Besos, abrazos y amor (kisses, hugs and love)

Hola amiga,
Love those photos! So good to see your shining face and Stacey's and Bonnie's too. You know we especially loved seeing the ones from when you all were here in Puerto Vallarta in January. We say prayers every day for your continued healing and glowing, clear health. As you may recall from our conversations in January, I certainly can attest to the effectiveness of all the prayers I received that I KNOW helped me heal and stay in the now and the positive light. We'll be in Seattle in July - October so maybe we'll get to see you then for some in person abrazos y besos! Meanwhile, blessings and abundant love to you and your family.
Love,
Barbara (and Jim, too!)

Hello my dear friends and loved ones. Gratitude is a good place for me to start with my mass communication endeavor: to Greg Moul, my son-in-law for creating this blog, and to friends and family who check in for news updates and lend their voices to this beautiful chorus of support. I am enjoying the group effort this healing process is turning out to be.

Today I went to the University of Washington Hospital for the day and had a biopsy. The surgeon wanted to back up her opinion of what's going on in my belly with hard evidence...cells to examine. Bonnie and I spent the day, me lying on a cot and her in a semi comfortable chair chatting, napping, and watching a television movie. The procedure took about half an hour and the recovery room experience took four. I'm feeling just as well and whole this evening as I did before the procedure, and last week and last year. Cancer can be a quiet, unobtrusive batch of cells on the surface of things. This batch got my attention two years ago at which time I began making the rounds of physicians--from my family physician in Seattle, to the gynocologist, to the folks that bring us the colonoscopy--getting all the requisite tests. Ovarian cancer, it turns out, is difficult to diagnose. When the people in Seattle didn't satisfy me with an answer I checked in with Susan Cahill soon after I got to Montana in my retirement. She nailed it in short order. She confirmed her suspicions with a simple blood test called a CA-125. Something every woman should ask her doctor about. I don't know why it's such a well kept secret. It is THE diagnostic tool for ovarian cancer. (at least to my current understanding).

Having gotten this information, I've been following first Susan's advice, and now that of Barbara Goff, M.D. Dr. Goff is alleged to be one of the top surgeon's for ovarian cancer around. We certainly have confidence in her. After today's biopsy, Dr. Goff has plans for me to get a "port" through which the chemotherapy will be delivered. It's going to be like a little button just under the surface of the skin around the area of my what? clavicle? (between shoulder and breast). Then chemo therapy will begin at the earliest possible time thereafter. As the girls mentioned in one of their entries in the blog, Dr. Goff wants to try and eradicate the cancer that has metastisised (sp?)to my spleen with 3 chemo rounds 3 weeks apart and then do surgery to remove the rest. That will be followed up with another three rounds.

It all seems quite simple and straightforward to me. I'll just suit up and show up, just as I always have, for each day and follow the guidance of the people who know more about this than I do.

One of these guides is a "healer" up in Eureka, Montana who has already given me one of his treatments. I asked Dr. Goff to get another CA-125 test to see if the Eureka healer's (Jimmie MacKimmie) treatment and the follow-up he recommended has made any difference. Today I got the score of the recent test and the cancer numbers have been reduced by a couple of hundred: From 2,625 to 2,400 something...nearly 200 points. Normally, I would expect these cancer cells would be increasing not decreasing. Let's hear it for Jimmie MacKimmie!!! I'm hoping to do follow-up with Jimmie in the coming weeks and months. I'm grateful to him and all the other healers I have in my life. That includes you, my friends. Nothing is so healing as the unconditional love that's been coming in our direction, recently as well as over a long period of time.

One of us will get back to you with news as it happens. Hopefully there will be days when absolutely nothing is happening except life as we've been doing it all along. Life on life's terms.

Love,
Barbara

Wow, what a beautifully photo gallery of Barbara's family and her travels and interests. Many of the pictures gave me the visual portion of the talks Barbara and I have.

Thank you Barbara, for taking the time for a walk yesterday. Thanks also for taking the time for my husband George to join the tail end of our outing. You are a really special person and we both wanted to hug and kiss you goodbye for a time. We will be out of town until after your first treatment and you know our well wishes go with you.

I so admire your spirituality and calmness in the face of this ordeal. It was impossible to see any negativity in your outlook.

My compliments to Stacey and Bonnie and wonderful husbands Dennis and Greig for showing up in such a major supportive way. I am very impressed with the fathering skills you guys have shown in this situation. Kudos....

I have never done a blog before, so will be learning along the way. I am really bad at navigating stuff on a computer, so will rely on George to post any pictures. His computer has our gallery.

Will check in while out of town and when I return, will see how I can be of service.

Love, Kate

Blessings from our Nations Capital

Dear Barbara, I am so grateful that I am on your list. I feel honoured to be part of your life. I saw Allison two weeks ago and have been thinking about you. I am sending you all my love, a lot of good love and blessings.
Everytime I wash my tea-kettle I think of the time I spent with you in Seattle and you saying to me: I even cleaned my kettle for you Laura. Funny how you remember the little things.
Higher Power has you in the palm of his hand, and has given you a loving family to support you. Many blessings.
Sunday Jeanny ,Edward , Sebastian and Andrea, Nathanial and Evan are coming to lunch. It will be a fun time. You will be with us.
Courage , Peace, Serenity, Trust is what I will pray for you.
Perhaps I will use my miles to come and hike with you in Montana!!!!
Blessings Laura

the healing has already begun

All I have to say today is that I am wearing your celtic necklace and my hair is turning more white everyday! (I should be so lucky to have hair like yours).

