Christmas and Cycle 3

I have pics to post, but left my camera at a friend's house- so those will be coming later.

On December 22, mom began her 3rd Cycle with chemo. This time it only lasted 5 1/2 hours- so we seem to cut an hour off each time. We passed the time planning Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch, and Mom discovered YouTube.

Double Dream hands anyone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm7yAWpX1Mc

We all had a wonderful Christmas celebrating. Mom felt well, and it was the first time in a long time that we had such a large group together on Christmas day. Having Sophia there made it EXTRA special. Drew and I were even able to drive to Charlotte to his brother and sister-in-law's house for Christmas dinner, so we saw his immediate family (excepting Kelly-WE MISS YOU) too. Mom was able to eat a lot of the yummy food, which is a good thing as she has lost some weight since starting the treatment. Dad kept telling me that this would be my first Christmas that wasn't "White" (he's hilarious!), but I squeezed one more out, despite my name change, when the snowflakes came down Christmas afternoon. What a wonderful day with much to celebrate.

Mom seems to be feeling well so far this week, which is a good thing. Yesterday she had a CT Scan to check the progress of her treatment. After her scan, one of the nurses told her to go to her oncologist's office immediately. She called me crying, certain that the cancer had spread or the chemo wasn't working (she was supposed to get CT Scan results Jan. 10).

 The good news is that chemo is working--the tumor has shrunk nearly 40%. Thank you God! The bad news is that mom has developed some small blood clots in her lungs.This is not uncommon with cancer patients undergoing her type of chemotherapy, but is still scary nonetheless. She now will get a shot of blood thinner everyday to control/prevent clotting.

Although clotting is serious, it isn't abnormal and is manageable. However, that whole experience made us realize that while we all have been thinking positive and not really considering the possibility that mom might now make it through, things could take a turn for the worse. It was a bit sobering....But, God tells us not to worry so we will trust that He is in control and continue to think positive.

That's all for now.