Update 12/31

I know, I know, its been a while since I have last updated.  Well here it goes...

I need another surgery. : (  I had what I thought would be my only surgery on December 8th.  The MRI that I had done a week or so prior had shown no cancer remaining.  This should have been a good thing - meaning go in for surgery, take out the remaining scar tissue, check a few lymph nodes and be done RIGHT?  Well it didn't quite turn out that way, which sucks!

The results of the pathology report were that the top margin was not clear (there was still cancerous tissue in the breast) and 1 out of 3 lymph nodes that were taken out had cancer in it.  What a let down. 

I had also been having back pain off and on for a few weeks.  In my mind, the positive lymph node plus the back pain meant that the cancer had spread to other parts of my body.  I let my doctor know and he scheduled me for a bone scan.  I went and had that done and then went over to the oncologist right away so he could read my results.  The bone scan showed NO areas of concern.  So, I'm not sure what was/is causing my back to bother me, but its not because of my cancer.  That's one good thing!

I have to allow my breast to heal before my surgeon can go back in and operate again.  My "repeat" surgery is scheduled for January 19th (one month before my birthday).  He will be taking more tissue from the area that was not clear as well as taking out more lymph nodes to check them fully.  Keep your fingers crossed that the outcome will be better this time around.

Because I need another surgery, I have to put off radiation until a later date.  Hopefully I will be ready to start radiation by my birthday.

On a good note though, my hair is starting to grow back!  I have eye lashes, eye brows, and hair on my head all starting to come back - although it is all baby fine and still teeny tiny!

Moving Along

Thursday is the big day... Surgery Day!  I will be having a lumpectomy to take out the scar tissue that is remaining from chemo.  The surgeon is also going to take a lymph node out to test and see if any cancer has gotten past the lump that was present.  He does not expect to have any of it come back as cancerous.  (keep your fingers crossed)  When the MRI and 3-D mammogram reports came back, my surgeon referred to them as "boring"!  That is a good thing, because it showed that the chemo did its job!

I also met with the Radiation Oncologist last week.  I will be having radiation - between 30-36 treatments total - starting either the first or second week in January.  If all goes according to plan, I will be done with everything by the end of February!

Its been a month since my last chemo treatment, but my hair has still not started to grow back.  I've read that it should start growing back around 4-6 weeks after your last treatment.  Hopefully it will start happening soon!

But the best part of all is that very soon I will be able to say that I am truly a SURVIVOR and that I am CANCER FREE!

Ending a chapter

Here's an EXCELLENT subject, tomorrow is my LAST CHEMO TREATMENT!!!! Can you tell that I'm glad?  Hopefully #8 goes as smoothly as the #7. 

After chemo is done, I have a 3D mammogram, MRI, meeting with my surgeon, and numerous meetings with my radiation oncologist either already scheduled or waiting to be scheduled.  I will then have surgery (lumpectomy), followed by 6 weeks (M-F) of radiation.  If I can make it through 8 rounds of chemo, I can make it through anything!

Here's a pic from chemo #7, not sure if i put it in the last blog. 

Looking at this pic, it looks like I really have it made - Munchkins, Juice, People Magazine, iPhone, recliner!
I promise, Chemo really does suck!

You have to have some humor with all of this, so here's a funny story.  Our tub was draining slow, so Mike got the snake out, and headed to the basement to see if he could clear out the drain.  He pulled out the biggest, smelliest, most disgusting wads of hair!  I say wads - plural - because it didn't end after the 1st one.  Mike continued to pull 2 more (equally large) hairballs out after that!  He looked at me as the culprit, and i said it couldn't be - I DON'T HAVE HAIR!  hahaha!

It was probably me, from when I did have hair, but it was really funny at the time!  I said I was going to take a pic of the hairball, and Mike said to put as a caption "the upside to chemo - this will never happen to your drain!"  Again, humor is needed when going through chemo, its the only way to survive! : )  

Making Strides - Worcester

On October 23rd, 29 family members and friends of mine walked with me in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Worcester.  There were also a few that wanted to walk, but stuff came up, and they were unable to - but they were there in spirit!  I couldn't believe how many people came to support me!  I can't thank them enough! 

