half way done

Kecia starts her radiation almost 4 weeks ago and while she did start out strong...the side effects are really catching up with her. She does little more that go to treatment, sleep and work from her bed. She is nauseated most of the time but it is mild compared to how it was "back then". Something you might not know about radiation is that it actually burns the skin at the points of entry, so she has blistered and peeling skin that gets worse (and more painful) every day. She reports that the smell of burned skin bothers her even more than the pain. It was the same when they radiated her spine, but this is so much closer to her face that she is very much aware of it. The good news is that she is half way done.
She has scans done on Friday to determine exactly where they are in the treatment process. If they haven't made as much progress as the doctor wants to see then it could mean extending the treatment for a few more days or weeks. BUT..if they are farther along in the process than they had expected then she may get to knock a few days off of her radiation schedule. We are going to deligently pray that the latter is the case. On another positive note, Kecia has been in communication with her bosses at work and has started working out some of the details of her return to the office. She is so excited about returning to some of her "normal" life and may even get to do some additional training that would allow her to add another dimention to her responsibilities at Horizon. Have I mentioned how thankful we are that God brought Kecia to this company? I don't know if I ever told you all this, but Kecia was trying to get started with another company that she really wanted to work out. It just didn't take off for her in the time frame that she needed so she applied at Horizon. She was disappointed that her "perfect job" hadn't worked out for her, but was thankful that she was hired by Horizon. We had NO IDEA how thankful we would be in just a matter of months when she was given her diagnosis. Just another example of how sometimes what we think is best for us really isn't. And how sometimes God (our loving parent) has to deny us what we want in order to do what is best for us (just like we do for our children) Thank you to everyone at Horizon who supports Kecia in her fight for life on a professional and personal level...and to all who continue to pray for Kecia on a daily basis.
Will update again next week with the results of her scans.

Our girl is still going strong. On Monday she has chemo, radiation and her menapausal shot so she has been feeling really rotten for 3 days. Today was actually a little better but she still didn't leave the bed all day. On the bright side...it forces her to sit and get her work done. I just can't say enough how thankful we are for her job at Horizon. It is amazing how flexible they have been with all her special needs and she is looking forward to being able to return to the office once her radiation period is over. If my numbers are correct, we've got 2 weeks of radiation down and 5 more to go! She is feeling SO much better this time around (as compared to when she was doing full blown treatment) but that radiation really takes all the energy of out her. Last week we were talking on the phone in the middle of the day and I am certain that she actually fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. NO LIE! I woke her up and told her to hang up the phone and get some rest. She doesn't even remember the converasation. Now that is what I call tired! She does, however muster up the energy for small excursions and would love to have visitors, so call anytime. I'll report again when there is something to tell...but I just love it when Kecia has a "boring" life because it means that she is healthy.

Finally, some FUN news to report! Kecia has been waiting for her hair to be three inches long so she could get extensions. She has gone in to this little shop in Dallas 3 times now, asking if it could be done. Each time the girls would sadly say that it just wasn't long enough yet. Finally, she went in yesterday and they told her to get in the chair cause she was gettin hair! It took 2 girls about 8 hours to do her whole head. She was hurting pretty bad from sitting all day but she pushed through it to get her hair. She was so tired by the time they finished that she had to go home without getting it cut and styled. They told her to come in on Tuesday and they would "do her do." When she was ready to pay they two girls suprised her by saying that it was on the house and all Kecia had to pay for was the actual hair itself. She says it will take some getting used to, not only because her head hasn't felt so heavy in a long time, but also because she can feel all the tiny bumps near her scalp where the extensions are attached. She assures me that she can learn to love it since it gives her a small bit of her physical self back. I would love to say that I will send pictures soon, but you would probably all call me on the fact that I have yet to do that once. Anyway, on to the REALLY GOOD NEWS.
Kecia is getting baptized tomorrow! My oldest daughter has been talking with our pastor about getting baptized and a few weeks ago they set the date for July 12th. Kecia said she would like to do it at the same time as Kendall. Kecia has been a Christian for many years, but has never taken that public step before so we are doubley proud. (I don't think "doubley" is even a word but you know what I mean) Stay tuned for more great news..

