Mt. Baldhead 5K

Just had to do this for its name sake. They must name the run after me:). Bert actually ran faster than me. He finished 5k in 37 minutes, 30 seconds before me. I am so proud of him. As you can see, I started the run with a head (in Bert's hand now), but when it gets hot, I took it off. What the heck. It is a bald head run anyway.

Feel good to be able to run a 5K again.

In two weeks, we will do our Susan G. Komen, Race for Cure, 5K. I am so proud that we now have 29 runners on the Triple The Fight team. We raised $1185.00 as off this morning. $15 short of our goal of $1200.00. I know we are going to beat it!!

If you still want to donate and donate it in my name, please click here. - BIG THANKS!!!

News - from not so good to good and great!

This is the week that is full of good and not so good news and some great news of all!

The first not so good news is that the allergic reaction I have is getting worse. I had blister like rash on both of my hands by Monday and they traveled up all the way to my arms. I also got rashes on my legs which I believe are different type - the type I typically get when I get infection by going into public hot tubs. With my immune system is low, I think the few minutes I stood in Lake Michigan last weekend caused me the same type infection even though I had taken a shower immediately after. Long story short, I had hard time to coop with the rash and lost some sleep last week. My family doctor here referred me to a local dermatologist. Sadly I had to decline their appointment offer because they could not see me until the first week of October despite the fact that I explained her my situation needs immediately attention. By October I would have already done this round of chemo!

The good news is that I could see a dermatologist at Mayo Clinic. I am always amazed at how I could not get a local doctor to see me, but Mayo Clinic could. After failing to get a local Dermatologist, I called Mayo. Two hours later, I got a call back and was told me that an appointment had been added to see a dermatologist on Friday after my chemo. I got new and stronger medicine from the dermatologist. I also got a biopsy of the rash to rule out if it is not something else coincidently appears with the chemo cycle. I should know the result in a few days. I truly love their scientific approach. No guessing. Let's collect some data first - absolutely my type of thinking!

The 2nd no so good news is that although my blood counts are continuing to be good, as good as someone who is not on chemo according to my friend, my liver function results are totally out of the range. From my unprofessional, non-medical doctor's understanding is that my liver has been working extra hard to get rid of the toxic substance in my body (chemo drug), it is too stressed now.

However, the good news is that I still can have my #9 chemo, but at a 50% reduced dose. Next week, we hope my liver function will be better. If not, I either get a more reduced dose or take a break. As a result, Today's chemo was very uneventful. I did not get a chance to sleep this time. Bert and I played two rounds of Yahtzee(sp?) game and he let me win both times:). Also after the premed of these anti-allergy medicines, my rashes went down drastically. I think if my prediction is right, these rashes will come back on Monday and Tuesday when my chemo effects are the highest. The smaller dose may produce less or no rash this week. And more good news yet is that even if my allergy reaction is too sever to continue this chemo, I am already on my 9th round and stopping it will have little or no effect on my overall prognosis! The next round chemo is different drug. My body will not have the same reaction.

The 3rd not so good news is that my left wrist hurts me because of all the infusion so far has been on my left hand. The good news is that an ultrasound was performed and I believe the result shows all my veins are still good with no clogging. Some heat therapy will help to heal. The rest of chemo will be infused on my right hand. It is just fair game - 8 on the left and 8 on the right:). Now think of it, I am 1/2 way through my chemo by he number!!

All these added appointments delayed my return to home today. Thanks to my friends Elizabeth for taking care of my girls after school. They had a great time participating some fun activities with her children.

And now for the great news -
The first great news is that I am told I am a survivor!! I have never labeled myself as a cancer surviver. I still have the tumor in my body. I figured, I would not call myself a survivor until, maybe one year after I am cancer free or five year perhaps. So today, I tentatively asked one of the nurses who is in charge of my infusion when someone could be considered a survivor. She turned around and looked right into my eyes and said "you are now!". She then said anyone who is diagnosed is a survivor. Although no one can guarantee my prognosis, for the first time, I truly believed that I AM A SURVIVOR!! - that is one of the best news of today!

