Change in Chemo

As the year comes to a close, all of the ups and downs of the past 365 days start to come to light as we reflect on what has past and look forward to a fresh start. 

Before the new year begins, bringing with it fresh hope, here is an update on the last two months.

The last two months have been a bit of a roller coaster.  In November, Liz missed out on a couple of Chemo treatments due to the holidays and then an abnormal reading on her liver enzymes.  Shortly after that reading, she developed a low-grade fever that would come and go throughout the day for several days.

She wound up being admitted after her fever turned into a large amount of back pain and an inability to eat or drink without whatever she attempted to ingest making a second appearance.   It turns out she had an infection of some sort. Hydration and antibiotics helped bring Liz back to normal over the course of a couple weeks. 

While all of this was going on she had her 3^rd scan.  This scan showed the cancer progressing.  It’s not a dramatic increase but it did grow.  Whether it’s recuperating from the infection or the cancer growth, Liz is finding herself drained a lot easier and using her wheelchair a bit more.   Thankfully, her appetite has come back and she’s having an easier time keeping everything down.

Because the doctors want to constantly keep the cancer guessing, in hopes that they’ll be able to trick it into submission, it is time to switch up the chemo treatment.

Her previous regimen had her going in for chemo 1 day a week for 2 weeks and off for one week.  The new medication gets administered on Wednesday and then she gets a take-home bag of chemo that dispenses over the next 2 days.  Then, she gets a week off and starts all over again.  Her first round of treatment was really rough but she was pretty weak when she went in for it after having just finished her antibiotics from the infection and not really having an appetite yet.  Her 2^nd round went better this week than the last but still pretty rough. The doctor adjusted the dosage of chemo for the 2^nd round and upped her anti-nausea to help.  The doctor will continue to adjust the treatment to help Liz manage the side effects.

We have high hopes for this new regimen and the doctor is hoping to get her into a clinical trial early next year. (Fingers crossed!)

With how intense this new treatment is and how hard it has hit Liz, she has been placed back on disability until she regains her strength and the side effects are manageable.

Liz was off chemo the week of Christmas and enjoyed a quiet weekend with Noel, after a lovely Christmas dinner out at the Cedar Creek Inn on the Eve of Christmas Eve with Danielle and Angela (who came down from Oregon for the holiday!), Amy, David, myself, and Michael.

For New Years’, we will be spending a relaxing evening with movies, games and pizza at Liz & Noel’s place so that she can be comfortable and retreat to bed if she needs to.

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that the New Year brings us all health, happiness and a positive look for the future.

Cheers

Christmas 2016

New Years' 2016- Queen Mary

So glad we did this last year. 

Scan #2 Update

Good Afternoon,

Today Liz received the test results for her 2nd progress scan since she started chemo and the results came back with no change.

The cancer has neither grown nor continued its path of retreat.

We have high hopes that the cancer is merely stunned and will continue retreating during the next 9 weeks of treatment.

The treatment process has been hard, and tiring.  As the weeks go on, it is more and more deflating. We are all pleased that the cancer is not growing and it is showing signs that it may continue to shrink but the doctors have remained steadfast in their opinion that the chemo will continue indefinitely.  This news isn't the easiest for Liz and has been a little depressing.  After the first scan came back so positive it was disheartening to hear that this one is just stable.

The new action plan is to start adding lots of vitamin C to her daily routine as there have been studies showing vitamin C having positive results against cancer.  Ginger has also been added to her diet for this same reason and we are open to suggestion on other methods you may have heard. Because we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Positive encouragement, happy thoughts, and just engaging Liz in conversation would all be incredibly appreciated. Cookies and casseroles also help. ;)

The next scan results should come in around late November.  If there are any changes with her health, I will update everyone here.

Liz's Birthday!

August 9, 2016

Yesterday was Liz's 34th birthday!

Over the last weekend, we had an incredible time celebrating this wonderful lady.

Back in September for Danielle's wedding, the 6 of us (Liz, Noel, Amy, David, me and Michael) rented a house in Oregon together, realized that we all get along pretty well in a close environment and in fact have a lot of fun together. So when Liz started thinking about her birthday and options that wouldn't tucker her out too much, in case the medication hit her harder as it went on, she remembered all the fun we had together for Danielle's wedding as well as how much fun we had for Amy's bachelorette party in Temecula and put those two ideas together.   We originally had been trying to get Danielle, Angela, Matt, and Amanda all down for the celebration but it was not in the stars.

