Brenda - on her way to round 7!!

Chemo gone Wrong! : )

What's cancer without a sense of humor!!

B3 Fight Garage Sale

Chemo Treatment Number 7

I must admit I was quite nervous going to the Oncology Dr. yesterday because I was fearful that my white counts were not going to be back up (feeling extremely fatigued) to where they were needed.

The routine is weight, vitals and then finger stick before going in to see the dr. I had lost the 2 pounds I had gained back and I was surprised with that news after eating almost an entire box of candy my sister Joanne had sent to me.

Temp was good, bp was good. Finger stick showed the white count was up, but because I wasn't bleeding enough from the stick, the platelet count was off. She decided to go in through the vein in the left arm to get a full tube. Once she did that, it showed they were ok.

Onto the room for questions and answers from dr. and exam. I felt even more nervous when the PA came in without her computer. I was thinking the worst that she was gonna tell me it was a no go. She asked how I had been and we determined there was a "non" hormone medicine (my breast cancer is hormone positive- meaning it can grow from taking hormones) I could take to control my body hot flashes. These have been severe over the past two weeks. It is a big deterant to getting restful sleep having to take the covers off and on alllll night long.

She then consulted with Dr. Murphy and he determined I should have my chemo dose changed up a little to avoid my having to get a shot the following day to combat the white count dropping.

The ward where they administer the chemo was FULL. Although my appt was at 9:15, we never got to leave there till after 12:30.

I was unable to rest as I had hoped once I got home due to the steriods. Nick fixed leftovers for supper but as soon as I had finished I knew I was in trouble. I pretty much spent several hours on the bathroom floor. Chemo and salad DO NOT MIX. This is what happened to me after my first round of the Taxotere so I will know now what not to do even though I feel hungry with my next treatment.

I had to laugh because in the middle of me laying on the bathroom floor, Renny, my rag-doll cat, came and laid next to me for quite a while. It was as if he knew his mom was sick.

Except for one run to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I slept pretty well and am taking it SLOW today. Very SLOW. One more treatment down, one more treatment to go.

Taxotere is Taxing

I have discovered over the past week that this chemo is a far cry from the "Red Devil". The Dr. said it was gonna be easier than the other, but I am finding that it is beating me up overall as compared to the A/C. The red devil was more specific in it's attack and the Taxotere is pretty much a drainer of everything.
I think with my white count being down, I am rebounding from the treatments slower and slower. Tomorrow I have my next appointment at 9:15 a.m. We shall see whether or not the counts have increased enough to get treatment number 7.

Sleep patterns are changing again and it was at one point around 4:15 a.m. this morning that Nick and I bumped heads in the dark. We ended up on the couch sitting up trying to catch a few more winks before he left for work.

I have my B3 shirt on today, but do not feel like I am much in the mood for fighting! Guess this is where my support team picks up the pieces again - and prays for all the little details I have no energy to pray for.

Chemo Treatment - Round 7 Postponed

Headed out today for chemo round number 7 at 10 a.m. My weight was up another 2 lbs which was good. Dr. Murphy asked if I was having any problems since my last treatment. Nothing major except feeling like I wear cement shoes every once in a while when my legs get heavy. My eyes seem to water a lot as if I am crying, but I am really not. He assured me that that was a side effect of the Taxotere.


He did his usual exam and listened to my chest sounds, but then announced that my white blood counts were not where they should be and that I could not get chemo today due to them being below the required level. He said we had to postpone treatment for another week and hopefully they will be back up where they need to be by next Thursday.

Nick and I headed home sorta somber. Oh well, Lord knows what's best at this point. I will use this time to rest and relax and June 3rd will be here before we know it. This does however change things for my surgery AGAIN! UGH! Brenda

B3 Fight Garage Sale- May 22nd!!

GOT JUNK?? Well we are gonna put it to good use! This weekend (possibly Maybe 29th too!) in McKinney, Texas! Yee haw... we are gonna sell some junk and turn it to treasure!!

