A Treatment Plan!

:) <-------that's me smiling!

We finally have a treatment plan. We have chosen to be aggressive with this cancer. It really wasn't a hard decision. I think our Doctor was pleased that we have chosen the aggressive route also. This is what is ahead for us--Next Thursday, we go back to Houston (thank goodness for frequent flyer miles!) and talk with our Oncologist and a surgeon who will put a port in me. Friday, I will have a port installed and begin the first round of chemo! The port will be put under the skin by the collarbone and they will use that to administer the chemo into. Then, we won't go back until the First Friday in December. After that, we will be there every 3rd Friday. In about 3 months, I will be rescanned (CT of abdomen and MRI of pelvis) to see if I am responding to the chemo. If it looks like I am, then we will meet with a bone marrow specialist and discuss a bone marrow transplant. I will be on chemo for about 6-8 months. It will be a tough road ahead, but with lots of prayers, we are hoping to put this thing into remission!

~Kasey

MRI-Head

Well, here is the results of the MRI of the head:

There is no evidence of metastasis to the brain (yea!)
HOWEVER, calvarial metastases are seen limited to the diploic space with no evidence of epidural tumor.
Bony metastases is also seen involving the clivus/adjacent petrous apieces with a slight enhancement around the Meckel's cave bilaterally surrounding the trigeminal ganglia.
Visualized images of the cervical spine also reveal bone matastases involving the visualized C2 and C3 vertebral bodies.


I think we need medical degrees to figure it out. What we have gathered is NO brain involvement but bone involvment to the skull on the forehead and deep inside at the bottom underside of the brain (the "Meckel's Cave") and 2 top vertebrae.

We are ready to come home! We visit with Dr. Green tomorrow and should have some info on that to post tomorrow. I really want to thank you all SOOOOOO much! Every post on here and email to me has brought a little bit of sunshine to my days! I just got finished reading Lance Armstrong's book "It's not about the bike--My journey back to life" (THANKS LESLIE!). It was a very inspirational book. He too was at a stage 4 cancer and beat all odds. No doctor expected him to live. It just really goes to show you the power of the human spirit. I am feeling good, sometimes I just can't even image something so terrible is in me. Here's hoping I continue to feel great for MANY years!

"God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons we could learn in no other way."

~Kasey

Sunday, Oct. 22

Sorry to all for the delay in posting an update. As some of you already know, we decided to stay in Houston for the weekend. Although it is very hard being away from Raisa & Larson, we needed a couple days to recoup. We have spent most of the time in prayer, research and thought. The rest of the time we spent seeing a bit of Houston, and just relaxing.

Kasey goes in Tuesday for the MRI of the right breast, and has a meeting with Dr. Green on Wednesday to go over results. We hope to hear the plan for treatment then, and to also get started with it.

Still no results on the MRI for the head/brain yet.

Again, thanks to all for the thoughts, prayers and help for us. We appreciate it so much!!

All in all, Kasey is doing well. She's keeping her positive attitude!!!

We miss everyone, especially you guys, Fred and Little Man!!!

To all..feel free to give us a call anytime on our cells. And thanks for the continued replies on this blog.

Love all and God Bless!!!!

Kevin & Kasey

MRI-Pelvis

I have waited all day to post this because I couldn't find the right things to say. Bad news again. I got a call this afternoon from our Oncology nurse, while trying to enjoy the Meusum of Natural History. She read the report from the radiologist. It looks like it has spread to the bone marrow of my pelvis (75% of my pelvis is involved). So, will will stay at stage IV. I was obviosly hoping for better news. I have the scan of the skull and brain tomorrow. We won't know those results until next week. I will be coming home tomorrow and come back here Monday night, as of now. Any extra time I can spend with Raisa and Larson is well worth it! I just love them so much!
~Kasey

A visit from some angels!

Here is the Holy Name childrens choir that stopped by to sing us a BEAUTIFUL song right before we left for the airport! What a treat to hear such beautiful voices! THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!

