Update

Heather has completed 2 chemo treatments and this Thursday she'll do her 3rd. She has tolerated it fairly well with only mild side effects...as long as she takes her medicine.  The first time she took her anti-nausea medicine consistently for the first 3 days and didn't get nauseous.  The second time she thought that she didn't need to take it because she wasn't nauseous before, she learned her lesson though...always take her meds! :)  Now she's feeling a lot better.  She hasn't started to lose her hair yet, but she did go and pick out a really cute wig.  It looks super good on her!  I tried it on today and I loved it too. Her spirits are up and she seems to be adjusting to the chemo schedule.  She met a single mom last week that was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago and she's still living a good life today.  I think she helped Heather realize that she can get her cancer under control and live the life she wants to live.  I'm proud of her for being so strong and having a positive attitude!  P.S. We go back to MD Anderson in April.

Finally home!

After Heather's chemo treatment this past Wed night we were finally able to head home on Thursday morning.  It was a 8 hour trek to Oklahoma City, but dad drove the whole way so Heather was able to rest (thanks dad!).  Luckily Heather didn't experience really bad side effects from the first treatment so she wasn't too uncomfortable in the car. The fatigue did set in, but being in the car gave her plenty of time to rest. From the beginning she took the prescribed medication to keep the nausea from getting too bad.  The nurse said if you don't take it at the first onset of nausea, then it's too late.  We were warned by Dr. Alvarez that the side effects will get worse after each treatment because the chemo is killing all cells, not just bad ones.  The most noticeable side effect will be the hair loss, which will happen around week 3 or 4.  While we were in Houston we checked out some wigs and figured out that there are some really cute ones available. 

Heather is hoping to be able to do her weekly treatments in Springfield or Kansas City, but unfortunately her ex-husband is fighting her about that.  Neither him or his new wife have been compassionate about the situation at all.  They have told Heather that they don't care if it's in her best interests to get treatment somewhere else, they want Mary Grace to stay in Oklahoma City.  While Heather tried to explain the severity of her diagnosis and what it's going to take for her to beat it, they said they didn't care.  If anyone knows the ex, this is typical behavior for him, but we were hoping that his new wife might help him be a little nicer.  The crazy thing is, the ex only gets custody every other weekend so it's not like he would see her any more or any less than he already does.  Heather promised him that she would have Mary Grace back in OKC every other weekend for his pre-determined visitation, but he didn't care. To most people, this sounds completely ridiculous that someone could act like this, but unfortunately we have been dealing with his irrational behavior for years so it doesn't surprise us. We were just hoping that when it really mattered he would come through, but he didn't.  It breaks my heart that Heather is having to worry about him and going back to court when she has a much bigger fight on her hands.  The last thing she needs is additional stress. 

Thank you so much for all of the supportive messages, emails, and cards...they all mean a lot to Heather (and her family)!

Another crazy day...

Today Heather was prepared to get her liver biopsy done and then head home. Houston was/is supposed to get freezing rain so we wanted to head back asap. She was in surgery and then post-op until about 1:30. Then dad and MG picked us up and we hit the road. We had already accepted the fact that Heather would not start treatment until next Wednesday so we were just happy to be going home. We were about 45 min from MDA when we received a call from Dr. Alvarez's nurse. She said he wanted to see Heather asap, but she didn't say why. We actually turned around at the same exact exit as we did yesterday...weird.
Anyway, once we got back to MDA Dr. Alvarez told Heather that he had reviewed all of her tests, notes, etc. and had decided on a treatment plan. We were shocked because we weren't expecting this news. But in reality we receive unexpected news everyday so we shouldn't have been shocked. We had left dad and MG in the car so he had no idea what was going on, he was just driving around in circles waiting for us. :(
Dr. Alvarez said that the treatment plan would initially be the same one as her doctor in Oklahoma had suggested. He was much more positive about the outcome though. He said the scary mortality statistics include everyone in the world and people outside of the US don't have access to the drug herceptin because it's not approved there. He said this treatment is the best to use to shrink the tumors. He said if it doesn't work as well as he would like then there are 4-5 more options. He didn't really mention the research trial, he just expressed numerous times that this is the best option for right now. It was a little overwhelming for Heather (and me) to hear that she was going to start chemo in 15 min. They shuttled us upstairs to the chemo department and put us in a room and got started. We barely had time to call our family to tell them what was going on before they had her hooked up and going.
Neither one of us brought anything to do because we weren't expecting 3.5 hours of chemo so it was sad when they made us turn off our cellphones. Now the Ipad is the only source of entertainment. The 'good news' is that she'll be able to do her weekly treatments in Oklahoma or wherever she wants. The doctor here will communicate with her doctor back home and then she'll come back for some follow-up tests in 8 weeks or so. The doctor says the chemo is fairly mild so the side effects hopefully won't be too bad. She has been so strong the last 4 hours! I am so proud of her! My anxiety was out of control when we found all of this out so I can only imagine how she was feeling. We knew this day was coming, we just weren't necessarily prepared. I really think we'll actually be able to go home tomorrow. And at least we finally have a game plan...the chemo is almost done so we are going to head back to the hotel. We'll keep you posted...
-Heidi

Crazy day in Houston...

