Continuation of good news

Britteny had her 5^th round of the weekly chemo yesterday.  I went with her so that we could meet with the doctor for results from the breast cancer gene test.  The results came back negative so she is not a carrier of the breast cancer gene.  Sounds like the cancer that Britteny has is more of a fluke kind of deal than anything.  We were very relieved to hear the good news.

Britteny and the kids are doing very well.  Britteny took the dog for a walk last night and she said she even jogged a little.  Since Britteny is taking the chemo treatments so well she will receive the chemo every week still but only see the oncology doctor every other week.  That is also good news because that means less time waiting to see the doctor.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Andy

Another Post!

Wow, it's been entirely too long since I've posted for all you faithful followers...and for you occasional ganderers too.  I hope everyone's labor day weekend was great.  We sure enjoyed ours.  The extra day with the family does wonders for all of us I think. 

Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) Britteny goes in for her 4th round of the once a week chemo.  So far she has done exceptionally well.  Her only complaint is that the night after she receives her chemo she can't get to sleep very easily.  Last week she said she laid in bed and didn't fall asleep until after 3:00am.  We do have a couple theories though as to why this is.  First is that it's just the chemo and it makes her do that.  Simple.  Second is that just before the nurses giver her the chemo they dose her up with some high strength benadryl.  Shortly after she sleeps hard for at least 2 hours while she gets the chemo.  Maybe this good nap is making her not tired until later in the night. 

Last week Britteny had blood drawn for a blood test to determine if she is a carrier for the breast cancer gene.  We will get the results for this test next week on the 12th-ish when she goes for her treatment.  The breast cancer gene increases a person's chances of getting several types of cancer.  They especially wanted her to do this since she is young. 

Nausea and fatigue are non-existent.  Her skin color is great.  Her morale is awesome.  The oncologist says there is improvement and that he can tell that the chemo is working.  Thank you for all of your fantastic dedication to sending prayers up for us.  We know this is why everything has gone so well.  Speaking of your prayers.  Franklin was running a little bit of a fever tonight, please pray that he will be fine. 

Thanks again!!

Andy

1 of 12

Well, my sister Katie kindly informed me today that I have not updated the blog so I thought I better get on the horn.  Today Britteny received her first treatment of her weekly chemo.  This will go on like I said for 12 weeks.  Today's treatment lasted a lot longer than she had anticipated.  I don’t think it seemed that long for her thanks to some Benadryl they gave her and a 2 hour nap.  The nurses said that she could possibly have an allergic reaction so the Benadryl was just a precautionary measure. 

After receiving the chemo today Britteny is still feeling good.  No nausea or fatigue to speak of.  We are sure hoping and praying that it stays this way.

Over all our family has been doing pretty well.  When we get a chance we try to get out of the house and play at a park or something like that.  Several days ago we went to Sonic and got some food and took it to the park for a picnic supper.  Franklin got to play on the big playground equipment so he could climb around and wear himself out.  It was a pretty good outing.  This last weekend we tried to go feed ducks but there were already several kids there feeding the small group of ducks there so we just played.  We’ll have to try again on a weekday.  Today I took a picture of Britteny and Abigail.  Usually girls in the family have all the hair; I had to get a picture of my 2 baldies.  Hehe!

The morale around the house is steadily positive thanks to all of your prayers.  Your prayers are what are getting us through everything.  Thank you all!

Andy

No more red stuff!!

Wednesday August 1^st Britteny went in for another chemo treatment.  Everything with the treatment went as usual which is good.  Once again the nausea and fatigue hit a couple days later.  Currently she feels better however there is still a little nausea hanging around.  The nausea seems to last longer with each treatment for Britteny.  Britteny's doctor confirmed improvement from her last visit and he also expects continued improvement.

