Tenth treatment

I am sitting at Swedish with Dan and karley and Joanna waiting to see my doctor before my "taxol" treatment. We are all really excited and can't stop talking about the fact that I only have two more treatments. Woot Woot!!! Karley filmed my whole port access, which was really cool. The nurses just loved it. I go in and get my port accessed and then we go see the doctor and then we go up stairs for my treatment. This is what is going on during treatment right now :)

Been a fun time with the girls.  Amazing that chemo can be fun.  Thanks for all the laughs girls.
 Love you

Oh, and yes lucky Danno is here also :)

He gets to hang with use beautiful, hot, lovely woman.  He is so lucky....hahaha

I can't believe I only have 3 more chemo treatment...Woot Woot!!

I have chemo this Friday and then I only have 2 more treatments.  Wow.... it has gone by fast.  I am so happy for that.  I have been doing pretty good.  Night time is still my toughest time.  Once I lay down and rest I start to ache all over my body.  I have also been struggling with sleeping lately.  I seem to fall asleep no problem on the couch, then I go to bed and I can't sleep.  Grrrrrr

Karley has been home from school this week on Spring break.  It has been so nice having her home.  We have really been able to just chill out a lot.  She needs that and I do too.  She works so hard at school on and off the court.

My doctor continues to tell me I am his poster board cancer patient. Hahaha  He really does.  It's funny!
 I must say, I have truly been blessed with how my body has handled all of this treatment.
 Praise God for that!!!!

Ninth "taxol" treatment woot woot.....

Three more treatments and I am done with chemo...oh my goodness that sounds amazing :)
Karley and my neighbor Tonya went to treatment with me today.  They got to see what a day in the life  of a chemo patient was like.  Consensus, pretty long and boring haha   Karley really liked my doctor.  Dr. Kaplan is pretty cool.  I did well today through everything, but poor Tonya, Karley and I both crashed the  whole way home.  Sorry Tonya :(  Since I got home I have been feeling okay.  I am still real achy.  My back aches, my legs ache, I just ache.  I think a lot of this is from the neopogen shots that I get on Wednesdays and Thursday.  Those shots make my bone marrow work overtime to keep my blood counts up.  The body must only be able to handle so much of this poison that they are pumping into me.  My blood counts just don't want to stay up very good.  I have still been able to get treatments, but the numbers are lower than they have been all along.  Karley is planning on being a nurse and she definitely does not want to be an infusion nurse haha.  


 I have an appointment scheduled for April 9th for an MRI and a CT SCAN.  This will be to check to see how all of this chemo has done.  I am hoping for a "complete response".  Oh please, oh please, oh please.
Then my last appointment for chemo is on the 13th of April so I will be able to discuss all the results with him.  Also on the 13th I will see Dr. Buchanan, my breast surgeon to go over the final details of my surgery with the new MRI and CT.


I forgot to take a picture of Tonya, Karley and me today :(  Karley and I just tried to take a picture to post, but we both decided we are to ugly right now  We tried though :)  hahaha

Emotional week for us.....

To say the least, this has been a rough week for both Dan and I.  I think it must have to do with our several doctor appointments last week.  I don't know, but we have both been very sad :(
Lots of tears and lots of talks.  Also a lot of stuff done at home.  We seem to dig in and get stuff done when we are down.  I do as much as I can.  More on some days, less on others.  BUT.....the best news is that today we are both feeling really good.  We woke up today with no power, weird.  So Dan got the generator running and we hooked up the TV and watch the news.  Nothing about any power outages.  My neighbor Tonya came up to get warm since her family was all gone.  Then the power came on once she got here :). 


I am actually feeling pretty good most of the time.  I still get waves of just not feeling good, but I think I am having more feel good waves than not feel good waves.  My energy is up and down also.  Evenings I have noticed that I really start to ache all over.  I think this is from the neopogen shots that I get on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  I take Clariton D and glutamine and that helps a lot.  I know it helps because if I don't take it, my aches are horrible.


I will work tomorrow and thursday and then Karley will be home for Spring break.  I am so excited for her to be home.  She hasn't got such a long Spring break since she left for College.  One perk when your basketball team doesn't make it to post season play :(.  Will be so nice having her home.  She is really excited to go to treatment with me on Friday also.  Dan is going to get a break.  My neighbor Tonya and Karley will be with me.


The count down is on....only 3 more chemo treatments after Friday.  Wow... that sounds wonderful.  I am praying for a "complete response" no cancer left at all.  We'll see soon.

Eight "taxol" treatment done.....also a Big Week of information

  This was definitely a week of more information.  Dan and I met my reconstruction doctor on Wednesday.                
                       Frank Isik, M.D.

                                                                                                     

He gave us so much information.  We were a bit overwhelmed, but totally know about the reconstruction process now.  I was a little disappointed when I learned that the reconstruction phase wont even start until January of 2013.  Since I have to have radiation we have to see how my tissue responds.  They want the tissue to be totally healed before they start the reconstruction process.  Guess what?  I don't have enough belly fat to have  The TRAM flap, which consists of lower belly skin and fat.    Just loved hearing that haha.  So the type of reconstruction I will probably have is   The Latissimus dorsi flap,  This method  involves the transfer of the back tissues (latissimus muscle, fat and small amount of back skin) to your chest mastectomy site and the placement of a tissue expander.  All of this is turning out to be way more involved than I was expecting.  And a lot more time than I was thinking.  But, it is what it is and we will continue to move forward.

We also met today with my Radiation Oncologist.    

     Astrid D. Mooris, M.D.

