Feeling good and finally getting out of the house : )

Mom did well today. She went downtown and made some appearances. It wiped her out a little bit by the end of the day, but she felt good to get out of the house and do some light work. Her hair cut is really cute and she looks great! Her next chemo is next week, so we are enjoying her feeling good at every chance!!!

God bless!

Doin' alright!!

So mom had the 6th thoracentesis done today. It went well!! They drained less than a liter which means the chemo is working because there was less fluid build up. She is feeling good and doing well! My brother (Mike), his wife (Annie), and his 2 boys (William and Charlie) will be flying in this weekend for a quick visit. It will be the last time they can come down for a long while. It will be good for us all to be together again. My mom will have her second round of chemotherapy on July 8th. She hasn't lost any hair and hasn't experienced the nausea either. Just, extreme fatigue and loss of appetite the first week after. Hopefully, the second round will go as well as the first!!

God bless and thank you

Help Cindy S. Hudson Fight Cancer!

Click on picture and it will link to album of photos

Monday

Mom is doing well today. She is up and about and feeling better. She went to church yesterday and is getting some exercise. It is so great to see her looking and feeling good! Thank you for your prayers and support.

The rash is still somewhat present, but is less bothersome and not noticeable. Rash, is a common side effect of the drug Alimta. The rash can appear between treatments and usually goes away before the next treatment. Rarely, these reactions may become severe (and lead to Stevens-Johnson syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis-which is a cell death where the epidermis separates from the dermis). More commonly, the reaction is a minor allergic reaction called Eryhema multiforme. It is a hypersensitive reaction in response to the medications. Anyway, she is fine and you can't see it or even tell.

Tomorrow, we go to the doctor again to see about that 6th thoracentesis getting done and will find out if there is any recourse to be had. We are hopeful the doctor will say great things and she is feeling ready to get out and do some light work and see people.

God bless.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Mom is moved out of her office on S. Main officially. I was able to pack up her books and files and she will be able to work from home a bit. She is feeling alright, just a little weak and tired. She is taking her medicine and will hopefully have great results from it soon.

Prayer helps!! Remember to be Positive!!!

Today could've been better, but there will be bumps in the road to recovery.

Well, mom was supposed to get her 6th thoracentesis today. This one was important because we need to get the genetic typing done. The genetic typing will tell the doctors exactly what type of treatment she needs and will tell how to treat this cancer. She did not get the thoracentesis (pleural drain). Doctor was concerned because she is having a reaction to one of the chemo drugs (Alimta). She has developed a rash, but this is a common side effect of the drug Alimta. We just have to monitor it and she is now taking a glucocorticoid. It is an adrenocorticoid that is both naturally occuring and synthetic. Its just scary because everything has a side effect. Anyway, she will have to wait to get the thoracentesis until next tuesday. Other than that she is not experiencing nausea or vomitting or any hair loss. She is eating alright and she is moving around enough.

I really think if we can keep that rash down without any other side effects and get the thoracentesis done next tuesday she will feel better. She cannot talk right now, but she is texting : )

God Bless you all!!!

Mom is okay

Its been a rough week, but she is doing alright. She is extremely fatigued and weak, but she is moving around a little and she is eating. Fever has gone down and she is still taking antibiotics. Keep praying and stay positive! She will get through this!! God will save her and she will fully recover! I know she will!!!

Cadillac Bar Fundraiser on June 16, 2011

Click on picture and it will link to photos. Thank you all for your help!

Still Day 3 after chemo

Well, she is feeling better after spending the afternoon at CTRC. Her slight fever was an indication of having an infection so they wanted her to come in and do pathology on her white blood cell count. It was a bit high so they gave her antibiotics. We have to wait till thursday to do another thoracentesis because the last resident learning doctor messed up (I think thats why she has the infection. That with the chemo killing good cells and cancer cells together her body's immune system is low to heal from that doctor poking her over and over and messing up).
Anyway, she ate well this afternoon and evening and will hopefully feel better tomorrow. She is really fatigued and can't really talk much, but she is strong and will get better!!!

Our prayers are with her! God bless!

