Surgery Date

Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 3:00 PM

Subject: Surgery Date

We had a change of plans, they moved the surgery date up to March 17th, 6:00 arrival, 7:30am surgery. Not sure why the moved it up, but they did know we wanted to do it as soon as possible, so another PRAISE! It seems like a good idea to me to get that cancer out as soon as possible anyway.

Trusting in Him!

John

75% Complete - January 23, 2008

Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 10:25 PM

Subject: 75% Complete

Hey everyone! 75% complete, wahoo!! We met with a PA and NP today no real news about the tumor, but we did get some other news. We got Kims genetic testing back today and she was positive for the BRCA2 sequencing test. I don't have alot of information about it but here are some of the statistics:

The risk of Ovarian cancer for Kim (since she has already had breast cancer) is 15% (I guess that means right now), getting breast cancer within 5 years is 27% compared to 3.5% for the general population, and the chances of her getting breast cancer before age 70 is 64% compared to 11%. Also I am not as clear about this but there is concern that by age 70 she has a risk of upto 44% of getting ovarian cancer compared to <2%.>

Kims blood counts were again high enough that she can reduce her number of shots this time by 1.

The other news is that we think we have a surgery date for the Mastectomies and reconstruction, and that is March 26th. We are still waiting for confirmation but it has been penciled into the two surgeons schedules.

So this weeks PRAISES are that we have a tentative surgery date, that we are 75% complete, Kims blood counts, still having eyebrows, and that there is a test that will allow us to act to reduce the risk of cancer for Kim and the rest of the family! Also Kim had a great day yesterday, she had alot of energy and just felt good overall which is a good sign that when this is over she will bounce back quickly!

Prayer REQUESTS are for Kims bone pain to be managable this week, a confirmed surgery date, figuring out what the positive results means to the rest of the family, and continued success killing off this cancer. One of the reasons that we are hoping to confirm this surgery date is because we are focusing on our celebration trip to Disney the first week in May. The kids (and Kim) are really looking forward to the trip. It seems that this date would allow us to make that trip.

Thank you all for your support these past two weeks and especially the prayers. Know that you are helping us get through this!

Trusting in Him!

John

62.5% Complete - January 8, 2008

Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 9:26 PM

Subject: 62.5% Complete

Praise: Well, another one complete! Today, as I mentioned before, we started a new drug. Praise: For this one they didn't even give her any nausea medication, that should not be an issue anymore. They did tell her that even the stubble she has on her head probably will come out along with....the eyebrows and eyelashes! The Dr also said that the medicine could cause flu like symptoms including "Wicked" bone and muscle pain. We have some pain medication ready for that if it comes, she said the pain would last for about 48 hours.

We did have a bit of a surprise today, this treatment takes much longer than the past two drugs. It take about 3.5 hours to get this one and you have to get 3 premedications first to treat for a possible allergic reaction to the preservative in the Taxol. It takes about 20 minutes to get each of the premeds, I think they were Benedryl a steriod and some other antihistimine. By the time you have your blood drawn and they get your blood counts and then see the Dr you have already spent ~1.5 hours so I think we were there from 9-3:30 or so today. Kim seemed much more tired during this treatment, probably the Benadryl, so she slept through some of it, I watched daytime television. I need to remember when I am at work that I am not missing anything good on TV!

Praise: Kims blood counts were also "off the charts" so she is able to slowly cut back on her shots that she takes between treatments. If you didn't know Kim is deathly afraid of needles. At the beginning she was feeling sick just about getting stuck, now she is giving herself her own shots!!!!

Praise!!!!!: The Dr was also unable to feel the lump(s) anylonger. I didn't know what I was looking for before and I could feel the large one and now she can't find it at all!!

As you can see, there are lots of things that we are thankful for this visit! If you can keep a couple of things in mind when you pray for Kim please pray for the "Wicked" aches not to be too bad/that the medicine will manage the pain and for peace for Kim as she loses the last bit of hair she has. One funny thing to mention is that Kim is getting comments on what a perfect skull she has. I have been telling her since she lost her hair that I think it is a "Text Book" head! One of the nurses that was working in the Lipson Center (chemo room) stopped by to tell her how perfect her head was. Maybe she can get a new career as a Cranium Model!!