                                            

We got a ton of information.  Radiation is another big part of my treatment.  The best news is that this phase should be fairly easy on me compared to everything else.  I will have radiation for 6 weeks everyday Monday - Friday.  That will be a bit of a nuisance , but got to do what we need to do so this never comes back.  Every bodies  tissue responds differently, but she did feel that my dark skin could be a benefit so that was good news.

I have four more chemo treatments......that is wonderful news.  Oh how I cannot wait to not have these drugs in my body anymore.  :-)  Then I will have my surgery on April 30th.  I will heal for 4 weeks or so then move on to radiation.  If everything goes as planned I should be done with chemo, radiation and surgery by mid July.  That will be SO nice.  I will have 6 months to heal and get back to what ever normal life is for Dan and I .  I think I have forgot what that is.

We continue to stay strong and do well.  I must share that Dan has been having a couple of really emotional days.  I know he will bounce back.  That is just how we operate.  At least we take our own turns with emotions so the other is there to lift one up when needed.  

I cannot say enough about my amazing friends and family.  I thank you all for your continued support, love, cards, calls, home visits, hospital visits, flowers, dinners.  We truly feel blessed and will never forget all of the kindness given to us. 

I AM WALKING FOR BREAST CANCER

60 miles in three days, I AM SO EXCITED TO DO THIS?   Will you help me?

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2012/SeattleEvent2012?px=6474356&pg=personal&fr_id=1769

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day: 2012 Seattle 3-Day

www.the3day.org

‎2012 Seattle 3-Day

Time is really going by.....YAY!!

 Hello to all of my wonderful followers of my journey.  Sorry it's been a few days.  So last week I had lunch with my cancer friends.  Sounds weird.  Libby and I were diagnosed the same week. She was diagnosed October 27th and I was diagnosed October 28th.  We both went to Snohomish Boot Camp.  We were regular 5:30 am campers.  Tracey was a new comer to camp.  Libby and I quickly learned that Tracey had just finished breast cancer treatment.

                                                            Me, Tracey and Libby


Tracey has been great to bounce many questions off of.  Also it is so nice to see that Libby and I will again look normal and have hair. haha  Libby just had her last chemo treatment.  Woo hoo Libby.  So happy for you.  Time is really flying by I only have 5 more treatments.  Woo hoo for me :)  Tracey has been cancer free for over a year now.  Yay Tracey!!


I have been doing pretty good.  I started doing my Jillian Michael's workout last week.  It is only 20 minutes, but it totally kicks my butt.  It has felt good to workout, kinda :)  Love hate thing ya know.  


I still get pretty tired and can't really accomplish much in a day.  I don't even remember what normal feels like.  Hopefully I am going to be totally amazed once I am done with treatment at the amount of energy I have.


Tomorrow I have my appointment with my reconstruction doctor.  I am looking forward to that to see what the plan is to put me back together.  Sounds brutal, but its fact.  


My baby girl turned 21 last Friday.  We had a fun time celebrating with her.  She is such a great kid and doing so good in school.   Way to go Karley.  Keep up the good work.

                                              Her crown and mug her friends got her.

                     Her Birthday treat the bartender made her at the Portland City Grill

                    Karley came and hung with us before she went out with her friends

Half way through my"taxol" treatments.....YAY!!!!

Last Friday was my half way point through my "taxol" treatments.  Way cool!!  Six more treatments to go then chemo is done.  I am so excited for that.  I am doing pretty good.  Just the normal fatigue on this Monday.  Still have the icky metal taste in my mouth daily.  Still have no neuropathy in my fingers or toes.  My blood count was way low on Friday 1.8.  I was a little worried that I wasn't going to be able to have my treatment.  I want no disruptions in my treatment.  Lets get er done.  I had gotten my neupogen  shot on Thursday, but it wasn't enough.  My doctor said it was okay to have my treatment...pheeewww.  This week I will  have to go in and get two neupogen shots.  I will get one on Wednesday and one on Thursday.  It actually works out okay since I am working on Wednesdays and Thursdays I just walk over to Swedish on my lunch hour and get my shot.  I am quit the little patient these days.  So weird, I have never even been sick.  Well, now I have huh.


Dan and I have been quit the pair.  He was on crutches last week and I am getting my infusion.

Dan is doing just fine now.  Minor procedure done on his leg.


Nancy also surprised me and showed up to my treatment.  I just love that.  Thank you Nancy. Also my sweet dear friend Katy came to see us.  Thank you Katy.  Katy love all the stuff I am learning about my iphone from you haha

Friday we also had an appointment with Robert G. Resta, a Genetic Counselor.  This is to see if I carry the BRCA gene.  I am really hoping that I do not carry this gene.  If I do carry this gene it would mean that my girls would need to start having breast cancer screening at the age of 25.  That would sure suck for them.  It would also mean that I would have a greater chance of getting breast cancer in the other breast and a greater chance of getting ovarian cancer.  We are praying for a negative result.  Please God, no to this one.  This is a test that some people choose to get and some don't.  I just felt it very necessary since I have two daughters.  Also it would change things for me right now.  If I do have the gene I would probably have a double mastectomy and possibly even a hysterectomy.  This whole thing is just another scary event and I just want to know and I want to move forward.


I feel that I am staying positive most of the time.  I find myself worrying about things totally out of my control and I am working on not letting those thoughts enter my mind.  I think all cancer patients must live in fear of this darn thing coming back.  It's weird I am still in the phase of getting rid of this dang cancer and I am already worrying about it coming back.  So weird how the mind works.


I do know that I am in great hands and that I have the best doctors around that are taking care of me and I am so thankful for that.  I am getting the best possible treatment for my diagnosis.  So I am going to continue to be positive.  I am going to continue to pray daily for healing and guidance from our Lord above.