A song in her heart

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come. ~Chinese Proverb

Tuesdays are chemo days. Every Tuesday Cindy spends 3 hours getting Taxotere pumped into her veins. Taxotere is an Antimicrotubule agents which inhibit the microtubule structures within the cell. Microtubules are part of the cell's apparatus for dividing and replicating itself. Inhibition of these structures ultimately results in cell death. Thus the death of the cancer. There are many varieties of chemo drugs and Taxotere is the drug of choice for Cindy’s body right now.

Taxotere is made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree. The low lying yew was often considered a “trash tree” compared to the mighty Douglas fir and the likes. But with the discovery of Taxol in the 1960’s, it became the Cinderella of the forest. Yews are one of the most long-lived trees. Pacific Northwest species can live more than 1,000 years and some of their English cousins are believed to be more than 4,000 years old. Early cultures recognized the inherent wisdom of something that lives so long, and the yew became the subject of legend and an important spiritual connection to the forest.

Cindy treatment regime requires three weeks of chemo and then one week off. This will continue until her body says “stop” or her marker comes down to normal range. Cindy’s marker is a protein in her blood. Not everyone has this marker and out of the few that do, it has not proven to be very reliable. However, in her case it has been spot on. When the number goes up, it means that the cancer is growing or active somewhere in her body. Normal range for these markers are 30-40. Before the first chemo treatment this month her markers were in the 900’s. Not good. But last week, after only two treatments her markers were lowered to the 800’s. Good.

While there is still a long way to go, the Taxotere is doing its job. In the meantime Cindy continues with life. She spends every Wednesday baking bread by the truck load for her band kids. She is out and about whenever possible, smiling and waving as she passes you by in her little green truck. Each Sunday our congregation is greeted with the most beautiful smile as she leads us in song worship. And while she is extremely tired and has moved her bedtime up to 8:00 pm these days, she carries on. All the while giving thanks. Thanks for support in the form of flowers, cards and letters, delicious meals and priesthood blessings. Cindy has taken to heart the wisdom of that ancient Chinese proverb and the song birds have come to roost!