Give Thanks!

Some time between 10-12 years ago at Thanksgiving we gathered with my family for a celebration.  My Mom had a craft foam leaf wreath and the task presented to us was to take a leaf or more and write on the leaf what you were thankful for.  That year there were one or more leaves which contained the names of my doctors and nurses as I went through my first cancer journey.  

This year I have a few new names I would add to the doctor and nurses "leaf" and one in particular whose name I know and have not met.  She will become my new Oncologist.  This year I have a few more leaves I would like to add to the wreath.

One of the leaves would be dedicated to family. Two names I need to mention are Lydia and Leah.

Lydia has been my most loving daughter for 19 years and her heart for me and for others just makes me smile on a daily basis.  Tonight I got to hear how God tapped her on the shoulder through what others were telling her what to do.  It is exciting to see God moving in her life and using others to assist in that.  She cares deeply for others and I am appreciative of her for that. 

Leah has been the best cargiver and spouse as we trudge through this journey together.  In most every way she has been what I am unable to be.  She often goes above and beyond caring for me during treatments and even days in between treatment.  She is a rockstar when it comes to anticipating what I need and already having thought about it and executed it ahead of time.  Our often repated phrase is "10 Steps" as that's how far ahead she is.  Leah also cares deeply and I reap the direct benefits from that too.

Both Leah's Mom and my Mom have been super helpful when there is something we need whether it comes down to a treatment or just something else not related.  I appreciate their willingness to use their time and energy to help out when there is something we need.

My final leaf I still count as family, but is technically church family.  I have the pleasure of being associate with 2 churches and there are people in both communities that care for me and pray for our family as we keep trudging.  I appreciate the teachings and the worship in both churches and hope to continue that for many years into the future.  

Even if your name or title didn't appear in this post, don't think I'm not thankful for you.  Each one of you who put prayers or encouragement here or in another methods, you may not know but those are so appreciated and I'm thankful for each of you as I go through those interactions.  I read the comments here often and will long into the future.

What or who are you truly thankful for?  I feel so full from all the people that help us out in any manner.  It's humbling to know especially when you are at your worst there are hundreds or thousands of people out there praying with my name on their lips.

As I close I have 1 piece of  information relating to my medical journey.  Today I got a message from Cancer and Hematology through My care space portal.  They aouthorized my CT and gave me the number to schedule that.  Thursday November 30 in the morning I will have my CT.  This will be 6 days after treatment number 12.  That treatment is Friday the day after Thanksgiving day.  

Pray I recover from this treamtent quickly and also Pray for good results from the CT and continue to pray the tumor surgeons will be open to the possibilty of surgery.

~Kent

Did you get the mail?

Written Friday November 9th.

 Yesterday's mail came in the house, this morning after Kent asked me If I braved the rain to get the mail. You see we sign up for a service where we can see what mail is coming each day.  

The mail set the tone of the day. In the mail Kent saw that we were about to recieve a letter from Cancer and Hematolgy.  He opened the letter and we were given news that our doctor would no longer be working at the Lemmon Holton office as he was taking an interest in full time work devoting his time to clinical trails as he already was doing the other 4 days he wasn't practicing in our cancer center. Let down and disappointed we were for sure, but we will handle yet another change as it comes.  The letter said the switch will happen after the 1st of the year.

Today, was chemo treatment 11.  I can hardly believe that!  We started the day early as Kent had labs, a doctor visit and chemo treatment.  It was a long day.  We started the day at 7:55 am and a return trip home at about 3:15 pm.  As we met with Kent's doctor he shared with us, this... We are a go ahead with chemo treatment 11 and 12 and he would put Kent down for a CT scan before we would approach any further chemo.  A CT scan rather than a MRI or PET because he is one who like to compare two like scans. The doctor reassured us that he would be able to image all of the tumor. We were a bit scared as a CT we feel isn't as telling.  He would read and share the scan results and then further discuss with us what he would like us to do moving forward.  We showed interest in being reviewed with the tumor board, Kent's cancer and likelyhood of a possible surgery.  We understand where Kent's tumor is located is a risky surgery but if we are able to take the tumor out and still continue chemo we feel like it would help Kent know he may have less active cancer in him and less cancer to have to fight. We also discussed the transition between doctors and what that would look like. 