I am sending a link to a blog from another woman with almost the exact situation that Kim is facing. Almost same age, 2 kids, same cancer, same treatment etc. I have been in touch with her, she is here in Rochester and used to work with my sister Paula at Kodak. If anyone is interested she kept a pretty good record so it may help fill in some of the details. Her Drs are from Strong so it is comforting to see that Kims treatment would likely have been agreed upon by those Drs as well. http://www.likepeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your prayers today and please continue to praise as much as you ask! As you can see, they are working and your support is making this very bearable for us!

Trusting in Him,

John

50% Complete - December 26, 2007

Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 9:06 PM

Subject: 50% Complete!

Hi everyone,

Not alot of news today. Kim had her 4th treatment today, the last of the first two drugs. The next 4 treatments will be with a different drug which should have some milder side effects including less nausea, metal taste, etc. I stayed home with the kids today and Kims friend Tory went with her. Kim met with the Nurse Practitioner instead of the Dr.

Please pray for Kim over the next few days, it seems that days 2 through 5 after the treatment last time were the worst including some nausea and extreme fatigue. The effects of the last treatment were worse than the previous treatment so we are expecting this Fri-Mon to be the toughest so far. In addition both kids have the worst colds of the year so far! Considering what these treatments are doing we praise God that they are as tolerable as they are (easy for me to say, right?). If you think of it, throw a quick prayer in there for me as well as I will probably be taking care of the kids for the next few days ;-) My friend Marty is in town til Friday so Andrew will be occupied but I may be playing alot of Barbie!

The next treatment is January 8th at 9:15. That is about it for todays report. I will send out another if there is any news before the next treatment.

Again, thank you all for helping us out by either praying for us, getting our Christmas tree, raking our yard, bringing us dinner, sending an encouraging word, or redoing our bathroom ;-) Having you all in our lives with all of your support has been a great blessing that I am sure God had planned for us. Please continue to pray for Kim!

Trusting in Him,

John

37.5% Complete - December 11, 2007

Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 8:30 PM

Subject: 37.5% Complete

Thank you everyone that prayed today. Everything went very well. The nurse was able to get the needle into Kims medaport with no problem, a definate blessing after last time! We met with our new Dr. today, Dr. Julia Smith, Dr. Armstrong moved out of town. We knew she was leaving town but they wanted to get Kim in asap and she was the one with available appointments so we took it. Pray for good transfer of knowledge and treatment. They both seem to be on the same page so we continuing as planned.

One huge praise is that the Dr. had a hard time finding the tumors, she wasn't sure she felt it at all! That is good because if the treatment is killing the tumor then if any other cells are somewhere else in her body, hopefully the chemo will be killing them as well. The Dr actually called the surgeon to discuss if we should go and have markers put in so that they can tell where the tumors were in case we wanted to have a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy. The Dr. was also surprised that Kim even had hair left. For those of you who haven't seen Kim her hair has been shaven about as short as you can get. There are also some bald spots that are growing as time goes on. I wonder if she had left it long if it would be all gone by now. I know that it is easy to pluck out.

Next treatment is the day after Christmas, which will be the last treatment of the first two drugs. Kim has been going non stop since the treatment, she even went to Target, twice! I am exhausted but I am trying to hang on, I can't let her outlast me, all I did all day was follow her around!

Again, thank you for all of your prayers. God definately seems to be at work physically, mentally and spiritually for both of us.

Trusting in Him,

John

Off to #3, December 11, 2007

Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 9:36 AM

Subject: Chemo #3

Just a quick note to let you know that we are off to chemo treatment #3 right now. If you have a moment this morning, please keep Kim in your prayers. This is the time where there is no pretending that life is normal. I will give a more detailed update later.

Trusting in Him,

John

Hair today, gone tomorrow - December 1, 2007

Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 11:12 AM
Subject: 25% Complete Update

Hair was shaved today. Please pray for peace.

