Kara's insurance company just called and said that they are going to go ahead and pay for her Herceptin treatments. So thankfully, Kara, Matt, and Dr. Lynch will not have to continue to fight with them over this issue. Kara is very excited, and is looking forward to hopefully continuing her chemo this week and concentrating on getting better.
Praises:
- Thank you God for answering our prayers regarding coverage for Kara's drugs.
- Thank you God for Kara's good test results last week.
- Thank you God for continuing to hear our prayers.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that the Novalis procedures are successful and go smoothly.
- Please pray that Kara can continue with her chemotherapy.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Meeting with Lynch
Kara and Matt met with Doctor Lynch this morning to go over the test results and find out the new treatment plan. Doctor Lynch is very pleased with the results, and will plan on using Novalis on Kara's brain and lungs.
There will be a hearing on Thursday morning to determine whether Kara's insurance company has to pay for her Herceptin. Doctor Lynch recorded a statement for it, and will also try to make the hearing in person, because he believes it is a necessary part of her treatment plan -- she is often too worn down to take any other type of chemo drug. Please pray that the hearing board's decision is in Kara's favor, and that her insurance company starts paying for her Herceptin treatments.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for a favorable decision from the hearing board, so that the insurance company will begin paying for Herceptin for Kara.
- Please pray that the Novalis procedures go smoothly and without complications.
- Please pray for continued peace for Kara.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you. Emma started school yesterday, and Luke will start school later in the week. Both really enjoy going to school and playing with classmates. Emma is getting really good with her letters and likes to "play math" with Uncle John. She loves playing card games and checkers, and is good at keeping the rules straight in her head (especially the rule about the youngest player going first!). Luke is talking more and more, learning more words every day.
There will be a hearing on Thursday morning to determine whether Kara's insurance company has to pay for her Herceptin. Doctor Lynch recorded a statement for it, and will also try to make the hearing in person, because he believes it is a necessary part of her treatment plan -- she is often too worn down to take any other type of chemo drug. Please pray that the hearing board's decision is in Kara's favor, and that her insurance company starts paying for her Herceptin treatments.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for a favorable decision from the hearing board, so that the insurance company will begin paying for Herceptin for Kara.
- Please pray that the Novalis procedures go smoothly and without complications.
- Please pray for continued peace for Kara.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you. Emma started school yesterday, and Luke will start school later in the week. Both really enjoy going to school and playing with classmates. Emma is getting really good with her letters and likes to "play math" with Uncle John. She loves playing card games and checkers, and is good at keeping the rules straight in her head (especially the rule about the youngest player going first!). Luke is talking more and more, learning more words every day.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Good News
Kara's PET scan results are in, and the tumors have not spread to new places in her body. There is a little spot on her brain that is too small at this point to tell if it is a tumor. There is no tumor in the lymph nodes near the lung that were treated with Novalis earlier in the summer. The adrenal gland tumor that was treated at the same time is much smaller, and may continue to dissolve completely -- it is too early to tell. The spots on the outside of her lungs that had gone away previously with chemotherapy appear to have returned, but they will most likely be able to get them with Novalis. Kara has a lot less tumor in her body than she did eighteen months ago, which is very encouraging news, especially considering she has not been able to be consistent with her chemotherapy this summer.
Kara and Matt will meet with Dr. Lynch next Tuesday to go over these results more fully and make adjustments to her treatment plan.
Matt's birthday was yesterday, so this news is a very good present! Mom and Dad's fortieth anniversary was yesterday as well, and John's birthday is this week -- so we have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for, most of all, Kara's good report.
"Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good;
His love endures forever."
- Psalm 107:1
Praises:
- Thank you God for encouraging test results, and for the reassurance that you are hearing our prayers.
- Thank you God for Kara's health care team that are doing so much to help her.
- Thank you God for all of Kara's family and friends who continue to pray for her and encourage her and support her.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara's bloodcounts improve so she can continue with chemotherapy.
- Please pray for insurance company approval of the Herceptin.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you!
