Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Our first trip to Huntsman

"What are you here for?" asked a woman about Anna's age as she adjusted her picc line.
"Breast cancer" Anna replied.
"Oh that's what I have!" almost as if we are now part of the club.

Our first trip to the Huntsman was in a word; amazing. For those of you who haven't been there it has a very welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. We first had a bunch of paperwork to fill out and then were taken back to meet the treatment team. We met with three doctors, the lead Doctor, a Fellow, and a Resident. The lead doctor's name is Dr. Ward. He seems really nice and personable. He talked to us about the kids, our day-to-day activities, etc. We then met the main nurse, Marsha, and then a social worker, Lisa, who was there to check on our emotional state. At one point we had all five of them together in our room talking to us about the future. It was a really cool experience.

At this point the plan of attack is to do more testing to determine if the cancer has spread anywhere else in the body. Anna has a PET scan and an MRI scheduled for next week. These tests will help us determine if we are going to do surgery or chemotherapy first. The decision will be made when we go back to meet with Dr. Ward on the 25th of May. We are really glad to have things moving along the way that they are.

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update! Your in our prayers ... Love ya both. Aunt Cindy

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  2. Sound like you couldn't ask for a better team of nurses/doctors to be taking care of you!!! Good luck with your tests next week! Our kids are praying for you every night (children's prayers seem to carry a bit more weight...). Love you guys!!!

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  3. Anna-
    I am so sad to hear this news. My heart aches for you, Ben and the kids. We will be following you every step of the way... Please know we love you guys and miss you and think of you often. We will be praying for you guys. Big huge hugs,
    Chell and Lars

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  4. I am so sorry Anna and Ben. It is a tough thing to even think about. You have such a great attitude. We (all of the Lewis') will be thinking about you and praying for you. And I will be reading your blog to hear the updates.
    Good Luck!

    barb

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  5. Anna, Thoughts and prayers sent your way. Love you lots.

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  6. Oh Anna, I am so shocked! I will keep up with your blog. My heart goes out to you and your family. Your so amazing, you can this!

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  7. I have heard so many wonderful things about Huntsman. You will be treated well. It's so good that they will walk you through all aspects of your treatment,not just the physical. All my financial support for cancer goes to Huntsman. May you benefit greatly from all the good things they research and do.

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  8. Oh Anna, I am so sorry! I don't even know what to say. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us posted with how things are going.

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