Three for the Price of Two

Metisha saw the surgeon yesterday and he decided to do a full hysterectomy instead of just taking the oophs and the surgery will be one week from today, Thursday May 7th. I guess that means she gets a 3 for the price of 2 surgery! The doctor said she will be in the hospital overnight (but Metisha says she’ll talk him out of that) and then will be off from work for about a week.

Her last radiation treatment on her neck was Tuesday. She is glad to be done with those treatments because her throat has become extremely raw. They will do another scan of her neck in about 3 months to see the effectiveness of the radiation.

Mark and Metisha’s schools have been shut down for over a week because of the swine flu! So Metisha is getting some time to recover from radiation and the bone treatment before surgery next week. Pray for protection over Metisha from the swine flu. Her body is definitely a bit wore down right now so the swine flu could be serious for her. And no Mom, neither Metisha nor I have licked a WalMart shopping cart! :)

Keep lifting Metisha up in your prayers. The last week has been tough physically and mentally. Metisha is so brave and so strong but she still needs prayers for strength and faith. Pray that the hysterectomy will be an easy surgery for Metisha and that the liver spot can by treated with the Cyber Knife. Pray for ongoing wisdom for the doctors and grace from her insurance company. And as always, pray that Metisha will live to be a wrinkly, old, cancer-free woman!

The Worst Gift

Metisha just hasn’t had that great of a week so I decided I wanted to try to cheer her up a little today and send her a surprise. Instead of going with the traditional flowers, I decided to send her a fruit bouquet. Its bright and cheery, fun and different and healthy; the perfect gift. So I got online and schedule one to be delivered to her today at school. I was feeling good about my little surprise for about 5 minutes and then it hit me. Metisha’s throat is completely raw from radiation and she just told me last night she can only have liquids and I just sent her acidic, hard fruit! A quick phone call to Mom confirmed that fruit was not on the diet this week. So I tried to cancel the order but couldn’t get anywhere so I finally came to the resolution that she could maybe, maybe use the fruit to make a fresh smoothie.

I waited all afternoon for the certain sarcastic text from Metisha which I never got so I decided to call her and fess up. And that’s when I realized that I had screwed up again. I forgot Metisha had radiation today and had to leave school early so now the fruit basket is probably sitting on her desk, wilting away so she can walk in tomorrow morning to a sagging, probably dripping, dead bouquet of fruit with a happy face balloon floating above. Yes, this is the worst gift ever! Apparently I’m cursed when it comes to giving Tisha gifts. One Christmas I gave her a really nice hair blow dryer, 3 months before she lost her hair to chemo!

When I confessed my stupidity to Metisha, she had a really good laugh so I guess I did accomplish my goal of providing her with some cheer. Then she told me she was going to send me a bag a sugar (I’m diabetic).

So I’m hoping they either canceled my order, didn’t deliver it today, or someone at school put it in the fridge for her. But if not, at least there’s a smiley face balloon.

Sick Weekend

Metisha has had a rough weekend. She started a new treatment on Friday afternoon that has made her sick with flu like symptoms. When Metisha admits she’s sick, she’s really sick :( The treatment is supposed to help keep the cancer from spreading in her bones. She has to have the treatment once a month for at least a year so a huge prayer request is that she will not experience these side effects again. We do not want her to have to face being sick every month. Please pray hard for protection from this treatment.

In addition to the treatments for the bones the oncologist has started her on a new drug that helps block some receptors that can fuel cancer. So far there have been no side effects from this drug. The oncologist has also decided to have her ovaries removed. The operation is called an oophorectomy so Tisha says they’re throwing out the oophs! Her cancer is a hormonal driven cancer so the oophs have to go to eliminate the hormones. She has been on shots to keep the oophs dormant, but the doctors feel the shot may not have been effective enough so it’s time to get rid of them.

The surgeon who has done the previous procedures on her liver looked at her scans last week. He believes the original liver spot actually looks good and doesn’t have active cancer in it and the new spot is smaller than the original spot. The doctors think she may be a good candidate for 2nd generation cyber knife for the liver spot and there will be a new 2nd generation cyber knife available in Fort Worth next month! Cyber knife is a very cool technology. They implant gold markers into the tumor and then point lasers at the gold markers from all different angles and only where the laser beams touch each other (at the gold markers) do they kill tissue so all the surrounding tissue is unharmed. So hopefully very soon her liver will be worth gold!

She has two radiation treatments left this week. She has developed a sore throat from radiation and her hair has started falling out at the top of her neck. Unfortunately this hair loss will be permanent so pray it is minimal.

Beyond the radiation, ooph removal, bone treatments and cyber knife, the oncologist says there is a chance she will still have to do chemo again. Metisha told him, “No, I just got my ponytail back!” Metisha loves her ponytail so pray she doesn’t have to go through chemo again.

