Treatment 3 done!!

We are almost home from Houston and have had a great couple of days. My mom, Rachel and Lee, and Darren and Candace came to Houston with us and it has been so great to have them here.

Josh and I came here on Thursday in time to visit with Ms. Vanessia, Misty, and Cassie. We had a great time with them and as of Friday, Ms. Vanessia is officially in remission!!! Praise God! I can't wait till I will be able to join her, but I can't tell you how thankful and excited we are for the West's. They are so special to us and to have this great news makes us so so happy.

I had my bloodwork and chemo yesterday and all went well. We had to wait for forver to get my chemo and were wondering why, because that had never happened before. Well, my white blood count had dropped so they were awaiting approval from my doctor to make sure that I could get my 3rd treatment. She said yes and we got started! No problems after that. I just am supposed to stay away from sick people:)

I felt great after chemo and am still feeling great. We had a great time eating and at the mall last night and did some shopping as well today. It is so good to spend time with family, and it doesn't hurt to have family that you are really good friends with. That is what we have. We are so blessed.

The next things that are coming up is my port installation and a possible BART test. Hopefully we will be able to get the port in soon so I will stop having to get poked! It is crazy the amount of nurses that cannot find my veins...I have gotten used to it now and it hurts less because I know what to expect. Nevertheless, we are ready for that port. It should be installed either before or on December 1st. It will be a surgical procedure, but should be fairly short.

The BART test is another genetic test that apparently catches the things that the BRCA test does not catch. I am supposed to meet with a genetic counselor soon to talk about scheduling the blood test. Please please be praying that test comes back negative as well, as it would have many of the implications that the BRCA would have had, had it been positive.

God is so good to us. I was able to go back to work this week a little bit and besides a few little things, I have been feeling great.

Josh and I at some point hope to tell all the stories of how generous people have been to us. One story that is on my mind in particular has to do with my hair. Here in the next few weeks, I will start really losing my hair and of course was anxious of how to handle all of this. Do I wear scarves, hats, wigs??! I mean, who would have ever thought I would be contemplating all of this! Anyways, I looked at wigs and of course the good-looking ones were fairly expensive and we didn't know what we would quite do. Well, to make a long story short, my friend and hairdresser, Stephanie Noland, showed up at the Taylor's with a card that contained enough money for us to get a great wig. Several people from our church contributed to this and we were just overwhelmed at this gift.

The Lord has impressed upon us such a strong desire to help others like we have been helped. We want to be half as good to others as you have been to us. Thank you for being the example to us that we strive to be like. Christ has been shown through all of you. Besides feeling God's presence more than ever, we see Him in all of you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

I will be rocking my wig soon:) Thank you to all who contributed-you are amazing and we love you!

Buy a T-Shirt to support Aly

This is a guest post by Lee Taylor

I, like all of you, love Aly and Josh so much and feel blessed that they are part of my family. I want to begin by apologizing about any confusion with the t-shirts because I did not get Josh all of the information.

A group of us have had a shirt designed that we hope will show support for Aly and help get more people praying for her situation (I also believe it will be an amazing testimony as they see how she handles this process).

T-shirts will cost $20, with all proceeds above cost, going to help Josh and Aly cover the increased expenses that come along with a situation like this.

There are always so many questions about shirts, so I hope the following information will answer most of your questions. If you have any further questions about sizes or orders, please email the t-shirt team at alysfight@gmail.com . We are all volunteers who have jobs, so please give us 24 to 48 hours to respond.

Ordering Process

Please follow the link below to download and print a t-shirt order form. These forms, along with payment, can be dropped off at a designated location or mailed to the address below. (Those wishing to pay with PayPal or credit card, which is the easiest option, please refer to the directions at the bottom of the page.) Checks need to be made out to Lee Taylor.

Order Form: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5AAdEcHa5o9YzQzN2RiMzktNTQzMC00Y2UyLTk1MTktZjU3MWYyMGU4ODZm

Locations to turn in order forms
Claiborne Christian School
Family Church

Salon 7 on Hudson Ave. Monroe, LA

Orders can also be mailed to:
Aly’s Fight
435 Kendall Ridge Ct.
West Monroe, LA 71292

The t-shirts are fitted and may fit smaller than a normal athletic t-shirt. It is also important to note that girls and guys shirts fit differently. The shirt printers advised anyone questioning about the right size shirt, to go up a size more than they normally would wear.

The first order will be made on Friday, November 18th, so get your order in as soon as possible.

PayPal and Credit Card instructions

1. If you wish to pay with PayPal or a credit card, please follow the link and enter the donation amount which covers the cost of your shirts. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=S6ETLSY73DS7Y

2. The second step is to email/forward a copy of your Paypal receipt along
with the shirt sizes desired to alysfight@gmail.com , and we will get you a
confirmation for your order.

Pictures from Round 2

Here are a few pictures from Round 2 last week...

Aly showing off her haircut...

Here is Aly getting her IV put in for the MRI and the chemo.

Here is Aly getting round 2 of chemo.

 We will head to Houston tomorrow around lunch and get to Houston around 6pm. We are excited to get to spend some time with Martin and Vanessia West, Kirk and Misty Frantom and Matt and Cassie Remington.

We are praying that Mrs. Vanessia gets a great report Thursday and Friday.

More good news!!!

We are on our way back home! Yay!!!! It has been a great couple of days, but we are tired. God has been faithful in giving us rest and great results this week.

Yesterday, as I was having the MRI on my abdomen, Josh received a call from Dr. Babiera saying that my MRI on my right breast came back clear!! Praise God! In case you don't know or don't remember, they saw some calcifications on my right breast on my mammogram and wanted further testing. Even though I trusted God on all of this, I was concerned when they were concerned, and to know that came back clear brings me HUGE relief.

