Chemo

January 2, 2019

I recently realized I haven't posted anything for a little while. Spending time with my family has been wonderful and the days have kind of melded together as we go from one activity to another!

Here is the latest:

We got the final word from Liberty Healthshare that they will cover only $50k of the medical bills Cherie has and nothing more. Meanwhile, Cherie qualified for ACHHHS officially and, after many phone calls, trips to DES, more phone calls, more time on hold and then more phone calls...it looks like everything is set for Cherie to have her port put in. All the people involved in that process accept Cherie's specific DES healthplan (we found out there were at least 3 different ones) and now we can move forward with the port and the initial stages of getting ready for chemo.

We met with Dr. Brooks (the oncologist) to discuss the plan. We talked about the fact that Cherie doesn't have an overwhelming amount of cancer that we can see, but the problem is that it has spread. And it has spread extensively through the lymph nodes. It is common for colon cancer to spread to the liver. There are a couple of "iffy" areas on her liver, but we just can't tell yet if those are cancer.

We have an appointment scheduled for Friday to meet with the chemo nurses. They will be going over the chemo process and explaining it to Cherie. Mom and I will be going, too.

Once the chemo starts she will go in once every 2 weeks for chemo treatment. The regiment he is using is highly effective and the least toxic. Every 2 months Dr. Brooks will evaluate the treatment by "watching it" with a CT scan. He will also look for any other places the cancer might have shown up within those last 2 months.

Cherie was able to tell the Doctor about 2 specific events she would like to make it to within the next 6 months. He said he would do his best to help her feel well enough to go to each of them.

We also found out that her genetic testing suggests no genetic pre-disposition for colon cancer so now I don't need to worry about getting myself and my kids tested genetically specifically for this cancer. This whole experience has brought about the most wonderful colonoscopy results for me. They did find a polyp, which they removed and had tested. It was benign, but it was pre-cancerous. So I got to tell my kids that they will have to start having their colonoscopies at 40 instead of 50 years of age! They are super excited about that, too! hahahaha

Some things to pray for:

- Pray that Liberty will stand behind their promise to pay 50k and that they will begin paying bills quickly

- Pray that everything will go smoothly with her new coverage so she can get the port put in and start treatment

- Pray for her body to stay healthy

- Pray for us to continue to put our trust in God for what will happen in Cherie's body. He is the Great Sustainer


Some things to thank God for:

- Thank Him for His steadfast love. There have been so many twists and turns and roll-overs on this ride, but we have all seen God work in His way and provide what He knows we need in HIS TIME.

- Thank Him for the  wonderful medical team He has provided.


I know you are all asking about how you can help possibly financially. The 50k that Liberty has promised will barely make a dent in the bills Cherie has from December. I am working on finding a way for you to help in that manner. I've kinda been waiting for the dust to settle.