Up dates on Dave & Lisa Brown's daughter-n-law Heather Brown Breast Cancer beat now beating Leukemia
August 12, 2018 Update from Heather Brown
It’s been 87 days since I last updated y’all on my progress. To be honest there hasn’t been much to report, which is a good thing. The last 87 days I have been hanging out at home, avoiding public places, visiting the doctor and letting my immune system rebuild. The hardest part of the transplant has been my low energy levels and my loss of appetite. To be honest I was surprised at how much the transplant took out of me. I’ve had over 25 rounds of chemo in the last two years, so I thought I knew what to expect, but man this was tough.
Friday (8/9/18) I hit +100 days post transplant which is a big mile marker! For the last 100 days I wasn’t allowed to drive (which sucked because I just got a new car), I couldn’t be home alone (big thanks to everyone who gave up their summer days to hang out with me) and I’ve been taking a ton of drugs (some of which had really icky side effects). But at day +100 these restrictions are lifted!!! I can drive, I can be alone, and I get to start tapering off the drugs!
I meet with the doctors this week to find out what’s next. I know I have three more bone marrow biopsy’s scheduled for the next year. I know I must limit how much time I spend in public places. When I received my transplant I lost all immunizations. I must wait a year before I can get reimmunized. So if you or your kids have not been immunized, I’m sorry but it will be awhile before we can hang out. The doctors say my life depends on it.
These last few years have been a challenge. Our little family has gone through more than we would have ever expected. There is no way we could have made it through without the love and support from our friends and family. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
On Sunday October 14th, Tim, Beckett and I will be participating in the Light the Night event being put on by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I would love it if you could make it to this event. It would be a great way for me and my family to say thank you for your support these last two years! If you would like to sing up and join my team you can do so by going tohttps://pages.lightthenight.org/mn/TwinCiti18/HeathersHeroes#home I hope to see you there!
It’s been 87 days since I last updated y’all on my progress. To be honest there hasn’t been much to report, which is a good thing. The last 87 days I have been hanging out at home, avoiding public places, visiting the doctor and letting my immune system rebuild. The hardest part of the transplant has been my low energy levels and my loss of appetite. To be honest I was surprised at how much the transplant took out of me. I’ve had over 25 rounds of chemo in the last two years, so I thought I knew what to expect, but man this was tough.
Friday (8/9/18) I hit +100 days post transplant which is a big mile marker! For the last 100 days I wasn’t allowed to drive (which sucked because I just got a new car), I couldn’t be home alone (big thanks to everyone who gave up their summer days to hang out with me) and I’ve been taking a ton of drugs (some of which had really icky side effects). But at day +100 these restrictions are lifted!!! I can drive, I can be alone, and I get to start tapering off the drugs!
I meet with the doctors this week to find out what’s next. I know I have three more bone marrow biopsy’s scheduled for the next year. I know I must limit how much time I spend in public places. When I received my transplant I lost all immunizations. I must wait a year before I can get reimmunized. So if you or your kids have not been immunized, I’m sorry but it will be awhile before we can hang out. The doctors say my life depends on it.
These last few years have been a challenge. Our little family has gone through more than we would have ever expected. There is no way we could have made it through without the love and support from our friends and family. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
On Sunday October 14th, Tim, Beckett and I will be participating in the Light the Night event being put on by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I would love it if you could make it to this event. It would be a great way for me and my family to say thank you for your support these last two years! If you would like to sing up and join my team you can do so by going tohttps://pages.lightthenight.org/mn/TwinCiti18/HeathersHeroes#home I hope to see you there!
April 2018 Update from Heather:
Wow it’s been over a month since I last sent out an update. Sorry about that! Let me fill you in on what’s been going on.
In March I was admitted to the hospital for a round of chemo. I ended up getting sicker than normal from the drugs. I was also sharing a room with a woman who was dying from cancer. It was a challenging hospital stay.
When I got home from the hospital I struggled to feel better. A week after getting out of the hospital I spiked a fever and Tim had to bring me to the ER. They diagnosed me with the human metapneumovirus, its sounds scarier than it is. Most people can fight the virus no problem, but because my immune system was compromised I ended up in the hospital for four days getting IV antibiotics.
