Great Week

Well, it has been a good week for our Mom. She had the whole week blocked out for stem cell harvesting, and they managed to collect the entire five million stem cells on the first day! Hooray!
Monday was a day of being connected to a machine for collection and she was not able to even get up to go to the bathroom! Hence, no liquids for her those 7 hours.
On Tuesday, she and my Dad jumped in the car and went to Mammoth. She is so happy to be there--no skiing for her, but the weather is perfect and being in the mountains is a nice change.
Anyway, she is feeling like things are going her way. Christmas should be great, then on to chemo #6 on the 28th. Hmmm...not so sure about New Year's. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!

The waiting game continues...

I found this picture on my computer today from Christmas '06 and thought I'd include it. Ashley, my mom, and I look very different now but my dad looks exactly the same-silver flowing locks and all. We're missing Damian, of course, because he was a pretty new part of Ashley's life. Some things change, but my dad's hair isn't one of them ;)

My poor mom has STILL been waiting to get the final schedule for her transplant, but things continue to be up in the air. She just received an email from UCSD. I'm going to include part of it because let's face it, I'm just as confused as you all.

"I received a new e-mail from Dr. Castro. He DOES want you to have cycle 6 of chemo. So we are going to collect your precious stem cells, put them in the freezer, have your bone marrow recover a little, ( Dr. Castro to determine the time line, usually it's 1-2 weeks) and then have your chemo with Dr. Helton, then come back to us for the autologous stem cell transplant."

So there it is in all its vagueness. I'll let you know when we know FOR SURE when all of this is going to be happening. Let's pray for a Christmas miracle and hope she has this all behind her by February!!!! The lady is just desperate to get on with her life.

**I just checked the comments from the previous post. Thank you so much for offering to help. When it all finally starts we will definitely be needing you all! I'll keep you posted!**

Stem Cell Transplant Info

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful time at Ashley and Damian's with D's sweet family and the food was really delicious.
I wanted to update everyone on my mom's schedule for the next month, though it still is up in the air a bit. This is what she knows for sure:
December 3rd: Catheter gets put in
December 4th: Chemo at UCSD
Decemeber 14th-18: Stem cell collection at UCSD

This is the part that may change:
December 30: admitted to the hospital where she will get more chemo, then her stem cells will be put back
January 20: released from the hospital

For the next month, she's going to need round-the-clock care. Nancy Logan will be putting together a calendar of volunteers to come over to give my dad a much deserved break!
She is going to have crazy diet restrictions so I will post those later. Thanks in advance :)

Oops, another lie...

(This is the most recent picture of her at the Bender Wedding)
So, last month I said my mom didn't have to undergo the final two treatments, which actually turned out to be untrue. Don't blame me, though. It's been very difficult to get both of her doctors on the same page about this (especially when one is vacationing in Italy). This week she found out that before she starts the stem cell transplant process she has to finish out her two rounds of chemo. She had the first one yesterday and it looks like the final one will be the week of Christmas. Needless to say, we will be having a very mellow holiday season this year. Luckily, Ashley and Damian are hosting Thanksgiving so she wont have to worry about anything other than whether or not Ashley has enough Fall decorations up :)
During the time in between treatments they will harvest her stem cells and then the transplant will take place in January. I say this all very loosely because it seems to change daily. Her schedule has been one big question mark lately and luckily she's become quite flexible and just takes it as it comes.
She has been studying the book that prepares her for the stem cell transplant and is really dreading that month she's going to have to spend in the hospital, so if anyone knows of some good hobbies to keep her hands busy she'd appreciate them! I personally think smocking baby clothes or knitting baby blankets are her best bets (which will then maybe pressure Ash and Damian to have a baby--just kidding, guys!)
I'll keep you all updated as we find more out (assumming that you guys haven't given up on me--I know I haven't been an active blogger lately).

My mom came home from the doctor today with some pretty fabulous news! She doesn't have to go through chemo next week...she is officially done!! Now she just has a stem cell transplant to look forward to! Thank you so much for all your support! It has been really amazing to see how everyone has stepped up and helped our family out- we owe you all!

There's not much to update you all on, but my mom had her treatment last week. It's interesting how it effects her differently every cycle, and she seemed to feel a little worse this time around. She's been busy going to acupuncture and on Thursday we get to go to a taping of Ellen (thank you, Joleen!)

My mom has been going stir crazy at home these past couple of weeks, so much so that she has begun remodeling various rooms in our house, so Ash and Damian very generously got her and my dad a hotel room in Santa Monica for Saturday night. She told us that she may as well have been going to Europe because she was so excited for this mini-vacation and even woke up at 3:30 Saturday morning cause she just couldn't wait to go.
She and my dad went to lunch at Shutters and watched some football and then Ash, D, and I met them to go to dinner. We went to a great restaurant on the Santa Monica Pier called Lobster and after, we headed to Westwood to go to this place called Diddy Riese that Ash and D knew about. Oh. My. Goodness. I have never tasted anything so delicious! You can choose any kind of cookie and any kind of ice cream and they make you an incredibly yummy cookie sandwich! We were in heaven.
This morning I picked them up at their hotel and we drove through Brentwood looking at houses (our favorite thing to do) and then walked around Santa Monica. It was a great weekend and we're all so happy we have a wonderful new member of the family who just happens to accrue a gazillion Starwood points thanks to his job and was able to get our mama out of town :) Thanks Damian!!!