Round Five - two to go!

Today's (Thursday) chemo treatment played out pretty smooth. I had to see the physician assistant prior to going to the oncology ward and getting my chemo cocktail and she said my counts were excellent. I actually gained one pound in three weeks. Could have been those Peanut M&M's I had on the way home from Walmart yesterday to "get my strength up" after getting groceries in for the upcoming week. :-)


I am a creature of habit and didn't get to sit in "my" usual chair as the ward was very busy so I had to take chemo from a different view. I thought of it like a church goer who always sits in the same pew every Sunday. Guess I just liked being front and center to the nurses station and being able to see their smiling faces straight on. Today I had the side view.

Nick sent his usual text for any requests for food prior to his arrival - of course I wanted French Fries! Couldn't deal with the chicken sandwich today on top of steroids - ugh.

It was a good thing he came because they had to do the Benedryl administration again and I had to sign the "no drive paper" due to loopieness so we had to leave one vehicle there so he could bring me home. Franklin drivers thanked me for that - I was pretty loopie to say the least.

As you can see in this picture I am toting a new beanie. There was a wife of a patient there that crochets caps while she sits with her husband having chemo. She saw me wearing my turban and asked if I would like one of her caps. It brought a big smile to my face and I traded out my turban for the soft cap. The nurses said she can make them while she waits she is that fast at crocheting. What a sweet way of giving back to cancer patients.

After an afternoon of an intense nap (I dreamt of floods-Whoa Nelly) Nick and I took a brief walk around the apartment complex and sat by the pool for a few minutes in the cool evening breeze. I am hoping for a better first night after chemo as the last treatment was not so good.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support, cards, love, messages, meals, gifts and prayers. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with chemo. One down today and two more to go - then onto surgery - yee ha!

Mrs. Shrek

Look! If I put bugels in my ears I look like Shrek...

B3 Fight and 5K Girls on the Run in Nashville.. Rain or Shine...or in this case FLOOD!!

"As you guys probably know by now Nashville had 100 flood this weekend and many homes are devastated and some families lost loved ones. We are so saddened by this. The worse it got for us was a river in our front yard massive flooding around us and our basement covered in water.
We are just so grateful and blessed that the only thing we had to deal with was a flooded basement. The rain started coming down as we left Saturday morning for the B3 Fight 5K. When we got to Shelby Park at 6:50am to register, there were a lot of people...:) You'll see in the pictures. Everyone kind of gathered under one cover as they could and so we waited to start the run. At 8am they announced that the lightning was too dangerous to allow anyone to run, so they canceled it.....:( They then announced that in 10min they would still give out the door prizes as if the race actually happened by pulling peoples names from the registration tabs. I felt that we should stay and wait because the Lord is with us and always gives us favor.  I think they gave out between 15 - 20 door prizes. The last door prize was going to go to the 1st place ALL OVER winner of the race and when they pulled the name is was one of my brother's....:)  We jumped up and clapped our hands, giving our a yipee...... so excited.......knowing that whatever we got this day would go to you Brenda, because its all for her. So you have a $50 gift certificate for a pair of new running shoes from New Balance in Cool Springs that's coming your way. I also have a goody bag for you.
While we were there I got to meet Jennifer who organized the event and allowed us to run for B3 Fight.
From there we left to go home and then got stranded at home unable to leave because of all the flood planes.

Bill, myself and the rest who came out feel so blessed that we could lift you up in prayer Brenda this morning and that we had the opportunity to come together for you.

We praise the Lord for having favor on us and to bless you by healing you completely. we all believe in you and that Christ is supernaturally working through you.

I hope you guys like the pictures.

Have a blessed day

Ilonka, Bill and Family...:)"

Shirts are in!! Cookies, bracelets and pins too!!