I’ve been out of the hospital since March 21st and have been working on feeling better and regaining my strength to get ready for my Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). The last two weeks we have been in full BMT preparation mode. I have had several test done to make sure my body is strong enough to go through with the transplant. Matt drove up from Georgia to start his prep work for being the donor.
Yesterday I got the call that we’ve both passed our tests, insurance has approved us and we can move forward with the BMT. On Friday (4/27) I will be admitted to the hospital again. On Saturday I will start total body radiation, which I will do twice a day for 4 days. Mean while Matt will be getting shots everyday to help increase the number stem cells in his blood.
On Wednesday May 2nd Matt will go in to the clinic where they will hook him up to IVs and run his blood though a machine to remove his stem cells. It’s a similar process to donating plasma. It will take about 5 to 6 hours and then they will bring his stem cells over to the hospital where they will put them in me via IV. On day 3 and 4 after transplant I will have more chemo. This is supposed to help decreases my chances of getting Graft vs. Host disease.
After the chemo I am basically just sitting around waiting for Matt’s stem cell to set up shop in my bones and start building a new immune system. The doctors assure me that I will be feeling terrible during this time. But as soon as my body has 500 neutrophils for 3 days in a row, and I am eating and drinking ok then it is safe for me to be sent home. They said it can take anywhere from 18 days to 7 weeks for that to happen.
Many people have asked if I can have visitors during this process and the answer is YES! The doctors encourage visitors to help keep my spirits up. There are just a few rules. No children under the age of 5, you can’t be sick, and no more than 3 visitors at a time. I will be staying in a special pressurized room and the air purifier can’t handle more than 3 guests at a time.
Last time I was in the hospital people sent me cards which was awesome! I will update everyone with my room number on Friday once I know what it is. If you would like to send me cards or your kids want to send me pictures they made I would love it! I will proudly display them in my room.
I want to thank you all again for your continued support! The last 23 months (can you believe it hasn’t even been a full 2 years since this started!) has been filled with some great highs and some really challenging lows. But one thing cancer has shown us is how lucky we are to have such a great support system! We couldn’t have done it with out you and we are so lucky to have you in our lives!
Wow it’s been over a month since I last sent out an update. Sorry about that! Let me fill you in on what’s been going on.
In March I was admitted to the hospital for a round of chemo. I ended up getting sicker than normal from the drugs. I was also sharing a room with a woman who was dying from cancer. It was a challenging hospital stay.
When I got home from the hospital I struggled to feel better. A week after getting out of the hospital I spiked a fever and Tim had to bring me to the ER. They diagnosed me with the human metapneumovirus, its sounds scarier than it is. Most people can fight the virus no problem, but because my immune system was compromised I ended up in the hospital for four days getting IV antibiotics.
I’ve been out of the hospital since March 21st and have been working on feeling better and regaining my strength to get ready for my Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). The last two weeks we have been in full BMT preparation mode. I have had several test done to make sure my body is strong enough to go through with the transplant. Matt drove up from Georgia to start his prep work for being the donor.
Yesterday I got the call that we’ve both passed our tests, insurance has approved us and we can move forward with the BMT. On Friday (4/27) I will be admitted to the hospital again. On Saturday I will start total body radiation, which I will do twice a day for 4 days. Mean while Matt will be getting shots everyday to help increase the number stem cells in his blood.
On Wednesday May 2nd Matt will go in to the clinic where they will hook him up to IVs and run his blood though a machine to remove his stem cells. It’s a similar process to donating plasma. It will take about 5 to 6 hours and then they will bring his stem cells over to the hospital where they will put them in me via IV. On day 3 and 4 after transplant I will have more chemo. This is supposed to help decreases my chances of getting Graft vs. Host disease.
After the chemo I am basically just sitting around waiting for Matt’s stem cell to set up shop in my bones and start building a new immune system. The doctors assure me that I will be feeling terrible during this time. But as soon as my body has 500 neutrophils for 3 days in a row, and I am eating and drinking ok then it is safe for me to be sent home. They said it can take anywhere from 18 days to 7 weeks for that to happen.
Many people have asked if I can have visitors during this process and the answer is YES! The doctors encourage visitors to help keep my spirits up. There are just a few rules. No children under the age of 5, you can’t be sick, and no more than 3 visitors at a time. I will be staying in a special pressurized room and the air purifier can’t handle more than 3 guests at a time.