It was pretty cold when we started the walk, but overall it ended up being a pretty nice day.  I forgot to take pictures, but thankfully my Aunt and 2 of my cousins brought their cameras, and I was able to copy the pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites...

(L-R) my cousin Kissy, Me, my cousin Lyndsay, with Anya and Maddie (in front)

(L-R) my brother DJ, My Mom, Me, my brother Travis, Maddie (infront)

The back of Maddie's shirt - Walking for my Mom <3 U

Mike, Maddie and I

TEAM TIFF! The whole group at the start - minus my cousin Johnny who met us at the end!

Update 10/16/11

After chemo #6 I felt pretty good.  My legs were a little achy, the weekend after, as was expected.  My fingers and toes are also numb, which is also a side effect. Other than that I am doing pretty good with the side effects of chemo.

Saturday after treatment, Maddie, Raff (my brothers girlfriend), and I went to Ashby Apples to go apple picking.  Afterwards, Maddie and I hiked Wachusett Mountain.  It was a fun time.

Last Sunday when I woke up, I had a cough and runny nose.  It got progressively worse by Tuesday.  I called the oncologist and the nurse had said that I could take Nyquil and Delsym, and that as long as I didn't have a fever, I did not have to go in to be seen.  I tried the 2 meds till Thursday and my cough was still not better.  I called the doc again and this time they put me on a Z-pack (just in case) and gave me Robitussin w/codeine.  Finally, a week later, I am feeling a little better.  I hope that I am able to get treatment done on Thursday.

Next Sunday, I am walking in the Making Strides against Breast Cancer walk in Worcester.  Are you?  If you are able to walk, I hope to see you there!  I have about 15 people that are signed up to walk so far.  I am excited to see everyone next weekend! If anyone wants to walk, be sure to go to Making Strides and register under TEAM TIFF.

Boston Making Strides & Chemo #6

Last Sunday, I took part in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Boston.  There were over 40,000 people there!  It was a lot of fun, and the rainy weekend actually held off the entire time we were in Boston.  My good friend Krust, my mom Karen, my mom's boyfriend Jimmy, my mother in law Maureen, and my cousin Erin walked with me.  We joined a team called "Miss Pink Queens" that was led by Jimmy's daughter in law Ashley.  Thanks to the friends and family that donated to the walk! 

The following are some of the pics that I took while we were walking.



Our group, Maureen, Karen, Me, Krust & Erin




Krust & I, there were so many walkers, we must have bumped into each other hundreds of times!




Mid walk, I think this was right before some "cheerleaders" started singing Beyonce's "Survivor" to me! Scared the crap out of me!



Almost there!!



Finished with the walk, I needed a bald pic with my wand Cyndy made me!


About midway though walking, we started talking about the Making Strides walk that they are having in Worcester on October 23rd, and thought that it would be fun to invite all of my friends and family to walk with me!  My cousin Erin set up an event page on Facebook and I have set up the team page on the Making Strides/American Cancer Society website.  My team name it "TEAM TIFF".  I would love for anyone that is not busy that day to walk with me!  Registration is between 8-10AM and the walk starts at 10AM.  It does not cost anything to walk, but you may also donate if you would like.  The route is shorter than Boston, it is about 2.5 miles I believe, and handicap/stroller accessible, so it would be good for kids too!  I would love to see everyone there!

Now onto chemo treatment #6.  I had treatment yesterday and I cant believe how much easier Taxol (the new drug) is.  I can tolerate it SO much better than the other drugs.  Besides being a little achy, the only real downside is that between the Ativan (to calm me down) and the Benadryl (to get rid of any allergic reaction) I feel like I am drunk during treatment!  But, if that's the only terrible thing that happens, that's great!

We did remember to take one pic while we were at treatment yesterday.

Yay, feeling good at treatment #6

After treatment #5, I went to get my lab work done the next week to see what my white blood cell count was.  It came back looking good, so I will NOT have to get anymore Neulasta shots and I will not have to get my labs done on my week off chemo.  I get to wait until chemo #7 to check my labs!!

2 more treatments then its on to MRI, surgery, and radiation!  Things are moving right along!

