[André]

Great news Maureen!!

[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

Now this is some great news, Moey. Manni and me are always thinking of you and hope for the best.

[Smurfysmurf]

Just a quick update. I was admitted to the hospital yesterday because I am running a fever, which is bad news when you are on Chemo.

They did some scans and saw that I have an abscess with fluid on my pelvis which can be a side effect from abdominal surgery. they out a drainage tube in me and sent off some samples this afternoon. Not sure when I can go home yet (my fever has to come down). I have my small laptop with me and don"t have access to my main e-mail account, but will respond to everybody (e-mail and pms) when I am back home.

the good news is that I am healing fine (except for abscess).

[Lia]

that`s so disappointing Maureen.
Fingers crossed that you will recover soon from the abscess

Big hug!

Lia

[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

OMG Moey!!!

Manni and me are wishing you a speedy recovery.

Big :hug:s

[Tintin]

Hi Maureen

Hope you are doing better today.
Seems things are not going like they should, but i am sure one day the sun starts to shine again ............
Keep the faith.

A big hug Tintin

[André]

Hi Maureen,

I always keep my fingers crossed for your fast recovery and that you can go home soon!!

[Smurfysmurf]

I thought it's time for another update

I am doing very well right now and am back to my old strength. My biggest problem right now is that I stepped into a hole on the road at a farmer's market, sprained my left ankle and busted up my right knee which bled quite nicely. Because of my Chemo and increased danger of infection, we went to the ER..the good news was that nothing was broken, but as you can imagine the knee is giving me trouble until it's healed so I spent the week locked to a chair again

I did go and see the radiation doctor on Monday..and he had great news for me. The radiation will be more of a preventative measure as my pelvis has no visible cancer according to the last scans four weeks ago. He used a very nice comparison to explain it to me. He said when you pull out the weeds of your garden, you dig deep to get the roots as well..but sometimes a little piece of root is left..or a little seedling is left that you don't see..that's when you use weedkiller to make sure those are killed off as well...well, the radiation is the weedkiller to make sure that after the surgery when the cancer was removed, no cancer roots are left over in there.
I will have 28 radiation sessions..one each day Mon-Fri for about six weeks, and then we continue with the chemo. My next Chemo is scheduled for next Thursday, and I will go back to the radiation doctor on Jun 4th when he does another scan so he can pinpoint the areas he wants to target during the radiation.

I have also returned to work part-time (25 hours per week right now) and life is getting back to normal...Money is tight as I don't get paid my full pay since I am still on short-term, so my smurf buying is still down to practically nothing, but I did order the small display boxes for the 2012 smurfs, the promo smurfs..and some plastoys..so I am still buying smurfs, just not as randomly as before

Thank you for your prayers, e-mails and cards....it is so encouraging to know others think of you...I am not out of the woods yet because we don't know how much cancer is in my blood, but when you remember how it looked 9 weeks ago, I think I am doing pretty well and that is a definite answer to prayers.

Here are a few pictures of what I look like right now

I wear this hat outside at home


We still went shopping after my fall, I just used the wheelchair from the grocery store

[Tojo]

Hi Maureen, sorry to hear about your fall but I am so glad to hear that your treatment appears to be successful so far. By the way, I like your hat on the 2nd photo, it looks very 1920's.

[Cassiebsg]

Sorry to hear about the knee, that sucks, but am glad that you´re getting better and that the cancer appears to be gone.

Hope it´ll stay gone for good!

[Tintin]

Hi Maureen

Thanks for the update ............
Hope you are doing ok.

But ........no smurfs in the shopping bags ????

Tintin

[smurfer]

Great to hear you're getting better!!

Love your hats as well!!

[Lia]

I like the hats too!

Very nice to hear that you`re already back in the office!

You`re very brave!

Lia

[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

Dear Moey,

I am thinking about you every now and then. Sorry to hear about your fall, but thank God your treatment seems to work out!!! (That's terrific!!!)

