1st Chemo Treatment

As many of you know from reading the blog, my first official chemo treatment was yesterday, Tuesday May 12th. We went in not really knowing what to expect, but knowing that we would be there for a while. I came armed with my blanket from the LoveKnots at Tempe 1st, my kindle that the family pitched in on for my Mother's Day present, my comfy sweats my sisters got me at Disneyland, and my mom and Rob.

When it was my turn they took me back into the area where they do all the chemo treatment and we met the nurses Jackie and Charlotte, both very nice and very reassuring that no question was a stupid question. We sat down in an open reclining chair, alongside eight other people. It took them a while to get things going since this was my first time. The first thing they did was get my port hooked up to a needle, which really is much nicer then getting pricked in the arm, let me tell you. Once that was done they could draw the necessary blood work and then hook me up to saline water before the chemo drugs.

They spent some time educating us on chemo and the particular drugs I would be taking. With the ABVD drugs there is a 99% chance of hair loss, so I am going to be running a vote for which head wraps you think I should buy. That will come later, when I can figure out how to set it up. After they gave us a bunch of information they had to make sure I wasn't allergic to the bleomycin, so I got a small trial dose of this first. Once they determined I was still breathing they got started on adminstering the various other drugs.

I finally convinced my mom and Rob to go and get lunch at this point, since I was finally hooked up, no more talking, and just sitting they decided they could dash to Applebee's an eat. I sat in my chair and read the book I had downloade, while making friends with some of the people around me.

Because it was the first chemo, they administered everything very slowly to watch my body's reaction. This made for a long first day. We showed up at 11am, and finally left at 5:00 pm. They tell me next time will only take 3 hours. I will be going back every other week on Tuesday's for 7 more times. So far I am blessed to not have too many side effects. I was a bit tired last night, but that was partially because of the long day. So far I have not felt horrible, but we will see how that goes. We promise to keep you posted.

Many of you have asked how you can help us out. North Scottsdale will be helping us with meals on Tuesday and Wednesday, on treatment weeks. If you want to help Nancy Gerberding is heading this up. Rob is working with 1st Tempe to offer meals as well. Many of you who don't cook have been asking where we like to get food To Go. We are lucky that we have almost any restaraunt around us: Applebee's, Outback, Chili's, Macayo's, etc.

Most importantly you can continue to send us your love, prayers and hugs. Without all of your support this journey woul be much more difficult Thank you.

Power Ports and Power Rangers

Today the treatment adventure more or less began. We arrived at the outpatient radiology unit at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Campus at 9 a.m. to have Melissa's port installed into her chest. We checked in and tied up a few loose ends with the very nice billing girl. Melissa and I then went back to the lab so Melissa could have some blood drawn. After that we went back to the "Holding Room" where Melissa put on a hospital gown, jumped into a bed and was hooked up to an IV. A nurse then walked us through the procedure and let us check out a sample port (pictured above). The port makes it so each time Melissa needs blood drawn or needs chemotherapy or a dye injected for a scan, they don't have stick a needle in her arm.

After the blood work came back clear the doctor met with us and then it was time for Melissa to be wheeled back, get drugged up, then have the procedure. At this point they kicked me out of the room and invited me to grab something in the cafeteria. By cafeteria I figured they meant I should run across the street to the Red Robin. I'm not one to argue with medical professionals so I complied.

The procedure only lasted about an hour and when I returned Melissa was back in the "Holding Room" eating a turkey sandwich and drinking a Diet Coke. The only difference was that now she had a piece of titanium just under the skin of the upper right hand side of her chest with a small catheter running under the skin to her jugular vain. She also has two really small but cool incisions that have been glued shut. She won't be lifting anything using her right arm for the next two weeks until the incisions are completely healed. The port, however, is ready for use and will get taken for a spin on Tuesday when she receives her first round of chemotherapy. Apparently between the painkillers and sedatives they gave Melissa before the surgery, she was supposed to fall asleep. By the end of the surgery (and a Dancing With the Stars discussion) the doctor told Melissa, "That's funny, you should have fallen asleep at some point, oh well, we're all done!"

We only had to wait in recovery for about an hour and then Melissa was discharged and was able to walk out under her own power. We were even able to stop at Target on the way home to pick up some odds and ends. Melissa was pretty tired though when we got home and she took a nap for a few hours before we ordered some pizza and watched Grey's Anatomy with some of my Wesley students.

The joke now is that Melissa is a purple Power Ranger because she has a purple power port and she's a superhero. But we already knew that :)

As always, we need to thank everyone who have offered prayers, support and get well wishes. Today we would especially like to thank Craig who watched Colby and the ladies from Tempe First UMC who made Melissa a pink "Love Knots" blanket. She will definitely be using it on Tuesday.

