Surrounded by her loving family, Joan passed away peacefully this morning. She was truly an amazing wife, mother, and friend to so many, and although she will be missed incredibly, we are at peace knowing that her spirit will live on.

All friends and family are invited to attend a memorial service to celebrate Joan's life at Sacred Heart Church (13716 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070) on Friday, September 28, 2007 at 11:00 am. A reception will be held immediately following the service at the Saratoga Community Center (19655 Allendale Ave, Saratoga). In lieu of flowers, the family would like contributions to be made to either the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) (2141 Rosecrans Ave, Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245) or to Hospice of the Valley (4850 Union Ave, San Jose, CA 95124-5156).

Update 9/20/07

There is not too much to update since the last post, but just thought I'd write a quick update to let everyone know how Joan has been doing. She continues to rest and enjoy the company of family, and is starting to sleep more and more each day. Thank you to all for the nice comments, and I will write another update in a few days.

Update 9/16/07

Joan continues to rest comfortably at home. Over the past several days, we have continued to host visitors (mainly Joan's parents and siblings and Ron's sisters), and have been getting Joan out of bed and into the family room almost every day. Although she is very tired and sleeps on and off throughout the day, Joan still enjoys the company and loves listening to the conversations around her. Thank you again for all the cards and flowers that have continued to pour in, and we will provide another update in a few days.

With Love,
The Pisani's

Update 9/8/07

I just wanted to provide a brief update on the last few days. Since Joan came home from the hospital, she has been enjoying her time resting at home and visiting with family. She has had a really good last couple of days filled with visits with her parents and all five of her brothers and sisters, and has enjoyed being surrounded by so many people that love her. Thank you so much to everyone who has sent cards, flowers, or called just to say hello and see how Joan is doing... the overwhelming love and support is very much appreciated by our entire family. I will provide another update on Joan in a few days...

Love,
The Pisani's

Resting at Home

We just wanted to provide for everyone a quick update on what has been going on the past few days. Joan came home from the hospital yesterday (Tuesday) and was extremely happy and relieved to be back home after a two week stay at Good Samaritan. Her two sisters, Mary and Kitty, who have both been nurses for 30+ years, have been staying at the house and have been an amazing help to our family. Joan is enjoying being back at home and has been resting comfortably and sleeping very well. During these first few days at home, we are going to try to keep visits to a minimum and for just family, so that Joan can rest and get situated at the house, but we will let people know if that changes.

Love,
The Pisani's

Joan Update 9/1/07

Although it has been awhile since we have updated this blog, we just wanted to let everyone know what has been going on with Joan over the past few days (for those of you who don't already know). Joan has been in the hospital for over a week, and based on the results of an endoscopy that she had a few days ago, her surgeon decided to attempt surgery on Thursday in order to help solve the digestive problems she had been having. However, shortly into the surgery her surgeon decided that based on the extent that the cancer has spread throughout her body and the damage she saw, that to continue with the surgery would only cause more unnecessary damage to Joan. After speaking with the surgeon and Joan's oncologist, we learned that at this point there is nothing that can be done medically to treat the cancer. Joan and the rest of our family (along with the advice of her surgeon and oncologist) made the very difficult decision to have Joan come home, and with the help of hospice, be comfortable and pain-free. She will be coming home on Tuesday, and although we had all hoped that the circumstances of her homecoming had been better, Joan and the rest of our family is anxious to have her home. As of now, Joan does not want any visitors besides family, but we will keep everyone updated if that changes. From the bottom of our hearts we deeply appreciate all of the cards, well-wishes, and love that everyone has sent to us during this very difficult time, and our entire family knows how truly blessed we have been to be surrounded by such amazing support. Joan and the rest of the Pisani's truly thank you.

With Love,
The Pisani's

Good News!!

We have some good news about Joan! A few weeks after completing radiation and chemotherapy treatments, Joan received some great news that her scan results came back clean, with no sign of cancer. In the words of her oncologist, as of now she is "cancer free." Although this doesn't mean that Joan is completely out of the woods, as she will be monitored closely and will continue to be tested on a monthly basis, this was wonderful news to Joan and to our family. Pancreatic cancer is known to be the most aggressive during the first 6 months, and since it has been almost 9 months since she was first diagnosed, this is a very good sign. Thank you so much to everyone for your amazing support over the past 9 months, and we will continue to provide updates as they come along!

