A Very Merry Christmas To All!

First off, I want to take this time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours. This holiday season we have really taken time to recognize and appreciate our very many blessings. Now more than ever we are holding our friends and family very close to us.

This week was a very momentous one because my mom officially began her first round of cancer treatments. She started chemotherapy and radiation therapy yesterday at the St. Joseph's Cancer Care Center. She starts everyday with a light breakfast and a small cocktail of medications to help ease her through the treatments. Her doctors prescribed a wonderful new antinausea medication that she is on 24/7 to preventively treat nausea, but also has 2 other medications on hand at home for if any breakthrough nausea does occur. She is also on a broad spectrum antibiotic to ward off any bugs she could pick up while her immune system is down from the chemo. I have fully stocked the house with antibacterial wipes, sprays and hand sanitizer everywhere :) For the next 29 days (of a 30 day treatment plan) she will take her chemotherapy pill (Temodar) at home. Following this first round of chemo, we are told she will be on a 5 day dose every couple weeks.

Today I was able to go with her to her radiation appointment and see first hand the amazing care she is getting. Her radiation tech Aaron was very friendly and took my dad and I back to see the TomoTherapy machine and be with my mom while she got ready for treatment. Once they put on her special radiation mask they moved her into the machine and did a couple minutes to scans to make sure the machine was correctly lined to allow the radiation to hit the most specific target on her head. During the actual radiation they showed us on the computer screen the MRI scans of my mom's brain taken today and the areas and levels of dosing for radiation that the doctors had ordered. The actual radiation treatment took only 4 minutes!

The whole process is very noninvasive and was over before I knew it. I did find myself getting a little emotional when it came time to see the mask put on her and see her go into the big machine. But like I have so many other times in my life, I drew strength from my mom. Today and everyday from now I want to be strong for her when she needs reassurance. She felt great afterward and even felt up to a little last minute grocery shopping. We are told that because she so recently started her treatment, she may not be experiencing any side effects until the next couple days.

We are looking forward to having a nice quiet holiday at home with our closest family. We can't tell you how much it means to my mom and our entire family that so many wonderful people have have reached out to us. It really goes to show that the best gift is to let someone know that you love and cherish them and communicate that to them, every chance you get. Merry Christmas and may God bless your family this holiday season as much as He has blessed ours.