Sorry for my silence. Time is flying and I can't believe that I haven't blogged since June. I apologize for not sharing my recent "journey" with you. I really have no excuse, especially since I bought a new laptop a few days ago. All I can say is I've just been busy.
I'm trying to make the most of my summer between my chemo and doctors' appointments. I'm currently 25 weeks pregnant and will have my fourth round of chemo next Monday. I feel great and am resting when I need to, despite what P.J. says. We have enjoyed special houseguests (Maureen, Angie and Sam), visits to the area farmers' markets, trips to Lake Forest beach, cooking out in our new backyard, dinners out with friends and preparing for baby.
On the subject of the baby, we are overjoyed and are still in shock that this is actually happening! In our wildest dreams, we could not imagine this scenerio, nor could my doctors. I was diagnosed with cancer on February 20 and found out I was pregnant on March 6. I was literally a week away from beginning chemo. As P.J. described in an earlier email, chemo would kill the fetus if taken during the first trimester. Since ending my pregnancy wasn't an option for me, we had to come up with an alternate plan. For quite a while, I didn't believe that this could all work out; however, it is and we will have a baby boy in October and I will be cancer-free next spring! The Lord works in mysterious ways!
My doctors recommended that I not travel this summer because of my "depressed" immune system and an increased risk to catching H1N1 (swine flu) or something else nasty. They said the only way I could fly was if I wore a face mask and a compression sleeve on my right arm (to avoid developing lymphadema resulting from having my lymph nodes removed). Well - I decided that I would attract too much attention to myself between those precautionary measures coupled with my pregnant belly and my scarfed head. I could just imagine what people would be thinking about me - wondering what my deal is. Anyway, I have the luxury of staying home and knowing that everyone will come to see me when they can.
Georgia is down south right now for a 16-day visit with my family. She is having a ball with her younger cousins and our friends. The biggest occasion that I have had to miss was the birth of my niece Julia on June 23 in Griffin, Georgia. Julia is my sister Rebecca's second child and little sister to Logan who is almost three-years-old. Georgia is getting lots of practice with Julia on how to care for a newborn and to be a helpful big sister. Georgia has been busy seeing my great aunt Margaret and Uncle Jack and visited the World of Coke Museum in Atlanta; hanging out with Wendy and kids visiting from Switzerland; spent two nights with Maureen and daughters; is currently spending a week in Blue Ridge at "Nana Camp" that includes a horseback riding day camp and had last weekend with all the cousin and lots of time on the lake; will go to Alabama this weekend to visit even more cousins. Georgia barely has time to talk with us and we are thrilled she's having such a good time. After this great experience away from home, Georgia is ready to go to Keystone Camp for two weeks next summer.
I have to go to bed now ... P.J. is nagging me. I promise I'll write again soon as I have some funny and interesting observations to share about my experiences. Thank you for keeping me and my family in your prayers.
xxoo
Jana
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Which One is Jana? and other 4th Fun!
We had a great 4th of July weekend with friends and family. We started off July 3rd at OC for the family picnic and fireworks - and met this little interesting fellow - can you tell who is who?
Saturday the 4th brought the traditional (and always fun) Lake Bluff parade where Georgia rode/marched with her school's float.
The night ended with us and 10,000 of our closest friends being serenaded by the sound stylings of (wait for it) - The Village People. Yes that's right, 70's powerhouse and what I consider to be the very first "boy band" - the Village People in all their costumed glory.
They sounded great (they may have been lip-synching), but it was a little uncomfortable trying to explain to our daughter why the man dressed as an indian (excuse me, native american for you PCers) wasn't wearing any underwear and why his "fanny" (her word, not mine) was hanging out.
Don't really think there is any good explanation of assless chaps for an 8 year-old. She did have a great time learning to dance to YMCA though - hopefully she is not scarred for life.
Hope you all had a happy and safe 4th as well.
Best,
P.J.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
You're What?!?!?!?!?!?!
This is going to be a long one.
Yes folks - the rumors are true. If you haven't heard yet (I think many of you have) - Jana is pregnant.
Believe me, we were more shocked than you are now.
Hopefully, I can answer some of the questions I know you will have:
She is 23 weeks tomorrow. She will deliver around weeks 34-36.
We found out about three weeks after she was diagnosed, when she literally was about to start chemo. Fortunately, one of the doctors we interviewed asked her about her cycle and then realized she was a bit late. We thought there was no way she was prego, but decided to take a pee test anyway. Well, that pee test turned into about 30 of them and here we are.
What to do now? We had no idea, and there is zero information out there for pregnant women dealing with cancer. Jana's OB was no help whatsoever either. The first words out of her mouth were "you need to terminate." Thankfully, Jana's response was "that's not going to happen, what can we do?" Her OB said she could/would not help us as she thought - incorrectly I should add - that the fetus can't survive the treatments and it would put Jana's life in danger. Suffice it to say, she is no longer Jana's OB.
