Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

Hello Everyone!

Today marks the end of our two week break, and like last time it came and went with the blink of an eye. We didn't have to move at a rapid pace, but we were still very busy. That must be why it felt so fast.

During the first week, mom was completely wiped. She would just pass out mid sentence, from what I observed she was more tired this break than the last. Friday last week we were able to get mom squeezed into a PET/CT appointment. On the drive home we received a call from Mom's primary care physician (pcp-Dr. Jabbarpour) office, and they were just given the preliminary report from the radiologist saying that Mom's scan showed "remarkable improvement" they will fax a report to Dr. Chawla's team, and that we would have to go the PCP office to run over the full report and just to get everyone on the same page since she has been out for three months on maternity leave. But while she was out all of this was happening, so her WONDERFUL team of nurses, schedulers, and her subs while she was gone (Dr. Allos & Dr. Coyle) have been so incredibly helpful, very understanding, quick to get things approved, and have helped gotten us plugged into the places that we need to be.

During the second week, we met with Dr. Jabbarpour and we found out that the spots on her lungs have completely dissolved, the masses that were all over have shrunk, including the big massive mass on her right side has gone from 14cm down to 7cm, and that the cells no longer look like they are dividing, which means it's frozen until it dissolves but it neither grows, or is alive anymore.  Mom was slightly upset at first that everything wasn't clear immediately, it took her a couple days to finally accept it takes baby steps and that this step is headed in the RIGHT direction. You don't have to bat 100/100 right out of the gates and that it takes time to heal and finally get back to 100%.

We had a very great two week break, the good news kept flowing in. When you have tricky medical issues, the insurance company and the hospital have a division of nurses who are Complex Case Managers, who help fight insurance, get approvals faster, and help you navigate this delicate healthcare system. We have two awesome ladies one from insurance and one from the hospital who have been so helpful and when issues arise I give one of them a call and they speak with one another and try to figure out a plan to help make our lives easier. We were able to change labs, because we went to our local LabCorp and I would NOT recommend you go there for urgent matters. We had a STAT order and a note from the doctor asking that we are given a hand copy to give to doctors. We thought it would be right away at the earliest to maybe a couple days... Yes, we are still waiting for results from two Tuesdays ago and all the others after. Luckily, while we were at Dr. Jabbarpour's she set us up in one of her patient rooms and had a Lab Tech come up and get Mom's blood instead of making her sit downstairs with everyone! We found out 30 minutes after we left with a personal phone call from Dr. Jabbarpour herself that Mom's counts are back up WBC of 16 and HGB is at a 9 so her numbers have finally balanced back out. As soon as her numbers were back up she asked for one and only one thing to see her medicine, and we happily obliged. Joelson came over for a couple days for a couple hours to hang out with "Amma" and she loved every bit of it.

 

We start bright and early tomorrow, and hope to bring more good news from the oncology team and hear what the game plan will be as we proceed. We will most likely continue the same chemotherapy regimen, since we see a major improvement. But we will wait to see what Dr. Chawla has to say.

We are so so so so so thankful for all the continual prayers, positive vibes, energy, and LOVE being sent our way. We continue to keep all of you in our prayers, and thoughts. We love you all so much.

XOXO

Praise Jesus!

I promised that I would update as soon as we knew anything! I just got a text message from Stephanie, Mama Pham had a PET scan a few hours ago and the radiologist said mom is showing "remarkable improvements"!!!! The chemo round one has worked!!!!

Praise all of the Gods that all of you have been praying to! We greatly appreciate this prayer for a miracle & are on bended knees in humility.

We are not even close to being out of the woods yet, but without this positive sign today mom would have been sent to hospice. We now have a fighting chance and doctors will actually allow her continue chemo to try to beat this deadly cancer.

We are hopeful and beyond excited. I feel like I'm taking my first deep breath in months & couldn't wait to share the good news! I will share more when Dr. Chawla analyzes the full report and gives us the next steps.

Love to all of you!!

Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks!

Hello Everyone,

First off thank you so much to everyone who has been so patient with us! I know we haven't been updating this blog as often as promised, but there is NEVER a day we don't appreciate all the love, thoughts, positive energy, and prayers. IF anything all that warm love is definitely being felt even more. During the weeks we are on Chemo, there is little to no time to update as frequently as we'd like to... And not to mention our go to blog girl Jen has started a new position at work we're so proud and happy for her but that has left her unable to update also. So your patience has been SOO greatly appreciated. If you've also sent mom private texts and emails she's been exhausted this round and hasn't been able to get around to all the messages, but she will try to during this break when she gets more energy. BUT I recommend you being patient with us and wait for a response or just leaving all your love on this blog and she doesn't feel overwhelmed and worried about having to write back to you when she is exhausted. Thank you! :)

Towards the end of our last two week break Mom's WBC after the Neulasta shot boosted all the way to 22. The normal range is from 4.5-11, so when we told Mom to think boost WBC she went above and beyond. We teased her that you can take the mom out of the tiger, but you can't take the tiger out of the mom! :) By the end of the break she was back to having more energy and her appetite was back. Just in time for us to start the whole cycle again, nausea, loss of appetite, lowering WBC counts, etc. So as on schedule we started the second cycle on September 2nd and all the symptoms along with fatigue played out over the course of the first week back on chemo. By the second week even though Mom's counts were dropping she tolerated the meds better, her appetite came back sooner, nausea's stay was short, and she was able to stay awake for longer periods. Then by the 10th day of her cycle she was cut short again, as her WBC dropped back down to 1.3. She was luckily able to squeeze in the four bags of Chemo to complete her full cycle before her counts dropped that low and she didn't need a transfusion this time around!

Which brings us to the conclusion of her second cycle and now the waiting game has begun. Mom got her Neulasta shot at the beginning of the week and like last time she has the pain from her all of her joints, and this time it's knocked her out the first few days after the shot. We are in a bit of a standstill at the moment, we are waiting for Mom's PET scan to see if the meds are working the way they are supposed to be. According to Dr. Chawla, she is looking better and feeling better that is always a great sign.

We continue to count all of our blessings with the outpouring of love and support, everyone is sending. We also keep all of you in our prayers, and can never thank you enough for all the positive energy you are sending our way!

HUGS-      

No News is Good News...

Hi everyone,
Sorry we have not updated the blog in a few days. Things are finally starting to settle down here at the Pham Headquarters. Mama Pham started round two of Chemo on Monday. She is more tired than last time and is feeling the side effects more- everything currently taste bitter :-(  We are in a holding pattern of sorts as we wait and see if the Chemo treatment is working or not. After these next seven days, Mama Pham will then under go another CAT scan to see if the cancer has stopped/slowed down or not. We are praying that is does.  If the cancer responds well with this treatment, Mama Phams prognosis gets a lot better and we will be able to enjoy her for quite a bit longer than originally predicted. We promise to continue to update you as we learn anything new- as of now nothing has changed; we are in an isolation bubble, trying to keep mom's spirits up, and helping her get as much rest and nutrition as possible. We love and miss you all very much and are continuing to pray for a miracle!  Thank you for your continued support and positive thoughts and prayers.