Trusting in Him,

John

25% Complete

Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 4:19 PM

Subject: 25% Complete

Today was Kims second chemo treatment. All went pretty well. I think the anti nausea medication has the most immediate affect on her, making her a little loopy! One thing that amazes me is that when the nurse gives her the first treatment she wears plastic gloves and a throwaway coverall so she doesn't get a drop on her. I guess if you get it on your skin it will burn it rather quickly.

For those who are praying, four praises and answers to prayer 1. Kims cold did not prevent her from getting treatment, 2. her white blood cell count was back to normal today after being almost dangerously low last Wed. 3. A test we were waiting on came back negative so she can continue with the treatment she is getting. The test was for another aspect of how aggressive the cancer is, and 4. I am thankful for our medical insurance. I have complained alot about it in the past but I just picked up some shots today that are ~$250 a peice and Kim needs 7 between each treatment, not to mention that actual chemo treatments!

Thank you all for all of your support, I know it means alot to Kim and especially to me. Thank you all for Loving Kim!!! I know as time moves on and the shock of all of this passes it is easy to go back to "normal" life. Please continue to support Kim and pray for her/us to get through all of this. I don't mind the challenge but I do want a positive outcome and I dont' know that I could do this alone!

Still trusting in Him,

John

It Begins - November 14, 2007

Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 1:55 PM

Subject: Re: It begins...

We are back. 1 down 7 to go!! It went pretty well, Kim has a sense of humor and was in a pretty good mood through the whole thing. Wow, talk about overload. They are throwing information at you in buckets. Kim was rather tired and actually is sleeping right now. I dont know if it was the chemo today, the emotional aspect or if the full day of no food or water yesterday just wiped her out. I think it may be the later. I think Friday and Saturday are expected to be the bad days.

Thanks for the prayers!! Keep em comin!! Also please give praise for the things that have gone so well and the comfort God has given us, and especially for all of the wonderful friends he has provided us, to take care of us when we need them!!!

Trusting in Him,

John

Mediport is in - November 13, 2007

Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:51 PM

Subject: Update

MediPort is in, everthing went great, except for the timing. We got there at 2:49 and we just got home!!! Chemo starts tomorrow, 1:30.

Trusting in Him,

John

Clean Chest XRay and Blood Tests - November 9, 2007

Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 2:39 PM

Subject: Update

Well we got some good news for a change, PRAISE GOD. Kims chest xray and blood results were all good. Liver and Kidney function were good (also her sugar was good :-) but that seems minor now!). I am not exactly sure what else the blood test was for but it all was normal!!! Dr recommended genetic testing to see if Jenna is at risk. Pathology says this is an agressive cell, responsive to progesterone and estrogen so after chemo Kim will be on hormone therapy for 5 years. There is still one test outstanding. It is another test for agressiveness which came back indeterminate. If this retest comes back postive they will have to modify treatment and it will likely change the prognosis some, lowering the odds of survival. But without that test they felt she had a great prognosis, 90%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (thats at 5 years) The need for radiation will be determined after the surgery, dependant on the ability of the surgeon to get a clean removal of the tumors (1 large and 3 small). The Dr doesn't know if there are more than 1 lympnodes involved, but if there were it wouldnt change the approach. She did say that she could only feel 1 inflamed node (that is encouraging).

The treatments will start asap, as soon as Kim can get a port put in. We expect this will be next week. The treatments will be a ~3 hour treatment once every two weeks for a total of 8 treatments. We got a bunch of scripts today to get filled for nausea etc. It was all very overwhelming and I am probably forgetting something. I think Kim will send out another note later tonight, she is resting now, but I wanted to get out a note to all of you asap. Thank you for your prayers, I think that they are playing a HUGE part in this. It was a definate turn upward today (although I do expect some down turns as well). Words cannot express how thankful I am for you all. God has put you all in our lives for a reason. God is AWESOME! Love you guys, please Keep praying!!

