Fundraiser!

I've decided to set up a fundraiser for Marmie and Dad... Even though they have insurance, there is still a lot that insurance won't cover (Especially her booster shots she has to have after every round of chemo to keep her white blood cell count up.)  I wanted to help my parents with that and also to maybe send them on a much needed mini vacation... here is the link http://fnd.us/c/9Ksh9, it should take you directly to Mom's donation page. It seems our page will only accept paypal payments... So let me market for a min and say if you don't have a paypal account, they are super easy to set up, super safe, and super easy to use and actually a great way to make all of your online payments. Just follow the checkout links and they will lead you to create a paypal account. Feel free to share the link, or mom's blog address where this link will be.  Any donation made will be so very appreciated. We feel so grateful for such wonderful people in our lives and for all the love and support.

I also wanted to update that mom's chemo session yesterday went well... They will be waiting a few weeks before she starts  her new regiment, which will begin the first week of August.  She said that she will do 3 weeks of chemo, once a week, and then have a week off, then 3 weeks and one week and so on.  Like I've mentioned before, these next sessions of Chemo will be done without the anti vomiting medications and ask for prayers and good thoughts sent mom's way that things will go well for her.  Marmie is truly amazing and strong in every way and we love her so much!

The Last Trial Treatment...

Today is Marmies last Clinical Trial treatment... She has done really well through the whole clinical trial and we all feel so blessed, especially me and my kids... I don't know what they would do if they couldn't be climbing on and snuggling grandma as much as they love to! Mom has only been sick a few times, but nothing too serious and has only had a few bad days.  We're not sure when she will start her next regiment of chemo, it could be next week, or in 3 weeks... When she gets home I'll be sure to post and let you all know.  Her next 12 treatments will be once a week and we are praying she will do just as well as she has with her clinical treatments.  Marmie is definitely a fighter and will never stop or give up! We all love her so much! Thank you again to everyone for your prayers and constant support and meals, treats, goodies and sweet notes you have sent to Mom.  She appreciates them so much!

May 20th, 2012

There haven't been many bad days for Mom... We feel so blessed with how well she has been doing.  After her first round of chemo, she started to feel dizzy and by the end of that week she had one bad night where she just felt sick.  Other than that, Mom has been hanging in there and feeling well.  The next bad day came last Sunday, May 20th, when her hair began to fall out... She was devastated. Tiffanie gave me a call Sunday afternoon and asked to come over, and when she did she asked me to shave her head.  Tiff wanted mom to know that Mom is never alone in this and no matter what, she will always be beautiful inside and out... We had quite a bit of fun with Tiff's hair, and took some video and pictures to so Mom when she arrived that evening for dinner.

Mom came over later and as she walked through the door, Tiff came around the corner, hairless but beautiful.  It definitely caught Mom by surprise and they both cried together.  We decided that night, that the following Tuesday we would have a head shaving party... We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs as I had the awesome opportunity to shave everyone's head... Something I most certainly enjoyed!  I was almost convinced I could make a living out of it- well at least Mohawks and flat-tops.

I must say everyone had beautiful shaped heads!  Here is mom's final shave!...

 BALD

IS

THE

NEW

BEAUTIFUL!



Doesn't she look great! We sure love you Mom and admire your strength as you continue on with this journey! You are never alone and you will never fully know how much we love you!!!

Hairs!...

Sorry I have not posted in awhile... Things have been supa busy! But I wanted to upload pic of mom's doo! Our great and wonderful family friend took a sunday night and cut and put some funky blue streaks in Marmies hair... The kids at Mom's school loved it and thought she was super fly! We alway love hanging out with Trish, she is truly part of the family and we apprecite her being so willing to cut and color moms hair, and she is so good at what shes does (for anyone that wants a hair cut, go see Patricia at Paul Mitchell!)... Here how it turned out...

Hello, hello...

Mom had her first round of chemo Tuesday and it all went well and smooth.  Right now she is doing a clinical trial for anti-vomiting medication, and we think that mom got the "good stuff" and not the placebo, because she has been feeling really well.  She did get a few headaches but didn't get sick like most patients do on the chemo treatments she is having now. What a blessing! While she was at the hospital, they gave her a beautiful scarf and showed her how to wrap her head, and they also gave her some wig options... She chose one but wanted to know what everyone else thought about these options, so here they are...

