Friday, December 16, 2011

December 16th update

As a family we come to you from a strange place...it's a mix of sadness and hope that is hard to describe. In the short time (12 days) since my last update, things have taken a pretty drastic turn.

The second-to-last MRI showed essentially a clear scan with two tumors. That was back in late summer. Since that time, Susan has been on the same chemotherapy regimen and had a CyberKnife treatment. The most recent MRI was taken about 2-3 weeks ago and there was both good and bad news. The good news was that those two tumors had decreased in size. The bad news was that the overall scan had gone from "clear" to "cloudy" which turned out to mean that microscopic cancer cells had spread throughout her entire brain. They haven't formed into new tumors (yet) but they have started to cause some pretty dramatic symptoms.

Over the past week or so, Susan's fatigue, left-side motor function, vision problems and disorientation have increased significantly to the point where she is extremely tired and wants to spend the whole day in bed. When she does get up, she needs help to walk without collapsing. At this point she still has a good appetite and is still able to have conversations. In a nutshell, the mind is willing but the body won't cooperate.

We really don't know how much time she has left and while we are still hopeful, we are preparing for the worst. As a family, we will all be around at my parents' house on Mercer Island for the immediate future and my mom would be happy to see those that she cares about and love her.

We are happy to have visitors for 10-15 minute visits. We are fully aware of Susan's current condition and find it difficult to discuss the symtoms she is having, nor are we able to receive much advice right now; we know that you all love and care about her. Her energy level is extremely low and we have to be careful about overwhelming her (and ourselves). If you would like to visit over the next week or so, please let me (Cory) know via email to cory.brewer@comcast.net and we'll be happy to try and coordinate a visit with you.

Please don't feel like we are rushing you in and out...just know that we're looking out for her best interest. We want her to see those that care about her, but we don't want to overwhelm her. We're trying not to schedule too many people per day.

I want to end by saying that WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THE AMAZING AMOUNT OF LOVE AND SUPPORT that you have all shown throughout this ordeal. Since we first found out about this a year ago, it has been an unbelievable roller coaster of emotions for everyone involved. Throughout it all, we have been thankful for the Lord's watching over the situation and helping Susan to beat the odds for a long time. By the grace of God she has been able to maintain an infectiously positive attitude that has really carried over to everyone who knows and loves her. Believe me when I say she can feels your arms around her...every day.

Again please contact me directly to coordinate a brief visit.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

December 2011 Update

Susan continues to beat the odds and maintain an incredibly positive attitude, however it hasn't been easy. As of late she has been experiencing a lot of fatigue and a little trouble with her vision. She is going to Swedish again today for an update MRI to see if there may be swelling from her last (successful!) CyberKnife treatment...we do hope that's the case as they can give her something to help the swelling.

Last weekend we enjoyed a really nice Thanksgiving at Ashley's house in Tacoma...she was a fantastic hostess and we all are very thankful for the opportunity to celebrate with our mom. Miraculously she agreed to hand over turkey-baking duties to Ashley =)

We continue to appreciate all of your love and support and we look forward to continued celebration of the holiday season as a family.

Love, the Brewers

Friday, October 28, 2011

Susan Brewer's Story

The purpose of this website is to provide updates to Susan Brewer's loved ones on the progress of her fight against brain cancer.

Susan was diagnosed with Glioblastoma in December, 2010 (shortly before Christmas). While on vacation in Hawaii with Craig, she began to develop some strange symptoms and thankfully was able to fly home to Seattle, and was taken immediately to the ER upon their return. Over the next few days a large brain tumor (about the size of a golf ball) was discovered. Successful surgery to remove the tumor took place about a week later, and miraculously Susan recovered enough in a very short time in order to be able to go home for Christmas. It was the most blessed Christmas our family has had to date, knowing how close we came to losing our mom.

Over the course of the following days, weeks, and months there was a lot more testing and gameplanning for the treatment of Susan's cancer. There have been some major ups and downs throughout this whole ordeal, but her attitude simply could not be any better and the love and prayer that she has been surrounded with is nothing short of amazing. Susan is so thankful for every single day that God provides her, and we, too, are thankful for every day that the Lord blesses us with her presence.

Shortly after that first surgery, chemotheraphy began (and continues to this day in pill form). There were some big hiccups with insurance coverage at first, but we did finally get that all squared away. She went on radiation for about 2 months and did lose some hair, but it's growing back very nicely at this point. She also now goes in about once every 2-3 weeks for Avastin treatments (via IV) and routinely has follow-up MRI's to scan for any new tumors.

Fast forward to now, late October 2011, and a LOT has happened but by the grace of God, Susan just continues to beat the odds! There have been two seperate occasions where new (very small) tumors were detected and the doctors were able to remove them via at non-invasive treatment known as CyberKnife. The first round of this took place in the spring, and they sucessfully killed off the tumor at that time. Late in the summer, two new (small) tumors were detected and as of this week, after another CyberKnife treatment, the latest MRI showed that they had already shrunk by about 50% (fabulous news according to her chief Doctor, Greg Foltz).

We took a family vacation in April...a cruise to the Bahamas...and were able to enjoy a lot of quality time with eachother. Here is a picture of eveyone aboard the Celebrity Equinox:


About a month ago our family and about 25 friends gathered to support Susan in the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk at Seattle Center. The outpouring of support was amazing, and our team raised over $3,000 to support brain cancer research. Thank you all so very much!

We will continue to use this blog website to provide updates about Susan, and we welcome you to join and post any comments / thoughts / prayers that you see fit. We can't thank you enough for your love and support, and we speak for Susan when we say that she can feel your loving arms around her no matter where you are.

God Bless,

Cory - Kelsey - Ashley - and Craig