The City of Saratoga has decided to put together a team for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, being held at Redwood Middle School on June 23 & 24th. "TEAM PISANI" would like to invite any of Joan's friends and family to join in the walk. Anyone who is interested in participating can register with TEAM PISANI on the American Cancer Society - Relay for Life website. We will be sure to provide additional details on the walk as the date gets closer.

Final Chemo

I know it's been awhile since the blog has been updated, so we just wanted to catch everyone up on what's going on with Joan. She finished her final chemotherapy treatment on 1/19, and is currently enjoying a 3-week break from treatments in order to get healthy before beginning radiation. The week prior to beginning, Joan should be feeling close to 100% and has planned a few get-aways to Napa and Monterey. Joan will be receiving radiation treatments every day (5 days a week) for 6 weeks. Throughout chemotherapy, Joan has been trying to work on days she feels well enough to, but once she begins radiation, she will need to be off work for at least 3 months. During that time, she's going to concentrate on her health. We'll provide updates throughout the radiation treatments.

Thank you,
The Pisani's

Update

Since the last post, Joan, Ron, and Kelly went down to LA to attend the Pancreatic Cancer Symposium put on by PanCan (www.pancan.org - a fantastic organization dedicated to raising money, finding a cure for pancreatic cancer, and offering support for those dealing with pancreatic cancer and their families). They spent the weekend with survivors and their family members, attended several informational sessions, and left the weekend feeling very enlightened and hopeful. Since the symposium, Joan has received 2 additional chemotherapy treatments, and will be receiving another treatment tomorrow (Monoday). She has been experiencing the normal aches and pains as to be expected, but overall has been doing pretty well. We had a very nice Thanksgiving weekend, and spent a lot of time with family and friends, and we are looking forward to the holiday season.

We just wanted to take the time to acknowledge a couple of special things that have happened over the past month. First, the Saratoga Parade Committee decided to donate the leftover money that had been raised for Saratoga's 50th Anniversary Parade to PanCan in honor of Joan ($2,300!). Also, Mike Struthers, one of Kelly's good friends' brother-in-law, participated in a half marathon, running as part of the Pancreatica Pacesetters team and raised over $2,000 that was donated directly to pancreatic cancer research. He also ran the race with Joan's name on his shirt. We were both touched and honored by both of these amazing displays of support for Joan, and would like to express our deep appreciation.

We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, and we will provide another update soon.

Treatment #4

Joan received her 4th chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday, and so far it has been going fairly well. She has been feeling under the weather 4-6 days after each treatment, but has still been able to get out of the house to run errands and have lunch, and was able to make a trip up to San Francisco this past weekend. Next Thursday, Joan, Ron, and Kelly will be heading down to LA to attend the Pancreatic Cancer Symposium, which includes 2 days of speakers and breakout sessions, and they are very much looking forward to the weekend. After that, Joan will begin her treatment again, and we will provide an update for everyone.

2nd Treatment

Joan received the second round of chemotheraphy last Friday, and is doing very well. Due to her body's reaction to the first round, the oncologist modified the dose for the second round, and as a result Joan felt a lot better this time around. She will be receiving her third treatment this Friday, then will have about two weeks off to rest and recover, something which she is very much looking forward to. Continue to keep Joan in your thoughts and prayers, and we will be sure to update everyone after her treatment on Friday.

Update

Joan went in to receive her second round of treatment a week and a half ago, but the doctor determined that her blood count was too low and decided to delay treatment. Joan was able to take a small vacation to relax and continue to get stronger, and will receive her second treatment this Friday. We will update everyone on her progress this weekend.

Treatment #1

Joan received her first chemotherapy treatment on Friday. The actual treatment lasted about 3-4 hours, and although Joan felt OK right afterwards, she felt pretty wiped out on Saturday and Sunday, as was to be expected. She slept and took it very easy for the majority of the weekend, which was probably the best way to allow her body to recuperate from the treatment and get ready for the second round. She will be receiving the second treatment this Friday, and we will be sure to provide another update for everyone on how that goes.

Treatment Starting Friday

Joan will begin her first chemotherapy treatment this Friday with Dr. Cohen. According to the doctor, Joan shouldn't lose her hair and because of all the available medications to treat the possible side effects, she should feel OK a couple days after each treament. Different people react differently to chemotherapy, but we are hopeful that Joan will do well throughout the duration of the treatment. She will be receiving the chemotherapy in 3-week cycles, with once weekly treatments for the first two weeks, followed by a week off to rest and recover. We will keep everyone updated from time to time as Joan progresses through the first couple weeks, and thank you once again for all of your continued love and support.