Chemotherapy Update

Last week, Felicitas had a surgery to put in her Portacath. This device will be used to administer her weekly chemotherapy treatments. She also had a series of tests done in preparation for the clinical trial (Ispy-2), biopsies of tumor and lymph nodes, mamogram, ultrasound, MRI, and lab work. All the tests were sent to UCSF to be reviewed. This week, UCSF returned the MammaPrint, a microarray based test in which the result classifies analyzed tumors as low or high risk for recurrence of the disease. Her results indicated that her cancer is high risk and that she is eligible to participate in the Ispy-2 Trial immediately. I have included a link to an article explaining Ispy-2, the clinical trial that Felicitas is particpating in under "Important Links."

Yesterday, UCSD randomly assigned her as part of the 80% of participants to receive an experimental drug in addition to the standard chemotherapy.  Felicitas will go through 12 cycles of Taxol and 4 cycles of Carboplatin (1 cycle of Carboplatin every 3 weeks).

At 7:30 this morning, she met with her oncologist, Dr. Parker to discuss all of the details of her chemotherapy. Her first round of chemo is tomorrow, February 18 at 8am which is exactly one month to the day from when she was diagnosed. 

Felicitas has been completely overwhelmed by the love and kindness from all of the people who have reached out to her over this past month. Friends and family have been so incredibly generous. She has been receiving cards filled with encouragement and support, flowers, had her house cleaned, and been given meals through Dream Dinners that have already proven to be a huge help! The care packages have also been a wonderful distraction during this time. They've been filled with healthy snacks, items to make dinners, lotions, and gifts for the kids, just to name a few. Graciela and Maya are especially loving being able to open these weekly packages! A huge thank you to the staff of Juarez Lincoln Elementary, where Felicitas teaches. They made her a beautiful quilt where each staff member said a prayer while tying on a piece of yarn. They told her when she wraps herself in the quilt, she will be surrounded by their love and prayers. These amazing gestures combined with your thoughts and prayers are giving Felicitas the strength she needs to face each day. The Rayray's feel truly blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding them. 


Here's a message Felicitas wanted to make sure I included:
"Thank you so much to my incredible husband who has been so unbelievably positive and encouraging through this entire journey. He's spent countless hours researching on the internet, come with me to every doctor appointment, asked questions I wouldn't even think to ask. I mean, the doctors were so impressed with his questions, they asked if he had a medical background! He's making sure I stick to my "no refined sugar" diet (which isn't easy!) and even allowing me to sleep in! I have seen a different side to him through all of this. He's the husband I never knew I had! I love you Jun!"