Then we moved into Chemo treatment.  Today we had a window view.  It was lovely with the much deserved sun after such rain yesterday. It was a less busy than other weeks, this was a blessing for Kent.  We had our "new temperary nurse" again.  She is a great nurse and Kent seems to do well with her.  Kent is grateful that I am there as there are times when he is not clear due to medications and that I can advocate for him.  Each nurse has several patients and many meds to keep track of and as another set of eyes and ears I just remember what he gets from the beginning of his treatments.  Kent slept a better part of the day in treatment and I think that is good.  He recieves a series of meds and then the end drug is the actual chemo.  Each time it runs I often look at the bag and pray somehow it kills every inch of cancer in him.  I spend a lot of time thinking and praying for a miracle of no cancer and that the chemo shrinks it all. 

The week prior to chemo 11 was great for Kent.  Many good days and quality life spent doing things he anticipates wanting to do when on treatment.  Kent and I love going out to eat and making surprise visits to Lydia and we were able to do that.  We even were able to attend a Hope Basketball game. We are very thankful for all these times. 

As we enter into this Thanksgiving time, we don't want to end this post without letting everyone who reads this blog  how thankful we are for each one of you!  Your prayers,
 kind words, thoughtful meals, rides, phone calls, texts, gifts in a variety of different ways mean the world to us.  

I want to end this blog with a qoute that hangs in our home.  Lydia when entering college wrote a paragraph in her application and a couple of sentences struck Kent and I.  We had it made and put into a frame which now hangs in our home. We often pass by and is a frequent reminder to be thankful.  We are thankful to each one of you for giving to our family and loving on us.  We will forever give back because of what you have given to us.  Thank you! 

... Giving and caring for others doesn't take the most fancy house,best food, or even the neediest of people. God calls us to care for others with what he provides and with a joyful heart.  Lydia DeYoung.

On behalf of the DeYoung 3,  I can not say thank you enough for giving and caring for us.  

--Leah

Treatment 10

Today is Monday following treatment number 10 which occurred on Thursday the 26th.  On Thursday Leah and I were sitting in the waiting room waiting for our turn to be called back for treatment.  I had already had my blood draw and was sipping down my coffee waiting my "turn".  Out walked a family friend of ours.  His wife was at Lemmon Holton for infusion just not for Cancer.  We chatted with him for several minutes and he indicated where He and his wife were sitting and it seemed like he pointed in the direction of the Blue pod.  Leah said to me "Wouldn't it be interesting if we ended up in the pod next to them?"  A few moments later we were called back and were taken back to the Blue pod.  I removed my shoes and sweatshirt and stepped on the scale to get the dreadded weight.  As I'm slipping on my shoes we are directed back to the cubicle we were assigned to.  Wouldn't you know it we were seated right next to the Cubicle our friends were seated in.  We talked for another minute and even grabbed a photo together.

We settled in for the long day of treatement I put my headphones in and checked out for most of the day.  I managed to wake up for a small meal and then snoozed for the remainder of my treatment.  After getting my pump and getting home I slept most of the rest of Thursday, most of Friday and a large chunk of Saturday to.  Let's just say I did more sleeping than anything else for a large part of the weekend.

Sunday we woke up and caught church online and I was awake most of the day which is largley unusual for any of the past treatments.  I had my Ativan an  anti-nausea med through my last dose Sunday night.  Today I began the day with my other anti-nausea med and a small amount of food.  I got ready and started my day at work.  I had more energy than I normally do on a Monday and ate a fairly normal schedule which was not every hour as it typically is on a Monday.

I'm thankful to be mostly back to "normal" a day or two earlier than normal.  While I'm not all the way back to normal I'm fairly close and thankful for the speedy recovery.  Thank you to everyone who prays, sends cards, encourages here or via another method.  You'll never know exactly how much it means to me as I continue to go through this journey.  For now I get enjoy the next 10 days before Number 11.

Pray!!

Today is Tuesday following my Chemo number 9.  My stomach is still not 100% back to normal but hopefully will return to normal tomorrow.  Compared to my first treatment this treatment was by far my worst.  Leah did an accurate job of describing how the weekend went in the last post. 

Thursday we had the confusion of 12 vs 14 treatments.  Leah called my doctor's office today to check on whether we needed to complete 13 & 14?  When the nurse called back Leah and her had a lengthy conversation about plenty of things.  Those 2 treatments were only a fraction of what they talked about.  Since I need familiar to keep my anxiety down, the nurse made a note in my chart that we would like to be back in the blue pod.  There are less chairs and less activity and this is where I have been since the begining of my treatments this year.  I will likely have the same nurse I had for treatment number 9.  Per the number of treatments, Leah was told I currently have 28 on the schedule so I will continue to see a few more than I currently am on.  The real truth is I will have 12 treatments then I will have a CT scan.  My doctor will present my scan results to the tumor board to see about surgery.  Otherwise we would have to decide between our normal treatments and Maintenance Chemo.

