Do miracles cease?

It's been an emotional week for me and Glen. After receiving news that we would need to do additional chemo following radiation, we felt like the light at the end of our tunnel was no longer visible, that the finish line had being pushed too far into another year that it was out of reach. At the same time, one of our dear friends was diagnosed with a type of lymphoma cancer and we were mourning with them. We continued to move forward with work, family, and church responsibilities. We watched soccer and basketball games, helped Ryan ask a girl to prom, and celebrated Daniels's 13th birthday but our hearts were depressed and sorrowful during the quiet moments of the day. 

We were reminded by this picture of Hannah's to keep praying, to seek God's direction through scripture, and we felt comfort from priesthood blessings. In an effort to support me, Glen tried to arrange a getaway for me to have a few days to ponder and connect with God, but when he asked me what I needed to press on, I told him that what I really needed was to be in the temple. Unfortunately, our Phoenix temple had been closed due to COVID since last March and was only recently reopened, on a limited basis, for small groups performing their own ordinances, such as marriage. 

Several more days passed as we continued to pray that my faith would be strengthened, and then a miracle happened for us. A friend of a friend reached out to us to let us know that they were attending the temple with their daughter who was preparing to be married. Their family party was small, much less than what was allowed by COVID restrictions, and knowing our circumstances, they asked us if we wanted to join them. I was overcome with tears and I dropped to my knees to thank my Father in Heaven for hearing our plea and making it possible to succor me in precisely the way that I needed. This experience helped me to see our situation with an eternal perspective and be reminded of the glorious promised blessings that await those who faithfully endure the challenges of this mortal probation. Modern-day miracles continue! (Moroni 7:35-38) Our faith in Jesus Christ and in his atoning power to save us has been fortified and that has made all the difference.

Radiation was delayed one day because my plan was not quite ready. I will go in on March 2 for my verification day and first treatment will be March 3.

Radiation ahead followed by oral chemo

On February 9, we met with Dr. Coral Quiet, my radiation oncologist. She was happy with how I was healing and my range of motion after surgery. She said that as soon as my last drain came out and my expander was filled to where we wanted it, we could begin radiation treatments. She set up a CT scan for the February 16 to outline my anatomy and begin a mapping process of all the areas they will hit with radiation and for how long. She wants to do six weeks of treatments, everyday M–F. This is just one more week that she would have done if the breast surgeon had found no cancer in my breast and lymph node. 

She plans to radiate the lymph node area under my arm, the chest wall where any breast tissue may remain, and the lymph nodes along my sternum. Side effects from radiation will include brittle ribs, fatigue, and burning/irritation/peeling of the skin. I will also have a possible risk of short-term or permanent lymphedema, which is swelling of my arm from a lymphatic system blockage. When we asked what we could do to prepare for radiation she encouraged me to keep walking so that my skin would be well oxygenated and to continue to eat food high in minerals and vitamins. Once I start treatment, I will start applying a steroid cream along with an aloe vera gel to heal damage to my skin.

I have continued to struggle to get good sleep the past few weeks because the drains and expander are very uncomfortable and require me to stay elevated on my back but things are slowly feeling better and I try to rest as often as I can during the day. Each day, I do some light physical therapy exercises to help regain my range of motion. I follow up with my PT on February 26 to see how everything is looking.

On February 16, Dr. Matatov’s medical assistant removed my last drain. I was so happy to be “untethered” and to be able to wear something other than a button-up shirt with pockets to hold my bulbs. :) That afternoon I had my CT scan and we set up an appointment for verification on March 1. This will basically be a “dress rehearsal” for my first treatment the next day to make sure all of my markings line up and Dr. Quiet is happy with the radiation mapping that has been outlined by the technicians.

