Journey Complete

Where do I start? It has been sweet to spend these last few months with our mom. Mom passed away this afternoon around 2:35 PM. She went very easily which was a blessing to her and our family. Just in the past couple of days she had stopped eating and drinking and yesterday was the first day she became unresponsive. We all just wanted to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers. Mom has been the greatest blessing in all of our lives and we truly believe that she'll continue to surround us and bear us up. Mom would like all of you to know how much she truly loves each and every one of you! She was one who impacted every individual that she came in contact with. She truly was an Amazing Woman! Thanks in advance for all your thoughts and prayers for our family in this tender time. Please stay tuned for mom's obituary that I'll post here in the near Future.

No Trip... But back at home and doing well

On Tuesday of this week, mom was put in the hospital due to many complications. The main issue is that her bile is so high that it is shutting down her liver and other organs. The doctors don't think she will be with us for more than a couple of weeks. She is having a difficult time because she wanted to go on this trip more than anything! Even today she still thinks she'll be able to go. But we'll bring the trip here and have a wonderful time at home as a family. Mom has her ups and downs. She would love to see you all, but there are just too many people that love her and she just can't manage. If you would like to see mom, please call and make sure it is an appropriate time. Letters, prayers, and other gestures of love are much appreciated. Mom would like to let you know the great love she has for all of her family and friends. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. Mom is very comfortable and feels at peace and this is only because of all your sweet daily prayers. Thanks so much in this trying time. I'll keep you all updated...

A Long Overdue Update

Well I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted on this blog. Over the summer things were just going so well, it was hard to have anything to write about. Over the past couple of months there has been quite a lot to tell, but I just haven't been able to find the time to sit down and write. Well mom hasn't been doing so great as of late. She could really use all of your prayers! Mom has been fighting jaundice for the last couple of months and the doctors can't seem to find a way to get rid of it. They believe the jaundice is being built up in moms liver because the tumors are growing and the bile has no way to get out. Recently they tried a new chemo drug, but it made mom so sick that she was hospitalized for a few days. Now mom is off that chemo and trying to recover. The doctors wanted mom to recover as much as possible so she'll be able to have a nice trip. This next week, all of the Sorenson's are going to Disneyland and on a Disney Cruise. We are hoping that mom will be able to relax and enjoy some time with the family. When we return, the doctors will re-evaluate mom's situation and see if there are anymore options they could try to keep mom with us. Mom is very exhausted and tired of being sick, but she keeps on fighting because of her love for life, her family, friends, and neighbors. Please keep praying for her and I'll let you all know how our trip went and how mom is doing once we return.

Ryan Park Sorenson

Just added one more baby to the Sorenson family!

Ryan Park Sorenson was born to Park and Anna on April 23rd. They will call him Park.

Mom was very pleased to have one more healthy nephew!

Mom is doing pretty well. She is still going into Chemotherapy twice a month on Mondays. Nothing much has changed since last time I wrote. There are always a few complications that come up, but overall she is feeling very well and the doctors are please with her progress. She will still be going through Chemotherapy for a little while longer. It's been going on for so long that I have even forgotten when she will be done. I think we are expecting that sometime in the summer they will run more tests and see where she is at.

But in the meantime, All the new babies, birthday's, and parties have been keeping mom busy and of course very happy. There is still one more baby on the way. Grace is expecting another baby boy in late July of this year. I'll let you know when that happens.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers! It really helps mom keep going! Hopefully here in the near future we'll have some great news that she has overcome this deadly cancer.

Vacation, Birthday, and a New Baby

Well a lot has happened since the last time I wrote.

Maxwell Jay Sorenson was born on February 22nd to Jamie and Misa. Mom was very happy to have another little boy join the Sorenson family.

Park and Anna are due to have a little boy any day now and we all can't wait.

Mom recently had a wonderful birthday and Mom and Dad took a nice relaxing trip back East (Mom's favorite place). Mom felt really well the whole trip and had a great time.

Mom is still going through chemotherapy two Monday's each month and hasn't had any complications. Mom would like to thank everyone for the thoughtful Birthday notes and the prayers in her behalf. Thanks for all the love and support.

Would you like to learn more?

Cholangiocarcinoma is a very complex cancer. I know a lot of you don't know exactly what mom is going through and I thought you might want to learn more. Here is a little bit about Cholangiocarcinoma.

What is Cholangiocarcinoma?

