CANCER UPDATE

As you might remember from one month ago, Dr. Homsi discontinued my chemotherapy treatments, since they were not controlling the cancer.  We met with Dr. Callister, a radiation oncologist at MD Anderson, and after reviewing my records from Mayo Clinic, he did not feel that more radiation would be wise, since I have had quite a bit.  He said that whenever they have gone that route, they have usually been disappointed with the results. 

 

That left the oral medication called Votrient as the option that Dr. Homsi felt was the best, and which we agreed to.  It is called a targeted medicine which attacks the blood vessels that are necessary for cancer tumors to survive.  I take four pills a day all at the same time and have taken them for one month.  I feel blessed that I haven’t had any side effects from this drug.

 

As to how it is working, we do not know.  I had an appointment with Dr. Homsi on Wednesday, of this week, March 27, and he wants me to continue for another month then have an MRI and CT scan.  To be truthful, I have been discouraged, because I feel the tumors are increasing in size and I have had more pain.  However, Dr. Homsi was very positive and encouraging, so I feel much better.  He said that additional chemotherapy with different drugs could be an option and that new treatments are continually being discovered.  He also tweaked my pain medication a little. 

In addition to that, I have been reading Elder Holland’s new book “For Times of Trouble” which has been a great help.  I just need to trust in the Lord and be grateful for the things that I can do and for all the love and support that blesses our lives.   As always, Daryl is here to do anything and everything that I need with a total positive and willing attitude.  What more could I ask for?

 

 

BYRON HALL'S BURIAL AT ARLINGTON

After I learned that I would not be having a chemotherapy treatment in February, I immediately said to Daryl, "Let's go to Washington, D.C. for my brother's burial.  It was scheduled for February 21, just one week from the time I would have had chemo.  Daryl is an excellent travel agent and had it figured out by the next day.  We flew to DC on Tuesday, February 19th and came home on Saturday the 23rd.  My sister, Norma, from Tremonton, Utah, also went.  We were so happy to be there for this wonderful ceremony and to be with my sister-in-law, Hazel, and her family once again. 

 

The ceremony went as follows:  We gathered at the administration building in Arlington Cemetery where we waited in a very nice room with lovely furniture until our time which was  1:00 p.m.  There are several burials in different parts of the cemetery every day.  Seven were scheduled for that afternoon.  It was cold but the only clear day with blue skies that week, so we felt very blessed.  At the designated time, the hearse brought Byron's body from the mortuary, and our group followed behind in cars to a designated spot where the casket was transferred from the hearse to the caisson which was pulled by six horses -- three with riders and three without.  There was also another rider on a horse which led the way.  Also at that point were the color guard, the band and the pallbearers.  Those who wanted to, walked about 1/4 mile from there to the grave site.  Everything was done in perfect precision.  I wondered if I would be able to walk, but I did and was so grateful I could, as it was a once in a lifetime experience.  Hopefully, the pictures below will give a little feel for the events of the day.

 

 

Taken from the room where we waited for the
burial ceremony

Waiting room in the administration building





Hazel and her daughter Lynne

 

Hazel with daughter Pam

Transferring the casket from the hearse to the caisson

 



There are three horses with riders and three without
pulling the caisson.



The color guard and the band



The beginning of the processional towards the grave site





Processional to the grave site, about 1/4 mile







Those following behind the caisson



Almost to the grave site





Pallbearers ready to transfer the casket

The grave site with the band and color guard on the left

 

The chaplain waiting to receive the flag

 

The chaplain presenting the flag to Hazel

 

 

 

Byron and Hazel's daughters, Pam, Lynne and Sharon

Sharon with her children, Julie, Daniel and Thomas
I cannot tell the twins apart.  Jerry was in Oregon
for his father's funeral. 



 

 Arlington National Cemetery

 

Following are the words which the chaplain said to Hazel as he presented her with the flag. 

 

"On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a

grateful nation, we offer this flag for the faithful and dedicated service of

Harold Byron Hall, Lt. Colonel in the United States Air Force.

 

 

There was also a bugler who played taps and a firing squad of seven who executed the 21 gun salute, all of which were very poignant. They were too far away to take pictures of. We are very grateful for our brother and for his service to our country. Each person buried at Arlington is certainly deserving of our upmost gratitude.

(Sometimes this blog is not very responsive to getting rid of extra spaces and lines, or maybe I just do not know how, but it frustrates me. Obviously, the content is most important.)



NEW TREATMENT PLAN

Dr. Homsi prescribed Votrient (pazopanib) to continue Irene’s cancer treatment today. Votrient is an oral medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April of 2012 to treat patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma who have previously received chemotherapy.

She will take four tablets once a day, two hours after eating anything and two hours before eating anything.  Votrient is a pill that works by interfering with the growth of new blood vessels needed for solid tumors to grow and survive. As with most medications, the side effects can be serious. Urine and heart tests were done today to provide a baseline from which to measure possible side effects.

 
Over the past few weeks the pain in her leg has increased, so new pain medication has been prescribed to keep her more comfortable.  Dr. Homsi wants the pain reducing meds in her system at a level that she will not be, in his words, “chasing the pain” with meds when needed.

This new medication will allow her hair to grow back, but very likely, it will be a different color. She is hoping it will be brunette. One drawback to this treatment is that she is not to eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice (not a big sacrifice).  This treatment does sound better at this stage than three long days per month in the infusion bay receiving chemotherapy.

Irene looks great and has the energy to do most things that she desires. We hope and pray that this treatment will arrest the growth of the tumors and that one day she will be cancer free.  Thank you so much for your continued love, interest and support.

