My WISH for you

My last blog had the title of a December to Remember...that was an understatement. On Saturday December 18th our fighter had some family and friends come by the house for some holiday cheer. The group was on hand to witness quite the spectacle, the Tinley community came out to help one of their own our Pink Warrior. Reenie was nominated and chosen as a recipient of Tinley Wish this year. A parade of 30 plus vehicles and 100 plus members of our community, Police, Fire fighters, village trustees, village employees, citizens from Tinley Park, and some past year recipients paid a visit to Reenie and her family, they came with sirens blaring, lights flashing and marched through our house presenting Reenie and her family with gifts to help make this a wonderful holiday season and for a time forget the struggles of the past 14 months. They succeeded. Lt Ken Roemer along with Reenie's cousin Eileen sponsored Reenie for the special day they felt that because our warrior has been in treatment and unable to work for over a year that she deserved a special day. I have been trying to wrap my head around the huge undertaking that this program takes on every year and I am amazed at what a life changing event this program provides, it changed ours. I don't think it is the material benefits we received from this that will stay with us as much it will be the out pouring of love that was experienced that day in our home. We know how lucky this family is that we have an amazing support group, from our family and friends, now our community has let us know that we are not alone in this battle. It may be a call from New Jersey or Texas, a letter from Florida , beautiful well wishes from Kentucky or a prayer from California our Pink Warrior knows she has the support of so many, this is what keeps her strong, keeps her fighting and keeps her winning. I know I have become redundant in my thanks to all of our support group but it is heartfelt, each one of you have managed to make our Christmas this year a special one. May God bless everyone in the upcoming year and may all your WISHES come true. A special thanks to our photographers, Megan Casey and Erin Stefanik, I'm working on the slide show.
Love Reenie, Tom and family

A December to Remember? here's hoping!!!

Well it has been quite awhile since I have updated Reenie's blog my only excuse is that the last update had such good news I guess I wanted to sit back and enjoy it. We are usually a little leery of the good news since we have gone through this step before yet we know that as long as the treatment is achieving good results we have hope and it is that hope that gives our fighter added strength. Now that the holiday season is here again another realization is that Reenie has been fighting this latest battle for over a year now and it takes one helluva strong person to endure ongoing chemotherapy treatment on a weekly basis, receiving this weekly has reeked havoc on her blood cells both red and white and left her with frequent bone pain. She has persevered and done so so gracefully its really inspiring. The doctors decided that the since we received good results in October we could dial back the regiment from every week to 3 weeks of treatment and 1 week of just hydration so that Reenie could have a week to recuperate. The new regiment has given our warrior the much needed break her body needs, but in November her tumor markers increased slightly which our team of doctors believe had more to do with skipped treatment than increased tumor activity, we're hoping they're right.
  Reen has tackled the upcoming Christmas season head on and wants to make sure everyone has a great Christmas. It has been great to see a different woman this year at holiday time and it is because of the renewed hope that we have found the right treatment, and it is also because of the unwavering support that the Haas family has received from our amazing friends and family. I was asked recently by an old friend who has received similar news about a loved one "how do we get through this"?  I didn't have to think too long about that question because I think of it everyday....We get through this because of our support group, our group has been there every step of the way, we get through this with prayer I think I have prayed so much this past year I may have become a deacon. We get through this because Reenie doesn't give up and when she gets down its not for long she has a way of keeping us upbeat because she hasn't lost her quick wit or sense of humor.

I titled this a December to Remember not because I have purchased a Lexus for my beautiful wife but because of more news and blessings bestowed on our family, yes we have endured alot of pain and still have a few hurdles to jump we still receive blessings each and everyday ,sometimes we have to look extra hard and sometimes they appear out of nowhere. Kristen and Josh are expecting and due May26st, we found out today that our first grandchild will be a BOY and as you can imagine our Pink Warrior can't wait to start shopping. We also found out recently that Reenie was nominated by her cousin Eileen, along with a letter from her kids to be a recipient of the Village of Tinley Park's "Tinley Wish" program. The program helps 7 to 10 families or individuals who may be suffering from various hardships, they help ease the pain and burden experienced during the Christmas season. I first thought that I wanted no part of this that I thought their has to be others that had more hardships than we have had, but I guess I was thinking of myself not Reenie initially. Yes she has had it hard, harder than most this year, yes she has stressed how are we going to get through Christmas and yes she deserves a great day just for her so on Saturday Dec. 18th the Tinley Wish foundation made up of our community, our Fire Department and our Police Department will get together for a parade and stop at our humble home to wish our Pink Warrior a Merry Christmas and help give her a December to Remember!! Love to all and again thanks to everyone for your constant support and keep the prayers coming.

Can I get an AMEN!!!!

In writing about Reenie with her amazing strength and her inspirational fight, while she has been involved in the battle of her life for 11 1/2 months, I've tried to update and explain what she has been going through. I've introduced Reenie's extraordinary support group, made up of family, co-workers and her unwavering friends. Her team of doctors, physician assistants, nurses and pharmacists that take care of our warrior weekly. With this group and with many many prayers from coast to coast we have stayed positive and believed that this fight will be won. It has been a long time since we had really good news that were direct results of her treatment, but this past week the treatment paid off. We received the good news that we have been praying for, Megan (Reenie's primary physician assistant) called last Friday because she couldn't wait until Monday to deliver the news that her tumor markers have decreased. Exciting news but we weren't done yet, Monday Dr. Baridi and Megan as excited as medical professionals can be, delivered the real tangible news that her PET scan showed massive improvement, as Megan explained it there was only one (1) (uno) , a singular hypermetabolic (cancerous) node, and that one has decreased in size and malignancy since her last scan in July. The last scan in July was not good, it had showed tumors throughout her abdomen and into her pelvic area, and today no signs of activity in those areas......today we can breath a little easier, today we thank God, our support group, and our medical team , today is a great day...as I said at the start can I get an AMEN... Reenie is not done yet, and this news I believe has given our warrior some much needed strength to continue this fight. The treatment will continue for 3 more cycles (months), through the holidays with more tests in mid January, so were not done yet but we have seen some light at the end of this tunnel.
Love to all and thank you for your thoughts and prayers...