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

Option 6

We feel really blessed that mom is so far doing well and feel it is because of all the thoughts and prayers in her behalf.  We are so grateful to have such great, strong and amazing people in our lives.  Thank you so much for all you do!

Portacath?...

Well according Marmie, having a portacath makes her half portuguese and half catholic!... I actually just got off the phone with Mom and she said she'll start her chemo this coming Tuesday... She said it'll be an all day event, since it's part of the clinical trial for the anti-nausea medicine. We'll let you know how she does! Keep her in your prayers!

Sorry it's taken me a few days to post, things have been super busy.  Mom's surgery went well tho... They had to put her port on her right side (her dominate side) and for right now is causing her some discomfort, but will get better as she heals. This is what the port they put under her skin looks like...

She starts her chemo treatments next week... She won't be doing the estrogen blocker clinical trial, but they have asked her to do a different clinical trial for some anti-nausea medicine.  The first rounds of chemo will be what they called AC&T, which stands for Adriamycin, Cytoxan, and Taxol... She will do this once every 3 weeks,  for her first 4 times... then after that it will just be the Taxol, and she will do that once a week for 12 weeks.  The doctors also said she will most definitely loose her hair.  Mom wants to put some fun purple streaks in her hair before she looses it, and when she starts to loose it she has decided to shave it.  In support of mom, some family members has chosen to shave their heads as well, so they're calling it a head shaving party.  We were able to get some awesome family pictures done tho and we had so much fun taking them Here are a few and I will post more when we get them back from our awesome photographer, Annemarie Plazier...

I will continue to post, as mom receives chemo treatments as well, to keep everyone updated on how she is feeling and doing.  Thank you so much for all your love and support!

Surgery

Everything went well this morning, and mom was home by noon... She is now resting and I am sure will be up on her feet in no time... I will be going over to get all the detail and will post later tonight.  Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Portacath...

Mom is scheduled tomorrow to have her portacath placed in her chest... This will serve as her port to receive chemo treatments over the next little while. She gets to be at the hospital bright and early again, at 7:45... It's a simple procedure, and we will try our best to keep you update throughout the day and let every know how she is doing.  Also, mom got a call from the Docs and she didn't qualify for the clinical trial, which is a downer becasue the estrogen blocker would have been just another step towards beating these ninjas, but we know mom will force these ninjas out with or without a blocker.  Mom has been such an inspiration to us all during all of this.  She has been optimistic and truly cheerful.  She has such a strong heart and soul and we all love her so very much! Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers and she continues on her journey down the path to defeat the cancer ninjas!

Chemo...

Today Marmie met with her doctors and receive a boat load of information.  The latest test result from the tumor they removed indicated that on a scale from 1-100 she is a 14, meaning, she has about a 14% chance of the cancer returning within the next ten years... On a more individual scale, it's about 20%.   20% chance is low and much better than a 50% chance, but if the cancer were to come back, there isn't much that can be done.  So after talking in depth with her doctors (who have been so great and awesome through all of this) Mom has decided to do chemo.  She is also in a clinical trial... In the trial, there are two groups- one receives herceptin, (which is an estrogen blocker) with the chemo, while the other group just receives the chemo.  We are asking for lots of prayers that Mom will be in the group that receives the herceptin (because her tumor thrived on estrogen).  It was a tough decision, but Mom (as well as her family) chose to do all that she can, so she know she did everything she could to kick these ninjas in the butt!

Marmie will be going in on May1st to have a small surgery to place a catheter under her skin connected to a vein, so that when she goes in to have her chemo treatments, they won't have to poke her every time to find a good vein. As of right now, we do not know any regiments or how often she will have to go in to have her chemo, so we will be sure to update when we find out.  We are just asking for lots of prayers.  Mom has been so awesome through all of this! She is such a strong woman and we all know she will come out on top through all of this, but all the prayers definitely help! We are so grateful to all of you and for all of you and for all the love and kindness shown to our family! Thank you so much!

Hey moms battle just got better. We got the results back on the lymph nodes, they're... BENIGN!

The Day After...

Hello all... Mom has been doing well.  She looks greats and has been up laughing and keeping herself busy (and kicking my butt in Farkle, one of these days I will beat her.) She was in some pain last night... She kind of over did it just a wee bit, and all my convincing to "take to good stuff" failed.  She truly is a wonder woman and has only been taking ibuprofen for her pain (maybe dad had more luck last night after I left to get her to take something stronger.) So Dad was supposed to return back to work today, but his awesome boss called yesterday and told him to take the entire week off to help his wonderful wife recover! What a blessing!  Mom has also had some great friends and family dropping gifts and flowers by and wonderful neighbors bringing in meals to her.  They have all been delish! This I know because I can't help but taste test! You have all been so wonderful and we are all so grateful for each and everyone of you and your love!

