Pics...

Mom with her scarf...

Albert wearing mom's wig before she lost her hair...

Chemo #2... sorry so late!

This past Monday, mom received her second dose of chemo. Luckily, the iron injections she has been getting, raised her blood levels, which means she will not need the blood transfusions! Aunt Geri and Celina went with her to her treatment which lasts about 5 hours. Everything went well but this time around, mom was more sick. Right after her treatment, she felt weak and sore. All week, she has been feeling very nauseous and she has lost her appetite off and on too, which are new symptoms, compared to the last treatment. Today she looks good, but her spirits are quite low about her hair... about a week ago, she started losing it and she is having a hard time with that. It is almost completely gone now. She says this is the hardest part for her, but we have bought her many wraps, scarves, beanies and a beautiful wig that she has started wearing. If you didn't know it was a wig, you wouldn't even be able to tell. She did well and looked amazing during Christmas and hung in there, but we could tell she was not feeling well. She is still being very strong and we all look up to her for her strength and courage during this time.

Chemo #1...

Mom's first round of chemo went very well. She felt nervous as it became closer, but somehow the death of Uncle Raul gave her the strength. She said after what Uncle Raul went through, she was willing to face anything.

Joe went with her to keep her company. The nurses started by drawing her blood and noticed that her red blood cell count was too low. The doctor approved the treatment for the day but because the level was dangerous, he informed mom that she was anemic (low iron), and that she would now have to receive an additional treatment the next day. Once they started, me and mom talked on the phone through her entire treatment. She was excited that she was able to talk on her cell phone... we gossiped the whole time. :) It was interesting because as time went on, I noticed changes in her voice. She started getting chest congestion, so she kept clearing her throat and she sounded more and more tired. The treatment took several hours, so by the time she got home, she was very weak and tired. She ate soup and went to sleep.

This is how she looked...

Yesterday, I took her in for her second treatment. When she woke up, she still felt very weak but not as nauseous as she expected. It was crazy to see the nurses put the needle in her port because the needle is in the shape of a hook! Mom says it hurts and she cringed as they put it in. The treatment started with benadryl to help with a possible allergy mom would have. The iron treatment, called Venofer, lasted several more hours. Luckily, the benadryl made mom tired, so she was able to sleep. She even started snoring! :) It's very cold in the treatment room so she was all cuddled up.

She will now have to take the iron IV every Tuesday for 3 weeks to help restore her body. The nurses told us that if her red blood cell count did not improve, then she may need blood transfusions. Mom does not want a transfusion, so we are praying the treatment works.

After the iron, mom received her Neulasta shot, the white blood cell injection. She said it hurt a lot but she did good.

For the rest of the night, her symptoms were as expected: weak, sore, tired, short of breath.

Today she looked very good still. Same symptoms, except more bone pain and body aches. We rented lots of movies and relaxed! She has not skipped a meal which is great! :)

Love you mom! You are doing so good!!! Thank you to everyone who called to check on her and who have been here for her.

R.I.P Raul Gutierrez

On November 25, 2008, my mom's brother, Raul, was shot and killed. It was news that devastated the family, especially for my mom, during a time like this. Uncle Raul was the most loving, energetic and hard-working person we will ever know! He leaves behind 5 young children that he will now watch over from above. He will also be guiding my mom through her journey. He will be greatly missed!

This is the article on the internet about what happened...

Phoenix PD: Man arrested in car theft also accused of murder
Reported by: Katrina Wessman Email: kwessman@abc15.com Last Update: 11/25 7:07 pm

The carjacking suspect barricaded himself in this home (John Pellizzari) Phoenix police said a man, who barricaded himself inside a Phoenix home for several hours after an alleged carjacking, is also a suspect in an early morning murder.Police said that 45-year-old Adam Kenneth Swyers allegedly shot and killed a man near 35th Avenue and Buckeye Road at about 4 a.m. Tuesday morning.A report released later said Swyers and Raul Antonio Gutierrez, 42, got into a fight and Swyers shot Gutierrez.Then at about 7:30 a.m. Swyers allegedly knocked on the door of a home near 31st Avenue and Roosevelt Street and when the victim answered his door the suspect demanded the man's vehicle.According to a police report, Swyers threatened the victim with a handgun and the victim then gave him the keys to his Dodge pickup truck.Swyers fled in the vehicle and police spotted it a short time later in a neighborhood near 37th Avenue and Interstate 10. Police detained and questioned up to 11 people from in and around the home, but the suspect hid in the house and officers believed he had a weapon, according to the report. After several hours of negotation, Swyers came out of the house and dropped his gun, which fired a round.No one was injured, according to police.Swyers was arrested and booked on charges of 2nd degree murder, armed robbery, vehicle theft and a weapons misconduct charge.

