After showing mom the blog post, she e-mailed the following message. I thought it a good addition. Thanks again for all your support and prayers. The photo is mom and family on her one year anniversary. Praise God!

Ron and I went to the “Casting Crowns” concert where the lead singer told of his personal battle with kidney cancer. He challenged the audience to applaud those who would stand up to indicate they are survivors of cancer. I first didn’t think that this pertained to me, but then thought to myself…I am a 1 year survivor…I AM a survivor…so I stood up and embraced the celebration of an arena that was filled with applause…applause for the survivors…and applause to The Great Physician, our REASON for our surviving!

Hi Troops!

Well… another year is upon us. And instead of staying up to date for the new year, this is coming to you extremely late. Sorry again. First, July 14 marked the one-year anniversary of mom’s diagnosis. Not necessarily thrilled to celebrate the diagnosis existing, or mom being diagnosis. But a one-year anniversary means she’s been successfully fighting this cancer monster off for over 12 months, and I plan on many more. Thank God for the great medical staff that has been treating her and that things have been successful as they have been.

That brings me to the new year…so far it’s been good, so let me catch you up to date. In mid – December, mom was temporarily taken off work by her doctor. She contracted numerous flus and colds and had difficulty recovering. The doctor thought this would take a toll on her health and immune system so the best decision is for her to rest and focus on her health. Though she is still recovering from those illnesses there is still need to decrease stress and focus on various aspects of her health to help her body fight off the cancer. Mom has been seeing her oncologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, homeopathic doctor, physical therapist, chiropractor, and has been trying to increase her amount of exercise… so of course she’s kept herself busy. On February 9 mom had her regular chest CT scan and blood labs. Blood labs all looks good, AND… CT results show NO growth and NO metastasis. Thank God!! The Tarceva seems to still be working. Mom still has a lot of negative side-effects. However, the doctor is still wiling to work with her on decreased amount of the Tarceva which helps… sometimes. She takes a super low dose which, for right now, is keeping the tumors at bay. But, she’s noticing on the days she takes the meds, she experiences a spike in the side-effects; skin rashes and pain, mental cloudiness, and overall exhaustion. Mom, very true to form, is super enduring, persistent, and says that it’s a small price to pay for the success of the medications. Through everything, mom remains positive, thankful to God for his hand in everything, every step of the way, and continues to look for opportunities to witness for Him. Anyway, that’s about all for now. Pray that God continues to allow the medications to work at this low does and long as it can. And pray that God continues to inspire mom and give her the strength she needs to carry on. Thank you all for your great support and prayers. I don’t think there are enough blogs in the world to indicate just how much we all appreciate each and everyone on of you!

Until next time!!

Hello Again,

More updates as promised…

Mom had her lab work done April 25, and met with the Doctor. Her liver panels look good and the Doctor stated that he isn’t concerned about the results of the labs. Meanwhile, Mom is noticing that the blisters on her eyes are coming back. The Doctor decreased her dosage to 100mg of Tarceva every other day to continue to monitor the rash. She has her next CT scan in June, so we’re praying that a solution comes and the medication still continues to affect the tumors.The Doctor stated he would be worried about lowering the dose of the medication if there wasn’t a scan in six months, but given that the scan is scheduled for only two months away, he feels more comfortable with adjusting the medications.  The Doctor stated that he understood Mom wanting to exhaust all options with the Tarceva prior to changing medications. This Doctor has been really understanding and willing to work with Mom, so we feel so blessed that we were lead to him. He said that if it is determined that the Tarceva is no longer working, there are two options of oral, targeted therapy, Afatinb was FDA approved 7/12/13 and Osimertinib was FDA approved 11/13/15. IV immunotherapy, Nivolumab, and then of course traditional chemotherapy (hopefully as a last resort). Please continue to pray that the medications continue to blast those dirty tumors away and that God direct my mom and her Doctor to the best decision. Thank you all again for your support, concern, thoughts, and prayers!!! We’ll continue to keep you updated and things keep happening.

Hello Prayer Warriors.

