Funeral Information

Oct 14, 2008

LaReta's funeral will be held Friday October 17, 2008 at 2pm at the LDS Chapel at 8615 176th St E., Puyallup WA 98373. A funeral feast will be held immediately following the funeral in the cultural hall (gym to most of you) in the same building.

Burial will be at the Fern Hill Cemetery in Menlo WA on Saturday October 18, 2008 at 11am.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Raymond&state=WA&address=100+S+Fork+Road&zipcode=98577

Arrangements for the funeral are by Curnow Funeral Home in Sumner WA.

Flowers are welcome, as you all know how much she loved them. Any donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, Good Samaritan Hospital Oncology Unit (Puyallup WA), Good Samaritan Hospice, or to the American Heart Association.

Gone Home

Oct. 11, 2008

Mom passed away at 3:33pm PDT today. She went very peacefully. The hospice chaplain came last evening and visited with Minnie and I, and then went in and talked to mom. Mom never spoke after she once calmed down yesterday.

I will post when the funeral is as soon as it it confirmed.

Thanks for all the prayers.

Bonnie

Where am I going?

Oct 10, 2008

Today mom has been very agitated. Nothing we have done has helped much. She gave both Minnie and I bear hugs this morning. She asked where she was and where she was going. We have given her oxycodone for pain, and haldol for agitation. She was very gurgly this morning, so we have given her some atropine drops under the tongue to help dry up the secretions in her throat. David and George gave her a priesthood blessing. The hospice nurse took out the Foley catheter as it was bothering her. We started giving her morphine sulfate concentrated drops under her tongue. She is somewhat calmer, but still lying here with her eyes open and staring at the ceiling. Her feet and hands are mottling (turning purple).

I have taken the next 2 days off from work and may take off more. Minnie extended her medical leave for another 2 weeks and is here with Mom. Rose and Minnie and I take turns staying with Mom at night and during the day.

We don't know how much longer she will be with us, but the time is obviously short. Please pray for a peaceful passing for her.

Bonnie

another day

Bonnie asked me to update the blog---really the changes that are the most notable
is how she looks...

Everyday she looks a little worse and has less strength... We can't even give an estimate in how much longer we will have her--we keep hearing that she won't last more than a week. Bonnie and I figure she will go when she is darn ready to go- sometimes she know us and other times we get those blank stares --like in--who the heck are you and why are you bothering me!

She is so fragile, but still has that inner core strength... when mom doesn't like what we are doing --she lets us know...like a oral pain medication we gave her one day- she sat straight up in the bed--waving her arms and demanded to know what the heck did we put in her mouth.. guess she didn't like it--- I am told it does taste very bitter.,

I would like to comment on the hospice care workers -- the RN's-- the bath Lady--massage therapist, Chaplin--social worker.. these people are top notch--- oh --I forgot to mention the volunteer respite lady, who comes every monday for 4 hours== allowing both Bonnie and I to sleep or get other things done. The hospice workers are wonderful with mom--

We read her all the cards and letter she receives , on a good day-- she also read them herself. Thank you all for your prayers, cards and letters--

Blessings to you all

Minnie

Day by Day

Hi everyone,

This is Minnie , trying to do a small update so you have some idea of whats happening here with mom.....

This week has been up and down-- with a new medication added to help when mom gets restless and starts seeing things--- It's hard to keep her in her chair or the bed--- she fell last night , the second time this week--- this time with scrapes on her elbow and some swelling on her wrist( the left arm) ..

She basically feels useless .. and is upset because she just isn't able to do the things she wants to get done .. some days she will respond to Bonnie and myself -- and other days she just turns her back to us..... Mom does respond to the grandkids and the hospice workers --her energy is limited and she is saving it for them .

Still losing weight -- its hard to get her to eat........ and we have been told not to force her. She looks very gaunt.... its hard to watch her fade away like this.....


Basically we are taking things one day at a time.... I will be here until the beginning of Oct... spending some time with mom and letting sis have a break now and then --

As has been mentioned in other posts--she loves the cards she received , and does read them herself ..

blessing to all of you


Minnie

Ups and downs

Sept 6, 2008
745pm

This week mom has seemed to do better. She gained 2 pounds and is up to 86 pounds. On Tuesday and Wednesday she was up out of bed and watched TV for a short while. She ate fairly well those days.

