skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Gay had her next PET scan yesterday and we're awaiting the results. For you new members of this blog, the PET scan is the definitive check on Gay's progress with her recovery. Because we don't have any new news yet (is that redundant?), this is what you call a fallow period in the blog business. In keeping with my reporting prowess I decided to fall back to the "Grand Father Thing" and include a picture of the "Darlings" and their visit with us this Christmas. Speaking of that, we hope yours was as wonderful as ours.
The kids spent Christmas Eve in their own beds and traveled over here arriving in Pinehurst about 1 pm. Naturally we couldn't start the gift opening frenzy until ALL of the gang was "in the house". The trip for both families is about two hours and we're thankful for that.
As you can see from the above picture taken after the loot was divvied up, they were all quite happy with their gifts. We had a fine Christmas dinner and they left the next afternoon. We still haven't quite recovered but, again, we wouldn't trade these visits for anything. Dolls, clothes, and, of course, video games were de rigeur for this year.
Thanks for your patience. I will be back as soon as the results of the original purpose of this blog are received. We wish you all a very happy, HEALTHY new year. I was going to close with the usual "Thanks" but then considered Rush Limbaugh's "ditto" thing because I ALWAYS say that. Who cares?!! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. I feel better now!
From our family to yours, we want to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy healthy new year. There's not much to report on the original intent of this blog (thank goodness) so I'll just send my greetings and a picture of the grand kids. That's an old grand father trick and I certainly am an old grand father. We'll all be together here on Christmas and the Wii machine will get a real workout!
Gay will be getting more tests after the holidays and I'll be back here with the results. I'm pleased to report that the disease has not slowed down Gay's golf (or her shopping) and all of your thoughts and prayers continue to do their work. Thanks again.
The entire family gathered in Pawley's Island last week for Thanksgiving (We hope you all had a wonderful holiday too)! Somehow Gay timed her birthday so it always falls when we're all together (November 29th) and we were treated to a terrific brunch to celebrate her special day. The above picture is all four grand kids fawning over their Gabby.
Gay had another dose of her bone strengthening drug (Zometa) and will have a PET scan next week to determine if all's well. She still has some pain in her left arm and the doctor thinks some physical therapy will help that out. It doesn't seem to affect her golf game however.
I'll be back when we hear more news on Gay's progress. Please keep those thoughts and prayers coming!
Gay and I went up to Greensboro last week to watch little Kali play soccer. It was brisk and windy and she isn't used to being "a little challenged up top" like yours truly. She did manage to concoct a head warmer out of available materials on hand. You must admit that you don't see this particular getup around very often!
We're getting ready to drive down to Pawley's Island (near Myrtle Beach, SC) to spend Thanksgiving with our entire family. It's about a three hour drive but the time spent with the "gang" is worth every mile. We wish all of you a very Happy
Thanksgiving. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year.
Several weeks ago we attended a toga party of all things. Seamstress Gabby made our togas and mine will NOT be seen on this blog. Needless to say, she used quite a bit of material making my outfit and it was just a little short. I never realized how careful you girls have to be when you sit down!
We had some requests to see Gay with her post chemo hair do so here it is. I think that "Caligula" look might be here to stay!
Gay had her 17th radiation treatment today so she has three to go and will finish on Friday morning. We will leave early next week for Pawley's Island to spend Thanksgiving with the entire family. It certainly will be nice to get away from those early morning hospital visits. She will then go on pills and hopefully that will be it for the treatments. The marker numbers are still good and we're thankful for that this Thanksgiving season. We're also thankful for all of our friends who helped us get through this. We couldn't have done it without you. THANKS AGAIN!
In an effort to lure and keep many of our friends who are golfers, I've included some golf tips at the bottom of this blog. I'm beginning to feel like a "blogging hooker"! I guess that's a bit better than a "blogging slicer" (OJ would like that one!) Please stay tuned to Gay's battle. Thanks.
We've now entered week three of four of Gay's radiation therapy. She seems to be in a groove with these early morning treatments but I wish she's be just a little quieter when she leaves for them. I'm starting to feel I'm bearing the brunt of all of this! You all know I need my "beauty sleep"!