I'll be honest the thought of indefinite chemo frightens me.  I badly want the tumor Surgically removed.  I don't want chemo long term.  10 years ago Leah continued to remind me to take 5 minutes at a time!  I'm to that point again.  

All I ask is for Prayer for surgery to be a reality.  In the mean time I'm going to be watching the clock for 5 minute blocks.

~Kent

A day in the pod.

I am not one to write a post with a lot of information and not much story. Buckle up, and hear the day and tale of Kent. Today, we started the day off leaving the house at 8:20 am. This was and would be the last of anything nornal in the day beside our ride home. We arrived at Cancer and Hematalogy roughly a bit before 9. We registered and it could have been a brief glimpse into our very busy and unnormal day. Kent then had labs with a tech unfamilar to him but kind and caring. We then waited to be called back to his Doctor appointment. We were greated by Kent's nurse who took us back and we then again waited for our Doc and he had his training attending resident with him. In this appointment I invite you in to the discussion and plan as of now as we move forward into the next phase of the cancer journey. Kent comes prepared to every appointment with questions and we rapid fired them at him and he answered all of them but some left us a bit nervous as we left the exam room. So here we go as we know now..... 1) Kent will continue to 12 treatments. We recieved a schedule which includes 14 treatmemts. (we had left doc) so we will investgate that further as we move into this next week . 2) CT scan after 12 treatments as discussed with Doctor. 3) We asked Doctor about a possible surgery to remove tumor now that we have a confirmed smaller tumor, he confirmed to with our approval he will bring before the board with other doctors. This surgery would be risky as to where the tumor is placed is difficult and could bring further complications. 4) If we get to the point we need to do maintence chemo this is what it would look like for Kent. Kent would begin a regimine of drugs that may be introduced to Kent for the first time as these would hopefully stop from supplying the blood to the tumor. He then would continue to wear a pump home to complete the treatment. We are also unsure if this would be after surgery or if surgery would not be an option. Overall it was a very information heavy appointment. Please pray the cancer miraculously is "eaten" by the chemo! Please pray as we navigate through each step of this. We pray God answers exactly what we need. 

On to treatment for the day. Treatment # 9! 

We left Doc appointment and again waited in the waiting room to be brought back to our "typical" chemo area. We were called back but from a different door than we typically walk though to treatment. Kent and I looked at each other a bit confused but trusting we were taking the senic route to our pod. Nope! We were brought very close to where Kent was getting treatment 11 years ago. We were intoduced to a new nurse. Now we are ok with a new nurse, of course because the care of this cancer center, but we were bummed as you see we were excited to send off our nurse to her Maternity leave as she was to have her third child but 1st girl! One of the sweetest nurses that we were so fortunate to have. Her loving care and Christian walk were evident every time we saw her. We will miss her greatly! We met our nurse today and she was kind and did a great job but we certianly felt the void of our familar caring we recieve. Today we were tucked behind a wall and I was thinking it would be a bit quieter for Kent as there were more pods in this location and easier for Kent to relax. Wow was I wrong. Thursday's Chemo was one of the busiest we had ever experienced. When we returned home both nausea and Vomiting returned after a long deserved nap. I called after hours Doc. (as it was the middle of the night.) They confirmed what we were doing was correct. I was giving the correct meds and alternating them and helping Kent stay as hydrated as possible. They suggested Kent going in for further hydration in the morning to help with his nausea. 

We arrived and Kent recieved one and a half hours of hydration. It is now Friday afternoon and Kent is resting and concentrating on eating and catching up on sleep. He is doing better after receiving Hydration. I thank each one of you for continued prayers for Kent. Thank you to each one of you for praying for our entire Breen, Chapman and De Young families. Your prayers and love mean so much to all of us. ~Leah

No words

 Friday, September 22, 2023 changed our lives forever. 

Our entire Breen family had come on out to see Jake (our nephew and cousin) play football. We often all  come to cheer him on.  It's not every game we are all present but this one we were. Some had to leave a bit early due to kid's bedtimes but what a blessing we were there at somepoint in that evening.

