UPDATE with VIDEO :)

The entrance to the Hoag facility where we
see Valerie's oncologist once a month and
where she gets her once a month IV treatment.

So, we were at the doctor's office Friday to see Dr. Chen and they ordered a STAT blood work up since Valerie has been so anemic and she's still very fatigued.  The blood work showed that her hemoglobin has dropped to 6.2 and they immediately recommended another blood transfusion.

However, Oasis advises against transfusions.  They say that the literature shows decreased survival rates and more aggressive recurrence of cancer with blood transfusions.  But Dr. Cecena also said that there are times that it becomes unavoidable and it's a quality of life decision.  So there was no clear direction on how to proceed.

The video shows my take on the decision we have to make..... and p.s. at the end I say "what's your vote?" - we don't really mean that.  :)

Valerie has decided for now not to have the transfusion and see if these new meds can kick in and take over.  She started the shots of Procrit yesterday (Saturday).  That's the med that is specifically supposed to help her bone marrow make red blood cells.  It can take up to a month for it to work, but we are hopeful that it'll kick in soon.  Tomorrow (Monday) she will start the chemo-like drug called Afinitor.  It's in pill form and the doctor is starting her on a pretty low dose.  The Afinitor, in combination with the Aromacin (which she started last week), have been shown to have good results in women with breast cancer.

In the meantime, Valerie just has to rest and not stress her body at all.  So GO 9ers!!!! (my vote) or GO Ravens!!!! (her vote)

and P.S. we are closer to getting this secret item that I mentioned on the last post, and possibly from several avenues.  Thanks everyone that has helped, including one I forgot last time - M.  ;)