We had a call from the oncologist and again the numbers are going in the right direction. Gay has put up one heck of a battle and the results are starting to show. She's decided to remain "gray" so sell your stock in hair dye companies. She will also keep her hair short and the "Nazi Sympathizer" look is starting to become her. We're still working on the eyebrows.
I know I say this every post but we could not have gotten through this without all of your prayers and support. I could do a "Rush Limbaugh" thing and just say "Ditto" but you all deserve full accolades in every single post. It might be boring and repetitive but our thanks keep going out to you.
Gay is now well into week two of her four weeks of radiation therapy. Because these zaps take place very early each morning, I have kept up my personal record of being sound asleep when she leaves every single time. One thing I am is consistant! She gets back to the house around 8 am and I'm just rolling out of bed to greet her. It's the very least I can do.
So far the therapy (except for the early mornings) has had no adverse effects on her. We've noticed a little action on her head as far as hair regrowth is concerned but her eyebrows have bitten the dust. I offered her a Sharpie to remedy that situation and she turned that down. What??!!
Hope to have some recent pictures soon. Gay is doing quite well and we're very optimistic. Thanks again for all of your support.
Gay has just been through the first three of her twenty radiation treatments. They occur about 6:30 am every day except for the weekends. Unfortunately your humble scribe is deep in the arms of Morpheus at that ungodly hour and has not witnessed a treatment yet. Am I a pillar of strength or what?! We found out today that these measures are necessary to protect her left arm if the evil ever resurrects. As has been the case from the start, Gay has been the ultimate trooper and just does what it takes. We're heading into the late innings and we request your prayers and support more than ever. My daughter Heidi didn't like the last post and said that the picture looked like "Evita". She's a lot smarter than I am but I maintain that a picture is worth a thousand words so it stays. Gay is one tough bird!
For those of you too young to remember Louis Hayward in "The Man in theIron Mask", I'm enclosing a picture of Gay in her radiation outfit. She will have to don this contraption for every treatment (at 6:30 am by the way)! Maybe Hannibal Lecter will refresh the memory of you younger readers. By the way, that Louis Hayward movie scared the bejesus out of me as did "The Silence of the Lambs".
I don't know about you but I'd go nuts wearing that thing. Gay is tough however and she's proven that every step of the way. I hate to say this but this looks like a scene from an "S and M" movie. Remember, when a sadist meets a masochist, he's nice to him! An old joke but fitting here.
Thank goodness there's not much to report this week. I'm always in the "publish or perish" mode and have to write something. The chemotherapy has been over for a few weeks and now we're entering a period of radiation treatments. Gay has been going through "radiation simulations" which, in layman's terms, means that some technician has been drawing all over her with a Sharpie (probably a graffiti artist in a former life). I thought you just aimed the ray gun in a general area and let loose with the nuker. I have since found that all of these lines and circles have a purpose and when they wash off they will be replaced with that "tattoo freckle" I mentioned in a previous post. Five days a week for a month or so she will get zapped at that freckle and we hope it gets the desired results.
Gay has been feeling well and is enjoying her new "GI Jane" look. Hats have become an accessory and not a necessity anymore. Her attitude is great and none of all this has slowed her down in any way. As usual your continued support and prayers are requested and appreciated.
From that old cherished spiritual: "Ain't gots no new flowers, ain't gots no new food, I gots dem post chemotherapy blues". Its truly amazing the comfort and consolation a song can bring regardless of the genre.We're now in phase 2 of Gay's treatment. We learned yesterday that the blood test taken a few days ago showed further improvement in the existing cancer markers. Our oncologist, Dr. Doogie Howser has recommended that the next treatment should include radiation. The radiation doctor had a little problem with that since Gay has had radiation therapy during her last bout with cancer. She was afraid that the radiation might do more harm than good but Dr. Doogie wants to be sure that the original source be totally whacked with every defense we have available. Sure, it's not HIS body but he's been doing a great job so far and that's where we're going.
During the previous radiation treatment, they would use Sharpies to make bulls-eyes where to shoot and that was VERY interesting. They now apply an actual tattoo about the size of a freckle to designate "ground zero". She will start the series next week and will go in five days a week for about a month to get nuked. Our Doctor wants absolutely NO prisoners. Luckily its only a five minute drive to the treatment center.
