It is official per Dr. Ranjan at Duke, I am done with chemo. Not only that, I am doing so well, I will get Avastin infusions only once a month for 12 months and then I will be done. My healing is not what normally happens to patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme Grade 4 tumor, it is very aggressive cancer but I am now confident that it is behind me and the war is over. Check up MRI's will continue every 2 months and I will be going to Duke every 4 months. My doctor was amazed and very happy for me. As she told me during my last visit, this is not what normally happens.
I am planning to have a big celebration for my birthday in August with family and friends. I want to thank everybody for their wonderful support. In these past year and 3 months I have been fortunate to have the support of so many that have helped me with all kinds of needs. Driving, cooking, cleaning, our dog, cards, flowers, calls, gifts. I have felt so much support and love and for this I am humbled and thankful.
So I can say now life is wonderful, my family and friends are amazing. I could not have done it without all your support.
(Castellano)
Es oficial, la doctora Ranjan, mi medico en Duke me indico que habia terminado con la quimoterapia. No solo eso sino que me va tan bien que recibire solo una vez al mes Avastin, una droga que estuve recibiendo desde el comienzo y ahora cambiara la dosis y la frecuencia!!! Lo que me ha sucedido no es el resultado que tiene este tipo de tumor; el Glioblastoma Multiforme de Grado 4, que es muy agresivo. Logre curarme de este cancer y este tratamiento final de Avastin es como un seguro!!
Ahora continuare con mi Resonancia Magnetica del cerebro cada 2 meses y mis visitas a Duke seran cada 4 meses!! Mi doctora esta sorprendida y muy feliz.
Estoy planeando una gran celebracion en Agosto el 10, un dia despues de mi cumpleanyos para la familia y amigos. Quiero agradecerles a todos por todo el apoyo que recibido y celebrar este triunfo. Tengo una suerte increible y he recibido tanto apoyo con el manejar, cocinar, limpiar, el perro, las tarjetas, las llamadas, los regalos, las flores, etc. He sentido tanto apoyo y amor y me siento muy bendecida y agradecida!
Les puedo decir ahora que mi vida es maravillosa, mi familia y amigos son fantasticos. No lo hubiera podido lograr si su apoyo.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
May brings good news!!!
An update to let you all know I am doing fantastic!!! Just finished my almost last chemo this past Friday night. Now I only have one chemo left for early June and that chapter will be over, big relief for me. I still have Avastin for about a year but will know more after my next visit to Duke in June.
I am now almost vegan since February and it has made a big difference in how I feel during my chemo treatments, yay!!! I have lost some weight since the change but feel sooooo good.
The weather has been chilly for spring but it is getting better.
I am now almost vegan since February and it has made a big difference in how I feel during my chemo treatments, yay!!! I have lost some weight since the change but feel sooooo good.
The weather has been chilly for spring but it is getting better.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
What a check up!!!!!!
We were at Duke and I am just done with my latest check up and everything looks fantastic. 6 more chemo treatments and I will be done, yeah, so happy!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for all your support, we will be celebrating this holiday for the blessings we have!! Great holiday present!!!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Great Juice and Yoga
Today I welcomed the day with a smoothie from my Vitamix 5200 and yoga. I have been making smoothies for a long time, I believe that because of my healthy eating I am healing so well. I used to make the juice but now my husband makes it and I add some extra ingredients for extra nutrition. Today's juice had fresh ginger, cinnamon, chia seeds, wheat germ, flax seed, graviola powder, apple, pear, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kale, spinach, celery, beets, beet greens, carrots, acai, orange juice, apple juice and for mine I added fresh rosemary from my garden, soy milk and pomegranate seeds. I share the juice with Elliot's mom, Susan.
Our daughter Alejandra does not like to drink, I hope some day she does. Stephen and Nicole love the juice, I am looking forward to enjoying it with them when they come for the holidays.