Now we wait....and pray....and believe

Monday October 25th we have a date with our oncology team to discuss the progress of our warriors treatment. It has been 2 months since tumor markers were drawn and that showed an improvement after 1 months treatment of the new drug Navelbine. And it has been 3 months since her last PET scan and the start of this new treatment. Reenie spent this week being tested, which as we have found can be a nerve racking week. This week Reenie had a small procedure to clean out a dry socket that was in her arm from where the port was removed last July, so hopefully this will help with the healing process of that area. The tumor markers were drawn yesterday and the PET scan was today (Thursday) and results will be Monday. Our fighter did get a much needed break from treatment this week, this was her hydration week with no chemo. We look forward to this week, Reenie needs this stoppage to build up strength to keep this fight going, this takes so much out of you , she has had days when she barely gets out of bed, but then the next day she pushes to lead a somewhat normal life style, taking care of her house and her boys and we make sure herself. She will get out with friends from work for lunch, maybe a dinner with her circle of friends, we found this chemo may be working but it definitely zaps her of strength. One of the highlights in the last month was the special mass at St. Stephens for cancer patients and survivors. Reenie was able to attend the mass with her fellow cancer fighter and friend Debbie Markham. The mass was a moving tribute to the on going fighters in this battle and those that have fought and won. Reenie had many family and friends also in attendance to show support with love and prayer...a pretty powerful combination. I know I have said this many times in the blogs that she amazes me with her inner strength and resolve, I wonder why her and not me, and I believe the realization is because she is stronger and more determined and her support base is unexplainable ...the love and kindness shown to her and our family doesn't stop...so Reenie is not only fighting for herself but for her family and her friends. So this Monday is a big day in our Pink Warriors treatment, so please keep Reenie in your thoughts and prayers, she gains her strength from you her angels...Love to all and again you have blessed our family in so many ways with your kindness.

Surprise..Surprise ..Surprise..and they're all good surprises...for a change!!!

September..the month that football starts, the month when fall begins and oh yeah the month of our warriors birthday. September 25th is the actual date but  the celebration can be anywhere from a day to 2 weeks, and that's just fine with me. As Reenie got together with the cheer moms a week and a half ago it was a birthday dinner for our girl surprise number one. Last week end the high school friends got together for their annual trip to Sister's Lake Mich. to celebrate Reenie's birthday, but to her surprise they ended up in  Oak Brook for the weekend to shop and eat, along with another surprise her girlfriends from New Jersey and Houston came in for the get together. Surprises two and three.
 A couple of weeks ago at chemo Reen had a little wheezing going on so they performed a chest xray to see if there was anything happening. The chest xray was not conclusive so now the recommendation was "lets do a CT scan". Man it always seems like good news is short lived (previous tumor markers being good) we got to enjoy that for about 15 minutes. We received the news of the scan last week and the lungs were fine some scar tissue from previous surgeries and past infections, but there was a bonus. The CT scan was of the chest area, and compared to the last PET scan the tumors were decreased in quantity and size...surprise number four and just wonderful news...this chemo is helping!!!
Well Reenie has enjoyed her birthday month, she is getting through the pain and fatigue with your love, support and prayers and the belief that this chemo is working, the battle is ongoing so she needs the continued thoughts and prayers. After all the get together, the dinners, the presents, Reenie celebrated her actual birthday with the news that she now will be sharing that birth date with a very special person Quinn Ainslie a beautiful baby born to Megan and Mike Darcy, daughter fo Maureen and Jim Scobey, it has been a good month.
Reenie sends her love and appreciation for all the cards and birthday greetings.

I think Pink is your color!!!

Its amazing as I sit here today and watch my wife fighting the battle of her life and realize 100s of thousands of women have dealt and are dealing with the exact same issues. I watch Reenie each day fight through the pain, the sickness, and the unknowing and I wonder how she manages to persevere. I was able to see the inspiration last week when Reenie's family (Shannon,Kristen,Ryan,Reen's mom Maureen and myself) spend a day with the Pink Heals Tour. Reenie set out last Monday to see the Pink Fire Trucks that travel the US each year in support of women battling breast cancer. The Fire department has always been special to our family, Reenie's dad Bud was a Chicago Firemen for 30 plus years, Josh, Kristen's husband is a fire fighter in Cicero and our son Ryan has completed a fire training course  and is continuing his education that he hopes will land him a career in the department. So the combination of fire trucks and a breast cancer awareness program brought our family together for one of those special days that we don't mange to share often enough. Reenie was the star in Homewood, she donned the Pink fire apparel and took pictures with the crew from both departments (local and traveling) . She posed for numerous pictures for the host support group and many family pics as well. The members of the Pink Heals tour helped Reenie share her inspirational message to others by writing a message on the trucks cab and we spent some time reading the messages of others as well. The truck is filled with messages from 1000's of women who are fighting the same battle our warrior is involved in. We payed a visit to Matteson where 2 more trucks from the tour stopped, Reenie met other women going through treatment and they share stories and hugs, and more inspiration. I know that Reenie gains strength from her family and friends, from knowing she handled this before and from her doctors and nurses and from prayer. I now know her experience will give others strength, her messages on the Pink trucks will inspire others to keep going to "Keep fighting like a girl" as I know the messages have inspired her and our family, like the mothers day walk this day was for Reenie to wear her badge of courage for all to see and she was most definitely "Pretty in Pink"
The last few appointments for our girl have been very encouraging, I said a couple of weeks ago the "eye" test showed improvement well so did tumor markers that we received last week, the cancer cells and tumors are responding to this new chemo...so please keep the prayers and good thoughts coming Reenie's way. The problems are and probably will be during treatment the side effects of infection, low white counts and fatigue, but this post is staying upbeat because it was a good week for our warrior...got good news, spent some time with family and friends and this is how "PINK HEALS"

Love to all....keep praying the miracle prayer!!!