The 2nd great news is a great service my company is offering to all female employees and qualified dependents. Thanks to our HR and medical team for this wonderful connection. This team also put together a Healthy Mom and Healthy Baby program for all pregnant female employees and qualified dependents. I think soon we will be one of the best companies for working women!

There will be a celebration to the end of my first round of Chemo the first week of October. By then, I wish and pray that every female employees at Gentex and qualified dependents all have a clean bill of health and is well educated about women's health!

Labor Day Weekend

Because of the long weekend, we decided to make chemo#8 a family vacation. We left Holland on Thursday after wook. We stopped by Chicago to pick up Natalie who was one of the 8 girls adopted at the same time with Anna. Anna was extremely excited to have Natalie with us for this trip. I could not image how she would feel or behave if Natalie were not with us.

Me and Bert after Chemo#8. Chemo went well without any complications

Besides hair loss, I still don't have the common major side effect of chemo such as nausea or vomiting. However, I am getting some of the minor side effect such as tingling of fingers and toes, leg pains and fatigue.  Of course, I have to get some special. A very small percentage of people get this rare form rash as a result of allergy of the chemo. The chemo drug I am getting is called Taxol. Taxol itself was first discovered as extrant from yew tree bark. In order to deliver this drug through IV, the drug is dissolved in Cremophor EL. One of the rare form of allergic reaction to Cremophor El is rashes. On week #4, I noticed a small patch of blister like rashes. My local doctor thought it was from some kind of allergy and treated it as such. As weeks went by, I noticed my rash came and went as my chemo schedule. For example, rash got worse on Monday and Tuesday and got better by Friday - very similar to my tireness schedule. I finally got my oncologist attention and she comfirmed that this is a side reaction of Cremophor. She assured me that besides discomfort, it does not impose any life threaten danger. I think I can handle this. So taxol continues:).


 

Rashes on both of my hands and arms. They come and go with the cycle of my chemo, that is more rashes on Monday to Wednesday and less on Thursday and Friday.

After the chemo on Friday, we headed to Mall of America. We stayed at Homewood Suites by Hilton right across street from the Mall. We did some shop of course. Kids had a great time with all the roller coasters.



Double heart necklace - a surprise gift from Bert. These days, we are attracted to anything pink.

Anna, Natalie and Jenny on our way to the Mall

Fun Time in the Pool

Rex took my place and he knows that is not his place

On our way back, we stopped by Milwaukee to visit our Friends Donna and Nick and their daughters Cela, Kelan and Rosie and meet up with Natalie's parent Cindy and Craig and her brother Adam. Cela is another girl who was adopted at the same time when we adopted Anna. In a way, we had a small adoption reunion. Donna and I did our version of triathelon (bike, run and swim). We biked 10 miles along Lake Michigan. Unfortunately we did not run or swim much, but we did a little bit of it so we can say we did all three events.

Meet the Wesses and Migans - two of the anhui families. Here are 8 adopted children.

I took off my wig this weekend. Actually I have been taking it off as soon as I walked in the house since the beginning. Everyone at home has seen me running around without hair. This weekend, the weather was so hot. I decided to wear a simple head wrap or scarf even when we went out. This reminds me to tell you a story - a running joke in our family is that Bert has a girl friend without hair - for more than 20 years!

About 20 years ago, Bert took Toby, then just started to speak, out shopping. They came home much later than I expected. So as soon as they walked in the door, I joked: "What took you guys so long? Did you go to visit Dad's girl friend again?". "Yep!", Toby was eager to answer. "Oh, what does Dad's girl friend look like?" I played along with Toby. "No hair!" He said seriously. We have been retelling and laughing about this over and over again for 20 years. Last weekend, when Bert and I retold this story again, we realized that this is true now. He does have a bald girl friend now!!

Head wrap

Round#7

Round#7 chemo went uneventfully. I went to the chemo without my wig for the first time. I had a head wrap with me. I did not realize how cold you could feel when you don't have hair. I regretted that I did not wear something warmer, like the hat Judy C. from work made for me. Josh who came with me and I were talking about buying a hat on our way there. As soon as I walked in the clinic, I remembered there are many places you could pick up free hats, scarves or bandanas that are made with love by volunteers. For the first time I realize how important these gifts are. I picked one from the basket. I feel the love from a stranger. Thank you whoever you are!

