Just a quick update... Mom was discharged from the hospital on Friday. We had a great weekend and she was able to go to the Humphrey race party! Mom visits the clinic twice a week now to get bloodwork done--if she needs blood or platelets then she gets those too. We are still looking for a match for her! Please consider joining the marrow registry!! Bethematch.org!
Dad went to University of Chicago last week as well. They gave him some options to consider while he waits to be rescanned in a month. Dad will leave today for University of Michigan and meet with their team tomorrow. Please pray that they have viable options and that there are no significant changes in the scans through this process!
Thanks for all of your support and prayers! God hears us!!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
5/20 Update
There hasn't been much to update in the world of the Williams Family. Mom continues to deal with post-chemo side effects--including loss of appetite, fatigue, spending lots of time in the bathroom, and hair loss. Mom decided she was tired of dealing with the hair falling out, so she had Amanda (and Andrew) shave her hair....it just so happened to be Mother's Day:(
Her counts are still pretty low, so she'll wait all of this out in the hospital. In the meantime, there were no sibling matches for a bone marrow donor, so we are praying that there will be a donor in the National Marrow registry. Several people have asked if they can be tested to see if they are a match for Mom, and the answer is no. However, you can register to be in the registry by going to http://bethematch.org. This means that you would be willing to donate to anyone(someone else's brother, mom, or child) that needs it and matches with you (for perspective Steven's been in the registry over a year and hasn't been called to be a donor for anyone).
On Dad's news, he will be heading to Chicago to meet with with some doctor's for a second opinion. Joe and Jerry will be travelling with him, so please keep them all in your prayers for safe travels this week. Also pray that the doctor's have some promising news!!
Thanks for all your care and concern!
Her counts are still pretty low, so she'll wait all of this out in the hospital. In the meantime, there were no sibling matches for a bone marrow donor, so we are praying that there will be a donor in the National Marrow registry. Several people have asked if they can be tested to see if they are a match for Mom, and the answer is no. However, you can register to be in the registry by going to http://bethematch.org. This means that you would be willing to donate to anyone(someone else's brother, mom, or child) that needs it and matches with you (for perspective Steven's been in the registry over a year and hasn't been called to be a donor for anyone).
On Dad's news, he will be heading to Chicago to meet with with some doctor's for a second opinion. Joe and Jerry will be travelling with him, so please keep them all in your prayers for safe travels this week. Also pray that the doctor's have some promising news!!
Thanks for all your care and concern!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Terrible Tuesday...
Mom continues her hospital stay with chemo that ran last weekend and this weekend. Her counts have dropped (which is what the doctors predicted and we hoped for)...so she'll continue to be in the hospital until her counts recover which will probably be a few more weeks. And just when all of our focus was on Mom and her treatment, we got a bombshell from Dad's doctor.
At his last appointment (April 25th), his doctor wanted to get a stat MRI because dad's last scan showed that his cancer might have spread. After the MRI, dad's doctor said that the scan may have not been right, so he was sending the MRI and other scans to another team of doctors. On Tuesday evening, May 1st, Dad was sitting in Mom's hospital room when his doctor called to say that the cancer had indeed spread into the portal vein. What his doctor said is that he will never be a candidate for a liver transplant...and because of his high bilirubin, he can't have the radiation. His doctor has said he didn't have any other treatment options and gave us the grim news that Dad has 6-12 months. While that news is utterly devastating, we aren't giving up hope and we will continue to pray that God's timing continues long past these 12 months. Please pray. Have your friends and your church pray. We hope that God will be glorified in all of this struggle!
It is indescribable how the staff that are caring for Mom right now have responded. When they heard the news, they were crying along with us, offering support, and being wonderful. They took especially good care of Mom that night so that Dad could go home and get some sleep. The other amazing part is that Mom's doctor made some calls and got Dad an appointment with another oncologist for a second opinion. We'll see how that goes, but even with the second opinion, there is not a guarantee that there will be treatment options.
For those friends and family we've told, thank you for your support and your prayers. That's all we know that we need right now!
At his last appointment (April 25th), his doctor wanted to get a stat MRI because dad's last scan showed that his cancer might have spread. After the MRI, dad's doctor said that the scan may have not been right, so he was sending the MRI and other scans to another team of doctors. On Tuesday evening, May 1st, Dad was sitting in Mom's hospital room when his doctor called to say that the cancer had indeed spread into the portal vein. What his doctor said is that he will never be a candidate for a liver transplant...and because of his high bilirubin, he can't have the radiation. His doctor has said he didn't have any other treatment options and gave us the grim news that Dad has 6-12 months. While that news is utterly devastating, we aren't giving up hope and we will continue to pray that God's timing continues long past these 12 months. Please pray. Have your friends and your church pray. We hope that God will be glorified in all of this struggle!
It is indescribable how the staff that are caring for Mom right now have responded. When they heard the news, they were crying along with us, offering support, and being wonderful. They took especially good care of Mom that night so that Dad could go home and get some sleep. The other amazing part is that Mom's doctor made some calls and got Dad an appointment with another oncologist for a second opinion. We'll see how that goes, but even with the second opinion, there is not a guarantee that there will be treatment options.