New Treatment

Only 3 more treatments left!!! I have to say that the Taxol treatment is SOOOO much better than the A/C treatments.  My doctor had said that Taxol wouldn't be as bad.  He said that I wouldnt be as nauseous - boy was he right!  I have not felt sick at all!  There was a chance that I would have "flu-like symptoms" but so far I have felt nothing out of the ordinary.  I do have to go get my labs done on Wednesday to see if my white blood cell count is OK.  If it has dropped, my doctor said he may put me on an antibiotic as a precaution.  I will also have to get a Neulasta shot after the next two treatments if my counts go down.  I am hoping that I stay healthy enough so I do not need anything extra.

Just a random note... my eyebrows are starting to come out.  They are not completely gone, just some.  Mike says it looks like i took hair clippers and "cut" a chunk out of my eyebrows!  Nothing a little eyebrow pencil cant fix.  I guess you have to have some humor in all of this!  On a positive note, with the new drug, I could start to see some "peach fuzz" soon.  I still have really blonde hair that had never come out, but I could see "new" hair.  I will have to wait and see.

This upcoming Sunday I am walking in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Boston.  If anyone would like to donate or walk with me you can go to this link....

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCFY12National?px=22913068&pg=personal&fr_id=36136

Sept. 19th update

Sorry for not posting in a while! 

I have not had any "new" news to report.  I guess that's good right?  I have my 5th treatment  this upcoming Thursday.  I will be starting a new drug called Taxol.  The doctor has said that I shouldn't have as many side effects with the upcoming treatments.  I should be less nauseous - which will be wonderful!  Hopefully I will be able to function a little better this upcoming weekend.  There is a chance that I will have an allergic reaction to the new drug.  If this happens, it will be immediate.  Part of the pre-treatment is Benadryll to try and ward off any reactions.  Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly! 

Other than that, nothing new or exciting has happened.

I signed up for a 5 mile cancer walk in Boston on October 2nd.  My friend Krust is going to walk with me!  I'm glad that she is going to do it with me!

I will try and update this weekend on how the "new" treatment went.

quick update

Here's a quick update on how my last treatment went.

Thursday was treatment #3.  I was not feeling it while i was there.  I felt kinda nauseous during treatment but i survived.  When I got home we ate dinner then I went to bed early.  The next day I felt fine!  I had to go to Worcester to get my Neulasta shot.  Insurance wouldn't cover me getting it from a retail pharmacy (CVS).  So my choices were have it mailed to my house and pay the copay or get it done at the office and it was no charge.  I figured out that it was cheaper to pay gas than the copay, so off to the doctors it was.

Saturday came with the same yuckiness that it always brings, but it was tolerable.  I think because i know what to expect it isn't "as bad" as the first time.  By dinnertime I was able to eat a normal meal.  Sunday was a little better.  I was stuck at home because of the "hurricane" so no grocery shopping and we didn't lose power so that was good.

Monday and Tuesday were "staff back to school" days.  It was good to see everyone again after the summer.  A lot of people knew about my situation either through the blog or facebook so they wanted to see how i was and to tell me that i am handling things well and that I look good.  A few did not know anything and were shocked to find out.  All I keep saying is that "it is what it is, and there was nothing I could have done to change whats going on.  I have 2 options, sit at home and be depressed or carry on as normally as I can."  I choose normalcy.

Wednesday and today we had orientation and the 1st day of school!  It was good to see the new group of kids and Maddie was very excited to start 2nd grade.  The kids that knew the "old" me weren't too sure what was going on.  I think most of them just thought that I had my hair up under my hat! I had one girl that was in our class 2 years ago ask me what happened to my hair and I had a few kids ask me if i cut my hair or if i had hair.  I just gave them a quick, "I have to take special medicine that made my hair fall out, but it will grow back" and they were fine with that! One girl in our class this year that came from Ethiopia (who knew me last year) asked me this morning if i had cut my hair.  When i told her why it was really short, she said "oh its short like my dads?" and i said yes.  she stopped for a second then says "just take off your hat then, its OK"! I would go hatless but everyone would take it differently.  I'm not sure I'm ready for the stares.