7-7-09 Just a quick update...Kecia has finished her first week of radiation and is doing pretty good. She is very tired, as expected, but manages to keep up with her job from home so she is not complaining. She still suffers bouts of nausea but controls it pretty well with medication. She is weaning herself off of her pain meds and is down to just the "patch" except for when she has a really bad day physically. She knows she has SO MUCH to be thankful for but still suffers from some pretty tough depression at times. We talk about it often and both feel like it is no coincidence that she usually has a bad emotional day after a few really good physical days. We honestly feel like everytime she gives God and our prayers credit for her recovery she is suddenly hit with a really bad either physically or emotionally. We give the devil credit for that. We're convinced that he just can't stand it when our prayers are answered so he sends a little misery her way just to try and break her. We have the edge though because we're on to his little game. Please continue to pray that her bones will generate new growth as well as for Kecia as she battles daily with bouts of fear and depression that just come naturally with a disease like this. You are still our first line of defense and we value your prayers more than you can know.

6-29-09 Good News For Team Kecia! According to her doctor, the scans reveal no new cancer growth. She is still cancer free! They were hoping that these scans would also reaveal that there was new bone growth so that they could do the surgery on her spine and hip that would immediatly releve her constant pain in those two areas. There was no new growth, infact, to quote her doctor, "we can't do the surgery because your bones are just all used up." Some may have been frightened or offended by such a declaration, but we just laugh. Kecia is much more comfortable with a doctor that shoots straight with her instead of jogging around sensitive subjects. She prefers to have the bare truth so she knows exactly what she's dealing with. I was impressed by her comment ..."that's okay, we've been praying for cancer-free scans. We'll start praying for bone growth now."

More Scans

Last minute prayer request! Kecia got a call yesterday afternoon telling her that they had scheduled her full body scans for tomorrow, Thursday the 25th. She is usually very excited about getting her scans done because it is the only way to measure how much sucess they are having with the treatments. So far, all of her scans have come out showing good news. She was suprised by her feelings of overwhelming fear and anxiety. She knows they have to be done and feels silly for being so frightened. I assured Kecia that her anxiety was perfectly normal. She is working so hard to get back to having a "real life" again and the thought that the scans could tell her that this whole process is starting over is just too overwhelming to consider. We prayed about it alot and she was able to put everything back into perspective, which is always helpful. Her scans are scheduled for 10:00 tomorrow so she is asking that we all watch the clock and pray for her around 9 am. We are asking first, that she keep her eye on the eternal goal and not just the daily one her on earth. Second, that she feel God's presence and take great peace and comfort from it. And last, that her scans continue to be cancer free due to a miraculous cure and not just a medical cure. Thank you for you support and continuous prayers. We probably won't know anything until Monday but will let you know as soon as we do.

It feels like it's been so long since I last posted. That could be because my husband has brought home alot of his work lately and I have had little access to the computer. The good news is that there is no bad news to report. Kecia had chemo last week and while it would be a far stretch to say she felt fine...she sure didn't feel as bad as she used to when she was getting her large weekly doses. She went in today for her big huge shot in the stomach (the one that keeps her in menapause) so she can expect to be very achey and sore for about 3 or 4 days. Tomorrow they start her radiation. She goes in every day at 10:00. They will scan her for measurments and make her do all the yucky paperwork that one would think they could just write "ditto" on everyday. Her actual radiation treatment only lasts about 20 minutes, but she ends up being at the hospital about 3 hours by the time she's done. We are hoping and praying that this will be alot easier on her than it was the first time around, just like the chemo is proving to be. She had her last saline fill a week ago so now they just wait until her 7 weeks of radiation is done to begin preparing for the breast reconstruction surgery.
While she doesn't always feel great and has alot less energy than the average person, I am so happy to report that she looks great. Her hair is about 2 inches long and growing in nice and thick. She actually has enough now to wake up with bed head. While she doesn't find our jokes to be all that funny, she is pleased that it is growing long enough to allow her to worry about having "bad hair days". There was a day not long ago when every day was a no hair day, so all in all this is a big improvement. Since reducing her chemo and going off the steroids, Kecia has lost almost 15 pounds. Her color has returned and I find that from time to time I am actually starting to see that "spark" in her eyes that we have all missed for so long now. GO KECIA GO!