Today was a crazy, but good day! Last night my parents were able to get Mary Grace to Houston so Heather was finally able to see her little girl after more than a week.  I think that helped her morale more than anything. Also, yesterday we accepted the fact that Heather would not be able to get her liver biopsy done until next Wednesday.  We planned on heading back to Oklahoma City (and then Kansas City for me) after her last appointment today.  Bright and early we went to the hospital for her to get another biopsy on her left breast (we were told the slides from her first biopsy never arrived at MDA).  Well, we received what we considered great news once she check in! The radiologist refused to do another biopsy because the slides had arrived.  Heather was actually happy to not have the biopsy done...now, it's the little things that we get excited about it!  Then she was able to get squeezed in for her afternoon appointment 4 hours early. Yay! We were happy that we would be able to get an early start back home.  Once we got back to the hotel we packed up our stuff and jumped in the car and started our 8 hour journey to OKC.  We were only 30 minutes outside of Houston when one of the research nurses called and said that there had been a cancellation so they could get Heather's liver biopsy done tomorrow morning.  The car was turned around and headed back to the hotel before Heather even got off the phone.  It's crazy that we're "excited" for her to be getting the biopsy tomorrow because it's painful, but we know her treatment will start at least a week earlier now.  She's very anxious for her treatment to get started. The doctors have ensured her that her prognosis is no worse if the treatment starts this week, next week, or in two weeks, but she just wants to start killing the cancer. Totally understandable!  Now we'll be down here until at least Thursday because Heather can't travel for at least 24 hours after the biopsy.  We'll continue to keep you update...
-Heidi

Monday 2/7/11

Well today was very frustrating. Mda didn't receive my biopsy slides that were supposedly overnighted. Now have to have them redone tomorrow which sucks. I hate biopsies. Sorry to be so blunt. Now I also have to have a liver biopsy,which of course takes a week to get an apptment. So ready to go home!!!! Also had to have a new petscan because ok technology I guess sucks. I know this seems negative but I just want to start treatment and every time they tell me a new test needs to be done and put it off again. I don't know why they couldn't have made me do these tests earlier as really nothing has changed from last week. I know this is supposed to be the best place, but sometimes they don't seem very organized and it gets frustrating when they tell you that you will start your treatment then they put it off again and again. Please pray for me to have patience and to beat this cancer! Thanks for all of your support and prayers

2-3-11

Today we spent the day at MD Anderson, hoping to get all of the additional tests out of the way.  We were told that if the tests were completed then the doctor would be able to see Heather today instead of Monday.  Well that proved to be untrue because he wasn't even in the clinic today so we talked to the research nurse instead.  Since monitoring clinical trials is my job I at least know what questions to ask.  I wanted to make sure we had all the tests completed and the documents in place in order for the doctor to verify if she qualifies or not.  Luckily we did this because we discovered that MD Anderson did not have copies of her previous biopsy slides, which they need before they can include her.  We found the slides in Oklahoma and they are now on their way to Houston, but it might add on 3-5 days to our stay because the pathologist at MD Anderson has to read them before the doctor gets them.  It seems like everything is such a long process, I guess we need to get used to that.  In the meantime Heather had another mammogram and ultrasound.  During the ultrasound they decided to do another biopsy, this time on her right breast.  That ended up being positive, which was a big blow...yesterday Dr. Alvarez said that he didn't see any cancer there when looking at her PET scan.  Now there's nothing we can do except wait for our appointment with Dr. Alvarez on Monday and hope that everything is in order.  She's pretty bummed out about the whole day so she didn't feel like writing the update herself, but she really appreciates the messages and comments.
-Heidi

Wednesday 2-2-11

Had first appointment with MD Anderson today.  Had a physical and met with the doctor.  The doctor scheduled another mammogram and ultrasound, and blood work.  Once all this is completed over the next couple of days will meet again with the doctor to see if qualify for a study that is having good results.  The doctor was more optimistic about getting the cancer in remission as long as everything goes ok with the treatment. That was better news than we had been hearing. Hopefully will get into the study.
Please continue to pray for us.  I appreciate everyone's support and prayers.  It means more than words can say.  Thanks

Tuesday Feb 1

Tomorrow I go to my appointment at MD Anderson at 7:30am.  I am scared and overwhelmed but trying to remain calm and think positive.  I know I am going to beat this.  Just need prayers and support.  Thanks

Heather's Blog

I started this page for my sister, Heather, in order to keep friends and family updated on her journey to fight inflammatory breast cancer.  Heather is a 36 year old single mom of a beautiful 3 year old little girl, Mary Grace. Mary Grace always insists that her mommy is her best friend, it's so cute and definitely true. MG is definitely Heather's inspiration to fight and beat this disease. Heather is also the best sister that a girl could ever ask for. She has always been there for me and I have promised to her that I will be here for her every moment of her journey. We all know she can beat the cancer, but she'll need continuous encouragement and support.

She found out about the diagnosis the day we were all leaving for my wedding in Antigua. Despite the awful news, she still made the trip to be there for me. Heather, her daughter, and my parents left early to return to Oklahoma for further testing. We are so happy that she was there to share in our special day even though she had just received life-changing news. The additional tests showed that the cancer had spread to her liver and bones. Her oncologist verified that it is Stage IV. Last Friday, MD Anderson called and offered her an appointment on Wed, 2/3. We were so excited to finally hear a little good news. Now we know that Heather is going to get the best care in the world.
Many people have asked what they can do to help and show their support.  Obviously, Heather needs all of the support and prayers that she can get. You can send her messages via this website, text, email, snail mail, and/or her voicemail. 

Her address is:
18212 Piedra
Edmond, OK 73012

Also, John and I have set-up a PayPal account to accept donations to help Heather pay her medical bills and support Mary Grace since she will not be able to work during her treatment.  We want her focused on fighting this disease, not worrying about how she's going to pay her bills. We don't want anyone to feel obligated, but just click on the link below if you want to help.

I'll let Heather take over the blog now...

Thanks-
Heidi