June 2010

It’s been a very long couple days here at CTCA. Ann Marie and I (Lara) are going to do our best to sum up an overwhelming amount of information.

The inferior venogram Monday morning revealed exactly what we suspected. Her body has basically grown around it and incorporated the foreign object as part of her body. They are not designed to be replaced. The blood clot in her right leg goes from her knee up .. Read More

I’m lost!

I feel like I have no idea what is going on and yet at the same time I feel that I am the only person that knows what’s going on. I came into CTCA on Thursday to do regular chemo with the Navelbene, get a MRI of my brain, and a CT scan of my stomach with contrast. In the past I have broken out with hives from the contrast so I notified my care .. Read More

I wrote down this blog awhile ago, and I thought I would remind myself these little things because it’s so easy to get caught up in day to day life. Just thinking about one minor comfort, memory, or dream for the future can help. I added a few ones well. Feel free to add any suggestions or share yours

One of my biggest pet peeves are people that try to have full blown conversations through text messaging. I .. Read More

Hello everyone. This is Lara writing for Melissa. We came to the CTCA this morning for an MRI and a CT of her abdomen. She was restless and was not still enough for a conclusive MRI. Therefore, the CT was also postponed. We then spoke to the oncologist who said that the scan of her chest last week revealed no blood clots and no growth of the mass. That’s the good news. Yet, .. Read More

Today I was scheduled to get a CTscan of my abdomen, a mri of my head and meet with the various doctors. The docs gave me a couple of shots of adavan to keep me from getting an allergic reaction. This definitely made me more relaxed, but almost to fault.

Afterwards I was supposed to get chemo infusion. I was still really out of it. Lara was back now and talking with the doctors. .. Read More

I was talking to a friend the other day about being strong. I have received several comments from people that think of me as a strong person. I guess depending on the day I could agree, but I think the real heros are the people that have to do this AND support a family or go to work. I think almost everyone has their own struggles in life and mine is no more difficult than the next .. Read More

Finally I am back into the swing of things in AZ. I felt like the other week was such a whirlwind. I really only stayed a few days in each city from LA to Chelan to Seattle…it was quite exhausting. It was also alot of fun. I got to meet up with friends that I have not seen in a long time and one of my friends actually had a baby during my stay in Seattle .. Read More

Today was a long day. We spent the majority of it in and out of the car driving back from Chelan. We were going to go bike riding today around the lake, but the weather was really cold and windy. It looked like there was a possibility of rain and I was having some back pain so we decided to skip it. Instead we visited a few more childhood spots around the lake and then .. Read More

In the Seattle ER at Virginia Mason Hospital in downtown Seattle. We were supposed to be on our way to Chelan by now, but the care manager from CTCA wanted me to go to the hospital to get my I&R blood levels checked. I somehow forgot or misplaced my Arixtra (bloodclot meds) in the midst of travelling so I haven’t taken my medication for a few days. I am supposed to take the medication daily to prevent .. Read More

We finally made it to LA! The day started out at 8am with me at CTCA ready to get chemotherapy. My port was accessed, I was propped up in the comfortable lazy boy ready to take a nap while I received the hour infusion. After the initial bloodwork and vital testing I was told that the chemo was not ready and we would have to wait 1 1/2 hour to get the chemo. I immediately .. Read More