As our birthday gift to Liz, Amy and I rented a house out in Temecula Thursday through Sunday that was lovely and spacious, with a pool that made you feel like you were taken away to the tropics.  We spent the weekend in the pool or playing board/card games in the house and only ventured out into the city once to go wander around and grab an early dinner at Devilicious Eatery (super yummy!) before all the rest of the normal weekend Temecula crowd got in.

We all had a great time taking turns making breakfast, lunch and dinner for each other over the course of those 4 days and spending good, goofy, quality time together. The days went by in a flash, so I think we're going to have to plan another one soon. Maybe Big Bear in the winter?

Earlier in the week, Michael, Liz and I entered a week long scavenger hunt called GISHWHES (Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen) with 12 other people and during our celebration weekend we completed a few of the scavenger hunt items as well. It was fun cutting out magazine pictures and words to form a collage of things we want more of in our lives but that money cannot buy.  We also made Liz a human collage of things that make her uniquely her.

Another interesting update, is that Liz is back to work for a bit. She is working from the office on Monday and Tuesday, off on Wednesdays for treatments and working from home Thursday and Friday.  She doesn't have her full workload back but she has said that it's been a nice change of scenery and made her feel good to have something productive to do with her days.

Here are a few pictures from our weekend and our scavenger hunt.

Pool time!




Games!



Circus Animal Cake!


A special surprise arrived from Danielle and Angela on Friday!



Scavenger Hunt Stuff
#Make a collage from magazines of the things which cannot be bought or sold that you would like more of in your life.



#Turn yourself into a collage (you are the pasteboard on which the collage is affixed), comprised of all the things you love that, combined, help make you uniquely you.



#There’s one thing everyone has always agreed on: you have mad artichoke-repurposing skills.

Good old relaxing time.


Packing up and saying good bye.

SHRINKAGE!

Good News!

The doctors have time and time again been preparing us for the worst. They've poked holes in our hope as we held onto it as tightly as we could.

During the last two months while we patiently waited for each chemo treatment to pass so that we could get to the next check up, we threw our wishes out into the universe and hoped beyond hope there would be good news when there was news to be had.

Today the doctors, whose main goal was to stabilize the cancer, delivered news that the cancer isn't stabilized... it's SHRINKING!

Today we are all so happy our bodies can't contain the joy! (It seems to be leaking out when I blink.)

It is the most wonderful day today! Hug someone next to you, share love and share joy.

Keep your positive thoughts coming! There's a long road ahead and she'll need all the strength and love you can muster.  Though we all know she's a pretty tough cookie all on her own!

Chemo treatments will continue and we'll be celebrating the dickens out of her birthday when that rolls around in a few weeks!!

Status Update

Good Afternoon!


It's been a while since I've updated you on anything, but there really hasn't been much to update.

Last week Liz completed her 3rd full round of chemo (6 infusion sessions). She's doing well. The chemo has started making her mouth taste bad for a few days afterward, but that was a side-effect we knew would probably come.  Other than that she's been in good spirits and everyone at the City of Hope has been wonderful.

Her disability payments finally started coming in and she's going to be okay. YAY!!  

She has her own set of wheels now to get her around on long days.  On a regular basis she's fine on her own two feet, but for being out and about when there's a fair amount of walking to be done the wheelchair helps her keep her energy for whatever exciting thing we're up to. 

Over all, she still looks like her normal healthy self. You'd never know she was sick to look at her. Her hair is thinning but still very much there. 

Tomorrow they'll take a new CT scan and see how the cancer is reacting to the chemo. Then the doctor will determine what steps to take next, whether they continue on this same regimen, adjust the dosage, or switch her to something different.

Once the results come back in another week or two we'll know more and hopefully be able to post an update.


Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend with the ones you love!

In Our Hearts There Will be Music

In a junior high band room 21 years ago, two young ladies both picked up the clarinet and a friendship was born. Amanda and Liz learned the ways of the clarinet together, fought with each other to claim the glory of 1^st Chair and were forced to spend most of their junior high and high school time together through both Marching Band and Choir

Friendships fluttered in and out in those days but the music bonded them and the music would keep them together whether they wanted it or not. 

Saturday Amanda fulfilled her promise to Liz and received a tattoo of her own design. A dandelion.  The dandelion is composed of many different seeds all connected to the same stem, very much how the 5 of us were all connected through the mutual bond of music.  As the dandelion matures the seeds are carried off into the wind to start their own journeys, and so did we, taking with us the strength, knowledge and love we gained from one another that shaped us as we grew.

