Hey everyone....guess what....no more chemo...yup, we are done. Well, kinda done...I still need some radiation, but that is not bad at all. It is very local and I will not have all the icky side effects that I have had with chemo. Just a little sun burn and a sore tummy/throat. This is the awesomest thing ever and I am still very much in amazement that it worked out this way. I will start the radiation after the first of the year and since I don't have any more chemo Christmas is going to absolutely rock!!! That's Dr. Mellott...she is obviously my favorite person ever. Thank you everyone for all your prayers, thoughts, well-wishes and all around goodness. You all have no idea how much your strength has given me courage throughout all this mess. I am truly blessed.

Hi everyone....had a great lunch with Sam at Flo. It was yummy, I was so craving tacos and they had great steak tacos! It was excellent! Don't we look cute...well I look tired but what else is new. Stay tuned....we see the doctor on Friday. Love you all!

Hi everyone. This is a picture of me by the PET scan. I get strapped in for one hour. Its actually quite cozy and I always fall asleep. I had my CT scan yesterday too so now we just wait for the results. We meet with the Doctor on Friday. I will let you all know as soon as we know.
Love you all!

Hey everyone! I got chemo #8 today. That's Jill, as most of you know, she took me to chemo today, how cute are we! Everything went great! My port was a little ornery and required a little TLC from Angela to get the blood going but, all is well. I used atomic fireballs this time to mask the taste I get when I get flushed with saline....man are those things spicy. Definitely did the trick! I have scans on Monday so now's the time to start crossing those fingers and keeping them crossed. I'll know the results late next week. I see the doc again one week from today to review the scans. I'll let you all know how it works out. I'm really optimistic about it. I didn't get Starbucks this week, as you will note, even though my lovely friends gave me a Starbucks gift card. I was actually running a little late (I took the final for my grad class this morning) and went to the Corner Bakery instead because it was closer...quite a disappointment though, definitely won't make that mistake again! I bet that's why my port wouldn't work right away...it didn't know it was "go time" without the Starbucks!

Hi everyone....I did have chemo yesterday. Above is a pic of this week's fearless chemo team, my sis and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was my DD (designated driver)! I saw the doctor and everything is running according to plan. My next treatment is on Dec 7th. A tighter window between treatments but it was a sacrifice that we made in order for me to enjoy Thanksgiving out in LA. I will be scheduling scans after that treatment. Yeah! I am excited. I feel like not knowing is far worse than knowing. My sister and her boyfriend are here until Thurs to help entertain me. Fun! Its nice to have the help when the chemo lands on a Monday like this. I know its harder for everyone else to be around because of work. I'll update you all again soon. I am sleepy and must lay down for my first nap of the day. Love you all.

Well, Thanksgiving in LA was great. The flights were not that bad at all. We did have a 90min delay in Minneapolis, but not too bad considering how awful the weather in Chicago was that day. It was so much fun seeing everyone. The top picture is of us and some good friends we got to catch up with. So great to see them both. The bottom picture is of the Mclarty children and the dreaded Christmas card picture. Yucky...we would have used one from the summer but, I hated all of them and I get veto power! We do look cute, I guess...I tried to vote that we didn't have to do one at all but my mother-in-law insisted. The whole weekend was one big food fest. Scott's grandma even made my fav, manicotti from scratch. Holy cow was it amazing. I don't think my weight will be down for this chemo at all. Chemo #7 tomorrow. My sis and her boyfriend are flying in tonight and are staying through the week. Tons of fun. One month until Christmas, let the countdown begin!

Well, I had a great day. Pic of the ladies from Northwestern Hosp...so much fun catching up! Doyle took me around the new unit! I can't believe how big it is. Hopefully all her cool tricks for remembering where everything is will work! I am very excited to start working a little. Get me out in the world a little bit. It was great to see everyone! I even ate in the new "restaurant" and had hot tea from the argo tea in the lobby. So cool! Thanks Doyle! In other news, Scott and I leave for LA tomorrow to spend the holiday with Scott's fam. Weather permitting! I hope that everyone has a safe and healthy Thanksgiving. Eat lots of yummy food!!!! My next chemo is on the Monday after Thanksgiving. I get to see the doc too so I will update you all on when my scans will be and we can all start crossing our fingers. My sis and her boyfriend are coming to sit with me! So fun. Love you all! Have a great turkey day!