Journal entry by Monica & Tommy Turner —
My sweet Monica went to be with the Lord last night. Her passing was peaceful with her family gathered around at home. Until her last breath, Friendy was courageous, focused on the Lord and living out her life vision which is to share her faith in Christ and to live the principles described in her life verse which is Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven" and John 10:10 "Live life abundantly through Christ".
The memorial service will be held Saturday, May 4 at 1 pm in the chapel at Lakewood Baptist Church in Gainesville. A time of Celebration of Monica's life and visitation will follow in the fellowship hall at the church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Lakewood Baptist Church.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Love, T&M
Hi Everyone,
The surgery went well. Dr. Green was able to accomplish all the goals he had set for this procedure; namely, to give Monica relief from pain. The placement of the colostomy went smoothly and is expected to help greatly with quality of life. Most of you had heard about an unusual mass which had appeared on previous scans. This turned out to be a loop of colon that was not functioning well. As a matter of fact, Dr. Green commented that the discovery and correction of this problem likely prevented a bigger problem at some point in the future.
Even though today's surgery will not help cure Friendy's cancer, we are very thankful that it will help tremendously with Monica's quality of life by reducing the pain she has been in. Monica will start new treatments in 4-6 weeks. Dr. Green is going to send off tumor samples for analysis and decide on new chemo treatments based on feedback from that analysis. Monica will get to go home Friday or Saturday.
Thank you very much for your prayers,
Love, T&M
Hi Family and Friends,
At the time of our last update, Monica was changing IV chemo drugs since growth had occurred during that treatment. After three treatments of the new regimen, she had a ct scan. We recently met with her doctor to discuss the results of the scan. Unfortunately, there was no improvement. Pelvic lymph nodes seen on last scan are stable. There is a new mass in the center of her pelvis, but Dr. Green believes it is fluid buildup, not disease. Due to intense, chronic pain and intestinal issues, on Tuesday 11/27, Monica is going to have surgery to help eliminate these symptoms. Dr. Green plans to perform a colostomy as well as remove the new mass She will have another long scar and will spend several nights in the hospital. We dread that process, but have faith that it is going to help her feel much better!
In the below email dated 9/29/15, I shared Monica's life verse. With Thanksgiving coming soon, we wanted to share my life verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:16‑18: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." We are so thankful for all of you and for the Lord continuing to encourage us and give us strength.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Love, T&M
Hi Everyone,
Hope you all had a fun summer. Hard to believe that Monica has been battling cancer for three years this month. She had five of the six planned chemo treatments of her latest regimen. Her CA125, ovarian cancer marker, went up substantially on the last three labs and she started having some symptoms. So, they decided to move up her CT scan which had been planned for after treatment six. The scan showed significant new growth and no improvement in the prior spots. Her doctor changed up the chemo regimen again. So, instead of having the sixth treatment of the last drug, she began a new drug paired with a drug she has had in the past. The plan is to get three of these treatments, one every four weeks. Then, she will have another CT to check progress. Please pray that this new regimen will get rid of the cancer completely and will help with some pretty major symptoms she is having. (Symptoms include intestinal issues; stomach, pelvic, and back pain.) Of course, as you know, Friendy is tough as nails with the Lord's help and keeps going, but is in pain a good bit.
Despite our disappointment of new growth occurring while on chemo, we are counting our blessings together. Blessings like the availability of another chemo, and our ability to celebrate our 25th anniversary this summer! We celebrated with two amazing trips. We went to Hawaii with a niece and nephew-in-law, and to Europe with friends. We are thankful Monica felt great on both trips. (Symptoms did not arise until about a month after we returned from the last trip.) We included a picture from each trip below.
Thank you all for your ongoing amazing support. Your prayers give us strength. Our prayer is: 1 Chronicles 16:11: "Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always."
Love, T&M
Hi Family and Friends,
We just got results from Monica’s three month CT scan. Unfortunately, the spot that was on the January CT has grown significantly. Additionally, there are two new spots that have appeared since that last scan. This coming Monday, she will go back on IV chemo and stop taking the oral chemo pill she has been on. The number of treatments she receives will be based on how she responds.
We appreciate your ongoing prayers. TYL Thank you Lord for keeping us strong!
Love, T&M
Hi Everybody,
Hope you all have been doing well. Things are going good here. No changes in Monica's treatment. She is feeling good and continues to take her daily oral chemo pill. She will have a CT scan in a couple of months. Results of the scan will help her doctor determine whether to continue current course or change back to IV chemo.