I have to start off by apologizing for my lake of updates. A lot has been happening on this side of the internet. To give the full update I have to go back to December 2015.

After Christmas Mom had her routine CT lung and abdomen scans. Everything came back looking great. The tumors are still shrinking, and there are no signs of tumors growing or spreading. Praise God!!!  Additionally, Mom only had a mild reaction to the CT oral & IV contrast. Praise God again!! Mom still was dealing with the regular side-effects of extreme fatigue, joint pain, traveling rash, dry skin, and mental exhaustion as she entered the start of a new year!

Come the end of February, her blood work showed an elevated bilirubin and liver function tests which the doctor had been noticing it slowly increasing, and wanted to retest in 2 weeks, which did return to normal. Mom also developed a painful rash on her eyelids and around her eyes. It seemed the same as the other rashes, caused by Tarceva 150mg, but worse. Eyes were red and irritated. Eyelids were swollen, blistered and peeling. While the rash continued to get worse, Mom went to attend to her mother in Southern California who was placed on Hospice after her health took a turn for the worse. We were hypothesizing that the rash could be stress induced and spoke to her Doctor about options of treating the rash. He stated that the options would be to go to a lower dose of Tarceva, and if that didn’t work, then switch to a different medication. Since the Tarceva has yielded great results, switching to a new medication is a bit worrisome. After seeing the doctor when she returned home, he felt that the rash was for sure a side-effect from the medication, and took Mom off the Tarceva, on a trial basis until the rash resolved.

During this time, Mom made her way back down to Southern California to make funeral arrangements after her mother passed away. She was off the medication for a week and the rash was slowly starting to clear up. She started the medication back up at the 150mg daily dose before returning home, and had a scan in Seattle on March 17. Needless to say we were all extremely concerned that the absence of the medication could result in a growth of tumors or spread of cancer. Thank God once again!!! There were no signs of growth and the images show that the tumors continued to shrink in comparison to the CT scan in December. And she had less of a reaction to the IV contrast than previously.

Well… the eyelid rash came back; peeling, redness, and painful blisters. At doctor’s orders, mom discontinued the Tarceva for about a week until the rash went away, and then reduced her dose to 100mg daily. The doctor stated that the next option is changing to a different Targeted Therapy medication. Not really the outcome we were hoping for. During all these changes, and many prayers for symptoms to clear up by many of you, my dad did some internet searching and found a research trial article of 3 patients who were on Tarceva 25-50mg, an ultra-low dose, who achieved a balance of disease control with prolonged side effect tolerability. After sharing the article with her doctor, and reporting her eye symptoms were not worsening, the doctor agreed to let mom take another break from the medication at an even lower dose -Tarceva 100mg every other day, again, on a trial basis. If she were to switch medications, the doctor explains there isn’t an option to go back on the Tarceva, so mom wants to exhaust all options on this medication before completely changing. She refers to her medications as her “life-lines” and wants to reserve as many of her life-lines as possible, before leaping to different medication. Praising God for His continued leading and the willingness of the doctor to hold off on changing to a new medication!!!

So currently, as of April 20, (and celebrating her 8th month on treatment) Mom’s eye symptoms have completely healed, even after 9 days of restarting Tarceva 100mg every other day. The doctor is pleased with these results, and recommends gradually increasing the dose to Tarceva 150mg every other day, monitor side effects, and report any intolerable side effects. She has another follow up with lab tests on Monday, April 25…we will keep you posted!

We ask you to join us as we’re specifically pray; that the medication will continue to work at this lower dose as well as it has in the past, that we continue seeing progress with the tumors shrinking, the numerous side effects will be tolerated, and that Mom’s future liver function tests stay in the normal range.