Amanda’s dandelion is a reminder that no matter where life takes us, we’ll never truly be far apart because from the very beginning we’ve always been a part of the same flower singing the same song.

Let’s Kick it Up a Notch!

Good Morning, 

As you know, since February when all of this began Liz has been in and out of the hospital. Because of this, she and has not been able to work much. In fact, during the last 4 months she only has worked a total of 3 weeks, her last working day being April 22^nd.  During February when everything was still unknown she used up her sick and vacation time for those doctor's visits and hospital stays. 

With everything being strange and scary, it was hard to know what to do next.  Liz, being new to long term illness, (or really any kind of illness) didn’t know when or how to file for disability and couldn't seem to get the answers from her work.  At the beginning of May she again inquired with the HR department about disability pay and they pointed her in the direction of the state disability website. Together we sorted out the website and filed the information requested.  She has not yet received any response from her submission.

These last 4 months Liz has essentially been living off of savings and the money from the GoFundMe.  She has been trying to get permission to work remotely from home, but has not yet received an answer on that either. In the meantime Medical bills are starting to come through, and managing rent has taken up most of her funds.  Her work hasn’t notified her of any premiums due on her insurance, but those may also be in the pipeline.

Please take a moment to donate if you can. If you’ve donated before, your donation has gone to good use. You have helped sustain her through these terrifying months, and I’m asking you to help again if you can.

Your support, your love and encouragement have been overwhelming.

Thank you for everything! 

https://www.gofundme.com/life4liz

The Lion

Amy chose her tattoo based on a drawing of a lion that was an inspiration of strength for Liz through incredibly rough times.  

Throughout literature and history the lion has symbolized courage and can often be seen as a guardian. Think of the Lions that grace the gates at Buckingham Palace and flanking the New York Public Library as eternal guardians, or the Lions chosen for family crests and tunics of warriors as symbols of unrelenting courage.  

But there is more meaning to this lion than just courage and strength. Being born in August, and a Leo, Liz has always associated with this fierce creature. Her ferocity doesn't come in the form of anger or snap decision making but in her severe loyalty to those she cares about. The relationships she has fostered over the years mean more to her than anything else and she is very protective over them.  

Amy shares these traits with Liz along with the birth month of August. However, Amy's sign lingers on the cusp of the majestic lion, splitting her between the sign of Leo with Liz and Virgo with Amanda.

When Amy brought the original drawing for her tattoo to the artist she made a special request to have each of our zodiac signs woven into the main of the lion, showing how we are all connected through the strength we have together and in each other. 

May the lion Amy now bears on her shoulder always be a sign of the strength that lies within her and around her, and an eternal reminder of the our courageous Lizy the Lion.

2nd Infusion Done!

Today was Liz’s 2^nd infusion!

She has now completed with her first round of therapy.   

Last week’s therapy hit her pretty hard the very next day, so let her know you’re thinking about her tomorrow.  Share funny things, your love and your encouragement and know that your messages, pictures and texts are helping distract her, but she may not be up to chatting in any way tomorrow.

The treatment plan has her off therapy for this next week and she’ll begin her next session on May 31^st.

On a happy note,  Liz and Noel’s wedding was absolutely beautiful! From the moment they saw each other that night, Liz and Noel glowed with a love and happiness you could feel from across the room. It was the perfect backyard wedding.  Not a lot of fuss, only a handful of people in attendance and most importantly it was full of love. Everyone pitched in, in one way or another by making/bringing refreshments, moving chairs or setting up tables. Their coming together to help, made it an even more special night for Liz and Noel.   

 It was truly a magical evening….

….which led to a Magical Honeymoon at Hogsmeade in Universal Studios Hollywood.  They stayed at a nearby hotel and spent the day enjoying the magical world of Harry Potter. It was a brief but exciting getaway and the perfect end to their simple but perfect wedding.   

BIG THANKS go out to:

Amy Sauer who travelled to us and did Liz’s hair and make-up for free.  If you need a hair and make-up girl, please let me know! Amy is amazing!

AND to:

PB Photography who donated the time of 3 photographers to this small wedding, and worked with all of our disorganization throughout the day to capture every single moment.  You guys are fabulous! If anyone needs a photography team, let me know and I'll send you their info!

Chemo Day

The first day of chemo was a success!

