Copy of email from Gwen sent today

the last couple of days have been HOT. today is too, but at least there's a wind. my days are very full - i've been having appointments every hour from the time i get up at 615, and my last appt. is at 7 pm. sometimes my appt. doesn't last an entire hour, like now, and then i have 10-15 minutes. the doctor has added several new things to what i was already getting. i get a shot every morning, and every couple of days i have a couple of new iv meds. i have quite a bit of treatment in the quiet room, which has bioenergetic machines. i don't totally understand what and how they work, but it has to do with the electrical energy in your body and these machines help rebuild cells,etc. for the last 4 afternoons i have treatments in this big machine that takes 2 hours - hyperbaric chamber. they increase the air pressure 3 times from regular, and i wear a mask that gives me pure oxygen. a couple of times a week i have hyperthermia which is HOT and makes me have a fever. last night i got to 38 degrees. then i get iv med. after that. tonight again i have the oxygen treatment where they take out blood, run it through a filter, and put it back in my body. i am looking forward to having time to myself this weekend. this morning the dr. went over my last bloodwork. all the levels that were too high are coming down. they are still too high, but lower than they were. that means what he's prescibing for me is working. gotta go, supper time.

Update from Sanoviv

Arrived safe and sound at Sanoviv on Wednesday. Have had a lot of tests. I meet with the Dr. every day, and next week meet with the oncologist as well as have a central line installed, as I will be getting many IV treatments. The weather here is beautiful. The food here will be an acquired taste-but it is good for me. Was nauseous the first couple of days but yesterday and today have been good. I am still not sleeping totally great, but my days have also been very full with something every hour.

Back from vacation and off to Sanoviv!

Early tomorrow morning (August 12th) Gwen and Danielle are leaving for Sanoviv to begin Gwen's holistic treatment.

The end of treatments...

Gwen's abdominal discomfort and nausea has been somewhat better over the last weeks. She was able to spend the last couple of nights completely in her own bed instead of the easy chair. She has almost no appetite. Her last internal radiation treatment was this morning at 6:45!!

On friday the Martens family leaves on a much needed vacation. Pray that they will have a wonderful relaxing time! She is booked to arrive at Sanoviv for August 12th.

FUNDRAISER

The fundraiser held on July 4th was overwhelmingly amazing! Lots of people. Lots of food. Lots of pies and great prizes for the silent auction.

The following note was sent to me from Gwen:

total funds raised, including tickets, donations, and both auctions was approx. $18,000! that, plus the insurance i'm getting, should pretty much exactly cover the rest of my naturpath treatments as well as sanoviv. ++ thanks and appreciation to everyone's support. it was totally overwhelming. gwen

Driver's needed...

Thank you so much for all the people who have volunteered to drive. Please call Pam at the number on the left to volunteer. Driver's are needed for the next few weeks! Specifically this week friday (July 3rd) Thank you!!

One more week over!

This last week of treatments brought on increased nausea. Please continue to pray for perseverance throughout the sickness brought on by treatments.

Gwen has only 1 more chemo treatment and 7 more external radiation treatments left. This next week will be heavy with appointments regarding the high density internal radiation treatments which will begin on July 6th.

Once again the family thanks everyone for the rides and meals.

Update on last weeks treatments

Last weeks treatments brought on a lot of nausea however Gwen's bloodwork is still good which means her body is dealing with the treatments well. Her chemo/radiation days have been changed again to June 24th and July 2nd. July 2nd will be her last chemo day although the radiation will continue... Driver's are still welcome and needed. Thank you again to all who have volunteered so far!

Treatment Week 3

Gwen's bloodwork continues to be fine. She however continues to feel sick from the treatments. Tomorrow (June 16th) she again has chemo and radiation together and is again receiving 1 unit of blood.

Gwen is also starting some treatments with a naturopath this week. She will be getting 8 iv infusions with antioxidants, herbal immune builders and natural cancer killing treatment.

Day 6-Chemo and radiation

Thought I'd just paste a copy of Gwen's email to me today...

today went better than i expected. PTL. was long though - left home at 7 am and got home at 4:30pm. saw the radiation doctor today, and he thought radiation was going very well - seemed surprised that i hadn't thrown up yet - i guess it could be worse, even though i sometimes don't know how. my white blood cells(WBC) have dropped down to half of what they were last week, but they are still on the low end of normal.

thank you to everyone that has been bringing meals and also filling our freezer with prepared meals and baking. it is sooooo much appreciated gwen

Definitely feeling the affects...

Gwen has definitely been feeling the affects of her treatments. This afternoon she felt awful but is feeling a little better this evening.

Tomorrow will be a long hard day. She is starting off the day with chemo and radiation. Then has a doctors appointment and then receiving 1 unit of blood.

Day 4

Please note that the prayer requests have been updated.

Tomorrow (friday) she gets a day off from treatments as well as the weekend.

Day 3 of radiation

Gwen is beginning to have a general yucky almost nauseous feeling. She has not been able to sleep well even though very tired.

If anyone is available to drive her to some appointments the dates that drivers are definitely needed are: June 16th, 23rd and 30th. She has chemo and radiation on these days. Her appointments are at 8:30am and take approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drivers for other days are appreciated as well. Her radiation days take approximately 20-60 minutes and the appointments are usually at 8:30am as well.

Comment posting

The comment posting has been set so that anyone can comment. Sorry if you tried previously and it didn't work.

Day 1 of chemo and radiation over!

Gwen and Pete had a tiring first day of treatment with Chemo in the morning, a repeat CT scan to confirm the status of the cancer and then radiation later in the afternoon. So far Gwen is feeling fine physically. This week she will be having radiation every morning with the exception of friday (machine is being maintained) . Next monday (June 8th) she will again receive chemo first thing in the morning and then radiation.

Pete is expecting to leave on a trucking trip tomorrow and will be gone for a few days.

Gladly post comments so we know people are able to view this site and are checking in.

Marking for radiation

Gwen is going in to HSC tomorrow (May 29th) to have marking done in preparation for radiation to begin. She will get her treatment schedule tomorrow with the plan to begin radiation on Monday, June 1st.

The rollercoaster of the last few weeks

On May 6, 2009, Gwen was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The family spent the next few weeks in shock awaiting for more test results to tell the extent of the cancer. On May 19th Pete and Gwen met with the oncologist and were told that the cancer had spread out of the cervix into the tissue on the right side and therefore there was no point in doing surgery. The Oncologist told them she believed Gwen's surgery to be curable with intense aggressive treatment. In the same breath, however, the Oncologist also said the prognosis would depend on how the lymph nodes were affected. The extent of this is not yet known however, their are several lymph nodes that are enlarged.

The treatment plan put in front of Gwen and Pete was that radiation as well as chemotherapy would begin in 2 days with the duration being 6 weeks in length. After deciding to go ahead with this treatment they were dealt another blow the next day when told they would not be able to "get in" for treatment for at least another week. They are now awaiting news of when her treatments will begin.

Obviously the family's heads are spinning from the news of the past few weeks. This has forced Gwen to take a leave of absence from her job as an LPN at Bethesda Hospital. Pete is also cutting back with his long distance truck driving and once the treatments begin will probably stop driving altogether to take care of the family at home.

Please pray for the family as they are trying to come to terms with the news and prepare themselves for the next many months of treatments. Please continue to check this blog for updates and prayer requests. Please feel free to comment-any words of encouragement are welcome.