Penny's Fight: August 2009

The Fight Continues...

Whether you know Penny personally or not, I set up this blog so that people could know her story.You couldn't tell from looking at her that anything was wrong. She is the mother of 3 beautiful children. She is a loving wife. She is going to school to be a dental hygenist. But all of that didn't seem to matter to the unseen enemy.

In Spring of 2008, after having a seizure, Penny discovered she had a golf-ball sized malignant Astrocytoma - Grade IV tumor in her temporal lobe of her brain. She had surgery and it was removed. She then went to Saskatoon to expidite chemotherapy and radiation. In spite of best efforts the tumor re-occured. In January 2009 surgery was once again performed and once again they got it!

Penny followed up with monthly monitoring including MRIs. The MRIs were all clear up to July when it showed that a new tumor had grown and was significantly larger than the previous ones - in the frontal lobe. Penny’s prognosis was not good. The tumor proved to be inoperable. The doctors said that chemotherapy and radiation would have a 20% chance of slowing the tumor down. The news was devastating. As if cancer is not enough, Penny had surgery on a slipped disc in her back on the 6th of August.

Penny opted for an alternative cancer treatment. It is called DCA - a treatment still in it's infancy. There are clinical trials going on at the University of Alberta - but the only clinic offering treatment is a private clinic in Toronto. Because Medicor is a private clinic - Health Canada cannot fund Penny's treatment. This left Penny and her family harboring all the medical expenses themselves.

Along with her cancer treatments, Penny travels periodically out to Winnipeg for PET scans to monitor her health.

In November she received the latest results from a PET scan. The doctor was surprised when Penny actually walked into her appointment. He was surprised that she could talk. He was dumbfounded that she was not unconscious. The size of the “tumor” on the scan and how aggressive the cancer had been previously – left no doubt that Penny’s days were numbered. The doctor then proclaimed that he did not believe she had cancer anymore.

This was the miracle that we have all hoped for and prayed for.
Shortly after given this good news, Penny stopped the expensive DCA treatments. The PET scan showed that there is “something” of significant size, in her brain, that is showing up on the scans – but the mass is still undetermined. The only way to know for sure, is another brain surgery.

Penny finally qualified to get her drivers license back – having had no seizures for over a year. Life was beginning to feel like it was returning to normal. In January, Penny returned back to dental hygiene school to finish her program. It proved to be too much physically and she had to scale back and finally come to the hard-decision to put school on hold, perhaps indefinetly.

Over the past month Penny has faced more disappointments. On an evening in late February, Penny ventured down to the local dollar store to pick up some necessities. She drove into the parking lot and was preparing to park when a seizure took hold. Penny’s foot hit the accelerator and she hit three parked cars and took out a tree. Luckily, no one was hurt. Penny didn’t have any passengers. This was devastating, as her short lived freedom came to a screeching halt. Penny continues to have periodic seizures. The doctor has changed her medications hopefully eliminating any more seizures.

Penny and her family are trying to “find normal” as Penny deals with incapacitating fatigue. Penny’s husband Brian is a full-time student, finishing up his Masters Degree in Counselling. Penny, now a full-time, stay-at-home-mom is trying to keep up with three busy kids.

The financial expenses involved with previous DCA treatments and the ongoing trips to Winnipeg continue to tax the family.

Penny and Brian have been so amazed with all the support they have received. It has made a tremendous difference in their lives. Those in Regina and neighboring communities in Saskatchewan, friends, family and even perfect strangers have given to Penny’s Fight. It is terrific when so many come together for a good cause.

If you feel like you can help ease the financial situation that Penny and her family continue to face as a result of this sickness, we would like to provide you with an opportunity to do so. It’s true that even a little bit helps. The money donated goes to directly help pay for medical and living expenses. You can click on the Paypal link on the side of the page and donate securely. Penny's e-mail is pennydosen@yahoo.ca - or if you would rather you can send donations directly to Penny or Brian Dosenberger at:

99 Trudelle CresRegina SKS4T 6W8

Thanks to all of you who have helped and continue to do so.
Penny and her family humbly thank you for all of your support too.

