BENEFIT FOR KARA - SATURDAY OCTOBER 6TH!!

Next weekend, Saturday October 6th,  the Austin Family Jewels and Laura Freeman will be having a benefit for Kara and her family at Thai Fresh.  The show starts at 4:30 with Laura Freeman playing her children's music.  The Austin Family Jewels will follow with a guest or two as well.  

There is a $10 suggested donation.  All proceeds will go directly to Kara.

Please come out, enjoy the music, eat something and support Kara, Keith, Gregory and Miko.

A brief update about Kara:  

Brain tumors were discovered this week, which explains the unbearable headache Kara has had for the last three weeks.  Kara begins ten days of radiation treatment on her brain on Monday.  The treatments are Monday through Friday for the next two weeks.  During that time she will not be able to have chemo treatments.  Her previous chemo treatments did not reduce the tumors at all, in fact they grew,  and they will be trying a different type of chemo on this next round.  Kara is now taking steroids which gives her relief from the headaches.  Kara will share more details soon. 

exhausted

hello, everyone! I am so tired today and feel like my body has been put through the wringer. I guess it's caught up with me. I see my surgeon tomorrow for my first post opt visit. I am hoping she takes this drain line and bag off me. I want to sit freely without worrying about this drain bag. I've had a few moments of realization about the dynamics of my new body. When I look down my chest, I see my belly more then before because there is no boob to block the view. This will definitely take some getting used to. There are two things I've always had: hair and boobs. Now I have neither. So many changes to process. I have a lot of doctor's appointments this week and the plan is to refigure my chemo treatments. I am actively researching trying to find the most effective chemo against triple negative cancers. I want results. I am not going to poison my body if the cancer is not responding. I have my second round of tests and scans on Thursday. Hopefully the tumors in my lungs were being selfish and taking all the chemo. I hope everyone has a great week and keep fingers crossed that the brain scan comes back negative!!!!!

Surgery

The procedure went well. My surgeon did mention that I lost more blood then usual so to up my iron for the next few days. Once in there, she took a few more lymph nodes than expected. I am sore but not in pain. The only pain I have is concerning my drain bag which is a little plastic container with a tube that has been sewn into my skin and serves as a drain. When the tube gets clogged it causes pressure to build up at the injection site. It is easily remedied after milking the tube to free the flow. At my follow-up visit, I will probably be able to loose the drain bag. I already feel relieved the tumor is gone. Once I am completely recoverd, I plan to start doing more of the things I used to and let some normalcy return to my life. Thank you to all the visitors yesterday! I loved having you there. I was dischared this morning. I'm glad to be home. Peace to you all, Kara.

September 16, 2012: UPDATE

I will have surgery Friday the 21st. At which time my right breast will be removed to rid my body of this out-of-control tumor once and for all. Surgery, at this point, does not extend my survival rate. It only improves my quality of life which I believe, by default, extends survival rate. I am completely freaked out about being put to sleep. However, I know the outcome will only make life more "normal" as I will be able to move more freely. So, I am, everyday, allowing the fear to be replaced with trust and comfort in knowing that good awaits me on the other side of surgery. My surgeon said no muscle will be cut and I have enough good, healthy tissue the closure should be easy for her. I am not opting for reconstructive surgery at this time. I want to heal first and decide later. I will resume chemo treatments the first week in October. The last week in September, I will repeat CT and Bone scans to see if existing tumors have shrunk. If no tumors have responded to chemo. We will revise the treatment plan. As far as how chemo affected me this week, I have been mostly unaffected. I had a couple of days of not wanting to eat and general fatigue, but no major ill side effects. My mom will come Thursday through Sunday. Keith's mom will be here Friday through the night. My surgery requires an overnight stay. Keith will also be home Friday night but I'm sure will wecome the grandmas' support as we have to arrive at the surgical center by 5:30 A.M. on Friday. This center is at Far West and Mopac. Today is shaping up to be relaxing but productive. We've had a really nice visit with great friends. I have to tell you guys that come for visits how much I appreciate them. Since we don't really get out socially, having friendly visits make me feel connected. Thank you! I look forward to them every week. I hope everyone has a fantastic week and enjoys this badly needed rain!

