I was saddened by some recent news that my good friend Beth found out that her mom, Barb, was diagnosed with cancer. I'm posting this message here to spread the word and recruit people to pray and support this wonderful woman. Barb and the rest of Nolan family in Cincinnati have been and continue to be a huge support to me even though I have never actually met them. The following picture is from a Happy Hour fundraiser for me where over a hundred people attended where I only knew 3 who were there.
Beth, Joe, Bill, and Barb (from left to right)
From Beth:
"My mom, Barb, has been diagnosed with an advanced, rare form of Melanoma. Her prognosis is not good, but we are hopeful that with treatment and the prayers and positive thoughts of family and friends, she will be well again. She will begin her first round of immunotherapy this coming week at Good Samaritan Hospital, in Cincinnati OH."
Barb started treatment this week in Cincinnati and so far so good. Here's a message from her husband Bill:
"
Good Sam - Day 1
posted by Bill Nolan, Monday, November 29, 2010, 10:45 AM
Barb was admitted at 6:00 am this morning and had a port inserted into her chest for the interferon treatments. After recovery, she was taken to the ICU floor (7th floor) around 10:30 AM. Her oncologist. Dr. Maher arrived shortly after and went over the game plan. The first interferon treatment will be at 2:00 PM this afternoon followed by treatments at 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM tomorrow morning. Fourteen doses of interferon will be infused over the next five days. She will probably be released on Saturday.
Next week, Barb has an appointment with Dr. Maher on Thursday.. The following Monday, December 13, the 2nd round of interferon will begin again at Good Sam. The doctor expects Barb to gain 15% body weight from the interferon treatments and may be very fatigued for a couple of days following the treatments. She may also get a little testy at times (ya think!). The good news from Dr. Maher is that the bone scan was negative.
Barb is resting comfortably and we will try to have a schedule for visitors up shortly on the calendar. They want to hold visitors to no more than three at a time as long as we're quiet.
The first infusion of interferon at 2:00 PM lasted about 15 minutes. The only reaction since that time was Barb began to have chills about two hours following the procedure. This is a textbook reaction and medication was given to eliminate this symptom. Since that time, Barb has been catching a few winks of sleep as it has been a long day. The next infusion is at 10:00 PM. Beth is spending the night.
The outpouring of love and support, the offerings of prayer,and the inspirational messages left on this site continue to sustain us. Thank you doesn't begin to express our gratitude."
Please pray for Barb, Bill, Beth, Susan, Annie, and Pat and keep them in your thoughts has they go through this difficult time. I'll continue to post updates here. If you have an encouraging word to share let me know and I'll be sure to pass it on (mattrehab@gmail.com).
Barb - Keep fighting!! Love ya!!
-Matt
PS: As for me: I'm still in the process of getting things together to head to Project Walk, which I'm heading there in about 3 weeks! Getting excited!!
My prayers are going out to Barb and her family. I recently heard about a new drug that can help prevent metastasis is Melanoma, having researched the topic after a friend of mine had a second recurrence of Melanoma 10 years after her first. By the time her second round was diagnosed it was wide spread and stage four, having attacked her liver, lymph nodes throughout her body. There is success with advanced treatment. Look into this, I can't remember the name of the drug or if it is even approved for use in humans yet.
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