Relay for Life

Friday night, April 30th, seven of the Community Boot Camps girls and their families got together to Relay for Life in McKinney, Texas! It was a very fun and family oriented event. It was shocking to see how many of the survivors wearing purple shirts were young children. We are so blessed to live in a time where the survivor rate is so high... which brings me to a place of hope for my mom! Three of Brenda's grandchildren attended and ran their rear ends off till 11pm! (no hope for them sleeping in late though!) There were many sad moments as we watched all the families in tears during the luminary service as they remembered their moms, brothers, aunts and cousins that they lost. I have hope that I will not need a luminary candle next year remembering my mom, but one rejoicing in her remission!

Up Coming B3 Fight Events

There are a lot of fun and exciting fundraisers going on right now for The B3 Fight. Currently:

• In Nashville, TN the 5k on the Run is teaming up this weekend, May 1st to join forces to benefit The B3 Fight and young women in need! Hosted by Bill and Ilonka Deaton. http://www.illonkamusic.com/
• Relay for Life in McKinney, Texas  April 30th - Community Boot Camps - Relaying for Brenda.
• B3 Fight Garage Sale, teaming up with all the local "junk" in McKinney, Texas on May 22nd. All sales and proceeds go to The B3 Fight Trust.
• T-shirt Sales, Bracelets and Pins!! On Going....
• Church Car wash in Layton, UT (already took place April 17th ) Bake Sale and Car Wash to Benefit other members of the church battling cancer as well as The B3 Fight!
• Still Moments Photography - % of all picture orders go to The B3 Fight. On going...till Remission....

Bucket for the Cure

http://www.bucketforthecure.com

Brenda at C3 Staff Meeting

“C3 Staff honored Brenda at their weekly meeting on April 21st by presenting her a gift to commemorate her completion of the Red Devil chemo treatments and then laying hands on her as Pastor Mike Smith prayed for her and Nick. She was blessed and touched by Pastor Scott Roley’s words and the encouragement received from the staff. The toughest part of this event was to get her to sit in the middle of the room as Scott presented her with the picture. Our Community Life Director, Cindy Blom eased Brenda’s spirit by placing 3 chairs in the middle for her and Nick to join Brenda. The C3 Staff continue to bless Brenda and Nick through loving them well. For you other B3 Fighters, please accept our invitation, when you’re in Franklin to drop by C3 and meet these wonderful people God’s placed in our lives.”

Adios Diablo Rojo

"On April 6th the Staff of Christ Community Church was invited by Brenda and Nick to celebrate Bren's final Red Devil treatment; hence Adios Diablo Rojo. Thirty people raised their glass to Brenda for her courage to fight through the harsh effects the red devil had on her body. Bren and I raised our glass to the staff of C3 to thank them for their unceasing love and support through prayer, meals, and their presence. The celebration was held at La Hacienda, a Mexican restaurant close to C3. Bren and I were honored by the many that attended the celebration. Bren, for the first time, met several staff members and their family.
In hind sight, we can also celebrate God's loving-kindness and mercy in using the red devil to shrink her tumor down to almost nothing. Brenda told me the other day that "she knows she had to face the red devil to recieve God's power to heal through it." ~Nick

Chemo number 5

My visit today to the oncology ward brought some anxiousness as I began my next 4 treatments of a different kind of chemo (Taxotere). My appointment was early so I was up with Nick and anticipated just getting there, seeing Dr. Murphy and then settled into my easy chair to await the new drugs. Seeing Dr. Murphy went well. I have lost a few more pounds and my counts were good.

It wasn't too long when the ward really began to pick up the pace. No one was with me and I was managing all of it until the sudden rush of the business of the ward caught me totally off guard. My first vein that they tried failed. When they have to go into the vein at the bend of the arm, it always is a bit more stressfull. Between that and the sudden bustle, I could feel my emotions rising to the top and they began to spill over. Before I knew it, I was in tears. (I even tried to turn up my ipod with my piano music nice and loud to manage to noise, but that didn't work)

They had to give me benedryl for this first treatment to be sure I had no allergic reaction and it made me a bit drowsy. I put Nick on standby for coming and driving me home. I soon found that the tears were not gonna stop so I called him back and asked him to come sooner.

