Saturday, July 24, 2010

Treatment Update

I have to say that summer is flying by so quickly.  I am enjoying the summer, doing lots of yard work, keeping things in order in our lives and the family all in line.  Therefore I find myself very tired each evening.  I do hope that each of you are also enjoying everyday and remember to "Treasure Your Memories"

Well for those of you that have been asking me how Fred is and how things are going with treatments I thought I would just give you a quick update and plan of action.   This week we finished treatment # 5 of 6.  Yes that means in two weeks we will finish up this round of treatment. OHHH HAPPY DAY.

We know that the treatment is working because the CEA level continues to drop.  If you forgot what a CEA level is refere to my post " Treatment #3"  Before we started treatment the CEA was 393.  After two treatments it dropped to 202.  We tested again before we did treatment #5 this week and it had dropped again to 124.  That is fantastic news.  That means we are getting closer to normal.  I don't know if we will ever get to normal and only time will tell, but at least we are getting closer and we are thrilled about that. We consider that big of a drop in the CEA a complete miracle and blessing. 

Well the plan from this point is next week we are going to have another PET scan and compare it to the one we had before treatment started.  We hope and pray that the tumors are much smaller and some of them gone.  In two weeks we will complete treatment #6 and  this round.  OHHH how I wish I could say that we were finished with treatments all together, but I can't.  We need to keep doing something or it will give those nasty Cancer cells an opportunity to grow again and we don't want that. 

One of the drugs in Fred's cocktail is called Oxaliplatin. After eight treatments of Oxaliplatin it can cause neuropathy (numbness, tingling, and nerve damage).  Thank goodness our Dr is trying to prevent any of that from happening so that is why this set of treatment we are stopping after #6.  It  is a toxic drug and causes most of the fatigue and cold sensitivity.  So we are pleased to stop that drug for a little while.  We will stay on the other two drugs Avastin and 5-FU for probably another three months.   We can continue to go in and have the IV form of this cocktail or we can go onto the oral pill form of these two drugs. We may also need to consider doing some radiation.  I will know more after we get the results from the PET scan and chat with the doctor at our next treatment in two weeks.

Well that is it in a nutshell.  We are doing great.  Things could be so much worse, they could also be better at times, but we are grateful with how well we are doing and responding to the treatments.  I am so amazed at the medical treatments and know it is helping so much, but I also know that your prayers, concerns, and friendships have just as much impact in our healing. I have to thank you so much and feel very blessed to have you all in my life.  I know many of you I have never met before, but I feel like I know you very well and I do treasure your friendship and I plan to be there for you in your time of need.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have fantastic week.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Splendor Layouts-July Workshop

I was thrilled to see all of you this month for workshops.  Summer can be such a crazy and busy time of year so thanks for taking time to hop on over for a good time.  Below are the scrapbook layouts for this month for those of you that didn't  finished.  You will notice that I didn't go with the layouts in your brochure like I usually do.  So please refer to this blog post as you put your layouts together.  Remember to click on image to enlarge and view details.  Have FUN.
 
Layout 1: 
Perfect layout for all of those millions of summer photos you take.  You can put just about anything on this layout.
Layout 2:
This layout can be used for just about anything that brings you joy.  I put photos of Alyssa and our dogs on this layout.  She loves animals especially her dog Nitro.  Perhaps that is why she wants to be a vet.  Ohhh my goodness these dogs are going to be so lost without her this fall when she goes off to college.
Layout 3:
This layout is probably my favorite one.  I can't believe I have not scrapbooked these photos of  Brandon.  They were taken three years ago when he and Lauren were playing in the back yard on a very hot day.  They enjoyed the day by cooling off the slide with the hose.  WOW I didn't realize how much he has grown.  Make me kinda sad.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Next months layouts will be "Zippidee"  They are perfect layouts for amusement parks and fun family activities.  I know you all have tons and tons of park photos needing to be put in your scrapbook so make sure you sign up for a class.  Those of you not currently in my classes that want to join in the fun just contact me at:

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Chocolate Heaven

Life just does not get better than this.  Ohhh my gosh.  I had a dear friend/customer bring me one of my favorite things to me when she came to workshops this month.  She just got back from Europe and brought me a boat load of Milka bars.  
 Last year when my son and I was in Europe we discovered true "European Chocolate"   I would buy several of these "Milka" bars every day we were there.  Yes, we ate many of them, but we did make it home with several that we enjoyed for many months. 

These Milka bars come in all flavors and my favorite is the one with carmel.  Ohhhh my gosh  they are so amazing I can't even begin to describe them.  Next time I go to Europe I for sure plan to fill my entire suitcase with Milka bars.  In the mean time I have put these little beauties in the refrigerator and warned my family if they touch them they may lose a few fingers.  Hahaha just kidding, but I still suggest that you keep your fingers off and nobody gets hurt.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Chic Chick Carnival

This week I am participating in a fun activity called chic click carnival.  It has been a great way to meet other bloggers that enjoy the same things I do.   My name is Lynette and this is my blog where I celebrate my love for scrapbooking, paper crafts, family,  life's challenges and blessings.

Looking back at different posts on my blog I think my favorite post is Retreat Report 

That weekend was such a blast.  It's so important for us ladies to get away on occasion and have a creative outlet, giggle like teenagers and forget about all our responsibilities.  We made so many fun things, had a great time together and of course ate plenty of food and snacks.  My favorite peep of the weeks is Fab Design for Less


Saturday, July 10, 2010

Beat the Heat!!!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer.  Sorry I have not posted in such a long time.  I have been exhausted the last week or so and have not gotten anything done.  I do have several things to post so check back often.   So what tricks do you have to "Beat the Heat"?   Our beagle Shilo has a great plan to keep cool.   He climbs under the deck, digs a hole in the dirt to cool himself off. 
His plan must work well because he looks pretty cool and content here.

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