Back to MDA

Well, we are leaving tonight to go back to Houston. I have an MRI of the pelvis scheduled for 6:30 tomorrow morning and an MRI of the skull and brain Friday. As of now, we are planning on coming home Friday night, then going back next Tuesday for the Breast MRI. PLEASE say some prayers that both of these are NEGATIVE for cancer!

Thank you to everyone who came over last night for prayers! It really lifted our spirits! We are hoping to be able to speak with the Radiologist to find out something.
I will post when we find out about the test tomorrow.

~Kasey

I am here

Thank you all so much for the visits, phone calls and emails while we have been home. I know I have not been able to respond to each and every email, but I DO read them! As I am sure you all can guess, it has been beyond tough. I heard from a great Oncologist at one of the best cancer treatment centers about the WORST news we could have heard. I haven't taken it too well. We do have 3 more tests for this week, 2 are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. We are waiting to hear when the 3rd one will be scheduled. I am having MRI's done on the pelvis, brain and right breast. I am not one to be told there is nothing they can do. I NEED to fight. I WILL fight and from the words of Lance Armstrong, "Fight like Hell!"

(I just may need a little help from all you great people to help me not lose focus!)

I think my theme song right now would be "I get by with a little help from my friends" by John Lennon.

~Kasey

Day 4: A little more info.

I just wanted to add some to Kasey's post.

We flew home tonight (Friday).

As said before, lymph nodes on her right side were positive for cancer. This meant one of two things:

1. Cancer has traveled through her body, and found it's way to these nodes.

2. Possible 2nd cancer in the right breast (better case than #1)

The latest test results indicate possible cancer at that spot on her skull, and possible cancer in the right hip.

We will be going back to Houston later next week for 3 MRI's.
Head, right hip, and right breast. These tests should indicate if cancer or not.

Best case will be negative on the skull and hip, but positive on the right breast. This would mean two separate cancers, but not traveling through her body.

Again, thanks to all for the thoughts, prayers, e-mails, and calls.

Kevin

M.D.A.—Day 4

Met with the Oncologist, all I am going to say is it looks like we are dealing with Stage 4 with metastasis to the hip bone and skull. I am not going to post any more right now, if you want to know about it, please look it up on the internet, I am on my way to catch a flight home to hug my children.

M.D.A.---Day 3

This blog is about my journey and on this journey there will be good days and bad. Today wasn’t a good day. I finally broke down with the Radiologist. It was tough. We are dealing with extensive lymph node involvement. I ended up having a lymph node biopsy today from the right side (cancer is on the left side) and it came back as cancerous. It means there is cancer also present on the right side that isn’t being picked up yet (which may be the case with lobular, since it is also called a “hidden cancer”) or the left side is worse than they thought. I am in tears as I write this. It’s tough right now. The Radiologist wants to have an MRI done. We meet back with the Oncologist tomorrow. I am glad Kevin is here with me. He picked me up when I was down and took me for a ride on the “metro train” to downtown. It was interesting. I don’t know what else to write today. I am scared and that’s all there is to it today.

~Kasey

A Husband's Perspective

Plane tickets for a flight that was so rough that we couldn’t even
get our peanuts and pop…………………………………………….$360.00

Cab ride from Houston Hobby to everywhere but where we
needed to go………......……………………..$35.00

Finally getting where we needed to be, and having the feeling that
this place was put on this earth just for us……………..PRICELESS!!


This Medical Complex is huge. We’ve been lost several times.
It’s kinda like Vegas, but they’re hospitals instead of hotels.

Thanks to all for the support, thoughts and prayers. Kasey checks
this blog several times a day, and it pleases her so much to read
your comments. Keep it up. I am so proud of her.

Fred and Little Man (you know who you are), we miss you SO
much!! We can’t wait to be back home with you.

Say hey to Grady and Sammy, and pet them for me.

Again, thanks to each and every one of you that are helping us in
this journey. It’s only just begun, but your kindness has touched
us in such ways that make things so much easier for us.

In the words of Rev. John Mullen…

“God love ya, and keep smiling!!”