 

Like I stated earlier, Britteny will be undergoing 2 types of chemotherapy.  This last treatment concluded the first type (AC, the hard "red stuff") and her next treatment on August 16^th will begin the next type (TH).  Beginning August 16^th Britteny will go in once a week to receive the TH chemo.  Britteny’s doctor stated that since she took the first 4 treatments very well, these next treatments should go a lot smoother and should not affect her near as much.  I think she is looking forward to that.

 

The kiddos seem to be doing just fine except Abigail had a cough with some congestion a few days ago.  We started breathing treatments for her and she seems to be doing great now.  Thanks again for your continuous prayers.

 

Andy

Some Improvement

This week has gone by pretty well for Britteny.  This week was probably better for me since I was in Arizona for several days getting back last night.  From talking with Britteny over the phone when I was gone this last chemo treatment seemed to go well for her in the days following.  I was able to go with her to get the treatment Thursday.  Shortly after her treatment she was fatigued as usual.  While I was out she stayed with her parents which worked out pretty good.  Saturday Britteny and her sister threw their parents a surprise birthday party.  (Happy Birthday, Kenny and Meleney!)  She said that the party gave her a good task to keep her busy not letting herself dwell on the fatigue.  Everything went well. 

Wednesday Britteny had a visit with the surgeon to check on the port and have a check up on progress.  The doctor, agreeing with Britteny, can tell that there are signs of improvement which will lead to an easier surgery.

This morning she said that there was still some slight nausea hanging around but not enough to stop her from doing anything.  Through the day today the nausea has gone away leaving Britteny feeling normal.  Now its just the waiting game until her next treatment.  This was her 3rd treatment so this next chemo treatment will be the last of this cocktail.  Then its on to 12 treatments once a week of a different formula.

The support that Britteny and our family has been receiving is phenomenal.  I don't know how to express my gratitude for everyone's continued thoughts and prayers.  Our family's spirits are high and Britteny is doing great by not letting her cancer bring her down.  Thank you all and praise God!!

Andy

Duck!

This last week has been good for us.  For the first time Franklin was introduced to feeding ducks.  With the ducks being shy and his short throwing range, it was fun to watch.  He had a blast!

 

Yesterday Britteny had her 3^rd round of chemo.  Everything went well for her.  Although we did have to wait quite a while to see the doctor before her chemo was started, which is always a bummer no matter where you are.  We were the last ones to leave chemo yesterday afternoon.  Yesterday evening was fairly well for her except for a minor headache and a bit of a stomach ache.  We are so fortunate and thankful to God that our families and friends are close and that they are willing to help us out as much as they do.  Please continue the prayers since Britteny has in the past been very tired a couple days after her treatment.  Also during this time she is to drink 3 quarts of fluid a day to keep her kidneys flushed out preventing the chemo from building up.  Build up could cause an infection.  (So Britteny, when you read this you better have a drink next to you!  Haha!)

 

This morning Britteny had 2 appointments. First she saw her heart doctor and he verified that everything is going good and that there has been no negative effects.  Apparently it too was a long wait for her.  I guess, unfortunately, that’s something we will have to get used to.  Then after that she went to received a shot to boost her blood count which doesn’t take but a few minutes.

 

Lately Britteny and I have been discussing where all the time goes.  After Abigail was born time seemed to speed up.  Now that we’ve added in the mix chemo treatments every other week, the weeks have absolutely flown by for us.  I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when we have chemo every week!

 

Andy

Lazy Saturday

Hello all!  The last part of the week has been pretty good for Britteny.  Everything seems to be back to normal.  Thursday we met some of my family at a park here in Pampa for a picnic supper.  We had a pretty good time.  It was good to get out with the family.  I think Britteny and Franklin really enjoyed getting away from the house for a while.  Franklin just couldn't stay off the playground equipment.  He had a blast.  We are definitely going to have to get out more.

Britteny is slowly getting used to her new hair do.  She has a few hats she likes to wear.  I have a camouflage hat that I told her she could wear but she doesn't seem to like it that much compared to her other hats. Hummm.  Oh well...

Thank you all again for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Andy