After we finish the radiation, Gay will go on hormonal therapy for the foreseeable future and will be checked constantly for any new problems. We've started to look for some new sprigs on her noggin but thus far it looks like fallow ground. I guess this Taxol takes some time to leave the system.
Again, we request your thoughts and prayers. The fight is far from over but, with you on our side, we will prevail. Our sincerest thanks again.
Please send the kids out of the room. I will be reporting Gay's PET Scan results almost directly from the Doctor's report we received today. I will use terms which might be disturbing to young minds.
We left for South Bend right after Gay's PET Scan and sweated out both the results of that test and the Irish game over the weekend. Fortunately the Irish prevailed but we returned home yesterday with the results of the Scan still unknown. We lit some big candles at the Grotto for Gay and the Irish and the lads came through. Now we had to see how the "wax miracle" worked back here.
We went over to the Oncologist this morning and waited seemingly forever for him to come talk to us. He would be a great card player because he certainly had a "poker face" when he entered the room. The following are the results we were waiting for right out of his computer.
As you know, Gay has incurable but treatable stage four breast cancer. It started many years ago in her left breast and has been a pain in the breast ever since. The Taxol (Chemo-therapy) was started to put the bad cells to sleep and I'm pleased to report that it did it's job. The four "spots" were indeed sleeping and the Taxol knocked them out with some hair loss as collateral damage. We could certainly handle that. We will now use some radiation to put the main spot to night-night. As in previous radiation procedures, we use Gay as a night light and learn to live with it! That spot is indeed asleep like the rest of his "brothers" but this will be a preemptive strike to keep it from ever waking up again. She will then go on hormonal therapy to keep the spots asleep as long as possible. Hopefully new techniques and drugs will be available to permanently get rid of this evil. Friends, the prognosis is good and we wanted to share that with you.
There was a disturbing section in that report. Along with all the medical gobbly-gook was a note that Gay's right breast was "unremarkable"! I don't know about you but I would take umbrage if any part of MY anatomy was considered "unremarkable". Gay was happy about it though so life here goes on.
We have a game against UNC this Saturday and Domer friends and our family will be here to root on the Irish and toast our news today. I can't thank you enough for all of your prayers and support. We truly couldn't have arrived at this point with out you. We are indeed blessed to have you in our lives.
Gay had her eleventh treatment today with only one more remaining. As per the previous posts, she didn't get sick and came home to beautiful flowers. It's hard to believe almost three months have past since we got the bad C word news! Your incredible support definitely made this long journey tolerable for us and we cannot thank you enough.
We played golf for three days up in the NC and TN mountains this past week with sixteen great (and fun) couples from Pinewild. Gay ran out of gas the third day but still played well. To put things in perspective, your humble scribe ran out of gas on day one! We were both in the money for two out of the three days and it helps to have good partners (I partnered with Gay on day three)!
Our Irish got hammered by the MSU Spartans on Saturday and I am semi-depressed. I have to remember that some billion Chinese had no idea that this tragedy occurred to put things in proper perspective! I feel much better now!
I'll be back next week. Stay tuned and keep those prayers and wishes coming.
"Biddy" in the dictionary means "a woman, especially an old gossipy one" and the plural is "biddies". Gay's Dad in his infinite wisdom gave her and her friends that perfect nickname. Two of the biddies (Loretta and Cookie) came down from Baltimore to join Charlotte in the weekly "drip watch" so there were a total of four in our little town. A warning should have been issued!
The "girls" sat with Gay and her quilt during yesterday's procedure and naturally Gay was so thankful for their presence and support. Yes, they returned to a wonderful display of "Monette" flowers. The Monettes (Gay's Monday golf group) hasn't missed a week with those flowers and, frankly we're getting kinda used to them!
Gay and I returned from South Bend on Sunday and witnessed a defeat of the Skunk Bears ( the University of Michigan). All of the rain throughout the game was quickly forgotten and a win is a win. I didn't get to say that much last year! We lit some candles personally in the Grotto and that and your prayers seem to be working. Today we got the great news that her cancer markers were still improving. Keep up the good work!