As a side note, we have come to learn there are no numbers about the incidence of pregnant women with cancer. It really made us think about how many women might be out there as uninformed as we were and are actually listening to the first opinion they get and terminating their pregnancies. We can't stress enough the importance of getting 2nd, 3rd and even 4th opinions when dealing with issues like this.
(She did do two things right though, and I have to give credit where it is due: she suggested Jana get her annual mammogram starting at age 38, which probably saved her life; and she referred us to the high-risk maternity group at Evanston North Shore Hospital - a group of doctors who are as caring as they are brilliant.)
Fortunately, a close friend of ours - who is a breast cancer survivor - consulted with her doctor at MD Anderson in Houston. He told her that we needed to meet with one of the doctors there - Dr. Richard Theriault - who is one of, if not the, leading doctor in dealing with pregnant women with cancer.
Now you all know the reason we put our treatments on hold a bit to fly down there and meet with him.
He was a godsend and immediately put us at ease. He determined our course of action and called our oncologist to consult on the schedule of treatment.
We had to wait until after week 10 to have the surgery; and then wait until after the first trimester to begin chemo.
It all gets a bit sciencey here, so bear with me. You shouldn't do anything during weeks 6-10 because that is the biggest developmental leap for the baby. Once the first trimester has passed, the placenta has reached a stage where it is really in a position to help the fetus. In a nutshell, the chemo drugs do not penetrate the placenta. Unlike narcotics and alcohol (which are small molecule drugs), chemo drugs are large molecule and the placenta keeps them out.
Pretty cool stuff.
How has this affected Jana? Well, she looks fantastic - of course - but she is really tired. Still trying to rein her in - to no avail. But she is getting better at listening to her body and sleeping when needed.
Georgia is really excited about being a big sister and is already helping with potential names.
Hopefully, that will be enough for you to digest over the holiday weekend ;).
And I hope you all have a great 4th of July.
Best,
P.J.
Yes folks - the rumors are true. If you haven't heard yet (I think many of you have) - Jana is pregnant.
Believe me, we were more shocked than you are now.
Hopefully, I can answer some of the questions I know you will have:
She is 23 weeks tomorrow. She will deliver around weeks 34-36.
We found out about three weeks after she was diagnosed, when she literally was about to start chemo. Fortunately, one of the doctors we interviewed asked her about her cycle and then realized she was a bit late. We thought there was no way she was prego, but decided to take a pee test anyway. Well, that pee test turned into about 30 of them and here we are.
What to do now? We had no idea, and there is zero information out there for pregnant women dealing with cancer. Jana's OB was no help whatsoever either. The first words out of her mouth were "you need to terminate." Thankfully, Jana's response was "that's not going to happen, what can we do?" Her OB said she could/would not help us as she thought - incorrectly I should add - that the fetus can't survive the treatments and it would put Jana's life in danger. Suffice it to say, she is no longer Jana's OB.
As a side note, we have come to learn there are no numbers about the incidence of pregnant women with cancer. It really made us think about how many women might be out there as uninformed as we were and are actually listening to the first opinion they get and terminating their pregnancies. We can't stress enough the importance of getting 2nd, 3rd and even 4th opinions when dealing with issues like this.
(She did do two things right though, and I have to give credit where it is due: she suggested Jana get her annual mammogram starting at age 38, which probably saved her life; and she referred us to the high-risk maternity group at Evanston North Shore Hospital - a group of doctors who are as caring as they are brilliant.)
Fortunately, a close friend of ours - who is a breast cancer survivor - consulted with her doctor at MD Anderson in Houston. He told her that we needed to meet with one of the doctors there - Dr. Richard Theriault - who is one of, if not the, leading doctor in dealing with pregnant women with cancer.
Now you all know the reason we put our treatments on hold a bit to fly down there and meet with him.
He was a godsend and immediately put us at ease. He determined our course of action and called our oncologist to consult on the schedule of treatment.
We had to wait until after week 10 to have the surgery; and then wait until after the first trimester to begin chemo.
It all gets a bit sciencey here, so bear with me. You shouldn't do anything during weeks 6-10 because that is the biggest developmental leap for the baby. Once the first trimester has passed, the placenta has reached a stage where it is really in a position to help the fetus. In a nutshell, the chemo drugs do not penetrate the placenta. Unlike narcotics and alcohol (which are small molecule drugs), chemo drugs are large molecule and the placenta keeps them out.
Pretty cool stuff.
How has this affected Jana? Well, she looks fantastic - of course - but she is really tired. Still trying to rein her in - to no avail. But she is getting better at listening to her body and sleeping when needed.
Georgia is really excited about being a big sister and is already helping with potential names.
Hopefully, that will be enough for you to digest over the holiday weekend ;).
And I hope you all have a great 4th of July.
Best,
P.J.
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