From: Parker, Abbie J
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 6:36
Subject: Pam post surgery
Dear Friends and Family,
Pam is recovering well from the surgery she had yesterday. The doctors confirmed what they saw on the CT scan. They removed her spleen and a spot near her liver (it turned out the tumor was not actually on her liver). Unfortunately, they found more cancer in her abdominal area than what showed up on the CT scan. Dr. Perez meticulously removed any cancer found and said that the surgery went very well. Because of the amount of cancer they found, the doctors are saying she has a high chance of reoccurrence.
At this point, we are still awaiting more consultation and information from the doctors. They will begin chemotherapy treatments again soon and are discussing the possibility of a couple different clinical trials. The first is an option to include an additional drug along with the other gold standard chemotherapy drugs when they begin treatment again. The drug is known as Avastin (Bevacuzimab) and is an antibody used to inhibit the growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors (thus inhibiting tumor growth).
Interestingly, the second trial discussed by her doctors received some attention in the news yesterday. It has been especially promising for women who have had both breast and ovarian cancers. You may have seen references to it as the PARP inhibitor drug. This is not available to her until after she has completed a second set of chemotherapy treatments.
http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/06/24/1976516.aspx
Pam is remaining her same positive and happy self. She looks great and feels better than she did after her last surgery. Many people have asked what they can do and her main request is that everyone practice the power of positive thinking. Think positive thoughts for her strength and recovery. They expect to keep her in the hospital for a total of 4-5 days. Although she felt surprisingly good yesterday, she was very tired and in pain today. If you wish to visit her, please do, but it may be best to keep visits short the next couple days.
Additionally, many of you have asked how the trip to France was. In short - it was perfect. We posted some photos on her blog. http://pamspipeline.blogspot.com/
We will send another update soon.
Thanks once again to everyone for your support, prayers and help. With Much Love, Abbie and the rest of the Parker family
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Vacation in France
Pam and Bruce returned from their vacation in France on Sunday. The whole family had a wonderful time visiting Kelli and Olivier in their beautiful village and home - it was a fairytale land. The wedding was perfect and Kel and Ol are fabulous hosts - spoiling us with adventures and gourmet food every waking moment.
June 9th - First day in France: Abbie, Pam, Kelli, Bruce and Olivier enjoying a glass of wine at Kelli and Olivier's amazing home in Uriage.
June 10th - a walk down to the village of Uriage (Kelli, Pam and Steve).
Pam and Bruce - having fun at Kel and Ol's place.
June 11th - hiking in the Alps - beautiful views and amazing blankets of wildflowers.
June 12th - shopping at the Grenoble market. Pam, Andria and Abbie searching for the perfect buttons.
Pam and Nicole (Olivier's Mom) working on projects for the wedding.
June14th - Brunch the day after the wedding. 
Our great friends Marilyn and Russ made the trek across the ocean to join in the festivities. Here's Pam and Marilyn folding napkins prior to the brunch.
Kelli, Bruce and Pam laughing (probably at something funny Bruce did or said).
June 15th - Olivier took the family rock climbing. It was Bruce and Pam's first time ever participating in the sport and they both did great. Here's a pictue of Pam rapelling after completing her first climb.What a fun and relaxing vacation! It was incredible to celebrate with Kelli and Olivier and to have had a perfect and memorable trip before the next phase of Pam's treatment.
News on Pam's Health - May 26, 2009
From: Parker, Abbie J
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 11:18 PM
Subject: news on Pam's health
Dear friends and family,
It has been just over one year since my Mom finished chemotherapy to treat Ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, I'm writing today to share some disappointing news with regards to her health. A CT scan last week showed signs that the cancer has returned. The doctors can see a spot on her spleen and two spots on her liver. Dr. Perez will perform surgery on Wednesday, June 24th. He will first scope the area to verify their assumptions. It is likely that he will remove her spleen, remove the spots on her liver, look for any other suspicious areas, and de-bulk if necessary. She will get 4-6 weeks to recover from surgery and then begin a 6 month round of chemotherapy.
Although the news has been very difficult, there is optimism for us to focus on. We had a great meeting with Dr. Montgomery (the Chemo Oncologist) late last week. He emphasized several times that what they see is "tiny". He also relayed that there are many women in similar situations who have survived for many years. They believe that the cancer is sensitive to the platinum chemotherapy since it did not return within 6 months of her last round of chemotherapy. This gives the doctors more options for medical treatments and Dr. Montgomery stressed that advances in new medicines are happening rapidly.