Pack a suitcase or pack a wound

The calender says its time for another school year, time for a White Sox playoff run, time to celebrate Kris and Josh's first year anniversary and most importantly time for some encouraging news about our warrior. The past few weeks have been really difficult for Reenie, our fighter is tough but so is this treatment. She has to push herself to get through the day, lots of pain meds and lots of pain. It has gotten to the point where she is losing her nails and easy tasks are almost impossible. Yet she doesn't complain but will become sad, last week she had a great day on Thursday only to be knock back down on Friday when her visiting nurse felt her surgical wound looked infected, it was, so back on antibiotics and stay close to home. The antibiotics made her nauseous and on Monday she became sick so they backed off on some of the medication. Our girl is still receiving care at home, she needs to have her pick line flushed daily and the site where her port was removed has to be monitored for infection. It was a year ago we were packing for a long weekend and a wedding this year just packing wounds. Reenie has been on her new treatment since July 21st for a total of 5 cycles of Navelbine with daily doses of Femara the hormone therapy. The doctors are waiting until she has completed 8 cycles before any testing, PET scans and tumor markers will be done. The encouraging news we have had is that the EYE test, the visual examinations done the last two weeks have shown an improvement in both look and feel of the tumors. We take this news as a positive but we can't get too excited as we know this beast is a mother @&#*$% and we really need to see an improved scan and markers....but this is a move in that direction, so keep those prayers coming our warrior's way, she needs them for her strength and spirit. The Haas' family sends their love and appreciation to all family and friends you guys are our rock...thank you
And thanks to our special Tuesday flower man....you have no idea how much Reenie appreciates them!!

Who is this person you call the Warrior

Well the journey has had many turns the last week and a half. Wednesday July 21st (Shannon's birthday) we had our appointment with our oncology team to discuss the PET scan results and treatment change. But first our warrior who never stops thinking of others had to deliver a wedding gift to one of her Physician assistants that she made her self, a wine basket with numerous bottles of wine for the new couple to share on many different occasions that Reenie had outlined with labels on each bottle, a time consuming and thoughtful gift for someone special to our fighter.We expected that the scan results would tell us what we already kind of knew from the tumor markers, that the current treatment wasn't working as hoped. We were right, but the scan was not as bad as it could have been yes the tumor cells have increased slightly and spread around the abdomen, but it has not metastasized to the bone or any organs. Our fighter was on to another chemo therapy drug Navelbine and a new hormone therapy drug Femara. That day would be her first infusion of the new drug and she tolerated it, at least no allergic reaction which when starting a new drug is also always a worry. So now we pray and hope and believe that this will slow and stop the progression of this $%&*!@# animal, feel free to insert your favorite obscenity at this point, mine has 7 letters. Another turn in the road came Friday evening when visiting with her friends her arm that has her medi-port became sore and red, a possible infection was brewing. Saturday July 24th our combatant was admitted to the hospital to begin IV anti-biotics and try to clear the infection, We were hopeful Reenie could keep the port if the infection cleared up, but after 48 hours of IV's the infection wasn't clearing completely so the port needed to come out. Surgery was scheduled Tuesday to remove the port in her arm, now we needed a new access point to stay on her new treatment schedule, this was a priority and the nurses and doctors at Metro South knew this and came up with a plan to make sure Reenie would get her chemo on Wednesday. They inserted a pick line called a Power Line into her chest Wednesday morning and released her that afternoon in order to receive her scheduled treatment...I'm not sure warrior adequately describes how this girl is fighting, it is absolutely amazing to see what she is going through, how strong she is, how much fight she has, and how graceful she does it, does she cry, yes, is she mad yes, but she puts her makeup and her new wig on and you would never know she was fighting the fight of her life. She looks amazing at all times. Thursday Reenie was feeling a little better after her stint in the hospital and second treatment, she spent the day with Maureen, and Kristen stopped by with a new top that would hide the Power Line, this was definitely a better day. Friday came and Reenie was given an experience  that not many of us have the opportunity to share, a VIP pass into the Bon Jovi show Friday night from Dave and Brenda, now Reenie knew of this gift earlier in the week, but it did not look like she would be able to attend I really never thought she would feel up to to it by show time...I was wrong. Reen was sent home on IV anti-biotics so the nurse came over Friday afternoon and after she left our fighter said she wanted nothing more than to spend an evening with her husband downtown on the lakefront, or was it nothing more than to see and touch Jon Bon Jovi....anyway she was able to do both. The evening was awesome, great food and drink, spent some time with our friends the Scobeys and Carneys and the seats were amazing and yes our warrior touched the Bon Jovi (I'm guessing that's a good thing) hey it made Reenie forget about things for just a short time, and that made it all worth it. We stayed the night downtown with yet another gift from our friends the Lykes...Thank you, our friends are so amazing, helping us through this trying time, our family is steadfast and strong, Reenie is gaining strength through each of you... I thank you...and the definition of a warrior is REENIE

