Doing the Happy Dance as I Cry!!!!!

We just got home from Jenny's post transplant visit with the doctor.  She is 100% cancer free at this time!!!!  There was no cancer detected in any of the tests--none what so ever!

When The Ripples of Hope Begin to Flow

Hope! Does it spring eternal? Not always, at least, not with me. When it's your child, when it's cancer, hope is very difficult to feel.

Yesterday, hope finally lifted it's beautiful head and showed a smile and light. Jenny's M Spike, the major cancer marker for multiply myeloma, the cancer which invaded Jenny's body and was diagnosed in July, was .0--No cancer detected!!!!!! Six months into treatment, no cancer was detected!!!

Today, I feel hope!

Thank you, God!

Wooo Hoooo

The news was good! The cancer in Jenny's body is responding to treatment. Two important protein markers were down. The infamous "M Spike" is down by 50% and another protein marker is back in the normal range! That is a true relief! Thank you for all of your prayers. They are most appreciated!

We were Young Then

This old photo was taken at my mother's house when I was 23. Dan was 25. We were young and in love. We didn't know what the future held for us. We only knew we wanted to share it together.

We didn't know the words "multiple myeloma." We wouldn't hear those words until we had been married for 33 years. Our lives were never the same after that.

Dan fought the hard fight, but in the end, he lost his battle with that disease.

Six years ago, exactly one year and twenty days after diagnosis, Dan body could no longer fight the disease and on August 25 he died. The neighbors reported seeing a huge hawk flying over our home at 8:30 AM. Dan died at 8:30 AM.

We miss you, Dan! You are now with the ancients. Be happy and wait for all of us to join you some day. In the meantime, we are living our lives to the fullest, so be happy for that! You will never be forgotten.

When you Know Someone on the Cancer Journey

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know my daughter, Jenny, has begun her most unexpected cancer journey. Her brother and I are on the journey with her. I know that I can speak for the three of us on this topic.

People want to help, but it's often very difficult.

What do you say? What do you do?

I know this is very hard for some people, but sometimes, the best thing you can say is, "How are you?"

In my situation, if I don't feel like talking, I'll just say, "We're doing all right." Please don't expect a detailed answer on how Jenny is doing or all the latest news. (I do know people who contact me for that very reason.) There is a Caring Bridge site set up for that information.

I love reading the notes that have been left! I am so thankful that we have the kind of support expressed on Caring Bridge.

If you see me on the street, we can say Hi. I might or might answer your questions. It all depends on how I feel. Please remember, this is a very stressful and emotional time for all of us. Distraction is also good for the soul.

You can call me. If I am feeling good that day, I'll either pick up or call you back. There are times when when I won't want to talk, or I'm just tired of repeating the story over and over.
Leave a message of support if I can't pick up the phone for whatever reason.

Send me an email. I appreciate those, as well as calls, very much. I am on Facebook. You can contact me there, too. Sometimes, a note such as the one I received recently that said, "I'm just checking in to see if things are better for you now." Believe me, I truly appreciated that email. It helped me very much on a very low day.

One thing I would ask is if you think that crying together is helpful, please don't call me. I won't talk to you. I cannot be your emotional support. I have a hard enough time supporting my children and me emotionally. You will find that we have a very short conversation if any at all.

Just be a friend. Make me laugh. Make me forget for a few minutes. I do need and appreciate a good laugh.

This is a most difficult journey. It's a path no one wants to travel, but with help, we will make it, some what bruised and battered, but we will make it!

Thank you.

FOR JENNY

As you know from reading my blog, my daughter, Jenny, was recently diagnosed with a cancer of the plasma cell of the blood called multiple myeloma.

Knowing that her medical bills will be adding up, I have added a section in my Etsy store called FOR JENNY. In this section there are 10 items all earmarked FOR JENNY. I plan to give the monies from these items to Jenny to help her with her everyday living expenses. As each item sells, I will replace it with another.

This mini set of spacers is one of the items that I have listed in the FOR JENNY section of my store. There is a variety of items in the FOR JENNY section, so have fun browsing!

Update on Jenny's Health

This is a picture of a cell.
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This is not a drawing of a cancer cell. It is only the drawing of a cell.

Jenny has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

This article will tell you about the disease.

She is in stage 1. It was found very early because she fell and broke her rib. The doctors are very hopeful about the outcome.
Other than some bone marrow involvement and some bone involvement, all of her other test results were in the NORMAL range.

We are meeting with the doctors this week to discuss treatment options.

This is all I can say for now. I will update the information later. I also hope to start a Caring Bridge site soon. When I do, I will post the link here. Please keep us in your prayers.
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I am so Incredibly Proud of My Children!

Normally, I restrict the amount of personal information I give out on this blog. I will, on occasion, mention my children. I also intend to keep this blog as upbeat as I can. However, today, I am going to reveal a bit more than I normally would about my life and the life of my children, Jenny and Nick. They are both so incredibly AMAZING! I am so proud of both of them!

Last week, I received a call from my daughter that she was in the ER and that she was being admitted to the hospital because she had a broken rib. (When she was home for the 4th of July, she had slipped on the stairs and fallen very hard.) She also told me that two masses had been found in her body and that they were most likely, cancer. The next morning, I drove frantically up to the hospital to join her. When her oncologist/hematologist came in, he talked to her about having myeloma. The always say "suspected," but I think they are very sure. Jenny is very young for this disease. It is also a cancer of exposure. It is also the same type of cancer that took my husband's life 6 years ago.

The walk through this fire was terrible, but I am so proud of both of my children! While Nick and I were flat on our backs emotionally, Jenny was the strong one. She kept us going. I think that both Nick and I have managed to stand up again, and now, we are both ready for Jenny to lean on us when she has to do so.

Now, this blog will not become a cancer blog. Yes, there will be a few updates on Jenny and her progress. We are still hoping that this is just a glitch in the road for her rather than a journey. We will know more this week. I can only pray the news is good. I can also only ask that you join us in prayer for her complete recovery.

No matter what, I could not be more proud of my children than I am at this moment! Thank you, God, for giving me the perfect set of kids!