The abdomen MRI yesterday was interesting. I had to do several breathing exercises during the test by holding my breath for certain periods of time on and off. It was intense and not the most relaxing of tests; however, thus far I have really enjoyed my cat scans, bone scans, MRIs, xrays, mammograms, ultrasounds, etc... I spend the majority of the time praying, singing in my head, and claiming scripture. These are also times when it is quiet and doubts fill my mind and I get to put into practice taking my thoughts captive. Yesterday, while in my MRI those doubts started filling my mind and this is the scripture I kept claiming over and over.---

 "Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer." Psalm 94:19

And taking every thought captive-- " We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets up itself against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  2 Corinthians 10:5. God has truly used this time for me to trust in Him and His word.

Here's the thing though- had these tests not been good, I would still be trusting in the Lord. I am so thankful for these test results, but it is not human wisdom or tests in which I trust. It is God. For all you "Family-churchers":)- if you read your proverb yesterday, it told us to not be impressed with our own wisdom or wisdom of others.---

"Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones." Proverbs 3:7-8

I've told God many times to use whatever He may to bring me and my family closer to Him. Sometimes, that means hardships, and I've questioned telling Him to do whatever it takes:) But, regardless of what happens, I choose to praise Him and trust Him. Ok, now I'm rambling!

We visited family here (Ms. Lynne and Mr. George- Ms. Nancy's mom) and stayed with them last night. We had a great time, ate good, and we were so thankful they let us crash their house.

I had the second round of chemo this morning and it went wonderfully. We had a new nurse this time, Grace, who was great and I still feel nothing:) We were back there 4 hours!! It takes about 2 hours once the medicine actually begins being infused.

I am so excited!!! We went to whole foods today, because I have completely changed my diet over the last 2 1/2 weeks to eating extremely healthy and eating recommended "cancer-fighting foods." It was amazing. We stocked up on some stuff that I am excited to try and eat... I am SUCH a foodie with a HUGE sweet tooth, and yes it deserves all caps:) So, needless to say, this has been a struggle for me, but I am in for the ride. It was exciting to find some foods I can eat:) We bought all this food with gift cards we received from so many wonderful friends- I can only try to repay all of you--thank you so so so much.

While we were there, we got a call from my sweet nurse, Aimee, to tell us that my abdomen MRI came back clear. Once again, praise God! I told you I knew the good news would keep on coming!!! They will do another MRI on the abdomen in 6 months to re-check, but everything looked good.

2 treatments down and 14 to go!!! Woohoo!!! Love you all...thank you for your specific prayers yesterday.

Oh, and here is a pic of me and Josh eating after chemo today with my wonderful mom:) I cut off some of my hair to get ready for the hair loss...I typically am a picture-picky person, but for the sake of my journey and for all of you, I've lost all inhibitions...not the best pic (4 hours in a hospital bed!), but just wanted to share one of me and my man today!

Prayer requests

Hey guys! So, we are on the road again:) I know Josh updated you all about the negative BRCA test...to say I was the most excited and thankful person on the face of the earth is a complete understatement. Not only were the results given sooner than expected, but the result was negative. I literally jumped up and down for 5 minutes and thanked God over and over and over and over! He is so good to me.

This does not necessarily change the course of treatment, but knowing I do not have that gene means my ovaries do not have to be removed and my chance of cancer reoccurrence is no higher than another breast cancer survivor...I still get chills even when I write it right now. This good news will be followed by more good news- I just know it. So thankful to be trusting the One who holds my future in His hands.

Ok, so now for the point of this post- I have an MRI today on my abdomen because they saw a teeny tiny spot on my liver (only millimeters) that they suspect to just be a cyst, but because it was there, they wanted to have this MRI today. Please pray that the MRI comes back clean. Also please pray my second round of chemo goes well tomorrow. I have had very little side effects thus far. It is amazing to have poison in your body and feel amazing...My God is taking care of His girl.

I will update more tomorrow and tell some awesome stories, but just wanted to send specific prayer requests today. Love you all and thank you for being trusted prayer warriors.

"I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death." Psalm 30:1-3

BRCA Genetic test NEGATIVE!!!!!

We just received a call letting us know that the genetics test (BRCA) which determines if Aly is at higher risk than normal to get cancer came back negative. This is a great piece of news that has made our day.

Had this test come back positive then it would have made the bi-lateral mastectomy a must and then also would mean that the ovaries would also have to be removed. Then thinking further down the line it means less worry for our children.

The prayers are without a doubt being heard because every doctor that looked at Aly's family history has all but guaranteed that she would come back positive for the genetic mutation.

By no means the only positive we have experienced but to date one of our biggest victories in the fight we will win against cancer.

We love you guys and thank you, remember if you want to receive updates when we update the blog just enter your email to the right.

Round 2. Aly's Fight T-Shirt

Well round one of chemo is almost over and we are prepping for round 2. Aly had a rough spot yesterday but is feeling much better today. We will leave for Houston and round 2 on Thursday. Aly has an MRI on Thursday and then will receive chemo Friday morning.

There have been a ton of questions about the T-Shirt that has been on Facebook so Lee Taylor, Stephanie Noland, Krista Richardson and some other friends asked me to let you guys know that we are having a shirt designed that will be available to order next week. the shirt on Facebook was one that was online and was put on Facebook by a great CCS student who wanted to help, thank you so much Triston.

Well from that, this idea was born and there will be a completely custom T-Shirt design just for Aly's Fight.

Thanks again for all the support and remember if you would like to know when we update the blog just subscribe by entering your email to the right of this blog and each time we update the blog you will be notified.