August 21, 2009

At Hazeltine

Relay for Life Aug 09

At Como Zoo

Como Zoo

Johns Rafting Trip

Kate At Jacks Soccer Game

Jack at Soccer

Pregnant!

John and the kids

Hello Everyone!

It has been way too long since I have updated this blog!  A lot has happened since October of last year!  Where do I start?

I am 7 months pregnant.  We are all very excited to welcome baby #3 to the family.  It is a boy and we have no ideas for names.  Any suggestions are welcome.  I am due on Nov. 14th but because of my kidney situation he will be delivered on Oct. 20th via planned C section.  Besides still getting sick on a regular basis (who thought morning sickness could last this long??!!) my health is good.  We have had to put all cancer screening on hold during the pregnancy and the first scan will take place 3 months after I deliver.  So we are keeping our fingers crossed that the cancer hasn't returned.  August 15th was the one year anniversary of my cancer surgery.  I am officially a one year cancer survivor.  On Aug 7th, I was the keynote speaker at the Relay for Life.  It is a cancer fundraiser.  I was flattered to be asked to speak.  Hopefully I did a good job.  I am not the public speaker of the family.  It was a great experience and I was proud to be a part of it.  Other than that, things are about the same around here.  I keep quite busy chasing the kids around from morning til night.  I have been lucky to do some traveling since October. In November, John and I went to Paris.  It was amazing and very romantic!  I love it there, now I know what all the fuss is about.  In January, my mom, sisters and I took a Caribbean Cruise.  We girls had a really great time!  In February, John surprised me with a secret trip to Las Vegas.  It was a Valentines Day Trip.  We had an incredible time.

John is great.  He is still busy at work which is great considering the economy.  He has been playing a lot of  golf this summer.  He also took an amazing trip to the Grand Canyon with his family.  They went white water rafting down the Colorado River.  They had an amazing time...a trip of a lifetime.  I was supposed to go but cancelled because I was 6 months pregnant.  Besides work and golf, John is very busy with the kids.  He has been great about lightening my load during the pregnancy.  

The kids are great, growing like weeds!  Jack will be 4 next month.  He starts preschool this fall.  He is more active than ever!  He loves to be outside riding his bike, going swimming, playing golf or soccer, or just running like a wild animal.  He is a little boy and that is what they do.  Kate will be 2 at the end of October.  She does everything Jack does.  She is the prefect combination of Princess and Tom Boy!  She is more of a daredevil than Jack ever was.  They are both really good kids.  They are funny, smart, curious, kind, generous, active, crazy kids.  Did I mention how cute they are?  I think they are amazing...even though they test my patience on a very regular basis.  

 

Monday October 20 2008

Jack at Gym class.  

Dad and the kids.

Off to the park.

Jack "flying" with Daddy.

Kate carrying a gourd.  

Jack picking apples.

Dad and Kate in the backyard.

Jack and Mom playing out back.

Dad and Jack.

Mom and Jack.

How cute is this sweater.  My mom made it for Kate.

Fall at our house.

The family at Emma Krumbees.

Jack kept putting pumpkins in the wagon.  If he had it his way we would have brought home all of them.  When he wasn't looking, I would take them out.

I can't tell you how many times she tripped over pumpkin vines that day!

Ride 'em cowboy!  This was a big step for Jack.

Jack and Me on the tractor.  Dad and Kate had to walk.  No strollers allowed.

This past weekend we went to Emma Krumbees.  It is a pumpkin patch and an apple orchard.  Every year they have a scarecrow festival, pony rides, a petting zoo, camel rides, and all kinds of family fun.  We had a great time.  Jack was brave enough to go on the pony ride.  Last year we had to get our money back due to a deep and painful fear of ponies.  This year, he loved it.  

Some Pictures!

Kate enjoying an ice cream cone.

Jack was nice enough to give his baby sister a ride in his jeep.

Jack playing in the leaves.

Kate playing in the leaves.

Raking leaves in the backyard.

Jack at the driving range.  John is so proud!

Kate walking.

Not having any fun at all!

Jack on the rides at Como Zoo.

On the swings.  Wheee!

Jacks 3rd Birthday

The mission to Mars Jumper.  

Jacks Finding Nemo Cake

Mmmmmm...Birthday Cake!

The Family.  The kids are thinking, "take the picture already."

September 21, 2008

Hello Everyone,

I will start off with a health update.  I am doing well.  I am gaining strength and feeling good.  Not great yet, but I am on my way.  It has been a bumpy road.  I have my great days, and my not so great days.  I still get tired easily, but that is to be expected.  This last week was my first week alone with the kids.  Well, sort of.  I had some help from my mom.  But it is so nice to feel like a mom again.  I was getting tired of sitting on the sidelines.  I don't want Cancer Patient to become my primary title.  So, I am jumping back in to motherhood...with caution.

We heard from Mayo Clinic about the cancer.  It is stage 2 Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma.  At first I was diagnosed as a stage 3, after further investigation, I was changed to stage 2, which is great news.  Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) is a very rare type of kidney cancer that accounts for about 5% of all RCC cases.  The good news is that the statistics say that the recurrence rate for Chromophobe RCC is somewhere between 5-25%.  So, we can keep our fingers crossed that this chapter in my life is over.  The bad news about the Chromophobe RCC is that they don't know a lot about it because it rejects the dye used to study it.  I had an MRI to check my tailbone for any cancer spread.  The report on that is that, "It looks OK."  However, I do have a large pool of blood (hematoma) at the surgery site.  The doctors are hopeful that it will reabsorb into my system in time.  They will keep an eye on everything.  I will be scanned every few months for a very very long time to check for any new tumors.  

