A letter Shane wrote to Family and Friends October 10 2009

With some hesitation I am writing again with an update.  Theresa is uncomfortable with people fussing over her, but we also decided that the support from our loved ones is most important.  Most of you will know that Theresa recently finished a newly developed radiation treatment on a tumor that she had in one of her lungs.  It was the tumor that they were unable to get with the radio frequency ablation that she had been doing. 
     About a week ago we went in to have some scans done and to verify the tumor is dying.  During those scans, four more tumors were detected.  Two in each lung.  The radiation and ablation doctors are hesitant to treat that many tumors at one time.  We talked to the sarcoma specialist at Huntsman.  They have a recipe of three chemotherapy drugs that they have used in conjunction with each other.  Our hope was to never need to do chemo again, but it appears like that is our option right now. 
     Theresa asked about insurance coverage for this new treatment.  They said there has been no problem for the most part.  Just one or two insurances have denied this treatment they are developing.  It just happens that the insurance we have has been the insurance that denies regularly.  They are hopeful at Huntsman. They think with Theresa's history and what she has done to this point, they will be able to deal with the insurance and get the treatment approved.
     We will be fasting and praying that the insurance approval will come through and that the treatment will be effective when Theresa receives it.  Over the years we have felt your support.   Be assured that your support is truly appreciated.
     Thank you again, all of you.  We love you very much.       Shane

Another RFA Procedure June 29, 2009

This is Shane, I am at the Huntsman center right now. Theresa recently returned to her room from the surgery recovery area. I realize this is probably a surprise to many of you. It has been very difficult for her to tell many people of the new tumors that we found at the last scan. She would rather be concerned about someone else than have people fretting and worried over her.

The radio frequency ablation was a mild success. There were two tumors. One of them was directly behind a rib and try as he might he was not able to get the needle into the tumor sufficiently to perform the ablation. They deflated the lung and overinflated the lung to see if they could get it away from the rib. They also changed her position but to no avail. The other tumor was ablated but with some bleeding, so she has a chest tube in tonight. They still think she will be able to get the tube out tomorrow and go home tomorrow afternoon.
There is a new procedure they are developing that involves very finely focused beams of radiation. Because it is so focused right at the tumor, they are able to do much stronger doses and in just a couple maybe three treatments they will be able to kill the tumor without all the regular residual side effects of regular radiation. It sounds very similar to the radio frequency ablation but where they don't need to be able to place a needle it may be a possible option.
We do very much appreciate all your faith and prayers. That is what sustains us. We will keep you all posted concerning our progress. We love you all.