Burrows Bunch: March 2011

We can't believe it. But we are so excited....On March 3, 2011 Richard reached his 5 years of being cancer free. What a great day. Five years ago I really never thought we would be where we are today. We have been so extremely blessed!!! I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father or all the blessings we have received through this experience.

I have a whole new appreciation when I hear of someone going through cancer. I can truly not just have sympathy but I have empathy. Since Richard was diagnosed with melanoma our lives have been changed. I know that most everyone that read this blog already know the story of how cancer snuck into our home. But I am going to write a little bit about it just to remind myself of the things we have been through. This could get long so if you already know all about it just ignore the next long part.

I remember just watching t.v. with Richard and how he was sitting on the floor and I was rubbing his shoulders and neck when I felt a lump in his neck. I asked him what it was and he said he hadn't even noticed it before. Probably a swollen lymph node. So then the worrier that

I am keep bugging him as to why would it be swollen. He didn't have a cold or hadn't had one in the last while so as I keep bugging him he said. Oh I bet I know what it is....I hit my head at work on something a day or two ago and it started to bleed a little. I bet it got a little infected and just drained to that lymph node. Well that made sense to me so I put it out of my mind for the rest of the night thinking that I would give it a couple of days and if it didn't look like it was going away I would call the doctor. Well during the night I woke up and started to worry. (which as you all know I am really a great worrier) But it was just like something told me. Janice don't wait to call the doctor call in the morning. So that is just what I did. We got right in to see the PA Parker Ward. He asked Richard a lot of questions and said that it probably was just an infection and put him on a antibiotics for 10 days and then we were suppose to come back if it hadn't gone away. Well it didn't go away so he sent us to an ears, nose and throat specialist. His name was Dr Doug Anderson and if anyone ever needs a ears, nose and throat specialist I highly recommend him. Anyway we went to see him and he said that he didn't want to just stick a needle in it and disturb the node so he sent him over for a cat scan. I asked him if this could possibly be cancer and he said "oh lets not go there...there is a hundred things it could be first." So after he got a good picture of it he told him that he would get back to him and took his cell phone. What a long wait that was. The Doctor actually called Richard on a Saturday while he was at a volleyball tournament and told him that it was cancer. And they needed to meet with him and get a plan going. I will never forget when he got home I was up stairs and heard him come in and I quickly asked "Have you heard anything from the doctor? He said yes and as I got to the bottom of the stairs he said it is cancer. That is the worst words I think you can hear. I hugged him and told him that we would fight this. So we then met with his doctor again I wanted to hurry and get in there and take it out before it could do anymore damage but the doctor told us that they needed to send him down to huntsman center and do a Pet scan. That way they would know if it was anywhere else. He did tell us that it was Melanoma and that it was in his lymph system and that right there wasn't a good sign. I remember just praying please don't let it be all through him and have the doctors have to tell me that there would be nothing they could do. So Dixie and Art and Rich and I headed to the huntsman center. What a humbling experience that is. To see all the many people inflicted with various types of this awful disease.

We were so very blessed when the news came back that Richard cancer hadn't spread to any other place in his body. So it was now off to surgery to have it removed. On March 3, 2006 early in the morning Richard and I drove up to the hospital and Rich commented on how weird it was to drive himself to the hospital when he feels fine and have them inflict pain on him. So the 5 hour surgery that took more like 6 1/2 hours was performed. It was such a hard time for me and when the doctor came out and said it was done and that it had come back confirmed for sure that it was melanoma and it was a 4 - 5 cm tumor had been taking out. I will never forget Dr. Anderson coming out and telling us that the surgery went well but that it was still stage 4 cancer because it was in his lymph node. After we later learned that he was really a stage 3b cancer

patient. But still very serious. We were told that he had a 25% chance of surviving this cancer. Not great odds but it was so much better than what I feared most that he would say no chance. I did at one time ask Dr. Anderson is there any hope? And I loved his answer. He said "I have learned to never say there is no hope. In my line of work I have seen many times when medically there was no hope and the Lord proves us wrong." Dr. Anderson was so awesome. He called a few days after surgery and said that he had done some more research because he just

