Sara had good feedback from her appointment with Dr. Lin. He said everything looked pretty much the same according to her new tumor marker taken after the surgery. If the liver shows any activity or growth of the scar tissue from the tumors, it could require another surgery to remove them. But at the time of the big surgery, Dr. Park, the surgeon, did not see any reason to disturb the liver at that time. If more surgery is required, we know she is in good hands.
Dr. Lin put her on the "Silver" list, which he said would progress to the "Gold" list. So he has gone to valuble stones analogy rather than gardening ones. It is all positive, and she will return for more scans in three months. So everyone kiss the one you love. I will still be posting as we travel furthur down this road. Welcome Spring!
posted by Colleen
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
March 4, 2012
Sara has an appointment with Dr Lin on March 6. They will be doing scans to determine that bin laden is long gone. She has been back to work on her regular schedule which is not necessarily good but indicates how well she is feeling. Yesterday she was on top of the Empire State Building and I had a strong urge to text her and say "don't try to repel in your high heels!" She went there for work and Sarah Hess went along for the ride.
Her Dad and I were marveling that cancer did not slow her down for long. So stay tuned and I will post results of appointment soon. Thanks to all!
posted by Colleen
Her Dad and I were marveling that cancer did not slow her down for long. So stay tuned and I will post results of appointment soon. Thanks to all!
posted by Colleen
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
February 7, 2012
Today is the one year to the day when Sara was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in the ER at Bonner General Hospital. On this day, one year later, we have plenty to celebrate and be thankful for.
She is back to work full speed ahead. Has Trevor taking super good care of her. {and lookin' dang good at it} Feels 'absolutely fabulous'. And is looking way forward to a fantastic future.
Still doing chemo to keep the cancer under control, but otherwise she is free to do what ever she pleases. We are so happy to have ended up in Seattle with the most wonderful Doctor, Dr. Lin.
I am going back through all of the information we collected and I can see where we made some literally life and death decisions. You don't know it at the time, because hind sight is 20/20. But the people who were running along side us the whole way were helping steer us to this fantabulous day.
February 7, 2012. Thank-you.
posted by Colleen
She is back to work full speed ahead. Has Trevor taking super good care of her. {and lookin' dang good at it} Feels 'absolutely fabulous'. And is looking way forward to a fantastic future.
Still doing chemo to keep the cancer under control, but otherwise she is free to do what ever she pleases. We are so happy to have ended up in Seattle with the most wonderful Doctor, Dr. Lin.
I am going back through all of the information we collected and I can see where we made some literally life and death decisions. You don't know it at the time, because hind sight is 20/20. But the people who were running along side us the whole way were helping steer us to this fantabulous day.
February 7, 2012. Thank-you.
posted by Colleen
Friday, January 13, 2012
January 13, 2012
Sara and Shanna went to her post op appointment. Dr. Lin was very positve and encouraged by the results of the sugery. Her pancreas seems to be just fine after being attacked by bin laden, who has now left the building. Her liver has some scar tissue and does not outwardly show any signs of the cancer. Sara will continue to stay on chemotherapy for an undetermined time. The chemo will keep the cancer at bay. They will keep a close eye on her. She is still recovering and doing very well. Probably will return to work soon. This is all such good news. Thanks again and again everyone. I am re-reading the blog and all the comments and notes from the first blog sight. You are all AWESOME.
posted by Colleen
posted by Colleen
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
January 4, 2011
A quick update. Sara is doing great with her recovery from the surgery. She is phasing off pain meds and resting as much as she wants. She is making noise about going back to work allready, which her parental figures will try to discourage. The post op appointment will probably be scheduled this week. She should get in to see Dr. Lin within a few weeks of the surgery. I, for one, can't wait to see what he says. He will probably say, "When are you taking me on that plane ride?"
Happy New Year to everyone. And keep your chins up!
Posted by Colleen
Happy New Year to everyone. And keep your chins up!
Posted by Colleen
Friday, December 23, 2011
December 23, 22011
Well, we learned one thing, an OR minute is equivalent to 2-3 hours. We went in at 11:30 for the scheduled appointment, Sara went in at 4:20. They were very thorough, each person that came in asked the same questions 10 times.
