MC's Blog

(Kristen here) T oday was MC's second round of chemo but her first time recieving it at Shands (round one was administered at Penn). We saw Dr. Riggs, mom's medical oncologist, first thing in the morning for a pre-chemo check in. When you met Dr. Riggs, it's hard to look beyond the curious bowtie, long southern drawl and the general breadth of the man. But a few minutes in and you're quick to realize how darn smart this guy is. And nice to boot. In fact, every person we enountered today- and there were many-was delightful. The best was when a chatty patient in the waiting room asked, "which one of you awl is see-ick?" I pointed promptly to Tom, you know, being the bald one and all :) Before beginning infusion, new patients first meet with Shelly, the chemo educator. She was wonderful, spending some 45 minutes with us reviewing each chemo drug, their side effects, important signs to look for, and a gazillion other things no one bothered to tell us at Penn. We ...

Word on the street: bald is so back. Ever the visionary, MC scoops the hot new look from Milan's spring fashion week

(Bridgette here) Despite having been told that I'd look like a straight pin with short hair, I am tempted to shave my head. It dawned on me that it wasn't that crazy of an idea when my friend told me that her daughter (age 13) suggested that we all support Ingemar and Runar's Nana by shaving our heads. Here's a photo of Mom and her new wig. She was using that sharp object in her hand to stab the styrofoam head between the eyes - voodoo-style!

(Bridgette here) On Wednesday, Meme had her first MRI after this first, of possibly three, rounds of chemotherapy. We had the suspicion that the tumor was retreating because over the past two weeks Mom has been able to blow her nose AND breath out of her left nostril. Apparently the tumor had been blocking the nasal cavity. Mom's oncologist told her today that there had been a "significant reduction" in the size of the tumor. Another terrific sign is that Mom's white blood cell count is off the charts, "superb"! We'll let you in on the secret to her success another time. Actually, maybe she'll write a book about it. Ah, but those with pictures or comments on this website will get a free signed copy. Currently Mom is too busy to write. Sally is in town from Alaska and Tom says they're out tooling around in the sunshine. This coming week Mom will have her second round of chemotherapy. It is hoped that perhaps the tumor margins will be great...

(Bridgette here) This is a website that Kristen and I put together for Mom. At the bottom of the page you'll find the calendar that lists who is visiting mom and when. There are also entries for when she has certain appointments. We don't want to overwhelm you so we've just added the BIG ones.

( Bridgette here) It was a very long day for all of us. We were at Shands Medical Center from 10 until 5. In one day, mom saw the medical oncologist, radiation oncologist and medical dentist. She has appointments set for her next MRI, a tooth extraction and an appointment with the Proton Radiation Center and a follow up meeting with the medical oncologist and radiation oncologist. In sum, Mom had a good experience at Shands . The doctors were organized, had read her case beforehand, spoke with other involved doctors during her visit and at the end of her appointment with the radiation oncologist, he gave mom his cell number and email address. This is standard procedure for him. Mom didn't feel this same level of availability with the doctors at Penn. In addition, the hospital was bright and sunny and the people, whether they were patients or staff, were friendly and helpful. Mom looked relieved and taken care of. I’ll write out the details in the morning but it was a...

[Bridgette, here] Round one of chemo was done on Thursday at Penn. Tom, Mom and I sat in a room and mom was hooked up to the chemo for about an hour total. She felt okay afterwards and ran some errands with Tom. The next day went alright as well. Tom said that she was a bit flushed in the face and was tired. It is important to keep her temperature in check. If it goes above 100.3 we need to contact a doctor. Tom called me this morning to give an update. He said that she fell asleep yesterday at 3 pm and slept until 7. She woke up for some herbal tea and headed back to bed to sleep from 9 pm to 7 am. Again she woke up, had some tea and headed back to bed. She commented that her head feels like cotton and that’s probably a good sign the tumor is being directly affected. The fact that she is sleeping is enormous. Most chemo patients don’t get a lot of sleep in the beginning because they are nauseated. Mom seems to have kept this side effect in check, which allows her body to heal ...

After weeks that have tested our patience, resilience, anger management skills and humor, we’ve come out on the other side with a plan and are ready to proceed. As was thought to be the case the last time I wrote, Mary Carol has a Sinonasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma (SNUC) with Neuroendocrine features in her ethmoid sinus. This is the sinus area between your eyes yet about a finger-lengths deep. From the traditional allopathic angle, MC will start her neoadjuvant chemotherapy this coming Thursday, January 10 th at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. The specific chemotherapy given will be CAV (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and vincristine). The purpose of this chemotherapy is to shrink the tumor enough so that the surgeons can remove the tumor with as little disruption as possible to the surrounding areas. Due to the rarity of this type of cancer, there is no standard protocol for how to handle it. Penn advocates using neoadjuvant CVA chemotherapy be...