For those friends and family we've told, thank you for your support and your prayers. That's all we know that we need right now!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Bone marrow results...
Mom had to have another bone marrow today because the first one did not have conclusive results. The results came back today and unfortunately she still has a significant amount of leukemia:( . The doctors presented two options for treatment--chemo or another clinical trial. The better option right now would be the chemo that includes different drugs that she hasn't had yet. She'll get the ARA-C again, along with VP-16 & Carboplatin. There are some significant side effects that can happen and are likely because we are starting chemo so close to the last round (hair loss, mouth sores, diarrhea, etc.). Again, this is still a risky option, but there would still be a potential option to try something else if this doesn't work. The chemo will start tomorrow and go for three days, then a few days of rest, then three more days of chemo...then we'll wait for another count recovery and get a bone marrow to see if she's cleared enough to go for transplant. Mom will be in the hospital for at least a few more weeks.
Dad had also decided this week to start on disability so he'll be able to be at the hospital more.
Keep the prayers coming...Lord knows we need them!
Dad had also decided this week to start on disability so he'll be able to be at the hospital more.
Keep the prayers coming...Lord knows we need them!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Preliminary Results
Just briefly, Mom had her bone marrow biopsy today...after several attempts:( It might take 3-4 days to get all of the final numbers, but the preliminary results are disappointing. It appears that there are still blasts:( Pending the final results we will need to decide the next steps. We will know more when we can get the information from the doctors and then we'll need to make our decisions. We appreciate your continued prayers and support. Thank you to everyone!!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Waiting game...
Mom was admitted on the 10th and her chemo started the following day or so. She only got chemo for about 4 or 5 days, so then the waiting game starts. This Tuesday (4/24), Mom will get another bone marrow biopsy to determine if this round of chemo has worked. If it worked, then we wait for the counts to recover and start the road to the Stem Cell transplant. If it didn't work, then she'll get another round of chemo and we'll pray for it to work.
We will update more on that front when we know.
Now, for Dad...he has completed the work up for the liver transplant team, which he was doing for the last several weeks while Mom was admitted. After his PETscan, there was a need for more bloodwork. There is a potential that he may need the y-90 treatment afterall, but we will know more after he meets with Dr. Kwo on Wednesday. When we know more about Dad, we'll update too.
Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers. We certainly believe in them and believe that they will work!
We will update more on that front when we know.
Now, for Dad...he has completed the work up for the liver transplant team, which he was doing for the last several weeks while Mom was admitted. After his PETscan, there was a need for more bloodwork. There is a potential that he may need the y-90 treatment afterall, but we will know more after he meets with Dr. Kwo on Wednesday. When we know more about Dad, we'll update too.
Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers. We certainly believe in them and believe that they will work!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Admission Time
Mom is back in the hospital as scheduled. On Monday she had several tests and things that needed to happen before she got to 3 East. She had bloodwork and labs, an echo & EKG, she had to get a PICC line (which needed to be readjusted after it was placed), and she had to get a bone marrow biopsy--which took 3 attempts. That is VERY painful for one attempt, so needless to say, after 3 attempts Mom was in a bit of pain. Later that afternoon she was admitted back to her "hospital home"...3 East. She will probably be admitted for 4-5 weeks.
Chemo was scheduled to start today after the labs and tests came back, but there was a bit of a delay with one of the tests, so chemo will start tomorrow. Mom did have to get blood today and she spent the day organizing some photos so she can put together some photo albums (gotta do something to stay busy)! Dad has a busy week this week with tests and appointments too, so he won't be with Mom as much this week. The good news is that he's met his goal weight, so hopefully we'll be reporting that he's on the transplant list soon. We'll be sure to update on both of them!!
While Mom is admitted, she can have visitors, emails, cards, and such, but cannot have fresh fruit or flowers. Her address is 3 East, Room B-14, IU Simon Cancer Center (535 Barnhill Drive Indianapolis, IN 46202-5116). Her laptop and cell phone are with her, so she can get emails and phone calls--but remember, she doesn't have texting:)
Thanks again to everyone for all of your prayers and support!
Find the C.U.R.E.!
Melissa
Chemo was scheduled to start today after the labs and tests came back, but there was a bit of a delay with one of the tests, so chemo will start tomorrow. Mom did have to get blood today and she spent the day organizing some photos so she can put together some photo albums (gotta do something to stay busy)! Dad has a busy week this week with tests and appointments too, so he won't be with Mom as much this week. The good news is that he's met his goal weight, so hopefully we'll be reporting that he's on the transplant list soon. We'll be sure to update on both of them!!
While Mom is admitted, she can have visitors, emails, cards, and such, but cannot have fresh fruit or flowers. Her address is 3 East, Room B-14, IU Simon Cancer Center (535 Barnhill Drive Indianapolis, IN 46202-5116). Her laptop and cell phone are with her, so she can get emails and phone calls--but remember, she doesn't have texting:)
Thanks again to everyone for all of your prayers and support!
Find the C.U.R.E.!
Melissa
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