Kara and Matt will meet with Dr. Lynch next Tuesday to go over these results more fully and make adjustments to her treatment plan.
Matt's birthday was yesterday, so this news is a very good present! Mom and Dad's fortieth anniversary was yesterday as well, and John's birthday is this week -- so we have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for, most of all, Kara's good report.
"Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good;
His love endures forever."
- Psalm 107:1
Praises:
- Thank you God for encouraging test results, and for the reassurance that you are hearing our prayers.
- Thank you God for Kara's health care team that are doing so much to help her.
- Thank you God for all of Kara's family and friends who continue to pray for her and encourage her and support her.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara's bloodcounts improve so she can continue with chemotherapy.
- Please pray for insurance company approval of the Herceptin.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you!
Tests Today
Kara will spend the morning have PET Scans taken of her body and brain to see if there are any tumors present. We will probably know the results by tonight or tomorrow morning, and will let you know when we do.
Please pray for good results on these tests. Please pray for peace for Kara, Matt, and their family as we await the results. We appreciate your prayers every day, and thank you especially for your prayers for this round of tests.
Please pray for good results on these tests. Please pray for peace for Kara, Matt, and their family as we await the results. We appreciate your prayers every day, and thank you especially for your prayers for this round of tests.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
No Chemo This Week
Kara's bloodcounts are too low for her to receive her regular carboplatinum chemo this week. She will just get her Herceptin shot this week.
Kara has another round of scans coming up on Monday, August 21st. We are all very hopeful for good results, so Kara can continue healing from the past year-plus of very hard treatment and enjoy the Fall and holidays with her family. We would really appreciate it if you could please ask your friends, family, churches, and prayer groups to pray for good test results for Kara.
"I lift my eyes up to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
the Maker of Heaven and Earth"
Psalm 121:1
"For with God, nothing is impossible."
Luke 1:37
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for good tests results for the upcoming tests.
- Please pray that Kara's bloodcounts improve so she can continue with her chemotherapy.
- Please pray for the cancer to be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you.
Kara has another round of scans coming up on Monday, August 21st. We are all very hopeful for good results, so Kara can continue healing from the past year-plus of very hard treatment and enjoy the Fall and holidays with her family. We would really appreciate it if you could please ask your friends, family, churches, and prayer groups to pray for good test results for Kara.
"I lift my eyes up to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
the Maker of Heaven and Earth"
Psalm 121:1
"For with God, nothing is impossible."
Luke 1:37
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for good tests results for the upcoming tests.
- Please pray that Kara's bloodcounts improve so she can continue with her chemotherapy.
- Please pray for the cancer to be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Update
Kara enjoyed a quiet weekend at home with Matt and the kids. She was not able to receive chemotherapy last week due to her bloodcounts being too low, and she is feeling the effects of the low counts -- tired and easily fatigued. Friday night the family went to Benihana again, this time with Mimi, Doc, and Luke joining us. Luke was mildly terrified in the beginning, but grew to enjoy the show. Emma has pronounced Benihana as her favorite restaurant, surpassing "even McDonalds and Chickfila!" Kara had a good morning with Emma and Luke at the pool Saturday morning, and then Luke and Matt went to get lunch and haircuts, and Kara, Emma, and I had pizza and then an afternoon of playing games (Emma has learned how to play rummy with special animal rummy cards!) and reading books. Emma is very excited to learn how to play checkers with Doc, who was the checkers champion of Dallas when he was a boy! Luke continues to learn new words every day, and he's getting sweeter and sweeter.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara's bloodcounts improve and that she can receive chemotherapy this week.
- Please pray for good test results for her August 21st tests.
- Please pray for insurance company approval of her Herceptin, which is the only drug Kara can take when her bloodcounts are too low for full chemo.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you. Kara has been truly touched by the words of encouragement here on the blog and the cards and notes people continue to send her. They really brighten her day!
(These photos are from Port Aransas -- I've uploaded the ones that Kara took onto Flickr.)