As usual, I slept through my chemo. I felt tired even after I got home and slept three hour more. Thanks for the delicious dinner brought by the Myers'. Kids already helped themselves before I woke up. I even did not have a chance to take a photo!

After all the sleep, I felt energized. I went to Gentex to be a part of Livestrong, To Be Continued, 24 hour cycling event. I biked only 10 miles. It did not make me tired enough to sleep well at night. The next morning, I got up earlier for Gentex Golf Open. I had a great time playing golf with Kurt, Justin and Chuck from HR team. Unfortunately, my energy level dropped quickly. I had even hard time to drive home. I slept another 3 hours and missed my chance to go back to the Livestrong event.

I have to say that my energy level really frustrats me. Last week, I had to take naps after work on Monday and Tuesday. I had talked to some other people at work and some had told me that taking a nap after work is part of their routine. But this is so not me!! I typically stay up and constantly on the go for 16-18 hours straight in a day. Friday's blood test results show that my red blood counts continue to be low. I think that is the true reason why I am tired easily. But these numbers are really not consider too bad.

Test Name	Test Date	Result		NormalRange
Hemoglobin	August 24, 2012	11.4 g/dL		12.0 - 15.5
Hematocrit	August 24, 2012	34.2 %		34.9 - 44.5
Erythrocytes	August 24, 2012	3.77 x10(12)/L		3.90 - 5.03

Some people asked how my family is doing. I am happy to report that everything seems to be normal at home. Toby is already back to college for two weeks. Joshua will be going back by the end of this month. Anna and Jenny just returned from Blue Lake Music camp. They both had a great time. They played 6 hours or so instrument each day. Jenny plays flute. Anna is the only Bass Clarinet at the camp. She got a lot one-on-one lessons. Their final performance was wonderful. Right now, they can't wait for their school to start after Labor Day.

Anna and Jenny with their friends at Blue Lake Camp

My husband Bert is doing great. He obviously takes on even more housework than usual. The more important role he is playing is to provide a big shoulder for me to put my head on when I need one. I was very frustrated last week that I had to "waste" my time to sleep more. I love my work and time goes fast there and I don't feel tired there at all. But once I get home, I have this mental shut down and my body goes with it. I have so many things I would like to do at home too, but now I am leaving more things to him. He never complains. He dose more housework than me anyway. But I think he has "chemo" moment too. Here is what I found when I opened the dishwasher to unload it the other day. My poor husband had loaded two fresh peppers into the dishwasher!! He said, they must have rolled off the counter, but I don't believe him:).

Cook Peppers in the dishwasher? Must be chemo effect:)

I am so proud of my husband for running a 5K color burst run today with Jenny. Since he ran his first 5K ever with me two months ago, he has been doing his exercise regularly and lost more than 20 lbs! Way to go Bert!

The Franz Team (Jenny and Bert) at Color Burst Run

Other than being tired, I don't any other side effects. I continue to be able to work four days a week. Other than my frustration with tiredness, I have no other sad feelings. I think I am more accepting to the tiredness now. It may be God's way to tell me to slow down. I still try to run/walk or bike a few times a week just to keep in good shape.

I told my fight crew at work to take a break because there will be nothing new going one from now until week#12. Guess what. They did not listen. My friend Lori Q said to me that you don't take a break so wouldn't we! How blessed I am to have such wonderful friends. Last Thursday, they surprised me with a basket of cancer fighting food. I am amazed at their ability of continuing to find creative ways to encourage me. I have so much to learn from them as I feel that I have done so little to help others. Our whole family has been enjoy on these healthy snacks.

some of the antioxidant rich foods that fight free radicals (that cause cancer) and slow the aging process. 

