Head test came back clear

I know I am really late writing this but I wanted to let you all know that Peggy's MRI for her head showed that all is clear. No signs of cancer in her head and everything looks like it is healing great. Her hearing is even making a slight come back on her bad side. The PET Scan for the rest of her body will be in December and that will search for any signs of cancer growth. Please keep the prayers coming.

Prayers needed

Well, this Friday marks one year that mom had her brain surgery to remove the large tumor in her head. She has made remarkable strides and major recovery even after the last surgery in May that removed her spleen along with other tumors.
This Wednesday Nov 16 she will be going back for another scan to look for any signs of new tumors. Please keep our mother in your prayers as she awaits the results of the scan.

Thank you,

Dr. Post Operation Appointment & Test Results

Yesterday morning my mom had her post operation appointment and the test results were in from pathology. The tumor near her pancreas was positive for cancer, the spleen was also cancerous but the spot on her liver was NOT cancer. We are all counting our blessings that the Dr. decided to completely open her up and remove the spot near her pancreas as it would have otherwise been left in and would have grown and spread.


She is still sore but is getting around more and more each day. They removed her staples and replaced it with tape for now. When I was talking to her the other day she was talking about replanting and re-potting plants, making bread among other things on her to do list. I'm thinking cancer picked one strong woman to try to attack:)


So now what? Now mom needs to heal and recover from her surgery and we try to keep her healthy. As of now the Doctors feel they have all of what was first detected. In August she goes back for a MRI for her head to see if anything came back or if it remained cancer free. Then in November she will go back to get a CAT scan for the rest of her body to see if anything came back from that. So far no more radiation is needed.


On behalf of the Bastar clan, I would like to thank all of you for all of your prayers, thoughts, donations, gifts and your full support during this roller-coaster ride. This past year "YOU" family and friends have been our family's true back bone and have helped us to keep on our two feet during a time when it was difficult to stand. The Doctors have done great miraculous work yet without you we wouldn't have been able to focus on our mother as well and still juggle our everyday family lives as well.


Now, we know the battle is not over but for now we can count our blessings, take a deep breath and say thank you to you and most of all to God.

today's progression 2 steps forward 3 steps back 2 steps forward...

Today the Doctor's orders was to get up walk around and sit in the chair most of the day. Well, she did accomplish it all but it was not an easy task by any means and it was a long day for her. I left this evening and she looked and felt 100 times better than she had all day. I pray that it continues in this direction and that every day will get easier. 
Today the nurse and I were helping my mother to walk with her walker and the nurse said to me that she was amazed on how strong my mother was and she was in awe of her will and determination. She was so true. Even during the most painful moments mom pulled through enough to focus on the task that she had to accomplish even if it was to sit up in bed. 

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please keep the prayers coming. This woman can do anything especially when she knows her friends and family are backing her in prayer.

Update on today's surgery

I wasn't able to update because I didn't have access to the Internet all day. Peggy is doing okay and the hospital staff is trying to manage her pain level the best they can. They decided during the surgery to open her up with a large incision down her entire abdomen. This was because the tumor located on her liver was actually on the backside of her liver and they could not remove it unless they were able to make a larger incision. While the surgeon was there he was able to locate the tumor in which we thought was near her heart when in fact it was closer to her pancreas but not on her pancreas. It seems as though the surgeon was able to remove all of the tumors that we are aware of thus far. So the good news is that we have  all of the tumors out and the not so good news is that she'll have a rougher recovery and much longer stay in the hospital. I will try to keep everyone updated the best I can or as long as I have the computer access to and please feel free to call any of us kids if you want an update as well. Please keep the prayers coming we have come so far knowing there is so many family friends praying for us this past year.

Prayers needed for todays surgery

Today my mom will be having her 2nd surgery. They will be removing her spleen and removing a tumor from her liver. This will be a laparoscopical procedure and we think she will be able to go home as early as tomorrow Friday as long as her pain is managed ad everything else is okay. I will try to update everyone afterward depending on internet availability.

We All Are Praising God& Counting our Blessings!!!

Just received a call from Josi. 

Surgery can be scheduled for the end of April to remove the other tumors. Her head is CLEAR. She had been having dizzy spells but the Dr. feel that it's from the radiation creating a build up of ear wax. Something that can be taken care of easily. She hopes to have surgery the end of April after Easter so she can recoup in time to travel again to visit more family. She has gained enough weight.