I promised I'd include a picture of Gay in the Under Armour "doo-rag" that son-in-law Keith gave to her. Now you have to admit she looks "menacing"!
Gay received the ninth in her series of chemo applications and this one was the tough one. She does really well with the taxol alone but has some difficulties with the zometa. She doesn't have any sickness issues but the stuff does a number on her energy level. The poor thing only played four rounds of golf this past week! Again the zometa is for her bones for you new blogsters out there.
We head over to Charlotte tomorrow to celebrate the ninth birthday of our youngest grand daughter Kali and we'll then leave from there and fly to Chicago. We have about a two hour ride to South Bend to watch the Irish take on good ole Michigan. I've always requested prayers for Gay and, if you have a few to spare, send some to Notre Dame. After last week's showing, they're really going to need them!
Because of the Labor Day holiday, Gay got a one day reprieve from her treatment. She did "the drip" on Tuesday and returned to more wonderful flowers (and food too). Luckily the chemo treatments have been relatively benign (I like that word) and Gay has not become sick from them. The last thing we need here is a "Hasten Jason, get the basin" incident around here every week!
As some of you might know, football season is upon us and we were worried about traveling on airplanes to get to South Bend to see our beloved Irish and the Notre Dame Grotto. We just received clearance but, because Gay has to be wary of infections, she must wear a surgical mask (and the ever present hat) on the airplane. This is going to be like flying with Michael Jackson but we have to do what we have to do.
The Irish play San Diego State tomorrow so please include them in your "Gabby" prayers. We need all the help we can get!! We'll be off to the Michigan game next week.
Several weeks ago some friends from Pinewild went up to Ohio to attend the PGA golf tournament at the fabled Firestone Country Club. They are friends with the English tour player Paul Casey and wanted to root him on in the tournament. On the third day (Paul made the cut) they asked him to sign a personalized Firestone flag for Gay. He graciously complied and went on to shoot a 65 right after that. "One good turn deserves another". This is just one of the many examples of our incredible friends' generousity. The flowers are here every Monday after the treatment and the many meals are overwhelming (and very tasty)! We certainly thank you all.
Gay had her seventh treatment this past Monday and again seemed to get through it quite well. The taxol is doing its job killing the weak cells (hair) and from the marker results, seem to be doing a number on the cancer cells as well. Gay is now thinner than I am up top and is into some really neat hats. Gay's not a member of a group called the "Knit and Nips" (Knit one, drink two!!) but they all gave her a spectacular bunch of hats for her collection. The enclosed picture shows one of her many hats (this one is from daughter Heidi) and that incredible Firestone flag. My son-in-law Keith gave her a Under Armour "doo-rag" and we'll include a picture of Gay in that in future postings. You've got to see that one!
Again, the marker results are comforting and definitely going in the right direction. Five more to go! Please keep checking back on her progress and keep those prayers coming too.
Gay shoots an 80 two days after her last treatment and the women of Pinewild are already questioning possible performance enhancing qualities in Taxol. A number of them are willing to wear the silly hats involved with it if they could shoot an 80.
Meanwhile hair coloring company stocks have plunged and Gay's hairdresser (and colorer) has declared Chapter 11. The comb and brush industry is at an all time low. More soon.
Yesterday was the sixth of Gay's twelve chemo treatments. Hence the "half time". There were no marching bands but daughter Heidi drove over to sit and watch the drips go in. Dear Charlotte Conradi had been doing that for the first five weeks but Heidi decided to volunteer for this week and give Charlotte some much needed time off. The procedure takes several hours and the girls talked girl talk and went down to the "Wig and Hat Shop" at the hospital for some comic relief. Yes, the hair is falling out but she still has a long way to catch me and hers will return (SIGH)!!
I hate to be repetitive but all of our friends continue to amaze. I mentioned the "Monettes" and their flowers and I'm including a picture of last week's "welcoming after treatment"! Friends keep bringing delicious foods and some are including Gay in their particular Sunday church services. A problem has arisen as the poor announcers at the churches don't have a clue how to pronounce the name"Strojny"! I had the same problem with my flight attendants in my past life. As long as the prayers get here, we couldn't care less if our name is butchered!