They are right, eating healthy food is a part of fighting again cancer. The package comes with list of Antioxidant Rich Foods compiled by Dana R. I am sharing it here so others can benefit from it.
(not in particular order)
Almonds, Artichokes, Asparagus, Black Beans, Black Plums, Blackberries, Broccoli, Cranberries, Cultivated Blueberries, Eggplants, Gala Apples, Granny Smith Apples, Pecans, Pinto Beans, Popcorn (air popped), Prunes, Raspberries, Red Delicious Apples, Red Kidney Beans, Russet Potatoes, Small Red Beans, Spinach, Standard Plums, Strawberries, Sweet Cherries, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Walnuts, Wild Blueberries, Yellow Onions. And Dark Chocolate according to Lori Q.

Let's all try to live a healthy life!!

The fight continues

Thanks to my fighting crew for the cards and encouraging notes again and these beautiful flowers and this pair of fighting gloves! They come at the right time. My ultrasound results show that my visitor is still there. It is smaller though. It has shrunk from 1.7 cm to 0.9 cm and "more ill defined" as indicated on the ultrasound results. I think this probably was the reason that my doctor and I could not feel it easily. Nevertheless, I am glad I had this ultrasound to confirm that it is not growing or spread out more. Pray for its continue shrinkage. If this is the rate it is going, I do have a hope that by the end of the chemo (14 more weeks to go), it may disappear completely. It really doesn't matter much as long as it is shrinking because I have decided to have double mastectomy anyway - giving this visitor or any his relatives no chance to re-appear. It is just the best outcome if the main tumor is completed disappeared after chemo. Keep the prayers and fights on!

All my blood test results are still good on week#6. My red blood cell is still at the borderline low, but my red blood cell is back to normal. I continue to have good energy level. I was at a conference the whole week. It is tough even for normal people to sit in the conference room the whole day. I had no problem attending the conference and all its evening activities as well. Besides some tolerable diarreha occasionally, nothing else bothers me. I contribute this to my positive attitude, all the prayers as well as the well designed chemo procedure. I read normally this type of chemo is given once every 2 or 3 weeks. In order to do that, the dose has to be much higher to start with so it would last 2 or 3 weeks. I think that would be much harder to tolerate. With this clinical trial, they are trying it weekly so I have a relative constant amount of chemicals in my body that is easily tolerable. I think I may analyzing too much. It comes with my profession. What can I say:). I know for sure that I drive my doctors crazy by asking too many questions. I really feel that I am working with them to fix me. I hope they appreciate it:).

Round #6 chemo went uneventfully. Once I was on Benadryl,  I felt asleep. I then again slept through the whole chemo process. I actually felt a little bit rude to ignore all what was going on in that room. Hopefully I did not snore too loud:)

During the time whey they gave me premed for the chemo, I did some paper work to join another clinical study for mayo clinic. This study is more behavior study to link any life style and habit to breast cancer. I want to do as much as I can to help future breast cancer prevention.

According to American Cancer Society, you can take control of your health and reduce your risk of cancer by doing the following -

• Stay away from tobacco
• Stay at a healthy weight
• Get moving with regular physical activity
• Eat healthy with plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Limit how much alcohol you drink (if you drink at all)
• Protect your skin
• Know yourself, your family history and your risks
• Have regular check-ups and cancer screening tests

Unfortunately, I do all the above. Maybe I need to do more physical activities and loose more weight. 

I found a nice booklet at while waiting for my chemo that summarizes cancer facts for woman. Besides breast cancer as the most common type of cancer for women, we also need to pay attention to other types of cancers such as Colorectal Cancer, Endometrial Cancer, Lung Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Skin Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, that are also leading cause of death. You may find this guide useful too. Here is the website ...

http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/FindCancerEarly/WomensHealth/cancer-facts-for-women

It is time to get off the internet and go out for more physical activities. Bert and I plan to ride bike through out the town this morning to have some breakfast in downtown and shop around at the farmers market. It is a beautiful west michigan day out there. Enjoy!

Feel the power of prayers

Oh, there are so much to write but there are so little time!! Tons of things happened in this past few days. I can't decide where to start.