Kevin

M.D.A.---Day 2

I made it through the tests today. The CT scan went well, and they have better stuff to drink for prep! It was clear and I got to mix it with cranberry juice. I had to drink 6 cans of cranberry juice, but I didn’t throw up LOL! The bone scan wasn’t as good. They picked up the same spot on my skull that was picked up at crmc. They immediately did follow up tests, but we won’t know anything until Friday. They will get to the bottom of it here though. Something is going on there, we just need to figure it out!
Other than that, the day has been ok. I still LOVE this place. It is like a HUGE hotel (or actually like 5 or 6 HUGE hotel all connected). Everything is so organized, with big waiting rooms that have recliners to rest or sleep, computers for internet access. AND, if your appointment is for 12:15, they call you at EXACTLY 12:15! Can you tell I love it here?? This is just the type of care I was hoping to get! Kevin says “HI”!
We have a few more tests tomorrow—Ultrasounds and mammograms. I should have an idea of lymph node involvement by tomorrow (or Friday if we have to wait for our Oncologist to go over them). We may take a ride around Houston tomorrow to check it out. Kevin is doing great! He’s such a great husband and I LOVE HIM! I will post again tomorrow or maybe I can get Kevin to add a post later!
I love ya all!!!
~Kasey

M.D.A.---Day one

We made it! We love M.D. Anderson! We met with Dr. Green our oncologist and we are IMPRESSED with her! I just loved her. We are under great care here. I found out today that I am at Stage 3 (out of 4). There does seem to be lymph node involvement. The cancer is also Estrogen positive and Her2NEU negative. This means the cancer is feeding off of estrogen, so I will probably have my ovaries removed. They are going to do some genetic testing for a “gene mutation” and if they find it, will remove my ovaries to also reduce the risk of Ovarian cancer. One other thing I love here is that my case will be reviewed by all the other Doctors here (23 of them) with Dr. Green. They are some of the best Oncologists in the country. The nurses and staff here are great! VERY helpful and friendly. We talked some today about my treatment plan and it looks like I will have 6 months on Chemotherapy. The good news is that it will be only one day every 3 weeks for 3 months, then once a week for 3 months. We are going to be able to come here, have my treatments and then go home. If I can, I may do the every week part of it more local. Then surgery will be done here. We will be making our appointments to meet with the surgeon and plastic surgeon soon. After all this, I will have 6 weeks of radiation that will need to be done here. That will be around the beginning of the summer.
We also had a long talk with a Research Nurse (Reuben) whose wife went through this a few years ago. They took some blood to be used in a study.
Well, I better get off of here and get some sleep! I’ve been up since 3:30 this morning and have to be back at MDA at 6:30 a.m. Here’s hoping I don’t throw up the barium before my CT scan! LOL!
THANK YOU for all the emails and comments! They really help keep my spirits up!
~Kasey

Wer're off!

Here it is 4:30 in the morning! We are getting ready to leave. Our flight leaves at 7:10 a.m. out of Tulsa. I am nervous, scared, anxious and sad right now! More scared than anything. It is hard leaving Raisa and Larson. Hopefully we will find out more about when I'll get to come back in the next day or two. I will still have acess to my same email. If anyone wants either Kevin's or my cell phone numbers, just email me and I will be happy to give them to you! Keep up the prayers! I will post more later!
~Kasey

My Oncologist

Want to see my Oncologist? Here she is! Dr. Marjorie Green, M.D.

Marjorie Green, M.D.

Titles/Appointments
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Department of Breast Medical Oncology

Undergraduate Degree
University of Notre Dame
South Bend, IN
B.A., History
1991
Medical School
The University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, TX
1995
Internship/Residency
Internal Medicine
University of Virginia Health Science Center
Charlottesville, VA
1995-98
Fellowship
Medical Oncology
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
2001
Medical Hematology
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
2001
Marjorie C. Green, M.D.
Dr. Green is an assistant professor in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She is a member of M. D. Anderson's Clinical Research Committee and an associate member of its Institutional Review Board. Her research interests include breast cancer drug therapies and dosing strategies, among others. She received her medical degree at the UT Medical Branch in Galveston, and completed her residency at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center and fellowships in medical oncology and hematology at M. D. Anderson. She is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. Dr. Green reports that she is on an advisory board for Aventis Pharmaceuticals. She reports that she has received funding as a speaker for Pfizer and Roche.


