Genetic Jeans

It has been some time since our last blog entry, as life is returning to normal. This week we did receive good news that Marce does not have the mutant BRCA1 or 2 gene, which could have been a reason for her relatively early cancer. We are still waiting the results of the onco dx testing, which took a bit longer to get started due to bureaucracy. We should hear back on this in the next few weeks. But Marce's strength is continuing to improve, and we are continuing to research and pray about what lifestyle and natural methods she should follow to minimize the recurrence risk. There are certainly lots of options, so we are trying to wade through it all to see what makes sense.

Thanks for your continued thoughts, and we will update when we have more news.

Marc

Back to School

Well, I’m back in the saddle (so to speak) and actually corralled Madeline and Marina into completing a full school day. It was a fun and rewarding start to the week, for which I’m so grateful! I don’t know how seriously the girls took me, though, since I didn’t even have the courtesy to get dressed and just lounged around in my flannel nightgown (not a pretty picture!). Thankfully, that’s one of the perks of homeschooling. As you can tell, I need the routine of our normal schooldays just as badly as our girls.

I thought I’d share a cute thing that happened today. While I was working with Madeline on her history lesson, Marina busily occupied herself with the giant jigsaw puzzles. I praised her for the great job she did putting all those puzzles together and proclaimed she was the “Puzzle Queen”. She thought for a moment and said, “No, I’m not the Puzzle Queen, I’m the Puzzle Princess!” I stand corrected. She is truly blossoming into a beautiful young girl. She attends a Christian preschool (located only two blocks away) two mornings a week. It’s a wonderful arrangement and allows us to pack in quite a bit of school on those mornings. She usually bounds through the front door bright-eyed and beaming from ear to ear, eager to show us all her lovely art creations for the day. In my mind, preschoolers + preschool art projects = a big mess! That’s the reason I have an equally big grin on my face when she walks in the house—we only get her finished masterpieces minus the mess. Isn’t that nice?!

Thank you for all your prayers and many kindnesses to us these past few weeks! You have blessed us beyond measure. We realize that God mercifully guided us through a difficult stretch of this trial, for which we are so thankful. He is also using each one of you to minister to us in so many tangible and beautiful ways.

Much love,

Marce

Returning To Normal

Today is Sunday and Marce continues to get her strength back. On Friday, we had an appointment with her surgeon and she is doing great in her healing process. While she still gets tired easily, she is able to get about and do the basics. This week we hope to start walking to help improve her energy and stamina.

We are waiting for the results of Marce’s Onco Type DX Test, which is expected to take 3-4 weeks. As I reported on this earlier, it is a test which will help us to understand how aggressive her cancer is and how it will respond to different treatments. In the meantime, we are doing a lot of research into natural treatments and are really beginning to think the best way to deal with this is via the “integrated” approach of both modern and natural medicines. As an example, here’s a link to an article on Paw Paw and how it can help with cancer. Scroll down to Section 3, “Results and Discussions”, if you want to skip the preamble:

http://www.pawpawresearch.com/pawpaw-trials1.pdf

We are doing fine and were glad to see Madeline (age 8) complete her role as one of the kittens in the “Aristocats” musical. It premiered and closed this week at Kirkland’s Studio East Theater. Several of her grandparents and family members were able to see her theater debut.

Madeline & Marina pose with Grandma Kim & Grandpa Mark after a sellout crowd

That's all for now!

Marc

Good News From The Doctors

Monday afternoon we had two appointments at Swedish Hospital. The news we received was about as good as it gets. First, it was confirmed that the cancer had not spread to Marce's lymph nodes. Second, the tumor(s) were indeed two small tumors rather than one larger. This is good because one factor in Marce's survivability is the size of the largest tumor. Hence two small tumors is better than one. Dr. Hanson, Marce's surgeon, took out her drain tube which had been causing her quite a bit of discomfort.