Yoga is another wonderful practice that has helped tremendously with my recovery. As I have written before, I am forever thankful to my friend Monica for working with me during my recovery. She is now living in Argentina and I hope once I am done with my treatment, about June 2013 or sooner I will visit her and family.
Now I have discovered Laughter Yoga and I love it.
Last day of November and it feels like spring!! It is sunny and beautiful outside!
Our daughter Alejandra does not like to drink, I hope some day she does. Stephen and Nicole love the juice, I am looking forward to enjoying it with them when they come for the holidays.
Yoga is another wonderful practice that has helped tremendously with my recovery. As I have written before, I am forever thankful to my friend Monica for working with me during my recovery. She is now living in Argentina and I hope once I am done with my treatment, about June 2013 or sooner I will visit her and family.
Now I have discovered Laughter Yoga and I love it.
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| Backyard today |
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
November another great month
It has been a while since I posted and it is long overdue!! I have great news, my recovery continues wonderfully. In about 2 weeks I will be back at Duke for the bi-monthly check up, I expect just the confirmation of how well I am doing!!
November started with a trip to Orlando to meet with my sisters, we had a fun time, enjoyed the nice weather and the company. We had Halloween in Orlando, some shopping, and mostly taking it easy for me. Karen, Luca and Patty went to a couple of parks. One before I arrived and another one the day before we left. It was a short visit and it was so nice to spend time together.
The second week brought visitors from my school days in Peru. My friend Gaby and I organized a reunion with friends from Maria Reina, I spent my elementary school years there. We expected mostly friends that live in the USA but we were also fortunate to have 2 girls that live in Peru travel to St. Louis for the weekend. We had 7 classmates arrive in St. Louis over the weekend. It started with two friends from LA on Thursday Nov. 8th, Elena B and Mariela, we had a nice lunch at the History Museum after a drive around Forest Park, it was a lovely day with Fall colors in full display. Gaby took over in the evening since I had to take my daughter Alejandra to violin lessons. The following day, Friday, most of the group arrived starting with Ani from Columbus, OH, we had a great brunch together at Osage. Next, Elena Q and her daughter Amber arrived by car from Minnesota after noon, and Liz a little later. We now had 5 classmates and Amber, we took everybody for a drive in Forest park, the group visited the Zoo and the Art Museum where we met to go to the famous St. Louis Arch in the evening and had dinner at Mango a great Peruvian restaurant.
On Saturday we had 3 arrivals, starting with Maria Pia and her husband Felipe and our last friend flying from Washington DC, Conchi.
We had a busy day planned visiting a variety of St. Louis attractions, starting with the Anheuser Busch brewery followed by a visit to the Arch and we ended at the hill for dinner. Maria Pia, was not able to join us for the earlier visits. Later after the Arch Maria Pia, Felipe, her husband and Renato, Gaby's husband joined us for dinner. A great time was had by all and I was very tired after all the activity so I went home with Elena and her daughter Amber to rest. The rest of the group went country dancing to Illinois.
Early Sunday morning I was sad to see Elena Bosio leave, but grateful she came, she is truly a joy.
During all this commotion my husband was in Brazil on a business trip, he arrived Sunday morning and we all went to the Boathouse for brunch.
We had wonderful Fall weather until Sunday. The day started cloudy so we had to change plans for the afternoon. We spent time at Elliot's parents home where some of my friends were staying. We had a book signing with Ani who had brought her books to share. Mid afternoon the rain started.
In the evening they prepared a delicious meal with Causa, my request, wonderful appetizers, some amazing salads and grilled chicken and ribs. Amber made a great Alfajor that was amazing.
The following day Mariela and Ani came with me to get my Avastin infusion. It was quite a weekend with all the powerful energies of friendship and love. It is great for my heart and health. I want to thank each them from the bottom of my heart for being here with me and thank my friend Gaby for being a big part of this weekend!!
