April 03, 2024
Tammy saw her new oncologist for the first time yesterday.
She was very encouraged with Tammy’s condition. Her chart looked pretty grim, but Keaton and I were just reflecting last night that she has again seemed to have made great leaps compared to the day before, which had also felt like a miracle of a day. Tammy was pushed all the way down to the oncologist for her appointment in a wheelchair, and it was spectacular to see her sitting up for such a long period of time. Tammy also really liked the oncologist, which is a comfort.
That appointment did reveal a few things to us:
Tammy will start a 50% dose of chemo right away by IV to see how her body handles it
We do not know yet whether this is breast cancer or a new primary (eg, ovarian)
When the biopsy results are in, they may be able to add additional therapies like immunotherapy
She will likely be in here for at least another few weeks, as they monitor whether or not the chemo is working
This all adds to our already-established caution on how many visitors we receive. Tammy will be extra vulnerable to any illnesses so we do ask that people exercise the same caution as we will, by keeping a safe distance if they are ill or if they have come into contact with many people recently. We are keeping our bubble small while Tammy adjusts to her new treatment, because we need to be able to keep supporting her.
We are both so grateful and terrified that chemo will start so soon (likely tomorrow). We’ve seen how much of a toll it can take on people but are so hopeful for the relief and gift of time that it can give.
A lot of the day today has been spent trying to get Tammy to tolerate Boost 2.24 which is a high-calorie meal replacement beverage. We have a tally on the whiteboard in our room where we’ve broken down how many shot glasses of the beverage are in each container and we keep track of how many shots she does, so we know how many calories she ingests. We celebrate each one.
We’ve had dieticians in here all day, essentially after each meal, to adjust her diet in order to increase her calorie intake. They are tweaking the hospital meal plan and also giving us advice on what to bring in. It’s been stressed to us so much (and passed onto you many times) how important it is for her to eat an adequate amount of calories in order to endure treatment. Please still keep this in your prayers. We aren’t yet hitting the amount we need.
The pain picked up again this afternoon and just like every day this week, Jeff responds right away by massaging her back or feet, adjusting her bed as much as needed, finding ice packs and heat pads and whatever else he can to help relieve the pain while we wait for the pain medication to kick back in. He is teaching all of us in here a lesson on selfless love. He has barely left her side since the start of this, only to run errands at her request and catch up on sleep.
Right now, Tammy is napping and Keaton is teaching me a card game and Jeff is on a walk. We have someone bringing us soup and buns to the hospital. We feel blessed, in our little jungle of flowers here. We’ve seen so many answers to prayers each day, both in the moment and over time. I’ll write a bit more about those specifically perhaps soon, but for now I just wanted to give you all the update on her oncology appointment and plan to move forward with treatment.
Thank you all so much for your love and support!