 Jake  was making a tackle when he was hit and knocked unconsious.  He was taken by Ambulence to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.  Discharged later that evening with a severe concussion. Please fast forward with me to Wednesday night, September 27th  as Jake was home when he went into cardiac arrest. given CPR, and given a chance at life by many medical personal when and as he was rushed to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital again.  I encourage all of you to follow my sister Rachel Chapman's FB post as she does a wonderful job posting exactly what has developed since then.  Jake was taken into the ICU where he remains in a medical coma. This is so that he has the best possible chance to quietly recover. There are many ways that he has gained improvement but there are many hills that Jake has to climb yet.  Please pray as this week jake will undergo a few medical tests and procedures. 

I would like to personally thank every school, church, small group, sports team, friend connected on and off facebook, every family member near and far for your support, love and kindness. Mostly we thank you for your many words of encouagement and prayers.  We certianly have felt the prayers and ask you to keep praying. Jake's lungs still need healing and we pray he will be able to be restored to full capacity. 

Thank you to all of you! 

September 28th Kent had Chemo number 8! He is scheduled for 10 Chemo treatments as it appears in our schedule on care space.  He has Chemo number 9 on Oct 12th.  He will also have a Doctor appointment on Oct. 12 prior to his treatment.  Kent has been thinking up of a number of questions which lead to what's next? Do we do surgery, more chemo, scans, or something else we don't know.  We hope to fill you in on what that happens in that apointment then. Then his last scheduled chemo at this time is Oct 26th.  that day should be just chemo as far as we are aware.  

Many have been asking what we have found out about the size of Kent's tumor?  What the mm size did turn out to be was Kent's original  size of the tumor was 54mm by 53 mm.  After 6 treatments Kent recieved a scan to see if in fact it was getting smaller in size.  The scan showed it had came back 58 mm by 40mm.  We then questioned just as much as the NP if that infact was a  correct measurment.  It was later explained to Kent that it was true and measured correctly.  So let me explain it this way.... If you would take a potato and slice it, and measure that potato from end to end only skipping one slice that is how they measured the tumor originally. When we meet with Kent's oncoligist we will also ask a few questions on this as well. 

Kent over all is tolerating treatments as well as he can.  This past treatment I did notice more tiredness, a bit more fogginess as I had to repeat myself more, he also discovered his tastebuds have changed.  These are all to be expected we just never know when they happen.  

We now as for prayers for Kent. pray that whatever the Doctor's plans are that Kent will not be anxious about it and that he too will be able to have the best treatment plan moving forward. 

On behalf of the entire Breen, Chapman and DeYoung family we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love you all and thank you for your continued prayers! 

~Leah

"Thank You Lord!"

Pardon me for bringing you into my 3's preschool circle time for a short bit.  A song we sing often and is fun because of the motions is, "Thank You Lord."  "Let everything that has breath, say thank you Lord!"  As it goes through the verses of the song it mentions the animals that say,  "Thank you Lord!" 

Often around chemo treatment Kent has to take deep breaths to get though moments that are tougher to get through.  You can hear me say, "Take deep breaths."  This past treatment has taken a bit longer for him to get through and has taken many deep breaths too.  Kent surely amazes me as he rallies through even if he doesn't feel like it.  "Thank You Lord!" 

As many know Kent works from home 100%.  Tonight I had a Preschool/ lower elementary event at a local farm.  Kent and I often go, see a few preschoolers and visit with those from school.  Coming off treatment I was unsure if he would be up for going. I encouraged him as breaths of fresh air would be great and a little walk around the farm builds strength too.  Who could resist a pumpkin donut and cider also right?  "Thank You Lord!" 

Kent and I have been asked several times, how are things going since last treatment?  We met with the NP on Sept 14th prior to treatment number 7.  She had a lot of positive things to say to us. One thing she did mention after Kent's scan was reviewed by radiology, was that she questioned what she saw on the scan.  As many of you heard and read in our last blog post, we shared that the numbers decreased in the size of the tumor which we say, "Thank You Lord"!  She was curious as were we on why it increased on one side so drastically and decreased on the other side.  After a conversation with her she was going to talk to our physician who can read scans (which not all physicians can).  He too works with clinical trials for others and can read scans well.  Soon we should get another read on what the scan really reveals from him. In which then they will need to correct the scan readings for  Kent's chart.   Again we say "Thank You Lord" for NP's and Physician's who look out for Kent's health. (please stay tuned as we will update if there is a change) 

So as I close this blog update, I again bring you back into my preschool classroom.  We start each day singing, "This is the day." "This is the day that the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it."   We are thankful for every breath and we say "Thank you Lord!" 

~Leah