Following the appointment with Dr. Hanson we met with Dr. Kaplan, our medical oncologist who also treated my mother and Barbara Hoffman. He said that he will submit Marce's tumor for something called onco dx testing which does a genetic mapping of her cancer to see how aggressive it is, and how responsive it will be to hormone and/or chemotherapy. Dr. Kaplan said that the results so far would indicate that she likely may be able to get away with just hormone therapy, with an estrogen blocker called tamoxifen without chemotherapy. This would be a real blessing. We should know in about a month what the onco dx results are and whether she can get away without chemo. He feels the chances are good.

Thanks again to everyone for their support and prayers!

Marc & Marce

Let it SNOW!!!!

This morning, we woke up to find that our neighborhood had been transformed into a winter wonderland. We have at least four, maybe five, inches of snow. We are all SO EXCITED, because, as most of you know, Seattle rarely receives any snow. But, it doesn’t look like it will stick long: every second, I hear snow falling from the branches of the pine trees. Oh well. It should be fun while it lasts. My mom was mentioning, though, that I could go outside and play with the girls. I really hope I won’t have to, because the only snow clothes I have make me look like a ridiculous marshmallow, and besides, I'd rather do some reading. Well, maybe I can just be the photographer and take pictures of the girls making snowmen. But I really don’t want the girls to ruin the snow. It looks so perfectly divine and faultless right now, and after the girls play around, it will probably be all muddy and trampled. I snatched some photos of the gorgeous snow before the girls had a chance to play in it, so here are a few:

I absolutely love the snow, but today, it’s mixed with a twinge of disappointment. Meagan and I were planning on touring Olympia today with the Spears and their friends and even having lunch with a Republican senator for Washington, Val Stevens. But, with the snow, we unfortunately can’t make it to Olympia today. It’s ok though, because we will hopefully reschedule, and then maybe my mom can go as well!! So that definitely makes it worthwhile to wait.

Today, my mom is supposed to have an appointment with her surgeon and oncologist, but she’s not too sure if she will make the trip downtown in this weather. I really hope she can make it there, though, because the doctors will reveal whether my mom’s cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the meeting. I'm sure they can give us the information over the phone, but still, if they sit down with her, they'll probably give her more info than they would on the phone. When we figure out any more about my mom’s status, we will definitely let you all know right away.

I would greatly appreciate any comments!!

~Michelle

Post Surgery Recovery

I write this Sunday morning. Marce's mother Alene returned home yesterday after spending a week with us. It was so helpful to have her here for the last week for support and to help keep the house running. This coming week we will rely on friends and family for help with meals and transportation for the girls. Marce is feeling OK and her recovery seems to be going well. She still should not drive though until she is feeling better. Emotionally she is doing good, as she has been able to talk to so many supportive people, including those who have been through breast cancer before. Tomorrow (Monday) we have back-to-back appointments with her surgeon and oncologist, Dr. Kaplan. We will then hear what pathology found out about the tumor itself- size, aggressiveness, and risks. We will also get confirmation on the lymph node biopsy, which showed no cancer in the lymph system. This will be the basis of recommending her future course of treatment.

On Friday we also met with a naturopathic doctor Dr. John Catanzaro, who has been treating cancer for 13 years with an "integrated" approach that compliments modern medical treatments. One of his recommendations is the use of a somewhat controversial cancer vaccine that may allow Marce's immune system to pick up the cancer and kill it. Even he understands that the benefits of this vaccine may not be huge, but there may be little downside to it other than the cost, which insurance will not cover. We will definitely pursue an "integrated" approach in whatever we do, but really are not sure about the vaccine right now or which naturopathic doctor we should select.

We would appreciate your prayers that the full lymph node biopsy would show no cancer, and wisdom on the right balance of modern vs. naturopathic medicine she should undertake.

Thank you,

Marc

Home On Day One

Marce was feeling much better today, so she was released this morning from the hospital. Other than not feeling well from vicodane, a pain releiver, she is doing fine. She has elected to not use vicodane but is fighting the pain with a combination of Advil + Tylenol. She is up and around, and enjoyed watching a movie with Grandma and the girls tonight. We are hoping she will sleep better tonight than in the hospital. Next steps for us are meeting with a naturopathic doctor on Friday afternoon, then with both her surgeon + oncologist on Monday afternoon. At the Monday meetings we will have the pathology reports, which will be used to recommend the next course of action.

Marc