After the great weekend I had a surprise for my friend Monica who was leaving St. Louis for Argentina. I invited her and Gaby to see Chuck Berry perform live at Blueberry Hill. We were all there for the first time, Chuck is 87 years old and still performing, it was a fantastic evening.
This past weekend was Thanksgiving and so much to be thankful for. We all traveled to Oxford, Maryland were we met Stephen and Nicole at the airport in Baltimore. We drove to Oxford and spent the holiday with Ben and Susan, Becky, Dave, Alicia and Sam and we missed Liz and her family. We celebrated, visited St. Micheal's, did some yoga, played bananagrams.
We made time to visit our friends in Virginia, Sole Valera and her kids and her sister Tere, we missed her husband Tono who was working. The following morning it was time to go back, Nicole to Oberlin, OH and Stephen to LA and back to St. Louis for Elliot, Ale and I. Looking forward to December when we will be together again.
November started with a trip to Orlando to meet with my sisters, we had a fun time, enjoyed the nice weather and the company. We had Halloween in Orlando, some shopping, and mostly taking it easy for me. Karen, Luca and Patty went to a couple of parks. One before I arrived and another one the day before we left. It was a short visit and it was so nice to spend time together.
The second week brought visitors from my school days in Peru. My friend Gaby and I organized a reunion with friends from Maria Reina, I spent my elementary school years there. We expected mostly friends that live in the USA but we were also fortunate to have 2 girls that live in Peru travel to St. Louis for the weekend. We had 7 classmates arrive in St. Louis over the weekend. It started with two friends from LA on Thursday Nov. 8th, Elena B and Mariela, we had a nice lunch at the History Museum after a drive around Forest Park, it was a lovely day with Fall colors in full display. Gaby took over in the evening since I had to take my daughter Alejandra to violin lessons. The following day, Friday, most of the group arrived starting with Ani from Columbus, OH, we had a great brunch together at Osage. Next, Elena Q and her daughter Amber arrived by car from Minnesota after noon, and Liz a little later. We now had 5 classmates and Amber, we took everybody for a drive in Forest park, the group visited the Zoo and the Art Museum where we met to go to the famous St. Louis Arch in the evening and had dinner at Mango a great Peruvian restaurant.
On Saturday we had 3 arrivals, starting with Maria Pia and her husband Felipe and our last friend flying from Washington DC, Conchi.
We had a busy day planned visiting a variety of St. Louis attractions, starting with the Anheuser Busch brewery followed by a visit to the Arch and we ended at the hill for dinner. Maria Pia, was not able to join us for the earlier visits. Later after the Arch Maria Pia, Felipe, her husband and Renato, Gaby's husband joined us for dinner. A great time was had by all and I was very tired after all the activity so I went home with Elena and her daughter Amber to rest. The rest of the group went country dancing to Illinois.
Early Sunday morning I was sad to see Elena Bosio leave, but grateful she came, she is truly a joy.
During all this commotion my husband was in Brazil on a business trip, he arrived Sunday morning and we all went to the Boathouse for brunch.
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| Boathouse, Forest Park, St. Louis |
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| Inside the Boathouse, missing Elena Bosio |
In the evening they prepared a delicious meal with Causa, my request, wonderful appetizers, some amazing salads and grilled chicken and ribs. Amber made a great Alfajor that was amazing.
The following day Mariela and Ani came with me to get my Avastin infusion. It was quite a weekend with all the powerful energies of friendship and love. It is great for my heart and health. I want to thank each them from the bottom of my heart for being here with me and thank my friend Gaby for being a big part of this weekend!!
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| Bumper sticker in Elena Q's car |
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| Book signing at the Uchitelles' |
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| My buddies Mariela and Ani keeping getting a hand massage during my chemo. |
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| At the Chuck Berry Concert |
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| Chuck Berry live!!! |
This past weekend was Thanksgiving and so much to be thankful for. We all traveled to Oxford, Maryland were we met Stephen and Nicole at the airport in Baltimore. We drove to Oxford and spent the holiday with Ben and Susan, Becky, Dave, Alicia and Sam and we missed Liz and her family. We celebrated, visited St. Micheal's, did some yoga, played bananagrams.