Trusting in Him!!,

John

Cancertutor.com - November 8, 2007

Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 10:07 PM

Subject: update

If anyone wants to take a look at cancertutor.com that would be helpful for us. I am not exactly sure what I think of the site, not sure all of the information is correct but if there is something that can easily be done either along side chemo or immediately after chemo I would be intersted in taking a look and talking it over with Kim. I dont want to do anything that would interfere with the chemo. If you can find me something specific that we could do and send me the information and the link I will take a look. This site is just so big I cant get through it all, plus its just depressing. Let me know what you think about the site and if you find any information that might be useful. I dont know if we have enough information yet to really select a treatment though. We think its stage II but it could still be much worse since we dont know if it has moved past the lympnodes.

We were hoping for a call tonight with results from the chest xray but noone called. We did get a call from the breast MRI and they said there were three other smaller tumors in the same breast. The right breast was clean! I am still unclear about the number and degree of lymphnodes. There is at least one with cancer but I am not sure if it is the Sentinal node or an auxilary node or if there are more involved.

I will be in touch after our 11:00 appt tomorrow.

Thanks.

Trusting in Him.

John

MRI Results - November 8, 2007

Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 10:01 PM

Subject: Update

No call from the Dr tonight about the chest scan. I was on my knees again begging for good news and we got no news. I guess no news is good news?? Not sure it works that way in this case. Anyway we did get a call earlier with the results from the breast MRI. There were three other tumors in the same breast. I am a little foggy on the news of the lymphnode, at this point I am still only aware of 1 lympnode having cancer cells, but I am not sure if the MRI would have showed that or not. The right breast was all clear(hey there is some good news!). Please pray for her lungs to be clear and the cells didn't make it past the lymphnodes! The person who called with the MRI recommended a masectomy. We have a 10:00 appt for more blood work tomorrow and then the 11:00 appt with the Medical Oncologist. I think we should have alot more information after that. We will send out an email when we get back.

Kim is absolutely amazing me! What an incredible woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trusting in Him,

John

Things start moving - November 7, 2007

Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:12 AM

Subject: Re: Update

Just a quick update. One of the things we were hoping for is to get this going ASAP. We did get an appt Friday with the Medical Oncologist. Kim is spending today getting some testing done.

Trusting in Him,

John

Meeting with Surgeon - Chemo First November 6, 2007

Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 7:12 PM

Subject: Update

Hi Everyone!

As you see, there are alot of friends and family I would love to talk to personally, but that would take me forever!

We just got back from our appt with the Surgical Oncologist. He says that the cancer is classified as aggressive (may be Stage III) so he is recommending we don't have surgery, at least for now. He says that the chemo can't wait so he can't risk time for recovery for the surgery. We are scheduled for a chest xray/ mri/ and blood test tomorrow. We are trying to get into see the Medical Oncologist asap, hopefully we will have an appt scheduled by next Monday. The plan could change but it LOOKS like chemo will be first starting fairly soon.

I will keep you all updated after my appointments.

Thank you so much for your prayers, calls, meals, etc. This is all new to us, so right now - talking about it is hard for me, especially not having a plan yet (and you all know how I like my plans!). Im going to do what they tell me to do, when they tell me to do it.

John asked me just now how I was feeling and the word "nothing" came to mind. I just want to get started! The more we know, the more I will be able to ask for help - Im so blessed to have you all in my life willing and able to help us.

Love you all

Kim

Positive Biopsy Results - November 2, 2007

Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 5:43 PM

Subject: Re: Prayer Request

Not good news. Come on guys! Kick it up a bit! I am sure a note will follow from Kim with details but we really need some prayers. Of course I desire Gods will, or at least the ability to accept it. See you all soon.

Love,

John

Day of Discovery

Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 5:13 PM

Subject: Prayer Request

Family and Friends

I haven't quite put my mind around this, but wanted to let you all know - I just got back from having a diagnostic mammogram and the doctor found a lump in my breast. She is pretty sure that it is a malignant tumor. I had a biopsy done and the results will be to me tomorrow late afternoon. Either way, she would like it removed because she "doesn't trust the looks of it."

I have called to make an appointment for my surgery - which I don't have a date for yet.

I haven't shared this with anyone else but you guys - (Scott - yes, I told mom - we know how that would have gone if I waited :)). I have seen the power of prayer and with you guys on my side - we are ALL good!

Love you all and will keep you all updated.

God Bless

Kim