Ninja Destruction Information...

Sorry this post is coming so late... I wanted to give Marmie some time to rest before we bombarded her with all our questions and concerns.  Me and my little family stopped by tonight about 8:30.  The boys were so excited and anxious to give grandma the card they found at walmart... It was difficult for them to grasp that they can't climb all over grandma for awhile... but grandma showed them her "owie" where they removed her lymph nodes from under her arm and they soon understood why.  My youngest was very concerned and kept giving her kisses to make her feel better.  Mom is doing really well, all things considered.  She looks good, just a wee bit tired, was up and walking around, talking and laughing. The only complaint she has had thus far was that her throat hurts from the intubation tube.  She said the McKay Dee staff was so wonderful,  caring and considerate and that they all took wonderful care of her and make her feel comfortable.  She was also very grateful for her wonderful husband who was there for her the whole time and has been taking such great care of her... She doesn't know what she would do without him!

Some of you were asking and wondering some of the specifics of her surgery and wondering if they got all those "bad ninjas." We can only assume yes... Mom has what she called a " square smurf boob" the dye from the guide wires they put around her breast turned it blue.  But the blue dye did it's job.  The surgeon cut a vertical incision, about 7 inches long across her breast and cut through tissue all they way back to her chest cavity removing a baseball size lump of breast tissue.  They also removed some skin, which included her nipple, that they were worried might have cancerous cells as well.   They wanted to make sure they got as much surrounding tissue and skin as possible to ensure the cancer ninjas wouldn't come back, and they feel they did just that.  After stitching her up, her breast took on a square shape (hence her "square smurf boob") They also removed two good lymph nodes from under her arm with a vertical incision about 3-4 inches long and we are all praying like crazy those come back clean- if they don't, Mom will have to undergo chemo on top of her scheduled radiation treatments.  We should find out the biopsy results sometime next week.   So all in all, the surgery went well and was considered very successful.

Mom is so grateful for all the prayers that have been said on her behalf, and is so grateful for all the wonderful family, friends and neighbors.  I too am grateful for all the help and consideration of everyone in her life, and for all the love shown to her and our family.  We truly thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

It's 5:30 and a wave of relief came over me.... Mom is finally home safe and sound... Around 1:00 my dad's phone died (probably from all the gaming or reading he was doing while waiting) and I was unable to contact him, so I waited and waited and waited till the phone finally rang. The caller ID said it was my parents and I answered expecting it to be my dad, but it was Marmie! She sounds very chipper and even cracked a few jokes and laughed a bit, only complaing that her throat hurt from the intubation tube. She's so strong and we are so happy she is now home! I will be going over there soon to take notes on what the docs said and what is next for super marmie... And whatever it might be, and however long the road might be, we know she will fight on!

Just got a text from Dad... Mom is out of surgery and it all went well. Right now she is in the recovery room and as soon as the doc says it's okay she'll be on her way home. I will post again as soon as I hear more from Dad about how the surgery went and what they found. Thank you again for all your prayers... Our family, and especially mom have been blessed by all of you and your kindness.

I just got a call from Dad... They just barely wheeled her back to start her surgery... I know she will be fine, but I can't help but be nervous.  Praying like crazy for our Super Marmie! Bye Bye naughty ninja creeps!

Today is the day...

Mom and Dad headed to McKay-Dee this morning bright and early... Her surgery was scheduled  at 8:30 so as of this moment she is at the hospital and doing well so far...  We will keep you posted... It is an out patient surgery, so if it all goes well, she should be home this afternoon.  She was very nervous last night, so please keep her in your prayers. Thank again for everything all of you have done!

The Ninja removing surgery...