had a feeling he had to do more and he contacted colleges back east and doctors at huntsman and he felt that because his jugular was laying right on the cancerous tumor that we needed to go and remove his jugular vein. That was so unsettling. Richard said to him "I have always been told if you want to kill something go for the jugular. One can not live with out a jugular can they"? Well he proved that wrong. Because even after a surgery where they removed 61 lymph nodes and 2 inch circumference of neck muscle they went back in and removed the jugular vein. Dr Anderson did such a fabulous job. There is so much here that I have left out. So many scary things and so many wonderful blessings given, wonderful acts of service and love shown to our family. I could never thank everyone enough. And the prayers in our behalf I KNOW were heard and so very much appreciated.

So after a year long of interferon and making it to the 2 years out and his odds going up to a 50% chance of surviving this cancer and now at 5 years when they tell us that the odds of surviving are now 75% chance. We are so happy to be here. Yes, he will have to be followed close his whole life. But we have now gone from scans every 3 months to every 6 months to now just once a

year. Hurray! We are so extremely thankful to be at this spot. We always said that when he makes it to 5 years we would take a cruise with the whole family. Well we didn't get the cruise but we did get dinner at Maddox and we are so very thankful for that. Maybe a cruise at 10 years. That is our new goal. We kind of got a head of ourselves on the cruise and we went in December. The only reason we don't count this one as his celebration cruise is because Cody and Robyn and the girls couldn't go with us. So in order for it to be a true celebration we all have to be there, right?

Rich has been able to be here and healthy for so many things. Cody coming home from serving honorably on his mission. Seeing Cody fall in love with Robyn and seeing as Addi entered into this wonderful world and then to be there to watch as they were married in the Logan temple and sealed as a family.

Then to have his first daughter fall in love and be married in the Ogden temple and watch as his son in law Richy joins the Air Force.

To see two more wonderful grand daughters become part of our family.

To see Paige graduate from high school and venture off to a year of college away from home and move back home and watch her excel in her adventure to become a teacher.

To work with Parker on a jeep he had so wanted to restore. To watch him do so well in school and to be a student body officer at Fremont High.

To watch McKenzie become Rocky mountains ninth grade setter as they take the district champions again. And see her to accelerate in basketball.

To be there as his wonderful mother in law passed away and to be able to support me through it all.

Boy what a great 5 years it has been. There have been so many little and big things that we have experienced in the last 5 years and we are sooooo grateful for all of them. Richard we are so lucky to have you. We all love you.

We have learned that we are not in control of the experiences that we are given in this life. We do know that the Lord is in control. We also know that he is there always. He is aware of our needs and knows what we can handle. And when we feel we can't handle anymore he sends angels to help along the way. We will forever be thankful to all those angels that helped us over these past 5 years.

Richards mother and Art were so wonderful and supportive through it all. What would we have done with out you? We don't know what the next 5 years will hold but here is hoping for many more years together as a family.

If any of you are still reading thanks! I know that this is a long blog. Thanks again to everyone that have been part of our lives.

With Brinkley and Briley moving in with us while Richy is gone to Basic Training we had to do a little bit of moving around and fixing up and remodeling. So we decided that the room that my mom use to be in would work best to put Brinkley into. It needed a good paint job and as we moved some of the furniture around we realized how badly it needed new carpet. So on went the new paint and in went the new carpet. But if you look real close at the bathroom at the end of the bedroom you can see that I had a peach colored counter top which I loved when I put in because it was my favorite color and now I desperately wanted to get rid of. Well I found this blog that had a picture of a kitchen where a lady painted her counter top to look like the granite top. So I figured I would try it in the bathroom where not

many people will see anyway and if it didn't look good it was such a small counter that Richard could replace it with a new top if we needed to so I tried it and I love it. You can see a couple of my mistakes but for saying it was the first time trying this I think it looks pretty good.

Here is a look at how the bathroom counter top looked before.

And here it is after. I really like it. Now I just have to see how well it will hold up to the wear and tear. So far so good.

I would love to change my sink and put in a new faucet as soon as i can afford it. A brass one would look good. And I am thinking about painting the cabinets black. Just a thought.