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
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
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
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
December 20, 2011
This is a Pre-op post update from Seattle. Sara, Shanna, Trevor and Sarah went to the pre-op appointment which turned out to be a 7 hours.
The surgeon, Dr. Parks, said that they expected positive results by removing the tumor from her pancreas. The extent of the surgical procedure will be determined when it actually occurs. There are possible complications, involving the spleen. Possibly removing part, if not all of the spleen. Worst scenario. Dr. Parks said the recovery from the surgery will be 2 to 5 days. After that, he wants her to stay in Seattle for at least 7 days so he can monitor her as some complications can show up later. She will be recuperating for a month, at least.
I will post Thursday sometime for a post-op update. We will all be there for her and know you all will be with us in spirit. Thanks amazing friends and family!
posted by Colleen
The surgeon, Dr. Parks, said that they expected positive results by removing the tumor from her pancreas. The extent of the surgical procedure will be determined when it actually occurs. There are possible complications, involving the spleen. Possibly removing part, if not all of the spleen. Worst scenario. Dr. Parks said the recovery from the surgery will be 2 to 5 days. After that, he wants her to stay in Seattle for at least 7 days so he can monitor her as some complications can show up later. She will be recuperating for a month, at least.
I will post Thursday sometime for a post-op update. We will all be there for her and know you all will be with us in spirit. Thanks amazing friends and family!
posted by Colleen
Thursday, December 1, 2011
December 1, 2011
Well, here I am to report to y'all that Dr. Lin has given the go ahead for surgery for Sara D. Sara and I went on Monday and stayed in Seattle for 3 days so she could get scans done. Wednesday was the appointment with Dr. Lin when he reviewed the scans and declared her liver was 99% clear of tumors and the big tumor on her pancreas was shrinking but still there. At the beginning of the appointment he was inferring the surgery could happen soon, by the end of the appontment after looking at everything he was calling his surgeon friend to get her scheduled. Sara said you mean like as soon as my next 6 week appointment? Dr. Lin said no, I mean like right now. Shanna, me and Sara kind of started hyperventilating. He also said she was textbook material and would probably be written up. I always figured she would be famous, but her pancreas?
The one scan she had was like a real photograph, totally cutting edge. It has only been out for a month and Sara was one of the first to get to use it. The other scan was a radioactive scan where the remaining tumors light up like a golden orb. She has to carry a card to prove she is medically radioactive and not a terrorist. {Even though some of her shoes could be used as weapons.}
The surgery has to happen fast because her liver is clear, this happened way faster than Dr. Lin anticipated, and he does not want the main tumor to start shooting off more tumors to the liver. So the surgery will be to remove the main tumor from the pancreas and possibly any left on the liver. Which will be determined by the surgeon, who Dr. Lin said will be "jumping up and down" to do this surgery because he "loves neuroendocrine tumors". To which Sd replied, "I love that he loves neuroendocrine tumors so he can get rid of it!"
Sara will continue to do maintenance chemotherapy and will still be battling cancer. Hopefully, the dose can be reduced so she does not suffer the terrible nausea and other yukky symtoms of chemo. This is not considered a cure. Dr. Lin's analogy was even if you kill all the dandelions and can't see them, there are still seeds underground. He also was fascinated that she has a full head of hair. He did not explain this, just did the Doctor thing like "uummm.."
We are ecstatic over this turn of events and are very grateful to Dr. Lin, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and everyone who has been rooting for Sara D. throughout this experience. As Sara's Mom, I want to say how impressed I am with how much love and support is out there. I am so proud of Sara and love her more than I can say. "That's my daughter!!"
Posted by Colleen
The one scan she had was like a real photograph, totally cutting edge. It has only been out for a month and Sara was one of the first to get to use it. The other scan was a radioactive scan where the remaining tumors light up like a golden orb. She has to carry a card to prove she is medically radioactive and not a terrorist. {Even though some of her shoes could be used as weapons.}
The surgery has to happen fast because her liver is clear, this happened way faster than Dr. Lin anticipated, and he does not want the main tumor to start shooting off more tumors to the liver. So the surgery will be to remove the main tumor from the pancreas and possibly any left on the liver. Which will be determined by the surgeon, who Dr. Lin said will be "jumping up and down" to do this surgery because he "loves neuroendocrine tumors". To which Sd replied, "I love that he loves neuroendocrine tumors so he can get rid of it!"
Sara will continue to do maintenance chemotherapy and will still be battling cancer. Hopefully, the dose can be reduced so she does not suffer the terrible nausea and other yukky symtoms of chemo. This is not considered a cure. Dr. Lin's analogy was even if you kill all the dandelions and can't see them, there are still seeds underground. He also was fascinated that she has a full head of hair. He did not explain this, just did the Doctor thing like "uummm.."
We are ecstatic over this turn of events and are very grateful to Dr. Lin, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and everyone who has been rooting for Sara D. throughout this experience. As Sara's Mom, I want to say how impressed I am with how much love and support is out there. I am so proud of Sara and love her more than I can say. "That's my daughter!!"
Posted by Colleen
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
October 19, 2011
Sara saw Dr. Lin yesterday and he is taking over fulltime as her oncologist. It was too complicated to have other doctors involved. Dr. Michelle Anderson will be her on site doctor for now. Since, she now can fly, she will just fly herself over to his office, which is right across the street from the harbor, go to the appointment and fly back home. Anyone need to go to Wholefoods? She had back pain which he attributed to her recent stunt activity. Her markers are good, the tumors are still lessening and surgery is still on in the spring.
He is stretching out her chemo administration so she will not continue to have such low platelet levels which lead to blood transfusions. This is really good because it was so hard on her healthwise.
We all had to know about Steve Jobs because he had exactly the kind of cancer as Sara D.
Dr. Lin said Steve Jobs treatment was totally different than hers. It is because of the extensive research done for him that this neuroendocrine cancer treatment is so advanced. We are grateful for that.
Sara is doing fantastic and we can all take a lesson from her. {not flying..} Kind of stretching out the blog, but I hope you are all staying tuned in. Love to all!!!
He is stretching out her chemo administration so she will not continue to have such low platelet levels which lead to blood transfusions. This is really good because it was so hard on her healthwise.
We all had to know about Steve Jobs because he had exactly the kind of cancer as Sara D.
Dr. Lin said Steve Jobs treatment was totally different than hers. It is because of the extensive research done for him that this neuroendocrine cancer treatment is so advanced. We are grateful for that.
Sara is doing fantastic and we can all take a lesson from her. {not flying..} Kind of stretching out the blog, but I hope you are all staying tuned in. Love to all!!!
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