Mom is still busy working her way through surgery recovery. The last 24+ hours have been a bit rough, but we are pushing through it.
Dr. Leverton visited us this morning with the biopsy results we were waiting on. She confirmed that the cancer was early Stage 3 (1 out of 17 lymph nodes tested were positive for cancer) and chemo will be required after Mom is fully recovered from the surgery (3-5 weeks).
We are hoping to bring Mom back to our house this Thursday, but do not know for sure yet. Nick will help us work with MD Anderson to get her set up with an oncologist to finalize the treatment plan for Mom's return to Houston (looking like early November at this point).
Please note that it is very hard for Mom to talk on the phone still, so it is really best to send emails/texts at this point.
xoxox
Monica~
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Day 2
First, I want to thank EVERYONE for all the wonderful emails, posts, texts, phone calls, visits and flowers... it has been unbelievably amazing to see so many people support my Mom and our family in such a way.
Mom has overcome the first hurdle with the grace and strength we all know and love her for... Dr. Leverton was very pleased at how well the surgery went, particularly that it was completed using the laparoscopic method (which Mom wanted). MD Anderson in Houston told us that their surgeons would not even attempt the laparoscopic colon resectioning surgery (open surgery is the standard procedure for colon resection).
Some of the common advantages of "Laparoscopic" vs. "open" surgery are:
Standard procedure is to biopsy at least 12 nearby lymph nodes surrounding the tumor during the surgery, we expect these results early next week and this will tell us if the cancer was late stage 2 or early stage 3 and assist in the treatment plan moving forward.
I understand that for some of you this may clearly be far too much information, however, it is important to some and therefore I feel compelled to provide it.
Mom had a really good day today (actually as good as could be expected the day after an extremely painful surgery), she walked around the 6th floor twice today and drank a little veggie broth for dinner tonight. She will not be running any footraces this week, however, honestly she is being such a trooper, especially for someone who absolutely hates hospitals!
Much love to all,
Monica~
P.S. For those of you who know my Mom well, you will be comforted to know she is still crackin jokes!
Mom has overcome the first hurdle with the grace and strength we all know and love her for... Dr. Leverton was very pleased at how well the surgery went, particularly that it was completed using the laparoscopic method (which Mom wanted). MD Anderson in Houston told us that their surgeons would not even attempt the laparoscopic colon resectioning surgery (open surgery is the standard procedure for colon resection).
Some of the common advantages of "Laparoscopic" vs. "open" surgery are:
- Colon function normalizes faster
- Faster recovery time and shorter hospitalization
- Less postoperative pain
- Smaller incisions (also smaller scars)
Laparoscopic colon surgery was only introduced about 12 years ago and currently only approximately 3% of all colon resections are performed using this method in the US. Explanations for this may include, surgeon resistance to accepting this procedure as comparable to traditional operations; lack of surgeon experience with minimally invasive techniques; that laparoscopic colon surgery is an advanced procedure that takes a long period of time to master.
The role of laparoscopic techniques in the treatment of colon cancer is currently still being examined by the National Cancer Institute, however, results thus far have been favorable or equal when comparing laparoscopic to open surgeries (this technique has not yet been approved by NCI).Standard procedure is to biopsy at least 12 nearby lymph nodes surrounding the tumor during the surgery, we expect these results early next week and this will tell us if the cancer was late stage 2 or early stage 3 and assist in the treatment plan moving forward.
I understand that for some of you this may clearly be far too much information, however, it is important to some and therefore I feel compelled to provide it.
Mom had a really good day today (actually as good as could be expected the day after an extremely painful surgery), she walked around the 6th floor twice today and drank a little veggie broth for dinner tonight. She will not be running any footraces this week, however, honestly she is being such a trooper, especially for someone who absolutely hates hospitals!
Much love to all,
Monica~
P.S. For those of you who know my Mom well, you will be comforted to know she is still crackin jokes!
NO TEQUILA !!!!!
