SolandMonica.com

Well, the doctor called me today after talking to the sarcoma specialist at Cedar’s Sinai.  I will be starting everything next week.  I spoke to him at length this evening about a lot of things, but will give you a brief description tonight as I am really tired.  (Kai was up at 5:30 this morning) 

Well, I will be having a port put in the beginning of next week as chemo will be every week this time, and my veins are already running at the thought of more needles.  I will be receiving Taxol once a week for three weeks and then have a week off and then three weeks on and one off for a few cycles.  Then they will do another scan to see if the chemo is working.  He wants to do Taxol in combination with an anti-angiogenesis (inhibits new blood vessel growth) drug.  Please pray that the HMO approves the drug as right now it is not used for this kind of cancer, and it is very expensive! 

So as soon as the port is ready, I will begin treatments.  If my body handles chemo like the last time, then I will do just fine…I just pray that it works on every single growth – those we can see and those we can’t.   My stomach begins flipping just thinking about chemo, and I can even smell the drugs from my memory! 

Since things aren’t starting until Monday at the earliest, I am going to stay here in Paradise a while longer – maybe returning on Saturday or Sunday.

On a different note, you’ll never guess (unless I’ve already told you) who played with Kai at the Burbank airport during a flight delay…Barry Bonds!  I chatted with him for about 15 minutes and took a picture with him.  I’ll post that soon – I don’t have a way to get the picture off my camera here at my parent’s house.   🙂  Fun, huh?

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My younger sister, Janelle, had her baby early this morning.  Since there are fires threatening Paradise, she delivered in Chico, CA.  They were one of the few these days to wait until delivery to find out the baby’s gender.  So they kept us guessing and trying to figure it out.  They also kept the names that they had chosen a secret as well.

So here are the details:  It’s a …. girl!  Athailia Grace entered the world today at 4:39 am.  She weighed 8 lb 14 oz, was 22 inches long and has a head full of black hair!  Mom and baby are doing well.  Pray for healing and rest as they start this new chapter in their lives…the no sleep chapter!  😉

I can’t wait to go see them both, but will have to wait until I know what will be going on with my treatment/surgery options.  My appointment is today at 4, so I will know more after that.

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Thank you so much Kent and Keri for setting up the prayer time this morning.  Thank you to all of you who were there and those of you who were and are praying for us elsewhere.  It was amazing to me to see the amount of people who were there and to know that there were so many others I knew who were praying right along with us.  Thank you also to those of you who sent me your thoughts and prayers through email.  Reading those precious words touched my heart, and I believe they have been heard by our Father in heaven.

I was truly touched when hugging a dear soul, who is 80+ years young, and he said to me, with tears in his eyes, “If I could take it from you, I would.  I’ve lived a full life.”  He is currently being treated for bladder cancer and says he prays for me more than he prays for himself.   Bless him!

My appointment is at 4 pm tomorrow.  I’ll be sure to update the site tomorrow evening when we know what the doctor has said.  Until then, blessings to each and every one of you!  Keep praying!

P.S.  My younger sister has been admitted to the hospital and will be having her first child any minute!  🙂

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This was put together by a good friend…if you can, please pray with us at 10:35 tomorrow morning.

Hi friends and family of Monica and Sol Rodriguez.  Monica just had her first CT scan and got a pretty bad initial response from the radiology reading.  She will find out more detail on Monday morning when she meets with her oncologist.  The initial reading had the words malignant neoplasm, recurrence and suspicious new growths on liver/lungs.  These are not terms you want to hear after difficult months of chemo, surgery and radiation.  I am ready to fight a spiritual battle on behalf of my friend, Monica.  If you would like to be on the battle front of this fight, please join us directly after the 9:30am service in the front of the Worship Center (near the communion tables).  The Bible says, “By His stripes we are healed.”  On this communion Sunday, let’s faithfully and unceasingly pray for Monica together as a group of believers.  If you are unable to be there, please pray with your spouse/children/friends tomorrow morning at about 10:35am.  “When two or more are gathered together, there He is in the midst.”  –Keri and Kent Miller

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Sol let me in on more specifics about the report (he didn’t print it, so I haven’t seen it).  He said that there was reports of “malignant neoplasm” on the chest wall.  It also had the word recurrence.  That means that there is some recurrence of cancer near the original site.  In addition, the report said that suspicious new growths were found on the lungs and liver.  Each growth was really small, between 3-8 mm.  That’s the goal of these…catch it early if it does come back, right?   

