Hello from Recovery central,
I have now had my first three chemo doses. So far I have tolerated it very well. As Clark explained in an earlier post I am on weekly reduced amounts of Taxol, as part of the study. This is to see if having it weekly is more effective than a larger blast every 3 weeks. So, so far so good. As an amateur at this process I do realize that the idea is as the treatments progress the toxicity builds, so the side effects will probably change. But for now it is so exhilirating to have something good to report.

Actually the drugs that they give to prepare for the Taxol seem to work very well and even give me a comfortable day on Fri. with good energy after my nap. As the week goes by about the worst so far is I do slip into some fuzzy fatigue times. Not tired enough to sleep, but not any umph to do much else. The Australian Open has just been my best buddy over the last two weeks. I do still love to play tennis, and was so lucky to be able to play 5 times a week most of the summer. So that’s a big healing, strengthening goal for me.

And now for the best news of all. My appetite has returned, and almost all of the food aversion is gone. This is a huge part of my healing, and so starting back from 34 lbs. lost, I have gained back 9. Because cancer is a wasting disease this is just critical to being able to fight back. So I’m sure you can tell I am more than elated. Thank you for checking in, it is comforting for me to know I can at least share the good news with you.

You are in my prayers and thoughts, as I know I am in yours.

Annie/Noel

I have savored, shared, and prayed this meditation since the late 70’s when I was a student at GTU in Berkeley. Hope it resonates with you.

I Rest This Day in God

I do not seek the comfort of a guarantee that all my tomorrows
will be safe, and sure, that strength will be mine at a single time
to carry all my needs in the days ahead. This would be much, too much
for such a one as I.
I rest this day in God.

I put in a single place all the pieces of my erring ways,
the urgent thoughts both good and bad, together with my rights and wrongs.
All in a single place they go. Here they lie where all is loss
and all is gain, for they are mine. As for me—
I rest this day in God.

I do not seek to cast aside the burdens which are mine,
to find some easy way to lift the heavy load,
to shift to other backs what has found its way upon my own.
They are mine, shaped and fashioned in their own sure place- why?
I am never sure.
I rest this day in God.

Dr. Howard Thurman

Dr. Thurman was a mentor for Dr. King. He was a Baptist minister greatly influnced by Ganhdi and the Quakers.

Noel/Annie

Noel started chemotherapy this morning at the California Cancer Center in Marin. She’s doing a clinical study called GOG-0262 (GOG stands for Gynecologic Oncology Group, which is a national research group affiliated with the National Cancer Institute) and was ‘randomized’ into a group that receives part of her chemo every week instead of every three weeks, which is the customary standard for her disease. Other than that, it is the same chemo drugs as the standard therapy. There is an additional but optional drug in the study called Avastin. You may have read about Avastin as it has been in the news lately. It’s made by Genentech (now owned by Roche), and they’ve been pushing to get it approved for as many forms of cancer treatment as possible. It seems to work well for some, but the FDA recently declined to approve it for breast cancer and last month they reported only mixed results of its effectiveness in two ovarian cancer studies. Overall it seemed to offer relatively little, even if it worked, so after weighing benefit versus toxicity, we decided not to include that in the study. The chemo runs for a full 18 weeks.

We are doing our best to take an integrative approach to this. Last week we had an 80 minute consultation with Dr. Donald Abrams who is head of the Integrative Oncology program at UCSF. His primary area of focus is nutrition and anti-inflammatory foods, and he just published a book, “Integrative Oncology,” which he co-authored with Andrew Weil (the doctor in Arizona with the big beard).

The book to start with, though, is probably “Anticancer” by David Servan-Schreiber. We actually had been eating pretty well – Annie gets vegetable hungry like few people I’ve ever known, and I’ve been eating a vegetarian lunch for several years – but we learned a lot from the meeting with Dr. Abrams. We also got some great materials, including recommendations for cookbooks and other resources (e.g., “Foods to Fight Cancer” and “The Cancer Fighting Kitchen”). I’m happy to share the information Dr. Abrams provided if you wish (just let me know). Anyway, the result is that we’re buying a bunch of different foods and eating even better now; I even cooked kale for the first time this week and it was great. Fortunately we have great resources here in the Bay Area, including a wonderful farmers market nearby.

Thanks to everyone for your support. It means a lot to her, especially as she enters this next phase.

Clark

Hello dear family and friends,

Since I have been too busy to blog, I guess you’ve also been too busy to check in. Well, despite all reationalizations it is good to be back in touch. Christmas/New Years was bustling time, even for me in recovery, so I can only imagine what most of you had going. Slowing down to our pace had some definite advantages. As a family we definitely spent more time together, and much less time shopping and even cooking. I say that although the cooking was shared between my sisters, Sarah and Ellen, and Clark and Luke. I still don’t have much of an appetite, but really have to force myself to down calories.

I probably have said before that I lost 30 lbs. between Mid-Oct. and several weeks after surgery, so eating and nutrition become major medical issues. Clark and I have considered ourselves quite careful about our eating, dieting, taking supplements, and at least periods of monitoring sweets, and drinking. We both also had worked on healthy exercise habits, with me really working on it over the last 2yrs. Because I was working three days a week, it opened up some reallly good classes in Yoga and Pilates that I esp. loved. So, we do need to add organic and many anti-cancer type recipes into our cooking. Meanwhile, I’m just looking for those big times calories. Two examples I’ve found that I haven’t touched for years are mac and cheese and pot pies. Also milk shakes and Ensure are highly recommended. On exercise, one of the real pleasure of the holidays was taking walks- slow and short at first, but now I’m getting up to 10-12 blocks. Yesterday Clark and I walked over to the Marina across the way and took a rest on a sunny bench, and then walked home. We also took Luke’s dog, Mary Jane, with us, and she decided to go chase some coots into the water, so that added some excitement. I generally think those walks have been a joy and major stress relief for us all.

We have decided to do our chemo phase in Marin, at the Marin Oncology Center. It has all of the advantages of the city, and is so much more do-able. At this point we are going to participate in a study offered at the center which has advantages of some extra monitoring. I still need a lot of energy, and have daily issues to get thru. Over the holidays, when I knew things would go late, I allowed myself two-a-days—naps, and it really helped. I was worried that being in bed too much would set back my recovery, but I now think the naps are a key. Sometimes I only sleep for 30-40 min., but it makes a big difference.

New project this week looking at wigs, hats and scarves, since it is inevitable that I will lose my hair. Fun!

I’ll close now, with wishes and prayers that 2012 will be a great blessing bringing healthy challenges and changes and newness in your lives.

Love Noel /Annie