I talked to Ellen today. She drove herself to work so she says she's doing well. Her white blood cell count was normal (low but normal) so that's good news as well. She also sent out this email not too long ago:
"So I'm getting my head shaved at work on the 24th at noon. You are
all welcome to come. They are throwing a party for it. Joe, the
Deputy Auditor, is also shaving his head as support and for fun. He
is nervous. It is hilarious. Austin, the State Auditor, is making
me make him keep his promise. Per the request of Emily (my niece),
I am going to dye my hair bright colors for the event.
Should be fun. Let me know if you can make it so I can get you lunch.
Ellen"
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Huntsman Center
Just so everybody knows, Ellen did take a tour last week of the Huntsman Cancer Institute and felt strongly that the HCI wasn't the place for her to be treated, and she's getting treatment a little more locally (the Utah Cancer Specialists). She took a tour with Leticia and a woman who had recently recovered from cancer.
They also went and picked up a wig, so it will be surprising to see Ellen with long hair again! She said she also picked up some cute hats as well.
Ellen had an appointment with the surgeon on Monday--just a followup. She did get some stitches removed, and they confirmed that her skin is cancerous. However, the cancer is not in her chest muscle wall, so that was really good news. Her next checkup is on Thursday.
She has been working since Monday again and she says she's feeling well.
They also went and picked up a wig, so it will be surprising to see Ellen with long hair again! She said she also picked up some cute hats as well.
Ellen had an appointment with the surgeon on Monday--just a followup. She did get some stitches removed, and they confirmed that her skin is cancerous. However, the cancer is not in her chest muscle wall, so that was really good news. Her next checkup is on Thursday.
She has been working since Monday again and she says she's feeling well.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Chemo Treatment 1
Last Thursday, Ellen had her first round of chemo. She said that it all went fine, though the entire process took 6 hours (though it wasn't all chemo, it was a big long process with different medications). There were all sorts of side effects, some less pleasant than others, but when I saw her on Sunday things had shaken out and she seemed better than I've seen her in a while. She said she even walked to church on Sunday!
Ellen has 2 doctors appointments this week but is going back to work as well.
Lou and Vicky Sneddon will be driving out this weekend to Utah, so that will be great to have them close!
Ellen's next round of chemo will be August 27th.
Ellen has 2 doctors appointments this week but is going back to work as well.
Lou and Vicky Sneddon will be driving out this weekend to Utah, so that will be great to have them close!
Ellen's next round of chemo will be August 27th.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
PET scan results
The results of the PET scan are in. The cancer has NOT spread into the body further than expected. They have infected the lymph nodes, which was expected for this type of cancer.
This is as good of news as we could have hoped for. They're going to stick with the original plan of chemo and surgery.
This is as good of news as we could have hoped for. They're going to stick with the original plan of chemo and surgery.
Monday, August 3, 2009
PET scan
Ellen has her PET scan today. This scan will scan her entire body and we can see if the cancer has spread, and if it has, how far. Aaron Jessop went with her today since it just so happens that this is what he does for a living: nuclear medicine.
The scan results will be in another day or two.
The scan results will be in another day or two.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Additional information
The IBC Research Foundation
BreastCancer.org: IBC
American Cancer Society; ACS's IBC page
Wikipedia: IBC
In the month of October, breast cancer is recognized by survivors, family and friends of survivors and/or victims of the disease. A pink ribbon is worn to recognize the struggle that sufferers face when battling the cancer.
BreastCancer.org: IBC
American Cancer Society; ACS's IBC page
Wikipedia: IBC
In the month of October, breast cancer is recognized by survivors, family and friends of survivors and/or victims of the disease. A pink ribbon is worn to recognize the struggle that sufferers face when battling the cancer.
Welcome to the Ellen Sneddon information blog!
Hello, everyone! This is the blog to update on news relating to Ellen. Please let everyone know about this blog, including friends, family, coworkers, everyone!
Ellen was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) last Tuesday (July 28, 2009). This type of breast cancer is a rare but very aggressive type of breast cancer that usually grows rapidly and often spreads to other parts of the body. They originally thought it was some sort of infection and she was given antibiotics to treat it, which she ended up being allergic to. On Tuesday they performed a biopsy and gave the diagnosis of IBC. The tumor is too large to remove surgically, so they will do several rounds of Chemotherapy to try and shrink the tumor and then remove it. IBC is sometimes treated with hormone therapy when the tumor feeds off of estrogen. This is unfortunately not an option, Ellen tested negative for estrogen, so the tumor is not feeding off of estrogen so hormone therapy would have no effect on it.
On Friday, (July 31st) Ellen had a port-catheter inserted into her chest. This acts as like a permanent IV for the chemotherapy treatments.
Chemotherapy starts on Thursday, August 6, 2009.
Ellen was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) last Tuesday (July 28, 2009). This type of breast cancer is a rare but very aggressive type of breast cancer that usually grows rapidly and often spreads to other parts of the body. They originally thought it was some sort of infection and she was given antibiotics to treat it, which she ended up being allergic to. On Tuesday they performed a biopsy and gave the diagnosis of IBC. The tumor is too large to remove surgically, so they will do several rounds of Chemotherapy to try and shrink the tumor and then remove it. IBC is sometimes treated with hormone therapy when the tumor feeds off of estrogen. This is unfortunately not an option, Ellen tested negative for estrogen, so the tumor is not feeding off of estrogen so hormone therapy would have no effect on it.
On Friday, (July 31st) Ellen had a port-catheter inserted into her chest. This acts as like a permanent IV for the chemotherapy treatments.
Chemotherapy starts on Thursday, August 6, 2009.
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