THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2006
Hey there!
I am sitting at MD Anderson during my 4th round of chemo and everything is going pretty well. Getting the port accessed today was not fun, but it went much better this time than last. I had another magnesium shortage this time around so I had to have a mag drip during this treatment. We made sure to get the docs to change my meds back to how they had been all along. My doctor is confident that this change will keep me from feeling as rotten as I did last time. Yay!
We have had an exciting week in Houston. On Tuesday, we got to eat dinner with lots of wonderful Houston area friends and family. It was great to see everyone. We left dinner that night for a late check-in at our hotel and were informed that our room was given away and to make up for it they would be moving us to their deluxe suite. Woo woo!! It has two seperate bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living room/dining room with a good-sized kitchen. Not too shabby! And the hits just keep on coming--yesterday we got a call from some dear friends with an invitation to accompany them in a corporate suite at the Astros game! They played the Brewers and "The Rocket" (Roger Clemens) pitched!! It was a great game and the 'Stros pulled it out in the last inning to win the game!
It is now 7:30pm and I am hoping to get out of here by 10:30pm. We arrived here at 10:00am. Long day. I saw my doctor first thing this morning and we went over my bloodwork. It was then that she told me that my magnesium levels were down, but that my CA-125 numbers were also down! CA-125 is a cancer marker that can determine a presence in cancer cells. It is only an indicator and is not a fool-proof way to diagnose ovarian cancer, but it can help to measure it in o-cancer patients. My numbers have gone way down and that is great news!! I am currently at a 7.7--yay!
Mom and Dad and I are headed to the Valley tomorrow and I will spend about a week there. Jared is headed to Junction tomorrow to referee a football game and then will go on to San Angelo after the game to get back to work. He is planning to come and pick me up and bring me back to San Angelo this time. We might meet him halfway if we can to make it easier.
I just wanted to provide a quick update of how everything has gone so far. In just a few hours, this chemo will be complete and I will be 2/3 through with my treatment. I can't wait to be done!
Thank you all so much for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words. As always, thank you also for marching along with me and I will continue to keep you posted!
Love and blessings to all,Heather
PS: I wanted to share some pictures with you from today's chemo. One includes a wonderful sorority sister who came to visit and another is of the comic relief that my brother provided with a rubber glove he acquired here at MD. They are in the photos section Enjoy!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2006
Howdy folks!
I just got back to San Angelo and am glad to be home, if just for a few days. I managed to make the drive on my own, with several stops to rest along the way. I started out yesterday morning (Monday) and I got in about an hour ago (Tuesday night). I spent the night with my sweet grandparents in New Braunfels and made stops along the way in Buda and Mason to rest and visit friends and family. Didn't quite make what Jared and my dad call "good time," but I made it in one piece anyway.
My last update was written during my chemo and since that time I have traveled with Mom back from Houston the day after my treatment to recoup in Mission. This particular round was the toughest one yet to recover from and I felt like I was in a black hole for several days where all I could do is sleep and feel rotten. I came out of this "black hole" last Tuesday night and started to feel like a normal person once again. Praise God!
We called MD to find out why I was feeling so much worse this time and my docs think it was either because it was the third treatment and it is just starting to get worse as it builds up in my system OR that an inadvertent switch in my medicines during chemo kept me from fighting the side effects this time around. We are really thinking it was the switch in meds and I am confident that when everything is straightened out next time, I will get through much easier. Let's hope!!
I will be spending the next few days in San Angelo and then we will set out for Houston. We are going to get there early, in hopes that in doing so I can get my blood drawn the day before chemo and (hopefully) this next chemo will start ON TIME. All three treatments I have had were at least an hour or two late because of waiting for blood results, so we think we are being smart by going early. I'll let you know how that one goes!
Thank you all for marching along with me and I will keep you posted!
Love,Heather

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2006
I am sitting here in the middle of chemo #3 and doing pretty good. I started on all the premeds yesterday (7 pills every 6 hours) because of my allergic reactions to the Taxol. They seem to work pretty good to keep from having that bad reaction, along with a slower and more diluted Taxol drip. It just takes so darn long to do it!!
I did have some problems with getting my port accessed today. The nurse stuck the needle in through my skin and into the port and it hurt quite a bit. She determined that there was no bloodflow so she had me sit up to try to get a return. Nothing. She had me hold my right arm up in the air to get a return. Nothing. She had me lay back down and she tilted me upside-down, almost sliding me off the bed backwards. Nothing. Then she had me cough as hard as I could and she finally got a return. I was good to go as soon as I was able to calm myself down from the whole ordeal!!
My 11:30am chemo did not end up starting until 2:30pm. The nurse here informed me that I will be closing the place down tonite! I will probably get finished between 10:00pm and 11:00pm, which is much better than 3:00am!! I have enjoyed visiting with my chemo nurse today. Like everyone else I have encountered here, she is just as nice as she can be and is sincerely interested in taking good care of her patients.
It is just Jared and Mom here with me today. Jason decided this morning that he shouldn't come and be around me because he had come down with a bad sore throat and was starting to feel pretty sick. My Dad just had a wisdom tooth removed and is still recovering from that. Keep them in your prayers if you think to. Also, please remember a couple of friends of mine from San Angelo who need prayers--Gary Black and Kevin Housley. I have links to their stories on my CaringBridge site. Thanks!!
Mom and I will travel back to the Valley this weekend and I will recuperate there for a bit. I am looking forward to visiting with my dear Valley friends and family. When I am feeling better, I will make my way to San Angelo again. I am really covering a big part of the state these days!!
Thank you all so much for marching along with me and I will continue to keep you posted!!
Love & Blessings to all!~Heather~hebhebheb@aol.com
PS: I have posted a new picture on the photo page!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 04, 2006
Hello everybody!
I'm going to try doing the next few updates here at this website. It is becoming difficult to manage our email list and many of you are relying on it to be forwarded, so I'm hoping this might work better.I am so sorry I haven't had an update lately! There hasn't been too much to report, but I am back in San Angelo until my next chemo treatment (next week). I am glad to be back in my house after being gone for over 2 months. The dogs are also quite happy that we are back since they get to come in the air conditioned house during the day and escape the heat. I think they were beginning to forget how spoiled they normally are!We are headed back to Houston on Tuesday. My chemo is on Thursday and we were able to get it scheduled a little earlier at 11:30am. This should help to get us out at a more decent hour. After that, Mom will drive me back to the Valley to recover for a few days. AND, I will officially be halfway through with chemo!
In other news, I met with a new friend, Amber, who is "standing in the gap" to lead the Junior League committee that I was to chair this year. The committee is called Sampler and it features a different community project (or two) for each month of our membership year. I was so thrilled to get caught up on what the committee would be doing while I am finishing chemo, as well as talk about some projects to tackle when I get back. Amber has done a fabulous job of organizing things and I am excited to work with her when my life returns to normal. One of the projects we planned was for the month of March and it will be focused on ovarian and cervical cancer awareness! This project will educate women, young and old, about risk factors and symptoms of these types of cancer. I can't wait!
Well, I better run--I am going to go to my company lunch in just a bit and then I am sure I will need to rest for a while after that! I have developed a system of making myself do a little something every day and resting after. I have learned to balance a little activity with resting in between to keep my body happy and myself sane!
Thanks for marching along with with me!
Love,Heather