Love to all

Big Week Ahead...NO WHAMMIES

The week ahead will hopefully provide us with some much needed information and direction. Last week we received the results from the tumor markers drawn right after the long holiday weekend. The markers did show an increase which usually means that there is more activity. Last week was the 8th dose of taxotere which was the agreed upon amount of chemo before another PET scan. The PET scan is scheduled for tomorrow Monday with results expected Wednesday and I believe a decision will be made to change the treatment regiment. The taxotere might have slowed down some activity but it has not stopped or more importantly not completely killed the bad cells. The last few weeks have been difficult for our fighter, she has been able to make most of our planned outings or get togethers but hasn't really felt good doing it.   Reenie and I were able to spend a day and night with with the Scobeys, Carneys and Kirks at Jim and Maureens and we did have a wonderful meal  and a great time with friends. We were also able to attend the wedding of Shannon and Kristen's friend Nicole and her new husband Phil Stockmal. Like I said Reenie is determined to try and make most engagements and each time I am amazed at how great she looks when I know she isn't feeling that good. She puts on her wig and makeup, a new top or dress and looks beautiful. Those that don't know her history and even most that do can't believe she is battling the monster everyday...she really is doing it with grace!. Reenie was also able to spend a few hours today with many of her cousins at a birthday and graduation party for her cousin Maureen's daughter Katie another wonderful time. But with the reality that today is Sunday end of the weekend and a new work week is ahead our warrior has much more to contend with, the unknown, the change of treatment, she needs some good news to pick up her spirits, something to build on, so keep the prayers coming Reen has a big week ahead. Thanks to all who have been sending prayers and well wishes our way and of course all the great dinners..you guys are the best love to all

Fire works....but does the chemo!!! Happy 4th

In this season of cookouts, graduations,pool parties and fireworks, I've realized the events  we look forward to... Reenie not so much. The chlorine stings the sores or nodules, the sun is no longer her friend and the heat well if you can't use the pool to cool off, the heat's no friend either. This past week has been a reality check  for our warrior, beautiful weather she can't enjoy like she used to, and that has been a major disappointment. She hasn't been able to get out as much lately either since the treatment has been increased, she has become more tired and has had ALOT more pain. We are unsure of this new pain she is experiencing, she still gets bone pain from the shots, but the past few weeks the nodules on her abdomen have been very painful, is the chemo working, not sure, are the nodules creating scar tissue, not sure. We will learn more in the upcoming weeks. We will have tumor markers drawn this week with results July 14th which will also be the 8th dose of taxotere and another pet scan will be scheduled. Determination will be made then whether we continue this course or start another treatment. This schedule will be followed only if there are no more delays like a week ago when Reenie's white count plummeted and her treatment had to be delayed 5 days. Reenie has been bummed lately with having to miss a few events but is hopeful to get out over the holiday for a visit and have friends back for the Tinley firework display and maybe a couple days in Michigan with the Scobeys and Carneys if she is feeling better. Reenie wants to thanks her Angels of love who have made meals and taken us out this month, you don't know how much that means to her (us), thanks Kathy, Noreen, Jim and Carole and especially Dave and Brenda for arranging the dinners and driving schedule, our fighters spirits are lifted by every ones prayers, visits, meals and calls..love to all keep saying the miracle prayer.

Pain Pain go away.......come back never!!

Well as we walked on mothers day in support of our warrior and all the women in our lives that are or could be affected by this monster that doesn't fight fair, the message of the walk was HOPE, FIGHT, WALK. Walk we did, with family and friends, fight is what Reenie is doing each and every day, and HOPE, is what we are doing each minute. Hope that this treatment is the one, hope that Reenie is pain free, hope that our fighter continues with the strength and determination that she has displayed throughout. Well the rain has finally stopped and tomorrow is suppose to be a better day, lets hope so! Reenie has completed one round of the newest chemo treatment (Taxotere) she is tolerating it fairly well, I say fairly because after the first two doses she became nauseous 5 days after treatment, we think that may be under control. The nueropathy has continued, and the bone pain in the hips is back because of the need for the shots to increase the white cells, so fairly is the best way to describe her toleration of treatment. So far the treatment has not brought about the positive results we were hoping for, but our team is asking us to give it some time that we may not see results for a couple cycles, that's were the fight comes in. To not be able to see positive results yet go ahead and keep taking the poison, well that's some kind of strength, and that's were the hope comes into play again. So we will continue this treatment of Taxotere, the dosage has been increased and there will be no off week, it will be continuous. We will keep the hormone treatment of Faslodex going and the targeted cell killer Avastin, and a heavy dose of prayers. Reenie is still trying to be normal, get out once in awhile, have visitors and enjoy Ryan's hockey games. The Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup and the Sox taking 2 of 3 from the Cubs lifted her spirits, oh those were my spirits that were lifted, anyway it gives us all hope!!!
Reenie sends her love to all...thanks for every ones support in her fight..we need you and your prayers
Oh and sorry for the late update...

