A Chapter in Treatment Is Done!

I'm back! It's Stacie doing an update with Nicole's permission.

Things have been going really well the past few weeks. The kids have, for the most part, been healthy. Griffin is now 4 months old and has already rolled over a few times. He is smiley and happy and he loves to sit back and observe everyone around him. The best part is that he is sleeping all night! This weekend, he slept almost 11 hours straight.

After going through a bit of an adjustment period, Brock is back to his old self. One of his new favorite activities is waking Griffin up from his naps! He knows more than any 3-year-old should know about many things. He's been busy helping his dad do things around the house.

Bryan is....Bryan! He's been working as much as possible. At home, he has several projects going on which occupy his downtime. This weekend he is putting in a few new bedroom windows. Hopefully that will take care of the drafts coming in! He is awesome with the boys and a great help to Nicole. Oh, and he did go pheasant hunting with Brad and Taylor a few weekend ago but they didn't come back with any birds. Ice fishing is being planned as I type.

Now for the birthday girl! Nicole had her 29th birthday on December 8th. I know she got a lot of birthday wishes on her facebook page which she set-up earlier this month. Overall, I am in awe of her patience and stamina! She was out there at 5am shopping on black Friday and kept going until 8 that night---with both boys! She has made it to work most days (even though she shouldn't have some of those days)! Her positive attitude is not an act. She is so thankful for life and everyone in her life. She is such a calm, patient and loving mother!

Here are the medical details. Nicole's tumor marker was down to 34.5 when she went in December 10th for her last chemo with the three medication combination. Beginning Thursday, she felt very drained. She spent most of the weekend in bed or lying on the couch. She did have nausea and vomiting this time. Thankfully, she will now only be on one chemo agent-Herceptin. She will get this every three weeks for the next year. Herceptin is supposed to have very few side-effects and they are very tolerable. Tomorrow she and Bryan meet with a genetic counselor to go over the family history of cancer and decide which genetic testing needs to be done for Nicole. On December 24th, she will have another PET scan. Be in prayer for no cancer to show up again this time! With falling tumor markers, I have nothing but faith this will happen.

We figure around Valentine's Day Nicole should be sporting a new crop of (very short) hair. I can't wait to see how it grows back! I'm guessing blond and wavy. Anyone else?

Keep praying for the cancer to stay away and for favorable results from the scan and genetic testing!