Journal entry by Chris Murphy —
Hello everyone -
Its been a little over a month since we last checked in with everyone. We are still in awe of what transpired over the last two months and settling into the new norm. We are also learning to parent two little ones without all the tremendous support we've had over the last 6 months - its exhausting!
After things settled in, Kelly met with Radiation Oncologists both at Moffitt in Tampa, and here in Gainesville. While we weren't sure if she even needed radiation, everyone we met with said yes she does. My question was - what are you even radiating??? But the clinical data does support the prevention of local reoccurrence as the radiation helps to attack any little microbes floating around that may be left behind. At this point, this is a preventative measure.
Kelly decided to stay local here in Gainesville and get her radiation treatment at North Florida Cancer Center. She found a great doctor who is very enthusiastic and seems to really care about not only the short term but long term success of the treatment. She even got us fancy gala tickets to Lyrics for Life, which is a cancer non-profit started by the lead singer of Sister Hazel. We got to see them along with their buddy Darius Rucker last weekend for a nice night away from the little ones.
Kelly starts Monday with her first radiation treatment. She will be getting Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. This differs from standard 3D radiation therapy in that it is a bit more directed and has far less impact to surrounding structures. Because she had left-sided breast cancer, the radiation would be closer to her heart and lungs than if right-sided; thus why this therapy is the best approach. She will have 28 treatments, once a day, Monday-Friday with 5 additional boosters.
While we thought the surgery with complete response was the finish line, Kelly is just a short 6 weeks away from actually crossing it. After that, she has her 6 month checks and 1 year checks.
Kelly has also been getting involved in another charity that helped fund her clinical trial treatment. She was interviewed for their big gala next month, which we unfortunately cannot attend. However, once the video is live - I'll happily pass along that link so that everyone can take a look.
Thanks again for the support and I look forward to reporting back once Kelly has closed this chapter out!
Chris
Its been a little over a month since we last checked in with everyone. We are still in awe of what transpired over the last two months and settling into the new norm. We are also learning to parent two little ones without all the tremendous support we've had over the last 6 months - its exhausting!
After things settled in, Kelly met with Radiation Oncologists both at Moffitt in Tampa, and here in Gainesville. While we weren't sure if she even needed radiation, everyone we met with said yes she does. My question was - what are you even radiating??? But the clinical data does support the prevention of local reoccurrence as the radiation helps to attack any little microbes floating around that may be left behind. At this point, this is a preventative measure.
Kelly decided to stay local here in Gainesville and get her radiation treatment at North Florida Cancer Center. She found a great doctor who is very enthusiastic and seems to really care about not only the short term but long term success of the treatment. She even got us fancy gala tickets to Lyrics for Life, which is a cancer non-profit started by the lead singer of Sister Hazel. We got to see them along with their buddy Darius Rucker last weekend for a nice night away from the little ones.
Kelly starts Monday with her first radiation treatment. She will be getting Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. This differs from standard 3D radiation therapy in that it is a bit more directed and has far less impact to surrounding structures. Because she had left-sided breast cancer, the radiation would be closer to her heart and lungs than if right-sided; thus why this therapy is the best approach. She will have 28 treatments, once a day, Monday-Friday with 5 additional boosters.
While we thought the surgery with complete response was the finish line, Kelly is just a short 6 weeks away from actually crossing it. After that, she has her 6 month checks and 1 year checks.
Kelly has also been getting involved in another charity that helped fund her clinical trial treatment. She was interviewed for their big gala next month, which we unfortunately cannot attend. However, once the video is live - I'll happily pass along that link so that everyone can take a look.
Thanks again for the support and I look forward to reporting back once Kelly has closed this chapter out!
Chris
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