Houston

Hi there,
I just returned from a week trip to Houston, TX with Robert and my Mom. We met with a prestigious medical oncologist specializing in cancer treatment with pregnant women at MD Anderson. Our purpose for the trip was to gain a second opinion with my treatment regime to ensure we are on the right path. As I've said many times before, my primary oncologists are wonderful, however, this is a situation in which a second opinion is vital for our peace of mind and to cross it off the list so that we don't look back down the road and kick ourselves for not exhausting all our resources. Robert said it best, if we learn the same information in Houston for a second time, we'll be ecstatic.

For a little background, that I personally found astounding, MD Anderson is the first to administer chemotherapy to pregnant women in the world and conducted the first long-term study to follow the children who were in the womb during the treatment. The oldest child is 22 years old today. All of the children have been reported to be healthy with no long-term ill effects from the treatment. I was encouraged by each of the doctors I met with in TX that both my baby and I would be healthy after treatment with a confidence that was new to my situation. Prior to MD Anderson, I was informed repeatedly of the potential risk to me and my baby on a regular basis (which I understand is necessary) but to meet with a doctor that has seen for herself time and time again that everyone is HEALTHY in the end gives me strength and confidence that I was certainly lacking before.   If I can help just one woman by going through this myself, is to tell you that this place exists and it's worth everything for you to meet with these professionals and hear what they have to say. Even if you receive your treatment in your hometown in the end. They are pioneers and KNOW (fool-proof) what they are talking about...our doctors are using their studies to administer our therapies...if you are scared, if you are uneasy, go see them.  In the end, the oncologist we met with agreed to my current treatment plan. My tumor has reduced by .5 cm since beginning my treatment and I have tolerated the therapy pretty well so we are going to stick with our current program. It's what we wanted to hear and we are very happy with the results. I'll be honest and tell you that after our final appointment on Friday, I wanted to scream and cry when we got in the car...instead a couple silent tears fell down my cheeks.   I think there's always going to be that hope that this isn't real or that I really don't have to go through ALL of this crap, but this trip was the final nail in the coffin so to speak. I have cancer, it's getting better, but I have cancer. I wonder if I'll ever really grasp that.   Part of our take away from this trip was that we have also been advised to pursue additional genetic testing. The initial genetic test results indicated that the two markers indicative of breast/ovarian cancers came back negative and that I do not carry the gene for either. As this was great news to me to know that my mom, sister and brother don't have to worry about having to go through this, I now have to understand this little monster better for my baby. I'm the beginning of a family history....a really bad family history.

As I mentioned before, my purpose in sharing this information is for the slight chance a woman going through something similar is able to find hope and resources through my journey. The fear that comes with this process is something that we don't talk about. I don't think it's possible to quite understand this fear unless you are in the midst of it. I wouldn't wish this fear on anyone, but am thankful for the enlightenment it has brought into my life and the life of my family and friends. I've never been one to take anything in life for granted, but I can confidently say, I never will.   I will continue to be grateful for every minute I have, period.   ENJOY this life, every minute...even the bad ones because they make the good moments all the more sweeter.


Other than going to Houston for medical advice, we were able to spend a couple days site-seeing. We drove to Galveston and Lake Charles and spent a couple hours with our toes in the sand. It was so nice to hang with my favorite people and unexpectedly have some down time to enjoy together. We also went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science....to my delight they had a Gem Vault filled with the most exquisite gemstones and pieces of jewelry. I'm talking necklaces like Rose's Heart of the Ocean in Titanic. Some of you may not know my obsession with jewelry and jewelry-making, but I truly love it! I was in heaven...thanks Mom and Robert for indulging me. :0)  This picture is of one of their amethyst necklaces in the vault...amazing!

Thank you to the Porter and Lester families for helping arrange our trip and taking care of our furry babies while we were gone. Robert and Mom, thank you for being there with me and caring so much for me. I love you.  Thank you to my girls for working so hard to get the benefit together. Thank you Kelli and Amy for helping me register for Lansing...god knows I have no idea what I'm doing! 

Peace & Love,
Misty