Jamie starts chemo tomorrow (Wednesday). She seems to be doing well--not talking a lot about it. She is very strong and I think she is ready to move forward into this.
Jamie recently finished reading Cancer is a Funny Thing by Marie De Haan. Jamie's friend Bonnie gave it to her, and Jamie loved it. It sounds like Marie's cancer was very similar to Jamie's, and she shares openly about her journey.
It turns out Marie lives here in Skagit Valley--on the same street as Jamie's sister Linde and her family. And, Marie's best friend is the daughter of the couple that we rent our house from. Small world.
I emailed Marie last week and asked her to reach out to Jamie. She replied that same night and emailed Jamie. Hopefully they will connect soon.
Please pray for Jamie that she will have peace and strength tomorrow, that the side effects of chemo would be minimal, and that the chemo would be greatly effective at killing the cancer.
Thank you for your love and encouragement!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Update--Feb. 21
Quick update--Jamie was scheduled to start chemo tomorrow--Wednesday, Feb. 22; but that has been postponed. She is considering a couple options with chemo medication and will start next Wednesday, Feb. 29.
We are doing well--had a good weekend, and nice family dinner tonight. Jamie got her hair cut really short last week and looks beautiful (I've always loved her hair shorter, it shows off her gorgeous face!)
Beth and Heather have started a meal train for us--a way to share needs with people who want to help. You can check it out here.
Thanks for all your prayers and support!
We are doing well--had a good weekend, and nice family dinner tonight. Jamie got her hair cut really short last week and looks beautiful (I've always loved her hair shorter, it shows off her gorgeous face!)
Beth and Heather have started a meal train for us--a way to share needs with people who want to help. You can check it out here.
Thanks for all your prayers and support!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Some good news
Yesterday on the way home from work, I received some good news. The MRI/biopsy they did last week to test the other lumps that were found came back negative for cancer. This means that I am still a candidate for preservation vs. removal. I still haven't made a decision yet, but at least there are choices. I will decide once I see how I respond to chemotherapy.
Thanks once again for all your prayers and support.
Please keep the prayers coming, I would really like to be able to work as much as possible during chemotherapy.
We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family both near and far.
Love and thanks to you all,
Jamie
Thanks once again for all your prayers and support.
Please keep the prayers coming, I would really like to be able to work as much as possible during chemotherapy.
We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family both near and far.
Love and thanks to you all,
Jamie
Monday, February 13, 2012
Ways you can help
Hello Friends,
Thank you for your prayers and support. The next six months are going to be challenging. Jamie will have 20 weeks of chemo (starting Feb. 22), followed by surgery and then radiation. We are grateful for all who have offered to help.
Heather Lee is going to coordinate volunteers (with help from Beth Vaith). You can reach Heather at 360-766-6374 (home), 360-421-7626 (cell) and lee3jh@wavecable.com.
Here are some ways you can help:
Food
With Jamie going through chemo and Todd working, it will be helpful to have prepared meals anytime. We have a chest freezer, so meals can be frozen and will last for a while.
We are trying to eat natural and organic when possible, especially in these areas:
Low-fat, low-sugar foods
Organic fruits, vegetables, eggs and dairy
Grass-fed, hormone-free meats
If time is difficult for you—gift cards to grocery stores would be a great way to help.
Transportation
With Ashley playing soccer and the boys playing T-ball, we could use help with transportation.
If you are willing to help, please give Heather your contact info, and days/times that you are available. We will try to set up transportation ahead of time, but it will also be nice to have people we can call on short notice.
Housecleaning
Time will be a premium for all of us, so if anyone wants to help occasionally with basic housecleaning, lawn care, etc; we would be grateful. Just let Heather know, and she’ll find a time that works for you and for us.
Please call or email Heather if you'd like to help out in one of these areas, or if you have something else in mind.
Thank you so much for your love and support!
Todd, Jamie, Ashley, Brady and Cash
Thank you for your prayers and support. The next six months are going to be challenging. Jamie will have 20 weeks of chemo (starting Feb. 22), followed by surgery and then radiation. We are grateful for all who have offered to help.
Heather Lee is going to coordinate volunteers (with help from Beth Vaith). You can reach Heather at 360-766-6374 (home), 360-421-7626 (cell) and lee3jh@wavecable.com.
Here are some ways you can help:
Food
With Jamie going through chemo and Todd working, it will be helpful to have prepared meals anytime. We have a chest freezer, so meals can be frozen and will last for a while.
We are trying to eat natural and organic when possible, especially in these areas:
Low-fat, low-sugar foods
Organic fruits, vegetables, eggs and dairy
Grass-fed, hormone-free meats
If time is difficult for you—gift cards to grocery stores would be a great way to help.
Transportation
With Ashley playing soccer and the boys playing T-ball, we could use help with transportation.
If you are willing to help, please give Heather your contact info, and days/times that you are available. We will try to set up transportation ahead of time, but it will also be nice to have people we can call on short notice.
Housecleaning
Time will be a premium for all of us, so if anyone wants to help occasionally with basic housecleaning, lawn care, etc; we would be grateful. Just let Heather know, and she’ll find a time that works for you and for us.
Please call or email Heather if you'd like to help out in one of these areas, or if you have something else in mind.
Thank you so much for your love and support!
