to be thankful for in all of you. Have a great day.

Love,
The Peterson's

We're Good!

Dr. Londer saw us this morning after mom had some lab tests drawn. The labs looked good, praise the Lord, that was what I was a little worried about. They showed that her immune system is working and will be able to fight off whatever little bug is 'bugging' her! The doctor gave her a quick exam and said nothing looked concerning. The only thing they could put her on would be tamiflu, but since she's been feeling better and the labs were good he decided to just ride it out and let her body do the work. I'm glad she doesn't have to take another prescription medication, but I'm happy they brought her in to be on the safe side. So mom can stick with taking ibuprofen to help with aches and take it a little easy while she gets better. We should be on track for her last chemo next week, woo hoo! Lots to be thankful for! Happy early Thanksgiving everyone!

A Potential Bump...

Hello-
mom has been doing really well, had a great time with her sister who was here for 10days and has continued to do lots of projects!
Wanted to sent a quick note though- she started spiking some low grade fevers later last night and this morning and has been having some aches and a cough too. She contacted the clinic this morning and heard back from them after lunch. She's scheduled to head in to see Dr. Londer at 9:30am tomorrow. Hopefully it's nothing serious, but I'm glad they're being cautious and I will feel much better once they look her over! Please keep her in your prayers tonight!
Thanks, we'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Right on Course!

Round #3 is done! The actual infusion day isn't too bad- it's a long day, but kind of fun (I know call us crazy)! We got to the clinic by 8am, mom had her port accessed and labs drawn without any problems. Then we met with a nurse practitioner who was standing in for Dr. Londer as he was at his satellite clinic today. We were back in the treatment room by 9am, waiting for lab results to come back. Everything seemed to run smoothly along though, chemo started by 10am and we were out of there before 1pm. Mom's sister Diane was along today and it was nice for her to experience the process mom goes through first hand. She was very impressed and surprised by the whole thing (she was worried about passing out :) now she believes me that it really isn't all that bad or scary! Today the time flew by as we watched the classic 'chic-flick' Notting Hill, so good! Mom will continue with her steroid and nausea medicine through the weekend and take her occasional dose of ativan to try and counteract some of the steroid side effects that make it difficult to sleep. We anticipate the usual fatigue to set in by Sunday and we'll see how long it lasts this round. Hopefully we can get mom to take it easy this week, that's been the toughest job for me and dad so far! She has completed an unbelievable amount of projects this past month and half, she isn't your typical chemo patient that's for sure! Thanks everyone for checking in, we'll keep you posted through this next week. Love to all!
Lins

Almost half way!

Hi there-
hope this note finds everyone well! We are doing pretty good on this end. This round was definitely a little more tiring for mom, proving the warning true that chemo does have a cumulative effect. But she was back on her feet by Halloween and even got to get out of the house and hangout with some friends!

Fatigue is the only real significant side effect she's had besides the hair loss. She's been wearing a cute little night cap or beanie around the house to keep her head warm and then her wig in public that you have to look twice at to even notice!

Overall things have been going well. She's sticking around home most of the time, but feeling pretty good and getting lots of projects done. Thank the Lord that she has been able to stay healthy too, since I had a nasty cold and dad was sick with the stomache flu.

Thursday will bring Round #3- getting excited to get this part of the journey over with. Mom's sister Diane is flying in from San Diego tomorrow, it will be great having her here this time around for added support.

Thanks for checking in once again :)

The Petersons