Last time I was in the hospital people sent me cards which was awesome! I will update everyone with my room number on Friday once I know what it is. If you would like to send me cards or your kids want to send me pictures they made I would love it! I will proudly display them in my room.
I want to thank you all again for your continued support! The last 23 months (can you believe it hasn’t even been a full 2 years since this started!) has been filled with some great highs and some really challenging lows. But one thing cancer has shown us is how lucky we are to have such a great support system! We couldn’t have done it with out you and we are so lucky to have you in our lives!
On April 12, 2018 "david e. brown" <davidebrown55@yahoo.com> wrote:
Grace and peace, Friends and family.
It has been awhile since I have updated about Heather, mostly because there has not been much to report, and I have been on a three week road trip.
Good News…Heather went back to the Dr. last week to be evaluated as to her health for a bone marrow transplant. Her blood test showed no signs of leukemia, so she continues to be in remission. Praise God for that and answered prayer. Thank you! Also, the dr. informed heather and Tim that the procedure she will go through has changed. Recent developments show that her brother Matt, who is a perfect match for heather, will not donate bone marrow, but rather stem cells taken from his blood. The Drs will take Matts blood out, harvest the stem cells, and then put his blood back in…Then the stem cells will be put into Heather, and somehow (read miracle of creation!), those stem cells “know” that then need to become bone marrow that will start producing healthy blood cells for Heather!
So…The process is difficult to prepare Heather to receive these cells. She is undergoing health tests this week, like EKG’s, and the like, then most likely she will be admitted to the hospital next Tuesday to undergo one more chemo treatment and then a number of full body radiation treatments to kill off all of her bone marrow. She will be in an isolation unit for quite some time. Most likely, a week later, April 24, she will receive the stem cells from her brother. Then, as I understand it, it is a matter of waiting for those stem cells to become bone marrow cells and do their thing. It could take up to 8 weeks hospitalization for her to be healthy enough to go home, but she will need 24/7 accompaniment as her body adjusts to the anti rejection drugs and getting stronger. After about 3 months, she should be completely cured and free from anti rejection (as her brother is a perfect match) and get back to living life cancer free.
If you are inclined to pray for Heather and Tim and Beckett…that would be great and we appreciate it. God knows the details so just for good health and thanksgiving for not only the miracles that God provides but for the gift of knowledge and modern medicine!
More specifically, for patience for Heather for this long ordeal and good emotional health as she lives through the isolation period.
For Beckett as he has to spend days/weeks without his mom and is kind of tired of her being sick…(Thanks for technology that at least lets them FaceTime when they are separated)
For Tim as he holds down the fort and enters his busy season of work. He lost a crew member last week to a rotator cuff injury that will require surgery and keep Enriqu out of work for a few months.
For Mark and Kathy(Heather’s parents) as they also enter their busy season with their business, and Lisa and me as both sets of parents help out as much as we can.
The doctors are as confident as possible, not expecting any percentage of error for this procedure and Heather’s complete healing of leukemia.
We covet your friendship, your prayers, your perseverance with us in these days.
God bless you all!
d.
Grace and peace, Friends and family.
It has been awhile since I have updated about Heather, mostly because there has not been much to report, and I have been on a three week road trip.
Good News…Heather went back to the Dr. last week to be evaluated as to her health for a bone marrow transplant. Her blood test showed no signs of leukemia, so she continues to be in remission. Praise God for that and answered prayer. Thank you! Also, the dr. informed heather and Tim that the procedure she will go through has changed. Recent developments show that her brother Matt, who is a perfect match for heather, will not donate bone marrow, but rather stem cells taken from his blood. The Drs will take Matts blood out, harvest the stem cells, and then put his blood back in…Then the stem cells will be put into Heather, and somehow (read miracle of creation!), those stem cells “know” that then need to become bone marrow that will start producing healthy blood cells for Heather!
So…The process is difficult to prepare Heather to receive these cells. She is undergoing health tests this week, like EKG’s, and the like, then most likely she will be admitted to the hospital next Tuesday to undergo one more chemo treatment and then a number of full body radiation treatments to kill off all of her bone marrow. She will be in an isolation unit for quite some time. Most likely, a week later, April 24, she will receive the stem cells from her brother. Then, as I understand it, it is a matter of waiting for those stem cells to become bone marrow cells and do their thing. It could take up to 8 weeks hospitalization for her to be healthy enough to go home, but she will need 24/7 accompaniment as her body adjusts to the anti rejection drugs and getting stronger. After about 3 months, she should be completely cured and free from anti rejection (as her brother is a perfect match) and get back to living life cancer free.