When he finally arrived, he could tell I was visably upset, but I soon drifted off into a more relaxed state and before I knew it, the treatment was done and we were ready to go home.
I was able to rest and nap for several hours when I got home and it felt good. I will return for my next treatment on May 6th and that will be number 6 (of 8). No more shots on the Friday after chemo anymore either. That part of the treatment is done - Yeah! Another one under my belt - it's a good thing.

Sonogram Update

We were VERY encouraged at the appointment today with Dr. Whitworth (the breast dr.) I had my first sonogram since my diagnosis and the tumor has shrunk within the margins. In fact we saw the Physician Assistant and she wanted us to wait for Dr. Whitworth to come out of a procedure so he could see how GOOD the progress of the tumor shrinking looked. Dr. Whitworth had a big smile on his face when he looked at his "tumor marker" and said, it is responding better than expected and we can proceed forward on schedule. We did ask the question if surgery might NOT have to happen, but he said that although the tumor has shrunk, they still have to go in and get the cancer cells within the margins to be sure I am free and clear after my last 4 chemo treatments. We were both very encouraged with the news and it looks like Thursday is a go for chemo number 5. I will need to have an MRI prior to surgery and then I will be ready for surgery the end of June. Overall it was a very positive appointment. P.S. As a surprise, my honey got me a new durag for riding the cycle today!

Chucked Full

I wanted to update the blog before we venture into this upcoming week. It is one that is going to be "chucked full" of doctor appointments and treatment and there is no telling if there will be time to check in with all of the B3 supporters once the alarm goes off tomorrow morning.


I have several dr. appointments this week and Nick has a "big" appointment on Wednesday for his "over 50" check up. Tuesday will be the day of my first sonogram since my diagnosis and after I have had 4 rounds of chemo. It will be interesting to see how the "red devil" has succeeded in shrinking this tumor. We are anxious to find out the results of that. Thursday will begin the next of the series of chemo treatments called Taxotere (4) and these will come every 3 weeks instead of two. I read over the paper this last week on the additional possible side effects and am getting geared up for this "new" adventure.
Our specific prayer needs this week will be for rest amongst all of this busy time. I am feeling good physically at this point in time and my prayer is it will continue. One side effect of this new chemo is bone pain, so prayer for the management of that will be helpful. Four more treatments of chemo and then we can move onto surgery.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers thus far and continual support. We are grateful for all of you. Brenda

Ham and Pegs

A few weeks ago it would have been hard for me to imagine that I would be on the back of the motorcycle enjoying a fantastic day of riding. When I was so sick I could barely pick my head up off the pillow and to now be out in the fresh air enjoying a beautiful spring day in Middle Tennessee is amazing to me.



We knew that the weather was going to be in the 80’s and although the Easter ham had 4 hours to cook, we planned it so we could pop it in the oven and hop on the bike to head to the Natchez Trace. As we drove along, I was awed and amazed at the strategic planting of the beautiful pink blossoming trees. The last time we were on the Natchez Trace, it was at the end of fall, all the leaves were gone and it was not pretty at all. We passed many a biker and others enjoying the absolutely gorgeous day. Along the way there are homes tucked in and out of the area. I kept thinking, boy these people have it made. Living back here in the beauty and splendor and then my mind got to thinking EXCEPT when that snow and ice hits and the need for medical care and groceries comes along. I am sure that beyond the birds eye view from the cycle there was a Walmart lurking out there somewhere, I just couldn’t see it.



We took a detour to get gas and ate at this little country store and I am talking country! We both had a roast beef sandwich and it tasted every bit of good to me and Nick was very much amazed that I ate the entire sandwich. A sure sign that my appetite is back at least for the moment. Perhaps it will add to the necessary padding I was missing when riding seeing I have lost over 15 lbs and that makes for a boney butt and not much comfort when riding on the cycle. Time for extra padding for the seat!