the latest info

So, I met with my oncologist, Dr. Wright, today. A lot of the same: my blood work (labs) are all good. As usual the only low numbers are my red blood cell counts. However, they are just barely below the low range. So, after my treatment last Thursday, I had an incredible headache--crazy headache. I refer to this type of headache a "baseball bat headache" because a baseball bat to the head would feel better. This headache has been ongoing since last Thursday but it dips and swells in strength. I do not particularly like living with headaches! I also experienced great fatigue this week keeping me mostly resting until Monday. This put a great strain on Keith in his efforts to be mom and dad and housekeeper. My appetite was almost nil but I did manage to keep my weight right at 158. I've been 158 since I started chemo. I feel if I can keep my weight on, it will help me through all the drug therapy. I did have anohter leg pain episode which started a few days before I received my treatment on Thursday. This is inconsistent with the last leg pain episode which seemed to happen after treatment. Again Dr. Wright ordered an ultrasound, to rule out blood clot. She also ordered xrays of my entire left leg and lower back to try to diagnose this pain. The ultrasound was negative--no blood clot!! That is good. We want no extra problems at this point. The xrays however showed a tiny lesion on my left leg that is a metastases. Mystery solved. It is cancer that is causing the leg pain. This does not change my treatment nor does it complicate it. It is simply more information. As Dr. Wright ut it today, "This bone met(metasteses) is bottom of the worry list." Essentially, it is just more to monitor. Dr. Wright is ordering that my orginal xrays, taken after a suspicious area showed up on bone scan at the end of July, be examined again and compared to the current xrays. We want this to be an oversite and not new growth. She is also ordering another round of CT and Bone scans at the beginning of October. This time she is adding my brain to the order to rule out metasteses to the brain since I am experiencing so many headaches. I am honestly scared to find the results of a brain scan. I so do not want cancer in my brain. On another note: All the support that continues to flow our way is beyond helpful. You guys are sustaining us right now and allowing the space we need to try to get through this. The last couple of weeks have been really challenging. I know there are more challenges to come. I have been more emotional lately and feeling more discouraged and a bit overwhelmed. Then someone comes over for a visit or we get food or we get $ to pay bills and I remember that we are not alone in this fight. You all are there too. I appreciate all your energy, time, prayers and meditations. Sincerely, without it "throwing in the towel" becomes a visiting thought in my mind. Then, through the power of the combined strength of us all, I keep going. I want to watch my kids grow up and continue life. I want to be here for them. I want to be here for Keith and all of you. Thank you alll so much. I love you all. Tomorrow I have my 2nd treatment of the 2nd round. Wish me luck! If I feel well tomorrow evening, I will go to Chuy's around 5:30 and then to Shady Grove. Hope to see many of you there. Peace, Kara Oh, Janice buzzed my head. It feels wonderful and I really like the look. I will try to attach a photo.

Shady Grove and Chuy's Benefit for Kara on Thursday!!

On Thursday, September 13, 2012, Shady Grove and Chuy's (Barton Springs location only) will donate 10% of their profits for the whole day to Kara Hathcox and her family to support them as Kara undergoes treatment to battle Stage 4 Breast Cancer.

Kara has worked at both Chuy's and Shady Grove since 1995 in various working positions including manager of Shady Grove.  Some of the waiters working that day will be longtime friends of Kara's and will be donating their tips to Kara as well.

Both restaurants open at 11am.

Please come out to help support Kara, Keith and their children, Gregory and Miko.

Restaurant Web Sites:

Chuy's 

1728 Barton Springs Road (This location only)

Shady Grove

1624 Barton Springs Road

        

1st treatment, round 2

So, last week I had an "off" week as I did not receive a treatment. I felt normal. Well, as normal as one can feel when he or she has cancer. I like to think of it as my new normal. I must admit that last week I was feeling rather angry and tired of my new path. I pushed through since my energy levels were good. I may have worked too hard. Sunday my leg started hurting again. I was experiencing the same pain in my leg as I did a few weeks ago. My leg is still hurting--so badly that I am walking quite strangely and with a lot of pain. Keith talked me into taking a some pain medication last night and I was able to get some sleep. I really do not like taking anything extra as chemo is giving my liver enough extra work. On that note, though, my blood work looks really good. Everything is normal except my red blood cell numbers; but they are barely low so nothing to sweat yet. Also, my tumor marker number has dropped over 100 points. Tumor markers are not definitive cancer markers but provide another way to watch trends. Tumor markers are substances like protein or hormones that are present in blood or urine. Ideally the higher the marker the more cancer in body and vice versa. Upon my first blood test 6 weeks ago, my marker was 295 (normal should be below 40). Now, I am in the 170's! This is encouraging. Please keep sending all of your wonderful thoughts and prayers. I know it is helping. I received a beautifully crafted blanket that many hands helped to make and used it to keep me warm in the infusion room today. I could feel the loving energy that went into my blanket. Thank you all!!!! It is beautiful. My hair is falling out so rapidly now, that tomorrow I will probably shave it off. I am ready for the new look. Right now, other than my leg pain and a splitting headache, I feel good. Hope you all have a wonderful week and weekend. Get ready, some cooler weather is heading our way!