As of 10:47 AM on Sat Sept 27 ,2008:
Sia has sat up a couple of times and even taken a short walk around the 6th floor. The down side is NO TEQUILA on the menu!!! But seems all is going very well will up date you more as I get the info. But I figure if she is joking about NO TEQUILA on the menu then all must be well at the moment. Someone take her a VANILLA BOTTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL Much Love and Hugs Sias Lil Sis Sue (ALOHA LEE)
Sia has sat up a couple of times and even taken a short walk around the 6th floor. The down side is NO TEQUILA on the menu!!! But seems all is going very well will up date you more as I get the info. But I figure if she is joking about NO TEQUILA on the menu then all must be well at the moment. Someone take her a VANILLA BOTTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL Much Love and Hugs Sias Lil Sis Sue (ALOHA LEE)
Friday, September 26, 2008
room info
OK EVERYBODY,just to let you know Sia is doing well went thru surgery beautifully, and is now in her own room. Even thought she still pretty out of it this is to be expected.Here is the info for her room . PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL 6200 W. PARKER RD. ROOM #677C-TOWER, PLANO TX 75093.more info to come tomorrow much love Sue(Aloha Lee)
officially started
At 2:14 pm friday sept 26 2008,
surgery started about 45 min ago. they just came out with an up date .all is going as planed so far, we will have another up date around 3:00 pm .
as of 3:04 pm LAPROSCOPY SUCCESSFUL . AS OF 3:53 PM SIA is OUT of SURGERY not quite awake but doning fine . which we all knew she would more updates as they come.
surgery started about 45 min ago. they just came out with an up date .all is going as planed so far, we will have another up date around 3:00 pm .
as of 3:04 pm LAPROSCOPY SUCCESSFUL . AS OF 3:53 PM SIA is OUT of SURGERY not quite awake but doning fine . which we all knew she would more updates as they come.
Sharing is caring.
Surgery is schedule to begin between 12-12:30 and is expected to last approximately 3-5 hours. We have been told that an OR nurses will come out to provide updates to us at least every 2 hours. Unfortunately none of us get cell service in hospital (we have to walk all the way out of the hospital) and there have been so many emails coming in wanting phone calls or emails following the surgery and there is simply not a way for me to accommodate, however, Aloha Suzanne (my wonderful Aunt Sue) will be updating this blog later today to let everyone know how Mom is doing.
Gordon, Mom, E, Garrett and I will be leaving for the hospital in a couple hours... my Grandmother will also meet us there. Nick, Chris, Gosia, and Sue will be driving up later this afternoon from Houston and we have worked out a system to keep my oldest brother Daniel, who is in Brazil and really hating being so far right now, informed throughout the day (he is definitely here with us in spirit!) My youngest brother David will be working in Houston through the weekend, but will come up later next week (which will provide some much appreciated help to E and me after everyone else has gone home).
Instead of me telling you guys how clear Mom's head is or how strong her heart is, please read the below note from her:
Today is the day for surgery and thanks to all of you and a very loving God, I feel strong and hopeful (my hair and nails look great too!) :)
I am so very blessed with the greatest kids, family and friends that anyone could ever ask for. Everyone has been so supportive and encouraging - I can never thank you enough. Especially Gordon, Monica and Ros who really did go above and beyond (my twisted arm is healing nicely - thank you). As much as I hate to admit it.. the Blog was really a great idea!
First of all it was a great idea, because it provided an excellent tool to keep everyone informed, without completely overloading Monica and Gordon. But even more so, it was great because it forced me to share. I have always loved to share good things... but it is really difficult to share needs or hurt. Since I was "forced" to share and to reach out to my wonderful "network" - I have gained so much strength from all of you.
