Two birds, One stone
(Written by Becky)
Many of you have been asking me how Mom is, what happened in Boston, etc. Apologies for not replying to each of you individually… hope this blog post isn’t too impersonal! It’s just easier to hit two birds with one stone. 
Here’s the gist of it:
Mom’s scan in mid-May sent us reeling a bit into a little panic, worry, confusion. (See previous blog posts). While we waited for news on a possible trial at Sloan Kettering (which never panned out), Mom spent three weeks at Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida doing some cleansing, learning about nutrition and relaxing. The day she came home, we went camping for a week just the six of us: Mom, Dad, me, my husband, brother and nephew. This seems to be when Mom is the happiest: when she has her whole family around her at the same time. We had many great visits that week from her siblings in Rochester, too.
On July 10th, Dad took Mom to Boston’s Dana Farber Hospital. Mom left that consultation very encouraged and has decided to continue seeing that doctor as her primary oncologist. He’s a world-renowned doctor for lung cancer and she felt like she really clicked with him and can trust him. She’ll continue to see her doctors here locally as well. We are grateful the doctor in Boston has taken on Mom’s case! He was very encouraging and suggested that the news we received in May wasn’t translated to us accurately. He said it wasn’t as bad as we thought. Yes, it’s bad, but not as bad as we thought. He said put Mom back on Tarceva, the drug she was on from August 2011 to May 2012. (The local oncologist took her off it because the growth in the cancer looked like resistance to Tarceva). The doctor in Boston said it’s too early to call her cancer’s growth a resistance to Tarceva and too early to put her in clinical trials. So, back on that drug we go and chemo and clinical trials have been put on hold for three months.
Mom had a scan yesterday, the 24th, for the doctor in Boston to have his own baseline measurements. He will want another scan in three months to compare. Until then, we wait. And pray. And beg for your messages and visits to keep Mom’s spirits up. (May and June were difficult months emotionally.)
On a side note, my husband and I took Mom for a bike ride last weekend and she did amazing. She’s a fighter and we made it about 3 miles with just one rest in the middle. She was very encouraged by this because she’s been weak and tired lately and this bike ride got her blood pumping! She said this is the first bike ride since she was diagnosed with cancer and it made her feel like she won a small battle in this war.
Go Mom!
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Comments
That is great news Chris. You inspire me to try to take a bike ride too. I dont thing I could quite make it 3 miles and I am not battling anything right now but laziness and maybe fear. I think You encourage every one of us with your steadfastness and your faith in Christ. You will have the victory
Posted by: Linda Bridgeman | July 25th, 2012 17:54
Thanks for the update. The blog is a great way to communicate as there is no way you can keep up with every individual that cares for and is praying for your mom. So no apologies needed please.
This is encouraging and so glad to hear about the doctor in Boston. Doug and I are continuing to pray and ask God for continued healing.
Posted by: Barb | July 25th, 2012 20:57
We continue to pray and fight the fight with you Chris. We will believe and petition our Great God for your complete healing. I am confident we can all agree…. Jesus is “standing” and awaiting the Father’s command to call His church…. but until then the Church will continue to storm the gates of heaven with the fervent prayers of His saints.
Love,
Fred and Donna
Posted by: Fred LUcrezio | July 26th, 2012 09:52