I know a lot of you want to do something for Metisha. Prayer is the most important thing she needs right now. But if you are a woman, there is something else you can do. Honor Metisha and her battle and the battle of too many other women by doing monthly self exams and getting your annual mammograms. Early detection is so important and so easy to do and you are NEVER too young to start! Yes ladies, I know the mammo isn’t exactly a treat, but where else can you walk around bra-less wearing a super pink boob cape and flaunt the girls with such confidence! I had my mammo last week, when was the last time you had yours?

Keep Metisha in your prayers. Pray that:
· She will not get sick again from the bone treatments
· She will not have to have chemo again
· The ooph removal can be scheduled quickly and will be an easy surgery for Metisha
· The liver spot can be treated with the cyber knife
· She doesn’t have too much more hair loss from the radiation
· This is the last time the cancer comes back
· She will live to be a wrinkly old woman, cancer free

Raced for the Cure

Almost 40 Welsh Warriors hit the pavement in downtown Fort Worth on Saturday to Race for the Cure! We started off with some critical warm ups and stretching in the parking garage and then gathered for a team picture. We then went after the free loot to get our pink capes, guacamole (it was only 7:30 am), sprout sandwich and pink pom-poms (just to name a few). Most of us displayed some self control, but others packed 5 pounds of freebies around for the entire race. At that point we were fueled up and ready to race! As always the race started out with an intense snail’s pace for about four blocks before escalating to a stainable turtle crawl for the remainder of the race. We completed the3K race in a very impressive 1 hour and 19 minutes and I am happy to report no Welsh Warriors suffered from any common racing issues like leg cramps, muscle pulls or dehydration! After the race we all went to the Ol’ South Pancake House to refuel. We had a great day at the Race for the Cure!

I wish you could see the seas of people walking the streets together in support of breast cancer awareness and finding a cure. During the walk, all we could see ahead of us and behind of us were people racing for a cure. It’s a very neat experience and the Welsh Warriors raised $1,830 for the Cure! I want to say a special thank you to Metisha’s former co-worker Dana Knight for organizing the team. And thank you to all of the co-workers and friends who walked beside Metisha on Saturday. For Tisha’s family, it’s hard not being with her every day through this battle so it was awesome for us to see all of the support and love Mark and Tisha have in Fort Worth! And thanks to Ol’ South Pancake House for your hospitality!

The final results are in and Mark and Metisha tied for first place with $350! Thank you so much to everyone who supported a Welsh Warrior with a donation! And even though I didn’t win, I will keep blogging :)

Metisha will continue daily radiation treatments this week. Radiation is going very well and takes about 30 minutes each treatment. We won’t know how effective the radiation is until about three months after the treatments are done. The doctors are still working on a plan for the cancer spots in her liver. We are anxious to go after those cancer spots as soon as possible.

Continue to pray with us. Pray that the radiation will kill 100% of the tumor on her vertebrate. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and Metisha as they identify a treatment for the liver spots. Pray that this will be the last time Metisha has to battle cancer and that she will live to be a wrinkly, old, cancer free lady. And know that every day we pray and thank God for all of you!

- Little Sister Regan

It is a Good Friday

Metisha had her first radiation treatment on her C2 vertebrate yesterday afternoon. Everything went great and the only side affect she experienced was a raw spot on her nose where her radiation mask rubs. She will have another treatment this afternoon but will have the weekend off.

Metisha is doing so well and taking this all in stride! She went back to school yesterday and is excited for the Race for the Cure on Saturday. Her positive attitude always amazes me!

Her oncologist is working on a plan to treat the two tumors on her liver. Pray for wisdom that the best treatment can be found and can be done quickly.

For us, this truly is a Good Friday! We are so thankful for all of you and the constant love and support you give us!

A Super Hero with an Angelina Jolie Mask?

Metisha met with her radiologist. Dr. Shide was very positive and wants to do 14 rounds of radiation on the tumor in her neck. She says most people with this type of tumor respond well to radiation therapy and so we are hopeful for good results! The treatments will begin tomorrow, and she will have a treatment every day, Monday through Friday, for 14 treatments. She said the possible side effects are a sore throat and maybe some permanent hair loss at the bottom of Metisha’s hairline.

Metisha has never seen Dr. Shide before but they really liked her. We have been researching a new cyberknife treatment at a hospital in Tulsa for both the tumor in her neck and her liver. Metisha talked to Dr. Shide about the cyberknife and she didn’t think it was the right approach for the neck, but thinks it might be a good treatment for the liver spots. We are very happy that Dr. Shide was open and responsive to the possibility of the cyberknife and was listening to Metisha’s ideas for treatments. That’s a sign of a good doctor!

As usual, Metisha is laughing and upbeat. To do the radiation they have to make a mask of her face and neck. So they had her strapped down to a table and were putting this mesh soaked in hot water over her face to make the mask when Metisha asked a typical Tisha question: “Can you draw some makeup on my mask and give me long eyelashes and Angelina Jolie lips?” The tech said yes so our cancer super hero will now have a super hero mask with Angelina Jolie lips!