Check the blog for continued updates on Penny's Fight.
Sincerely,

Kathy (Fenske) Tanner

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Steak Dinner Fundraiser

Hey all,

I just wanted to pass on some information regarding an upcoming Steak Fundraiser for Penny.

Date: Thursday, September 17th

Time: 5-9 p.m.

Location: Brewsters @ (Normanview - McCarthy Blvd., Regina)

Cost: $15 includes your Steak/garlic tst, caesar salad and baked potato

$5.05 from every ticket sold will go to Penny's Fight. There will also be a 50/50 draw.

Kids are also welcome. They have family dining as well as a lounge.

For more information or to get your tickets please contact Tracy Malcolm at t.malcolm@accesscomm.ca . She could also use some help with selling tickets if your interested. She needs to sell at least 100 tickets for the night.

Thanks Tracy and everyone else your help and support. It is simply amazing!

DAY 1

I started my DCA treatment yesterday and so far things are good! It is an oral medication that I take 3 times per day along with some vitamin supplements to help lessen any side effects.
;P

Monday, August 24, 2009

DCA treatment starts today!

I went for a Dr. appt today in Regina with my oncologist. This appt was to let him know what treatment I have decided to go with. I told him about the DCA treatment in Toronto and he agreed to monitor me here by ordering blood work and MRI's. He was very surprised to see how well I am doing! He said that based upon what they are seeing on my last MRI and the size of the tumour and it's location I should be "very sick, very very sick" I am almost without symptoms! I am attributing this to the many prayers that have been given for me and my family! Thanks everyone and to my Heavenly Father!
;P

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Thank you

Thanks so much to everyone who has donated to our fight!! I would like to be able to respond to each of you to individually thank you, but I am afraid I can't keep up. I didn't expect to have this kind of response! People from all over are sending us donations or notes of encouragement; some don't even know us or anyone that knows us. There is a lot of good out there
Also very importantly I do not expect everyone to donate. I didn't expect anyone to donate actually, but I have had people email and apologize for not donating, but have offered to pray for me and our family. To me prayer is worth more than gold!
Love
Penny and family

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Bald is beautiful!

Kathy (Fenske)Tanner is so amazing to have created this blog for us. Thanks to all of you amazing people who have already donated to help us out, we are in awe. I am going to try to post some blogs on here to keep people up to date on my treatment.

So far all of my reports and documents have been faxed to the Toronto clinic and will be reviewed by the Dr. there. He will write a report indicating my treatment plan and then my medications will be sent here. I have payed a little extra(way less than the cost of travel) so that my treatment can be remote. Meaning I won't have to travel to Toronto every month. They will monitor me through my Dr. here with blood tests and MRI's similar to how they have been monitoring me so far. I am starting to have mixed emotions regarding a two tiered health care system. This clinic has been amazing for corresponding with me. They guarantee an appt within a week if you are in their area, and if needed they can get you an appt in 48hours for only an extra $200. Sure that's great right if you have the money or have good friends like I do, but it sure is nice having the option, instead of being put on a 8 week waiting list just to start treatment. That is what it was like last year for many Regina residents. I was one of the lucky ones who was referred to Saskatoon and started treatment within a few weeks.

On another note I am considering reshaving my head. It is at a length that is quite difficult to manage! The past two summers have been nice not having to bother with my hair. This is a picture from last year. Bed head was not even an issue!

My back surgery went well and I am up and moving around really well! I am even off of the pain killers. darn it!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Share...

Hey there,

Let everyone know about Penny's Fight. Let's get the word out. E-mail your friends, let your fellow facebookers know. Feel free to also post comments here to Penny. Thanks.

Penny's Fight

Penny's Family