Happy Birthday Mom!

(Sorry Mom, Angel LOVES this picture!)

Today is Jason's mom, Mary Hartsell's, birthday. What a year it has been!! Hard to believe that this time last year we were just learning about your breast cancer diagnosis and treatment plans. And now a year later you have successfully made it through surgery, chemo, radiation and nearing the end of your total treatment. I have been so humbled and amazed at your example of acceptance and patience and faith that you have shown through this whole experience. So many of you prayed and participated in the Daily Envelope project I did for her and I know it helped make this year even more manageable! We are so thankful and blessed that you are feeling better and to have you in our lives. I pray and hope that this next year is a healthy, happy and a little less hectic one for you!! Wish we were closer to give our love and hugs...can't wait to see you again. Happy Birthday....go celebrate...you DESERVE it!!!

CONGRATS - We Love You

We are so excited today because it was Mom Hartsell's LAST DAY OF CHEMO!! Many of you have been praying for Mary Hartsell for awhile now with her battle against breast cancer...thank you and please don't stop. She had her last day of chemo treatment today and has done so incredibly well.

(looking fabulous and beautiful in her wig which I love the style!!)

She is such a strong lady and has handled the highs and the lows and emotions of this whole experience with such composure and faith. I want to thank everyone who has supported her on this journey. Those family members and friends that were close by and took her to appointments, provided meal, cleaning and emotional support. Ever since her Chemo Day One, I decided to send her a daily envelope marked with the Date, Chemo Day # and inside included a note card with the same info and a daily quote to reflect upon. There was also a picture of the day to enjoy looking at (a lot were mostly of the girls to make her smile!) and then a gift or note or card from someone to open. So many of you sent such beautiful things and words or prayer and support....so thank you so much for all of that....it meant a lot to her and got her through some rough times...and we completely managed to fill 139 Chemo Daily Envelopes of Love!! I made her a chemo binder and photo album so she has been keeping all the things she has received and loves looking back through them. SO THANK YOU!!! We sent her a big congratulations basket of goodies for her to open today...Mom...hoped you enjoyed it!!! (hope to talk to you tomorrow).

Please continue the prayers and support...she has March mostly off except for still receiving the Herceptin treatment which I believe she will be getting through December. Then starting in April she will have radiation five times a week for twelve weeks. Hoping she has minimal side effects from that as well!! For those that still wanted to send something, feel free and I will pass on!! Mom - we love you, are so proud of you, are here to support you and pray for you...and CONGRATS on kissing chemo goodbye!!!

Prayers and Updates

First, we wanted to let everyone know that Jason has been back at the job and working a lot!!! First, we complain that we didn't have work at all....now that the strike is over and he is back they are so far behind that he hasn't had a day off in almost two weeks and coming home very late. So...we are trying not to complain now that we are working TOO much....thank you again for all the prayers and support during that time.

Wanted to update you on my mother-in-law, Mary Hartsell. She has successfully pulled through several rounds of chemo and is doing pretty well. She is very tired and weak during the week she gets the chemo treatment and the next week has a little more energy. She is working when she can but knows when to let herself rest. A couple weeks ago her hair was starting to thin so she decided to go ahead and have it. She wears synthetic wigs when she goes out and enjoys some hats when she is inside. She takes medicine and Pepcid to fight the nausea symptoms and has done alright with those side effects. She starts her weekly chemo and Herceptin treatment starting December 8th....so is a little anxious as to what side effects might change then. For those who don't know, I have been coordinating daily envelopes for her to open since she started treatment and hope to continue through her chemo. I label each envelope with the date and inside is a quote to think about that day, a picture to focus on and put in her chemo album I sent her....and then any card or gift or momento people have sent me to give to her. I made her a binder that she can keep all these support, prayers, and treasures in. She has greatly been touched by everyone's support, prayers and love especially those she doesn't even know. Thank you to all who have contributed and helped me in the endeavor. It is the only I feel we can "be with her" since we are across the country! We miss you Mom and are so proud of you!!

Just in case you didn't have a long enough prayer list....I have another special intention if you could please add. A friend of mine, Christina Campbell, has just been diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer and will start chemo in December. She is only 34 and has 5 young kids at home so everyone was pretty shocked. She is an amazing, strong, devout and courageous woman and I know we will all support her through these upcoming challenging times. She and I were organizing the Martha Ministry together at church, which is a ministry that provides people meal support for different circumstances in their life. So....for all your locals out there....if you would like to help with meals for Christina...please contact me because we are trying to stock her freezer so she doesn't' have to worry about cooking for her family right now. And please.....just keep praying for her healthy and recovery!!