What was even more pleasurable was the fact that everyone was enjoying their Easter Sunday with their family and the traffic was minimal. That put my mind a little more at ease and I was able to relax a bit more than I normally do. All in all it was a good day and we made it back home just in time for ham and sweet potato dinner.



As I continue to build strength this week in anticipation of my sonogram and chemo treatment next week, continue to pray for sickness protection B3 supporters. This week is the time when my counts are prone to drop and my defenses go down. So far so good, and I hoping for a good outcome as we forge ahead.

This week....

This week has been pretty uneventful which has been a blessing in disguise. Sometimes with chemo, you get by from day to day and wonder when the other shoe will drop. So far this week has been a week of resting and enjoying some sunny weather here in Middle Tennessee.

I did find out today however that now my chemo treatments will be every three weeks for the next four treatments. I have to have a sonogram prior to beginning the next of the series so my Dr. can see the progress on how the "red devil" treatments worked in shrinking the tumor. I must admit this was a bit of discouraging news because I thought I would be ready to have my surgery by early June. Spreading them out every three weeks will delay the surgery and the radiation - can you tell I am anxious for this to be over. I am ready for my hair to start growing back and my strength to come back.

I am getting used to being bald though as I ran to answer the door the other day for the UPS man, I forgot to put my turban on. I am sure he had a story to tell that night at the supper table, I just chuckled to myself after it was over.

As I plod along these next few weeks I will have to ask my B3 supporters to pray for patience for me, as you know the saying, never pray for patience for yourself. And let me know if your gonna show up at the door - so you won't get a bold awakening like UPS! `Brenda

Round 4 Chemo

"As I type this update, I am enjoying a cup of applesauce. I am home now and settling in from having round four of chemo and the last of the "red devil" treatments. This is a huge landmark for me. With having gotten very ill after round 3, I was not so sure I wanted to go to round 4. Nick met me at the Oncology Lab just prior to them starting the infusion. I was watching the clock and sitting there seeing the "red devil" hanging outside the room where they mix the drugs. I kept thinking, you can do this Brenda, this is the last one of this kind.

I know that there are alot of people praying. The strength was there to push through one more and now I am praying that I will not become ill again from this treatment. My blood count was good, temp was good, but my white count was up which could be just part of having had the last infection. The Dr. said we need to move forward and keep pluggin along. I amazed myself that I shook my head in agreement.

Nick took this picture of Apple Annie (better known as Apple Ugly) and I at chemo. She is a family joke/tradition that was started this past Thanksgiving and my niece Rachel sent her to me just in time to come along for the "red devil" ride! She gets past from family to family every year and that family can take her anywhere they want. I knew she was gonna enjoy the oncology ward sporting her new red sweater!

For now, I am taking it hour by hour with this treatment. Keep on prayin and I will keep on fighting - with Apple Annie by my side. :-)" ~Brenda

What Cancer Can't Do

It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot invade the soul.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the spirit.
It cannot lessen the power of God.

Relay for Life coming soon

To: Sarah Kelly
Date: Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 12:27 AM
Subject: Relay for Life coming soon

"Hi Ladies

I am putting together a team of women to participate in the Relay for Life at the end of April. It's a benefit for the American Cancer Society, and from what I've heard, it's an amazing experience to be a part of. As women, I am sure we all know someone that has it, or has had it at one point in their lives. We have a boot camp girl in the 6am class whose mom was just recently diagnosed, so we will be thinking of her as we walk. If you have women in your life that are also fighting this battle, I would love to know about her so we as a group can offer support, prayers, etc.
I received an email from the coordinators and they need the names of the participants that are on my team (McKinney Boot Camps) along with what your shirt size would be, by Thursday.
If you want more info - you can google relay for life mckinney and it will pop up.
If you then decide you want to be on the team - please reply to this with your name and shirt size. So far here's the group:

Melody
Toni
Kike
Dee
Sarah
Jacque

Our limit is 15 for the group.
Please let me know if you have any add'l questions.
Thanks so much!
Melody Chandler"

Cancer can't erase DNA.... or sisters being sisters!!