On Thursday and Friday she was very nauseated and had to have nausea meds. They make her tired for a long time. She didn't eat very well those days.

Today she compained that her stomach hurt a "Medium" amount of pain and took a pain pill. That helped the pain but now she is very sleepy.

On Tuesday her granddaughter Jill Sublett (Bob's Daughter) from Tennessee came to see her. Jill's husband Rob and 3 1/2 yr old son Trevor also came and saw mom. Mom enjoyed that very much.

So the usual ups and down for mom this week. Thanks for the prayers and cards. Thanks to Lillian, our neighbor, for the Rose in a bud vase. Thanks to our granddaughter Rose for all the help she gives us. I wouldn't be able to work as much as I do without her.

Bonnie

Where are we Now?

Sept 1, 2008

Mom is steadily losing weight. Last Tuesday she weighed 84 pounds. She is eating poorly. I'm not going to weigh her any more as she has trouble standing steady long enough to be weighed. She is still getting up the the commode by herself.

We decreased her lasix and her blood pressure meds because her BP was too low and she isn't drinking enough. She is a little steadier than she was.

She still sleeps most of the time. April was here on Thursday and she was more awake than she had been, but she had a rough day on Friday. The Bath Aide and the Hospice Nurse come on Tuesdays and Fridays and the massage Therapist come on Fridays and she has been pretty tired since then.

Minnie is planning to come next week to help as I am getting pretty tired and Rose starts school tomorrow- her Senior year. We have a respite volunteer coming every Monday for 4 hours starting on the 15th. So I can sleep or get away to the store or just out for a short time. Right now sleeping sounds good as I just worked a 12 hour night shift.

Aug 25, 2008

Mom is stable, sleeping a lot. She just gets up to the commode. We feed her. We haven't weighed her lately. I'll try to tomorrow. Bob and Shaunna and Beki came today to see her. Also the next door neighbor Lillian came and saw her. She got cards from Barb and Rodger, and from Amy Singer and a birthday card and rose from Lillian.

A hospice volunteer, Kaycie, came today to set up a time to do respite for us. She will start on the 15th at 9 am for 4 hours once a week.

Tomorrow the bath aide and the hospice nurse, Pat, will come.

On Friday mom fell getting up to the commode. We are trying to keep a closer eye on her. She doesn't remember falling. She doesn't call for help so it is hard to keep her from falling unless we are in the room with her all the time. Hard to do and still work and get enough sleep.

Melissa came and stayed with Mom on Sunday so we could all go to church. The first time in more than a month we all got to go to church together.

Bonnie

Aug 21, 2008

Mom is doing fair, but losing weight again. She is down to 88 pounds. She is tired and sleeps most of the time. She is not confused except about the date and time. She doesn't eat much and it is hard to get calories into her as she only eats a few bites and is not hungry.

Everyone has gone home now and our granddaughter Rose Wightman has moved in with us to help us take care of mom. I went back to work last Friday. I worked Friday and Saturday evening and Monday and Tuesday night. I slept most of Tuesday and off and on Wednesday.

Thank God for Rose being here as David is not allowed to pick up or move more than 5 pounds for another 3-4 weeks. I will work Evening shift tonight and tomorrow and then have 6 days off.

Thanks for the cards and the prayers. Mom enjoys the cards and the prayers help us all. You can call and talk to Mom too.

Bonnie

Mom has lost more weight

Aug 10th

Mom is losing weight. she is down to 93 pounds. We are trying to find things she will eat but it is hard to get enough in her. She takes a couple of bites and that's all we can get in her. We got Odwalla bars and she is nibbling on them. We are putting protein powder into her juice. And trying to find things to tempt her appetite.

The Hospice intake nurse was here yesterday and did the intake on her. She will have a bath aide twice a week and massage therapy every other week. Her Hospice Nurse will be Pat. I can also have a respite volunteer for up to 4 hours a week. We will hire family and friends to take care of her so I can go to work. Rose will move in on the 22nd of August and will take care of her on the evenings I work. I will hire someone to watch her on my 3 night shifts, and during those days so I can sleep.