Not long ago, I finally finished writing my "Mission Statement". It was something I started quite some time ago as a result of reading the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". This may seem strange to some of you, but one of my greatest desires is to live simply. That is not an easy thing to do in this world where everything seems so urgent and so important. When a serious illness comes into your life, it suddenly makes it much easier to see your priorities. This is definitely a good time for me to sit back emotionally and evaluate. For that I am thankful. One of my friends said last night that this experience should be worth at least one song! :)
The first point on my mission statement was to glorify God, to "let His light shine". I remember hearing as a young child, that the light from one candle can be seen from a long distance when it is dark outside. It's a little dark right now for me, but I can see so much of His light shining through each of you, in your wonderful words of encouragement. By sharing my "darkness" - I've been blessed with your light! You guys really are the best!
I'm sure that there will be lots of information posted later about the surgery (My sister is in on it too now!)
Thank you for sharing the journey with me.
All my love and gratitude...
Sia
PS. Can't wait to eat some haggis, neeps and tatties!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
We had a pedicure party tonight...
E (my little sister Elizabeth) and I took Mom to get pedicures tonight, so she is officially ready for the extended visit to the hospital (Hair – check. New PJs – check. Nails – check.)
Mom has thoroughly enjoyed having us read these comments to her, so please keep sending them… it makes her so happy to hear from all of you!
Much love,
Monica~
Monica~
Monday, September 22, 2008
Against her will...
As many of you may already know, my Mom is very much a hippie at heart especially when it comes to modern medicine, 6 kids at home with a midwife, no doctors, no hospitals, and no drugs, need I say more. The only things that have proved to be more challenging than dragging her to doctor appointments and the seemingly endless tests at hospitals all over town, has been convincing her to let my sister and I HELP her with the little things and share with all her friends and our enormous family the details of her diagnosis and her treatment.
Due to the size of our family and the tremendous amount of friends who are concerned about her wellbeing, we set up this blog to keep everyone informed and allow people to post comments here (which I will print and read to Mom so she knows what a huge support group she has behind her).
For those who may have missed some of the happenings over the past 2 weeks, here is a quick recap of events:
Friday, September 5th: Mom had a colonoscopy in Houston at Kelsey Sebold Clinic (after much arm twisting and many threats from her wonderful beau Gordon) where they identified a rather large tumor located just past the turn at the top of the rectum where the colon starts. The young doctor who performed the colonoscopy was unable to complete the test as she was afraid to attempt passing the tumor for fear she could puncture the colon wall. SIDE NOTE: If it wasn’t for Gordon we would absolutely not be as far through the process as we are today and from all of Mom’s kids we cannot possibly thank him enough!
Tuesday, September 9th: Gordon again stepped up and drug Mom kicking and screaming to see the Kelsey Sebold Colon Surgeon. Although at this point all we knew was they were recommending surgery to remove the tumor, yet we didn’t have the biopsy results or really any other information yet.
Wednesday, September 10th: The biopsy results were returned positive for rectal cancer. We filed transfer paperwork with MD Anderson (7-10 business day file review process) and scheduled further tests with Kelsey Sebold.
Thursday, September 11th: Mom came to Dallas, not to avoid the hurricane but to allow me to try and speed up the cancer staging testing, as Kelsey Sebold was not providing comprehensive information and we (her kids) did not at all have a comfort level with their abilities to complete the surgery or even the staging tests needed. Plus, due to the hurricane quickly approaching the Texas coastline everything in Houston was coming to a screeching halt.
Friday, September 12th: Hurricane Ike. I took Mom to Presbyterian Hospital of Plano ER to have some tests run (x-ray to check on the blockage in her colon and blood work to make sure all her other organs were working properly) – Doctor Z said that she was the healthiest sick lady he had seen all day, but just in case the hurricane put Houston out of commission for longer than the weekend, he gave us 2 referrals to Colon Surgeons in Dallas.
Tuesday, September 16th: We met with Doctor Julie Leverton (http://www.texascolon.com/leverton.html), she is a Colon and Rectal Surgeon in Plano near where Elizabeth and I live. During our first one hour office visit with Dr. Leverton we learned more about the process and procedures for staging and surgery than Mom had in multiple visits and conversations with Kelsey Sebold in Houston.