Mom continues to stay positive and up-beat about all of the roller-coaster emotions of her journey. She continues to look to your support, family, and God for daily encouragement. Mom has been holding onto God’s Word and found more songs she continues to listen to, and feels that were written for her at times. She wants to share these with you, in hopes you will be encouraged as well. She Says: “These musical messages, which I feel are written especially for me… To carry me through the ups and downs of treatment while keeping focused and leaning on Christ.  To challenge me to continue to tell others of the works of the Lord, and to encourage me to keep going on my new life journey because You have been my God…Through all of it!”
Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support. I know how much my parents appreciate you all. I promise to keep you more up-to-date than I have in the past.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was mom’s 55^th day of treatment on Tarceva. She went in for blood work, CT scan, and appointment with her oncologist to review the results. Everything went smoothly; no reactions from the CT contrast, normal lab test results, free parking, and … Good News! The doctor compared the previous CT scan to yesterdays and is pleased with the results. In the 2 months she’s been receiving treatment the results have been better than expected. And the tumors are shrinking! The doctor stated that the full effects of Tarceva aren’t usually expected or noticed until the 6-9 month range. The doctor seems encouraged and is anticipating continual improvement in symptoms, yet does keep reminding us that this is a lifelong disease and lifelong treatment. “It’s treatable, but not curable.”

What does that mean now? Scans indicate that the Tarceva is working like it should so far, so mom keeps taking it, we keep praying that God uses it to work through her body. She still struggles with symptoms of having lung cancer, and the side effects from the Tarceva. Her hair is thinning, she has an itchy rash, and acne. She is experiencing fatigue, exhausted often, and sleeping a lot. The fatigue is a combination of side effects and symptoms. Her body needs rest to fight the cancer, and the Tarceva is rough on her body, resulting in being tired. Mom continues to experience a lack of concentration and difficulty multitasking, making it difficult to stay focused. She’s noted a few times that it takes her double or triple the time to finish some tasks or daily activities, that used to be a breeze, pre-cancer. For those of you who have ever met my mom, she is a whirlwind of productivity, often doing about ten things at once, with a special kind of ease, so this is especially difficult for her. She is coping with having to find a “new normal.” The doctor and his team have equated the difficulty focusing and slower processing to “chemo brain.” The medication is working, but because of the dose needed to fight the cancer, it takes a toll on her body.

So she is, true to form, focused on being grateful and praising God for the benefits she continues to receive. She is focused on conveying that her journey with cancer is God’s journey, gives Him the glory, daily, hourly, minute by minute, second by second. She told me she wanted to be sure not to leave the doctor’s office without telling him that he and his treatment team have been in her prayers, and she’s requesting others to pray for them as well.

We wanted to make sure you’re not just listening to me, but my mom wanted to express her appreciation and gratitude in her own words.

We find it hard to convey our gratitude for the continued commitment so may of you have made to lifting me and my family up to the Lord for healing, strength, and encouragement. From our family’s church members in North Carolina and the west coast, our co-workers, friends, church members, and family in Christ all over the world. We express our heart’s deepest appreciation for making your prayer commitment in our behalf. There is power in prayer! I keep thinking that the side effects are small prices to pay for what the alternative would be without this treatment, or on another type of medication. I’m choosing to focus on what God has done and praising Him for His continued grace. I am thankful to the scientists, bio-med lab experts, and many thousands of medical experts that labored to research, create and market this drug 10 years ago that is saving my life today. At this stage we are greatly encouraged and continue to praise God the cancer is responding to the treatment and for the positive results received so far. There is no other way to explain this response to the treatment, than to constantly give praise and thanksgiving to our Great Physician, Creator, and Sustainer of Life. We give the credit to Jesus and keep our eyes on You, Lord!”

Mom has recently been listening to and encouraged by an artist, Kristene DiMarco, and often remarks that she feels the songs are somehow written just for her, and just at the right time. It seems appropriate to share this one with you entitled, Eyes on You Lord.

Hello All.

Mom saw the oncologist on September 1. He was encouraged at all the benefits she is seeing with the Tarceva. She is coughing less, especially at night, and sometimes getting a good night’s rest. She is breathing easier, and not out of breath as often. The doctor said he sometimes doesn’t see the benefits of lessened symptoms until around 6-9 months, and is pleased. We continue to pray for these great results and that the Tarceva is working on shrinking the tumors. Mom and our whole family want to thank everyone for your prayers and support. Both Mom and Dad continuously express their gratitude at the kind words, cards, gifts, food, and especially prayers. We are confident that it is God’s hand that has been leading her through this journey.

