TODAY IS OUR DAUGHTER’S BIRTHDAY
02.12.2012
Happy Birthday Sweetheart
You are a very special person and an inspiration to everyone who knows you.
You cannot imagine how much we love you.
Mum and Phil
Dad and Patty
Sam’s Private Medical Team
02.09.2012
Ella, Jesse and Nicolai prepping Sam’s evening shot! The kids (alison’s) are officially in charge of holding auntie sam’s hand while doc Jesse does the injection – which he does very gently (it doesn’t hurt too much!) Ella and Nick have gone from cringing to fascination.
Day 6 doing ok and seeing the light at the end of chemo cycle one. Still have a week of pills to go but not nearly as awful as blecky side effects of Friday’s IV chemo. Starting to feel like eating again, nausea dissipating and energy better. Alison has been keeping my spirits up during the day and even took one for the team by sporting a good ‘ol hangover today.
Thanks for all the emails, notes and good vibes…
Love Sam xox
Poem from an Unknown Author
02.08.2012
IT CANNOT SILENCE COURAGE
IT CANNOT KILL FRIENDSHIP
IT CANNOT CRIPPLE LOVE
IT CANNOT SHATTER HOPE
IT CANNOT CORRODE FAITH
IT CANNOT DESTROY PEACE
IT CANNOT INVADE THE SOUL
IT CANNOT SURPRESS MEMORIES
IT CANNOT STEAL ETERNAL LIFE
IT CANNOT CONQUER THE SPIRIT
(Author Unknown)
Sam’s First Chemo Session
02.07.2012
Friday was the first chemo session. We spent the whole day (10 til 4) at Lionsgate getting an intro to the clinic as well as sitting with a nutritionist, social worker, and nurse educator (not the most exciting talk I’ve ever sat in on). The actual IV chemo took around 4 hours. We left with a bag full of pills to treat nausea, aches, as well as some take home chemo medications.
Sam feels OK now after two days but does have tingling in her fingers and feet. She is also cold sensitive. When she touches cold her fingers ache. When she eats or drinks cold stuff her throat feels like its swelling up. We have been reassured her throat is not actually closing up and that it’s a just a a sensation an a normal side effect. She also has nausea but its manageable with the triple dose anti-nausea drugs. From what we were told all these side effects should decrease in the next few days.
We also start a seven day course of immune boost injections today. One shot a day. And guess who gets to stick the needle into her . . .me! If only I was mad at her it would be so much more satisfying. The shots are supposed to boost her white cells (the other chemo drugs sometimes cause them to drop).
That’s about it for now. Sam will likely have good energy days mixed in with some lower energy days. If you want to visit her just text or email her first. She checks her phone regularly. No promises on responses but she will do her best.
We will let you know how it’s going later this week.
Jesse
First Day of Chemo
02.03.2012
Jesse and Alison are making certain Sam is well loved and fed. She is brave, peaceful, and determined in the gentlest of ways.
This sure beats surgery
02.03.2012
Taken Feb. 1st at noon on Jerico Beach, Vancouver
A beautiful day in Vancouver – same time as I would have been in surgery.
Love Sam xo
Stacey Kramer: The best gift I ever survived
01.31.2012
I remember seeing this Ted talk a while back and feeling like I could have written it. I hope I will get to a place when I can see this as a gift again.
Love and gratitude, Sam
Postponing surgery to try chemo for a month
01.30.2012
Hi all,
A very long story short, I’ve decided to try chemo for a month. A lot has happened in the last week and we had some very compelling information just this evening from an oncology team working on my case in Boston (not Sugarbaker’s team). I will not be traveling to Boston tomorrow morning as planned.
There is a relatively new and very promising chemo protocol that they feel would be very worthwhile trying before doing a radical surgery (it’s called FOLFOX with AVASTIN also called Bevacizumab ). It will not compromise my ability to have surgery should we see that is does not respond within the month. If it does, hallelujah. Here is a bit of info I found on line http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00826800
Doing it in reverse (surgery then chemo) could put me at much greater risk. After a lot of deliberation I’ve decided to take a chance and bet on this chemo for one month. If it does not respond, then we go back to Plan A with Sugarbaker.
Excerpt from clinical trial (that is now complete):
The purpose of this study is to see if giving chemo-therapy for colon cancer before surgery can shrink the cancer and lead to a higher rate of cure than operating first and then giving chemotherapy. Standard treatment for colon cancer is to first operate, and then, if the tumor is advanced, give chemotherapy for about 6 months. However, surgery delays the time until chemotherapy can start, since the body needs time to heal from the operation. During this time any cancer cells that remain in the body that were not removed by the operation may be allowed to grow. Giving chemotherapy first could attack the cancer cells right from the start, not only at the tumor site that we know of, but also at the site of any cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body. Another possible reason why giving chemo therapy first might work better is that the blood vessels that feed the cancer cells are intact before surgery and thus chemotherapy can travel directly to the cancer. This study will also use the drug bevacizumab, in addition to the standard chemotherapy. Bevacizumab has been on the market since 2004 for colon cancer that has spread to other organs, but its use in earlier stage colon cancer, as planned in this trial, is still under study.
Our first priority is getting me into the BC Cancer Agency to start the chemo within the next few days. I do not expect this to be a problem. I don’t know anything else about how it’s administered or the side effects.
Love Sam
From my dear friend in Nosara
01.24.2012
This is from my dear friend in Nosara (Costa Rica) who has been gathering with all my beautiful friends there to devote their morning meditation (pooja) to me…
It doesn’t get more auspicious than this. Without doubt, my angels are listening.
Sam
Hello Lovely Sam,
It was so incredible practicing the yantra mantra chant in Goddess pooja this morning at 6:30am, the sun was rising, and we were offering our chakras to the waters of her living womb. As we were clearing the heart chakra offering up to Mother ocean, along came 2 horses running up the beach, unbridled and wild. They heard our voices chanting together and stopped just there, in front of us and looked me in the eye. I felt a wave chills run through all the cells of my body and tears filled my eyes. I am dedicating my practice for the past 2 days for your healing sweet angel and the angels came in to say that the prayers are being answered. I love you dear Sam.
My heart feels your heart and I know, all is well.
Om Shanti,
xx~Mu Mu