Todd, Jamie, Ashley, Brady and Cash
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Moving forward
Yesterday we met with Dr. Jafari, Jamie's oncologist.
He did not yet have results from Monday's biopsy, but that doesn't really affect the course we are laying out from here.
Jamie will start chemo, probably Feb. 22. The first round will be the more challenging of the two; she'll have treatment every other week for 8 weeks. Dr. Jafari said she will likely be pretty worn out and not feeling great for about five days after each treatment. He is hopeful that she can continue to work some during that time.
So the plan is for her to have treatment on Wednesday, rest completely Thursday through Sunday, and try to ease back into some short days at work during the week.
After that she will switch drugs and go every week for 12 weeks. Dr. Jafari said the recovery from those treatments is much shorter/easier.
That's a total of 20 weeks of chemo. After a 3-week recovery period, Jamie will have surgery--either a mastectomy or lumpectomy, depending on the biopsy results from Monday, and the success of the chemo.
After the surgery Jamie will likely have radiation treatments, but we are told that is the least difficult of the things she is facing.
We got some good news, in that Jamie does not carry a BRCA gene--a gene that could increase the likelihood of Ashley getting breast cancer one day.
Next week Jamie will get a port put in her chest, that's how the chemo drugs will go into her system.
From my perspective, Jamie seemed to be in very good spirits yesterday. I think having things more clearly laid out is good for her. She is a strong person, and will face the challenge head on.
I was not feeling well yesterday, so Jamie took over with the kids and let me go to bed early (Thanks, Honey!)
Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and support!
He did not yet have results from Monday's biopsy, but that doesn't really affect the course we are laying out from here.
Jamie will start chemo, probably Feb. 22. The first round will be the more challenging of the two; she'll have treatment every other week for 8 weeks. Dr. Jafari said she will likely be pretty worn out and not feeling great for about five days after each treatment. He is hopeful that she can continue to work some during that time.
So the plan is for her to have treatment on Wednesday, rest completely Thursday through Sunday, and try to ease back into some short days at work during the week.
After that she will switch drugs and go every week for 12 weeks. Dr. Jafari said the recovery from those treatments is much shorter/easier.
That's a total of 20 weeks of chemo. After a 3-week recovery period, Jamie will have surgery--either a mastectomy or lumpectomy, depending on the biopsy results from Monday, and the success of the chemo.
After the surgery Jamie will likely have radiation treatments, but we are told that is the least difficult of the things she is facing.
We got some good news, in that Jamie does not carry a BRCA gene--a gene that could increase the likelihood of Ashley getting breast cancer one day.
Next week Jamie will get a port put in her chest, that's how the chemo drugs will go into her system.
From my perspective, Jamie seemed to be in very good spirits yesterday. I think having things more clearly laid out is good for her. She is a strong person, and will face the challenge head on.
I was not feeling well yesterday, so Jamie took over with the kids and let me go to bed early (Thanks, Honey!)
Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and support!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
So, to make a long story short, my MRI guided biopsy yesterday was awful, but it thankfully is behind me.
I was supposed to have a double biopsy guided by MRI, which the first one went fine, but the second one I ended up feeling a lot of even after they gave me numbing meds.
Needless to say, I proceeded to get nauseous because of the pain, and when I told them I was nauseous, they decided that I was close to passing out, so they made me sniff smelling salts.....I wasn't passing out, I was nauseous from pain....they stripped my warm blanket, put cold wet wash cloths on, and continued the procedure. By the time they were finished and cleaning my wound, I felt like a human ice cube, was frozen to the bone and still in wet gowns. Finally I was able to get dressed, and I didn't warm up until I got home and curled up in front of the fire.
I hope that I don't have to ever repeat that again!
So, for those of you that don't know, I was really anxious about this appointment, so my surgeon prescribed me ativan (apparently it makes you not really care about what is going on, and totally relieves the anxiety). Well, I decided not to take it for several reasons, but the biggest one was just that I felt God was telling me I have not been letting Him take care of me through this whole mess.
So where was he?
I've decided the reason I didn't take the ativan was because if I had, I would have gotten off that MRI bed and knocked a couple of people out, so He must have been protecting them from my wrath caused by pain and nausea. : )
I was supposed to have a double biopsy guided by MRI, which the first one went fine, but the second one I ended up feeling a lot of even after they gave me numbing meds.
Needless to say, I proceeded to get nauseous because of the pain, and when I told them I was nauseous, they decided that I was close to passing out, so they made me sniff smelling salts.....I wasn't passing out, I was nauseous from pain....they stripped my warm blanket, put cold wet wash cloths on, and continued the procedure. By the time they were finished and cleaning my wound, I felt like a human ice cube, was frozen to the bone and still in wet gowns. Finally I was able to get dressed, and I didn't warm up until I got home and curled up in front of the fire.
I hope that I don't have to ever repeat that again!
So, for those of you that don't know, I was really anxious about this appointment, so my surgeon prescribed me ativan (apparently it makes you not really care about what is going on, and totally relieves the anxiety). Well, I decided not to take it for several reasons, but the biggest one was just that I felt God was telling me I have not been letting Him take care of me through this whole mess.
So where was he?
I've decided the reason I didn't take the ativan was because if I had, I would have gotten off that MRI bed and knocked a couple of people out, so He must have been protecting them from my wrath caused by pain and nausea. : )
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