We all took turns staying with Sara until she was wheeled away in a dramatic moment to the OR. Then we waited. The surgery took 5 hours. Then an hour in recovery. By then we had eaten all of Chelsea's cookies and had passed them around to all the 'waiters'. {Thanks Chels!} Finally, Dr. Park came out with a big smile on his face and told us everything went even better than expected. Her liver was clear and anything left on it was probably scar tissue and there was no reason to even touch it, which was very good as the liver can present all kinds of compications. The big tumor was alive and well, feeding off a giant vein that provided it with a nice blood flow. Also, to back up, they gave her the octreotide shot before the surgery to basically 'drug' the tumor. Kind of like smoking a bee hive so they don't get mean when you disturb them. Then, he took off the major portion of the tumor on the pancreas, having to cut through the vein which he cut and repaired twice during the procedure. They could then see the tumor was encapsulated, which is the MO of the neuroendocrine tumor, so they just scooped it up and that was it. The surgery was done by a robot, didn't catch his name, {who was that masked man?} and required 5 small incisions. {That if connected form a happy face flipping the bird} Sara was sent to a regular room to recover. Actually, it is the same floor she was on before so we knew some of the people and of course they remembered Sara. Trevor stayed with her the first night, Sarah Hess stays tonite, then me till she no longer requires someone there overnight and/or she gets released. Then, Dr. Park wants her near to monitor her for a week, so she will stay with Shanna.
Dr. Park expects her to make a fast recovery since the surgery was not so invasive. As of this morning, she is awake and walked a little. She is tired, but happy. We are all super excited and so thrilled.
One resident came in and told us he was so impressed with Sara's whole story, he had stayed up late to read her whole chart. He said her progress was remarkable. I am writing this because we all truly believe the prayers, energy, good vibes, call it what you may, was an integral part of her AMAZING recovery. Thank-you is just two little words, but the gratefullness behind those two words is huge and cannot be measured.
Love to All! Merry Christmas and here is to a fantastic new year.
posted by Colleen, a very happy mom
We all took turns staying with Sara until she was wheeled away in a dramatic moment to the OR. Then we waited. The surgery took 5 hours. Then an hour in recovery. By then we had eaten all of Chelsea's cookies and had passed them around to all the 'waiters'. {Thanks Chels!} Finally, Dr. Park came out with a big smile on his face and told us everything went even better than expected. Her liver was clear and anything left on it was probably scar tissue and there was no reason to even touch it, which was very good as the liver can present all kinds of compications. The big tumor was alive and well, feeding off a giant vein that provided it with a nice blood flow. Also, to back up, they gave her the octreotide shot before the surgery to basically 'drug' the tumor. Kind of like smoking a bee hive so they don't get mean when you disturb them. Then, he took off the major portion of the tumor on the pancreas, having to cut through the vein which he cut and repaired twice during the procedure. They could then see the tumor was encapsulated, which is the MO of the neuroendocrine tumor, so they just scooped it up and that was it. The surgery was done by a robot, didn't catch his name, {who was that masked man?} and required 5 small incisions. {That if connected form a happy face flipping the bird} Sara was sent to a regular room to recover. Actually, it is the same floor she was on before so we knew some of the people and of course they remembered Sara. Trevor stayed with her the first night, Sarah Hess stays tonite, then me till she no longer requires someone there overnight and/or she gets released. Then, Dr. Park wants her near to monitor her for a week, so she will stay with Shanna.
Dr. Park expects her to make a fast recovery since the surgery was not so invasive. As of this morning, she is awake and walked a little. She is tired, but happy. We are all super excited and so thrilled.
One resident came in and told us he was so impressed with Sara's whole story, he had stayed up late to read her whole chart. He said her progress was remarkable. I am writing this because we all truly believe the prayers, energy, good vibes, call it what you may, was an integral part of her AMAZING recovery. Thank-you is just two little words, but the gratefullness behind those two words is huge and cannot be measured.
Love to All! Merry Christmas and here is to a fantastic new year.
posted by Colleen, a very happy mom
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