Friday, January 25 Dina took her 6th CHEMO

She did it!  We were not sure, with the fever she was running we were not positive that she could do her last scheduled chemo, but her temperature was down and they hooked her up.  Her red cell count was extremely low...from being sick, they suspect she may have to have a transfusion next week.  She goes in on Monday for a blood draw and also for her trial infusion.  They will let her know then if it would be best to get a blood transfusion.  They did give her a red cell booster shot today before starting her chemo treatment.  Lacey picked her up at 8 am and brought her to the Compass Oncology site.  Scott and I came about noon with lunch for the two of them and then Jamie came for the last hour.  She was done at 2 PM.  You can tell she does not feel well, she definitely has NO color in her cheeks today...very pale.  We hope that will improve as time goes and she starts to feel better.

She was sitting in the middle of this long narrow room.  Chairs are lined up all along the window, in the middle like where she is sitting and also a few on the other side.  The nurses station is to the right of where Dina is sitting.  When we first arrived the room was fairly full, then it cleared out.  Some can get in and out in only a few hours...Dina takes 5 different drugs, so they take it slower.

The doctor came out and talked to us...now it is a waiting a game...30 - 40 days to make sure the drugs are in her body and killing off all those cancer cells.  Then they will do the PET and CT scans to see where things are...we are praying for complete remission.  If not, then another biopsy will required and then possibly a bone marrow transplant...we will cross that bridge when we get to it.  Our HOPES and prayers are for complete remission!

Jamie's mom, sister and Jalen (who was home sick with a bad cough) went to the store and bought a couple dozen purple and lime green ballons and tied them at the top of their driveway, coming down the drive and all around the front porch and also several clusters inside the house.  A group of her friends came by with a lovely poster on the front door wishing her good luck and congrats on completing the 6th chemo.  Unfortunately she is feeling sick today.  Usually she is a little tired, but not sick after the chemo...today is different...I am sure running a fever the last couple of days has really taken a lot out of her...let's hope she can bounce back quickly.

ps...a Lacey update...she is doing good, maybe a little uncomfortable with the stent in her, but no more pain.  She will get the stent out next Wednesday, then she will feel really good!

pps...the oncologist asked how I was feeling and I told him, I still have pain, still can't sleep for long on my left side, still can't wear a bra (I am not complaining about that!!  good thing it is sweatshirt time!!  ha ha), and that the breast feels swollen and tender...he says, "I know, they tell you a month or two...well, it is actually longer than that and could even be a year!!  (are you kidding me?)...there are a LOT of nerves in the area where they had to probe and go in and cut out the lobe...so some nerves may never come back.  Of course it doesn't help that I still have this blasted cough.  Scott tells me that I am not coughing much during the night now, so that is good!

Can I just share my fear with you?  Scott asked the doctor why they wait so long to do the PET scan (30 - 40 days) because it seems like you would want to keep doing something if 6 didn't work.  His answer was that there is NO evidence that doing more than 6 chemo actually helps...in fact if it is not gone by 4, then chances are even if you did 8 or more, it still would not kill it off...something about your body building up resistance to those drugs.  And if you have to do a bone marrow transplant, then doing a couple more chemo treatments is actually detrimental to the effectiveness of the bone marrow...Do you understand what I am saying?  She still had some lymphoma after the 3rd chemo...did the FOURTH chem really kill off the remaining?  He was somewhat hopeful that is the case with Dina, but then again, he said if it wasn't all gone by the 4th treatment, then it probably wouldn't be gone...Prayers, friends, that is what we need!

"A mother who walks with God knows He only asks her to take care of the possible and to trust Him with the impossible."  We are trusting in Our Lord and God to heal Dina.

And a quote I read from a book called:  The Seed:  "...the worst event in your life prepares you for the greatest assignment of your life..."  God has a purpose for Dina and we are praying that her survival will be a testament to His love for her and hers for Him...she can go out and share her story and bring Jesus to others...please keep praying for her friends...Thank you.