After radiation treatments Thursday and Friday, Saturday will be a big day for us. It’s the Race for the Cure in Fort Worth and there is a team of Welsh Warriors ready to hit the pavement! You can support your favorite Warrior here or click on the links on the right side of this blog. If you’ve felt especially blessed by the creative, moving, inspirational writings on this blog, you can support me by clicking here. Yeah, that was shameless but I’m losing the competition and losing is NO fun in our family!

Metisha and her family cannot even begin to express what your prayers, emails, blog comments, Facebook notes and post and phone calls have done for us over the past week. We wish we could thank each one of you individually and in person! Please know you have changed our lives. You’ve given us strength, courage, hope, faith, love, endurance; all the tools Metisha needs to beat cancer and the tools her family needs to support her through this journey. We just cannot thank you enough and we know you will keep praying with us!

- Little Sister Regan

No Surgery

Metisha got out of her MRI and the tumor on her vertebrate is smaller than they thought and on the outside of the bone so the doctors are not concerned about an immediate threat of paralysis. Praise God! So there is not urgent surgery and they doctors want to target the tumor with radiation. Tisha has an appointment at 7:30 am tomorrow with the radiologist.

Praise God for the continuing good news we have received throughout the day. Pray for wisdom. We have been researching other treatments today and need guidance and wisdom on what to pursue and how to work with the doctors. Praise God for Tisha’s oncologist and his staff who have taken such amazing care of her!

Buckle in for the Ride

Metisha’s left her oncologist office and is on her way to Arlington to have another scan of neck. The PET scan shows the cancer is in her C2 vertebrate and there are two spots on her liver but the cancer is not anywhere else. After this morning, we are taking that as good news! Now we are waiting on this afternoon’s scan and the results to come back from that scan. If the scan shows the risk of paralysis is too high, they will do surgery ASAP. If the risk is lower, they will start radiation on her vertebrate this week. At this point the spots in her liver are secondary to the vertebrate and all focus will be on the vertebrate.

Please know how much your prayers mean to us and how much the truly uphold us. This is terrifying, but we will peace and energy from your prayers. And Metisha’s spirits are good. She even called me to tell me a joke!

Keep praying and I will update you as soon as more information is available.

Not Good

The initial results of the PET scan are not good. The cancer is in Metisha’s neck and vertebrate which has put Metisha at an extremely high risk of paralysis. They have not read the scan beyond this point so we don’t know if the cancer is anywhere else. She is meeting with her oncologist today at 1:30 to discuss the next steps and had another scan after that at 3:30 pm.

Metisha has peace around this news but does not want to be paralyzed. We even had some laughter when we talked.

Metisha’s immediate prayer request is that she will not become paralyzed. Please begin praying for this immediately. Pray for wisdom for the doctors. Pray that a treatment and a cure will be found quickly. Pray for safety for Metisha’s parents (Danny and Barbara) as they drive to Fort Worth to be with Metisha.

I will keep you updated throughout the day as news becomes available. Please, please, please just keep praying.

No Test Results Yet

Tisha had her PET scan today at 2 pm. We don't have any results yet but keep praying! Metisha is doing great and is ready to fight this cancer!

We can’t even begin to express how much your concerns, support, love and prayers mean to us. We are so uplifted by you daily!

Keep praying and keep believing for a miracle!

The Words I Don’t Want to Type

The cancer is back. I wish this was an April Fool’s joke, but it isn’t. Tisha had a routine abdomen scan and the results came back today. There are multiple suspicious spots on her liver and her cancer markers are up. She has a PET scan Monday at 2 pm to confirm the spots on her liver and to determine if there is cancer anywhere else in her body. The doctors will make the game plan after the results of the PET scan are back.

We are no doubt devastated and heartbroken tonight. We love Metisha so much. But we are also looking to hope. In God we always have hope and that is what we cling to tonight. Throughout Metisha’s cancer battle mom and I have each had our own signs of Metisha’s healing. Mom’s sign is a red cardinal. This afternoon as I sat on my balcony crying to God for answers I looked at the trees in spring bloom and there sat a red cardinal. Mom and Dad left for their nightly walk at the farm and Mom prayed on the drive out that God would give her a positive sign. As soon as they began their walk they saw not one but four red cardinals!

So in our despair, we already see God answering prayers. So join Metisha in prayer. Pray for healing. Pray for a miracle of complete and total healing before the PET scan on Monday. Pray not just that Metisha would be healed, but that she will live to be a wrinkly old lady and not experience cancer another a day of her life. Pray for strong faith and hope. Pray for peace. Pray for Mark (Tisha’s husband), Danny and Barbara (Tisha’s parents), Regan and Jeremy (Tisha’s sister and brother –in-law), Lyle and Ann (Mark’s parents) and Kaley (Mark’s sister).

From Lamentations Chapter 3:
I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.

When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The "worst" is never the worst.

Why? Because the Master won't ever
walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.

-Little Sister Regan