Treatment plan coming into focus

We got the liver enzymes results back: nothing of concern, especially with the extra chemo workout that the lizliver is getting. Breast cancer markers results also came back, with all 3 still in normal range, and even lower than last time. Sweet <insert an obscene amount of exclamation points here>. Great news.

Liz is going into day 3 of the chemo cycle, when things typically start getting pretty rough for a couple of weeks. Aches and pains, nausea, insomnia, sore tongue and mouth, lack of appetite. Praying the good news and some higher levels of activity over the past few days will help her come out of the chemo funk faster. She's already lost some eyelashes, 7 fingernails, and she might lose some toenails as well. I figure that every nail she loses means another 10 years of survival. Gosh, I hope she doesn't lose any more, not sure we want to go much past 100. Super trooper.

We're doing what we can to try to keep things normal for our little men, but it still sometimes feels like we're spinning our wheels. The kids are doing remarkably well, though. They're funny boys, and I place a premium on a good joke. Cohen has a dry sense of humor and has mastered using a grin and an eye roll as his punchline. Jensen tries to think about what we expect him to say, then find something unexpected that makes us laugh. Case in point:

          Jensen:    I love you, Dad.

          Me:           I love you too, buddy. Do you know who else I love?

          Jensen:    Food.  (grin)

Indeed.

The treatment plan is coming into focus:

• Chemo #6 on July 1st
• CT scan 2-3 weeks later to calculate disease reduction from chemo
• If disease reduction is significant, then stop Taxotere, keep going on antibodies (Perjeta and Herceptin) every 3 weeks
• Surgery not currently anticipated/planned
• Continue kicking cancer in the shins

Thanks for all of the prayers, thoughts, service, and support. This is going to be a long battle, but one worth fighting. We're feeling optimistic today.

Go Team Liz.

At the Plainfield car show last night with Trudy, while Liz rested and Eli slept: