One Year Cancer Free!!! 03/07/2007
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Robin went to her Oncologist, Dr. McClure, on Tuesday this week and got the results of her blood tests. The doctor said that everything looked good. One year after completion of her treatment, she is still cancer-free. Her cancer markers are good and everything looked good except for low red blood cell count, which Dr. McClure chalked up to residual chemotherapy effects. The "one-year cancer-free" milestone is a big one because the probability of surviving five more years doubles for those who are cancer free for one year.
In case you had not heard, Robin's brother, Larry Gilbert, died fairly suddenly from a rare type of Leukemia (blood cancer) in January. A couple of weeks ago, his son, Matthew (an only child), was discovered to have Hodgkin's Lymphoma, another type of cancer. Needless to say, after all this family cancer in such a short time, Robin was expecting the worst, but she was pleasantly surprised. Apparently, God is not finished with her yet. Anyway, in June, Robin will receive a full battery of tests again - CT Scans, Bone Scans, and Blood tests for cancer markers.
Robin's eye situation is still not good. She is still legally blind and cannot drive. Reading (which she loves) is possible, but it is difficult and slow. She cannot scan-read, but must read word-by-word, taking much longer than before her vision problems began. Her left eye, which received the vitrectomy, is pretty good, but it is developing cataracts (a side effect of the vitrectomy), causing haze except in the center of her vision. Her right eye bled again (twice) about four weeks ago. She saw her opthamologist this week and he recommended waiting a month to see if it clears. If it keeps bleeding, he might consider another vitrectomy on the right eye. Of course, the day after seeing him, her eye bled again. Reading music is hardly possible because it requires too much eye movement and stirs up the blood. Being close to Easter, this is the hardest to take because she loves playing the Easter Triduum.
Robin's diabetes has been doing better. Her medications cause Robin to have severe low blood sugar levels from time to time. Generally, her blood sugar levels have been more stable and she is adjusting to the lifestyle changes. Other than the blindness and the diabetes issues, she feels well, and seems to be okay except for more tiredness than before all this started.
The rest of the family is doing well. John's broken arm has healed well. He quit work at Walgreen's and moved to College Station in January to finish his sophomore year at Blinn Junior College. He informed us that he has recently gotten a job at CVS pharmacy in the area and is taking 13 hours at Blinn.
I am still working (just celebrated one year anniversary) at Boeing in Software Quality Assurance on the Shuttle Backup Flight Software Project and on the Shuttle DOLILU project (Day-of-Launch--I-Load Update). The recent hail storm hitting the shuttle has put it back into the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs. The launch delay has scrambled plans but we are adjusting schedules to compensate.
Please continue to pray for us. We continue to pray for each of you, and to pray for all those afflicted with cancer.
Love from both of us,
Larry and Robin
Robin went to her Oncologist, Dr. McClure, on Tuesday this week and got the results of her blood tests. The doctor said that everything looked good. One year after completion of her treatment, she is still cancer-free. Her cancer markers are good and everything looked good except for low red blood cell count, which Dr. McClure chalked up to residual chemotherapy effects. The "one-year cancer-free" milestone is a big one because the probability of surviving five more years doubles for those who are cancer free for one year.
In case you had not heard, Robin's brother, Larry Gilbert, died fairly suddenly from a rare type of Leukemia (blood cancer) in January. A couple of weeks ago, his son, Matthew (an only child), was discovered to have Hodgkin's Lymphoma, another type of cancer. Needless to say, after all this family cancer in such a short time, Robin was expecting the worst, but she was pleasantly surprised. Apparently, God is not finished with her yet. Anyway, in June, Robin will receive a full battery of tests again - CT Scans, Bone Scans, and Blood tests for cancer markers.
Robin's eye situation is still not good. She is still legally blind and cannot drive. Reading (which she loves) is possible, but it is difficult and slow. She cannot scan-read, but must read word-by-word, taking much longer than before her vision problems began. Her left eye, which received the vitrectomy, is pretty good, but it is developing cataracts (a side effect of the vitrectomy), causing haze except in the center of her vision. Her right eye bled again (twice) about four weeks ago. She saw her opthamologist this week and he recommended waiting a month to see if it clears. If it keeps bleeding, he might consider another vitrectomy on the right eye. Of course, the day after seeing him, her eye bled again. Reading music is hardly possible because it requires too much eye movement and stirs up the blood. Being close to Easter, this is the hardest to take because she loves playing the Easter Triduum.
Robin's diabetes has been doing better. Her medications cause Robin to have severe low blood sugar levels from time to time. Generally, her blood sugar levels have been more stable and she is adjusting to the lifestyle changes. Other than the blindness and the diabetes issues, she feels well, and seems to be okay except for more tiredness than before all this started.
The rest of the family is doing well. John's broken arm has healed well. He quit work at Walgreen's and moved to College Station in January to finish his sophomore year at Blinn Junior College. He informed us that he has recently gotten a job at CVS pharmacy in the area and is taking 13 hours at Blinn.
I am still working (just celebrated one year anniversary) at Boeing in Software Quality Assurance on the Shuttle Backup Flight Software Project and on the Shuttle DOLILU project (Day-of-Launch--I-Load Update). The recent hail storm hitting the shuttle has put it back into the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs. The launch delay has scrambled plans but we are adjusting schedules to compensate.
Please continue to pray for us. We continue to pray for each of you, and to pray for all those afflicted with cancer.
Love from both of us,
Larry and Robin
posted by Larry Burns @ 8:19 PM
