Surgery scheduled.

Surgery has been scheduled for Friday October 23rd. I will have a break from the Chemo for a few weeks. I am very happy about that but know that we will have 4 more chemo treatments after the surgery. My parents will be coming up the weekend of the surgery so it will be nice to have them here to help along with Kevin's family. We are so lucky to have a great support group and the biggest supporter of all, God.

The Lord is so good. Praise him always!

Today we had an appointment with the Oncologists and the result from the MRI came in. In the beginning the tumor was at the size of 3.7x3.3x3.4 and has shrunks by 75% after 2 treatments to 1.6x1.4x1.4. So based on the results we have decided that the next step is surgery to remove the tumor and the surrounding tissue. We don't have the surgery scheduled yet but we should know on Tuesday when we are going to do it. Once the surgery is over we will have to wait a few weeks to recover and then finish the treatments. I am happy to have a break from the chemo but know that it is a long road ahead.

Please continue to pray for strength.

2nd treatment down..

It has been almost 1 1/2 weeks since my 2nd treatment and I am feeling back to normal. This last treatment took me about 1 week and a few days to start feeling better. It was a rough week but we did get through, thanks to the Lords grace. Yesterday (Tuesday) I had a MRI done to see how much the Tumor as shrunk. By looking at the films, I can tell that it has definitely has shrunk a good size. We will be meeting with Dr. Gaffar on Friday to go over the films and see what the next step is. We will either do surgery or my 3rd round of treatment. I am kinda going for surgery, just so I can have a break from the chemo but we will see what the doctor has to say.

I just wanted to say Thank you all for your prayers. This time has been rough for me not only physical but also mentally. I had been trying to remember that the Lord is in control especially when I have felt that all I want to do is stop all this. I feel that the Lord has made me a wife and a mother and during these treatments I get down because I can't be that but I know that in order to be a good wife and mother in the future I need to rest and take care of me so I can get better. I ask that you all would continue to pray for not only me, but for Kevin and the kids. I know that the week of chemo is not only tough on me but also tough on them.

New Hair

Tonight after Elisha's b-day party we had a "Shaving Party"!! It was alot of fun, really! Elisha was such a great supporter. She held me hands and really helped make this experience ok. Thank you to Kevin, my Mom, Sue, Dee and Sean for supporting me and being apart of this change. I love you all!! Nathan was not too happy at first but has been doing better as the night went on, (I love you peanut)!

Praise the Lord.

We just had our checkup with Dr. Gaffar (oncologist). The appointment went well. He did his exam and measured the tumor at
1 1/2 cm. That means that the Tumor has shrunk from 3.75 to 1.5. Now those aren't exact only the MRI will tell that for sure, but he did have a hard time finding it. So after just the 1st treatment the tumor has shrunk about 1/2. That is amazing, Praise the Lord!!!

So the plan as of right now is this, we will continue with the 2nd treatment, after the treatment we will get a MRI done to see how much it has shrunk. If it has shrunk alot, then we will go ahead and do the surgery and then finish the other treatments after. This has definitly been a blessing to prayer. Thank you all for your prayers, love and support.

2 weeks on the dot..

Well it has been 2 weeks and I have been feeling great. I have been almost back to normal and it has been so nice. Those things that I complained about before I have loved doing, well to a point! LOL

I remember before I had my first treatment, we asked the Oncologist how long it would take to start loosing my hair and he said 2 weeks. Everyone that we have talked to has said that they are exactly on the mark. So I have realized that they were right on. I took a shower this afternoon and realized that I have started to loose my hair. It is not noticable yet, but I am sure it will be soon. I have an appointment with a lady about wigs and scarfs and then I am going to a class to help with how to do your makeup and all that fun stuff. My mom will be here on Saturday and is going to go with me, so I am pretty excited about that. Other than that we are all doing good.

Please continue to pray for strength and wisdom for Kevin and I and for our kids. Thanks to all of you..

Tanya

"Praise be to the God & the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
2 Corinthians 1: 3&4

One Week Down.. Many more to go

Well it has been 1 week since I had my first chemo treatment. This 1st week has been up and down. I have not experienced any nausea, which has been nice, but I have been pretty tired and weak. I have had body aches pretty much all the time and headaches. I have spent most of this week just laying in bed trying to rest. It has been difficult for me because I have not been able to be much of a mommy, especially to Aaron. I have realized that even though I have not been able to physically be a mommy, they still know that I love them and that I need to rest and take care of myself so that way I can be there for them all in the long run.

Today I had to go and get my blood count checked and it was fine. So that leaves me with a checkup with Dr. Gaffar next friday to make the 1st treatment cycle done. We will have 2 more treatments (3 weeks for each treatment). I am a little nervous for the next treatment because I am not sure if I will handle it the same or if it will get worse. But we are just taking it day by day.

The next big step for us will be when I start to loose my hair. They said that it would be about 2 weeks, so that means I have about 1 more week before I should start loosing it. I am very scared about this. I know many people have said, "it is not permanent and it will grow back", but it is harder to deal with when you actually have to face it. I have gotten a wig from the Women's Place and am hoping on getting another one, once we get the insurance figured out. I am also going to look into getting the scarfs cause I know that I will be wearing those more than anything. My biggest concern is for the kids and trying to not freak them out. Cause I know I am going to freak out myself, so I could just imagine how they will feel. I was trying to convince Nathan to shave his head with me but he said "Mommy I don't want to have a bald head". LOL..

One thing that I have tried to remember, especially during the down days, is that no matter what I am going through, no matter how bad I feel, or how sick and tired I am, the Lord did not put me here and walk away. He has continued to carry me through this and he is NEVER going to leave me. It is such a relief to know that our Father in Heaven is in charge. Kevin and I have talked alot about this and how amazing the Lord is that he brought us here at the time he did. If this would have happened 10 years ago, our lives were in such a different place that I am not sure we would be where we are now. He has brought Kevin and I so much closer to him and to each other and our children. The most important thing of this all, is that his name is being Glorified not only during this but long after this is over.

We thank all of you who continue to pray for us. The Lord has definitly had his hand in this and it is such a relief. We ask that you would continue to pray for the Lord to use us and that we will continue to look to him for all our needs. We love you so much.