Blood work was done, chats with the doctor were had and a couple positive things emerged.

• The doctor said the chemo may not cause her to lose all of her hair but will probably thin it.
• There's a possibility that she could transfer her treatments to the Corona City of Hope Center, which would be much closer to home for her. 

We were put in our own private room for the treatment and the nurses said she should expect to always be placed into her own private room.  If they are full she may have to start in one of the group therapy chairs, but she will be moved into a room at the first opportunity.  The private room was small, but nice. The nurses were lovely, and made sure to continually offer assistance and refreshments from their pantry.  Liz did well and other than being tired of hanging out in hospitals the treatment went fine.  They plugged into her port about 10am and we were done in about 4.5 hours. Which was much shorter than we anticipated. They hydrated her for an hour, then added the anti-nausea medicine for 30 minutes, next came the first chemo bag for about 30 minutes, then the second chemo bag for 1 hour and lastly we finished with more hydration.  Once they started the first chemo treatment, we started watching the Hunger Games on Noel's ipad and it passed the time quite nicely.

They'll be doing a CT scan on her every 2-3 months to check the progress of the cancer and determine if they need to switch medications.

From here on out if you are visiting Liz please do your best to follow these guidelines. It doesn't matter if you're a friend or a relative, everyone must do their best to keep Liz safe from outside germs.

1. Make sure you are healthy.   Even if you think you're just having an allergy attack, this is not the time to visit. Your sneezes and your coughs contaminate the air around her and leave her at risk for illness.  
2. If someone in your home is unwell, you should also refrain from visiting as you may be carrying their illness with you in one way or another. 
3. If you must sneeze or cough while visiting, do it into a handkerchief or your shoulder.  
4. Bring Hand Sanitizer.  Sanitize your hands before interacting with her or anything in her apartment. 
5. Wash your hands thoroughly and often. 
6. Lysol wipe down any surface you have touched before applying hand sanitizer. 
7. Do not share food or drink with her. 
8. Ask before you hug her. It might sound strange, but depending on how she's feeling, hugging might not feel great for her. 
9. Keep your visits short. Her energy levels are pretty low and even maintaining a smile for more than an hour can be exhausting....but she's too nice to kick you out. So please be mindful of the time. 
10. Food.  Our favorite way to express comfort is through nourishing each other. With her digestive tract having been re-routed and the cancer sitting in a awkward part of it, eating is difficult for her and the doctor has suggested soft foods.  Red meat is pretty much out of the picture for the moment, unless she specifically asks for it. Coffee and alcohol are also out. If you would like to bring her food think of easily digested foods.  She's not a fan of soup and has no desire for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce or Broth. (She spent too long on the B.R.A.T. diet)  She has been enjoying fruit and smoothies. Potatoes are great, chicken is okay and pasta would probably set fine with her, (I'm sure ice cream would be an excellent treat too!)  This may all change when the effects of the chemo start kicking in, but it's a good place to start. 

Here's a great article that says a bit more about things to keep in mind when visiting:

http://dadsroundtable.com/health_lifestyle/2014/03/7-rules-follow-visiting-someone-cancer/






We've completed the first round of this battle, but we still have a long way to go. Keep your love and positive support flowing.

Much love to you and yours as well!

Union of Souls- A Marriage that will Transcend

               This evening Elizabeth Anderson and Noel Lemons will join hands, hearts and souls in an intimate wedding ceremony. Though you are not there in body, your spirit and joy will be felt all around them. Please join us wherever you are this beautiful night by lifting a glass in celebration to drink to the health and happiness of this incredible couple. 

This day has been made possible by the love, support and generosity of Mr. & Mrs. Lemons, Mr. & Mrs. Anderson, Amy Saurer, PB Photography, the generous donors of the GoFundMe campaign and numerous other individuals that contributed in one way or another. 

Thank you all for offering your love and unrelenting support! 

Should you desire to bestow a gift on the happy couple, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/life4liz to donate to the medical expense and adventure fund.

Chemo Update

Hi All,


So last week didn't go as planned... as you may have noticed.  It took a bit of frustration and tears, but Liz finally got her chemo rescheduled.

Tomorrow she'll have the drains removed that they left in after the stent placement last week, which should hopefully relieve a lot of the pain she's in right now.

The procedure should be quick and easy, but it does require that she be put under.

