The Next Treatment Phase

Like pretty much everyone, we couldn’t have been more excited to say goodbye to 2020. We celebrated New Year’s Eve Spanish-style, with tasty homemade tapas, silly colorful wigs, and speed-eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight for luck in 2021. (We also may have celebrated on East Coast time aka 9pm our time...)

As the year ended, Katie also finished her first course of chemotherapy treatment! This is a big milestone and we are happy to say her tumor is still shrinking!!

Katie is on a short 2-week break before her next round of chemotherapy with a new drug, A/C or Adriamycin / Cyclophosphamide. She will be on a new bi-weekly (vs. weekly previously) chemo schedule and will receive 4 rounds of treatment starting this Wednesday. From everything we’ve heard, we expect this will be a much more intense treatment for Katie. We are nervous, but we are also hopeful that she will continue to experience minimal side effects and combat them proactively.

Katie is also preparing for surgery. Her surgery is tentatively scheduled for the end of March. She is doing pre-surgery physical therapy exercises to help prevent pain and complications that may result from the surgery. She has also been prepping by picking up recovery gear, including a very comfortable La-Z-Boy recliner perfectly sized for her. And by that I mean she and Nate picked it up for free in downtown Berkeley. Let’s just say it had had a good, loooonnng life… getting daily use in the home of a 95 year old woman who’s about Katie’s height. In classic Katie fashion, she breathed new life into it with a good vinegar scrub-down and plans to spruce it up with stylish accessories.

Katie continues to be in high spirits, and when she has the energy, she uses it in all the best ways. Taking Bernie to the dog park. Playing with her nephew Mazen. Soaking in a hot tub. Beach days with Nate & Bern. Local hikes with Bern. Puzzlin’ (literally, doing jigsaw puzzles). Lots of snuggles with Bern. Tye-dying napkins. Living life to the fullest!

Hope the year is off to a good start for all of you!

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Tangoing with the Red Devil

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Belated Christmas Update!