We want to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting us, in one way or another. Vann's second family at Costco has been such a help to us. With Vann's treatment schedule and taking care of our girls, we are finding very little time for our normal routine. The meals being delivered and the supplies being brought by have made things a lot easier on the whole family and we really appreciate the support.
To all our neighbors, thank you for constantly watching our girls and helping out whenever needed. We are very lucky to have such great neighbors to help us out in this time of need. It is such a comfort knowing the girls are in good hands when we are not able to be with them.
Also, Vann and I, are very thankful for the support from LACoFD. We can't imagine how it would have been without them. They have helped give me so much needed time to be with Vann and our girls, Ryley and Taylor. It has been a huge relief for both of us. We could not have done this without all of you stepping up to help us out! In addition, The Firefighter Cancer Support Network has helped Mark and Vann through this tough time.
Lastly, we must mention our beloved friends, The Watson's for all their support and help. Gordon and I have been friends since the third grade and have experienced a lot in life together. Although we never ended up working on the same Fire Department, we truly are brothers! Thank you Gordon and Heather for the tremendous support!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Vann's Spirits
After reading the posts we realized we needed to give some insight into how Vann is doing. As most of you already know, Vann may be on the petite side but is a very strong girl. We have been fortunate throughout this to find a extremely good team of Doctors to help navigate Vann's treatment. We have a lot of confidence in this team and feel we could not be in any better hands. Vann has tolerated the surgery and treatments with a very positive outlook and has been extremely strong on wanting to exercise when she can. Surprisingly the Chemo Cycles have gotten a little more tolerable each time and we are trying to figure out how to keep this going. We need to keep Vann eating small portions throughout the day and keep up her strength for the Chemo Cycles ahead. We also have turned to acupuncture and massage therapy to give Vann as much comfort as possible.
Third Round of Chemo
Vann started her third round of FOL FOX Chemotherapy on June 15th. Since we had to wait for Vann to recover from her surgery we were not able to start the drug called Avastin until this round of Chemo. Avastin is not actually a form of Chemotherapy, it is called a tumor starving therapy since it literally starves the tumor of what it needs in order to grow and spread.
On Vann's last meeting with her Oncologist we received some good news from her physical examination. Vann's left lobe of her liver is no longer enlarged and her right lobe of her liver is not as enlarged. In addition, Vann's abdominal wall is now soft and no longer distended. Our Oncologist is very happy with Vann's progress and with how well she has been handling the Chemo cycles. We need to focus on keeping strong in order to remain on a 14 day Chemo cycle and hit this cancer hard before it realizes what is going on.
On Vann's last meeting with her Oncologist we received some good news from her physical examination. Vann's left lobe of her liver is no longer enlarged and her right lobe of her liver is not as enlarged. In addition, Vann's abdominal wall is now soft and no longer distended. Our Oncologist is very happy with Vann's progress and with how well she has been handling the Chemo cycles. We need to focus on keeping strong in order to remain on a 14 day Chemo cycle and hit this cancer hard before it realizes what is going on.
Positve News From Genetic Mapping
In the middle of May, after recovering from her Colostomy Surgery, Vann began FOL FOX Chemotherapy on a 14 day cycle. During Vann's 2nd round of Chemo, the genetic mapping results came back. Without getting too technical, the results that came back were the first piece of positive news we had since the diagnosis. Vann's particular cancer showed it was not a hereditary type of cancer and that it should be very responsive to the FOL FOX Chemotherapy. Our Oncologist went over the results and every part of the genetic mapping pointed in the right direction to fight the cancer. This was quite a joyous moment for us knowing we now have a good chance and also a relief for our girls Ryley, 5 years old and Taylor, 3 years old.
Getting The Blog Started
Thank you for coming to The Hewison Family Blog. We want to say thank you to everyone for the tremendous amount of support and prayers. It has truly been a blessing!. We have a lot to catch everyone up on since Vann was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer on May 3rd, 2010. Since Vann was diagnosed the doctor appointments, consultations and treatment options have been coming at a feverish pace. We are now starting to get a routine down and trying to find some normalcy to our lives.
In order to bring everyone up to date we will briefly discuss Vann's diagnosis and then move on to the positive news. Vann's diagnosis revealed a large primary tumor in her Sigmoid Colon. Due to the tumor size and the fact that it was pretty well anchored, surgery was not an option at this point. In addition, the cancer has spread to Vann's liver and shows about 7-8 tumors on the surface area. During Vann's Colostomy Surgery there was some evidence of abdominal studding in her peretenial cavity. Shortly after, the PET Scan results showed the cancer is also in her thorax region. According to the pathology reports, the primary tumor is approximately 2 to 2 1/2 years old and the remainder of the cancer is recent.
In order to bring everyone up to date we will briefly discuss Vann's diagnosis and then move on to the positive news. Vann's diagnosis revealed a large primary tumor in her Sigmoid Colon. Due to the tumor size and the fact that it was pretty well anchored, surgery was not an option at this point. In addition, the cancer has spread to Vann's liver and shows about 7-8 tumors on the surface area. During Vann's Colostomy Surgery there was some evidence of abdominal studding in her peretenial cavity. Shortly after, the PET Scan results showed the cancer is also in her thorax region. According to the pathology reports, the primary tumor is approximately 2 to 2 1/2 years old and the remainder of the cancer is recent.
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