One week of Tarceva treatment down and we’re seeing good results. So far mom’s symptoms have somewhat subsided. She reports a decrease shortness of breath and reduced coughing at night… which means more sleep! YAY!!!! In the past week the side-effects from Tarceva have been minimal. We are praying that they stay manageable, and that the medication is working.

Mom continues to stay positive, upbeat, and active. We’re all hopeful and continue to thank God for his Hand in her journey.

More updates to come, as more good things happen.

Today is day 1 of treatment. 

God is moving quickly:

Monday: Approved for Tarceva, the prescription targeted therapy. At that time they said it would be shipped to the house in 5-7 days.

Tuesday: Tarceva is on it’s way it may be here by Wednesday.

Wednesday: Tarceva arrived at the house by 2pm. 10pm she took the first dose.

THANK GOD! We’ve been praying that all will go well with the approval of the medication through the insurance and treatment could start soon. My mom is so thankful for everyone’s prayers and thankful for God’s hand in the quick timeline and comfort. Please continue to pray and send out good vibes that the medication will take effect quickly and strongly, with minimal side-effects. Tarceva is a targeted therapy medication specifically for this type of EGFR mutation of the tumors. It is less toxic than chemo, and possibly more effective. It should help stop the growth and the spread of the tumors, shrink the existing tumors, and lessen some of the symptoms she is experiencing now, like coughing and shortness of breath.

We are all hopeful and trusting God to guide her treatment. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

More updates to come,

~Janae

Hello All,

Mom gave us quite the scare this weekend, but is back home resting now. On Sabbath afternoon, she started to get a sharp pain in her upper left back area. On a scale of 0-10, she measured it to be a 15 at one point. After trying breathing techniques, pain medication, and resting the pain persisted. They decided to go to the ER in Seattle where she will be receiving treatment for the cancer, in case it was related. The doctors said they were ruling out two things: blood clot and fluid around the lungs. This required a CT, which then required an overnight stay in the hospital due to mom having a consistent reaction to CT contrast. They put her on reaction protocol through the night and she had the CT scan at 2pm today.  The results were negative, no blood clot and no fluid around the lung. Good News! No one could say what exactly the pain was, which is still concerning, but after receiving pain medication and being monitored, she was cleared to go home and said she is feeling better. I just got off the phone with her after they got home and she was in good spirits, grateful that there were no signs of a blood clot. She stated, “God just allowed perfect timing throughout this whole thing. And I know He will continue to do so in my treatment.” She’s one of the only people I know who can spend the night in the ER and find a sliver lining. Praise God!

Hopefully, this week we will get word that everything has been approve and she will start the targeted therapy medication soon. Keep praying!

We continue to pray for her healing and that God will comfort her and continue to allow for His perfect timing. Thank you for all your care, love, prayer, and support.

Hello. Janae here (Jeanene’s daughter), writing for Jeanene. She’s busy fighting lung cancer, and has trusted me with giving out information and keeping everyone updated.

Today we visited the oncologist, specializing in lung cancer and who will be following Mom’s care to get the results of the molecular tests. Mom has a cell mutation called EGFR. The doctor wants to put her on targeted therapy ASAP, which for now means taking a pill daily, and NO chemo. She will be monitored closely by the doctor and in 2 months will receive another scan to view the results. We’re praying that God will allow the medication to work to the best of its ability. This medication isn’t a guarantee, but for now, it’s good news.

My mom is a trooper, always strong, always positive, and always looking to God. We so appreciate your thoughtful cards, gifts, emails, calls and text messages which brings us daily encouragement. We value your continued prayers and support as we daily watch God work as we continue on our journey.

PS. I will be sure to post regularly and keep everyone up to date. if you click the “Follow” button on the bottom right of the page, you’ll receive e-mails when we have new updates.