Chemo.... OVER!

We are very happy to report that Becky is all finished with her chemotherapy.  She did great, and is happy to have that behind her.  A big thanks to all those that helped take care of our kids, and brought over meals, and just did tons of other helpful things to help us navigate this part of our journey.

She has been making some of the arrangements to start radiation the first part of January.  She has been in for a couple of appointments, and she has had the targets tattooed on her skin.  The plan is for 5-6 weeks of radiation.  She will have to go 5 days a week, which is going to be challenging with all of the other activities or normal family life.  We have heard that there are some side effects from radiation that are a little difficult to deal with, but hopefully it will be nothing like the chemo.

Christmas is always a special time of year, but the past few months, we have been especially aware of just how important it is to have quality family time and memories.  We have learned many great lessons from this past year, but one of the most important is to not just coast through life and take things for granted.

Thanks again for all of your thoughtfulness and special acts of kindness.  We truly have the greatest friends and family that anyone could ever ask for.

Getting Better

Things are getting better every day.  Becky is feeling stronger and having fewer side effects from the Taxol. We have received such a great deal of support, and people have been so thoughtful and concerned. We really appreciate it.  In early October, we started to have pink pumpkins show up on our porch.  Occasionally they would have a sweet message, or pink ribbon on them.  They were all different shades of pink.  We have no idea where they came from, but we are very thankful for the thoughtfulness of those that brought them.   I have attached some pictures below.

Becky really is doing better and can start to see the possibility of one day returning to a more "normal" life.  We did have a little bit of bad news, but it was not totally unexpected.  We found out that she is going to need radiation.  It will start around the first of the year and she will have daily treatments for 5-6 weeks.

Becky has made some new acquaintances through this experience, and also found others that she already knew that are going through a similar struggle.  It is like many things in life, when you look around at what some others are going through, some always have it better and some always have it worse.

Please don't be offended if we try to be a little more self-sufficient in the coming months.  Anyone that knows Becky knows that she is a very strong (willed) person. Haha. She really feels like the more that she does for herself and our family, the more that she can move past this and get on with her life.

Thanks again for all of your love, support and prayers.  They have definitely made a difference.

Life goes on...

Today, Becky had her third dose of Taxol.  It is weekly, so hopefully the doses will go by fast.  We have 9 weeks left, and I have been trying to convince her that it is not that long, but I think it still seems long to her. Her recovery from the Taxol seems to be easier.  She still has some nausea and fatigue, but they are not as severe, and they do not last as long.  Also, she does not need the Neulasta shots which caused most of the bone pain.  I actually heard her say that "she felt a little bit like her old self" last week. Her attitude is good and as anyone that knows her can attest, she is a fighter.  She has always loved "Rocky," and I think she is fighting her own Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago right now.

We are so thankful for all the help that we have been receiving, but it is nice to be a little more self sufficient for the time being.  Feeling helpless and relying on others for so much was difficult for both of us.  We are so lucky to have the great friends, neighbors, and family that we do.  We have both been looking for things to distract us from the cancer and help us try to remember that it is not what defines us, or is not what we are.

Becky was so sweet and let me slip away to help my Dad on his elk hunt for a couple of days last week.  It is a hunt that he has been trying to draw for about 8 years, and when we found out in January that we were going, the entire family was excited.  (Of course we had no idea back then what our situation would be in the Fall).

One of the cool things about the elk camp was in the middle of all the camo, ATV's, trailers, and all the other hunting gear, were the 3 pick-up trucks all proudly displaying the pink ribbon and "Team Becky" sticker.

Life is crazy, and it does not slow down or wait for anybody or anything.  The kids are still growing, going to school, playing sports, and doing all the things that 4 kids from age 3-16 would do.  Kennedy got her driver's license, Reagan started Jr. High, McKinley is busy at the elementary, and Jackson started pre-school.

2013 has been a rough year, and we are all looking forward to the time when we can look back on it and wonder how we ever got through it, but for now we just get up and face each day and make the best of it.

