Kathy has Passed Away

I am saddened to write that our dear Kathy passed away last night, Thursday June 17th, at 11:30 PM. She will be missed greatly. Thanks to all of you for showing Kathy your great love and support throughout her illness.

A Brief Update

A lot has happened since the Christmas cruise - which by the way was a success, and quite fun, though tiring for Kathy. After the cruise, Kathy started chemo up again. It wasn't easy, but she kept going, even when the doctor kept bringing up the 'H' word - 'Hospice'. Then, a couple of months later, Kathy was admitted to the hospital. She was re-hydrated, and the pain meds were adjusted. After much contemplation, she decided it was time to go on hospice. She felt better and was able to get out once in a while, until recently...

Here are a few pictures taken during the cruise.

Last time I wrote, Kathy was in and out of the hospital quite frequently. The last time she almost had a kidney failure! It was decided to stretch out each cycle of chemo from two weeks to now three weeks, so her body could handle it better. And Kathy changed doctors, switching from Dr. Wendy Breyer to Dr. Steve Wallington for chemo, and Dr. Gardner for pain management. This has been a Godsend for Kathy, as she has not had to go to ER even once since making the change, whereas before she was there every couple of weeks. The new doctors are monitoring her vitals, like Potassium, more closely, and she now gets needed hydration through an IV every night.

Kathy finished her set of chemo in October, and the test results showed the chemo was effective in preventing the cancer from spreading, and in some places reducing it slightly, and more significantly in one - so it's being kept under control. We would have all preferred that the cancer had been eradicated, but it was still good news nonetheless. Dr Wallington is very good about laying out all the options for Kathy, and letting her choose. Since the chemo did do some good, Kathy is continuing with it. Every three months she'll get a progress check, including a CT scan - the next one being Dec. 15th.


Last month was momentous, as Kathy was able to attend her father's wedding to Merlene at the Mount Timpanogos temple. Here is a picture niece Sarah Boehner McConkie took of Kathy and Larisa. Don't they look great?!! Oh yes, and you'll notice Kathy is looking much slimmer. She's lost 80-85 pounds, but doesn't recommend this particular diet! If Kathy seemed wobbley, blame it on her shoes! It was the first time wearing regular shoes in quite some time, and they did not help her balance. She thanks all those who were looking out for her and keeping her upright.
Kathy also made it to the large Thanksgiving gathering, and was happy to see everyone, and us to see her.

Kathy and Larisa are really excited to be going on a Mexican Riveria cruise on Dec. 21st. The doctor says this will be great medicine for her well being, and has given his full approval. Watch for an update following their return!

As I write, Kathy is in the hospital as of yesterday, when she checked into ER with weakness. This happened a couple of weeks ago as well, and she was given blood transfusions to bring her red blood cell count up. She was scheduled to start another round of chemo tomorrow, but this is, of course, now on hold. Since the last update, Kathy has had some really good days. She's had relief from the pain, and even as of a few days ago was feeling relatively good. We missed her at the Lindow and Hansen Reunions that just took place on Friday and Saturday, but it was great seeing Larisa. I'll keep you posted as we know more...

Catch Up

A lot has happened since last posting an update... Kathy completed her first 2 months of Chemo the end of April, and was tested to see if it was working. Hooray! The tumors had shrunk by about 25%. But intense abdominal pain prompted a visit to ER on May 1st. It was thought emergency surgery was required, so Kathy was transported by ambulance from the AF Hospital to UVRMC. The culprit was an infection, so no surgery was needed, except to implant a new port. Kathy spent a week in the hospital, and Jeannette, who'd flown in from Washington, spent most of that time with her.

Once out of the hospital, chemo treatments commenced again. The chemo is expected to last 6 months, so Kathy is now half way through.

It has been a rough row for Kathy. With nausea and lack of appetite, she has lost 50 pounds in 3 months. Coupled with intense and near-unrelenting abdominal pain, Kathy can only sleep a few hours at a time, leaving her very weakened and fatigued. This pain has prompted several visits to the ER, the most recent being just a few days ago. But in the past couple of days, a stronger pain patch has helped ease the pain, which has made a huge difference for Kathy. Just yesterday she got a cute new haircut, her shortest ever. Her hair continues to thin from the chemo, but still looks great!

If you visit Kathy, she is proud to show off the beautiful quilt made by her co-workers at the AF Hospital. Each square represents something about Kathy, or contains a message.

MESSAGE FROM KATHY

To my dear family and friends,
This diagnosis hit me like a speeding train from nowhere. I was not expecting this when I went to the Emergency Room. To say the least I have been quite overwhelmed. I am so thankful for all your well wishes and prayers. I am doing better each day and as Jim says, I'm keeping my toes pointed forward. I have chemo every other Wednesday and it wipes me out for about 4 days. Remarkably I still have my hair although it is starting to thin. Thank you again for all your words of encouragement it has helped more than you know. I love you all.
Love, Kathy

Today Kathy had her first chemo treatment! The chemo is called FOLFIRI, where a round consists of 3 days of chemo followed by 11 days off. The first day consists of a 4 hour drip administered in the doctor's office. On the second day, chemo is administered at home through a pump. The pump is removed on the third day, and a shot administered. After two rounds of chemo, Kathy will be retested.

Kathy has been very weak and extremely nauseated (before the chemo), so her oncologist, Dr. Wendy Breyer (she was Jim's chemo doctor too!) was going to delay starting the chemo, until they found elevated CEA levels, and thought it best to not wait.

There was hope that Kathy would also be able to participate in a colon cancer trial with the Huntsman Institute, but she was disqualified when the KRAS test came back positive for an abnormality in the DNA that prevents the treatment from being effective.

Friday Jeannette flew down from Seattle to see Kathy, and help in any way she could. Jeannette is also an invaluable resource in cancer related treatments.

Last week, Friday February 27th, Kathy had a port surgically implanted, to make it easier to administer the chemo.

Kathy, we love you and think about you, and pray for you all the time!