She is impulsive and doesn't remember to call for help when she wants to get up to the chair or back to bed. She has been nauseated and wretching the last 2 days so I am giving her nausea meds in the am and pm scheduled. Still not too much pain.

Mom's Home

Aug 8th

Mom got to come back home yesterday. She is still very tired and needs a lot of help, but it is good to have her here. She came home with a foley catherter so that she doesn't have to get up to the bathroom as much.

She will have Hospice at home. They will be coming out tomorrow for the intake appointment. They can provide respite care, massage therapy, music therapy, pet therapy and some others that I don't remember.

She is not having much pain. Just takes a pain pill once or twice a day for midsternal chest pain(not heart related).

Dude and Jean Little and Amy Singer came to see her today. That really cheered her up. Rose came tonight to stay with us for a couple of days. Mom was glad to see her too.

Update

Aug 4, 2008 10am

Mom had 2 really good days last week so on Friday we took her off comfort care. They started TPN (IV Nutrition) on Friday evening . Her BNP has fluctuated down to 377, up to 870 and today 730. She appears to be very sensitive to added IV fluids. So we have to be careful to give her more lasix when she is getting more IV fluids.

Her White Blood Cell count WBC) has been rising for the last few days and is now elevated to 16.99 (Normal is 4-12). That shows an infection somewhere.So she has had blood cultures darn and urine sent off to see if that is where the problem is. Also she will have a chest xray today.

She has been confused for a few days. She called me Minnie Ellen, and couldn't remember my name. She has not recognized Maria yet.

Today Bob and Shaunna go home, and tonight Rachel and Devon go to the airport. Tomorrow Minnie has to go home. Rachel and Minnie start work on Wednesday. Maria is staying another week. Then they has to go home as school starts for the kids on Aug 25th. My vacation is nearly over and I start back to work on Thursday.

I am hopeful that she will be able to come home soon. We will have help from Rose at the end of the month when she moves in to live with us. She will go to school during the day and I can work evenings. She will be a big help. We just have to get to the end of the month.

Bonnie

Mom is Tired

July 30 630 am

I stayed the night with mom last night. She appears very tired. She moans with almost every breath out. She is having no pain except in her mouth. She is difficult to rouse at times. She has gone from drinking water every 20 minutes to a few times in an 8 hour shift. Her Morphine drip is still at a minuscule 0.2mg per hour. Yesterday she said she was short of breath (SOB) when asked , so we raised her oxygen (O2) from 4L to 6L/minute. We are not checking vital signs- Blood Pressure, Pulse, Respirations , Temperature or O2 Saturation- so we don't know any numbers. We are just keeping her comfortable. When I count resps they are about 22. Normal is around 12-16 per minute.

The nurses are turning her every 2 hours, and doing mouth care. They are assessing her pain level, lung sounds and mouth sores. They are taking very good care of her - and us. I am so grateful for the caliber of nurses that I work with. I know this is not just because she is my mother but because of the compassionate, loving, caring people that they are.

Paul will be here today, and Keith tomorrow. Scot may be here today.

I believe it will be just days before she passes to be with Dad (Lloyd). I am sad, but she does not want to live like this. She does not want to be a burden.

Hope or last hurrah?

July 29th 1030am

Mom is still with us. We are glad and surprised. Last night she was singing until about 2 am.

Dr Rose was very surprised yesterday that she was doing so well, still alert and talking to people. The doctor had labs drawn. Mom's BNP (the lab for congestive heart failure or CHF) was down to 981!! Normal is 0-99. It was >5000 on Saturday when we made her comfort care. Dr Rose said that Morphine drip should be standard treatment for all people with CHF. She is cautiously optimistic that mom MIGHT be able to come home, IF she continues to do well. But said, IF she comes home she would only live about 2 months or less. So we all hoping for the best, but trying not to expect it, as sometimes patients seem to rally before they pass.

We have been staying with her almost 24/7. Minnie stayed on Saturday night, Maria and Hunter on Sunday night, and Bob and Shaunna last night. Someone is there almost all the time during the day and evening. Usually more than one. I am at the hospital now and April will be back here in a few minutes.

