Hi All.

We’ve got a lot of updates for you. Mom finished her radiation treatment on October 17. The team at the hospital gave her a certificate and she rang the ceremonious bell signifying the end of treatment. Initially, the side-effects from the radiation were minimal, she does have what looks like a sunburn on her head, a headache, and has lost some hair. So that’s good news so far. On October 19 Mom was hospitalized for three days. She was experiencing shortness of breath and edema. The doctors thought it best to visit the ER and then decided to keep her to monitor the treatment of IV-Lasix she was started on. The nurses said that seeing patients with cancer who also develop edema is common, and Mom’s Oncologist stated that he believes the edema was caused by the steroids she has been taking to help with side-effects from the radiation. The good news from the hospital stay is that the Lasix worked well, and her edema went down, or at least for the time. Other good news is that in the scans from this stay there was no evidence of Pulmonary Emboli in her lungs… yay!! However, there is some not-so-great news. Her shortness of breath persists, and the doctor states he believes it is due to her lung tumors growing. Previously he had taken her off of the targeted therapy, Tagrisso, which he believed would not have a great affect in the two weeks prior to starting IV Chemo. That being said, it does seem to have had a rebounding effect on the growth of the tumors. So, they sent her home with oxygen to help her when she is at home. Mom started IV Chemo + the Immunotherapy (KeyTruda) this past Thursday, October 25. The first two days she said she felt normal with no side-effects. But by Sabbath, the side-effects kicked in, with more hair loss, headaches, body aches, joint pain, coughing, returning edema, extreme exhaustion, and insomnia. The doctor and others who have been on Chemo before said these side-effects last a couple weeks, and start to subside right before she’s due to for her next dose. The doctor has scheduled her for three additional rounds of IV Chemo, every 21 days, which will put her last one in the end of December. Mom remains, as ever, in good spirits, praising God for the good along with the bad. We’re praying that the IV Chemo and the radiation will help shrink the tumors and that she can withstand the side-effects in hopes of seeing positive results. Thank you all again for your support and prayers. This means so much to Mom and our family to know that she has an army behind her.

Hank – Virginia Mason’s Therapy Dog!