Round One, Round Two.....Round Four

Some of the things that we take for granted, that we don't think are special, that are so mundane and everyday that we don't know we take them for granted. Wake up and decide "I'm going to run to TJ Maxx I need a shower gift", go to lunch with a friend, your daughter asks " want to take a ride I need shoes"  or watch your son play hockey. The past month our fighter stopped chemo and started a hormone therapy treatment, less fatigue, less pain, her body had some energy. What a month, the roller coaster slowed down, the bumps felt manageable and the turns less fearful. Reenie was able to start enjoying herself, she was able to shop, drive over to her moms, catch a game and do yard work all things we fell are pretty routine but to her pretty special. The month was capped off with as our warrior put it " the best day I have had in a long while"

that was last Sunday also Mothers Day. On Wednesday Reenie had her second hormone treatment scheduled and it was also an appointment with her oncologist Dr. Baridi, we would review the last month and her latest tumor markers and a decision would be made to continue this course or start a new one..well we are starting a new one. The markers showed what we feared that the hormone treatment hasn't really helped yet (we were told it may take 6 to 8 weeks to see results) and we don't want to wait to see if it will work on its own. We all decided, Doctors and family that we want to start a new chemo, the month off was awesome, I think it helped Reenie's body get healthy, her mind get refreshed and she knows how it feels to "feel good again" and that is our ultimate goal. We are starting 3 cycles (3 months) of Taxotere given each week along with the monthly hormone treatment, we will draw tumor markers each month and a PETscan in July. We had a PET done on Monday to give the doctors a baseline of which to work, the tumor markers and PET showed the cancer has increased, but has not spread to any organs or to the bone which is always the fear, the doctors have had success with this treatment so our 'Pink Warrior' has a positive outlook and a renewed sense of fight, the last month was like the minute between rounds only she didn't just sit on the stool and listen to me coach, she enjoyed life .....

Love to all, thanks for all the prayers and thoughts

Reenie asks that you "pray longer,faster and harder"

Walk don't run!

Well it's taken me a couple days to try and put into words our weekend experience and I still don't know how to express it.  You see and hear the commercials about the breast cancer walks and how it can be rewarding, uplifting or emotional and life changing and think REALLY a walk, well I can attest it was every thing the commercials say they can be and more. In just a short time Reenie was able to gather a team of  70 plus family, friends, friends of family and family of friends, generated over $2200 dollars for breast cancer research and got to spend the day with each of them. Not to sound prejudice but "Reenie's Pink Warriors" also looked the best (great job on the shirts Kris). I think its remarkable to gather this amount of important people in your life for a moment like this and being able to accomplish this on Mothers Day, pretty cool. Being able to raise money for the cause is kind of rewarding and when all this research is able to help our wives, daughters, nieces and grandchildren well that is definitely life changing. Seeing your wife, her kids, her family and friends come together for her, very uplifting and quite emotional, I now understand the commercial. When you looked at Reenie on Sunday morning you didn't see a breast cancer patient, you saw a beautiful woman in the moment, the moment of Reenie. The sun was shinning and so was Reenie, I don't know the last time I saw her so happy, and for that I'd like thank each and everyone one of "Reenie's Pink Warriors" she smiled and enjoyed the whole day and she walked, she walked the complete course. Reenie was determined to not miss this day, 2 weeks ago the odds looked like 100 to 1 she would be able to walk to the car let alone 3 miles. Our warrior took a cortisone shot in the heal 1 week ago and couldn't walk for 2 days, like I said she was determined to do this walk. Reenie was able to start the day with her good friend Debbie Markham, who was, we are happy to say walking as a survivor, Debbie finished her treatments last month. The two girls have been an inspiration to each other and unknowingly daily inspirations to all of us followers. Debbie also had a team in the walk with a great turnout, 2 friends on a mission, job well done.
We completed the day with a cookout at Kristen and Josh's and spent the afternoon with our kids, Reenie's brothers and their families a couple friends and Kristens wonderful extended family..this was a good day, no this was a Great day.
Now its back to business for our fighter, we see the oncologist tomorrow (Wednesday). This will be our first visit since we stopped chemo and started the hormone treatment. We will receive our results from the tumor markers drawn last week. The doctors will assess Reenie's progress and determine whether she will continue this path or need to start another chemo regiment. The lack of chemo has helped Reenie build up strength and enjoy a more normal life style, but we need results so tomorrow is another big day.
Thanks and love to all "Reenie's Pink Warriors"

I think the roller coaster has been hyjacked !!!