I love your hats as well!!!

[Smurfysmurf]

I posted this on Facebook and wanted to share it with you as well...I know this journey is not over by a long shot and cancer is unpredicable..but hearing a doctor say what he did today after what he said 11 weeks ago makes me very thankful

"Just returned from the Chemo..thank you to Mum's first cousin Martha Tribble Lewis for picking me up again..always enjoy her company.
I got good news today. The PA was off, so Dr. D saw us Chemo patients next to his normal office hour patients today. He checked my pelvis again and confirmed I am healed down there. After checking how I am doing with the Chemo and feeling, I asked him a question that had been bothering me since learning of my radiation in more details. If Chemo is important in my case, why are we interrupting it for around 3 months during radiation...will the cancer in my blood keep growing and maybe even settling. He understood that concern, and really had no answer because he said every doctor does it differently..some do chemo first..some do the treatment he and dr. Kimsey have decided on, and some do radiation first. He said there are not enough documented test results for my kind of cancer so he is going with what he feels is the best solution. He did say that there probably were not many cancer cells in my blood, because even though he saw a lot of cancer cells in my pelvis area there were not thick plots of cancer huddles. He even said, the cancer may already be gone..there is no test to verify that though. However, he said he is optimistic for my outlook and that is why we are doing all three treatments available in this case. surgery, chemo and radiation to make sure we have the outcome we are praying for. Had a nice conversation with him about how I was devastated after learning of the extent of the surgery 10 weeks ago today..and how I pray for peace constantly and how the Lord carries me thru..I don't know where Dr. D stands with the Lord (may find this out before long though ) but he did say he believes in prayer and it's very important.
Anyway..this is the same doctor who today 11 weeks ago looked at me and answered one of my questions with :" The long term outlook for advanced uterine cancer is not good, and based on the size of your uterus you have cancer in the advanced stage"..Today he said he was optimistic about my case. All Glory belongs to the Lord who sent me to this very thorough doctor..and who is not only giving me peace but also healing me.

One area of slight concern is my blood count. It's still better than it was before the surgery but because radiation is very hard on the blood as well, I may need a transfusion prior to the radiation. My blood count today was 10.9 (it was exactly 10.00 prior to the surgery) but the doctor wants to have it at least 11.0 before the radiation. We will check it on the day of the planning session, and schedule a transfusion if needed. They will also check my blood count weekly during radiation to make sure it stays where it should be.

Thank you so much for your prayers which I still covert..and thank you for your concern and support...this journey is not over yet..and it's just like the Lord to not let me know for sure if the cancer in my blood is gone or if it will surface because He knows I need this to keep staying close to him . This is where trust comes in...and I am taking a university course on that right now lol"

[Tracker Smurf]

Good to hear youre keepin a positive outlook and putting your trust in the Lord. I'm teaching the lesson of Job today in Bible History and that always reminds me that God is in control and he is doing what he knows is best...even if we can't see or understand it at the time. Always hold onto that faith and put your trust in him. He may lead you through some Rocky roads sometimes but he is always taking care of you. I can't imagine what you are goin through and yet I can see the light of your faith shining brightly in this darkness.

[Tintin]

Hi Maureen

Glad you are going in the right direction.
There is still a long way to go, but a bit of good news is what you want to hear in these times.

Please keep the faith !!!!!!!
And i will pray for you

Tintin

[André]

Fantastic news this time Maureen! And as usual I am keeping my fingers crossed for your recovery.

[Smurfysmurf]

I am starting radiation today and will work for a few hours afterwards.

Looking at the marks, they will radiate the lymph nodes in the groin area, as well as the area where the cancer originated just below my belly button.

[Ritter_Schlumpfenherz]

Dear Moey,

I beg your pardon, but if I were you, I seriously wouldn't work. Radiation weakens your body and I heard that people tend to vomit.

I'm always thinking of you.