Here are pics from Saturday's gathering. We are so thankful for everyone who was able to come! There were so many people... He was loved by so many.

In the limo...

What Cancer Cannot Do...

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit.

All About Chemotherapy...

So yesterday me, my mom and Lina met with the nurses at Dr. Zafar's office to learn all about mom's chemotherapy. It was actually fun... we were laughing the whole time at how crazy this whole thing is, especially the side effects, they are very scary and my mom wished they hadn't told her, but it is good for her to be aware of them. The part that almost brought my mom to tears was that she can't get her nails done anymore! It is a big deal for someone who has never gone without. It is was so funny because my mom was like, "WHAT?!" I don't know if I'm gonna give THAT up. The nurse got a kick out of mom and told her that she was going to be her "problem patient." LOL :) When the nurse talked about hair loss, Lina asked if she was going to lose just the hair on her head, or all body hair, and the nurse said she may lose lashes and eyebrows... and my mom's eyes opened wide and said "Oh my gosh, what about my hair 'down there?'" It was too funny! The only positive thing that she told my mom about chemo is that it will stop her period!!! Yay! She was excited about that one! :)

It was so interesting to go into the treatment room. It is a room full of large recliners, with patients sitting in them, reading, watching tv, using their laptops, etc., while being hooked up to the IV and receiving chemo. The one thing that stood out to me was that all of the people were elderly and here comes my mom- young, beautiful, looking like a model. It just goes to show that it can happen to anyone! Scary!

Ok, the exciting part of what we learned was that her tumor was only a stage 1, which means it was in the first stage of devlopment and we caught it early.

There are many instructions she has to follow, such as taking an Aleve and a Claritin before treatment and the day of and also, the night before treatment and the day of, she will take Decadron (a steroid used to treat cancer).

Treatment day

First they will check her blood to make sure she is stable enough to receive treatment. Then they will insert her IV through the port a cath in her chest. At the appointment they showed us what the cathater looks like inside... I put a picture to show everyone because it is so amazing. The circle in the center feels like gel, which is where her IV will be injected and the connecting tube is what puts the chemo into her body.

Chemo drugs
1. Aloxi (anti-nausea medication administered through her IV first)
2. Taxotere (the most common breast cancer chemotherapy drug)
3. Cytoxan (2nd chemo drug)

The next day, she will return to the office to receive her growth factor injection to her arm, which will help her fight infection by restoring her white blood cells.

Schedule

**She will receive 4 treatments, 3 weeks apart.

1st: December 1st

2nd: December 22nd

3rd: January 12th

4th: February 2nd

Good luck Mommy!! We know you will do just fine.

Cut it off...

Lina and Auntie Geri decided to cut all their hair off to show mom support! They look so pretty!!

Out with family...

Aunt Celia, Uncle Joe and Cousin Benny came to town from El Paso, Texas. On November 15, we went to Zocolos to spend time with them.

Mom... so pretty

Amanda, Kass

Pam, Mom
Mom, Auntie Geri

Benny, Mom

Andrew, Uncle Freddie, Michael

Mom and Aunt Celia dancing

Andrew, Michael

Mom, Joe... cute

More dancing

Andrew, Auntie Geri

Joe playing the drums!

Mom, Lina, KassThe Ayalas

Fun night!

Oncologist...

On November 13, 2008, we met with Dr. Zafar, the oncologist. He said her wounds have healed perfectly. During the surgery, not only did they remove the tumor, but they also inserted a "port-a-cath" into the left side of her chest. It is a port for the chemotherapy to be given to her. Since she is fully healed, chemo is the next stage. He gave her the choice of waiting until after Thanksgiving to start, so she chose Monday, December 1 to receive her first dose. He also said she only needs to take 4 doses, once every three weeks. Each dose is injected into her at the doctor's office and the dosing takes 4 hours. The next day, she will go back to the office to receive a "growth factor" injection, which will restore her white blood cells to keep her healthy. He warned that she will lose her hair by the 18th day of treatment... which means around the 19th of December. He also advised that she takes the week of treatment off of work so that she can recooperate from the side effects. Lastly, a chemo teaching class was scheduled for November 19 to teach her all about the chemo drugs she will be receiving and how a normal chemo day will go.

Breast Cancer Walk...

On November 8, 2008 we walked 3 miles through Tempe, Arizona, to support breast cancer. It was a lot of fun and showed my mom that she is not alone... there were thousands of current patients and even more survivors!

The Haircut...

To prepare for losing hair during chemo, mom decided to cut her hair short. She was nervous and cried a little but it turned out gorgeous!

Before... During...

After...