Only the Lord knows the outcome, but please pray that when they go in for further review that they will find nothing.  Please pray for complete healing!  This is a real blow to us and we are struggling to find meaning and peace in it all.  Pray for us as we wait the weekend out.  We’ll keep you updated.

Love,

The Rodriguez Family

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So, I kind of dropped the ball in keeping everyone in the loop so to speak.  Sorry!  I went back to work and became so busy and then took off to Mexico for a week!  Here are the highlights in bullet form and then I’ll post more details later:

• Went back to work for the remainder of the year (9 days)
• Found out I’ll be teaching three periods of 6th grade next year and doing my current position the other half of the day.
• Sol let me in on the secret of everyone’s contributions toward our vacation!  (HUGE THANK YOU!!!)
• Began packing and shopping to go to Mexico.
• Went to a Dodger Game with my parents, who are HUGE Giants fans!
• Planned and had Kai’s 2nd birthday party!
• Packed up Kai to go to Fresno while we went to Mexico.  🙂  (Thanks to all the grandparents for making that happen!)
• Went to Mayan Riviera for 8 days (june 25 – July 2)
• Celebrated my 32nd birthday (July 3)
• Kai came home on the 3rd.
• Went to Camp Pendleton for the 4th of July (wierdest fireworks show experience ever – weather was overcast)
• Took Kai to doctor.  He’s 34 inches tall and 30 pounds.  He was so cute, giggling while the doctor cheked him out!  😉
• Had blood drawn today and picked up nasty CT scan stuff!
• Celebrated our 7th anniversary
• Will be having the first of the Every three month follow-up scans on Wednesday and am pretty nervous about it.
• Will find out the CT results at the oncologists office on the 14th, if not sooner!

Check out some of the pictures I recently uploaded…Kai’s birthday, Mexico trip and Forth of July.

Love to you and more details to come.

Thanks for your patience!

Monica

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Hello Friends,

Sol, Kai and I are walking this weekend in the 24-hour Relay for Life.  It was kind of a last minute decision.  All the money raised for this event will go to the American Cancer Society (ACS).  It is not for any specific cancer, but rather for them all and the support that cancer patients have all received from ACS.  Just this one event will raise more than $100,000!   

Join us at Cal High on Saturday from 3-4 pm as we walk the track.  We are really excited about participating in this event, and wanted to let you know that we would love to have you join us for an hour or so.  We’ve heard that this walk is a time of hanging out and showing support.  🙂  If you can’t make it at that time, please come any time to hang out, play games, eat food, enjoy live music.  I’ll be there from 9 am Saturday to 9 am Sunday.  The survivor lap is at 9 am on Saturday, and I’m really looking forward to that.  I feel this is going to be a time of healing for me as I let it sink in that I am a survivor!  Could this walk have come at a better time?  

I know that this is pretty last minute, but we wanted to let you know!  Maybe we’ll see some of you on Saturday!  😉

Please know that it is really important to me that Monica’s Mamo Mamas make their goal of $10,000.  Thank you to those of you who have already supported them!  (Click hereto give them your support.)   They will be walking in the 3-day Susan G. Komen walk in San Francisco!  Good luck on those torturous hills!  😉

Love,

Monica

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I can’t believe that today is my last day of treatment.  It is overwhelming just thinking about it.  I am so excited to be finished, that I even went out and bought a new dress for a dinner celebration tonight.  We will be having a party soon!  I wanted to wait until I knew for sure it was the final treatment.  Details will be posted in the next few days!

