Chemo Round 1 is Done; Round 2 Will Begin

Greetings - and thank you for your patience...

Beth is doing very well - and as many of you know - along with everything she else she is doing, has been busy trying to write thank you's - she really wants everyone to know how grateful she is for all the continued support she is receiving - No doubt the financial has helped but more important have been all the prayers and well wishes - they make a difference each and every day - so thank you again....

Chemo round 1: The first round of chemo, which began back on March 23rd and was administered at Dana every 3 weeks, is finally over and done with - Awesome....

Chemo round 2: This Friday, June 26th, Beth begins the second round of chemo, which will be administered weekly, every Friday, for 12 weeks.... this next round is a combination along with taxol and herceptin... Beth requested and they agreed, to administer this round on Fridays, so hopefully she'll "recover & recoup" over the weekends and be able to return to work on Mondays.. Doctors have assured her that the side effects shouldn't be nearly as bad as the first round of chem... YAY!!

Beth was pleased that her request to have these treatments locally was approved - She will be going to the new Cancer Treatment Center in Milford for her weekly treatments, instead of having to drive into Dana Farber in Boston every week - that in itself is a blessing for sure...

Beth had another MUGA SCAN to be sure her heart is OK. The chemo drugs used in her first round, can cause cardiac problems, so the Muga Scan is a great tool to monitor what's happening. It's a noninvasive test that shows a moving image of the heart, so that they can be sure the heart’s major pumping chamber (the left ventricle) is working as it should... It's amazing to have a radioactive substance injected into your blood bloodstream and then you are placed under a special camera (a gamma camera), and with some fancy computer manipulation, a “movie” of your beating heart is made. How wonderful that from this moving image, they can see exactly what's happening...

Beth is hoping the next 12 weeks will go by quickly, so that her hair can finally start growing back - no doubt having a wig is great, but it's also very hot!!!! So - if all goes well - September 11th is a day she is looking forward to - it will mean that Round 2 is over and done with...

The issue of radiation is still looming but one step at a time - right now the focus is on Chemo Round 2 and of course enjoying the summer with Devon and Hayden and her family...

From our families to yours, we hope you all have a safe and wonderful 4th of July and we'll be back in a few weeks and update you on how this round is going... We promise we'll update the photos in the next posting...

Once again - thank you for all your support and keep those prayers and best wishes coming - they truly help and are greatly appreciated...