If you are inclined to pray for Heather and Tim and Beckett…that would be great and we appreciate it. God knows the details so just for good health and thanksgiving for not only the miracles that God provides but for the gift of knowledge and modern medicine!
More specifically, for patience for Heather for this long ordeal and good emotional health as she lives through the isolation period.
For Beckett as he has to spend days/weeks without his mom and is kind of tired of her being sick…(Thanks for technology that at least lets them FaceTime when they are separated)
For Tim as he holds down the fort and enters his busy season of work. He lost a crew member last week to a rotator cuff injury that will require surgery and keep Enriqu out of work for a few months.
For Mark and Kathy(Heather’s parents) as they also enter their busy season with their business, and Lisa and me as both sets of parents help out as much as we can.
The doctors are as confident as possible, not expecting any percentage of error for this procedure and Heather’s complete healing of leukemia.
We covet your friendship, your prayers, your perseverance with us in these days.
God bless you all!
d.
On February 13, 2018 "david e. brown" <davidebrown55@yahoo.com> wrote:
The latest is that Heather will be on a two year program of regular chemo…200 plus days of various pills/injections and short hospital stays and then 500 days of maintenance and regular blood work. Apparently this approach has worked well with children and is now being applied to adults instead of bone marrow transplants. Heather's brother is a perfect match if needed in the future, so that is the fall back position if things don’t go as expected. The human body is pretty amazing.
grateful for the prayers!
thanks pt for communicating with Mt Bethel friends!
d.
The latest is that Heather will be on a two year program of regular chemo…200 plus days of various pills/injections and short hospital stays and then 500 days of maintenance and regular blood work. Apparently this approach has worked well with children and is now being applied to adults instead of bone marrow transplants. Heather's brother is a perfect match if needed in the future, so that is the fall back position if things don’t go as expected. The human body is pretty amazing.
grateful for the prayers!
thanks pt for communicating with Mt Bethel friends!
d.
On February 8, 2018 "david e. brown" <davidebrown55@yahoo.com> wrote: Miracle in the making ....
Grace and peace to you friends and family.
Thank you so much for your prayers for Heather.
Three weeks ago today my daughter in law, Heather Brown, was diagnosed with Leukemia. This after a two year bout with breast cancer of which there is no sign. Her oncologist told her that she needed to go to the hospital a few days later, Monday, and that she would begin chemo treatments for one month to 6 weeks. The Dr. believed that the two were unrelated. The good news is that Heather was on an experimental immunotherapy regimen in which she received a treatment every three weeks and had her blood tested every 6 weeks. 6 weeks prior her blood was clean. On Tuesday the 16th of January there were leukemia cells.
We didn’t know how bad it was until this week. 75 % of her white blood cells were infected with leukemia cells and over 90% of her bone cells had leukemia. (This isn’t real technical, but apparently when they test bone marrow there also biopsy a bit of bone.) Obviously we all were hugely impacted by this news and almost immediately put out communications for people to pray for Heather and Tim. Lisa canceled her mission trip to the Dominican Republic in order to stay with Tim and help out with Beckett. Heather’s family obviously have done what they could as well. Andy started a Go Fund Me campaign which was very successful to help out financially. They have been overwhelmed with the support.
14 days apparently is a critical day with leukemia patients. The numbers need to go down to have a chance at conquering the disease. Heather had the blood test and bone chip biopsy on Monday. The results for the white cells came back on Tuesday and there were 0% leukemia cells! Not 5, not 10, but 0%! The dr. came in yesterday morning with the news that gave her “goose bumps”…the bone chip also came back with 0% leukemia cells! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I think this is a bona fide miracle!
The road ahead is still arduous. Heather will be in the hospital for two more weeks receiving chemo treatments. She will be looked at as a candidate for a bone marrow transplant which can be a difficult 90 day journey of isolation and drugs. Tim says it is the only true cure for leukemia. Because of Heathers position at her work and this lengthy absence she resigned her position. She hopes to do some things from home while she takes this time off.