This weekend we have plans to go to the cape.  Then 2 days of school, then off Thursday/Friday for round #4.  Just about 1/2 way there.  The doctor has said that the Taxol part (rounds 5-8) of chemo is not as bad as the A/C part.  I shouldn't be as nauseous which will be good.

Update on treatment #2

Wow... its been a week since I've last updated.


After treatment last Thursday, I felt about the same as the 1st treatment.  Thursday night i felt nauseous.  I took a Zofran.  My doctor had said to only take the Zofran, to see if it was the other pill that was messing with my eyes.  Well low and behold, it was and my eyes were fine after this treatment!  That was good.

Friday I felt OK, Maddie went to CoCo Key with camp, and I did some shopping. Afterwards I went home and gave myself the Neulasta shot and went back to CoCo Key to pick up Maddie.  I knew that Saturday was not going to be fun.

Saturday was rough again.  I feel like it is a double-edged sword in a way.  I feel nauseous and know I need to keep eating little bits, but I feel like if I eat, i will feel sick because of the food.  On the Saturday after, I feel like its a no win situation!  I was able to make it through the day by forcing myself to eat a little and take the Zofran every 6-7 hours.  By dinnertime I felt a little better and was able to eat more.  Compared to after the last treatment, I think this week went a little better.  Maybe I was just prepared for what was to come?  Maybe it was because I was just taking the one pill? Who knows?

I may have to go back to the doctors to get the next two Neulasta shots.  The office isn't sure how to bill the insurance company since they are not technically "giving" me the shot.  They tried writing it as a script and sending it to CVS, but the shot is not available at a retail pharmacy.  They are checking to see if it will be covered by mail.  I will have to wait and see.  I may be making 2 extra trips to Worcester.

Sunday I started to feel better, and have been progressively better each day since. 

Monday I went to the "Look Good, Feel Better" class.  My mom came with me.  It was good.  They talked about wigs, how to tie scarves, skin care and make-up.  Everyone got a bag filled with all sorts of make-up, face wash, moisturizer etc.  It was a good time, I'm glad i went.

My hair is FINALLY coming out.  Everyone in the medical field had said it would fall out between day 10-14 (with treatment #1 being day 1).  Mine didn't happen till day 21.  I think it took so long because I shaved my head.  I was not touching, brushing or running my hands though it.  It is pretty much all out now.  There are a few patchy spots and some very fine hairs left, but it is mostly gone.  My scalp is so white!  Oh well, its only hair!

The next week should be smooth sailing, till treatment #3 a week from today.

Treatment #2

Treatment #2 is done!  Mike came with me to keep me company, and the time seemed to go by faster this time.  We snacked, played with our phones, and played Scrabble.  The score was close, but I ended up winning - using the word Quit on a double letter and triple word score really racked up my points :)


hooked up and ready to go


I talked to the doctor about my vision issues and the anti-nausea meds and he seems to think that the Compazine was causing it.  He told me to only take the Zofran and to see if that helps.  Hopefully it will! 

Yesterday when I got home I had a few nice surprises.  There was a card and gift certificate for a massage from my cousin Lyndsay.  And a "where's waldo" postcard (to pass the time) from some of my friends.  Both were very thoughtful!  Thank you!

This past Tuesday Maddie and I spent time with Jill and Ally.  They surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers!


flowers from Jill


Today my mom gave me (and Maddie) a Kindle.  That should make it easier to keep all my books in one place.  Thanks Karen!

Last week, my friend Cyndy gave me a hat that she got while on vacation.  It is blue patchwork pattern.  Very cute! Thanks Cyndy!

The best thing of all is the "special" way my brother Travis has chosen to support me.  He shaved his head practically bald to match me!



bald Trav

Up next is the Neulasta shot tomorrow and then a not very fun Saturday!

Goodbye Hair

As a lot of you already know, I shaved my head last night.  I was ready to do it, as I did not want my hair falling out in big clumps.  I had originally planned on doing it Sunday morning, but i figured, whats 12 hours early?

Mike was going to shave it for me, but as he put it, he "wanted to be know as the supportive boyfriend, instead of the one that shaved my head".  That was fine, his dad Paul, shaved it for me and he did a great job!  Mike did do a few "clean up" spots - so he did end up helping in the end!