Today, February 19, I had an appointment with my oncologist to discuss the biopsy results of my surgery and I was also scheduled to get another Keytruda infusion. I was disheartened when Dr. Curley said he felt like we needed to change my treatment plan to include more chemotherapy. Because the pathology still showed cancer in my sentinel lymph node and three areas in my breast (1.8cm, 2cm, 0.8cm in size), I only had a partial response to the chemotherapy. Dr. Curley is recommending that following radiation I begin an additional 6-8 cycles (about 6 months) of an oral chemo called Xeloda. One cycle would consist of 4 pills every morning and every night for 14 days followed by 7 days off. Ideally he would like me to have 8, 3-week cycles but a minimum of 6 cycles depending on my reaction to the drug. The side effects of Xeloda are not typically as bad as the infusion drugs I got but often include diarrhea, mouth sores, fatigue, hand-foot syndrome (skin rash, swelling, pain and peeling of the palms of hands and soles of feet), low blood counts, and elevated bilirubin levels. I won't have any more Keytruda treatments since they're not giving us the results we had hoped for. Dr. Curley feels that by adding this additional chemo I can decrease the percentages of cancer reoccurrence. 

Glen and I knew there was a chance I might need oral chemo after we got cancerous biopsy results from the mastectomy but I was not expecting six more months, so it's been a difficult pill to swallow, no pun intended. We will bravely carry on and trust “that God will deliver us, insomuch that he will speak peace to our souls, and grant unto us great faith, and ... cause us that we can hope for our deliverance in him.” (Alma 58:11) Embrace the Future with Faith - President Nelson

Post-surgery update

It has been about a week and a half since my surgery on the 28th, and I am healing and recovering well! We were pleasantly surprised that I was able to come home that evening with a lineup of prescribed medication, including pain killers, an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory drug, and something for nerve pain. I feel like the pain has been manageable with limited narcotics and I'm so grateful I didn't experience any nausea or constipation from the meds. 

I certainly have felt the discomfort and pressure of the expander, which was placed after the mastectomy. It sits right against my sternum and ribs, and can cause a lot of pain at night when I'm lying down or trying to breathe deeply. Two drains were also placed to eliminate the blood and lymph fluid that build up in the removal areas, one under my armpit where the lymph nodes were taken out and one in my chest where the breast tissue was removed. These drains can cause some pain at the area where they're inserted and can be quite cumbersome in the shower and under clothing but we've figured out a pretty good system for our daily routines. :) 

I had a follow-up appointment last Wednesday with Dr. Matatov, our plastic surgeon, and the drain leading to my lymph nodes had slowed down enough that it was removed but I still have the second drain for another week or so, until the drainage is less than 30 ml in a 24-hour period. At that visit, he also deflated the expander of the air that it had when it was placed and he refilled it with a saline solution that would mimic the weight and size of my breast. He may fill a little more next week but overall, he was happy with how I am healing and did not see any signs of necrosis.

We received our pathology results from the breast surgeon, Dr. Moorthy, last week. While in surgery she did a frozen section biopsy of the sentinel lymph node, which tested positive for cancer so she had to remove additional lymph nodes in that area. They ended up removing four lymph nodes in total, all that I had in the affected area. The three additional nodes did not contain any other indications of cancer, thankfully. The biopsy of the breast tissue also had evidence of cancer, so it was not the complete pathologic response that we were hoping for with our oncologist, but the surgeon was able to remove all of the cancer there and got clear margins. This means that everywhere that she cut the cancerous sections from the breast tissue it was free of cancer by at least 1-2 millimeters. We met with Dr. Moorthy on Friday and she said that because of the cancer that was still present, we would definitely need to do radiation, which we were planning on already, but it may not need to be more than we expected. We will meet with our radiation oncologist, Dr. Coral Quiet, on Tuesday and set up a treatment plan for when and where radiation will begin. We are ever grateful for the medical expertise of those doctors and nurses that we are working with and pray for their inspiration in my care.

It was a joy to feel well enough this past Friday to escort Ryan in with Glen for his senior night of basketball. They won their game against North Pointe Prep 64-31 and Ryan played a great game! We were cheering our hearts out with a bleacher full of fake fans 😂.

My sister returned home to Utah yesterday and she kept us well-fed, clean, and laughing for the week. Thank you sis and Childs family, for sharing your mom with us!

All our love, 

Di