Halloween Fundraiser was a success

Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while since I lasted updated the site. A lot has happened since the last time this was updated. Maylene went for her third round of chemo & has been doing great.

She met with Make-A-Wish foundation and should be finding out soon if her wish will be granted or not & then we will share what she wished.

The fundraiser for Maylene was held on Saturday, October 27th at the VFW in Amherst. It was a great turn-out. WWLP - 22 News came out and interviewed Jenn & Maylene, it was aired on October 27 at 11 p.m. There are a lot of thank you's for this fundraiser, which raised a nice little chunk of change for them. Thank you to everyone that came out to support such a great cause. Thank you Auntie Paula and Grandma for making the trip down here, it meant a lot to Jenn & Maylene. Thank you to everyone who donated the raffle prizes and food. Also, thank you to Jennifer Albertine, Phae Dra, Charlene Govan & Tamari Toledo-Campbell for making it all happen! Finally a thank you to John Mahan and Mahan Slate Roofing for matching whatever was raised that night, there are no words to express how thankful we are!!!

The end is finally in sight, we see the light at the end of the tunnel, however you would like to say it, Maylene is scheduled to go in this Friday, November 2nd for her FINAL round of chemo. Her ABP levels are down to 4.7, they should be anywhere below 9. Go May-May!!!!!

I can't say enough how proud I am of Jenn & Maylene for dealing with this situation the way they have. They have had good times and really bad times, but in the end they will come out stronger then they have ever been! Love you ladies!!

Thank you all for the support & following Maylene's journey through this chapter of her life. They couldn't have done it without all of the love & support they have and continue to recieve.

HALF WAY THERE!!!!

Well, a lot has happened since the last update, sorry for the delay.

Wednesday, Sept 19th, Maylene, Jenn, me & Char went to Boston to finally go meet Dr. Frazier at Dana Farber!!!  We also met with Dr. Shamburger, Chief of Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital a.k.a The Tumor Dr, he was very nice and he told us that the Tumor Board met the day before & Maylene's case was presented to them. They didn't have the Operating Report so there wasn't much to tell at this point, but it was very nice meeting him. We then met with Dr. Frazier and she was great. She talked a little bit more about May's cancer, we learned that there were two types of cancer in the tumors, the one we knew which is the Yolksac Tumor, this is the more aggressive type, but it responds well to chemo & she has 10% of this type of cancer. The other type is called Immature Teratoma, which doen't respond to chemo. The only way to remove this type of cancer is through surgery. 90% of her cancer it this type. The issue at hand is that there was a little piece of tumor left over on one of her overies and we don't know if the little piece left is cancerous or not and if it is cancer is it Yolksac or Immature Teratoma. So Maylene will continue her chemo treatments as scheduled & she will have to do 4 sessions of chemo and then back off to Dana Farber to go meet with Dr. Frazier again to decide what the next step is. So keep your prayers coming that the piece of tumor is not cancerous!

Maylene went in on Friday, Sept 21st for second round of chemo...YAY!!! Half way there!!! She did phenominal again! She got to meet with another teen with cancer and talk, which was very nice.  May & Jenn continue to stay strong and positive!!

Saturday, Sept 22nd, Zulma Rivera held a Zumbathon Fundraiser at Amherst Middle School for Maylene & Jenn.  There was a tremendous turnout. People were invited to wear teal for Ovarian Cancer. The support of everyone that showed up was greatly appreciated!! Thank you Zulma for your time, dedication & love for Maylene & Jenn!

Also, tickets for the October 27th fundraiser are on sale now and going fast.......get yours while you still can, it is going to be a great time!!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has prayed, donated and continue to give Maylene & Jenn love & support through this hard time. They are overwhelmed with the unbelievable amount of support that friends, family, acquaintences, co-workers, classmates and even strangers have given to them, they couldn't get through it without all of you!!

Stay posted for more updates....

What's going on...

It's been a little while since our last update so let's see what has happened...well, May did the MRI after her chemo & the results came back that she has Chiari Malformation. Chiari Malformation is (CMs) are structural defects in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance. There are three different types of CMs, but the doctors aren't sure what type May has until they get the results from the MRI of her neck. Please keep your fingers crossed that it is a Type I CMs.

