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Penny's Family

Penny's Family

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

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!

Posted by Penny at 8:32 AM  

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