Again I have let too much information get built up before putting my thoughts to print. Two weeks ago Reenie was about to get her third dose of the chemo drug Gemzar but was unable to because her platelets were too low and there was a fear that she could have a problem if she was to start bleeding for any reason. We had to delay her treatment until that count came up and there was no medical help to increase the platelets just time....which seems EVERYTHING is predicated on...need time to get her biopsy results...time to schedule an additional opinion with the University of Illinois oncolgy department...time to see if the Gemzar is working....time to get our doctors on the same page ...time. Reenie was able to get her treatment 4 days later so those 4 days or that time was spent being anxious which is now our normal frame of mind these days. Fridays treatment seemed to go ok but the weekend was HELL for our warrior, felt tired and the bone pain and musle ache was worse than the past few weeks. Sunday Reenie woke up with a swollen left arm and severe pain, now what we thought, well we have hydration Monday so we will see the docs then and explain the muscle aches and the swollen arm. I woke up Monday looked at the pain Reenie was in and thought I need to take some time off work, this could be a wild week....it was. Monday afternoon the doctors saw the swollen arm and thought "blood clot" but how could that be, the treatment causes the platelets to drop so clotting is not a problem, or so we thought. A trip to Metro South hospital and an ultrasound later we were now dealing with a blood clot. The technician explained that he was going to ultrasoumd each arm because thier facility demands that, I guess there are some facilities that only do what is ordered..good thing the clot was found in the right or opposite arm. This means more shots, shots to thin the blood, so back to the doctors office for the shots. Tuesday a new day and a new doctor, we had decided that once the cancer came back and was resistant to the second treatment of chemo we need to seek other opinions and thoughts on the case. We had scheduled this appointment weeks ago but had to wait, time to gather information, lots of information, tests,scans,diagnosis...lots of information to pass along to the University and schedule an appointment to see their director. We met with 3 doctors, one being the director of oncology for the University of Illinois and we were impressed, we were informed and we were encouraged. Encouraged being the obvious most important feeling walking away from our meeting. Before I get too far ahead with the University doctors,On Monday the day before, Reenie's regular doctors, before shipping us immediately to the hospital for the ultrasound, told us that one of Reenie's numerous weekly and monthly tests came back showing she was menopausal..this as it turns out ...big news. Reenie was always borderline and fake menopausal which determines certain treatments some are pre-menopasual and some post, we never knew for sure so this was sort of big. We now can start on a hormone treatment which will give us another line of attack. So before we left they gave our fighter a monthly shot of Faslodex which will be her hormonal treatment, which is actually another form of chemo but really doesn't have the severe side affects...I'm thinking this is good. Back to our meeting, Dr. Mehta said that the recent finding of being post-menopausal is the way to fight the beast and whoever requested this last biopsy (our Kristen) was brillant.we can now use this hormone treatment..Faslodex, I think I have a new favorite drug. He also felt that this should be the only way to fight this at the present time, he is not one to throw alot of combo medicine treatments at his patients and he had some credible backup and findings. So now lets get these two doctors together for some discussions..need time for that, later in the week that will happen. Still waiting for some biopsy results we had appointment with our surgeon and appointments with our primary to go over the increasing prescriptions and then finally chemo hydration day, yes this would be a wild week. Really I'm not sure if the roller coaster has left the track or it has been taken over by the energizer bunny, because it just isn't stopping anytime soon. So at this point our team of doctors are ALL leaning toward treating this beast with the hormone therapy drug Faslodex and ceasing the chemo therapy drug Gemzar. If this works, and we already have seen some benefits, smaller bumps, no increase in marks or bumps Reenie's quality of life should improve and that is the proverbial WIN WIN situation....Friday the day we had nothing scheduled, wouldn't stay that way too long. We recieved a call Thursday night that Shannon our oldest daughter was possibly having issues with her pregancy and had an appointment Friday morning, so Reenie as always would be there for her kids, took Shannon this morning to her doctors  to find out that her pregnacy was terminating. Shannon's rock her "mama bear" was with her this morning to console and explain how every thing happens for a reason, reasons that may take years to figure out but reasons none the less....maybe we needed another angel to look over us, and get us off this F$&#!%* roller coaster.
Love to all...

I'm a blogger not a fighter!...Reenie's the fighter

Well we have our new treatment and next course of action to tame the beast. Today we had our second dose of the chemotherapy regiment of Gemzar and Avastin. Gemzar is the newest chemo drug for our warrior who two weeks ago had an allergic reaction to Ixtempra. The roller coaster ride we hopped on a few weeks ago doesn't seem to want to stop anytime soon. Last week during our visit with the oncologist he explained how he wanted to handle our latest development of increased cancer cell activity, yes he was concerned that this monster had found away around the treatment of Abraxane that only weeks ago looked miraculous. This creature is aggressive, mean and somewhat smart, he has found a new pathway and we need to stop it's progress. Our oncologist will continue using a combination of targeted drugs which cuts off blood supply to the cells and chemo drugs which kills fast growing cells. The team (doctors,nurses,family and friends) are staying positive we will find the right combination and kill this freaking monster once and for all. We do have a biopsy scheduled for Thursday, this will verify the cancer cell makeup, we have had 2 different cancers to date and we need to positively identify the makeup of what really is the 3rd occurrence of cancer. There is no doubt that this latest turn of events has been worrisome, but our confidence is not shattered and Reenie's strength is mind blowing. I can't even explain or know what she must be feeling and dealing with as far as all the emotions she is going through daily..the unknown...the pain..the thoughts..the dreams and nightmares..I cry for her each day..but I also pray for her each day... and I believe each day.. that we will beat this. Growing up I probably thought I was tough, well I might not have won a lot of fights but I could take a punch, I would stand in there with anyone...but I know I don't have half the strength that our beautiful pink warrior has...she really is an inspiration...I am inspired each and every day.
The positive from treatment this week is that Reenie has tolerated the Gemzar so far, no allergic reaction, and its hard to say for sure but the visible bumps and marks have stayed about the same for the last few days where a week or more ago we could see the spreading of cells take place...so it may be that this new drug is already suppressing the growth....thanks to our family and friends, your support is unwavering and it is amazing the love you have bestowed on our family..the Haas'

On St. Patty's day we are looking for a little "luck o the Irish"

 Well it has been a couple very eventful weeks in the Haas' household. On Sunday March 7th our warrior woke up to find some bumps on her chest wall which looked suspiciously similar to the ones she found last fall. During the examination the following day while receiving chemo the doctors and P.A's. determined this needs to be looked into because of the previous history. Thinking back to the recent pet scan we held out hope this was just some dying tissue but we were scheduled for another pet scan and needed to have the tumor markers drawn. So another anxious week was in the forecast.
During the week of testing Reenie and I were blessed with the news that we are grandparents to be, Shannon and her boyfriend Vito are expecting and we are truly excited about the newest chapter in our lives. It has been fun to see the family get some exciting news for a change.

The emotional roller coaster has continued this week (for the record I HATE roller coasters, mechanical and especially emotional); Monday we received the results of the scans and markers. Both exams showed an increase in cancer cell activity, which means the treatment is not working, the cancer cells have become resistant to this particular therapy treatment. Devastated and disheartened we listened as the doctors explained that yes this happens and yes they have a plan, start a new medicine Tuesday and begin 6 cycles of the new drug Ixempra. This drug is given every 21 days and we are going to begin immediately.....so we thought.

