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doulos
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 141
Location: Springfield, MA
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 Posted:
Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:34 pm |
 
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Milestone #1 – First chemo course completed!
Today is officially the final day of Monica’s first 12-week course of chemotherapy. Tomorrow she begins her second course of treatment – 12 weeks of weekly Taxol and Herceptin. After that she will have surgery followed by 6 1/2 weeks of radiation. It’s a long haul, so celebrating milestones is important! Please pray for Monica tomorrow (Thursday, 9/13) as she begins the new treatment with all of the new unknowns of how it will affect her weekly schedule and daily strength. We will be at Dana-Farber all day as she needs to have a heart scan before treatment, and the first treatment of Herceptin is given slowly to watch for reactions.
Interesting facts about the new medicines: Taxol is made water-soluble with alcohol from the castor bean, so its affect on the body is like half a glass of wine; Herceptin is made partly from human and partly from mouse DNA! (Will she squeak?) This is Monica’s third week back in the classroom; this year she has 24 second-graders. Often she is very tired when she comes home in the afternoon. May she have wisdom to know just how much she can handle each day. Your prayers and cards have been a great encouragement over the past three months. It’s been hard to watch her go from happy and somewhat energetic at the end of a treatment cycle to quiet and nauseous as the chemo goes into her system. We hope that the weekly regiment with smaller doses of a less toxic substance won’t be as drastic.
On July 11 Monica had Wayne shave her head; her hair had gotten so thin that it was time to go bald. That same night he shaved his own head in compassion. They’ve noticed that light bulbs are hot when they shine down on a bald head (sitting under a lamp), that hair frames the face and that the bare head gets cold very easily. I had my chance to participate this weekend – Monica joined our church’s team in the Auburn, MA Relay for Life, a fundraiser sponsored by the American Cancer Society. No, I didn’t shave my head, but I donated 13 inches of hair for Wigs for Kids! (Yes, they took gray hair!)
Wayne and I have seen God take care of us in very special ways since July 1 when we went on Leave of Absence. Wayne was able to do some seasonal painting with his brother, which paid very well. Several people and churches have given us generous gifts that have gone toward our expenses. God has truly come through for us, “providing all our needs” (Phil. 4:19). We are using the freedom in our schedule to help Monica and Wesley, to help others that God lays on our hearts, and to teach Bible studies for our home church this fall. I try to help Monica in the evenings by grading some of the papers she brings home and fixing supper for all of us. I’ll be available to help in her classroom on Fridays and/or Mondays if she needs me. Your prayers are invaluable as we look to God for daily strength, wisdom, and provision. I also pray that we will be stronger in every way as a result of this leave.
Sustained in His generous grace,
Wayne & Melody |
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