She's officially CANCER FREE!!!

So it's official...she got the results from her Bone Marrow test today and the CANCER IS GONE!!!!! What a great thing to know that I am still going to have my Grandma to pick on me!! lol = )

I called her this afternoon to check on her..she said she is "doing great"! Those words have not come out of her mouth since this whole process began! She is upbeat and very happy, I mean come on, who wouldn't! & you know she's back to feeling herself when she comments about having everyone over for a celebratory dinner that she wants to cook...cooking is her thing, she's the most happy when she is cooking for those that she loves!

I am so thankful that she is well again, I know that God & our many friends and families prayers have brought to this healthy place. I cannot thank you all enough for your kind words and thoughts during this time! Now she is due to go back every three months just for a check-up & to just make sure that all is still well! Bring on the "healthy person" visits!! Yay...I always knew she would "KICK CANCER'S ASS"!! = )

Chemo Has Taken My Hair But It HASN'T Taken Me...

Well it's official...Grandma got her 1st new hairpiece fitted, cut & styled yesterday (Sunday, June 6th!) She is so thankful to have "hair" again. My Aunt Judy, My Dad's Sister, was a hairdresser for as long as I can remember and she graciously offered to go to my Grandma's house and make her wig "her style" so she feels much more comfortable wearing it. My grandmother has had the same hairstyle for as long as I can remember so it was actually really neat & exciting to see her with something new.

When I got to Grandma's house, she had a handkerchief around her head, which for her is normal these days. She doesn't go without it much so I haven't had the opportunity to see what she looks like without her hair. When Aunt Judy started, she took the hair that she still had - which was very little - and cut it all off and made it pretty short so that it wouldn't stick out from her wig! That I have to say, was very hard for me to see, I was quite taken aback...seeing her that way just solidified that she was indeed a cancer patient and that she was fighting for her life! I cried while Grandma had her glasses off and couldn't see me!

When the process was done, Grandma smiled and said she "felt like a whole new woman"! That was music to my ears! I even made my Grandpa giggle when I told him that it was like waking up to a younger woman! Ha,Ha!!!

Overall, she is a GREAT sport about the treatment and what challenges it throws at her. I am so proud of her and how she is handling the whole experience.

At the very beginning...getting her real hair cut off short.

Learning to put her wig on the right way.

She said it was "kinda snug"!  We giggled and told her that it should be kind of tight...that she didn't want her hair to "blow away"!! Ha,Ha!

It's on, now it's time to get it just how she wants it!

Cutting the last few pieces of it!

Putting the final touches on it!

The final look...My Aunt Judy VanZandt & My Grandma Dorothy Hupe!

She's still kickin'...

Just had a talk with Grandma & she's doing fair she says. She tells me that this week is definitely much better then last - the medicine & the treatments are starting to set in and get to her. She said every part of her body from toe to the top of her head was in pain last week but thankfully this week is much better!


She had a 4 hour treatment yesterday...when I asked her today how it went she said "my butt fell asleep"! Gotta love Grandma, her personality still shines through! Lol I asked her if she was bored at all & she told me no because there was a lady in there with her that was from Brenham that "doesn't shut up" and she said we talked about everything from "cooking to wearing stockings" (I haven't called pantyhose stockings in YEARS but Grandma still does! He,He!) I can only imagine what all they discussed!

Grandma was lucky enough to a few weeks ago get with the GREAT people at the American Cancer Society in Bryan and she got 2 new wigs to help camouflage her hair loss - losing her hair is Grandma's biggest concern I think! She is getting my Aunt Judy - who used to be a hair dresser - to style them for her so they look natural and like her "real" hair! She is just so excited about that!

I know she is praying hard and I know that everyone's prayers are working. The Dr. has said the lump on her chest is getting smaller so that is GREAT news but we are no where near out of the woods with her liver yet! Please keep the prayers coming!

The Chemo is fighting back...

I talked to Grandma and she's not doing very well. She is very weak and tired. This new chemo treatment that they put her on is making her hair fall out quite quickly, makes her very nauseous and has totally made her taste buds non-existant so she doesn't have the urge to eat...needless to say, it's really been giving her a run for her money!

She was able to come out to Relay For Life with us on the 30th and met many, many others who are going through what she is and she said that made things easier for her! She even met some women who have no hair left, who are in wigs and wearing scarves. Grandma is now very much considering a wig for when she "goes out" and my Mom & I are going to get her some pimpin' scarves to wear around the house! lol

All in all, she's in pretty good spirits, she just sounds so weak even on the phone. She goes back for another 5 hour treatment on the 14th...she said she's going to pack a "goodie bag" to take along - which I know her, it includes those crossword puzzles, find a word things and what not - she & I did several of those during her last 5 hour which I went with her too! We had a blast..it was great to see her laugh while she was getting her treatment!

Please keep her in your prayers...they seem to really be working for her!! = )

Some of Dorothy's Family...

We all know that when you have something as scary as cancer, one of the best forms of treatment is family. Here are just a few pictures of the family! She is so proud of each of us and we are equally proud to have her in our lives!

Grandma & Grandpa with Colleen @ her Confirmation Party on March 28th, 2010

Colleen & Myself @ her Confirmation (She is my Goddaughter as well!)

My Mom - Alice, My Cousin - Corey, & My Aunt Betty

Family is such an important thing to my Grandma. She calls us all and makes sure that we are "behaving" as we put it. It's always a joke between myself and my Grandpa about who is misbehaving more! Laughter is some of the best medicine and we try to do alot of that with her!

She's Come Down With A Cold...

I just hung up the phone with Grandma...she's not feeling very well today. She & my Grandpa both have a cold. She was supposed to take her 1st round of the 5 hour chemo treatment today but couldn't because of her illness. So now we wait until she is well so that she can get back on her schedule of treatments and shots.


She sounds a little down today, more so then usual. I know that the chemo can wear you out & your immune system is always suseptable to many illnesses...it's apparently already gotten to that for her. She said that once she's all well, she will get another appointment for the treatment.


I will keep you all posted! = )

The days following Treatment 1...

I talked to Grandma this morning...she's in GREAT spirits. She even said that she wasn't experiencing much nausea from the 1st treatment, which was much to my surprise.

I even saw her driving around town yesterday...her & my Grandpa were passing by my house yesterday when I got home from work. I asked her if she was out "cattin' around last night" & she told "yes", that she kinda just wanted to "get out of the house and see the scenery"! That is great to me...she has always been the one that kinda "keeps watch" over all our houses and our lives - she keeps us in line.

She did some more bloodwork today @ the Clinic and she goes back to have more treatment type stuff done on Monday! She's in good spirits and that makes me extremely happy!!

I will keep you guys all posted on her Monday apt after I check in with her!