Our pink warrior determined to fight but without a doubt disappointed and as I said earlier disheartened, woke up scared but dedicated to the battle Tuesday looking beautiful as always walked into the infusion room stronger than I ever could. The new drug will take 3 hours with a prep time of at least 1 hour with anti-nausea, a steroid and Benadryl to counter any possible reactions. After about 1/2 hour of receiving the new drug Ixempra Reenie's face became flush, and she started to feel anxious so they paused the treatment. The redness went away but not the anxiety so they gave her something to calm her down and resumed the treatment. The feelings were progressively getting worse and the flushed face returned and treatment had to be discontinued. She was having an allergic reaction so more disappointing news we can't use the new drug. She did have 1/3 of the scheduled dose so we need to wait a couple weeks before a new treatment can be started. Monday the 22nd we will consult with our oncology team and a new treatment will be decided on then.
Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers "keep em coming"  thanks to all our angels who are preparing unbelivable dinners and providing rides and visits everyone should know you all are playing a part in our warriors recovery process...love to all

Pitchers and catchers report

Another milestone has come and gone, cycle 4 in Reenie's treatment is complete. The pet scan that our warrior had done two weeks ago and the tremendous results have let the doctors tweak the chemo amounts by decreasing the dose about 10%. This reduction of the chemo drug Abraxane "in theory" should be more tolerable to Reenie, hopefully with less side effects....well not really much help. The bone pain in her legs and hips have lessened slightly because the need for Nupragen shots has also decreased. The latest problems have been nueropathy in her hands, leaving them tingling, numb and at times brutally painful. Her nails are discolored, tender with the possibility of loss. Reenie is also fighting a sore throat, cough and laryngitis, so she is back to texting if you are wondering why she is not answering the phone.
In keeping her wedding streak alive, 3 weddings in 50 days,she was determined to attend the wedding of friends Joe and Terry McElligott's daughter Candi to Eric Johnson, this ceremony was special in many ways, 1) well the wedding, 2) our daughter Shannon was a bridesmaid, 3) it was held in the cathedral known as "the Cell" the home of the White Sox, and 4) it marked a special passage of time for our cancer fighting warriors Reenie and Debbie Markham (Candi's aunt). The girls were determined to share this day together and celebrate not only the wedding but also the impending end to their battles. The big weekend did take a toll on Reenie for Sunday she was wiped out and unable to attend our annual Christmas dinner with the Cheer Moms or COF's.
Like I have mentioned in previous posts I was looking forward to the upcoming baseball season to help mark the time of big days in Reenie's fight. Pitchers and cathers report about the time Reenie finished up cycle 4. Opening day will mark the start of the 6st and final chemo cycle with the completion around Ryan's birthday, which by that time the Sox should be in first place by 3 games and the Cubs will be looking forward to next year.
As always Reenie sends her love to all the angels, thanks for everything and always being there for support...keep saying the MIRACLE PRAYER its working

Nervousness..scared..frightened......BLESSED

Near-resolution of prior diffuse abnormal radiotracer activity throughout the subcutaneous tissues.....
Near-resolution of hypermetabolic adenopathy in axillary regions within the subcutaneous tissues.....
THE APPEARANCE IS CONSISTENT WITH TREATED METASTATIC DISEASE!!!!

The chemotherapy, the prayers, the support and the love is all working. Today we were met in the hallway of Reenie's chemo appointment with a whisper of "we have good news" as one of our Physician Assistants walked by while attending to another patient. They brought our fighter into her infusion room and said the doctor is not here yet but when he comes we will move you into a private room. Well if we didn't hear the whisper in the hall we would have reached panic mode. I came home last night to a very frightened girl, man how much more can she handle. A wonderful weekend with an awesome wedding of friends Jim and Carole Lyke's son Phil, and a nice afternoon with her girlz ended with the reality of Monday starts round 4 of chemo and the PET SCAN RESULTS. Reenie was scared and I was nervous, yeah we had good results from the tumor markers but this beast is unpredictable. The pain that Reenie had for two weeks had let up for the last few days what a blessing that was, she was able to attend the wedding which helped the spirits of her family, we know she is felling better when she WANTS to get out. Well when the doctor and his assistant brought us into our room, well our PA was as excited as anyone she could not believe the results and couldn't wait until we got there today. Dr Baridi explained the results and after all the medical jargon he said that 90% of Reenie's cancer is gone...NINETY PERCENT after 3 rounds, pretty miraculous, like I mentioned earlier I firmly believe this has been a collaboration of many efforts, yes the medicine is doing its job and cutting off blood flow to the bad cells, and the prayers are doing their job I know there are many and keep them coming they are powerful,and the support and love from family and friends have helped Reenie keep her eyes on the prize, she doesn't have to worry about things that YOU, her support group are taking care of. The treatment will not change still 3 more cycles,3 months then we discuss the AFTER treatment,AFTER being the operative word, AFTER the cancer is GONE.
Reenie sends her love to all..keep saying the MIRACLE PRAYER

