Team Jenny!

  Hello friends! I’ve been out of the hospital for just over 2 weeks now. It’s so good to be home! I’m feeling so much better. Not quite back to normal, but close. I’ve been so thankful to be able to Christmas shop and do some “normal” things. A few weeks ago it felt like I would never feel normal again. The human body is amazing isn’t it? How it heals and gets back to “normal” or whatever normal means for me now with my situation.  Today we met with Dr. Low to discuss the “new” plan moving forward. The amazing Brandon always records the appointments so we can go back and listen if we can’t remember what he said. He transcribed part of our appointment today that I wanted to share. It explains what went so horribly wrong and landed me in the hospital for 12 days. It also explains the specialized blood test they did to check on the enzyme involved. He also said this happens in about 1% of people. I guess I’m just lucky that way!  Quoting Dr. Low: “You got a super-normal dos...

 Oh my goodness. I’ve never been so sick in my entire life. I started the oral chemo on November 5 and ended on November 18. I started feeling crummy about the 16th. Things got progressively worse from there. Had a few ER visits and a home health nurse giving me fluids throughout that week. When I look at the possible side effects from the drug I’m pretty sure I felt most of them. Plus some of the rare, more serious ones. I have been in bed since the 17th now. Not functioning, so completely miserable. On Saturday the home health nurse came to give fluids. He found that I had a fever, high heart rate and low oxygen. He instructed us to head to the ER. When we got there they stepped right into action. They don’t mess around with chemo patients who have these issues. It was kind of worrisome to me but I was grateful. From there, they did a chest X-ray which showed blood clots on my lungs.(common for cancer, but not associated with chemo) this was an automatic admission to the hospital...

  If you’ve ever wondered what oral chemo pills look like…here they are. Just like a regular pill, but poisonous! There are instructions and warnings saying that anyone besides me who is administering them should wear gloves. And wash their hands. Makes me feel good to then swallow those down! But again, I’m thankful for modern medicine. And the chance to fight. We are praying that these little pills do their job, which is to stop the growth of the tumors and if it be God’s will to even shrink them possibly. Some of them just under my skin are a bit painful. I hate that! Also that I don’t get too incredibly sick. There are some strange side effects with these, different than the IV chemo. But overall they are less intensive and they find good success with using them for NET’s (neuroendocrine tumors)  we welcome all prayers and good vibes! I started the pills this morning and will finish this round in 14 days from now.  Today at church over the pulpit a fellow church goer ...

 I cannot even stand the thought that the last time I did a blog post my momma was alive and well. There were no signs of cancer in her. We were living our best summer life and I had just been declared stable for another 3 months. My mom was ecstatic. She was and always has been my biggest cheerleader. Now here we are a few short months later and she has gone to heaven. It still is not real and I am so very heartbroken. I miss her so much that it aches. I long to pick up the phone and call her just to chat. She was my best friend. I love you for eternity mom. Thanks for being my angel…just in a different place now.  Things felt even more heavy this last week because my next scan was “calling” it was time to check on my NET’s (neuroendocrine tumors) and see where things were at. So I did the scan Tuesday and met with my doctor Wednesday to go over results. Talk about scanxiety. I don’t know if it’s ever going to get easier. But it’s for the rest of my life so I’ve got to figure...

  Hello friends! Hope you’re having the best summer, soaking it all in. I’ve been trying to do just that. It’s been amazing to be feeling so good, I feel so normal. It’s amazing how that happens when the chemo leaves your body.  Yesterday I had a PT scan to see how things were looking.  For days leading up to it I was so irritable and grouchy. I hate that I get like this but the anxiety I feel before a scan is almost too much to handle. “Scanxiety” is what a lot of people call it. The night before the scan my emotions got the best of me. I was just so sad and scared. I wonder if this feeling will ever go away each time I go in for a scan? I believe this is the 5th scan I’ve had since January…but I felt the most anxious about this one so far. Or maybe I’m just forgetting the other times?! This morning I met with my oncologist. I felt much more calm and collected and I know it was because of the prayers being said on my behalf. They brought a peace to my soul. Thank you fri...

  Hello! This morning we met with Dr. Low to go over the scan I had earlier this week. And drum roll please…..the tumors are stable!! If he would’ve said! “They’re gone” or, “They‘ve shrunk”, then I might have kissed him! But listen, I will take “stable” any day over the alternative. I am truly grateful and feel this is a small miracle in this cancer journey. Brandon told him how we like to pray for specific things and asked him what would be something specific to pray for. And he said “That these tumors remain stable for a very long time.” So I would love to invite you to remember that in your prayers if you would:) we are still holding out for a miracle. A miracle to us could look like the cancer completely leaving my body or for what is there now to remain stable for many years to come.  The short term plan is to scan again in 2 months. If things are progressing then we will start oral chemo to see if that will keep things at bay. And if things are stable still we will do n...

  Today I ended round 4! Wahoo! I went to that infusion center 12 times total to receive the poison! This picture shows me ringing the bell as I am going to now have a break from IV chemo. Kind of excited about that! The nurses insisted that I ring the bell. They say the bell can mark any kind of accomplishment…it’s not just reserved for people who are in remission, or cancer free. We celebrate the small accomplishments. It felt nice. The nurses all clapped and waved goodbye. They have all been so amazing and I’m thankful for nurses more than ever.  An update on my treatment plan. We met with Dr Low on Wednesday. He said the plan is to have a scan in 2 weeks to check the progress. (Hopefully there is some!) if there is some progress (meaning the tumors are remaining stable…or better yet shrinking and also not spreading) then we will take a 3 month break from IV chemo and rescan again. If however they have spread or are growing then I will start oral chemo in the near future. W...