Living Proof

This was a good movie we watched the other night. My mother-in-law told us about it....it is the true story about the doctor that studied the HER-2 component of breast cancer and created the drug Herceptin (HER-2 is what my mother-in-law tested positive for and why she has started chemo and will start Herceptin in December.) It was a very interesting movie to see how drugs like this get created and how much the drug companies control its production and use. The details about the doctor's life and dedication along with the women in the movie were very touching. It is nice to have a better understanding of the drug and its history since it is hitting home for us. Recommend it. Click on pic above to go to site.

Prayers Today and Thanksgiving

Prayers today are being said for my mother-in-law as she has her first chemo treatment. I will keep you posted on how she does through this tough time and again thanks for the prayers and support during this time.

Today I have also once again been shown the kindness, love and blessings of friendship. We found two bags on our doorstep this morning filled with thoughtful tokens of kindness and help for us during this tough time we have been having due to the strike issue. We were so surprised and thankful and it really struck a chord. I have been thinking all day about friendship and kindness and truly living the Gospel. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family members that help take care of us when we need it and are a huge support system. But, we are even more blessed to have such wonderful friends that support us and help us through the good and the hard times. This whole experience has made me so humble and thankful and trusting in truly God's plan to get us through each and every day. The material things may come and go, but true friendship and love remain and will get us through the darkest of times. I only hope that I am as good of a friend as all of you have been to us. I hope that one day we will have the opportunity to follow this loving example and help someone else when they are in need. So thanks again for the goodies, the help, and most of all the prayers and offerings you are doing on our behalf!!

Power of Prayers

Last night we had a long talk with my mother-in-law, Mary Hartsell. Many of you have been praying for her through her battle and surgery, test, etc with breast cancer. We were really hoping the good news would continue....she was told they got all of the tumor and her lymph nodes were clear!! So the plan was to start radiation and be done with it! Well, unfortunately while the cancer is estrogen positive, she is also HER2/neu positive (an oncogene overexpression that could cause more severe breast cancer in other area of the body later if not treated for now. For a better description of HER2 status, click HERE and for a brief explanation on it and the medicine treatment Herceptin, click HERE.) So, to make this short and sweet....here is the plan that we are looking at. She will have a port put in under the skin by her collar bone probably the first week of October. Then on October 13th, start chemotherapy....it looks like they will do the two most powerful chemo drugs first. Two rounds in October and two in November. Then in December the plan is to do the less intense chemo and start the Herceptin treatment every week for 12 weeks. So by the end of February she hopes to be done with the chemo. March she will continue the Herceptin and most likely have to continue until December of next year. Then in April she will start radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks. WHEW. So.....we will keep you posted on how she does, but I really hope everyone can add her and the family to your prayer list. She is a very strong lady and I know she can get through this. I hope that all of our prayers will help her get through each day, one at a time knowing that she is loved and prayed for. It is so hard for Jason and I to be so far away, especially in times like these. Mom, we wish we could come over and have the girls make you laugh.....I wish I could make you a cup of tea and play some cards to get your mind clear, I wish I could come over and make you some meals and clean the house.....but we hope you know that we love you so much and we will help you get through this any way we can!! Saint Peregrine and Saint Agatha, pray for her.

Update

Thank you for all the prayers being offered for my mother-in-law, Mary Hartsell. The two spots she had biopsied came back negative...good news!! So now she has a surgery date schedule for August 14th to remove more tissue and do the lymph node tests and remove any ones that test positive. We are hoping and praying that the lymph nodes are clean because then she would not need chemo. She will be staying overnight after the surgery and then have some recovery time ahead. Three weeks later she will start radiation treatment five times a week for 6 weeks. So...please keep the prayers going and we just wish we were closer to be there with you mom and keep you company and give you lots of hugs and kisses!!

Special Prayers

I have been waiting until I had more information to pass along, but we are asking everyone to please add to your prayer lists my mother-in-law, Mary Hartsell. A few weeks ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer, infiltrating duct carcinoma. She had found the lump herself and had a biopsy done. The doctor thinks he got the whole thing but the margin of healthy and cancer cells is so small that he will be taking more tissue out. Mom also just got the results of her MRI and it showed two spots, one in each breast. So she will be having more tests done soon to determine if these spots are false positives or cancer. Depending on those results will determine which course of action with the surgery that they will take. When the doctor does the surgery he will also do the tests to see if the lymph nodes have been affected at all. We of course are hoping for the minimal invasive treatment possible, just some more surgery and the cancer meds would be nice....but depending on results she might have to have radiation, chemo, mastectomy...some or all above. Mom sounds very positive and kept telling me that everything is in God's hands and plan. She is a strong woman and I know with all of our prayers and support, she will get through this hard time. We will keep you posted and thank you so much for adding her to your prayers, can never have too many of those!!

Side Note: My friend, Stephers, is doing the Race for the Cure in October in TN. Click on HER SITE if you would like to support with a donation and add a name to run for. I did, so in memory of Mamsan and for Meme and Mary....RUN STEPH RUN!!