 She continues to have some loss for words but that should come eventually as long as she continues to talk.... so call her and make her talk as much as possible!! 

She has worked so hard to get to this point and is now celebrating with an ice cream cone with everyone that went with her today.

 We have taken this battle minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day and month by month and celebrating every small victory along the way. Today we are celebrating the good news :) 

Thank you Lord!

April 4th MRI and Doctor Appointment

So for the past couple months mom has been recouping, relaxing, and trying to fatten up a bit :) 

She also got to spend a few days relaxing with her sisters in Ohio!

This morning mom will have the MRI that will decide the next measures to how the Doctors will attack her cancer. The MRI will show if the existing tumors have grown or spread to any other parts of her body. We need some BIG prayers out there that her tumors have stayed the same and surgery can be scheduled to remove them. She is pretty strong right now and feeling a little better with each day other than getting tired. She is a fighter and she is ready to battle through her next surgery.

HaPpY HaPpY BIRTHDAY!!

 How many people do you know that have had a major surgery to remove a large stubborn tumor from on their brain and goes bowling less than 3 months later? 

Ahh not too mention just getting through 

with the first round of radiation. 

Yup, That's our mom. One tough cookie!

A woman that has sooo much life within her that 

nothing will hold her back from 

having a little fun with her kids!

Enjoying some Birthday Cupcakes.

So Friday night Jayson's clan took mom out for a Birthday dinner because they couldn't join us on Saturday. Mom, Dad, Jenni, Josi, Jana and myself along with our families enjoyed a day of bowling, pizza, some cup cakes and gifts to celebrate mom's Birthday. It was good laid back fun. Although mom was bowling and having fun she did get tired about after 2 hours. It was short and sweet but so worth the time of just having fun.


On Sunday the party continued with an after church celebration. Jenni had brought a Birthday cake to church to enjoy afterwards. I was not able to be there for Sunday's celebration but I have heard that it was a great way to wrap up her Birthday weekend.

So very THANKFUL that our mother's recovery has brought her to another Birthday celebration. We all are very aware of the gift we have been given and we all cherish every single moment together and know not to take a single moment for granted.

February 2nd Doctor visit on what's next

Today was the doctor visit that we all have been anticipating. Today we would find out the next phase or series of steps that are needed. I think that we are learning that cancer is approached in many different ways but over all it's an "attack... wait and see....wait and see....attack" rhythm that can wear on everyone involved, especially the patient.

So to bring you up to speed thus far mom has had MRI and CT scan testing, a major surgery to remove the very large tumor from her head, speedy recovery from surgery, 28 days of radiation, the PET test that has shown another tumor on her aorta and then today's visit to map the future.

Unfortunately I was the only one of five children that was unable to go to mom's Dr. apt with her and dad today but I got the full review from Josi. The Dr. wants to wait for another 8 - 10 weeks and do another full MRI on her to see if anything has come back on her head, to see if the other tumors have grown and to see if anything new has appeared. If all has stayed some-what the same they will proceed with surgery to remove the spleen in it's entirety and burn the tumor that is located on her liver. There was talk about not removing the spleen in my previous posts but they feel it should now be removed. The tumor on her aorta is not confirmed yet to be cancerous so they want to wait and see what the MRI shows in 10 weeks to see if there are any changes and then they will address it then. It does not appear that they will remove that yet. If there are signs of significant growth between now and the MRI they may have her undergo further radiation to shrink those tumors. Once surgery is complete the physicians are considering a pill form of chemo to ward off further growth of cancerous cells. So once again it's a wait and see then attack scenario. For now we need to fatten her up and keep her rested so she can be strong for surgery.
I'll keep you updated on her progress throughout the next 8 weeks and let you know the results of the MRI and once again the next steps.

Results from the PET tests

Aiden and I arrived in Shawano Monday afternoon just before mom and dad returned back from their trip to Appleton. Mom was pretty sick and the most tired I have seen her yet. Some days the radiation takes everything from her. She said she usually has about 2 days out of the week that she's that worn out.