Cholangiocarcinoma (often referred to as bile duct cancer) is a cancerous growth in one of the ducts that carries bile from the liver to the small intestine. Cholangiocarcinoma is rare. It occurs in approximately 2 out of 100,000 people, but rates of cholangiocarcinoma have been rising worldwide over the past several decades. Cancerous tumors of the bile ducts are usually slow-growing and do not spread quickly. However, many of these tumors are already advanced by the time they are found. A cholangiocarcinoma may start anywhere along the bile ducts. These tumors block off the bile ducts and do not allow bile to flow from the liver to the intestine. This is why one of the first symptoms noticed is jaundice. This cancer affects both men and women and most patients are older than 65(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001336/).

Prominent symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma include abnormal liver function tests, abdominal pain, jaundice, weight loss, and sometimes generalized itching, fever, or changes in stool or urine color. The disease is diagnosed through a combination of blood tests, imaging, endoscopy, and sometimes surgical exploration. Known risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma include primary sclerosing cholangitis (an inflammatory disease of the bile ducts), and congenital liver malformations.

Cholangiocarcinoma is considered to be an incurable and rapidly lethal disease unless all of its tumors can be fully resected (cut out surgically). There is no potentially curative treatment except surgery, but unfortunately most patients have advanced and inoperable disease at the time of diagnosis.

For more information, please go to the following links:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholangiocarcinoma/

Back on Chemo

Well in the past few weeks, mom has been waiting for the results of her MRI to show her how well her body has been reacting to the chemotherapy. Last Thursday mom had an appointment with her Doctor to discuss the results and the next steps to defeating this cancer. Her are the results:

There is some good news and some not so good news. First of all, The cancer is not gone.(this is the not so good news) There is still too much cancer to try and remove it all through surgery. The MRI showed that the tumor in the gallbladder is about half the size as it was last fall, the cancer in the bile duct is almost undetectable, and the spots on the liver look just a bit better.

The Doctor discussed the option of radiation, but decided with my parents to just continue chemotherapy because mom has been so successful while maintaining a high quality of life.

Mom will start chemotherapy today and will continue just twice a month for the next four months. After that period they will reevaluate. So back to step one...

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Mom still has a positive attitude and was very happy with the results of the MRI. She is ready to get back at it and defeat this cancer.

Thanks again for all your thoughts, prayers, cards, notes, gifts and many more signs of love that has encouraged mom to keep giving her all. She couldn't do it without all of you!!

I'll keep you posted on any new information...

February 7th 2011

Well right now mom is sitting at the hospital getting her second to last chemo treatment. Mom's last treatment is on Valentines Day and is getting excited and nervous for what's to come. After chemo is over, I believe the doctors will run all the tests and see where she is at the first week of March. The following week, the Doctors will bring in the family to give us the results of the tests and what the options are at that point. There are many different paths that they could take at that point. They could start chemo again, give mom a break from everything, start radiation, or even surgery. As for mom, she seems to be doing really well. She is happy and has a great attitude. Thanks for all your support. You really do play a key role in helping mom get through this difficult time. I will let you all know what the Doctor's decide to do next. Until next time...

Sorry It's Been So LONG!

I don't even know where to start... I'll first start by apologizing. The holidays were very busy, but that is a lame excuse. I'll try to be better and update on a regular basis. Well mom is doing pretty good. Not much has happened over the last month, so it's been hard to find something to write about. We realized that mom had been sick mainly because she wasn't getting enough fluid. The Doctor's suggested that we give fluid through Mom's port three times a week at home. Andrea and I have been taking care of hooking up the fluids and taking them out. It takes about 2 hours each day. Early in December, the Doctors took Mom's bile bag off and put a cap on the tube to see if the bile would run through the bile tubes and function normally. So far it has and mom hasn't needed to use the bag. The Doctor's said that this is probably a good sign that the tumors are shrinking and the Chemo is working effectively. Mom is very happy and optimistic that she will get some good news in the upcoming months. Mom has one more cycle of chemotherapy and then they will run the tests to see where she''s at. That should happen in February sometime. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers over the holidays. Mom had a great Christmas and we had a wonderful time together as a family. Doctor's still encourage Mom to avoid being around people in this flu season, but she loves all your notes and thoughts. Thanks for all your support and patients. I'll try to be better at updating the blog. Hopefully at least once a week. Thanks for your support...