We did the math...

and we were wrong. Her last treatment isn't Decemeber 22nd and we aren't sure how we came up with that date. I think my mom just didn't want to buy Christmas gifts so she started spreading it around ;)
It's actually the beginning of Novemeber, so we're feeling pretty lucky!

Yesterday my mom spent her birthday hooked up to an IV, of course without a single complaint. Today she has the chemo and I'm so sad I can't be there with her. School is back in session so I'm no longer able to sit through her insanely long treatments with her. I'm going home tomorrow to relieve my dad from nurse duty for a little, so I will let you know how she is doing then.
We got a little prematurely excited by her doctor's appointment last week and were brought back to reality the following day. Her other doctor at UCSD said that she would in fact finish the 6 rounds of treatment, bringing the chemo to a close the week of Christmas. We were really liking her other doctor's plan of only one more round after today, but the UCSD doc said that she is handling the treatment so well that she may as well go to Decemeber. Handling it well?? I think my mom would argue otherwise :)

Happy Birthday!!!

This is a day late (blame it on my 6am flight back from NYC and exhaustion), but my wonderful mom celebrated her birthday yesterday!

This picture is from our trip to Italy a couple of years ago. The whole family went to Positano and my mom and I stayed longer and drove around Tuscany and toured Rome. She is my favorite travel companion and one of the most FUN people to explore new places with! We all agree that it was the best vacation we ever went on and we're looking forward to a time in the near future when my mom is healthy enough to travel again.

Happy (belated) Birthday to the most beautiful, funny, generous, loving, and creative woman I know! You are so incredibly strong and your positive attitude amazes so many of us every single day. We love you!!!

Great News!!

My mom just came back from the doctor with some pretty wonderful news. Her Pet scan came back normal so her doctor is recommending only 2 more treatments- which will put her at a total of 4 instead of the originally planned 6!! She still has a lot of back pain and the doctor said that's because the lymphoma leaves a hole in the vertebrae. So at some point she may have to have some sort of surgery to strengthen the bone.
She meets with a doctor from UCSD tomorrow to discuss a possible stem cell transplant because it reduces the chances of the large diffused B-cell lymphoma from coming back in the future. The downside is, it doesn't prevent the low-grade lymphoma she had before from coming back.

Another treatment down, only 4 more (hopefully) to go! It left her feeling pretty lethargic and nauseous last week and she left the bed only to move to the sofa. She has become quite familiar with just about every show on TV. She'll meet with the doctor next week to look at her most recent PET scan and talk about whether or not the chemo is working.

Here is a picture of her in front of the organic garden, a work in progress, wearing the cute scarf my friends gave her!

By Sunday she had a little more pep in her step and she had her first big outing last night! Ashley and I took her to dinner and to see Legally Blonde the Musical for her birthday (her 3rd treatment just happens to fall on her real birthday). We had a great time and the show was so much fun! Ash took off work today and the three of us are getting to spend some time together. I'll update next week after her appointment!

Here is a picture of her with her adorable wig! It gave her a headache, but she sure looked cute!

Today my mom went through the second round of chemo and we kept ourselves quite entertained during the 5 hour process. We read, watched 2 movies, and one of the nurses got engaged so my mom is of course trying to plan her wedding :)!
There's really not much to report- she's sleeping now and when I ask her how she's feeling she just says "fuzzy" and "weird." She was already sick around this time last cycle so it seems to me that she is handling it better this time around.
Her hair is really falling out so I just bought scissors to cut it even shorter--she isn't on board with a buzz cut so we are just going for a very VERY short pixie. She has some cute headgear, though. Damian's kind grandmother gave her lots of little hats and scarves and my sweet friends from SMU gave her an ADORABLE and colorful scarf. It's just been so amazing for us to see how generous everyone has been. I think we've eaten better the past month than we ever have before!!!
On another note, my dad started working on the organic garden so when she starts feeling better she'll start planting!
I'll let you know if anything changes, but she seems to be doing well so far.

Hi everyone,
It's Debbie- I figured I'd be out of commission next week (it's my second round of chemo) so I may as well update you all this time. I have had a really great week! I found out on Monday that my bone marrow is clear and my blood was where it needed to be to be ready for next week, so that's left me very hopeful and positive. I love my doctor and he is always so reassuring.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with Rob Wergin, Master Healer and Spiritual Teacher. His healing technique left me feeling lighter and relaxed. He provided me with a positive mantra to help put my mind where it needs to be to go through this whole healing process. As you can see, I'm open to a range of methods dealing with both my pain and my overall attitude.
My wonderful trainer Erin has been helping me keep up my strength- I out-crunched Lauren yesterday :)- and she has also provided me with gallons of Kangen water.
I've started to shed a lot and the fabulous Heidi and Amber have been working on my wig to get the right cut and color for me. I am so thankful to every one's generosity and support. It has meant so much not only to me but to my family as well.
We are at the beach house til the weekend and I'm enjoying this little vacation while I am feeling well. Lauren will update you next week. My chemo days are Monday and Tuesday and the rest of the week will be spent recovering.
Thanks again and lots of love from the entire Huddleston family!

