Update

The last month of treatment has been complex and varying.  Through the period of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas we managed to get a handle on my pain, which was excellent.  Unfortunately, that is also the time my nausea decided to stand up and take center stage.  Throw in illnesses from children (that tend to get passed to parents, no matter how much hand-washing is involved!), fold in a study drug that we're trying to determine the correct dosage of, sprinkle in a couple of holidays, and you ended up with a recipe where you didn't know how you would feel each day.

The weeks when my un-boostable blood-counts were too low for treatments would be my weeks taken off the study drug.  That's happened a couple of times.  The good thing (because we don't want to be taken off the study drug) was that having that done meant we were giving my body a tiny rest, to boost itself back up, and that means we were that much closer to figuring out the correct dosage for my body.  The half-life of this drug is strong, so it was still in my body (although at a lower level), doing it's 'beatin' up cancer' thing when I'm taken off of it for the week, but my body is able to take that time to naturally build back up the platelets or other blood levels that I need in order to make use of the study drug within me, but also to continue to fight off infections, create bone marrow, and perform all of the other amazing things your body does to keep you alive and functioning.

After we received the wonderful news that the study drug is working within me (the 30% shrinkage of my lymph node tumors) we officially entered the next phase of treatment with the study drug.  Each new phase we enter not only keeps me on the drug,but it also provides us with a little more flexibility for my treatment, meaning, if bad weather comes up (in Minnesota...nooooo!) I have a day prior and day after leeway for getting to my appointment, instead of it needing to be a certain day at a certain time.  It also means that Julie, my rock star Study Coordinator, has been able to work to get the hospital and clinic lab out in Montevideo certified through the study to do the occasional blood-work for me so we don't have to travel to the cities every week (depending on my blood-work numbers.)  The less time this nauseous gal has to ride in a vehicle, the better!

So for the next month, we're continuing to do weekly blood-work (and corrective measures, if needed) and taking the study drug at the level that is working for me right now.  I will have another CT scan and bone scan in the middle of February, to determine how my body is responding.

How We're Doing
I'm working on kicking a sinus cold, but it hasn't leveled me like the last one did, so I'm feeling fortunate.  The kids are continuing to do well.  We talk when they need to talk.  We cuddle when they need to cuddle.  But things feel pretty normal right now.  Brad and I are working on the balancing act that comes from not thinking too much about the future and instead enjoying what we have today.  We continue to be blessed with the support of each other, our families, our friends, and our community.  Local friends have been working so, SO hard on an upcoming benefit for us.  I'll attach the flyer below.  Love to all!

The Future:  Looks Beautiful