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| Thanskgiving |
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| Great games of Bananagrams |
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| A little yoga after the great meals! |
We made time to visit our friends in Virginia, Sole Valera and her kids and her sister Tere, we missed her husband Tono who was working. The following morning it was time to go back, Nicole to Oberlin, OH and Stephen to LA and back to St. Louis for Elliot, Ale and I. Looking forward to December when we will be together again.
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| At the Rivera Valera family visiting |
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| With Elliot |
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
October and the good news continue
Hello Family and friends,
It has been a long time but all is going well, very well. Since my last post I traveled to Italy with my hubby for a week and I now can drive when not in treatment!!! That means I cannot drive for 5 or 6 days a month. So I CAN drive most of the time.Yeah!!!
In September I had the visit of a dear high school friend from Peru, Patty Delaney. Went to Italy the same month. Now I am planning to get together with my sisters in Orlando on Halloween!! I will be in Florida for a few days.
Last week I went to see my neurosurgeon Dr. Chicoine at Wash U and he confirmed I was doing great and will not have to go back to see him for 4 months!!! My last MRI looked very clean, it is an amazing result. I can see different faces in all my doctors, it is remarkable. It confirms what I was told at Duke and by my local oncologist Dr. Schultz. It is so wonderful and I feel better everyday.
Since the start of August I have been getting acupuncture and chinese teas. The tea looks like coffee but sometimes it taste terrible, but I feel so much better since I started with the chinese remedies.
In early November I will have a group of friends from Maria Reina come to spend the weekend in St. Louis with my friend Gaby and me, it should be a fun time, I am looking forward to seen my classmates from elementary school!!
Now I have ahead of me about 7 more months to finish my treatment and we will see.
Here the weather is getting colder and my hair is coming back!!
Thanks for all your support, prayers, wishes, I am so blessed with great family and friends.
Love to all of you!
It has been a long time but all is going well, very well. Since my last post I traveled to Italy with my hubby for a week and I now can drive when not in treatment!!! That means I cannot drive for 5 or 6 days a month. So I CAN drive most of the time.Yeah!!!
Visiting Siena, wonderful city
At Night
Duomo in Siena
Duomo
Duomo
Fonte Gaia, Piazza del Campo
Fonte Gaia, Piazza del Campo
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| Piazza del Campo |
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| Torre del Mangia, Siena |
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| Castelo San Sirmione |
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| San Sirmione |
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| Duomo, Milan |
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| Duomo, Milan |
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| La Scala, Milan |
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| Amazing home with Philosophers Statues in Milan |
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| Great Food in Milan |
Fonte Gaia, Siena
In September I had the visit of a dear high school friend from Peru, Patty Delaney. Went to Italy the same month. Now I am planning to get together with my sisters in Orlando on Halloween!! I will be in Florida for a few days.
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| At home with Stephen, Nicole and my mom. |
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| At Deweys Pizza with Patty Delaney and Liz Uchitelle visiting |
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With Patty Delaney at the Clayton Art Fair |
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Art Fair with Gaby, Eli, Patty and my mom |
Last week I went to see my neurosurgeon Dr. Chicoine at Wash U and he confirmed I was doing great and will not have to go back to see him for 4 months!!! My last MRI looked very clean, it is an amazing result. I can see different faces in all my doctors, it is remarkable. It confirms what I was told at Duke and by my local oncologist Dr. Schultz. It is so wonderful and I feel better everyday.
Since the start of August I have been getting acupuncture and chinese teas. The tea looks like coffee but sometimes it taste terrible, but I feel so much better since I started with the chinese remedies.
In early November I will have a group of friends from Maria Reina come to spend the weekend in St. Louis with my friend Gaby and me, it should be a fun time, I am looking forward to seen my classmates from elementary school!!