We had such a great time at Annie and Curtis Clave's wedding in Del Mar and my mom looks so great that I thought I'd share a picture!

She's baaaaack!

Today is a great day! She woke up a new person and she is feeling SO much better! She was up at 6 and went on a walk and to breakfast! We are VERY happy!

Today we had to put down our sweet Shae. We found out two weeks ago that she had cancer and she was becoming so weak and uncomfortable we decided it was the right thing to do. We all seriously loved this little girl and were so sad to see her go. But, as with everything, something good is going to come of it. We had a little fenced off area for the dog in our backyard and my mom decided she wants to start an organic garden there. We all agreed that it is a great idea and would be something fun for my mom to fuss over!
On another note, she went in for more acupuncture today. I'm not sure that she really feels any better but she's also not feeling any worse, so that's at least something. She's shooting for at least one outing a day so we're going to hit up the grocery store pretty soon and back to the couch she'll go.
Over the weekend she developed sores in her mouth from the chemo. She said it was the worst thing ever, and she's a pretty tough lady so it must have been awful. Her doctor gave her a prescription mouth wash and it's thankfully starting to get a little better.

One of the many reasons we love my mom's cancer center is that they offer some crazy Eastern medicine treatments to supplement the chemo. Yesterday when she was there a (rather odd) little lady approached her to ask if she wanted to find out about her body's imbalance. After hooking her up to some machine and forcing Ashley and I to come look at the "alien eyes watching us," she discovered she was low on electrolytes. A little lemon lime gatorade did the trick and she was back in business. Today she had accupuncture done for the 2nd time. We've been worried because she hasn't wanted to eat since Tuesday. There's never been a time in my entire life when my mom has refused a snack or a meal, so this concerned us. After she finished the accupuncture she craved a cheeseburger! She settled for a turkey sandwich, but it was a small victory for all! On the Western medicine front, she got a new pill for nausea and is hoping that will help with the acid in her stomach. She went to Home Depot to pick up some items for my dad to plant so the fact that she is eating and bossing my dad around makes me feel like things could slowly be getting back to normal! So that's about all for now! Thanks for the calls, food, messages, and prayers!

I lied...

Things aren't going as smoothly as I thought. She's started feeling nauseous this evening and is now sleeping. I guess the nurse was just trying to keep our spirits up. Tomorrow she goes in to get a shot and get hydrated. Hopefully she'll feel better after that.

Yesterday was the first day of treatment. She received the same drug she had last time around, so it was pretty smooth sailing and there was little discomfort aside from being tired.
This morning she started the chemo and it may be too early to tell, but so far so good. She's been concerned about the nausea because, as she told the nurse, she was the woman who "threw up all nine months of both pregnancies." Despite that, the nurse told her that she shouldn't have a problem. They gave her both anti-nausea and hydrating fluids in her I.V. so we're all hoping that will do the trick. She's feeling a little fuzzy now and the nurse told her by tonight or tomorrow she will have a metallic taste in her mouth so we're going on a mission for bland food. The nurse told her she should lose her hair in 18-21 days, and she already has a super stylish wig on its way. For a second I thought she was going to reinvent herself as a blonde or a redhead, but alas she stuck to her brunette roots.
She's gotten some emails about people not being able to post comments and when Ash comes home tonight I'll get a tutorial so I can teach you all how!

Pre-treatment diagnosis info

Hi All!
Much to my mother's dismay, I am starting a blog so she spends her time resting instead of on the phone updating you all ;)
I'm not entirely sure what I am supposed to write, so please bear with me as I figure it out.
For those of you who don't know, my mom found a small lump on her neck in June. After much poking and prodding, the Doctors determined that it is Large Diffuse B cell Lymphoma, a different form than she was originally treated for last year. Her most recent PET Scan showed that it has gone to her vertebrae and a lymph node in her groin, and a few more little lumps are popping up on various places on her body. She has gone to see a doctor at UCSD and most recently one at Stanford. Both have assured her that she is in good hands with Dr. Helton (who treated her last year) and her treatment plan is spot on. She loves her doctor and appreciates his office's proximity to our house.
I took her this morning to get her port in. It's petite and hardly noticeable and she is doing great. She's anxious to get the treatment started and get this behind her. She is in good spirits and is handling everything beautifully. She is the perfect patient- strong, optimistic, and maintaining that sense of humor!
That's about all for now! She starts chemo on Monday so send good thoughts her way! Ash is coming home so we'll all get to spend some time together as she gets her treatment.
Thanks to all of you for being such wonderful friends!