Day 3 after chemo

Well, last night she had a bit of a fever, but it went down after taking some ibuprofen. She is not eating well and taking in less than 800 calories. She is very tired and not feeling well. Hopefully her spirits will lift soon. She is having a hard time breathing because she needs to have another thoracentesis done. The last one didn't go well and the resident doctor hardly took any fluid out. He also messed up the fluid specimen so the pathology lab couldn't use any of it for the genetic coding and molecular typing.
The fluid build up is most likely what is making her the most uncomfortable and a little feverish. She has not been nauseous yet and hopefully she won't get it. : )
I will post more tonight.
God Bless you all!!!!

Day 2 after chemotherapy

She is still handling it well so far. The nurse did say it wouldn't really effect her until the 2nd or 3rd day. So, probably tonight and tomorrow it will hit. She has eaten a little bit and is getting rest and some light activity. On saturday she got a haircut. Its short and it looks good. I will post a photo soon.

God bless!

Cadillac was a great success!!!!

Thank you for all of your support last night!! It was a great event! Mom had a lot of fun. It was fantastic!!!

She is still at the hospital though getting her chemo treatment today. She's been there since 7:30 this morning and still has about another hour. She is doing well and she did eat breakfast! I know tonight and tomorrow will be difficult, but we will get her through this!!

Thank you all and God bless!!!

5th thoracentesis

Well, this was the worst experience of getting this procedure done. Mom's blood pressure dropped to 60/43. That is NOT good. She became diaphoratic. It was a little scary, but she held through. Almost passed out though. She became ill fast, sweaty and nauseous, and couldn't breathe. The resident doctor didn't put the lidocaine all the way in her back so she felt the needle going in to the pleura. The doctor pulled the needle out and put in more lidocaine before putting the other needle back into the wrong place. Poor mom. She did okay though and at least they took most the fluid out. Hopefully, this was the last time. I am praying that the chemo on friday will clear up this symptom of fluid draining into the pleura. So, tomorrow morning we will be at the hospital for a day surgery for the installation of the portacath. I will let you know how that goes.

-Vanessa

Learning!! We learn about this disease and how to treat it.

We learned a lot of things last thursday with our new oncologist at CTRC. The absolute best thing we learned is that our doctor is positive. He looked at mom and said she looks healthy (not too skinny) and the fact that she is active still is great. Unfortunately, he did state that once you are stage IV, you are always stage IV. Meaning even if the cancer goes into remission, if and when it comes back (in 95% of patients it does) it will come back spread through the body (metastatic). Who knows, mom may very well be part of that 5% that it never comes back!!! The doctor said that too!!!!! The course of treatment if it does come back is more chemo and he said new developments in research are coming out every year. The doctor is very positive about the new drugs being tested in clinical trials. (We did try to get in a clinical trial, but they wouldn't accept her at this time). Anyway, her type of non small cell lung (adenocarcinoma of the lung) begins in the outer part of the lung (pleural cavity) and is most commonly seen in women and non-smokers. NSCL cancer takes up about 80% of lung cancers and 50% of those are this type.

So, mom will be getting systemic chemotherapy which is treatment with anti-cancer drugs that travel through the blood to cells all over the body. These chemo drugs are used to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing them or by stopping them from dividing. The chemo drugs will be administered to mom through a chemo portacath. This is a small medical instrument that is inserted under the skin. A catheter connects the port to a vein. Under the skin, the port has a septum that can inject the drugs and take blood samples many times without poking and prodding her too much. So, its supposed to be less uncomfortable. Not sure where they install it yet, but for lung cancers it seems that it is usually inserted into the central venous vein below the collarbone. Its called a CV-Port. Its all still very scary, but its part of our new life. Again treatable and manageable! Thank you for your support!!!

