This is Part 12 of a series following
the progress of Carol Mohrbacher, who began treatment for breast cancer
in January. The last installment was on July 18.
* * *
Carol Mohrbacher writes: “We just completed a wonderful 13–day
road trip, riding our ‘Captain America’ Harley Softail,
in light rain or shine, to Sturgis, South Dakota and back.
“We traveled through eight states and almost 3,400 miles. Don
my husband, myself and our good friend and riding companion, Jim Groves,
returned home on Aug. 15.”
Back to reality and her next oncologist’s appointment.
It’s been three months since the last one, which included the
“dreadful” experience with the chemo infusion in mid-June.
The goal of the infusion, recommended by Dr. Peng was to extend Mrs.
Mohrbacher’s “good period” before the cancers reappeared.
With no treatment available for the extensive involvement of the metatastic
cancers in her body, medical science could only offer this temporary
remedy.
It took one infusion treatment for her to decide that she didn’t
want to go down that road— much to her doctors’ chagrin.
She writes: “With no medical help in sight, life has taken on
new expanded horizons. My recommendation, regardless of your health:
don’t wait to do those things you really want to do. Of course,
this road trip was on the top of my must do’s… we had taken
a similar road trip to Sturgis ten years ago… so it was one of
those, ‘got to do this one more time.’ ”
Back in May her doctor didn’t go into detail, but Insisted that
she take the chemotherapy, aka infusion, of Aredia along with Femara.
Femara, over time will stop all hormone production. Her cancers are
hormone receptors (hormones feed the tumors).
She took the Femara for two weeks prior to the chemo infusion and experienced
horrific pain. It was so agonizing that the next day, she firmly told
her doctor she would never take either treatment again.
Before her Aug. 22 appointment she had a series of blood tests.
On the morning of the appointment she was placed in the examining room
wearing a gown for the lung examination.
She writes: “When Dr. Peng arrived he seemed in particularly good
spirits. We exchanged a bit, I shared about our road trip briefly and
then he showed me what he had not showed me in May. There is one test,
an endocrinology test CA 2729, that measure’s the amount of proteins
in your blood. In my case excessive proteins are not good. They are
the tumor builders!”
He compared her May test, where the proteins were very high (62.1) to
the most recent test, which read 38.2, NORMAL.
“Dr. Peng said he had not given me anything that would cause this
to happen. I took Femara for only two weeks, three months ago, he said
it would not show any change on this test.
“The chemo definitely would not cause this test to read normal.
It would not affect this test at all. He said this is a very good sign.
He said, ‘I cannot explain it medically?’ ”
“I asked Dr. Peng if he thought maybe the Lord healed me. He indicated
that was a possibility. But he had no answer.”
Dr. Peng wants her to have another Bone Scan and another series of blood
tests, prior to the next appointment, in November.
He was very pleased, although he couldn’t explain the report.
She writes: “Needless to say, I was totally blessed. This was
one phone call to my husband that I was happily excited to make.
“Don just said, ‘Praise God.’ ”
“It isn’t about November…this is about today…Merry
Christmas to all. Every day is certainly a Christmas day in our home.
I don’t know if this good news is only for a season or for the
balance of my life, that is in God’s hands. We are just blessed
for today.”
* * *
Carol Mohrbacher will be participating in the Queen of Hearts Ride,
Sept. 22.
The ride to raise money to fight breast cancer will begin at The Roadrunner
with registration starting at 10 a.m., taking in some surrounding areas,
making three stops along the way and ending at Adams Park (where the
Festival will start at 2:30 p.m.).
The Festival will feature vendors, drawings, a silent auction and live
music by The Working Cowboy Band. You don’t have to ride a motorcycle
to enjoy the festival! (see article, front page).
When Mary Burdick, office manager at The Roadrunner, was putting the
event together, she asked Mrs. Mohrbacher to participate, with funds
raised going to Breast Cancer Research via Carol’s Crew in the
Susan G. Komen 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk, Nov. 9 – 11, 2007.
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