If you have spent time with my Mom over the last year you would note that she has become incredibly strong, both physically and mentally. She is radiating beauty, optimism, and the ability to make other people smile and feel good. Simply put - she is an amazing person.
Some family and friends will be traveling to France in the middle of June to attend Kelli and Olivier's wedding and meet Olivier's family and friends. This is a vacation that we have been looking forward to for months. Since the doctors expect to remove my Mom's spleen, they put her through a series of vaccinations last week (a spleen helps your body combat certain infections) and they want her body to process the vaccines for three weeks before doing surgery. Given their confidence in how small and slow growing the tumors are, both doctors have been very encouraging of my Mom waiting an additional two weeks for surgery and enjoying the previously planned vacation. Her surgery will occur three days after they return to the US.
After the surgery the doctors will determine the best approach for further treatment/chemotherapy. I will send an update to let you know how the surgery goes and to inform you of what we can expect in the coming months. We have already received many offers to help. We will once again use the "Lotsa Helping Hands" web site to post any requests for assistance after the surgery and during treatments. We will also use the blog site to post more frequent updates and photos.
Please do not hesitate to ask questions or send words of encouragement. My Mom and family recognize and appreciate that she has done so well in no small part to the outreach of help, encouragement and prayers from all of you.
Wishing you all a happy beginning to your Summer - Abbie, Kelli, Pam and Bruce
blog site http://pamspipeline.blogspot.com/
lotsa helping hands site (we likely will not post requests for assistance until after the surgery) http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/601865/
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 11:18 PM
Subject: news on Pam's health
Dear friends and family,
It has been just over one year since my Mom finished chemotherapy to treat Ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, I'm writing today to share some disappointing news with regards to her health. A CT scan last week showed signs that the cancer has returned. The doctors can see a spot on her spleen and two spots on her liver. Dr. Perez will perform surgery on Wednesday, June 24th. He will first scope the area to verify their assumptions. It is likely that he will remove her spleen, remove the spots on her liver, look for any other suspicious areas, and de-bulk if necessary. She will get 4-6 weeks to recover from surgery and then begin a 6 month round of chemotherapy.
Although the news has been very difficult, there is optimism for us to focus on. We had a great meeting with Dr. Montgomery (the Chemo Oncologist) late last week. He emphasized several times that what they see is "tiny". He also relayed that there are many women in similar situations who have survived for many years. They believe that the cancer is sensitive to the platinum chemotherapy since it did not return within 6 months of her last round of chemotherapy. This gives the doctors more options for medical treatments and Dr. Montgomery stressed that advances in new medicines are happening rapidly.
If you have spent time with my Mom over the last year you would note that she has become incredibly strong, both physically and mentally. She is radiating beauty, optimism, and the ability to make other people smile and feel good. Simply put - she is an amazing person.
Some family and friends will be traveling to France in the middle of June to attend Kelli and Olivier's wedding and meet Olivier's family and friends. This is a vacation that we have been looking forward to for months. Since the doctors expect to remove my Mom's spleen, they put her through a series of vaccinations last week (a spleen helps your body combat certain infections) and they want her body to process the vaccines for three weeks before doing surgery. Given their confidence in how small and slow growing the tumors are, both doctors have been very encouraging of my Mom waiting an additional two weeks for surgery and enjoying the previously planned vacation. Her surgery will occur three days after they return to the US.
After the surgery the doctors will determine the best approach for further treatment/chemotherapy. I will send an update to let you know how the surgery goes and to inform you of what we can expect in the coming months. We have already received many offers to help. We will once again use the "Lotsa Helping Hands" web site to post any requests for assistance after the surgery and during treatments. We will also use the blog site to post more frequent updates and photos.
Please do not hesitate to ask questions or send words of encouragement. My Mom and family recognize and appreciate that she has done so well in no small part to the outreach of help, encouragement and prayers from all of you.
Wishing you all a happy beginning to your Summer - Abbie, Kelli, Pam and Bruce
blog site http://pamspipeline.blogspot.com/
lotsa helping hands site (we likely will not post requests for assistance until after the surgery) http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/601865/
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