Starting Taxol

Today Becky went in for her first dose of Taxol.  The last 2 weeks have been the most difficult so far.  It took several days for her to start feeling better after her last dose.  She was given another course of antibiotics, but they had little impact. She continues to fight cold symptoms, but after a visit with the Dr. today, he thinks it may be drainage from her eyes that is irritating her sinuses and throat.  Hopefully this will resolve now that we have changed to a different drug.  One of the differences with Taxol is the higher possibility of an allergic type reaction to the chemo. To help with this they give 50mg of IV Benadryl before the infusion.  Becky was pretty much knocked out after that. Haha.  She seems to be doing well after the dose and we will wait and see what the coming days bring.  Most people say that the Taxol is easier to tolerate, and so we are hopeful that this is the case for Becky.

As always, we are so thankful to the many friends that are always offering support and help.

I am attaching a picture that the Midtown Davis Clinic sent with another message of support.

Last Dose of "Bad Chemo"

Today was the last dose of the Cytoxan/Adriamycin combo.  Several people have said that the next medication (Taxol), is a little easier to tolerate as far as chemo goes.  The last 2 weeks have been a little difficult.  The cold that she had been fighting, finally got to the point that she could no longer stand it.  After almost 3 weeks and a couple of complaints about it falling on deaf ears at the Oncologists office, she called and explained that she needed some antibiotics now.  They explained that they don't usually give antibiotics unless the patient has a fever.  After waiting almost all day, they called in a Z-Pak for her.  That did the trick, and the cold is mostly gone.  She had kind of a hard time bouncing back after this last dose, and we are hoping that it was mostly because of the cold.  Her dose today went smoothly, and she felt good during the day but the nausea is coming on pretty strong tonight. Four more days and she will hopefully have the worst of the chemo behind her.

As many of you know, I now work at Midtown Community Health Center.  I had kind of tried to keep the news of Becky's cancer low key and only really the people in the pharmacy were aware of it.  I should have known it was only a matter of time until the people out in the clinic figured out what was going on.  They decided that they wanted to do another shirt order for the clinic.  I knew that Midtown had kind of a family feel, but the support has been unbelievable.  We ended up ordering 82 shirts.  Midtown has several satellite clinics as well.  Many of these people I have never even met in person and they definitely haven't met Becky, but they sent in orders and messages of support.  The Medical Director challenged the Midtown Vegas Ragnar team to get shirts and wear them during their race.  The Executive Director is allowing the people with shirts to wear jeans to work on the days that Becky has chemo.  I have posted some pictures that came in from some of the satellite clinics today.  Keep in mind that most of these people have never met me or Becky.

I am so thankful for the wonderful group of friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers that have offered prayers and support on our behalf.  Your kind words and deeds have made such a difference to our little family.  We have a daughter that is 9 years old, and to hear her talk about going to school and seeing kids and even adults wearing shirts in support of her mother is such a heartwarming experience.  This is a hard thing that we are facing, but somehow just knowing that people care and are willing to offer so much love and support makes it just a little easier.

3 Down 13 to go

Becky had her 3rd dose of chemo today.  She only has 1 more dose of the bad combo of Adriamycin and Cytoxan.  After that, she will switch to a weekly dose of a different medication called Taxol.  All things considered she is doing pretty well.  She is getting better at treating the side effects.

She did struggle with the last dose a little bit.  She developed a sore throat and a mild fever.  Normally this would not be serious, but because of the chemo's effect on her white blood cells, they watch these things more closely.  If the fever gets to 100.5 she has to go directly to the hospital.  We watched closely and she was quite uncomfortable with a cold for a few days, but fortunately she improved and was feeling quite well before her dose today.

Life is very busy and it does not really slow down just because a person is being treated for cancer.  Luckily she is able to bounce back pretty quick, and we have wonderful friends, family, and neighbors that are so willing to help.

Next chemo dose is September 11th.  Wear your shirts. :)

Chemo Round 2

Becky had her 2nd dose of chemo on Wednesday August 14th.  She had recovered pretty well from her first dose and was feeling pretty good.  We had a visit with the surgeon last week and he said everything looks great.  We know a little more what to expect from the chemo this time, and that makes us feel better.
I think I have convinced her to start the nausea medication a little earlier this time and not try to act so tough. :)

August always seems like a very busy time of year with back to school, soccer tournaments, and just trying to get everything wrapped up from summer.  Thanks to all who have helped out, especially with driving kids around.  We could not have done it without you.  We have also had such wonderful meals brought in when she was feeling bad after her first dose.  With her feeling nauseated and having the taste disturbances, she was really in no mood to cook for the family.

