Houston, we have a rash.

So here's the report from the doctors . . . 

Yesterday morning Mom and I met with Dr. Tauer, her oncologist. Mom will see him every three weeks while she's going through chemo. I think he just wants to check in with her periodically and make sure she's tolerating the chemo okay. They talked about the side effects she's having (the biggest problem has been severe diarrhea - sorry if that's more than you wanted to know!) from the chemo and the Tarceva. We think most of her problems are due to the Tarceva; the chemo mainly just zaps her of every last drop of energy for a few days. For the last several days (with the exception of today, unfortunately), Mom's been able to keep her stomach issues in check with medicine. Dr. Tauer talked about taking her off Tarceva, but is going to keep her on it as long as she can manage the side effects with medication. Speaking of the side effects, Mom has gotten the infamous Tarceva rash! While it's annoying and unpleasant, this is good news because it means the Tarceva might be working. Dr. T was quick to point out that there's no guarantee. He said if she didn't get the rash, Tarceva probably wouldn't work for her; if she did get the rash, there's a possibility it will work. So we are thankful for the rash but hope it doesn't get much worse! Right now Mom's skin is just very, very dry and her face feels (and looks) chapped.

Today we went to see Dr. Behrman, Mom's surgeon. Tomorrow will be two months since her surgery. Dr. B called Mom his hero and said she's doing great! He blamed all her current problems on Dr. T, ha. He lifted all her restrictions and just told her to use common sense and take it slow. And he hugged and kissed us like we were family. :-) Mom will see him again in three months.

So there's the report from the doctors; here's the report from the house . . .

The last few days have been much better than last week. Lots of normal (old normal) things have been happening around here. On Sunday, Mom was able to go to church (late service . . . you early service folks may never see her again!), out to lunch, and go to home group that night! Yesterday after seeing Dr. T and getting chemo, she and I went to lunch and then did a little shopping. And today we saw Dr. B, went to lunch, and went to one store. Of course all of these outings have left Mom completely exhausted when she gets home, but she's certainly doing more "normal" than she has been! This afternoon wasn't great, but we're hoping it was due to something she ate (like fried chicken, perhaps?). Tomorrow her steroid will probably start to wear off and Mom will start to feel the effects of the chemo she had on Monday, so the next few days will not be as fun. We're hoping and praying she'll feel better by this weekend, though, because my cousin Brittany's getting married on Saturday in Arkansas! Plans are always tentative around here these days, but right now we're all planning on going to the wedding. When you're praying for Trish this week, pray she'll be able to make the trip to Arkansas this weekend.

Hoping for more (old) normal! :-)