August 24, 2011

No new news. Just an update on Ruth/Mom/Grammy's condition. Mom continues to heal from the effects of the radiation. The wound on the outside of her neck gets smaller and smaller each day and is hardly noticeable unless you know it is there. The wound on the inside is what continues to give her fits. It continues to produce excess phlegm and mucus which makes it hard for her to swallow effectively. She can still swallow her daily pills, but she has a really hard time with all kinds of food. Because of this, she takes all of her nutrition through her feeding tube. We know this will end and eventually she will be able to eat again, but as she endures this time of her treatment, she still needs your prayers. Prayers that the cancer continues to shrink. Prayers that the excess phlegm and mucus dissipate. Prayers that her ability to swallow returns soon. Only a few more weeks until we return to Dr. Barker for an update and I will let you know what he says and when her CT scan and/or PET scan will be.

Thanks again for your prayers!

August 8, 2011

Ruth/Mom/Grammy finished 13 chemotherapy treatments on Wed. Aug. 3rd and 35 radiation treatments on Fri. Aug. 5th!!  We are so glad the 7 weeks/35 days of radiation are over! Mom has lost a little more weight as it is now almost impossible for her to swallow. She is still above 100 pounds (which is okay since she is only 4'11" tall) and keeping her above 100 pounds has been my goal in helping her through the treatments. She drinks most of her nutrition through her feeding tube, but occassionally she can swallow a small amount of something and any amount is good as it keeps her ability to swallow in practice. The outside of her neck is healing and scabbing over and not causing her as much trouble although it is still tender and annoying. Her voice comes and goes but most of the time it is gone or so soft it is hard to hear her. She has one more day of labwork and an appointment with Dr. Nugent, the chemo doctor, this week. In early September she has an appointment with Dr. Barker, the radiation doctor. At that time, he will schedule a follow-up CT scan to compare to the first CT scan she had before she started treatments.  This will be followed by a PET scan to compare to the first PET scan she also had before she started treatments. Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers, phone calls, and cards during mom's treatments. Keep praying that the radiation and chemotherapy have completed eradicated the cancer! I will continue to keep the blog updated when we have more news!

THANK YOU!