We are so thankful for all of the acts of kindness and support that we have received.  I know that it boosts Becky's spirits to see everyone wearing their shirts on her chemo days.  (The next chemo dose is on August 28th.)  The infusion center is not a very uplifting place to spend 3 hours. At times, I am sure that she feels overwhelmed, but because of all of the wonderful love and support that we have received, it makes it all just a little more bearable.  Your thoughts and prayers are felt and much appreciated.

Thank You!

Watching and waiting

Becky had her first dose of chemo on Wednesday, July 31st.  We spent about 3 hours at the oncologist's office. It was a 30 minute appointment and then about 2.5 hours of different IV infusions.  They gave her some pre-medications to help with the nausea, a steroid, and then the actual chemo.  Doxorubicin is a deep red color and it is a little unnerving watching it flow into her veins.  It is probably the more toxic of the 2 drugs. She had minimal side effects during the infusions, and soon we were in our way home. The Dr. said that the nausea would most likely start later that evening. She  was given medications to help control the nausea, and for the most part, they have done a good job.  On Thursday morning we went back to the Dr's office to get a Neulasta shot.  This is a medication to help her body produce more white blood cells to replace the ones that are being destroyed by the chemo.  It stimulates the bone marrow and can cause some severe bone pain.  She decided to participate in an investigational study for some medications to help control the bone pain.  Unfortunately, she was randomized to the arm of the study that is not receiving the study medications.  She is still able to take other medications though.

Overall, she is doing pretty well.  The side effects of the chemo and Neulasta have been bearable with  the use of other medications.  She is pretty fatigued, but that is a normal side effect of the chemo that we do not have many ways to treat at this point.  This first treatment is a little difficult, because we do not really know if she is going to take a turn for the worse at some point.  Once she makes it to Monday, they said that she should start feeling better, and the chance for a bad reaction will have passed.

We continue to have amazing support from all of our wonderful friends and family.  People have been bringing in meals and offering words of encouragement, and we are so thankful for all of it.

Beginning of Chemo

Hi everyone, it's Amber.  Becky starts chemo tomorrow.  For those of you who ordered shirts, we are hoping for everyone to wear them to show our love and support for Becky.  Watch for an update from Braden. Please keep their family in your prayers, they really need it right now.

Amber

Shirts for Becky

Hello, it's Amber.  I wanted to make everyone aware that we will be placing another shirt order in a week or so.  If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please call or text Amber Mitchell 801-645-6768 or Jen Moss 801-393-2462.  There are cotton and tek shirts.  The cotton shirts are unisex and childrens sizes and the tek shirts are men, women and children sizes.  

Thanks!

Amber Mitchell

Chemo Delayed

Unfortunately when Becky went in to see the surgeon today, she was still having some problems with one of the incisions.  He decided that he would just try to fix it in the office, so he shot her up with some lidocaine and cut into it again.  After speaking with the oncologist, he said that we will not be able to start chemo tomorrow.  She will have to wait for the incisions to heal before we can start.  Becky was a little surprised by the pain when she got home, but after taking a few more percocet tablets she seems to be doing better.  (Her speech is a slurred, but she is not in pain)  :)  Thank you all again for your love, support and prayers.  We will keep you posted on the start date for the chemo.

A long day

Yesterday we had a follow up with the surgeon.  Unfortunately, the incisions are not looking so good. He recommended that we have a follow-up surgery to help her heal better. He recommended doing the surgery today (Tuesday afternoon). We already had an appointment with the oncologist for the morning, so we figured, Hey, why not make a day of it?  I took the day off work and we met with the oncologist this morning.  First we met with a patient advocate that helps people find ways to pay for the parts of treatment that are not covered. Hopefully everything will continue to go smoothly with our insurance. After that, we sat in the waiting area for an hour and waited for the doctor. When we finally met him, he was expecting to start chemo today. The scheduling lady had made a mistake.  He seemed a little annoyed that we were not starting today. Next we told him that we were having another surgery and he seemed even more annoyed.  That appointment ended and we did not really talk about anything.  He said we can come for a follow-up on the 10th. I don't think he is very confident that we will be ready to start chemo on that day. Not much accomplished in those 3 hours.

