Santa Cruz Volleyball Forum

Tara Nicklous, a regular participant in Santa Cruz volleyball, has just been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of cancer of the blood. Go here to offer support and see updates about her condition:

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Tara

Dearest Tara,

We know the strength you have as a person and it will carry you through this. We are supporting you all the way.

Love,

Jessica

Thanks for your kind thoughts Jessica! I am on the 4th cycle of induction therapy and so far the bad proteins in my blood have been reduced by 50%. Yahoo! I have experienced very few side effects and am actually feeling great! Once the initial therapy has reduced the bad proteins by 90% or more I will go to Stanford for High Dose Chemotherapy & an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant. I hope to achieve remission and recouperate quickly from the treatments so that I can see you all on the sand this summer! Thanks for all your support! Tara

Hello Everybody,

Just a quick email to thank you all for the overwhelming support and to give you an update on my condition. I am feeling absolutely incredible!! My body is tolerating the low dose chemotherapy really well and I have experienced very few side effects so far. The treatment has reduced the disease 61% and has gotten rid of all the bone pain I was experiencing in my ribs. I am 100% pain free now! Yahoo!! The plan is to get me to 90% disease reduction and then go to the City of Hope in Los Angeles for the high dose chemotherapy & Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (transplant using my own stem cells). It is during that therapy that I will lose my hair. Todd is playing in the No Attitudes tourney April 18th and I will be down there to cheer him on. So please stop by and say hi and feel free to ask me any questions you would like about this cancer & its treatment. Just keep in mind that my immune system is a bit supressed and I have to keep my distance from anyone that is sick. It may be your last chance to see me with hair for awhile! Happy Easter everybody! Tara

Dearest Tara,

You a great example for us all!

Love,

Jessica

Hello Everybody! Just a quick post to let you know that I am feeling great! In fact Todd and I are jetting out the door this morning for Yosemite where we will attempt to hike Half Dome this Friday. We will not only be celebrating my return to health but Todd's 47th birthday. I touched a volleyball for the first time in two years this past Sunday. Todd played in the men's CBVA tourney and in between games we peppered a bit. My forearms turned red and tender after just a few passes! My doctor has released me for everything except for returning to work and swimming since my white blood cell counts aren't quite normal yet. My white blood cell counts are at 2.9 and normal is 3.5. Next week is the pivotal 3 month testing post-transplant. It is this testing that will ultimately determine how successful the transplant was and will determine our next course of action. We'll I'm off to the mountain! More updates to come later. Until then, play hard! Tara

Thank you, Tara, for posting – I have been wondering since I didn't see anything for awhile.

Jessica