Wednesday, September 17th: CT Scan with barium at Centennial Hospital in Frisco (where we live). This test is part of the staging tests to identify if there are tumors or cancer cells present in other organs (Colon and Rectal Cancers typically spread first to liver, lungs, or ovaries). The CT Scan came back “clean” with the exception of 2 small “spots” of concern on the left lung which will need to be monitored and further tested after her surgery, however, at this point Dr. Leverton said these do not appear to be the cancer spreading.
Thursday, September 18th: Second colonoscopy at Plano Baylor to make sure there are no further tumors in the remainder of the colon. Dr. Leverton identified the cancer as a late stage 2 or early stage 3 and that the tumor has created a 98% blockage of the colon. The need for surgery is urgent (meaning we could not wait any longer than 3 weeks) and although chemotherapy will be required, Mom will not have to additionally go through radiation and due to the location of the tumor there will be no colostomy (which is great news).
MD Anderson was unable to even schedule the surgery for 4-5 weeks due to the backlog caused by the Hurricane Ike aftermath, however, we were able to change her Surgery Referral (filed the week before) to a Chemotherapy Referral. The plan will be surgery in Dallas and Chemo in Houston at MD Anderson after recovery (4-6 weeks).
Stage II
In stage II, cancer has spread outside the rectum to nearby tissue, but it has not gone into the lymph nodes.
Stage III
In stage III, cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, but it has not spread to other parts of the body.
Friday, September 19th: Elizabeth and I drove Mom to Houston to pack her clothes, books, and computer files for her move to Dallas for the next several weeks, as well as, tie up some loose ends at her office. We also had a family meeting Saturday with the Brothers and our wonderful sister-in-laws to discuss the logistics of visitation schedules while Mom is here in Dallas and how we will all work together to get Mom back and forth to MD Anderson for chemo treatments once she returns to Houston.
Monday, September 22nd: We took Mom to get her hair done today and it looks really GREAT (which she was super excited about, she will be the best looking lady on the surgery recovery floor for sure)! After a couple days of only ensure and pulp-free juices, she was stocked when I brought home cherry jello and 15 different types of tea from the grocery store. It’s the little things in life.
The resection surgery is scheduled this Friday, September 26th at Plano Presbyterian Hospital (972) 981-8000 at noon. I will make sure updates are provided here as more information becomes available. Elizabeth, Gordon, David and I will be with her during the surgery and Nick, Chris, Sue and Gosia will all be here Friday night.
Much love to every single one of you who have already sent us your positive energy, prayers, warm wishes and continue to show support through all of this. Please feel free to share this with others who might also be interested in staying in the loop.
Monica~
PS. To be notified as updates are available, please select the Subscribe button below.
Due to the size of our family and the tremendous amount of friends who are concerned about her wellbeing, we set up this blog to keep everyone informed and allow people to post comments here (which I will print and read to Mom so she knows what a huge support group she has behind her).
For those who may have missed some of the happenings over the past 2 weeks, here is a quick recap of events:
Friday, September 5th: Mom had a colonoscopy in Houston at Kelsey Sebold Clinic (after much arm twisting and many threats from her wonderful beau Gordon) where they identified a rather large tumor located just past the turn at the top of the rectum where the colon starts. The young doctor who performed the colonoscopy was unable to complete the test as she was afraid to attempt passing the tumor for fear she could puncture the colon wall. SIDE NOTE: If it wasn’t for Gordon we would absolutely not be as far through the process as we are today and from all of Mom’s kids we cannot possibly thank him enough!
Tuesday, September 9th: Gordon again stepped up and drug Mom kicking and screaming to see the Kelsey Sebold Colon Surgeon. Although at this point all we knew was they were recommending surgery to remove the tumor, yet we didn’t have the biopsy results or really any other information yet.
