8/17/16

Please forgive the lack of updates recently, we have had a lot to try and process.

We have returned home from a trip to Pineview Reservoir in Huntsville, UT and enjoyed some time together as a family.  Before the trip, Jan had another CT to see where they were at.  Since Mom was in a lot of pain after the last session of R-ICE chemo, her oncologist said another session would probably do more harm than good and decided not to schedule any more chemo.

Today we received the results of the CT and after spending time with Jan, and seeing the pain she was in, the results confirmed that the cancer did continue to grow while on the R-ICE chemo.  In some places it doubled, some places stayed the same, there are new tumors in new places and some of the tumors were reduced in size.

On top of all of that information this morning, Jan was in a substantial amount of pain and was taken to the emergency room where it was suspected she could have a blood clot in her lung.  They determined it was the tumors in her lungs and suggested she should begin home hospice care once she was discharged.  They were able to get her pain under control and she is now resting at home.

With all the information we've received we know that her body can't withstand much more and that her time is short.  Our hearts hurt but we believe that this life is not the end and we will see her again and that she will be reunited with our Dad which gives us peace.

While we all appreciate the amazing love and support we continue to receive, please know that Jan can no longer take calls or really text at this point.  She is working on pain management and until it is under control please limit your calls to her at this time.  If you have questions please contact Jessa or Kaitlyn.  Thank you.

Love,

The Norton Family

8/6/16

From Jan:

I'm sorry we haven't posted anything for a while. My family and I needed time to process the news we've been receiving.
Long story short, I'm not a candidate for a bone marrow transplant.  There is just a 10% or less chance that it might slow down he growth of my very aggressive cancer.  The transplant team told me that I have just weeks, maybe months to live.  I'm still going through chemo to try to slow down the growth.  I am currently recovering from my 2nd session of R-ICE chemo. It is very powerful and dangerous chemo. It's hard on my kidneys and my blood, so I have had a few blood transfusions lately.  The most sessions I can have is 4, IF I can tolerate the side effects and IF the cancer doesn't continue to grow.  My understanding is that a 5th session of R-ICE would kill me.

So, our family is planning on spending as much time together as possible while we can. We'll take lots of pictures and try to make as many memories as we can.

Yesterday through Monday are my roughest days this round. I'm nauseated and very tired. However, I still feel well enough to fix something simple to eat and clean up after myself so don't worry too much about me. I'm currently not in pain, so thats good.  Thanks for all your kind thoughts and prayers.