Deb's Latest Update 7/21/2009

Wow, I can't believe it has been two months since my last update. A lot has been going on since my last post. First off, we have had a wonderful summer. As you can see from the two previous posts we enjoyed two family vacations that were definitely the highlight of our summer. The boys both played baseball and have finished their seasons. Summer is coming to an end!!

It is hard to believe that we only have a little over three weeks before school starts. The summers never do last long enough!! I have already done our school supplies shopping so we are ready for it!

I was off most of my medications all summer, which was great. I got a great tan and enjoyed lots of time in the sun.

A few weeks ago, after one of my many routine CT scans, we discovered that one of my tumors (in the lungs) has started growing again. It was previously measuring around 5 mm and is now at just under 2 cm.

My doctor gave me many options, as she always does. We of course have pursued each of them.

The first was to go back on the Xeloda chemotherapy pill, which I started last week. I also increased my other medications that I had reduced for the summer. Dr. Fabian gave us the option of just doing these medicinal things and seeing what happens.

Of course, she knows me too well at this point and knew that I would opt for something a bit more aggressive to increase the chances of getting rid of this tumor for the long term. The others are still stable at 2 mm so we are hopeful the chemo has worked on them. So, it appears we are only dealing with this one stubborn tumor at this time.

Our first more aggressive approach was surgical. So, we met with my Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr. Kramer. He reviewed my scans. Unfortunately this tumor is in a position that is very hard to get to surgically. He said he only has about a 5-10% chance of getting to it and removing just the tumor itself. Instead, he is pretty sure that when he gets in there he would have to remove the entire upper right lobe of my lung. Pretty drastic surgery at this point in time. Neither doctor recommended this approach.

Dr. Kramer then discussed my case with many other doctors, including Dr. Fabian, at KU Med. They decided that a better approach would be to visit Dr. Wang, who is a Radiation Oncologist. We met with him last Friday. He performs a new procedure called Stereotactic Radiation Body Therapy. This isn't typical radiation. Instead it is a targeted radiation therapy that they more frequently use in brain tumors. But, in the last two years they have started using it successfully on lung tumors.

The machine targets just the tumor and within three to five treatments it is totally destroyed. There are very little side effects, if any. It appears to be a great alternative for this specific tumor. So, we opted to move forward with Dr. Wang's treatment plan.

I will go in on August 10th for an initial visit. They have to develop a plan based on my measurements, the location of the tumor, my breathing patterns etc. Once this is done, approximately 10 days later, I will have three radiation treatments. After that, if all goes as planned, this tumor will be gone.

Hopefully it will all be as simple as it sounds. I will keep you all posted. Keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming my way!!

I hope to see you all on August 9th at the K.C. Race for the Cure. Thank you to all who have signed up to join us. The deadline is July 26th if you are interested. Let me know if you need the link.

Also, thank you to everyone who has participated in my $1 Fundraiser. I have received so many letters and dollars. It is truly amazing!! Thank you for passing it along to all your friends and family!! The boys are also tracking all the states we have received money from. If you know anyone in one of these states, we'd love to get a dollar from them: Washington, California, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.

Casey, the boys and I really appreciate all you have done for us!! We couldn't do this without each of you!!

Deb

Here is a link to my KC Race for the Cure web page: http://www.active.com/donate/kc2009/debralewis

You can donate online and sign up for the race. Be sure to do the team registration and choose Debra's Circle of Friends as your team. If you need the full directions let me know! Thanks!