Bald but Beautiful

10-1-09 Kecia's mom just called me and said that they have taken Kecia's measurements and will do her first radiation treatment in about an hour. Both she and Kecia were crying. Her doctor talked to her about the side effects of radiation on the brain. She should expect to have severe headaches, nausea, severe fatigue, and 100% hair loss. Only two weeks ago she started going in to work a few hours a week and joined the Bible study where she is developing new friendships. She commented that it finally felt like she was getting her life back. She bought a few nice skirts, has long hair again (even if it isn't her own) and was trying to get back in shape. Realizing that she is starting over is so painful for her. Thank you all for you constant prayer. We have seen God work a miracle for Kecia once. Let's ask Him to do it again. I am praying for complete recovery from cancer!

9-30-09

Kecia has 4 small spots of cancer on the back of her brain. Her doctor believes that they are new since they are so small which means her body has developed resistence to the chemo (Herceptin). They are scheduling scans ASAP to see if there are more in other parts of her body. They want her to start radiation tomorrow which will continue anywhere from 3-7 weeks. She would then start an oral chemo for an undetermined amount of time. She can expect to be very sick and loose her hair again. She is very concerned about work and insurance. She was recently given a new position at work since she has been feeling so good, but it requires her to come in several times a week. She doesn't have enough "at home work" to make the hours needed. She is on her way to speak with her boss now. She can not afford to loose this job or she will be uninsureable. Her immediate response is that she will begin treatment because of her parents. She says that if she could be sure that her mom would be alright she would choose not to treat. It is possible that this is just a detour along God's road to full recovery. For that reason, she considers treating. But she knows that it may not be in His plan to cure her. If she could know that, she would choose not to treat. Please pray that God gives her clarity as she makes this huge decision.

Cancer Again?

Kecia went in last week and had a scan done of her brain because she had been having pain and pressure for several days. She got a call while at work a few minutes ago saying that she needs to come talk with the doctor because they see something on the scans. They say there is a small chance that it is not cancer, but they feel pretty sure that it is. She is on her way there now. She left straight from work and is going to talk with the doctors by herself. I encouraged her to go pick up Grandad or her mom but she insisted on going alone so she can speak candidly without worrying about anyone elses reaction. Please pray fervently for Kecia. That it is not cancer, or if so, that it is treatable and that God comforts her and speaks clearly to her as she once again faces difficult decisions. She kept saying "This can't be happening..I can't do this again!" Please pray for her mental and emotional strenghth. I will update as soon as I know something.

Infection update

9-13-09 Kecia made it in to work for a few hours this week...her first time back in a very long time. She was still struggling to beat the infection in her breast so she was not feeling great physically, but mentally and emotionally it was wonderful for her. She called me on the way home and said "I know it's not a big deal to anyone else, and it really sounds little, but I feel so good. I know I do work at home too, but it just feels more productive when I do it there with everyone else." She plans on going in for a couple half days this week too and hopefully it will just become standard procedure until she is able to go back on a larger scale. She battled a virus for about 3 days following her trip into work but is feeling much better now. She was already taking a pretty strong antibiotic for the breast infection so it probably helped to keep it under control. Her doctor says she is still on target for her mid-December reconstruction surgery so that is good news. She would like to hurry up and get that behind her.
We met some of the girls in our new Bible study this weekend and it was really nice. We are both looking forward to that.
It's so nice to be able to tell you the good news and not follow it up with anything else. Have a great week and don't forget to thank God for all the little blessings in your life! It's amazing how many I notice now on a regular basis that I didn't really think about until Kecia's diagnosis.
Jen

Hello Strangers

It's been a long time but I know you are still out there. Just a little update and another prayer request for Kecia. She is scheduled to have her breast reconstruction done in mid December. Over the past week she has been experiencing alot of pain in her right breast. It has been increasing over the past few days and she has also had a low fever and been feeling extra tired. This looks alot like the infection that was raging through that same breast when they went in to re-do her port several months ago. She has an appointment Wednesday morning. If it is infected they will try to take care of it with antibiotics. If that doesn't work they may have to go in and red0 her shield on that side. This would delay her reconstruction surgery and add another recovery to her list. Please pray that it can be taken care of without surgery and that things move along as planned. Kecia is very anxious to get back to "normal" and would love to have your prayers to help her avoid this speed bump. Thank you all for being so faithful.
PS Kecia, her mom, and I are supposed to meet all the ladies in our new Bible study group on Friday. She is really wanting to go so please pray that she will feel well enough to have a little fun.

8-23-09 Not much to tell..which I quess is really good news! Kecia still wakes up each morning wondering how she will feel that day because it's still "hit or miss" right now. She finished radiation two weeks ago, but it stays in her system for at least six weeks according to her doctor so it is not unusual that she would still have some pretty yucky days. Because she is such a go getter, Kecia has a hard time accepting that she isn't back up to speed already. She was pretty down the last time she met with her oncologist because even the smallest amount of activity still wears her down and can cause her significant pain. She worried that this was the best it was going to be and wondered if she would ever be "up to speed" again. He did a great job of putting it all in perspective for her. He said "if you knew someone who had been run over by a train and miraculously survived, you would not expect them to be "up to speed" after only a year. You would expect them to walk with a limp, work part time (if they could even work at all) tire easily, still need pain meds, and require lots of therapy." He pointed out that while the outside of her looks pretty healthy, the inside of her body has been hit by a train and that her bones were literally exploding from the inside out. He reminded her of the original prognosis and how far she has already come from those early days. When he found out that she had taken herself off of all her pain meds except for on the "as needed" basis, he scolded her good. He reminded her that when her body is fighting to aleviate pain it is not able to do as much work on repairing old bones and fighting off infection. He insisted that she at least keep using her pain patch which time releases pain meds on a low, but continual basis. She agreed once she understood the reasoning behind it and is in a much better frame of mind concerning her speed of recovery.
Another good thing...Kecia and I hooked up with one of our fellow prayer warriors from Team Kecia the other day for coffee and left with an invitation to join her Bible study. It won't start until mid September but we are very excited!

8-9-09 The bad news is that for each week of Kecia's radiation, the side effects got worse. She suffers lots of dizzy spells, nausea, headaches, and blistered skin on her neck, breast and shoulder. NOT a fun 7 weeks! The good news is....SHE"S DONE! At least for now she is finished with radiation. Her doctor said the scan reveals that radiation has done all it can for now so she is free from that for at least several months. She goes in for her monthly chemo treatment on Tuesday which means she will be out of commission most of next week, but from there we are expecting every day to feel just a little bit better than the day before. She was able to go in to work for about 3 hours early last week and while that may seem like nothing, it was a big step for Kecia. It wiped her out and she slept for 4 hours after returning home...but that's not the point..she went to work! YEAH! Kecia knows that she is a walking miracle and is so thankful for this "second chance". Keep her in your prayers!