February 29

Hi Friends,

Doug here, posting on behalf of Jane. She has not been feeling well lately, and many of you have been asking about her, so I'll try to fill you in on what's been happening for the past 8 days.

In her last post, Jane told about having a needle biopsy (ultrasound guided thoracentesis for you medical-types). I was at work on Saturday last, and the oncologist called Jane at home with the results. She was told that the sample drawn contained cancer cells, and that he wanted to talk with us on Monday (last). I took off work early, and we went to see Dr. Neville at 4:40pm on Monday. He recommended a new drug to approach the cancer, had the lab draw blood cultures, and scheduled a CT scan for next Wednesday.

Jane and I got home about 6:00pm, and by 9:00pm she had spiked a fever of 103°F. Then it was off to the Emergency Room, where they took blood cultures, chest X-ray and a CT scan. Needless to say, Jane was pretty worn-out by then. I brought her home at 3:00am after the results of the blood tests and CT were looked at. It turns out that her blood work showed no infection, and the CT showed a thickened omentum. We're not sure what that means right now. Anyway, after some Tylenol her temperature was down and the ER doc sent us home.

Yesterday (Thursday) Jane started on the new regimen of chemotherapy, which had to be done at the hospital, to observe her for any reactions to the new drug (Erbitux). The treatment went well, albeit slow, and Jane came home at 8:45pm on Thursday night. Today, she was feeling well enough to go out with a friend to the dollar store to get a few things for Amy's birthday which is today.

We celebrated Amy's birthday with her friends, pizza, and cake, and then Amy and her friends went to the MU on campus to bowl and play games.

Jane is resting right now, not feeling to good. She gets worn out very easily, so we're going to try and take things even more slowly now. This new chemo treatment is scheduled to continue for the next 16 weeks (yes, that's right, 16 WEEKS). If you are praying for Jane, please pray that she will be able to tolerate these treatments for as long as necessary. She has generally been in good spirits, but can always use people lifting her up in prayer.

Thank you to everyone who are helping us out in our time of need. Jane and I are overwhelmed with the response of our family, friends, and neighbors. God bless you, everyone!

doug