We are arranging for Keith and Paul to come to see her as neither will be able to come to the funeral. Keith will be here on Thursday for about 1/2-1 hour. We are still making arrangements for Paul.

We appreciated all the prayers and good wishes.

Bonnie

Dying

July 26 11am

Mom's heart is giving out. We have made the decision to make her comfort care. She will probably pass in a few days. The funeral will probably be at the LDS Church on 176th in Puyallup/Spanaway area. Obviously I don't have a date and time yet so I will post that when I have it.

She is lucid again, after getting a day's sleep. She knows who we are and can answer simple questions and carry on very short conversations.

Please keep us all in yours prayers.

Bonnie

An Outsiders View

Hi Everyone. This is Rachel.



I flew in on Tuesday for "vacation". What was supposed to be an enjoyable vacation has quickly become one of sadness with the inevitable knowledge that this will be the last bit of time that I spend with Nana before , as she terms it, goes home.



If you haven't seen Nana lately, the shock factor is enormous. The bruising on her face from her fall is bad, but it is the confusion, hallucinations, uncontrolled body movements, incontinence and basic mental disconnect that make it hard to even recognize her as a the vibrant, funny, active woman that she has been her entire life.



Bonnie, my mother, has seen the gradual decline in the past few months and has had time to acclimate. Even she is disturbed at how quickly Nana has gone downhill in the past week. It's as if her Alzheimer's has gone from zero to sixty within a week.



She is able to recognize loved ones, but she quickly fades back into her confusion, frequently referring to Lloyd, her husband who passed in the early 1980's. She constantly sees bugs on the walls and often talks about babies and a little girl who is in the room that only she can see. She insists on getting out of the bed to use the toilet about every 5 minutes. Because she is extremely unsteady on her feet and will fall without assistance, they decided to put a catheter back in and also may have to add a restraint system that prevents her from getting out of the bed without constricting her movements in the bed during the night. Laymans terms for the restraints is a posey vest (sp).



Without having a lot of medical knowledge, it seems that her time with us will be shorter than any of us had hoped. Even if her body is alive, her mind is quickly going. She hasn't lost her stubborness though. She is argumentative and rarely will listen the first time. She has to be told multiple times to do even the simplest of tasks. The penchant for pulling her oxygen tubes and IV's is a constant cause for frustration.



Nana is constantly moving. Shaking, wiggling, shivering it seems that she is always moving. Her legs jerk a lot and I tell her that her feet are happy and trying to dance. I will get an occasional smile when I tell her that. Some of the movement are reminicent of Parkinson's but she doesn't have that. They don't know why she is so shaky.



Devon is scared to see her. Although he has been here a few times it makes him sad and he cries when he leaves. He knows that this is the last time that he will see her but it is very upsetting for him to see his Nana so sick. He says that he finds comfort knowing that God will take her to a better place and that she won't hurt anymore.



As much as I have tried to accurately describe what it is like to see her, nothing will really prepare you. You might want to come see her sooner rather than later. It seems to get worse and worse every day.

MRSA

July 22 245pm

Mom has MRSA in her sputum. That is a bacteria that is resistant to a lot of antibiotics. No wonder she isn't getting better very quickly. So they are starting her on Vancomycin. Her urine and blood cultures do not show MRSA so far. She is in respiratory and contact isolation. I have to wear a gown, gloves and mask when I am in her room.

Mom has had nausea and vomiting today. We gave her Phenergan and compazine. Now she is confused and picking at things. But the nausea is gone. She is not having pain unless we move her.

Platelets are decreasing. So tomorrow she will probably get platelets. They help prevent bleeding. So far no bleeding noted.

She is getting IV Calcium and IV Potassium daily. Her CHF labs went back up today. So she is still very fragile.

The bruises are starting to turn yellow.

We will NOT be coming to the reunion.

Bonnie

Update

July 21 Midnight

A rough 2 days for mom. She had a power port placed on Saturday night. That is an IV access placed just under the skin of her upper chest near the shoulder. A needle goes into the port. The needle only has to be changed out every 7 days. They can draw most of her labs through the port. They can also give all her IV medicines through it. She also has a peripheral access line.