 

Jenn & I took Maylene & her friend Naeemah to York Beach, ME to have a nice little weekend away from everything. The weather was beautiful & beach was nice. We had so much fun & it was definitely much needed.

 

This past weekend was a rough one, May wasn't feeling good & the time came to finally shave her head in preparation for the hair loss. She is one tough cookie!  Her white blood cell count was low last week, which means she is more susceptible to infections/colds. She went for her weekly blood test yesterday, hopefully her blood counts are good because she is suppose to start her second round of chemo later this week, but if the blood levels are still low they will have to push the chemo back till they are at a good level. 

 

We leave tonight to go to Boston to be able to meet the surgeon from Dana Farber, which is just protocall & then we finally get to meet Dr. Frazier. Hopefully, the visit will go well & we will learn some more stuff about May's cancer.

 

Finally, the tickets for May's fundraiser that is coming up in October will be available for sale this week. Check out the fundraiser tab to see how you can get your tickets. We look forward to seeing you there!!

Chemo has begun, but Maylene is doing well.

Maylene spent her Labor Day weekend in the hospital getting her first round of chemo. She is only getting two of three drugs they said that she would receive due to one of the breathing tests coming in low. She will have to retake the breathing test to see if her DCLO levels come in higher and at that point Dr. Richardson and Dr. Frazier will decide whether or not to start the third chemo drug or continue with the two. 

Maylene did an awesome job this past weekend, but she was definitely ready to go home by the end of it. She is home resting now, and her appetite is starting to come back little by little.  Chemo makes everything taste metallically.

She was able to see her little brother, Greg, dressed up for his first day of Kindergarten, but unfortunately she wasn't feeling well enough to go see him off to his first day of class. Hopefully, tomorrow she will be able to take him to school.

Also, a bit more good news!  Before May's surgery, her Alpha Beta Protein (ABP a.k.a. cancer cells) level were over 3,000. After the surgery her ABP level went down to 1,100, and right before she started chemo this weekend her ABP level was 250.

Please keep the prayers coming because they are doing wonders. Thank you all for the continue love & support!!

More good news for Maylene!

Jenn has heard from the Oncologist, and the cancer is a stage 1-C. This means that it's in the beginning stages and caught early, but that some activity is still happening in one of the overies.

Maylene will start her chemo on Friday, August 31, 2012. She will be in and out of the hospital for treatment for three days followed by a couple days off, then back again for her next treatment.  This will continue for the next three months.

Next week May will be going to Boston to meet with Dr. Frazier from Dana Farber for her second opinion.

Please continue to keep Maylene and  Jenn in your thoughts and prayers as Maylene begins this treatment.

Thank you for all the love and support.  We will continue to keep you updated throughout her treatment.

Exciting News

Jenn received a call from the surgeon and the PETscan shows that cancer has not spread!!! Now they are just waiting for the results from Maylene's MRI, which should be any day, to determine the stage of the cancer. We are hoping that it was caught early and is stage 1 or 2.

Please continue to keep Maylene in your thoughts and prayers.

Tests, Trips and a Bakesale

After a long week, Maylene is finally done with tests (at least until she heads out to Boston). Now Jenn & May have to wait to get the results back from the tests to see what stage of cancer Maylene has. They are also waiting for the referral from her pediatrician and approval from the insurance company to go to Dana Farber for her second opinion. Hopefully all of that will be taken care of and her appointment will be scheduled this week.

Since July 29, May & Jenn have been stuck in the apartment, going to doctors appointments or having/recovering from surgery, so Phil (my fiance) and I thought it would be nice to take Maylene & Jenn to NYC for the day on Saturday, August 25.

We all had such a great time! We went to the Top of the Rock so we could see all of NYC skyline, Time Square, M&M World, Lego Land, Rockafeller Plaza & The MET. We had an interesting journey on the way home, but all and all it was a great time. It was nice to see Jenn and Maylene laugh and enjoy some of thier time before the chemo treatment begins.

On Sunday, a couple of Maylene's classmates, Hannah Lebowitz and Hannah Ackerman held a bakesale for Maylene. The turn out was amazing. The bakesale raised $1,500.

Awesome job girls! That bake sale was such a wonderful idea. Thank you both so much for all of your hard work & making the bake sale happen. That money will help the family out tremendously!!

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Jenna