All in all this is the absolutely best news we could have received. Our whole family is grateful to all of you for praying and supporting Tim and Heather during this time.
It is one of those cases where words are not enough. Thank you.
Continue to remember Heather and Tim in your prayers.
God bless you richly in these days.
d.
seeking to build original church dna into a diverse community of house fellowships throughout the twin cities
Izaak Walton - "God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart."
Grace and peace to you friends and family.
Thank you so much for your prayers for Heather.
Three weeks ago today my daughter in law, Heather Brown, was diagnosed with Leukemia. This after a two year bout with breast cancer of which there is no sign. Her oncologist told her that she needed to go to the hospital a few days later, Monday, and that she would begin chemo treatments for one month to 6 weeks. The Dr. believed that the two were unrelated. The good news is that Heather was on an experimental immunotherapy regimen in which she received a treatment every three weeks and had her blood tested every 6 weeks. 6 weeks prior her blood was clean. On Tuesday the 16th of January there were leukemia cells.
We didn’t know how bad it was until this week. 75 % of her white blood cells were infected with leukemia cells and over 90% of her bone cells had leukemia. (This isn’t real technical, but apparently when they test bone marrow there also biopsy a bit of bone.) Obviously we all were hugely impacted by this news and almost immediately put out communications for people to pray for Heather and Tim. Lisa canceled her mission trip to the Dominican Republic in order to stay with Tim and help out with Beckett. Heather’s family obviously have done what they could as well. Andy started a Go Fund Me campaign which was very successful to help out financially. They have been overwhelmed with the support.
14 days apparently is a critical day with leukemia patients. The numbers need to go down to have a chance at conquering the disease. Heather had the blood test and bone chip biopsy on Monday. The results for the white cells came back on Tuesday and there were 0% leukemia cells! Not 5, not 10, but 0%! The dr. came in yesterday morning with the news that gave her “goose bumps”…the bone chip also came back with 0% leukemia cells! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I think this is a bona fide miracle!
The road ahead is still arduous. Heather will be in the hospital for two more weeks receiving chemo treatments. She will be looked at as a candidate for a bone marrow transplant which can be a difficult 90 day journey of isolation and drugs. Tim says it is the only true cure for leukemia. Because of Heathers position at her work and this lengthy absence she resigned her position. She hopes to do some things from home while she takes this time off.
All in all this is the absolutely best news we could have received. Our whole family is grateful to all of you for praying and supporting Tim and Heather during this time.
It is one of those cases where words are not enough. Thank you.
Continue to remember Heather and Tim in your prayers.
God bless you richly in these days.
d.
seeking to build original church dna into a diverse community of house fellowships throughout the twin cities
Izaak Walton - "God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart."
On January 18, 2018 "david e. brown" <davidebrown55@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hello, Friends.
Daughter in law Heather was diagnosed with leukemia yesterday. She gets a bone marrow test today and will be admitted to the U of M hospitals on Monday to begin 5 days of inpatient chemotherapy, two weeks off, one week in the hospital, etc.
Needless to say, after two years of fighting off breast cancer this has come as shock. Lisa has decided she needs to stay home from our well building trip and help Tim care for Beckett. I will continue on with the trip. You know how much we were looking forward to this trip, but family is more important.
Anyone you can recruit to pray for Heather especially, and for Tim, would be appreciated. I trust you will be lifting her up!
Thanks so much. I trust you all are doing well.
God bless you richly today!
d.
seeking to build original church dna into a diverse community of house fellowships throughout the twin cities
Izaak Walton - "God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart."
Hello, Friends.
Daughter in law Heather was diagnosed with leukemia yesterday. She gets a bone marrow test today and will be admitted to the U of M hospitals on Monday to begin 5 days of inpatient chemotherapy, two weeks off, one week in the hospital, etc.
Needless to say, after two years of fighting off breast cancer this has come as shock. Lisa has decided she needs to stay home from our well building trip and help Tim care for Beckett. I will continue on with the trip. You know how much we were looking forward to this trip, but family is more important.
Anyone you can recruit to pray for Heather especially, and for Tim, would be appreciated. I trust you will be lifting her up!
Thanks so much. I trust you all are doing well.
God bless you richly today!
d.
seeking to build original church dna into a diverse community of house fellowships throughout the twin cities
Izaak Walton - "God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart."
