Why the Redwood Forest slideshow?

Judy had always loved trees, and in 2008 we spent some time among the California Redwoods. Some of the ingredients in Judy's chemo cocktail were derived from trees (not Redwoods but Yews). We always knew that Judy loved the trees, and the trees got their chance to repay her affection.



Friday, November 7, 2008

Not all Thursdays are horrible

Here's a quick update, written on Friday evening while I am in Clearwater (FL) to officiate the half-Ironman World Championships:

Yesterday afternoon Judy received the results of her blood test from Tuesday, at the onset of chemo therapy. At the time of her original diagnosis, Judy's CA-125 value was soaring at about 1,270 points—"normal" is in the 0 to 30 range. Obviously, the radical surgery had a very big effect in bringing down her level to a much less-intimidating 313 on Tuesday. Talk about excitement!

Now we will have to see how the chemo will affect her CA-125. Will it go down? If so, by how much and how quickly? Will we reach the best of all—ZERO—by the time her last chemo cycle on March 31 has taken its effect? Or will we be faced with less encouraging news? Will there be times of no improvement, or worse yet, deterioration? I am scared to think of the latter possibilities. We both want to see improvement to continue. We want the bastard dead.

When I talked to Judy on the phone tonight she was still not feeling any really bad effects from her first chemo treatment on Tuesday. She felt, once again, a bit queasy today, and she continues to be fatigued, but overall she is doing so much better than what we anticipated.

I will be back in town on Sunday afternoon, so if you get a chance to give her a call while she is on her own, please do so. The number is still 792-8573.

Jürgen

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy!
Glad to read how well you are doing.

Today was my last officiating gig for the season (a cyclocross race in southern VT). Now I need to focus on my studies for a while.

You are always in my thoughts and prayers!

Hugs,
Cindi :>

Anonymous said...

Judy,

Glad the chemo went well. The steroids are great for the appetite, huh! I was glad to see the drop in teh CA-125. Keep the chemo seeking missiles pointed at every last blasted cell.

Leann

Anonymous said...

Dear Judy,

Hang in there. You have been through the rough part already. You can handle the chemo - it was the surgeries and recovery that was more difficult to bounce back from. i only had one treatment of the Taxotere - it took my hair exactly 6 weeks later. I was so fearful of losing my hair - now I can tell you that I can get up, get in the shower, dressed, and be out the door in 30 minutes. Boy do we waste a lot of time dealing with hair!

The Cisplatin I did not think was doing anything to my hair, but it may be keeping my hair from coming back quicker and maybe thinner. I have about an inch on my head and its been growing since July.

i am down to 2 more scheduled treatments at this time. Hope to finish by Thanksgiving. Take it one day at a time. If you are going to finish by March 31st, that is fabulous - only 6 months. Remember I have been in treatment for almost 1.5 years. And Rebeca is still doing chemo at the 3 year mark. But whatever, it takes, you can manage it. You are in my prayers.

Cindy L.

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy!
Drab and dreary again up here in VT. Taking a break from my on-line classes..so thought I'd send a quick note to say "hi" and I'm thinking of you!!!

Hugs,
Cindi :>