6 more weeks of winter...3 more months of Chemo

Reenie didn't see her shadow this week, cause Reenie usually doesn't see the sunlight. Well there really hasn't been too much sunlight anyway, our fighter doesn't get out much to see the sun or clouds and the last few weeks have been no exception. This was suppose to be the week of recovery, the week to enjoy not having chemo, the week to be somewhat normal. Last Friday Reenie woke up with a swollen arm and red spots on her chest and arm,she was scheduled to have blood work anyway that afternoon so she would let the doctors see the new development then. Her count was low and there was a concern she may have a blood clot in the arm so off to see another doctor. The doctors felt this wasn't a clot but most likely an allergic reaction to ...something, pain meds, food, not really sure. This was not part of the plan, to have another issue to deal with again. The treatment for the possible allergy was a mega dose of steroids, Prednezone, which seemed to work overnight. The swelling went down and the rash decreased, but with the good came the bad, her pain has been unrelenting and it seemed the steroid accentuated the pain. Reenie literally would just sit and cry because the pain would be so much, never complained, just cried and hoped for an end soon.
Today was really the first day in quite a while that Reenie felt good, so lucky her, she had a PET Scan scheduled for her good day. Reenie did have the opportunity to spend the afternoon with her girlfriend Jan from work so for Reen it was a good day.
Monday is really a big day I figure, our warrior starts the second half of her treatment and we receive the results from today's test. We don't know what to really expect other than the hope that the scans shows a reduction in cancer cells a good test that rivals our earlier news from last month's tumor markers.

Thanks to everyone for their love,support and most important their prayers.
Reenie sends her love to all

Intermission, at the turn, halftime.......3 down 3 to go

Well the good news is our warrior has completed 3 of 6 chemo therapy cycles, she has managed to stay strong and determined to tame the beast again. The crummy news is that the fatigue and bone pain has continued which Reenie has been able to tolerate to a point. The addition of nerve pain in her hands has been at times debilitating making simple chores difficult and somewhat impossible. The doctors and physician assistants have been monitoring the pain and if it becomes intolerable they would scale back the doses of chemo. We don't want that, with the positive results from the last run of tumor markers, we really want to stay on this scheduled treatment. The coming week is a week of hydration and no chemo,time for our fighter to recover, just a little, than its back to anxiety ( a pet scan is scheduled for Thursday Feb 4th) and the second half of the chemo treatment starts Monday Feb 8th. We are looking toward the end of April as a completion date, can't come soon enough. We need to keep looking at all the positives, 1/2 way there, good tumor results, too cold to go out anyway. One thing that creeps into our house every so often is depression, that has been one of my biggest foes this time "keeping Reenie up". I would imagine that even with this &@*%%# weather, staying in the house for weeks at a time other than doctor appointments would get to most of us. So know that your short visits, cards, phone calls and text messages help her spirit. She may not answer, probably sleeping, she may not return a text, hands probably hurt, or may not answer the door, Lifetime movie on, but keep the encouraging words coming anyway. We have a long 3 months ahead, but we know that Reenie can do this, the weather will improve sometime during that period and soon we will be walking in the Beverly Mothers day walk and celebrating life for Reenie and Debbie. Reenie and our family send their love.

We are BLESSED!

It has been awhile since I have updated the blog, I am sorry if you have been looking for updates on our 'pink warrior'. The wonderful Christmas season turned into a uncertain start to the NEW YEAR. What I have figured out with my intuitive ability to figure things out is that the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) fall near the end of the month, and Reenie's most difficult times also are at the end of the month. The chemo treatments which have been the first 3 Mondays of the each month and leave our fighter pretty sick by the last week of the month. We looked forward to our annual 'pajama party' with the cheer mom's on News Years Eve but were unable to attend because it was a really low time for Reenie as well as myself. Reenie also has to miss the annual trip to Pompano Beach Florida with the cheer moms scheduled for this week. Reenie has the constant fatigue and the pain has seemed to increase with this last cycle, which was completed around the holidays. With the holidays over and the third cycle beginning Reenie's spirit seemed to be down but a lift from an out of town friend (Denise from Texas) was what she needed. The disappointment of a few missed holiday gatherings and just not feeling well left Reenie 'kinda down'. Last week, which was a non chemo week was time to recover and a visitor from afar did a lot to bring the spirit back. The girls (H.S. friend circle) had a movie night and a spa day all very fun but very exhausting. Reenie ended the week in preparation for the start of cycle number 3 of chemo treatments with a visit from a healing priest.

Cancer is such a devastating disease without a real cure, only medicine to kill existing cells, surgery to remove cells and hope they never return. Hope is one of the most important words thrown around the "Cancer community". So when approached about a visit with a healing priest the thought was we'll do ANYTHING. Maureen Scobey, Reenie's best friend felt the same and happened to be in a restaurant when the Catholic Servite priest was present and had the idea to make sure her friend was going to meet this man. The week after Maureen met Fr. Rookey Reenie was hospitalized in late November with low white counts, a fever and terrible headaches from the first chemo treatment. While in the hospital Reenie met a chaplain who said we should contact this Catholic priest, a Fr Rookey, a sign, maybe? Hey like I said before we'll do anything. Last Sunday Maureen and Jim opened their home to our family, Reenie's mom and brothers and a couple friends, we had dinner, prayers and a blessing from our new friend Fr. Rookey, a beautiful day.

Monday Reenie had tumor markers drawn, these are the numbers that help the doctors and P.A's see how the chemo is working, help decide whether the treatment is the correct one and like I have mentioned before give us non medical people a idea of whats going on.

Thursday Reenie received a call from the oncologist with some news they thought we would like to hear, the tumor markers have dropped SUBSTANTIALLY!!!!! Last month after the first chemo cycle the numbers decreased about 10%, this month about 50% more...it looks like the treatment is working!!!

Again thank you to all our angels, the prayers are working!!,thanks for all the food over the last few weeks from the Stells, the Lykes, Ilene, Jan, the broomriders, Patti, the Kosieks, the Heffernans, the Keatings and the Ganser's it has all been wonderful.
Love to all and Thanks again to the Scobey family!
Here's to a Happy and HEALTHY New Year!