A little background - No Joke!

Our lives were turned upside down on April 1 this year, and it was not an April fool’s joke. Prior to that, we were in full swing with school for Emily and Madison (both straight A students!), Emily’s volleyball schedule, Madison’s soccer schedule, and a myriad of other things that popped up from time to time. Helen went in for her yearly mammogram in March. The results were suspicious, so they scheduled her for another one a week later. That scan was also suspicious, so we were referred to a surgeon. Helen went to see the surgeon towards the end of March, and a needle biopsy was performed right there in the office. The results were expected on April 1st. That day, we went to Madison’s school for a music performance. She was very cute with all the other kids performing what they had learned in music class. During the performance, the doctor called – what timing! We did not talk to her then, but called her after the performance. She stated that Helen had breast cancer. From that moment, our lives changed drastically.

We scheduled an appointment with the surgeon to discuss the results and determine the course of treatment. During this appointment, we also learned what stage the cancer was – “locally advanced, invasive stage III in the right breast”. The doctor said that for this particular type of cancer, she has had good results with giving chemotherapy first, followed by radiation, and then surgery. Most breast cancer treatments begin with surgery, followed by chemo and radiation.

From that point forward, things seemed to move too slowly for Helen. She wanted to “kill the beast” as quickly as possible, but it was a month before her chemo treatments started. During this time, she was getting increasingly anxious because the tumors were getting larger very quickly. Once the treatments started, she began to calm down. She was set up on a cocktail known as TCH – taxotere, carboplatin and herceptin. She got the full cocktail every 3 weeks, and herceptin weekly. The full cocktail chemo treatments really took a toll on her. Day 3 through 5 following a treatment were the worst – she could barely get out of bed and generally felt lousy. After those days, she was not quite herself, but she was better. After the second treatment, the tumors were noticeably smaller. By the end of the chemo cycle, we could not feel the tumors. The doctors were very pleased with the results.

We went through 6 rounds of the full cocktail, and then went to herceptin only every 3 weeks (to be continued for a year). Following chemo, she started radiation – 34 doses. She went in M-F until they were finished. We spent our 20th wedding anniversary undergoing a radiation treatment (what fun). The side effects were much easier to tolerate than the chemo - mainly red irritated skin at the treatment site. She is now done (well done) with the radiation. Surgery is scheduled for November 19. She will have a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Needless to say, she is beginning to get anxious again.

Emily and Madison have been great throughout this journey. It has hit Emily a little more noticeably than it has Madison. I believe this is because she has been out on the internet researching so much. Last school year, she wrote an article for her school newspaper about breast cancer which was very informative. The effects of this disease are even more pronounced for a classmate of Emily’s. Her mom (Jessica Kaylor) was diagnosed in 2005 with stage IV breast cancer – it had spread into her bones. She recently lost the battle and passed away on October 29. Emily was pretty hard hit by this occurrence. She missed some of her classes and spoke at length with the school counselor and the vice principal. They gave her the support she needed and encouraged her to stay strong. Madison knows what is happening, but she handles it much differently than Emily. One day in church, her group leader asked for prayer requests. Most of the kids in Madison’s group asked for prayers for their friends not to hit them or not to be mean. Madison asked for prayers for Helen’s breast cancer. I am so proud of these girls!

We are trying to keep life as normal as possible for the girls. Emily made the school volleyball team, which went on to be undefeated for the 2nd year in a row. She also recently made the All-District and All-Region choir. On the same day as All-Region choir tryouts, she had volleyball tryouts for the upcoming Club season. She made a team which will start practicing on Dec. 1. Madison is playing soccer and volleyball with the YMCA. The busy schedule helps keep them occupied and not dwell on the breast cancer issues. This schedule will get tricky on Nov. 22 – Helen will be recovering from surgery and I will be juggling the busy schedule and caring for Helen. (I wouldn’t have it any other way.) Helen’s mom is coming in to help out with the girls during the school week, and perhaps the weekend as well.

Through all of this, we are praying and trusting that God has provided us with very competent doctors. So far, Helen’s treatment and response to the treatment have been excellent. The road ahead will not be easy, but we will do our best and trust that our future is in God’s hands. Through Him, all things are possible.