Well, last time we talked, I had just gone back to school. it was wonderful to be back in the classroom with my students that I had missed so dearly. We had a great end of the school year, and now 42 of them are high school graduates! I had an echo at the end of May, but my heart function (EF) was still just under 40% at that time, so I could not yet start the Stanford clinical trial. In the meantime, so I would not keep leaving myself untreated, we went ahead and started another chemo drug (Xeloda) that is administered orally, so I take pills twice daily for two weeks and then have a week off. While doing that they also gave me the other non-toxic treatment we had talked about before (Sandostatin). I'm currently in the second week of round two. I had another echo last week and now my EF is up to 50-55%, so now I should be good to go for the clinical trial. I don't know when I will start, as I'm waiting to hear back from Stanford, but I'm pretty sure I will need to finish round two of Xeloda and get a PET scan first. So far during these two rounds my platelets and hemoglobin have held their own. We're watching them very carefully.

My voice is definitely recovering, but still very slowly. I pray that one day soon I will be singing again.

Now that we're on summer break I will try to get plenty of rest while preparing for next school year. I have very few summer plans, since I don't know what to expect with Stanford, but I'm looking forward to having my dear friend Ani come out from Niagara Falls to visit next week, while celebrating Amanda's 11th birthday! The rest of the break we will just play by ear....

Thank you so much for your prayers and support--they mean the world to me.

Hi Everyone--
It was great to go back to school today! Nothing could make me happier than to be with my students doing what I love to do. I feel much better. I am working on getting my heart stronger with the meds they have given me and trying to take it easy. My next echo is scheduled for the 26th, and I'll see the cardiologist to get the results on May 1st. Then we'll see if I'm at 50% and if I'm eligible to start the clinical trial at Stanford. Until then, we are going to redo that other scan to see if I can now be treated with that non-toxic treatment that we tried a while back. That scan is tomorrow and Wed.
The good news is that there was no permanent damage to my voice, but there is still swelling from the intubation tubes and I have to wait for it to heal. The tubes did move one of my vocal cords over a bit, but the doc feels once the swelling goes down it will all work out with no futher surgery. For now I just sound really weird. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts & prayers. They really help!

Well, so much has happened since the last time I blogged. Here’s the whole story. On March 3^rd, I was so sick I couldn’t breathe, so we rushed to the ER. I was basically hysterical & nothing they were doing was helping me, so I asked them to give me Ativan to help me calm down and they did. Later they found there was some kind of blockage, and they put some balloon thing in and opened it up. They put me on a ventilator for almost a full four days. Miserable! All I have to say is: DON’T DO DRUGS! Those drugs were nasty. They were telling Richard I had a 50/50 chance of making it, but each day I got a little better & they eventually took me off the tubes. Since I woke up, I’ve had vision problems, which made it difficult to email or text any of you. I’m still at the point now where I need readers some of the time.

The worst part for me is my voice was messed up too, and now I fear that the tubes have reinjured my vocal cord that the doc at Stanford had repaired, because I am back to a whisper, like before my voice surgery. I am losing air like before, so it’s hard to talk when you have to breathe every three words. I’m going back to that doc on Thursday, and I am devastated about this. This is why I haven’t called many of you back because talking exhausts me.

Apparently, I had a viral infection that caused fluid in my lungs and around my heart. They were able to get it under control in the hospital and I came home on the 13^th. Since then, I’ve been home recovering. As for Stanford, they will not let me begin the clinical trial until my heart function comes back up to at least 50%. It was almost non-existent when I got to the hospital. It was around 30% when I left, and now I’m almost at 40%. The doc wants me home to rest my heart for at least two more weeks. I’m trying to get back right after spring break (at least that’s my personal goal). In the meantime, the docs at Stanford and my oncologist are talking together about other possible treatments we can do (including that other scan I did a while back) until I’m ready for the trial. My students are leaving on our New York tour without me tomorrow morning. I miss them so much.

Well, I think that’s everything. Thank you to so many of you for all your support with prayers, calls & visits. They mean so much.

Hello everyone--
Just another quick update. It seems I am going to be a part of the clinical trial at Stanford starting in less than two weeks on March 1st. It is specifically for my type of Thymic cancer (which be the first drug I've been on that is for my type in this 6 1/2 year ordeal). They are having great success and in the phase they are in, I am guaranteed NOT to get a placebo, so it sounds promising. I just wanted you to know that after the bad news Wednesday, this was hopeful. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers that this will do the trick! Thanks, everyone!

Hello everyone,
Well it's always nice to get the news just as your classes are walking in the door, and especially when it's not the greatest news. Basically the cancer has started growing again. Everything is up in size and cancerous activity, as I had suspected. The good news is it's not huge growth and it hasn't spread anywhere new. It was an interesting day teaching all day with that news rolling around in my head. My doc & I had decided a while back that the next time there was growth, we would try the other type of scan again, in hopes that it might be another avenue for us, so I'm waiting to hear about that. The last time I did that scan, we timed it wrong so he wanted to try it again. In the meantime, my wonderful nurse practitioner found a clinical trial at Stanford for my type of Thymic cancer (which is amazing, because of how rare it is). I also called City of Hope to ask about my possibility of being eligible for one there, so I'm waiting to hear back on all of that too. I just thought I'd give you an update first. Please keep me in your thoughts & prayers.

Hello everyone--
Just a quick update. I've been feeling very weak. My numbers (blood levels) have been OK, but I've been extremely weak and short of breath. I had a chest x-ray yesterday and the pulmonologist says everything (fluid-wise) in my lungs has remained the same. I have been at home all week. I have a PET/CT scan scheduled for Monday at 11:30 am, so please keep me in your thoughts & prayers for good news. I am stronger than I was a week ago, but am still very weak. I miss being at school and am working very hard to get back next week. I will keep you updated. Thank you so much!

Hello everyone--
It's been a long weekend waiting for results, but my wonderful nurse practitioner just called. My PET scan shows that the size of almost everything remained the same with a couple of spots getting smaller. But the activity was decreased throughout (especially in the radiation area). So basically good news. I have to make an appointment with my doc to come up with the game plan from here, but at least I can sleep tonight. I don't remember a thing I did or said all day today, so my students probably think I'm crazy, but what's new? I have an echo tomorrow morning and Dad is going in for a procedure too, so please do keep us in your thoughts and prayers--they're working! :)