Because of the procedure with the drains, her oncologist had to reschedule her chemo start-date to next Tuesday.  It's been a very difficult and trying few days.  Liz has been hoping to get chemo started as soon as possible and it seems like every time she's set to go something comes up to push it off.

She's ready to get on the road to recovery and kick this cancer's butt!

Fawkes the Phoenix

“Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes.

Around the release of the Sorcerer's Stone film in late 2001 both Danielle and Liz dove head-first into the series; binge reading the books from the first until the last released at the time.

It was love at first page for them, and they journeyed together through the wonder, excitement and pain of the stories as they unfolded in each book. There were midnight release gatherings at the local Barnes & Noble, Walden Books or Borders. Midnight releases then turned into all night read-a-thons and days of discussion about what would happen next. They would plan ahead and schedule vacation days at work for the day after each book release in order to thoroughly devour the book, uninterrupted, as soon as possible.  

Through Liz and Danielle's love of the series, myself, Amy and Amanda became exposed.  We have had countless Harry Potter parties to re-watch the films in anticipation of the release of the next movie in the series and also in celebration of Liz's birthday. These fantastically crafted stories have filled our hearts and brought us together time and time again.

Fawkes in the books represents loyalty as well as bravery in its truest form and the Phoenix itself has represented transformation throughout the ages. For Danielle, getting this tattoo marks this difficult time with the understanding that, (like all things) this too will pass and change must come. The Phoenix illustrates the hope that out of the visceral pain life brings, we can be forged by the fire and change into something braver, brighter and stronger. Fawkes is a reminder that from the ashes, no matter what battle must be fought, we will do so together and our love for Liz will be reborn again and again. 

Tattoo by Artist April Slater with Memento Ink, Springfield, OR

http://www.mementoink.com/

Stent Replacement

Dear Faithful Readers, 


The following is a summary of the last few days.

Monday:

Liz went to USC to have her stent replaced before she starts chemo.  The original stent wouldn't survive the effects of chemo so they needed to replace the plastic temporary stent with a permanent one.  The procedure was supposed to be a simple endoscopic out-patient procedure.  

When they tried to go in endoscopically they ran into a blockage. Part of her small intestine had placed itself in the way of accessing the stent. 

The doctor made a plan to go a different route the following morning and kept Liz overnight so she would be there at the soonest moment they had available to do the alternate procedure.  

Tuesday:

The alternate procedure involved taking a needle and pushing it through her side. This needle pierced through her liver in order to get to the bile duct that needed replacing. When they were doing this procedure they found another bile duct was closing, so they inserted a second stent. 

The conclusion of the procedure resulted in her having two drains attached to those bile ducts on the outside of her body. One on each side of the abdomen. These drains will be removed within the next couple days. 

The procedure could have resulted in a bile duct bag, similar to a colostomy bag...but before going into the procedure Liz warned her doctor that she's getting married in a few days and a bile duct bag wouldn't match her dress.  So it appears he did his best to comply.  =)

Wednesday

Liz was supposed to start chemo on Wednesday.  At 5:30am I left my house to meet Noel at their apartment. By 6:15am we were out the door and at 8am we arrived at USC to pick up Liz and take her to her first chemo appointment.  At this point neither Noel or I were fully informed about what had taken place the day before, but were assured that she should still go to chemo. 

When we arrived Liz was getting ready to take a walk around the floor. She could barely talk to tell us what happened because breathing was incredibly painful. Her first appointment at the City of Hope was scheduled for 9am, and it didn't look like we'd make it since she hadn't been discharged yet. We asked Liz if the oncologist had weighed in on whether she should go to chemo and she said he had not been updated with the complications of the stent replacement. We were prepared to take her to City of Hope so they could advise in person what she should do, but Liz was positive she was in no shape to start chemo.

By 10:00am, they had given us the word that she was being discharged but we were still waiting for her discharge papers. While we waited I called the City of Hope and let them know she would be cancelling her appointment for that day.  I also let them know there were complications with her procedure and it would be great if her oncologist could review the situation with USC and call back with a recommendation for when to reschedule.  

We finally left the hospital for home at about 11:15am.  

Later in the afternoon her oncologist's office called to let Liz know they were in the process of contacting USC for information and would get back to her soon with a recommendation for when to schedule the next chemo appointment. 


*************************************************************

She's in good spirits. Tired of hospitals, but in good spirits. We chatted about wedding plans and birthday plans until the painkillers did their job and took her to a happy place. 

