Monday 26 July 2010

Radiation complete! Today was Solvej's last session. Her hair has started falling out and she is wanting to shave it all off soon. She is feeling very tired and struggling to sleep; apparently this is due the cortisone. We saw Dr Hall again this morning who advised that it will take 2-3 months to determine the effect of the radiation on the brain.

The treatment and accommodation plans have changed somewhat. The insertion of the Porter Cath and the biopsy of a node will take place this Thursday and chemo will start on Friday (and be repeated every Friday for the time being). Solvej will continue to stay with the Appletons for the next two weeks. Our brother Gustav will be arriving on the 9th of August and the plan is for Solvej and Gustav to stay with the Warburgs for the week of his stay. Following that, Solvej will probably stay with our father in Hermanus, who would have arrived back from the UK by then.

We've just had a lovely weekend with Solvej staying with us. Despite being very exhausted and needing to rest a lot, Solvej was up and about a bit, receiving a couple of visitors and making it out to a family lunch on Sunday. Emotionally the reality of her illness is starting to set in but she is really trusting God.

Please remember that Wednesday is a day of prayer (and fasting if you wish) for Solvej. Everyone is welcome to join the prayer meeting at Jubilee Community Church in Nelson rd Observatory at 7.30pm, where we will be praying for Solvej and two others suffering from serious illnesses.

Monday 19 July

Half way through the radiation! After the radiotherapy session this morning we went to see Dr Hall. She wanted to know how Solvej was doing. She also confirmed that the porter cath would be implanted on Tuesday, 25 July and Chemo therapy would commence immediately. Solvej will have Chemo once a week for the time being.

Solvej is currently not able to drive. She has been staying with the Appletons for the past two weeks, she will be with us for the weekend, back to the Appletons until Tuesday and will then be moving in with the Clothiers in Pinelands (close to the hospital) for a while.

Saturday 17 July

I (Ulrik) took Chiara and went to watch the rugby with Solvej at the Appleton's this morning. Although the Bokke lost, it was nice to spend time with Solvej. This evening Solvej joined us for supper and a DVD. Solvej is feeling tired as she had a busy day yesterday spending most of the afternoon at work catching up with work colleagues. The radiation is really making her feel exhausted and the cortizone pills are making her nauseous. Depsite this, she is being remarkably positive and strong.

Sunday 18 July

We had a time of prayer for Solvej today at church ( Jubilee). A number of Solvej's work colleagues from Fairheads came to show their support ( thanks, we really appreciate it and Solvej did too!) Steve has mentioned that there will be a day of prayer and fasting for Solvej and PJ Smythe (also recently diagnosed with cancer) on the 26th July. Please mark that date in your diary and join us in praying!

Tuesday 13 July 2010

Solvej had her first bout of radiotherapy today. She is feeling no real side effects yet, except extreme tiredness. She will be going in for the rest of the week and next week. Her last radiotherapy session will be Monday 26 July. She will meet with the oncologist midway, on Monday 19 July, to see how the cancer is reacting to the radiation. The oncologist advised that it is not necessary to start the chemo to the rest of the body this week. They will probably start the chemo next week.

Monday 12 July 2010

This morning we went in to Vincent Pallotti hospital to start Radiotherapy. We first had a consultation with Prof. Werner (filling in for Dr Hall, the Oncologist). Prof Werner advised that the priority was to give radiation to the spots on the brain for a two week period.

We were then sent to the Radiation room where they made a cast of her head to mark the spots where the radiotherapy will be administered through. Everything was then set up for the radiotherapy to begin. However the hospital first had to obtain clearance from Solvej's medical aid before they could proceed.

No radiotherapy happened today and we have an appointment tomorrow morning for the radiotherapy to begin.

9 July 2010

We had another shock today. We had an appointment with the surgeon who sent Solvej for further brain and spine scans when she noticed that Solvej's health has deteriorated during the past week. Further scans revealed that there are spots of cancer on Solvej's brain.

Solvej has started cortisone medication and will start radiotherapy to her brain on Monday, which she will have daily for two weeks. She is staying with the Appleton family for the next few days.

3 July 2010

Solvej and Ulrik visited Dr Hall, a specialist oncologist. It was agreed that Solvej would receive chemo therapy at Vincent Palloti Hospital and that Gustav would be involved in Solvej's medical care. A plan was made for Solvej to receive a porter cath, which is a little device that enables chemo therapy to be administered without injections.

30 June 2010

Solvej had a consultation with the breast cancer specialist, who sent her for a scan of her skeleton. More spots were revealed on her spine and pelvis. We were informed that it was a slow growing cancer that was incurable but would respond to Chemo therapy. Some of the elders and staff at Jubilee Church prayed for Solvej and anointed her with oil. Someone had a picture for her of a field of grass. The Lord was walking ahead of her, cutting the grass down and making the way ahead level for her.

29 June 2010

Solvej went for a check up with the physician, as she was experiencing a problem with her eye; some pain in her rib; and was finding herself out of breath. She had a chest scan and this revealed that there were spots of secondary cancer in her lungs and also in her one rib. We were all very shocked as we were not in any way prepared for this news.

Introduction

This is a blog that we as Solvej's family in Cape Town have started for our sister Solvej. We hope that it will be a way for Solvej's friends and family all over the world to keep updated with her life, her treatment and her progress.

We start this particular journey of Solvej's in 2005, to give a little background and fill you in on Solvej's life over the past few years.

In January 2005 Solvej was diagnosed with breast cancer. She received treatment, and went on to become a champion survivor. She joined the Dragon Boat Racing Breast Cancer Survivor Team (Amabelle Belles), becoming a face for breast cancer survivors. Over the past few years she has travelled with the team to Singapore, Switzerland and Canada, and represented South African Dragon Boat Racing in Prague.

When Solvej has not been training on the water or flying around the world, she has been working at Fairheads Trust Company as a training officer. She has spent the past few years serving in the children's work and a homeless housing project at church. Solvej has been a generous helper to her family here in South Africa this past year, being the much loved aunty and baby sitter of her niece Chiara. She was a pillar of strength to our family earlier this year while she nursed our mamma Fransie during her short battle with cancer.