Gay has an appointment with her oncologist tomorrow for her next status report. We'll keep you all up to date as we get news.
On Monday, August 11th, Gay had her fifth treatment with Taxol only. All the better as that other stuff made her tired and achy. Personally I'd prefer another type of "fifth" but that's me. Next Monday will be "halftime". She's starting to get a little "thin" up top but otherwise no adverse effects so far.
We're over in Charlotte now "babysitting" and I don't have access to my pictures here. Gay's Monday golf group (the Monettes) makes sure that fresh flowers are always awaiting her after her treatment and I'll include a picture when we return. The support from everyone is overwhelming and we thank you all.
We had our annual New Jersey Day golf tournament yesterday (which Gay started) and she couldn't play because she wasn't feeling well (and her brother Tom was visiting). She really has to be feeling yukky to skip a golf game! We were worried that the new "soup" recipe really hit her hard but now the concensus is that the two days golfing in this blasted heat was the major contributing factor. She's heading out to play right now so things can't be too bad. Naturally I advised her to quit if it gets too hot. (I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV)!
The good news. The Oncologist called yesterday to tell us that her cancer "markers" (whatever they are) were improving "significantly" and the "soup" appears to be working. Obviously your prayers, candles, angels, etc. are working too so please keep 'em coming!
Another Monday has come and gone and the fourth dose of chemo (out of twelve) is in the books (and Gay's veins too). A new ingredient has been added to the Taxol soup called Zometa which is supposed to work on the evil in her bones. She played golf over at Pinehurst #4 before the dose (she and her partner won, by the way) and left this morning for Fayetteville for another game of golf in temperatures in the high 90's. She should be returning soon and will swim and exercise in the pool for an hour or so. Believe me, Gay's energy level is not down.
Speaking of the pool, Gay noticed something new in the waterfall and pointed it out to me yesterday. All of our friends and neighbors have been so kind and generous and it looks like one of them is quite creative (and most likely wet)! I'll try to enclose two pictures. The bottom will be the waterfall from across the pool and the top will be a close-up of Gay's discovery. Some dear sweet person put a little angel in a recess just to the left of the Notre Dame rock. Yes, I have a Notre Dame rock!
You'll have to look very closely at the top and larger picture. Just go the the left of the ND and look in a little crevice in the rocks. This blew us both away!
We're supposed to be getting some preliminary results of the chemo soon. I'll put it in the blog as soon as we hear it. We've got candles, angels, and all of your kind thoughts and prayers going for us. Again we couldn't go through this without you.
This is for all of you new visitors to our blog. I just realized as I get more and more verbose (Dennis...not you!!!), the original posts of Gay's battle are now lumped (poor choice of words there) under "older posts" at the end of the blog. These (especially the first one) explain Gay's situation, how it came to light, and what we're doing about it. The latest posts are up to date accounts of her progress. Feel free to read the older ones and comment if you wish. As I said before, this blog is truly a "work in progress"! I'm a pilot, not an author!
This post has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with Gay's progress. I just posted Krissy and Jason's three kids and now I'm adding a picture of Heidi and Keith's Darby. She is 11. It's not easy being a grandfather blog master!!
No special reason for this post. It's a new month and I want to see if this thing notices that. Gay had a meeting with her oncologist today and everything seems to be going well. We found that the chemo is cumulative but she's been taking the full dosage since she started. Just got this picture of three of the grand kids today. Looks like daughter Krissy is working on her Christmas card! That's Kali (8), Kyle (12) and Kendall (10). Hoping to get a picture of Darby soon too.
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa. I have been publishing every week right after Gay's taxol treatment but I decided to wait this time. She had some friends over RIGHT after the treatment, played golf the past three days in 90 degree weather and shows absolutely NO signs of ANY side effects. She wears this white long sleeve shirt with a sunscreen equivalent of about sixty while playing golf and has this Katherine Hepburn look out there. I had a physical myself today and asked if Gay might be getting "ladies tee" doses (forgive me for using that term). He told me that she's getting the full dose and is "just tough"! We just hope it isn't cumulative and her treatments keep going well.