Your love and good wishes are keeping her strong, but so are happy stories and laughter.  Please keep them all coming.  If you have good news of your own to share, please comment here so she can read your happy thoughts and share in your joys. 

Making Good on Promises

When Liz sat me down to tell me about the severity of her cancer she said to pass along the message that each of the rest of our 4 girls needed to make the choice as to whether we were going to get a tattoo in her honor or name a child after her.  Since children are unpredictable…being able to have one/what gender they’ll turn out to be/when they might come along, we all chose tattoo. 

15 years ago at the cusp of our 18^th birthdays Danielle, Liz and I were checking out a local tattoo shop and we thought it would be fun to all get roses on our ankles.  Dee and Liz found ones they liked and did it. I changed my mind. So when Liz mentioned the tattoo, I knew I needed to live up to my abandoned rose tattoo promise. The quest for what to get and where didn’t take long.  When chatting about the tattoo promise with my friend Jax, she jokingly said that each of the 4 of us should get an Elizabethan collar of jewelry tattooed across our clavicles.  While that particular thought was a little extreme, I did love the idea of carrying Elizabeth with me in that sort of way, so I googled Elizabethan Rose.  I found an image that I fell in love with and made the appointment at Lefy's Tattoo in Orange where the "Rose" conversation happened 15 years ago.  Below is the final piece featuring 5 roses, one for each girl in our amazing group of 5 ladies.  

Liz, Noel, Amy and my husband Michael accompanied me on this adventure.  Liz did a wonderful job of keeping me entertained with talk of her upcoming wedding.

Right now we're waiting on news of when her chemo will start and focusing on getting all the things we need to get done for her wedding which has been moved up to May.  Yay wedding! 

Wigs and Dresses

Last night we went wig shopping. This isn’t the winner (though I did offer to get it for her if she wanted it just for funsies), I’ll let her show off the winning wig once she needs to. We had a good time trying nearly every wig in the store on Liz. The shop owners at The Big Wigs, in Orange Sandy and Brandy were absolutely delightful.  They encouraged her to try out anything she wanted and turned her into their own personal Barbie doll for awhile.  

If you ever have need of a wig in the Orange area, please consider the folks at The Big Wigs we couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

The Big Wigs

1677 E Lincoln Ave

Orange, CA 92865

(714) 974-3080

                                     

After the perfect wigs were purchased we went on to David’s Bridal in search of the perfect wedding dress.  I can’t say much and I definitely can't show you a picture…but she might have said “yes to the dress” in the easiest bridal dress shopping experience ever…and it might have gone home with her last night.  =)

A big thanks to mom for making this trip happen! 

Engaged!

In 2015 after a mutual separation with her husband and a move back to California, Liz reconnected with her old High School flame Noel.  In late January of 2016, just a couple months shy of a year of dating, they made the decision to move in together and this week he proposed.

Noel has been with Liz every step of the way as we have learned more and more about her health and has stayed firmly by her side when she’s needed it most.  His support and love for her is true and beautiful.

Our hearts are with both of them as they face this upcoming battle hand in hand. It takes an incredibly special person to see a foreboding path ahead and still move forward with their plans. Congratulations to them both for not letting bad news take the strength of their love for each other away. 

When the time comes for a wedding they will have just a small ceremony in a private home for them and their parents.

Your love and support are sincerely appreciated.

How it All Started

Dear Friends,

This Blog was created as a way to share the health story of Liz Anderson and provide updates.

The short story is in February she started feeling unwell with abdominal pain. On March 11^th they discovered cancer when removing her gallbladder.  March 24^th the doctors received test results determining she has Gallbladder Cancer and it’s everywhere.  March 29^th the City of Hope gave her about a year and half to live.

To find out how all of this news developed, please read the timeline below.

October 2015

In late October Liz made an appointment to see her doctor for some stomach pain she was having. She thought it might be her gallbladder.  The doctor put her on the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast) to see if that alleviated any of the pain and it did help a bit. They referred her to a gastroenterologist who did a CT scan and an endoscopy and they couldn’t find anything wrong with her.

So from there on out she would put herself back on the BRAT diet if her stomach started acting up.

February

February 7^th She was still getting occasional pains, but it was the Super Bowl so she threw the BRAT diet out the window and enjoyed the spread of Super Bowl goodies.  The following week she was in an immense amount of pain.

February 13^th Liz was moving into her new apartment and the pain wouldn’t subside. Noel took her to the ER.  They did another CT scan, discovered gallstones and told her to go talk to her doctor about getting the gallbladder out.

