Jason’s Grandma Mary goes to Heaven

Dear Barb’s Army,
Jason’s Grandma Mary died this week. Grandma Mary lived a long and wonderful life! I am sure God has welcomed her home to his kingdom! Please send up a prayer on behalf of Grandma Mary and for the Schager family as they grieve her loss.
Barb’s mother-in-law Doreen Boylan from Bakersfield and her two sisters-in-law Jennice and Jennifer have just arrived for a visit. This was planned for a long time, so everyone is adjusting schedules with the funeral of Grandma Mary this weekend. One never knows what life can throw at you, yet we all have to learn to adjust. Nobody knows this more than Barb these days, so she is going to have time with both Jason’s family and her relatives from Bakersfield.
Good luck to Matt at his swim meet!
Keep the faith and continue the prayers. Barb could use some more white cells, otherwise her bloodwork looks good. Love, MK

Barbs Army Runs

Pan Can Symposium and Banquet

Dear Barb’s Army,
Wow! It was an amazing two days in Los Angeles. On Friday, Barb, Amy, Amy’s sister Kara, Katie and I all attended the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Symposium. The speakers were truly amazing and gave us all hope that the research for Pancreatic Cancer is very encouraging. Barb especially enjoyed the talk by Maria on Nutrition. She was extremely knowledgeable and spent time with us afterwards to answer questions. She is a nutritionist at MD Anderson.
On Saturday night, eleven of us attended the Pan Can Evening with the Stars to raise money for pancreatic cancer. Our table was all women and we were right up in the front! Last number I heard was over $380,000 was raised by the end of the night. Many wonderful researchers and pancreatic cancer advocates were recognized. This included Dana Delaney (actress) and a special award for Patrick Swayze’s wife Lisa, who was our last speaker. The food was spectacular! The entire evening was classy! Barb stood up with about 15 others in the room of 500 who are pancreatic cancer survivors! That was moving, to say the least!
Thank you to Amy, Kara, Mom, Doc, Katie, Tracy, Kelly, Tiana, and Donna who all came to the event to support Barb. There is much to be thankful for in our lives! Keep the faith alive and believe in miracles. Love, MK

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CA 19-9 marker DOWN! YES!

Dear Barb’s Army,
Barb’s CA 19-9 marker is at 251 down from 495 two weeks ago! This is terrific news! (Remember that normal is about 55.) Barb was very excited to get this news as it means the chemo continues to eat away the cancer.
On another note, Jason’s brother Scott, his wife Ginger and their children Brayden and Brielle have come to Iowa for a visit. They plan to go to the Iowa football game with the Schager clan. Also, Scott will help out with harvest. Barb is excited to have Scott’s family in Iowa!
Lastly, Barb is in the MAIL section of PEOPLE magazine that came out today. She wrote in last month when People did the Patrick Swayze article. She got a “big” one line quote at the top of the mail section and then you will see her name and city/state. So, the next time you are at the grocery store, read it while you wait in line!
Keep the prayers and faith! Love, MK

Bridget and Maddie Visit

Dear Barb’s Army,
Just a quick update. Barb and family had a wonderful past weekend with the arrival of Bridget Boylan and Maddie Lundy. The two young ladies arrived from California for a long weekend with the Schagers! A big highlight was the Iowa Hawkeyes WIN (in football)! Barb said they had a terrific visit with the girls and were all so glad that they came out.
Barb is off of chemo this week. She did have some bloodwork done. Everything looks good. The white cells are a bit low, but she had her bone marrow shot today, so that should help make more white cells. The CA 19-9 test was not back yet.
Barb was getting her nails done while we had a quick chat. She sounds great and is extremely positive! Keep the prayers going! Love, MK
PS Barb’s Army for Purple Stride Iowa is over $8500!

Purple Stride Iowa Pictures

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Purple Stride Rocks!

Dear Barb’s Army,
Barb has been extremely busy, so I told her I would do this post for her.
Barb had a team of 34 walkers in West Des Moines for Purple Stride Iowa. The Barb’s Army team was the top money “getter” with just under $8,000 collected. (More money is still coming in!) Barb wants to THANK all those who walked, donated money, and/or prayed for the success of Purple Stride Iowa. She told me she felt so COMPLETELY LOVED last Saturday with all the support! She sends out a very special Thank You to Shelley Goff who started the Purple Stride Walk in Des Moines after her father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago. Barb said the entire day was fun and very organized and that is due to Shelley’s hard work and determination. So, from all of Barb’s Army, THANK YOU SHELLEY!
Barb had chemo on Wednesday. Her blood counts all looked good, so she was able to go back on the Xeloda for a week. She is off of the Gemzar chemo next week. She will have one more round of the three weeks of chemo, then she will go back to Mayo Clinic on November 2nd for CT scan and other tests. Barb will be getting the shots to increase her white cells today, Fri and Saturday. She says she is at the Ames Cancer Center a lot more these days, but they are friendly and “on the ball” so she gets in and out fairly quickly. She continues to see her healing touch LADY and is reading a lot of Wayne Dyers (sp?) books. I have heard him speak on PBS and really liked what he had to say.
Keep the prayers up! Barb says she can feel the strength from them. She continues to feel well, so she is living her life to the fullest she can. Jason, Jimmy and Matt are all doing fine! Keep the faith! Love, MK