Today she got 4 small bags of minerals to replace the ones she is deficient in - Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium with Phosphorus, and Potassium. She also got 2 more units of blood. Also she got her IV antibiotic, Levaquin. They stopped the IV with Sodium Bicarb because the Tumor Lysis is resolving nicely. And they stopped the diflucan and allopurinol yesterday.

She is severely malnourished. She is so weak that I have to feed her. The effort to feed herself takes too much energy so she doesn't eat. She doesn't eat enough even when I feed her. We changed her diet from soft foods, to chopped foods to blenderized liquids.

Thanks for the cards. She appreciates them all. April visited today. Mom didn't say much but I know she enjoyed having her there. Stephen, Jean and Meg visited Sunday. She won't be coming to the family reunion this Saturday. I hope she is out of the hospital by then. She needs a lot of assistance to even get out of the bed. And she hasn't walked more than a step or two to the chair.

Tumor Lysis

July 19th 1pm

Hi All,

Mom is doing better today. Up in a chair for meals. Eating small amounts and stll not hungry but trying. Her labs are better today.

Yesterday Dr. Rose told me that mom has tumor lysis syndrome. That means that the chemo is working so well that it had killed a lot of cancer cells and spilled the contents into the blood stream. It overwhelms the kidneys. She has an IV with a gentle hydration and IV lasix and allopurinol to protect her kidneys.

Today her labs are better. The CHF lab (BNP) was 1680 on Thursday, 1110 yesterday and 980 today. Her Uric Acid was 11.8, 12.8, and today is 9.8 ( that's one of the one for tumor lysis syndrome). Normal is 2.0-6.0 Her calcium is still low but improved. Her Hematocrit was 31 after 2 units of blood and today is 33.5. Her INR is 1.8. Her chest xray has not changed .

She will be getting an implanted Port tonight after 630pm. Then she will not be having so many pokes for IVs and labs.

She will be in the hospital for a few more days according to Dr. Rose, maybe home on Monday or Tuesday. She is still very tired, and very little energy, but she is alert and can carry on a conversation. She has black eyes and a nice lump bruise on the forehead.

April came to visit her yesterday around noon. Bob and Shaunna came at 730pm. They stayed overnight with us and came back to see her today. She got a very nice card from her Dentist's office and all the crew signed it.

If you come to see her in the hospital, do not bring fresh or live flowers. They are not permitted on the floor as the dirt can harbor bacteria and spores.

Bonnie

Doing Just a little better

July 18 0600

Mom was doing a little better last night. She woke up, stayed awake for about 30 minutes, and ate a few bites of applesauce. When asked she agreed she was feeling better. She remembered the day before, and she watched a few minutes of TV.

I called this morning and the nurse said she is more alert, moving better (still needs help) and ate some yogurt this morning. Still on 100% Oxygen and desaturates ( oxygen level goes down too low) on room air.

She still can't take a deep breath, and is coughing (that's a good thing) when she tries to take a deep breath. She needs to cough that junk up out of her lungs.

Don't know when she'll be able to get out of bed, or how long she'll be in the hospital.

Post a comment so I know who's reading. I'll tell her; that will cheer her up a little.

Bonnie

She fell, then went to hospital

July 17, 2008

Tuesday Mom started on a new medication called Megace. It is an appetite stimulator. Wednesday morning she woke up confused and hallucinating. We think the megace may be the cause. So when we went to the doctor for the chemo the nurses assessed her and the doctor assessed her. Then she got the chemo and I took her home.

Lillian, our neighbor asked if she could do anything. She watched mom for me while I went to a meeting at the hospital. Just after the meeting finished I got a call from my daughter-in-law, Jean, that Lillian had called. Mom had insisted on going outside to look at her garden and she fell and hit her head. George and Meg went over to get her off the ground and into bed. I went straight home assessed her, call the doctor and brought her into the hospital.

Her Oxygen level was only 71%- way too low. I t should be 96% or above. They put her on oxygen on a 100% non-rebreather mask.