New doctor at CTRC and positive feedback

Yes!!! We have a new doctor at CTRC and he is amazing! Really positive!! So, mom has a busy week before starting chemotherapy next friday. We just cannot wait any longer. This new oncologist believes the first round of chemo should clear up the symptom of fluid building in the pleural lining. She will have one more thorocentesis on monday that fluid will be sent to pathology for genetic coding and molecular typing. We really hope the first round of chemo will stop the cancer from creating that fluid. Sunday, she gets a brain MRI just to be sure there's no cancer there. Tuesday or wednesday, she will probably get the chemo port put on her so they can administer the chemo through that. This is really scary, but she will get through it!!! It is going to be really hard, but she will survive this!!! We all need to stay strong with her!! Thank you and God Bless you all!

Doctors consult and thorocentesis

Well, yesterday was a long day. We had a consultation with a thoracic surgeon who discussed the pro's and con's of pleurodesis, pleural tap, and continuing with the weekly thorocentesis drain. Pleurodesis was recommended, but we asked where all that fluid would go after when it can no longer fill up the pleural space. The answer is that it would be reabsorbed back into the body. So, we don't really like that option too much, but if later down the road that needs to be done we can. The pleural tap was a big no from the doctor due to the extremely high risk of infection especially during chemotherapy. The weekly thorocentesis is no problem except pain and bruising.

Now, great news is that in speaking with cancer survivors many who have had the same problem waited till after the first round of chemo to make a decision about the pleural space filling up and the results are that the chemo treatment usually stops the cancer nodules from leaking into the space. Meaning it clears up that symptom. So, we hope to get her on the chemo treatment as soon as possible!!!

The fundraiser event on June 16 at the Cadillac Bar and Grill will hopefully raise enough to get her through the first round.

So after that consultation we headed over to the START center and waited for her to get another weekly drain. I was able to be in the room with her when they did it. She had been in a lot of pain because of the pressure on the lung and was having difficulty breathing and a persistant cough. The needle is about 4-5 inches lung and goes in through the mid back/side between the ribs. It was interesting to watch needless to say and shocking to see a liter and a half of dark reddish ale colored fluid drain out of her. She is a trooper!

Stay Positive and Keep the Faith!!!!

Good News everyone, we are on the right track!!!!

Today, my mom received a phone call from a doctor at Cancer Treatment Research Center and made an appointment with her for next thursday!!!! This is great news!!! Thank you to all you who have helped make this happen so fast!!!! We are immensely appreciative! There really are no words to express the way we feel to all of you. We appreciate you so much. We are forever grateful!!! This is going to be a difficult journey, but we will overcome it.

Just know that God has a plan. This is part of his plan. I know that I am learning a lot through this: acceptance and forgiveness of the past are a just a piece of what I am learning. It is important in life to always be able to forgive and accept what comes our way. We may not understand what happens to us or the ones we love, but we all must accept what has happened. The greatest knowledge that I have received is absolute Faith! Faith in God. I feel it in my soul and know that my mother will recover from this fully. I understand that it will be difficult. I also understand that I won't know how difficult it is going to be, but I do know that I am going to stay by her side with God's help and all of yours. God will guide us. He is our healer. She will overcome this.

Bless you all and thank you so much!

-Vanessa Lynn Hudson Reyes

Results and Course of Action

Today, we received the PET scan results. We now know that it is stage IV Non-small cell lung cancer. First, everyone needs to know that people do survive this. The doctor says there is no cure, but people in this stage and with this disease do survive it and are cancer free. The focus is to remain positive. Know that God will heal her. It is his will. God is the great physician. Believe in him.

Next step is to meet with another doctor to discuss the pro's and con's of pleurodesis vs an intercostal drain to treat the pleural effusion and to discuss pro's and con's of both during chemo treatment. We need to start chemo as soon as possible. This is imperative. She will need to undergo 8 or 9 treatments of chemo and then we will retest ct scans, MRI's, PET scans, pathology and cytology, and all of the above. I have asked if after the treatments a surgery is possible, the answer is yes. It is possible. She will beat this and get through the chemo treatment. It will be tough, but she is the toughest woman I know. She also the kindest and most gracious.

I know she will be healthy. I know she is going to fight. We will not have doubts or give up. We will find a way to cover the costs. She will survive!!!

God Bless you all!

-Vanessa Hudson Reyes

On our way

We are on our way to get the PET scan results. Keep good thoughts and pray for my mom! She will get through this! God is with us all!
-Vanessa