The afternoon was spent at the surgical center.  The surgeon was running behind, so there was a lot of waiting again. Becky was able to get through the surgery with conscious sedation and local anesthetic rather than general anesthetic, so her recovery should be a little quicker.  The surgeon said that it went very well, and we made the right decision. He is going to talk to the oncologist, so hopefully we  will still be able to start chemo on the 10th.  A big thanks to all of those that helped with the kids on short notice. I don't know what we would do without all of the wonderful help that we have received.

We are headed home and Becky hasn't had anything to eat or drink since midnight. Luckily, Warren's is on the way home, and she loves their french fries.

Shirts

Hi everyone, it's Amber.  The shirts are here and available for pickup.  Feel free to contact Amber Mitchell @ 801-645-6768 or Jen Moss  @ 801-393-2462.  We plan to distribute them as quickly as possible; with your help, the process will go smoothly.  If you ordered from me, or are in my ward, I have your shirt.  Jen has everyone else's, if you're not sure just give us a call or text.  As you saw from Braden, the chemo schedule is not finalized.  Please check back here next week for a schedule of chemo days so you'll know when to wear the shirts.  

Thanks everyone!! 

A good week

This past week has been a little bit better than the previous few.  Becky is healing well from her surgery and is feeling quite a bit better.   Her drains have been removed and she went to a physical therapy appointment. We have a follow up with the surgeon on Monday to make sure the incisions are still healing correctly and there is no infection.  We have an appointment with the oncologist on Tuesday.  We are thinking that he will go over the bone scan and CT scan results with us.  He will also confirm with us the chemo regimen.  He will let us know the amount of time that each infusion will take, and how we are going to handle the side effects from the chemo.

We continue to receive great strength from the amount of support and prayers offered in our behalf.  Everywhere we go, people offer kind words and actions on our behalf.  How lucky we feel to have all of you as friends and family.

Dr. Visits

Yesterday we had a follow-up visit with the plastic surgeon.  Because he was the second surgeon to work on Becky, he gets to do all the follow-up.  The incisions both look good.  She is on antibiotics and they seem to have held off any infection.  The pain is mostly controlled with the pain meds except for a really sore spot under her right arm where they removed the lymph nodes.  Her drains have almost slowed down enough that they can be removed.  She has another appointment scheduled for Wednesday to see if the drains can be removed.

Today we went for a visit with the oncologist.  After waiting almost 2 hours to see him, I was afraid he would just rush through our appointment to try to make up some time because he was obviously way behind.  It was a relief that he did not seem rushed at all and we discussed her case and treatment options for almost an hour.

 

The tumor was smaller (3.2 cm) as we read in the pathology report.  That is still good news.  The reason that it looked larger on the MRI was because it was what is called multi-focal.  This means that the largest piece was 3.2 cm, but it had multiple pieces in multiple quadrants of the breast.  That makes the news not quite as good, but still ok.

Her cancer is staged at a IIb.  Because of the positive lymph node and the tumor size she is going to need chemotherapy.  Dr Gray is recommending Cytoxan and Doxorubicin given every 2 weeks for 8 weeks and then Taxol given weekly for 12 weeks.  I could tell Becky was disappointed at the prospect of 20 weeks of chemo, but she is willing to do whatever it takes.  She will be given an injectable drug called Neulasta to keep her blood counts up.  This will only need to be given with each chemo infusion.  (Previously they would have used Neupogen which would have required daily injections.)  The Neulasta will act on the marrow in her bones which will cause some bone pain for about 4 days after each infusion.  The newer medications will help to keep the nausea bearable.  There is a significant risk of peripheral neuropathy that can develop with the Taxol.  This is a little scary, but they are going to pack her hands and feet in ice during the infusions to minimize this risk.  He did say that the fatigue can be one of the difficult side effects to treat, because they don’t really have anything for it.  Unfortunately her hair will start to fall out quickly after the 2^nd dose of chemo.

   

On Monday she will be going to the hospital for an echocardiogram in the morning and then a bone scan and CT scan in the afternoon.  The Dr. expects that the results of both of those will come back clear, but it is important to have baseline scans in case something develops in the future.