She has a large lump in the middle of her forehead. They did a CT Scan of her head. She has a forehead hematoma- a collection of blood under the skin, but no skull fracture or other problems from the fall.

They gave her a unit of blood last night and did lots of labs. They did a chest xray this morning and she has pneumonia. Also she is in Congestive Heart Failure.

She is a very sick lady.

I don't know how long she will be here. Please send any cards to our home address.

I will keep you all updated as I can

Bonnie

Progress

July 15, 2008

Today we saw Dr Rose and Mom had labs drawn. Mom was dehydrated and very anemic. Hematocrit was 26.2 Normal is 40-45. No wonder she is so tired all the time. They gave her a liter of IV fluids. She will get 2 units of blood on Friday AM.

Her Protime/INR is 13.2. We want to keep it between 2.0-3.0. (Coumadin level) She has a vitamin K tablet tonight (that brings it down) and will not get coumadin for a while. She will have a Protime/INR tmorrow.

She is more awake tonight. She actually dipped her own dinner (soup) from the pot and walked around some. Stephen and Jean and Meg came to visit and she was awake and stayed up and talked to them.

Mouth is better. Still sore she says, but looks tons better.

Chemo dose #2 tomorrow.

Less Pain

Sunday July 13,th

Hi all,
Mom has had a rough few days. The nausea meds and the pain meds made her so lethargic that she basically could barely function. Thursday she went to have a Protime to keep tabs on her coumadin level. It was too high. I spoke to Dr. Rose and they will handle it from their office so one less place for mom to go.

On Friday she had NO appointments. She stayed in bed most of the day, sat in her chair and slept the rest of the time. It was hard to get her to drink the fluids she needs to keep from getting dehydrated. I stopped giving her the Oxycodone unless she asked for it. On Saturday morning I gave her 2 Tylenol with Codeine. She was a little more alert. We went to see Keith. She wanted to go but it was too much for her- as she told me later. She was not her usual spunky self- she was obviously tired. We stayed about an hour after Keith got there. I got her a bottle of water and she drank the whole thing (with a lot of encouragement).

We managed to get about a quart of water down her yesterday. I was worried that she was dehydrated and was planning to take her to the hospital this morning, but she started peeing and looked better. Today she has drank nearly 2 quarts of fluid.

Her mouth is started to heal, but it is very slow going. She is eating extremely small amounts of food. It is hard to find anything to tempt her palate. Everything is too sweet, or too rich.

But she is slowly getting better. I think.

We see the Doctor on Tuesday and has her second Chemo on Wednesday. On Thursday she sees the Surgeon about getting an implanted Port. Busy week again.

One good thing- Her pain level is much better. Small amounts of nausea but the compazine takes care of it.

That's it for today.

Bonnie

Feeling Better

Hi All

Mom is feeling and acting better tonight. Yes Maria, it is thrush. Now Mom is on Diflucan for 10 days. I think part of the problems with her driftiness was all the meds to prevent nausea from the chemo. She had 3 of them and 2 make you drowsy. Also the oxycodone makes her drowsy too. By the way she had NO nausea with the chemo.

After taking her last pain med at 11am today at the coumadin clinic she slept almost all evening. She woke up 3 times and only asked for pain meds at 1145pm. She was walking better and much more coherent.

Several of these meds increase her protime so we've cut her dose of warfarin (coumadin) in half.
They will manage it from the oncologist's office.

Thanks for all the prayers. I appreciate it and so does Mom.

Bonnie

Chemo Day1- Problems already

July 9th was LaReta's first day of chemo.

She woke up and said she didn't feel good but could not specify what was bothering her. No pain and no nausea. She was a little unsteady on her feet. She tends to drift off when I'm not talking to her. She says she thinking, but doesn't know what she's thinking about.

Tuesday the 8th she had a CT Scan of the chest. It is part of the protocol for the study drug that she is getting. We got to the Hospital at 850am for a 930 appointment ( they told me on the 7th that it was a 9am) and checked in and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally a 1015am the receptionist called back to PACU and they said to send us back. After waiting a little more in the Surgery waiting room they brought us back and the nurse did the intake. Mom got to lay down on a gurney and boy did she need it by then. They brought her warm blankets, asked a lot of questions and put in an IV. And then we waited and waited for the IV Fluids to come. They were started at 1130. They brought her some tea. At 1145 I went and got lunch for us both. at 1245 they took her to CT scan and we waited a little more.. They finished the CT scan and took out the IV at 125.. Then we skedaddled to the clinic for Chemo teaching.