More to come soon on our trip to Washington, DC to attend the burial of Irene's brother, Byron, with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

 

APPOINTMENT WITH DR. CALLISTER

I had an appointment today, February 18, with Dr. Matt Callister who is a radiation oncologist.  We originally became acquainted with Dr. Callister at the Mayo Clinic, then he became head of the radiation department at Banner M.D. Anderson.  He reviewed my records from Mayo which showed that I had five weeks of five days a week radiation therapy in 2010 before my second surgery.  He does not feel that more radiation at this time is a good idea, as it is not likely to cure the cancer.  He also said that often when they do a second round of radiation, they are disapponted in the results.  He doesn't feel that the lesion on my lung is serious enough to warrant radiation at this time.

 

We will go back to Dr. Homsi on February 27 to discuss the possibility of the oral medication that he told us about last week.

 

In the meantime, we are leaving tomorrow for Washington, D.C. to attend the burial of my brother, Byron, at Arlington Cemetery.  Byron passed away on January 4, and we were able to attend his funeral.  As there are so many veterans dying, there is a waiting period for the ceremony at Arlington.  He will receive full military honors at his burial this Thursday, February 21.  I will write about it and post pictures when we return. 

VISIT WITH DR. HOMSI

Following is what Daryl wrote to our family yesterday:
 

As you are aware, your mother had the usual CT scans and MRI yesterday, February 12, and we met with Dr. Homsi this morning to review the results. He informed us that the last two chemotherapy infusions with the two drug dosage are not controlling the continued growth of the tumors in her thigh. The lesion containing multiple nodules now measures 4.0 x 4.4 x 3.1 inches. Dr. Homsi recommended that we discontinue the current chemotherapy treatment as the cancer has become resistant to it, so no chemo was administered today. There is also a new 1/4 inch nodule in her lung that raises concern for metastatic involvement.
 

He discussed several future treatment options with us. The first option is to meet with Dr. Matthew Callister, Radiation Oncologist, who we know and has helped us at Mayo and is now at Banner MD Anderson. Dr. Callister will get the radiation records from Mayo and discuss possible treatment with radiation. We like Dr. Callister and are pleased that we will be seeing him. Another option would be with Pazopanib which is an oral anticancer medicine that is used to treat adults with kidney cancer.  It is also used to treat advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) in patients who have received cancer treatments.  Another option may be to see if she is eligible to join clinical trials at research facilities such as the University of Arizona in Tucson or other research facilities.

 

This is not the news we were hoping for, but your mom has a great attitude, and we are moving forward with faith.

We hope that you all have a very

"Happy Valentine's Day"

as we plan to!

 

 

 

 

FAMILY NEWS FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED

We have had a lot of good things going on in our family for which we are so very grateful.  Our granddaughter, Kylee (Greg & Rebecca's daughter) left for the MTC last Wednesday, February 6.  She will leave for Morristown, New Jersey (Spanish) on Monday, February 18 as she knows Spanish quite well -- 12 days in the MTC.  She is very excited and has a great testimony to share with others.

Max Garn (Byron and Michelle's) received his Cub Scout Arrow of Light in a fun ceremony on January 24th.  We are proud of him.

We have a new great-grandson, West Wade McCann, born on January 9 to Jenny (Brad & Laura's) and Kelly.  He is a very cute baby, and they are all doing well. 

Our youngest son, Kevin, was made the Bishop of our Fairway Groves Ward on February 3.  He and Tara and their little family are a great blessing to us.  His first week he had New Beginnings, a funeral and ward conference, so he is right into it and in his mother's opinion, he did a great job.  He is very sweet and humble.

Josh Peterson, (Chuck and Gayla's) received his mission call to the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission.  He is coming home from BYU this weekend to go through the temple and will leave on May 9, two weeks after school is out.  They are all very excited as the Dominican Republic shares the island with Haiti which is where Chuck served. 

Hope I haven't missed anything.  I may add some pictures later.

CHEMO UPDATE

As is obvious, it has been a while since I have written.  Things went fine with my last chemo treatment on December 12.  Having the port worked well, and now that it is completely healed, it will be even better.  Having the two chemo drugs was definitely a harder hit than one.  It took me about a week to feel back to normal, but I was not really miserable – just weak and a little queasy – enough not to want to do anything.  I sometimes wonder if it is just an excuse to be lazy.

Anyway, the inevitable happened.  My hair had grown in to the point where I could almost go out without my wig, but on December 28, Daryl’s birthday, it started to come out again.  I decided I would go out a couple of days with just my hair which felt really good, but by three weeks from my chemo treatment, my hair was all gone.  My daughter, Gayla, used her clippers to clean up the little that was left.  I had done it before, so it was not too traumatic.

I am scheduled for chemo tomorrow, January 9, but my brother, Byron, passed away in Washington, DC, so we are going back for his funeral.  He was 90 and not doing well, so we are grateful he could go without having to move to a care center.  He is the one for whom I did the book on his World War II journal earlier this year.  We leave on Thursday and return next Tuesday, then I will be right back into chemo on Wednesday, January 16.   

The exciting news is that we have a new granddaughter, Molly Garn, born to Byron and Michelle on December 31 in the middle of the night.  It was a serious scare, as Michelle started bleeding and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.  She had a C-section, and all is well that ends well.  We are hoping that Molly keeps her dark hair – more than any other Garn babies we have seen.

To all of you who check this blog more often than I post, I apologize and appreciate your continued interest.  You are the best. 


We hope you are all having a great beginning to 2013.