Monday the 26th of March, Marmie is scheduled to have a partial mastectomy bright and early at 7a.m. at McKay-Dee Hospital. The MRI mom had showed that the tumor may have a small tail, if you will, so they will first take her up to mammography where they will placed guide wires and dye around the tumor to insure that the surgeon removes all the "bad ninjas." Then it is off to have those ninjas removed by the wonderful Dr. Hansler (if I remembered his name right.)  Mom decided to have a lumpectomy, which kind of ends up being a partial mastectomy due to the amount of tissue they will need to remove around the tumor. As Tiff mentioned in the above post, during the surgery, they will removed a lymph node or two from under her arm and have them examined for microscopic ninja cells.  She will then be woken up and give some time to recover in recovery room and then Dad will be allowed to take her home.  She has been asked to rest and take it easy for a good week, and then the following week she will have a follow up appointment with her oncologist.  She will then, I believe after a few weeks of recovery, will head up to McKay-Dee 5 days a week for 6 weeks to have her radiation done.  And we are praying that her lymph nodes are clean so she doesn't have to have any chemo treatments on top of everything else. All of her doctors are very optimistic about the procedure and have all the determination in the world to help her fight these bad guy ninjas! Thank you for all your prayers and all everyone has done for Marmie and her family... Your kindness and compassion are appreciated and I know that it has meant the world to her and her family.  Thank you, thank you!

March 5th-ish, 2012

"I don't wanna freak you out, but I found a lump"...
These are the first words that come to my mind when someone asks, "How did it all start?"  In mom's mind, she always has to be the strong one for everyone else, but now it is our turn to be strong for her.

The following posts will explain the events that will follow what will now be known as: "Super Marmie's battle against the breast cancer ninjas!!"

On the 5th of March, Mom went into the doctor's to get a biopsy of the lump she had found one morning while getting dressed.  Of course, Dad went with her that day, and the next day as well, when the results came back. The doctor said the results will come back within two days, but on March 6th, the doctor's office called and said, "Dr. Porter would like you and Mike to come in today at 4:45." At that point they knew something was serious.  Mom had took a big breath and called Dad right away.  They were both very quiet and concerned as the doctor explained the biopsy showed that the lump was a cancer called invasive ductal carcinoma.

The next steps were to schedule an MRI and meet with a group of oncologists to go over the results and possible procedures to eradicate the cancer ninja's from their housing compartment of the left "girl" (of course the slang used here is not that of the doctor, wouldn't that be funny though!).

Mom was pretty shaken up, so was Dad, but the doctor said that the best thing to do was to get a good support group going.  They came home after a good cry, and called all of us - family and friends - to tell us all the news.

Obviously, its always a shock for anyone to hear, "its cancer."  All of us kids were just as emotional, so it was very strange to us when on that very night, we all came over to the house to find that she wasn't even there!! She was at Relief Society chattin' it up with her home-girls like nothing was wrong.  At least all of us kids had the same idea - to be home with Marmie on this seemingly scary day - Pshhh, not to Mom I guess!

The MRI was on the 9th.  Mom's good friend Susan took her to this appointment and then to lunch after.  Momma, you got some good friends :)  And the meeting at the hospital with the oncologists was on the 14th.  Fortunately, Dad and all of us chillin's were able to be there and support her and hear for ourselves what the doctors needed to educate us about.

The cancerous lump was only in Stage One, and the few options for exterminating the cancer ninjas both had a 50/50 chance of having the cancer return in the future.  Mom was to choose either a lumpectomy, followed by radiation to the tissue surrounding the area where the cancer was removed from, or a mastectomy followed by the same area-focused radiation.  Either way, the odds of some straggling ninja's showing up again any time in the future were the same.  The doctor also explained that during the process of removal, whichever she chooses, they will go into the under-arm area and remove a teeny tiny lymph node (where the breast drains into the rest of the body), bisect it, and see if any of the cancer had already spread to the rest of the body.  In that case, if cancer was detected there, she would not just be looking at radiation to the area where the cancer was removed, but she would be in for full-body, chemotherapy.  (Lets cross our fingers and pray that there are no ninja's in the lymph nodes!!)

Mom's testimony has grown so much from this experience, and will no doubt continue to grow. As mom explained to me how grateful she is for the tender mercies of our  Heavenly Father, she proclaimed that if she had not physically felt the lump in the first place, we might not have caught it in time and it might be a whole different story we are telling now.  She is ever grateful to the Lord for blessing her to find the lump herself, and that we caught it early enough to defeat those ugly cancer ninja's!  Heavenly Father blesses us by small and simple means, literally.  The breast cancer ninja's live in tissue that is seriously the size of a nickle!  She is one of the strongest women I know and I am so very very proud to call her my mother!

We love you so much Mom and will always be grateful that Heavenly Father allowed us to come to this earth to be your crazy kids!

-Post by Tiffanie