Now I have ahead of me about 7 more months to finish my treatment and we will see.
Here the weather is getting colder and my hair is coming back!!
Thanks for all your support, prayers, wishes, I am so blessed with great family and friends.
Love to all of you!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
August Great news and visits
Started August with my sister Karen and her son Luca with us. We had a nice visit, including a trip to Chicago. Nicole was with us and she was helping with my care and cleaning the basement, she did a great job. We all enjoyed visiting museums and going to concerts.
Alejandra came back from camp where she had a wonderful time. Tired but happy. She has a great group of friends from camp. She started training for the Softball team.
Karen and Luca left for Florida and we miss them.
The week of my birthday we went to Duke for my check up and all looks great, yeah!!! At Durham we also had a wonderful visit with Monica Cooper Levitan, from high school in Peru. It was fun to see her and share a nice cuban meal together.
We celebrated my birthday with a surprise visit to my home from my friends in St. Louis and a dinner out with the family. We missed Stephen and Kela.
Nicole left for Oberlin and Kela and Stephen arrived. With Kela we went to a TaiChi retreat along with Monica, it was a very nice weekend, very relaxing.
This month I started using acupuncture and chinese herbs for my chemo and it is working very well, I am very glad. however I have to prepare teas that look like coffee and drink it twice a day. I do feel like a pincushion with all the needles I get but it works!!!
My friend Susan from high school in Peru was in St. Louis and we had a great visit. Now that I can drive my life has changed, I took her to the boathouse and showed her Forest Park. We went to Augusta to visit MABA, the buddhist temple, with her sister and brother in law. It was a great visit.
Celebrated my birthday with latin friends in St. Louis. Stephen is still here as is my mother. We will be celebrating another birthday before he leaves for LA.
Visited my oncologist this Monday and I just get good news, all is going well. I am not done with my treatments but have found using acupuncture and chinese herbs is working great for me!!! Less pills more tea.
My hair is making a comeback!! I now have fuzz in the areas where there was no hair. So who knows, maybe by next year I will have some more hair!!!
Thankful for being here and my wonderful friends and family.
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| With Luca at Plush in St. Louis |
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| After concert at Washington University with Luca and Karen |
Alejandra came back from camp where she had a wonderful time. Tired but happy. She has a great group of friends from camp. She started training for the Softball team.
Karen and Luca left for Florida and we miss them.
The week of my birthday we went to Duke for my check up and all looks great, yeah!!! At Durham we also had a wonderful visit with Monica Cooper Levitan, from high school in Peru. It was fun to see her and share a nice cuban meal together.
We celebrated my birthday with a surprise visit to my home from my friends in St. Louis and a dinner out with the family. We missed Stephen and Kela.
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| At Vin de Set. check out the arch in the background with Nicole, Luca, Karen and me. |
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| Brunch at Plush, delicious!!! |
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| With Monica in Durham |
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| Birthday dinner at Sidney Street Cafe |
This month I started using acupuncture and chinese herbs for my chemo and it is working very well, I am very glad. however I have to prepare teas that look like coffee and drink it twice a day. I do feel like a pincushion with all the needles I get but it works!!!
My friend Susan from high school in Peru was in St. Louis and we had a great visit. Now that I can drive my life has changed, I took her to the boathouse and showed her Forest Park. We went to Augusta to visit MABA, the buddhist temple, with her sister and brother in law. It was a great visit.
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| Lily pond at MABA |
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| Augusta, MO with Elliot, Lucho and Milagros |
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| Augusta, MO with Susan |
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| Celebrating my birthday with St. Louis friends |
Visited my oncologist this Monday and I just get good news, all is going well. I am not done with my treatments but have found using acupuncture and chinese herbs is working great for me!!! Less pills more tea.
My hair is making a comeback!! I now have fuzz in the areas where there was no hair. So who knows, maybe by next year I will have some more hair!!!
Thankful for being here and my wonderful friends and family.
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