We don't have any new news to share, but wanted to pass along this video which was inspired by our last update. Our church showed this video during our service last week. The first part of the video is us sharing. Be sure to keep watching because it is followed by comments and a prayer from our dear friend and pastor, Dr. Tom Smiley.
Click on this link for the video: https://youtu.be/FMwk4rbdAas?list=PLhTk_TyF_D9eUGN2rSKVMJwRLmtSeyeXV
Love, T&M
Hi Family and Friends,
Hope you all have been doing well. Elizabeth, Monica’s chemo nurse, called this morning after her weekly lab work yesterday. Her CA125, ovarian cancer marker, is 170. Over the last few months it has gone from 18, to 48, to 170. Due to that number, they did a CT scan today. Unfortunately, the scan shows the cancer is here again for a third time. However, they do not want to change her daily oral chemo regimen at this time because there are currently no large masses and she is not having any major symptoms. She will have to go back onto IV chemo at some point, but they want to wait as long as possible because that is the best for her body since she has already had 39 chemo treatments. We are doing well and glad to get some more IV free chemo time! She has been off IV chemo for five months now. Very thankful she had been feeling good on the oral chemo and is very active, as usual!
Our church is doing a church wide read through the New Testament this year. Monica wanted me to share an insight she had while reading in Mark chapter 4 about Jesus calming the storm while out on a boat with his disciples. Paraphrasing from the Message version... "He told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet, settle down!!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became as smooth as glass." God is control of all things, even the wind and sea! We give God the glory for making our storm have nice periods of water as smooth as glass - just like the mornings Friendy loves having glassy water on the lake for a smooth ski run! 😊
Thank you so much for your encouragement, support, and prayers.
Love, T&M
Monica finished her latest chemo regimen last week, which was her 39th treatment. She had a CT scan Monday and we met with her doctor today. Her scan is stable, no signs of new growth, and her cancer blood marker has lowered. So, Dr. Green considers her in remission. Thank You Lord!
With ovarian cancer, if the cancer comes back once, like it did for Monica in December '16, another recurrence typically occurs within 4-6 months after last IV Chemo ends. We have always known there is a chance of another recurrence, but did not realize until today how quickly that typically happens. However, there is a new drug, Zejula, which is shown to delay that recurrence for an additional 6-18 months. This drug was just approved in April. Monica will begin the drug in the next week or so. It is an oral pill she will take every day.
Thank you very much for all of your prayers and support over the last 22 months. Special thanks to all of you who have been her chemo buddies. Buddies taking her made chemo an event Monica could look forward to instead of dread.
Thanks also for your ongoing prayers. Research shows this new drug can delay a second recurrence, for which we are thankful; however, it does not stop the cancer from coming back. Please pray that the Lord will continue to give Monica strength; the doctors, nurses, and researchers wisdom; and Monica complete healing.
TYL Thank You Lord for taking care of Monica and keeping her strong!
Tommy
Last week, Monica finished the sixth treatment of her new regimen. This was her 34th chemo treatment. Since she is halfway through her most recent regimen, she had a CT scan on Monday. We met with her doctor today to get the results. The scan was not all clear of cancer spots like we hoped, but the chemo is working. Dr. Green reported while there are still spots present, they have decreased in size. He also said there is no new growth, so we are thankful for both of these facts.
Monday, March 6, 2017
Hi Family and Friends,
Friday night and Saturday were rough, but much better now! Monica was diagnosed with ileus, which is a condition that develops when intestinal muscles stop contracting. They put a NG tube in her nose and pulled out the contents of her stomach, then waited for her muscles to start functioning again. It didn't take near as long as the doctor thought and she was able to start liquids again on Sunday around noon. Then was able to come home last night (Sunday). Slept great in our bed and feeling stronger every day.
We see Dr. Green this Wednesday for post-op check. The new regimen of chemo will probably start in about two weeks. Dr. Green wants her to heal up some from surgery and the 11” incision before restarting chemo. We will keep you updated if anything changes.
Thanks so much for all the prayers! Praising God that He saw us through another tough time: Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
Tommy
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Hi Everyone,
Monica got to come home Thursday night. The first night she did great. But last night she was up most of the night sick. She was readmitted to the hospital this morning. Fortunately, based on the x-ray, the doctor said it looks like there is no internal blockage. But her bowels are not working properly. The doctor explained that sometimes the bowels can basically go numb after this type of surgery. But it usually happens within the first or second day. The hope is the bowels will "wake up" within the next 3 days and then Monica can go home. Please pray for that to happen, for the nausea to decrease, and for her to have a good night sleep.
PLEASE SEE NEXT JOURNAL ENTRY FOR 9/17/15 - 2/28/17 UPDATES
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