February 20^th We had choir practice for our choir reunion concert. When I arrived Liz looked at me and said “Do my eyes look yellow?”  I said “Yes.” Her eyes were very yellow and her skin was itchy. It was clear that she was jaundiced but neither of us knew if that was normal or bad so we continued to sing.  By the end of the rehearsal she seemed really exhausted.

That evening she went back to the ER.  They admitted her.

February 21^st The doctor performed an endoscopy and placed a stent in a bile duct that had been blocked. This allowed the bile to flow and relieved her jaundice.

February 22^nd The doctors had concerns about something they saw during the endoscopy. They gave us two big words and said they believe she had one of these things: Sclerosing Cholangitis or Cholangiocarcinoma.  We were terrified.  They said she would be moved to UCI for further tests and treatment.  They also confessed that during the endoscopy they nicked her small intestine.

February 23^rd Liz was moved to the ICU because her white blood cell count jumped up which indicated an infection.  The nick in the small intestine was infected. A doctor from UCI came to Placentia-Linda to consult.  They kept saying they were going to get her over there as soon as they had a bed. Then based on the direction of the UCI doctor they ended up finding a place for her at USC instead.  Liz was carted off to USC.

February 24^th They attempted another endoscopy but it didn’t happen.  USC performed another CT scan and reviewed the records from the ER. They believed a gallstone was blocking a bile duct and causing all of her discomfort. They ruled out both of the big scary words, said they’d keep her for a bit longer to let the infection get under control, then they’d release her and when the infection calmed down they’d schedule the gallbladder removal. They were thinking April would be a good time

February 27^th She came home, Noel and I stocked her house with low-fat, no-fat food for her to eat until the gallbladder surgery could happen. 

March 7^th Liz hadn’t been able to eat much since she was released from the hospital. On March 3^rd she was running a slight temperature but didn’t go to the doctor because it went away rather quickly. She was still incredibly weak, couldn’t keep food down well and her antibiotics ran out.  She went to the UCI emergency room that night. They did a CT scan and wanted to admit her.  She refused and instead went home with the intention of calling her USC doctor.

March 8^th she called her USC doctor and they said they would be admitting her.

March 9^th A bed opened up in the afternoon and she was admitted.

March 10^th USC did another CT scan to check her out and scheduled her surgery for the next day.

March 11^th When they tried to remove her gallbladder laparoscopically they saw something and switched to cutting her open.  What they saw was a tumor the size of a “Cutie” orange in the area where the liver, pancreas, small intestine and gallbladder all meet up. This was what was causing her discomfort and the inability to digest her food so they attached her large intestine directly to her stomach, bypassing this blockage.  They also discovered nodules in her stomach lining, her small intestine, large intestine, one on her liver and a small tumor on her colon. An onsite test indicated the “cutie” mass was cancerous. Biopsies were done of all of the other pieces and were sent to the lab for analysis.  They did not remove either of the tumors as both of them would have been considered major surgeries.

March 17^th The labs came back with a little information. All samples taken were cancerous.

March 18^th Liz was discharged and scheduled an appointment with the oncology team for the 24^th to get an idea of what the treatment plan would be.  She began eating more, and was feeling really well and perky for someone recently having undergone surgery.

March 24^th  Oncology appointment with USC doctors. Cancer was confirmed as originating in the gallbladder. The doctors were optimistic about treatment and recommended an aggressive course of 1 chemo treatment per week for 2 weeks then 1 week off, and repeat.

March 29^th Liz had a second opinion appointment with City of Hope. Here she asked more 

questions.  How long do I have if I don’t do Chemo?  6months to a year, was the answer.  How long do I have if I do chemo? A year and half, was the answer.   How many treatments? Indefinite, was the answer. The chemo wouldn’t cure her but could buy her time.

She will start chemo in about 2 weeks at City of Hope. Should the chemo reduce her quality of life too much she may re-evaluate continuing with chemo in order to be able to enjoy the time she has left.

We are all in shock and disbelief.  If you wish to support her in this crazy, awful, time, you can donate to her medical expenses and adventure fund here:

www.GoFundMe.com/Life4Liz

You can also reach out to her to let her know you’re there.  She may not respond, she may not have the opportunity to say thank you for the love and support but please know that she appreciates all of it.

Feel free to post any questions you have and I’ll try to answer when I can.

Much love to you and yours from all of us,