Maybe start with the wig. It is always fun to talk about my hair nowadays in my household. Did I tell you before that my 5 minute shower now becomes 3 minutes and my 30 minutes hairdo each morning now takes only 30 seconds? While, that was until I had more than one wig! It took me nearly 30 minutes to decide which one to use this morning! All I wanted was to have a shorter hair one so my hair does not stay around my neck in this hot weather. Between choosing an outfit and then a hair, life becomes complicated. Sadly, I thought it would be a hot day so I finally walked out with the shorter hair one. Guess what, it was a cold day. Now I will be in a conference for three days. I don't think I should suddenly change it to the longer hair one tomorrow. I will be stuck with the shorter one for at least two more days. Did I say I will wear wig all the time until my hair grows back? I am not sure anymore because it makes my life complicated. I like the way I am at home - running around without hair. So here is a secret for you - before too long, I think I may give up the wig all together.

I am so blessed to have so many friends. Honestly, I did not know I had so many friends before. I am overwhelmed with supports and encouragement I have received so far. I often wonder if I really deserve such wonderful treatment. Every day, I feel I need to be a better person to others because I have been receiving the wonderful gifts of friendship. Girls (and guys) at work have been more diligently praying for me. Every Thursday for the past three weeks since my friends know about my visitor, I have been surprised with a gift in my mail box. Last Thursday, I got a message saying checking my mailbox before leaving for chemo. I worked late to squeeze my five days of work into four days. So by the time I went the mail room, it was nearly 7:30pm. I was surprised with this HUGE fortune cookie filled with cards, notes and words of encouragement and prayers! I literally laugh out loud. Sadly no one was there to share my excitement.

I read every words many times!! Thank you my friends!

By now, all my friends already know the good news that my visitor (aka, the tumor) is not easily palpated anymore. But I still would liked to documented here. After 4 rounds of chemo, I was scheduled to meet my oncologist last Friday to see how I was doing before moving onto the next four weeks according to the study. At the exam, she could not feel the visitor anymore. There was no clear and measurable lump anymore. I can still feel that the area of my breast is different - not necessarily a lump, but may be thickened tissues - it is really hard to say. My doctor was very pleased with what she felt. She wrote in her report "the chemo is working exceedingly well". I, on the other hand, as scientist, really would like to "see" some data. After some discussions, I convinced my doctor to do an ultrasound "just to satisfy the patient's concern" as she wrote it. Unfortunately I have to wait until next week to do so because they could not schedule on quick enough.

Needless to say, I am very excited. I know the medicine is doing its part, but deep down in my heart, I know the power of prayers from my friends and family is the key factor for this good news. I wanted to say that everything happens for a reason or like my son Toby puts it, you can make good out of everything. The good things about me getting cancer so far have been that I am much closer to God today than before, I am much closer to my family and my friends today, I am getting to know so many people I did not know before, I appreciate every day of my life much more than before, I feel the joy of getting up every morning to meet my day, I love to go work, I actually love to do everything... I have no idea where all these come from and why I did not always felt this way before. I believe God heals, spiritually and physically.

Regardless what the ultrasound would reveal, I will still need to finish all the chemos and have surgery at the end. However, ultimately for every neoadjuvant treatment (chemotherapy before surgery), the best outcome would be pathologic complete response (no tumor found at the time of surgery). I hope I am not too greedy to pray that outcome. I do know with the power of prayers and my fighting crews, anything is possible!

The 5th round of chemo went very smoothly. I finished it in less than 2 hours. However, all the time while I had my chemo, I felt bad for the person next to me. She threw up nearly non-stop while having the chemo. Poor thing. I wish I could give her some of my luck. It was like the more she was afraid to throw up, the more easily she did. Nurses were surprised that she even threw up on pre-meds. Someday, I hope there would be other ways to administrate medicines.....I felt a little guilty about the whole thing....

On a different note of life, my girls are at Blue Lake Music Camp this week. I miss them a lot, but I hope they enjoy their time there. Toby moved back to college yesterday. He moved back in two weeks before everyone else because he will be working as "Peer Academic Success Specialist" which comes with free room and board and an iPad and an air-conditioned office. In return, he helps residents on their academic successes with office hours. I think he truly loves that job. In two weeks, Joshua will move back to college too. Another semester of our life will start too. How funny that parents life can also be marked with semesters.