Along with the excitement that I feel, there is fear.  Today is the day we stop taking action and that really frightens me.  So far, in the whole process we have been very proactive and now comes a time of waiting and trusting.  I think it’s harder to feel like I’m doing nothing in this battle.  I know that I’ve done everything I could to fight this, but the fear still lingers in the back of my mind, and I think it always will.  BUT… there’s a part of me that says, “Maybe, just maybe, this battle is over!” 

Thank you all so much for the support you’ve given to me and the encouragement and prayers you all sent my way.  God Hears!  You will NEVER understand how much each and every one of you have impacted my life and lifted my spirits.  You carried me through some very dark times, and for that I am extremely grateful!  You have provided for my family with meals, babysitting, gift cards, fun times, and gifts of money.  We were able to fly my family out because of you – and that meant the world!  Thank you to those of you who know and have supported my parents and sisters.  I know they are so grateful for you! 

The first part of my journey is coming to a close, but the journey is not over.  Please pray for clean scans over the next two years.  Angiosarcoma is said to have an 80% chance of recurrence in the first two years; however, if it doesn’t come back in those first two years, it’s never coming back.  Pray that I’m in the 20%!  Please pray also for emotional healing.  I began seeing a counselor and am hoping to grieve many losses in my life because of this battle.  Sadness overcomes me, and by nature, I’m not a sad person.  Finally, please pray for decisions that need to be made regarding my job situation for next year.  I will be returning back to the classroom, but I just haven’t decided which postition I want to apply for within the district, yet.  It’s a big decision, and I hate deciding on anything!  🙂

That’s all for now, I love you and will keep you updated.

Monica

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Well I have completed my 7 weeks, 33 radiation treatments, as of today which equals somewhere around 6,000 units of radiation.  My skin has been holding up, but it is pretty bad. The doctor said that the burn is somewhere between a 2nd and 3rd degree burn. I keep putting on the lotions, gels and soaps hoping that I can make it to the end and not have any permanent skin effects; it’s beginning to peel.  Another thing that the doctor said was that I will have 3 more treatments to the area around the scar. Because of the original size of the tumor, 11 cm, the doctor wants to give it all he can; somewhere around 6,600 units of radiation.  I am willing to give it everything that I can, but I am really looking forward to being done, too! I’ll do the three extra days if I know that it’s giving me the best chance that it will never come back!  So instead of being done today, like I’d hoped and planned, I’ll be done next Thursday.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

I love you all.

Monica

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Hello Everyone,

I have a great friend who is doing the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk in San Francisco. She has named her team after me and has set a goal to raise $10,000. It quite an ambitious and admirable goal, and I’d like to do anything I can to help her.

Please consider joining her by supporting her in her walk. The following is from her website:

“Here I am again, preparing mind, body and checkbook for another 60 mile walk for breast cancer awareness. If you are visiting my site, you must be somewhat aware of what has brought me to this place. I wish my passion could come from a place less personal than my one, but sometimes it takes the unexpected to motivate us.
“Back in 2006, I wrote about our mother’s best friend Nancy Rach, who fought and lost her battle with breast cancer and how her struggles inspired me to take the first steps of a very long journey. I am sad to say that this year, 2007, has brought breast cancer close to home again as our good family friend, Monica Rodriguez, was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer at only age 31. My sister and I debated about walking again this year, but after Monica was diagnosed we knew we had to do it. I am happy to say that Monica is doing well in her treatments and, God willing, she will be cancer free by the time we actually do this walk. For now, we begin the training, fundraising and spreading of information to eradicate breast cancer as a fear for women and men alike.
“So, I ask that you please support me as I take another amazing journey in the fight against breast cancer! The Breast Cancer 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.
“For those who have fought and won or fought and lost, thank you for your support.”

Here is the link to her website if you are interested in reading her blog, donating to the cause, or finding out more about Monica’s Mamo Mamas. Please take the time to donate what you can. Breast cancer has affected so many and will continue to do so until there is a cure!

http://08.the3day.org/goto/monicasmamomamas

Thank you and I’ll keep you updated as to her progress.

You go, Sheri!

Love,

Monica

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