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