I went to a genetic counselor to see if they had any answers as to why this happened.  They think I may have something called Birt Hogg Dube Syndrome.  It is an extremely rare syndrome that increases your chances for Chromobhobe RCC.  The symptoms include flesh colored moles on your face (which I have, but so do many other people), lung problems, renal tumors, and some other things.  I will be tested for it by removing and biopsying the moles on my face.  If I test positive for this syndrome, my parents, sisters, and kids will have to be tested too.  If they have the syndrome, they are at a greater risk for developing kidney cancer. Hopefully none of us have that and it is just a fluke that this happened to me.  I go back to the oncologist on the 29th for a check up and a bunch of blood work.  I go to the dermatologist on Oct 27 for the mole removal, so if you see me right after that, be kind.  I am sure I will have a few stitches on my face and look scary!  Just in time for Halloween.  Who knew that cancer would be such a pain.  

In happier news, Jack turned 3!  We had a big party.  It was a celebration for everyone in our family with a birthday in September.  Jack turned 3, John turned 32. Will turned 2, Lauren turned 17, aunt Linda turned ?, and of course Grandma Adorable turned 29....again.  It was a great party.  We rented a big blow up jumper for the kids to play in.  It should have been a huge hit, but it was a cold and rainy day.  They still jumped and played, but I am sure they could have had a better time if mother nature would have cooperated.  Jack had a great time.  He had a Finding Nemo cake, tons of balloons, and way too many gifts.  He got a Jeep that he can drive, a trampoline, a remote control Bobcat, a racetrack, games, books, a soccer ball, golf stuff...you name it, he got it.  He is already making his Christmas list.   Now that Jack is 3, he is wearing Pull Ups and starting to use the potty.  He is very proud of himself.

Kate is growing like a weed.  Finally her four front teeth are in!  I think the worst of the teething is over.  She is walking too.  She just figured it out one day.  She can even get up without pulling up on furniture.  Walking at 10 months.  She is a determined little bugger.  We are very proud. 

John turns 32 tomorrow.  Happy Birthday to him!  

Well, I would write more and add photos, but I hear Kate.  She is awake and wants me to pick her up.  I will add pictures soon.

Take care!

Becky

August 22, 2008

Hi Everyone,

First of all, let me apologize for the ugly pictures of the tumor.  I bet that was not what any of you were expecting to see when you visited my blog!  I wrote the text of the blog and added the photos after.  When I added the photos, I thought they would show up BELOW all of the text.  My disclaimer  that there were graphic photos attached didn't do much good.  So, sorry about that.  That is what I (and all of you) get when I sit down at the computer under the influence of pain killers.  But now we all know what cancer looks like.  I think the pictures are sort of like a car crash...you don't want to look at it, but you just can't help it.  

Anyway, I am doing pretty well.  I am still in a lot of pain and very weak, but it is getting better.  I took the bandages off of my incision last night and it looks great!  I was expecting a gruesome looking thing.  I thought it would look like the scar on Frankenstien's head.  But it isn't so bad.  I think it makes me look tough.  

I am really excited because my kids are coming home tomorrow!  Jack and Kate have been at "Camp Grandma and Grandpa Waldock and  Camp Gaga and Papa Winstead."  Both my parents and Johns parents have been taking wonderful care of them.  They have come for short visits but I think it is time they come back home.  I am really looking forward to having my family under one roof again.  I am by no means ready to jump back into my role as full time Mom, but it can only help to have my kids around me.  John is going to get a crash course in being a stay at home mom.  Kids, cooking, cleaning, laundry, yard work.  I plan to take pictures.  I am not worried, he is a wonderful father and he will do great.  My mom is planning on moving in for a few days to help as well.  And if it is too much, too soon, we can send the kids back to "camp."  

Speaking of our parents, I have to take a minute to thank them.  They have been so helpful, generous, and supportive.  Thank you Mom, Dad, John Sr, and Arlene!  We would be lost without you.  We love you so much.  If any of you see them, give them a pat on the back.  They really deserve it.  

So far, we have not heard any new news on the pathology of the tumor from Mayo Clinic yet.  So far all we know is that it is Stage 3 Renal Cell Carcinoma.  I have an oncology appointment on Thursday.  We will learn more then.  In the meantime, I plan on resting and healing.  I promised Jack that we would watch Finding Nemo when I got home from the hospital, so I am looking forward to that.  

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers!  That is really helping to keep our spirits up.  I really believe that whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.  So, I figure I will be ironclad by the time this is all over!  

Love to all!

Becky

Home from the hospital

Hello Everyone.

I am home from the hospital.  The surgery went well.  They ended up taking the tumor, my kidney, and my adrenal gland.  I got to keep my spleen.  I am very sore and very very weak.  But hopefully it will get better every day.  

The pathology report on the tumor is back.  It is stage 3 Renal Cell Carcinoma.  My oncologist is sending some samples down to Mayo Clinic for more testing.  We will hear from Mayo in a few days to determine the best course of action.  

  

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.  I really appreciate it.  

I have added the photos of my tumor.  Be warned, they are graphic.  The tumor is big, it is mean, and it is ugly.  And it is no longer residing in my abdomen.