02-22-2010 - E-mail Updating Karen Klein Whelan's Health Status
Thanks to Carol Ward Outtrim for sharing this e-mail that Karen sent out to friends and family.
Subject: Karen's Update Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:01 +0000
Greetings to all on this beautiful Northwest day. The temperature is going to be around 60 and snowy Mt. Rainier is standing so big and tall against the blue sky. I took a walk to the library to write this e-mail, and it just makes one feel great. The rest of the week might have rain but this last week has been a blessing.
Last Saturday the cumulative effect of the chemo had caught up with me. But I'm looking forward to Tuesday for my last chemo in this series. A new cat-scan will be taken in about a week to verify how the cancer has been affected.
Thank you for all your prayers. As a result of your prayers, the doctor has found that the cancer cells have mutated. This means that I can be treated with a pill instead of chemo by the drip method. This is easier on my system. (if one can make light of a serious situation - Skip is glad that I will be on the pill because we won't have to worry about me getting pregnant! You can guess who's saying this if you know Skip at all). This pill has the possibility of working from 8 months to several years. Dr. Liao says that chemo is "my friend" meaning it will be used in the next line of defense after the pill (Tarcevo) is no longer doing its job.
Our Lord is holding my hand as I encounter these new feelings. Pray that my anxiety stays in check.