While this post may seem a little more somber, we actually feel blessed that these treatment options are available, and that there is still the possibility of a good outcome after a long hard fight.  With your love, support, and prayers, we know that we can overcome these obstacles and continue on the path to a somewhat normal future.

Pathology Update

Becky is recovering on schedule from her surgery.  Thank you for all of your thoughtfulness and prayers at this time.  We consider ourselves so lucky to have such a great group of friends, neighbors, and family that provide us with so much support.

We were able to log onto the Select Health web site and get some of our pathology reports a little bit early.  Please keep in mind that these results have not been evaluated by the medical team and so any conclusions may be premature.  We will tell you what each of the results are and maybe a little bit of our thoughts, but those thoughts might change after we speak with the medical team.

The tumor ended up being 3.2 centimeters in size.  This is not a small tumor, but it is smaller than the physicians had estimated it to be by looking at the MRI.  The original estimates of 5.5 centimeters carried a worse prognosis, and so we are very happy that it turned out to be smaller than expected.  The tissue is labeled as Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Grade 2.  The margins appeared to be clear, which also seems like good news.

The tumor is HER2 negative.  This is considered to be good.  It is also estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor positive.  These are considered to be good as well because it gives us other options for treatment down the road.

Unfortunately one of the 2 sentinel lymph nodes that were removed was positive for metastatic carcinoma cells.  This does not seem like particularly good news.

We have a follow up appointment with the surgeon tomorrow and an appointment with the oncologist on Tuesday.  We will try to keep you updated.

Thanks again for all of your love and support.

Day by day

Becky is resting and recovering at home.  She is still struggling with the pain a bit, but it seems to be slowly coming under control.  Her spirits seem to be good and she appreciates all of the well wishes.

Shirt Sample

This is a sample of what the shirt will look like.  If you are interested in a shirt to support Becky while she fights this fight, the information you will need to order one can be found on the previous post.

~Amber

Shirts for Becky

Hi everyone, it's Amber Mitchell.  In Support of Becky's battle with cancer, a family friend is having some T-Shirts made.  I've seen a small sample of the picture that will be on the shirts and it looks awesome!! 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Mitchell family.  Our hope is for everyone to wear them on the days that Becky has her chemo treatments.  If you are interested in a t-shirt, here is some information:

Color: Gray, with pink and white writing
Cotton t-shirts: $10
Tech t-shirts: $15
Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL (Cotton t's are unisex sizes.).  Regular children's sizes.

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please contact:

Amber Mitchell @ 801-645-6768 (Call or text is fine)
Jen Moss 801-393-2462

~Amber

Welcome Home

Becky had a decent night in the hospital.  This morning they were able to remove her IV and convert her to oral pain meds.  She struggled with the pain and with some nausea and dizziness, but finally she felt well enough to come home.  She is resting and as much as we love and want to see each one of you, we are limiting visitors right now until she feels a little better.  We have follow up appointments with the surgeons next week as well as an appointment with the oncologist. This morning our entire house and yard had been decorated with beautiful pink ribbons.  They brought a smile to her face as we drove up. Jen and Liz you are sweet.  A big thanks to all of you for all of the wonderful love and support.  Our entire family felt it yesterday, and though it was a long hard day, it was just a little more bearable because of each of the sweet messages of comfort and support.

Phase 2

She is in recovery and awake and doing well. The second surgery went well and Dr. Rinard said it was very smooth and easy. If things go well, we should spend one night in the hospital and go home tomorrow. Thank you for all of your kind thoughts and prayers.

Phase 1

The first surgery went well. Dr. Hansler was able to remove the entire tumor and felt like he was able to get good clean margins all around.  There was no obvious penetration into the chest wall or the skin which are both good signs.  He removed a couple of lymph nodes and said that they appear normal to the naked eye, but we will not know for sure until we hear from pathology.  Surgery #2 starts.....Now.

The journey begins

Today is the surgery which is the first step back to a somewhat normal life.  We were scheduled to come to the hospital at 12:00, but they had a cancellation and were able to get us in a little early. After all the pre-op, we were actually heading into the OR at about 12:15pm.  The first surgery is supposed to take about 2 hours. Everything appears to be going smoothly.