We have just been overwhelmed with the support of our friends. Our mail person Patti Jo (only in North Carolina) asked me yesterday if someone was having a birthday because of the incredible volume of cards and letters. We have been getting meals, cookies, breads and even ice cream from the dear local folks and even Omaha steaks from afar. Beautiful cut flowers are all over the house! Gay's treatment center is cold enough to hang meat and someone brought over a shawl to keep her warm there. Talk about a wonderful group of friends! We are blessed with you all.
I mentioned your humble scribe had a physical today. Things went well but I was told in no uncertain terms to lose weight or grow taller. I guess I have to keep out of all of those inbound cookies!
We returned from our family reunion in Pawley's Island on Sunday (That's Gay with our four grandchildren) and she had her second chemo treatment yesterday. I'm pleased to report that she fell asleep right after the chemo and left the house at 7:30 this morning to play golf of all things! Its supposed to hit a 100 today so I hope she'll be able to handle the heat OK. As the man said passing each floor after jumping off a building "so far so good"!
The family reunion was great and it was a good time for everyone to rally around Gay in person. We finally told Grand Mary and she took the news pretty hard but she's a trooper like her daughter (albeit a 92 year old one)! The kids were wonderful both with Gay and her Mother and the week just flew by. If you look closely, you'll notice a lime green family reunion theme (picked out by Grand Mary). We also had a family golf tournament (Gay was on the winning team....I wasn't) and she hit the ball well. She doesn't belong on the red tees but I won't go there now!
I'll enclose that picture of Gay with the kids (three days after the first chemo treatment) and a rather interesting lie we found at the Caledonia Golf Course. I imagine that ball is still there!
Again we sincerely thank you for all of your support. We couldn't get through this without you.
Today is the first of Gay's twelve chemo treatments. Her oncologist, the eminent Dr. Doogie Hauser, has decided that the drug Taxol would be the best means of attacking her cancer. Taxol is derived from a plant (latin name.....Zealous Whackacellus) which literally means "attacks all". This stuff will be dripped into her port and will meander through her veins, arteries, corpuscles etc. It will then attempt to attack cancer cells (good) but will also attack weaker cells like hair (not so good). The possibilities are such that Gay might be joining the other follicly challenged member of the Strojny household. She has stated that she will not wear a wig so hats will be the style around here.
Last evening we went to dinner after golf and were totally surprised by a bunch of wonderful Pinewild women who had been working on this "Hug" quilt for over a month. It's so incredibly beautiful and it's a shame you can't read all of the kind thoughts these gals sewed into it. Even your humble correspondent got a little misty with this generous gesture.
As I write this, Gay is over at the Cancer Clinic starting the battle of her life. She is certainly ready for each and every skirmish in this war and we welcome all of your support. Look up "tough" in the dictionary. Gay's picture is there.
Gay's back and looking great. After dinner and a few minutes of berating me for numerous things (which I richly deserve) I realized that things are pretty close to normal around here. She's sleeping now and deserves every minute of rest. Now I'll try to get some too.
We left the house at 6:45 this morning and arrived at the marvelous Pinehurst hospital at 7. I guess there's something about golf courses luring doctors as this is quite a facility. The purpose of this trip was minor surgery for Gay called a port insertion. I don't know about you but I personally prefer a "Port insertion" after a fine dinner!
The port has been inserted to facilitate chemo dosing, blood withdrawal and changing her oil. It really is a neat device just under the skin and makes all of these procedures so much easier on her veins. They put her into a semi-sleep and it looks like the insertion went well. I did a little reading while Gay snored away the sleepy drug and they let us go about two hours later. She's pretty sore right now and has some limitations she just doesn't like. These include no swimming for ten days, no golf for a week and absolutely no heavy lifting. There's also a "no alcohol" clause so I'll have to take up the slack.
The chemo starts next Monday and I'll be back for a status report then. Again thanks so much for all of your kind comments. We both enjoy them and they give us strength and determination. The photo on the left is yet another candle for Gay lit by a dear friend at the Notre Dame Grotto. We ain't kidding around here!