I think she's quite qualified! I will get to meet with her on Tuesday. I was hoping not to have to repeat any tests that were done here in the last 2 weeks, but it looks like I may have to. That's ok though. None were too bad, well, except for the CAT scan of the abdomen. My stomach didn't agree to well with the Baruim (?) they make you drink and ended up throwing it up before they did the test. I tried so hard to keep it down! Haha. Luckily, they didn't make me drink any more and were able to still do the test. Now, I may have nightmares about doing that again! Here is my lovely schedule for the first few days were will be there:
10/10/06 1:30PM NEW PATIENT REGISTRATION - 1220 Holcombe Blvd - Mays Clinic - Please take elevator U to the 5th floor reporting to the Nellie B. Connally Breast Center - Please sign in at the receptionist desk and be seated to the left of the desk with films and the completed 9 page Patient History Database forms in hand.

10/10/06 2:30PM NEW PATIENT VISIT - Dr. Marjorie Green

10/10/06 4:15PM CHEST, PA & LAT

10/10/06 4:30PM BLOOD/SPECIMEN COLLECTION

10/11/06 06:30AM CT PREP-DO NOT EAT 3 HRS PRIOR

10/11/06 08:00AM CAT SCAN, ABDOMEN

10/11/06 10:00AM BONE SCAN-DOSE

10/11/06 12:00PM BONE SCAN-EXAM

10/12/06 08:20AM CHECKIN FOR TEST / EXAM

10/12/06 08:40AM MAMMOGRAM, DX BILATERAL

10/12/06 12:00PM CHECKIN FOR TEST / EXAM

10/12/06 12:30PM US, BREAST WITH FNA

Sounds like fun! WHOOOO HOOO!

OCTOBER 10th!

Well, it looks like our first appointment at M.D. Anderson will be on October 10th! We will spend next week going over all my test results, meeting my team of doctors (Oncologist, Surgeons, etc) and coming up with my treatment plan! Finally! These last few days have been SO tough. I find myself not being able to concentrate on anything! I have been keeping busy finishing up some photography work for people and businesses. I have really been missing all my daycare kids though! (You all know I LOVE YA!) We are still waiting on the path report for my ERA/PRA (Estrogen/Progestrogen factors)and the HER2 NEU. Our Doctor in Houston should have that by then. They will tell how the cancer cells are growing, what makes them grow and how fast. I am just ready to go into fight mode and get this over with!
~Kasey


"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." ----Joseph Campbell

Posting comments

After receiving several emails from people not sure how to post comments on the blog, I though I would just post "how to" here. It's easy!
Just click on the the little blue "comments" button at the bottom of my post. Then just type it in on the right hand side in that box. You can check Anonymous, but just make sure when you are typing the message to put your name at the bottom of it. Then hit "Login and Publish". That's it! It won't require you to sign up or anything. That way, I know you were here and thinking of me!

We bought a laptop this weekend, so I can stay connected down in Houston. I should still be able to access my current email address, but if that changes, I will post here. Thank you again for all the support and prayers. I will post when we know we are leaving for MDA. I hope this week!

Saring an email

"Gift of the Heart"
Dear Kasey,
I searched around, yet, never found
A card with words that could say..
Nor gift that could quite portray..
What I want you to know on this day.
So,with pen in hand..I pondered
How should the message start?
Then, the ink began to flow...
With words straight from my heart!
I would give you the moon on your darkest
night..the sun on a cloudy day.
I'd hang the stars to guide your steps
When you have lost your way.
Golden days..Silver nights
All that is beautiful / all that is bright
Wrapped in shiny paper,
Tied with a gilded bow.
A heart,filled with love,is the gift I give
Just wanted you to know.

Karen G. Law (Copyright....)


Thank you for all the wonderful poems, Karen! You have a special gift!
~Kasey