For more info on ports:

http://www.bardaccess.com/port-powerport.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_(medical)

MUGGA scan and chemo update

As we shared I went in for my MUGGA scan today, which is scan to make sure the heart is healthy enough to withstand the chemo. This involved me getting some blood drown, which they then mixed with an isotope of some kind. I had to wait thirty minutes while that mixed and then I went back in and they put my blood back in my arm. After that they took two pictures of my heart, about 10 min. for each one, and then I was done.

On Thursday I will return to the same place and they will do outpatient surgery to put my porto-cath in so that I can receive the chemo through that.

After the test I called the oncology place to get my chemo scheduled. I had thought that I wasn't going to get to begin chemo until at least two weeks from today because my lung scan is not scheduled until next Thursday. In talking with the scheduler she said that Dr. Hecker has given me the go ahead to begin chemo on Tuesday May 12 without the lung scan. This is great news because it means we are on the right every other week schedule and it means we get to start sooner rather than later.

I also want to take this time to thank everyone for their loving notes and well wishes. We are so lucky to have such a strong support system. If you have any questions or want to know anything just email us. I will let you know how the port install goes on Thursday.

Melissa

Important Family News

Dear Friends and Family,

In early February Melissa and I were concerned when she found a noticeable lump near the base of the bottom of her neck, just above the collarbone, on the left side. She had her doctor check it out and she told her it was probably just a swollen lymph-node from having a cold. To be on the safe side, however, Melissa was scheduled to see the doctor again in thirty days. As the next appointment grew closer, Melissa noticed the lump had actually grown bigger. When she went in her doctor immediately scheduled her for an ultrasound. When that test came back she was then scheduled for a CT scan and a biopsy. When she was called back to go over the results we were shocked to hear that she had been preliminarily diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, a rare but very treatable form of lymphoma. Melissa was then referred to see an oncologist for further testing and a firm diagnosis.

When we saw the oncologist at the end of March and he confirmed the diagnosis and scheduled Melissa for a PET scan, which would show how much the cancer had spread. Melissa was then scheduled to see the oncologist again at the end of April to go over the results and a treatment plan.

When we returned in April we went over the scans with the doctor and saw that there were growths that had spread some in her chest area but had not spread to any organs. This officially gave her a stage II diagnosis. The encouraging part is that at this stage the cancer is very treatable with an over 80% successful treatment rate. Unfortunately treatment will include chemotherapy every two weeks beginning mid-May through August. At that point more scans will be done and if the treatment has been successful the cancer will be "finished off" with some radiation therapy. The oncologist is very confident that this will be the case.

So what's next? First, Melissa needs to undergo some routine testing to be sure her body can handle the chemotherapy. On Tuesday she sees a cardiologist to make sure she has a healthy heart. On Thursday she will have out-patient surgery to have a port installed. The following week she will see a pulmonologist to make sure her lungs are healthy. Following that test she will be scheduled for her first round of chemotherapy. Each round is expected to last 3-4 hours. The biggest side effect will be fatigue and she will very possibly lose her hair, however, it will eventually come back.

As you can guess this has been some pretty difficult news to digest, however, we have taken it in stride. We have total confidence in Melissa's doctors and know that we can lean on each other and God to see us through this. We also know that we have the amazing prayers and support of all of our family, friends, and congregations.

At this point Melissa plans to maintain her duties at church and does not plan to take a leave of absence. We are happy to receive private messages and calls from folks, however, please refrain from posting public social media (Facebook, Twitter) comments at this point.

We hope to keep the blog updated throughout this process so you can check back here from time to time. If anything, you will get to see all the latest Colby pictures :)

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Rob, Melissa, and Colby

Read more about Hodgkin's Disease here

Update

Well a lot has been going on since we actually had the time to write anything. Colby's 1st birthday has come and gone and we had a great time celebrating with family and friends. As his mom predicted, Colby was not too keen on the cake or the getting messy part. In fact I think most of the cake that ended up on him was thanks to his dad and his Auntie Katie:) 

Colby has really taken off with walking, although he still prefers to be baby taxied around by his mom or dad, what can we say, he loves us:) After his healthy 1 year check up we began giving Colby whole milk, and he LOVES it. It sucks it down like there is no tomorrow, this leaves lots more fun for diaper changing!!!

We have also started getting Colby onto only solid foods and no more baby food. We have discovered that he loves his carbs and he has refused to eat anything but a whole wheat bagel for breakfast the past few days. We are still enjoying every minute with him and can't believe how much cuter he gets each day. Enjoy some of the pictures:)

Colby 11 Months

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Originally uploaded by robrynders

Here is a picture to hold you over until we can get a detailed update posted. Enjoy!

Steps!

Colby took his first steps today!  We hope to get some video of him we he tries to take some more.  Stay tuned!