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Chemo Tomorrow
Kara had her bloodwork done this morning, and based upon where her counts are, she will have chemotherapy tomorrow. Even if her counts are not high enough for her to receive her platinum-based chemotherapy, she will get her Herceptin shot.
Kara was pretty tired over the weekend from getting the platinum-based chemo again. She seems to feel better when she has a swim in the morning, so she tries to take the kids to the pool as much as she can.
Kara will have a brain and body PET Scan performed on August 21st. Please keep her in your prayers for good test results.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara's counts are where they need to be for her to continue with her chemotherapy and for her to stay strong and energized.
- Please pray for insurance company approval of the Herceptin.
- Please pray for good results on the upcoming PET Scan.
- Please pray that the cancer is eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you.
Kara was pretty tired over the weekend from getting the platinum-based chemo again. She seems to feel better when she has a swim in the morning, so she tries to take the kids to the pool as much as she can.
Kara will have a brain and body PET Scan performed on August 21st. Please keep her in your prayers for good test results.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara's counts are where they need to be for her to continue with her chemotherapy and for her to stay strong and energized.
- Please pray for insurance company approval of the Herceptin.
- Please pray for good results on the upcoming PET Scan.
- Please pray that the cancer is eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Chemotherapy Resumed
Kara was able to resume chemotherapy yesterday. Her white blood cell count is still a little low, but not enough to stop her from having the treatment.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara can continue her chemotherapy uninterrupted.
- Please pray for insurance company approval of her Herceptin.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara can continue her chemotherapy uninterrupted.
- Please pray for insurance company approval of her Herceptin.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Port Aransas
We all had a great time at Port Aransas this past weekend. Kara had gotten Emma and Luke toys to play in the sand with -- shovels, buckets, etc. -- and they had a great time making sand castles and burying each other in the sand. Emma especially liked looking for seashells and digging for little clams. We took both of the kids out to "the deep end," out past where the waves broke, so they could float and loll around with the waves without the waves crashing on them. Kara came out and enjoyed floating around with the waves, too. The pool at the hotel was also a big hit.
We went to dinner at the Crazy Cajun one night, where dinner was a bucket of stuff that Kara and I couldn't stand to look at! Thankfully John and Matt de-headed the shrimps and cracked the crab legs for us. Emma and Luke had fun beating things with the crab hammers.
It was a very good trip, and Kara had the energy to enjoy it.
Praises:
- Thank you God for the opportunity to for a fun family outing, and that Kara was well enough to enjoy it.
- Thank you God for the complication-free completion of the Novalis procedure.
- Thank you God for all of Kara's healthcare team that has been working so diligently in treating her.
- Thank you God for the love, support, and prayers of Kara's friends, family, church, and all of those who keep track of her progress on this blog.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara is able to resume chemotherapy.
- Please pray for good test results when Kara has her next scans.
- Please pray for insurance approval of the Herceptin.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you. There were three different cameras being used over the weekend, so hopefully John and Kara and Matt got some more photos we can share. I know Kara was clicking a lot!
We went to dinner at the Crazy Cajun one night, where dinner was a bucket of stuff that Kara and I couldn't stand to look at! Thankfully John and Matt de-headed the shrimps and cracked the crab legs for us. Emma and Luke had fun beating things with the crab hammers.
It was a very good trip, and Kara had the energy to enjoy it.
Praises:
- Thank you God for the opportunity to for a fun family outing, and that Kara was well enough to enjoy it.
- Thank you God for the complication-free completion of the Novalis procedure.
- Thank you God for all of Kara's healthcare team that has been working so diligently in treating her.
- Thank you God for the love, support, and prayers of Kara's friends, family, church, and all of those who keep track of her progress on this blog.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that Kara is able to resume chemotherapy.
- Please pray for good test results when Kara has her next scans.
- Please pray for insurance approval of the Herceptin.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.
Thank you. There were three different cameras being used over the weekend, so hopefully John and Kara and Matt got some more photos we can share. I know Kara was clicking a lot!
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