Round 4

Another round of chemo is completed. My blood test before the chemo continues to show good results. These multivitamin and red meat help to keep my red blood cells in the normal range. My white blood cell is still low, but not in any dangerous zone.

For some reason, today's chemo went very fast. I dozed through most of the part. When it was done, I was still drowsy. They gave me three drugs before the chemo medicine. One is a steroid, one is Benadryl and is another kind of antihistamine. All three medicines are given to prevent any allergic reaction to the chemo medicine Taxol. Benadryl made me drowsy, but the steroid kept me awake after the chemo. Doctor also prescribed some sleeping pill in case I could not sleep again. I may try...hate the idea of taking all of these drugs that keep me up and then taking sleeping pills to put me down. I will let you know how this all work out later.

I had a very little conversation with other people in my chemo room today because I fell asleep most of the time. However, one lady there who really inspired me. She sat across the room from me. She seemed to be in her late 70s or earlier 80s. She made a comment that this was her 16th chemo. She was so excited that she bought herself a new hat to celebrate. I made a mistake by asking how many more chemo she would still have. You see, I assumed everyone is like me to have only certain numbers of chemos before or after surgery. She did not answer my question. Instead, she said: "My doctor did not think I could live long enough to have 3 chemos. I am so excited to have my 16th today". That was when I suddenly realized she is on the terminal stage of some kind of cancer. When that happens, doctor will use chemo as a way to prolong the patient's life. Chemo is no longer a treatment method. It is a way to stop or slow the cancer spreading. This lady inspired me because with her attitude, I could not tell she was given a death sentence already! She was happily talked about her grand children's visits, her children's cruise trip, her cooking and cleaning the house. Out of the 6 people in the room, she was the only one talking more than me. Yet, she probably has the worse of all situations!!

This also reminds me how easy one can ask the "wrong" question and how gently she gave me the answer without making me embarrassed. I hope I did not offend anyone when some people asked me "What is your survival rate? (or What is the prognosis? How long can you live?)" and I answered "my survival rate is 100%". I meant it! I guess deep in our hearts we all know that every cancer is different depending on many factors such as stage, type and reaction to treatment. I don't have all the answers yet, but I will fight on no matter what so I believe there is only one outcome that is I win!

What advantages I have then that makes me so determined that I will win?

• I detected it relatively earlier. I want every woman in this world to be able to detect their breast cancer earlier. By the size of it, my cancer is stage I. However the true stage is normally determined at the surgery which I will do after the chemo.
• No indication of lymph node involvement. This is done through needle aspiration biopsy. This again needs to be verified at surgery later.
• No indication it has gone anywhere else in my body through CAT scan and Bone scan.
• I have the fastest growing type cancer. This is scary and you would think it should not be an advantage. Fast growing cells react better to chemotherapy. This is one of the reasons why I do chemo before surgery. By doing chemo first, doctor can monitor the tumor. I pray the chemo will be effective on my tumor. If for any reason it does not (quite high chance unfortunately), doctor can consider using different chemo. If I we chose to take the tumor out with surgery first and then chemo, we would not know if the chemo be effective. 
• I am relative young and healthy:). I can fight. So far, I don't have any major side effect yet from the chemo. I am able to work more than 4 days a week and only take time off for chemo.
• I have so many supporters that keep in positive and cheerful. Your encouragement, cards, gifts, meals and even a simple hug, hello, smile mean so much to me. I will not let you down. I will win this war for you!!

So that is why I say my survival rate is 100%! Yes, there are uncertainties. I think this is true to any type of cancer. There are bad news all of the place about triple negative breast cancer and it seems that no all triple negative cancer are the same. This is even more reasons for me to fight harder. Do I have fear that the doctors might not find the right chemo for my type of cancer? I do, but I trust God and have faith in Him and in prayer powers. Fear gives me more power to live fully today and to fight harder! I enjoy going to chemo because I felt I was refueled, recharged and reenergized to fight. Deep down in my heart, I know I am going to win this with the help of God's grace and the power of your prayers!

Good night. I am going to have a good night sleep tonight! Wish you all the same!