April Easter

We decided it was time to take a little vacation and wanted to go somewhere different. We booked a few days at Lava Hot Springs with my family and celebrated Easter up there. The kids loved sitting in the hot pots and it felt so good on my ankle and knee pain. It was quite cold though and even snowed!

Happy Easter!

                   
Grandpa's Fireman Easter Egg hunt in the Snow!

Brynnley was so excited about opening all the chocolate candy

Easter Sunday and Easter church dresses.

Lava Hot Springs Easter Egg Hunt:

The kids got to visit the Logan Temple on our way to Lava Hot Springs

We took a special trip to Build a Bear workshop to make each girl a special memory of Mommy. This was a very difficult time for me since I had just received news of my Cancer growth and unknown future. Each girl got to pick out their favorite animal and dress it up and then I recorded my voice saying that I love them and put it in the animal. The girls were both having a hard time dealing with my health and Jeff had even told Aubrie that I am going to die and go to Heaven. She had a lot of difficulty with hearing this news, which she didn't fully understand, and she went to a counselor to ease her mind.

The girls love visiting Papa Matt at the firestation.

Brynnley thinks she is so funny wearing Dad's hat backwards!

March Cancer Update

I have had lots of friends and family ask how I am doing with my cancer journey lately, so here is a little update.

I wish I had better news to share at this time, but unfortunately the cancer tumors are not responding to the estrogen blocking medication as we had hoped. Last week I had a CT scan that showed 3 tumors that have all doubled in size in the past 3 months.

I was given a few options to choose from: 1: surgery to remove the tumors 2: targeted medication that could help stop the mutation in new cancer cells (that is basically a chemo pill with all the chemo side effects) or 3: participate in a trial that is in it's first phase and is too new to know if it will do anything.

Today I met with my oncology surgeon to discuss the option of surgery. I thought that having surgery would be a good option to quickly remove the tumors before they grew more, but after having 7 surgeries in the past year and a half, I learned why this is not a good choice. Due to the location of one of my tumors near my colon and already having to have 12 inches of colon removed a few months ago, if we had surgery I would have a permanent colostomy bag (poop bag) and would still have microscopic cancer cells left in my body.

After meeting with my doctors and lots of prayers to decide the best option, I have decided to pursue option #2 and try a new medication that will hopefully block the cancer cells from reproducing. This medication is not approved for Ovarian cancer since it is such a new drug and getting it approved is very challenging. Oh, and it only costs around $11,000/month! If approved, my doctor will try to help me get assistance for the medication.

Another downside to this medication is that is a chemo pill, so I would experience hair loss, low white blood cell count (so I couldn't be around people due to low immunity), neuropathy- loss of sensation in hands and feet, nausea and fatigue. I figure it can't be as bad as the aggressive chemo that was pumped directly in my abdomen before, so BRING IT ON! I am not giving up and will not let cancer take over my life!

My Oncologists have been wonderful in giving me the few options left to try. They have encouraged me to spend as much time with my family due to not knowing how much time I have left and poor response to previous treatments.

As difficult as this information has been for both me and my family, I continue to seek out the positive in life. I am working as a physical therapist and focusing on getting a certification for hand therapy (which is a lot of work, studying, and hours required) and helping my patients heal from their pain.

Yes, I am exhausted both physically and mentally every day from working, being a mom to 2 busy little girls, and trying to kick Cancer out of my way by eating clean and staying active.

I appreciate all the prayers and fasts that have been done on my behalf. I know that I would not have the comfort from the spirit that I feel now without them!

As medical bills continue to pile up, we are grateful for everyone who has donated money to help assist in my medical debt and cancer treatments. Thank you all for your love and support as well as encouraging words! I will not give up on fighting this terrible disease

Jan hair

 Feb hair

 March

March happenings

I had a CT scan in March with not the best results. I had started taking Femara(Letrozole) in December and found out that it was not working as well as we had hoped. It is an estrogen blocking medication with not many side effects, just hot flashes. The next blog post is all about those results and what the next plan is.  

Aubrie took swim lessons (which she absolutely loves being in the water, even if it is freezing!)

Brynnley at 1 year old waiting for Aubrie at swim lessons.

Brynnley and Miss Sheena at Lotsa Tots

It was nice weather so we decided to have some fun and get some energy out at the park by our house. We had 70 deg temperatures for a week and then it snowed the following week....that is Utah weather for ya.

Some funny things about Brynnley:
-  loves to go outside
-  loves chocolate and had a tantrum and banged doors when she couldn't have dad's chocolate
   birthday cake
-  loves to play in sandbox with sister and swing
-  loves Sheriff Callie tv show on Disney Jr
- gets so excited and loves seeing dogs
- loves playing with cousin Ady
- very picky eater

Funny things about Aubrie:
- loves going to school
- doesn't like going to dance class at Elite but is always happy when she gets out
- says funny things like taco doodle doo
- loves trolls movie, Moana and sings and memorizes movie lines
- loves playing with her barbies
- can write her own name by herself

Valentines Love

February was full of lots of love with these cute girls in our life!

Making sugar cookies with Grandma Susie and Grandma Joan

                                           Of course, Brynnley enjoyed the frosting the most!

I was called to teach the CTR 7 class in primary and Jeff was called to teach Sunday School.

                                                               New hair cut for me!