They were quick. We watched a 25 minute video about Chemo and it's side effects. I fell asleep. I had been up all day Monday, worked all night Monday night and was still up at 145pm Tuesday. Luckily I am an Oncology Nurse and I know about chemo and its side effects.

Then Betty the PA talked to us about the specific chemo, Gemzar, its regimen and side effects. Then Rachel, the study drug nurse, talked to us about the study drug. We were done at 3pm.

Wednesday we went back to the clinic- third day in a row. We got there at 1pm and were done at 3pm. She had a lab draw before the study drug and after all the chemo was done. I was impressed with the service- warm blankets, snacks, caring and efficiency.

Today is Thursday the 10th . Mom woke up today and said I'm not doing well today. She is drifty, and complains of pain across her chest below her rib cage. I took her Blood Pressure (BP). it was good and 115/53. She took her morning meds and I gave her a pain pill and her study drug. She complained that her throat hurt. I looked at her tongue. It is coated white. I looked at the top of her throat and didn't see anything wrong. So I called the Dr's office. I am wating for a call back.

New Diagnosis:Pancreatic Cancer

LaReta was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer on June 17th 2008. She had a CT Scan in Feb that showed 2 cysts in her Pancreas, but the Interventional Radiologist could not do a needle biopsy because they were behind the stomach. We opted not to do an open biopsy. We decided to wait 3 months and do another CT Scan and see if it grew or not.

On June 17th LaReta had a second Ct Scan. It showed that the smaller cyst had nearly doubled in size and that cancer cells had spread (metastasized) to the liver and lymph nodes. She had a needle biopsy of the liver mets on July 1st and that showed that it was indeed CANCER.

She has seen an oncology MD (cancer specialist) Dr. Andrea Rose on June 25th and July 7th. She is going to start chemo (Gemcitabine, aka Gemzar) on Wednesday the 9th. She will have Gemzar once a week for three weeks then have one week off and then repeat the cycle. The chemo will NOT cure her. It is palliative-to decrease the pain, to help her have more energy, and to extend her life maybe a few months. Without chemo she has a life expectancy of 3-6 months, with chemo maybe as much as 9 months. But that is only an educated guess.

She also qualified for a trial or study drug.This drug's is called AG 013736. It is made by Pfizer. It is in tablet form. It is similar in action to an IV (intravenous-or into the blood stream) drug AVASTIN. Avastin is an anti-angiogenic drug. It prevents the body from making new blood vessels thus denying the tumor the ability to grow.

It is a double blind study which means neither the patient nor the doctor knows if she is getting the drug or the placebo. She has a 50-50 chance of getting the drug. If she had not qualified the study for or refused the study drug she would only have gotten Gemzar.

Today she has another CT Scan but this one is of the chest; the last 2 were abdomen. She will have a Ct Scan of the chest every 8 weeks while she is on the study drug. She has a consult with a Surgeon, Dr. Douglas King, to have an Implanted Port placed in her upper chest. This is an IV device that is placed under the skin with a line into a blood vessel near the heart. This will be used for lab draws, chemo and other IV medications that she may need.

LaReta is tired most of the time. She has intermittent pain in her liver. She falls asleep nearly every time she sits in her recliner. She would welcome cards or letters and occasional phone calls. She will not be doing much gardening. And you know I don't garden much-but I guess I'm going to have to find the time to do some so she can continue to enjoy her flowers.

We are praying that she will be well enough the come to the family reunion on July 26th. Please add your prayers to ours that she will be able to come, that she will have good results with the chemo, have less pain and more energy.

Bonnie

Welcome

Hi Everyone.

This blog was created so that everyone who cares about LaReta Rutherford can keep up to date with her cancer treatment.

If you have any questions you can either email me or post a comment. I will respond as soon as I can.

Thanks,

Bonnie