Tuesday was a very long day for her filled of tests and more radiation. We needed to be in Appleton by 9am for her radiation treatment. After radiation came the PET IV fluid and then after laying still for about an hour or so she had to have the scans. After the tests were done she was tired but very hungry as the strict  diet she was on before her tests had kept her from many of the foods she can handle eating. She was starving for a chocolate shake so we hit a drive thru and then headed off back home through some wonderful winter weather.


Wednesday was another day for Doctor visits and radiation but this day was at the normal time in the afternoon. It was a few hours prior to leaving when Jana had called me to say that she had called mom's Oncologist and the results were read. The scan has shown another tumor on her aorta. This tumor may not necessarily be a new tumor but could be that the other scans dis not pick this one up. I explained to mom and dad what the scans showed and we gathered ourselves for the appointment to the Neurologist and radiation.


The Neurologist was extremely surprised at mom's progress and happy to see the results of the surgery. A patient that has this type of surgery normally would or could be still in a wheel chair with mental delay and/ or hearing and seeing impaired. The only lingering side effect from the surgery is that my mom has pretty much lost her hearing in her left ear. The Dr said he thinks it was because he has removed so much bone that there are no longer the bones to help with the vibration to the ear drum. The radiation has also caused some swelling in that ear but he  doesn't feel that the hearing loss is just from the swelling. The Neurologist was joking around with mom and dad which really helped lighten their spirit after the news of another tumor. They had mentioned to the Neurologist about the new tumor and he looked the results up and said not to worry that she had an excellent team of Oncologist working on her and she would get the very best care. We left the Neurologist and headed straight to Appleton to make the radiation appointment.


What comes next?
Well after mom found out she had another tumor she was also told that she needed to go for radiation 28 days instead of the 25. This is because the gave her shorter doses each day than the had first figured so instead of having radiation end today (Monday) Thursday will be her last day. So she will wrap up radiation for her head this week and her Oncologist will meet with the board of Oncologists tomorrow (Tuesday) and they will review mom's case and decide the next moves. Mom has an appointment on Feb 2 to discuss what the board decides to do for future treatment.


She is in good spirits and still has her sense of humor!! She is very excited to have a week off between radiation and her next Dr. appointment and looks forward to resting.

January 9th Update

Just wanted to give you a bit of an update. My mother is on her last leg of her radiation and is staying strong. I will be heading up tomorrow afternoon and will be taking her tuesday and Wednesday. The end of last week she received a letter from the Doctor's office saying that her PET test is scheduled for this Tuesday morning. If you don't remember the details about this test click on this link to go back to this previous post for the details  PET test. Tuesday will be a long day for her as she will under go this procedure in the early morning and then it will be followed by her radiation in the afternoon. Hopefully she will be able to rest in between the two. Wednesday she will have a follow up appointment with her Neurologist and then we are off to Appleton for another radiation treatment. I will only be able to stay Monday afternoon to Thursday morning as I will have Aiden (2) with me leaving the two older kiddos home with Matt holding down the fort. The weather should be okay so Aiden and I are off for a road trip.
I will let everyone know how the PET tests go and will update as soon as I have computer access.

Taking it's toll and shoulda, coulda, woulda

My mother is doing okay but as the holidays come to a close she's become more depressed as the Radiation is taking it's toll. She is nearing the end of Radiation with only 9 more treatments to go. Unfortunately the light at the end seems dim to her as she knows this will be her normal with tests and treatments for the rest of her earthly life. She is experiencing many of the painful side effects of Radiation but as always she finds the humor in anything and everything. Please call her or write her as your support is like boosts of energy her spirit truly needs. Also keep my dad in your prayers and thoughts as well this has definitely taken it's toll on him too.

This morning as I was preparing myself to write this post I came across this e-mail that I would like to share with you. Normally when I open these types of e-mails I read through them, take them for what it's worth and either trash them or pass them along. This one came from my mother-in-law and I thought it holds too much truth to sit in my trash on my desk top. So I am passing it on to all of you...

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on theTitanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back.  From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed?  Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?'  She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line.  My hair is dirty.  I wish I had known yesterday. I had a late breakfast.  It looks like rain.'  And my personal favorite:  'It's Monday.'    She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because people cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.  We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves,  when all the conditions are perfect.

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get little Kevin toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say?

And why are you waiting?

Do you run through each day on the fly?

When you ask 'How are you?'  Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?

Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch?

Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.