Happy Fourth of July! We've had some friends who are still having difficulty posting comments. At the end of each post (such as this one) there is a "Posted by Gay Strojny etc. with a time and a comment counter. This is where you can leave your own comments. Just click on "__comments" and it will take you to a page with all of the comments on that particular post. There's a prompt that says "Jump to Comment Form" and you can simply add your comment there (again to that particular post or in general). You can also scroll down through the comments and you'll find the "Leave your Comment" form there. When you've finished commenting , PLEASE click "Publish your Comment" or your kind words will be all for naught. You can either add your name where is says "Name/URL" or simply sign it so we know who you are. Don't worry about that "Sign In" in the upper right. That's for me; not for you.
We are a work in progress so please bear with the Blog Meister. Thank you for your patience (I used to say that a lot when I was an Airline Captain)!
We're now down to eleven days before the start of chemo and all of its yukky side effects. On July 8th she'll have a port installed in her right upper chest to facillitate the chemo applications and give a "one-stop shopping" site for drawing blood and those types of things. The son of one of our dear friends (which automatically makes him a dear friend) lives in South Bend and works at Notre Dame. He has been generously lighting candles for Gay there and I'll enclose a really neat picture he took from a "candles" point of view. We've had so many nice comments and emails from you and Gay enjoys reading each and every one of them. She has "only" played four rounds of golf (quite well, I may add) since the diagnosis and is getting ready to go out again. Breaking news! She just got home after shooting an 83 with a triple bogey! There's NOTHING stopping this girl!!
Gay's fight with Cancer
Dear Friends of the Strojny Family,
Those of you are unfortunate enough to be on our Christmas letter list know that I try to get out a yearly update on the Strojny Family around Christmas or Easter (if I procrastinate). I also try to be somewhat humorous and not too verbose. We now have "breaking news" as they say on TV and we decided that this would be the best venue to keep you advised.
For those of you who don't know, Gay (aka Gabby to the grand kids) is a two time breast cancer survivor. She was first diagnosed in her forties, had a lumpectomy and radiation (we used her as a night light) and SHE BEAT IT! Within a year this stuff came back and she went through a mastectomy and chemo. I lost more hair than she did during this bout but again, SHE BEAT IT! She has been clean for twenty-one years and is in wonderful health. Then we got the news this week that the cancer has returned. As her doctor says, "you can treat the cancer, you just can't cure it".
I won't attempt to sugar coat this. Gay's cancer is stage four (there is no stage five) and has metastasized into her skull, upper spine and scapular. Luckily these are very slight lesions and don't affect any major organs including the brain. We have a marvelous oncologist and daughter Heidi who works for Cisco health care has set up teleconferencing with the brightest and the best. We have a plan to fight this and, as of now, it will be done locally.
Right now Gay is on hormone therapy and will begin aggressive chemotherapy in two weeks. We've all read how tough that will be but I can attest to the fight in this lady. The kids are already picking out cool hats (Gay will not wear a wig) and she hopes to continue her beloved golfing and volunteering. She will be taking the chemo once a week for twelve weeks and then reevaluated. We hope to put the cancer to sleep and then knock the hell out of it. As an example of her "toughness" she had to have two upper teeth pulled prior to the chemo. Note the swollen jaw in the "Fightin' Gabby" picture. This was taken two days after the extractions! I'd still be in bed with my pain pills and some whiskey!
That's the news up to date. We have friends lighting candles at the Notre Dame Grotto (pretty powerful stuff here) and we'd really appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I'm just looking forward to to day when I can report again, SHE BEAT IT!!!
Please feel free to comment to the postings. It's really easy to do. I just found out that I had checked "only members of this blog can post comments" (DUH)!! I've now checked "Anyone can post" so hopefully you'll now be able to comment without too much trouble. If in doubt, please read the "Adding Comments 101" post. I'll be back here with more info and status as we get it. You can bookmark this blog to get back to it periodically. Stay tuned!
Gay had her next PET scan yesterday and we're awaiting the results. For you new members of this blog, the PET scan is the definitive check on Gay's progress with her recovery. Because we don't have any new news yet (is that redundant?), this is what you call a fallow period in the blog business. In keeping with my reporting prowess I decided to fall back to the "Grand Father Thing" and include a picture of the "Darlings" and their visit with us this Christmas. Speaking of that, we hope yours was as wonderful as ours.