Wear the stone. Feel the power of the Jewel Basin throughout your entire body........

I carry your heart in my heart,

Susie

Beauty ABOUNDS !!

Firstly, I must admit I am sitting at my desk with my mouth agape ! Barb, you have not changed one iota since I saw you last. In fact, I think you are even more stunning. Bonnie and Stacey...you were blessed with your mother's abundant beauty (inside and out).

I so cherish the "Big Sky" days and can honestly say that I thought you were the coolest mom in the world. My mom is pretty cool, but you were the Meccca...and I can see you still are. If anything would have happened to my mother, I would have INSISTED that I live with you ! :)

I think about you everyday since I heard the awful news of the cancer. I wish you a bit of serenity and reflection in every day. If anyone can beat this...it is you. You excude goodness and strength.

Thank you so much for the blog. I will be checking it daily and being that my verbosity can't be controlled...I will probably be contributing waaaay tooo much.

All my love to you.

PD Poindexter

Katie and Harold -- Sending Love Your Way

Katie and I are thinking about you! We know that with all the love that surrounds you, this arduous journey will be made lighter.

Love,
Harold (& Katie)

Monday April 28, 2008

Hello to our family and friends. Mom, Stacey and I are so blessed with the loving care, good wishes and prayers from you all. Thank you!
We would love to speak to each and every one of you to let you know exactly how things are progressing but find that overwhelming since so many people love Mom. So we have asked my husband Greg to set up this blog for everyone to keep in touch with Mom and let you all know in a timely manner what is happening. We will try to post as new information unfolds to keep you in the loop. When you have questions, comments, prayers, photos or laughter to share please do so! We hope this will be the simplest and most effective way to communicate at this time.

April 28th, Monday:
This morning, Mom, Stacey and I went to Mom's meeting with Dr. Barbara Goff at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She is an ovarian cancer specialist and our surgeon. (A big thanks to angel Shannon Marsh for hooking us up in record time with this incredible surgeon. Mwah!) We connected with Dr. Goff and her team immediately: They were intelligent, straight-forward, and two out of three were red-heads! Best of all, they "got" Mom! We had an informative discussion that helped Mom decide on the following course of action and recovery.
Instead of undergoing surgery in the morning, Mom is going to begin chemotherapy. Dr. Goff showed us Mom's CT scan on the computer. It revealed tumors on her ovaries, uterus, abdominal lining, as well as on the perimeter of her liver along with some metastasis into the spleen. In order to try to save the spleen - which is helpful for a stronger immune response later - she recommended three courses of chemotherapy beginning next week to slow growth and to shrink the tumors, making surgery and recovery more effective.
Dr. Goff was confident Mom would have little trouble receiving and coping with the chemotherapy. She said: "After five minutes I could tell what kind of woman you are and I know you will do fine with the chemotherapy." It is a six hour treatment that we understand will make her tired and a little nauseous, though not as nauseous as was once the case. After about five to seven days post-chemo, she hopes to feel well enough to head back to Elmo and get to work on her garden and other spring projects! We are even keeping the May canoe trip in sight!
One of her plans is to continue to see Jimmy Mackimmie the healer in Eureka that our cousin Brittney along with Susan M. and Patty H. (Thank You!) helped hook us up with. If Mom had a twin brother, in spirit and looks, he is the one. After our initial visit with Jimmey ( who had a Sai Baba painting on his wall!) Mom was so peaceful and "smoothed out" . This is something we are both looking forward to as a positive healing treatment. We have already been diligent with some of his suggested alternative healing methods and believe that any and all will help to move this disease out.
Mom will undergo three chemo treatments here in Seattle, hopefully starting this Friday. There will be three weeks in between each treatment and a final three weeks recovery prior to surgery projected for the first week of August.
Please keep Mom in your prayers and know that she would prefer more e-mails or letters than calls and she says to Stace and me, "let's all do our summers just like normal and not make a big drama out of this." So that is our assignment. We are all trying to stay in today, make good choices and remember that God is in charge.
Please post your replies here or send mail to either address:
PO Box 41
Elmo, Mt. 59915
or
5724 35th Ave. N E
Seattle, WA 98105

Love to all.
Bonnie, Stacey and Mom (Barbara).

So, where is Barbara?

Barbara is in Seattle, soaking up the love from her adoring family. She left Montana last week, after having spent some quality time with Stacey and Bonnie. The three Bennetts girls spent the weekend with their beautiful children in Seattle (Zaq & Elijah flew in from Santa Monica), filling themselves with the energy only young people can provide. Today is preparation for procedures to be carried out at one of the top medical facilities in the United States, Seattle's, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). We are full of faith, that western medicine will achieve what it is setting out to accomplish and that alternative methods will provide for a complete and full recovery.

I LOVE YOU GRAMMIE!

GET WELL SOON!