Wednesday, September 10th: The biopsy results were returned positive for rectal cancer. We filed transfer paperwork with MD Anderson (7-10 business day file review process) and scheduled further tests with Kelsey Sebold.
Thursday, September 11th: Mom came to Dallas, not to avoid the hurricane but to allow me to try and speed up the cancer staging testing, as Kelsey Sebold was not providing comprehensive information and we (her kids) did not at all have a comfort level with their abilities to complete the surgery or even the staging tests needed. Plus, due to the hurricane quickly approaching the Texas coastline everything in Houston was coming to a screeching halt.
Friday, September 12th: Hurricane Ike. I took Mom to Presbyterian Hospital of Plano ER to have some tests run (x-ray to check on the blockage in her colon and blood work to make sure all her other organs were working properly) – Doctor Z said that she was the healthiest sick lady he had seen all day, but just in case the hurricane put Houston out of commission for longer than the weekend, he gave us 2 referrals to Colon Surgeons in Dallas.
Tuesday, September 16th: We met with Doctor Julie Leverton (http://www.texascolon.com/leverton.html), she is a Colon and Rectal Surgeon in Plano near where Elizabeth and I live. During our first one hour office visit with Dr. Leverton we learned more about the process and procedures for staging and surgery than Mom had in multiple visits and conversations with Kelsey Sebold in Houston.
Wednesday, September 17th: CT Scan with barium at Centennial Hospital in Frisco (where we live). This test is part of the staging tests to identify if there are tumors or cancer cells present in other organs (Colon and Rectal Cancers typically spread first to liver, lungs, or ovaries). The CT Scan came back “clean” with the exception of 2 small “spots” of concern on the left lung which will need to be monitored and further tested after her surgery, however, at this point Dr. Leverton said these do not appear to be the cancer spreading.
Thursday, September 18th: Second colonoscopy at Plano Baylor to make sure there are no further tumors in the remainder of the colon. Dr. Leverton identified the cancer as a late stage 2 or early stage 3 and that the tumor has created a 98% blockage of the colon. The need for surgery is urgent (meaning we could not wait any longer than 3 weeks) and although chemotherapy will be required, Mom will not have to additionally go through radiation and due to the location of the tumor there will be no colostomy (which is great news).
MD Anderson was unable to even schedule the surgery for 4-5 weeks due to the backlog caused by the Hurricane Ike aftermath, however, we were able to change her Surgery Referral (filed the week before) to a Chemotherapy Referral. The plan will be surgery in Dallas and Chemo in Houston at MD Anderson after recovery (4-6 weeks).
Stage II
In stage II, cancer has spread outside the rectum to nearby tissue, but it has not gone into the lymph nodes.
Stage III
In stage III, cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, but it has not spread to other parts of the body.
Friday, September 19th: Elizabeth and I drove Mom to Houston to pack her clothes, books, and computer files for her move to Dallas for the next several weeks, as well as, tie up some loose ends at her office. We also had a family meeting Saturday with the Brothers and our wonderful sister-in-laws to discuss the logistics of visitation schedules while Mom is here in Dallas and how we will all work together to get Mom back and forth to MD Anderson for chemo treatments once she returns to Houston.
Monday, September 22nd: We took Mom to get her hair done today and it looks really GREAT (which she was super excited about, she will be the best looking lady on the surgery recovery floor for sure)! After a couple days of only ensure and pulp-free juices, she was stocked when I brought home cherry jello and 15 different types of tea from the grocery store. It’s the little things in life.
The resection surgery is scheduled this Friday, September 26th at Plano Presbyterian Hospital (972) 981-8000 at noon. I will make sure updates are provided here as more information becomes available. Elizabeth, Gordon, David and I will be with her during the surgery and Nick, Chris, Sue and Gosia will all be here Friday night.
Much love to every single one of you who have already sent us your positive energy, prayers, warm wishes and continue to show support through all of this. Please feel free to share this with others who might also be interested in staying in the loop.
Monica~
PS. To be notified as updates are available, please select the Subscribe button below.
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