Mike and I went to the Cape - that's where his parents were - to shave my head.  We lit a fire in the fire pit, and as the time got closer, we were all getting a little nervous.  Finally, around 7:30pm we really got ready to go.

All set for the first swipe

My hair ended up being really fine and it was hard to get it to catch on the clippers!  That just meant it was time to get inventive......

still smiling.....



even with a T shaved into my head!

After Paul was done doing the majority of the work, Mike took over and cleaned up around my ears and got any strays that were missed.

make sure you get every piece

Finally we were done, and if i do say, I think I look pretty good for being practically bald!  Luckily, my head is not lopsided or something!



front



and the back

 I do have hats that I am planning on wearing when I am out, but when I am home, I am not wearing anything - unless my head gets cold or something!

Maddie was not with us when all this was going on, she hung out with Karen and Jimmy's family at the lake and then with Karen and Raf at the Bazaar.  When she first saw me, she told me to keep my hat on.  That lasted about 5 minutes, the hat came off, and by the time we got home, she was rubbing my new head!




Wigs

Today my friend Krust (her real name is Kristy, but I will save the story behind her nickname for another day!) came with me to my wig appointment.  Although i am not planning on wearing a wig at all, my insurance covered the full cost of one, so i figured i might as well get it and have it "just in case".  Who knows, I may have a wedding or a night out that I want to have "hair" for!  Lets just say that I am so glad she came with me!  We had a blast!!!!!!


I finally settled on a look that was pretty close to my natural hair color but with highlights.  It is going to take some getting used - it was so weird looking in the mirror at myself with a wig on!  Pretty creepy even!

Here are some THUMBS DOWN, yet FUNNY pics.....


As Krust put it "you look like the dentist from Roudolf".....

 Long with bangs.....

Very bad pixie that we were laughing so hard we were almost crying.....

Blond bombshell.....

Then the one that I finally chose (it was actually the 1st one that I tried on I think)......

and a back view.....

This weekend I will be going to the Cape and Mike's dad will most likely be shaving my head on Sunday.  I would rather shave it sooner rather than later - when it decides to come out in clumps. 

Also, I am waiting to hear back about the "Look good, Feel better" class that is offered for patients with cancer that lose their hair.  I should hear back next week!

Genetics

I got some good news today.....

The genetic councilor from Mass General called me today and informed me that both of the genetic tests that I did came back NEGATIVE!!!!  Although that means we are not sure where my breast cancer came from, we can safely say that it is not genetic.  

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast cancer 1 & 2) which would have made me have a higher chance to get BC was negative.  Someone with BRCA1 or 2 has a 50-85% chance of developing BC and a 20-55% chance of developing ovarian cancer.

Also, the P53 (Li Fraumeni) gene - which increases your chances (about 50% for a 1st occurance by age 30, or 90% by age 70, and 15% for a 2nd occurance) of not only breast cancer, but also any other cancer, was found to be negative as well!  That means that I will not have to worry about anyone else in my family having the gene - or a higher chance of developing cancer.  Also, my daughter will not have to be tested prematurely to see if she has it. 

The chance that I would develop breast cancer was the same as anyone else - 10-12%.  I just had the "good luck" of getting it about 15 years early.  And the "really good luck" that I FOUND it 15 years early!

Side Effects

Why is it that I have to get every possible wierd side effect?  My body is just not made to handle all these different meds. 

After I had my port put in, I was given a script for percocet.  I was a little apprehensive about taking them, but I did end up taking 2 - one around 5pm the day of surgery, and the other around 3am that next morning.  I woke up the next day having all sorts of odd feelings.  I was weak, couldn't pick anything up wihtout my hands shaking, severe dry mouth, blurred vision.  In my mind, the port was put in wrong, and I was dying.  I went to my oncology appointment that afternoon, and after telling the doc all my side effects, he made sure to show me the x-ray of the port and let me know that it was, in fact, put in correctly. 

Come to find out, all the side effects I was having were "uncommon" side effects of the percocet.  Lucky me!  Needless to say, that was the last time I will ever take those!

Which brings us to the luck I have with the anti-nausea meds I have.  After taking them the last few days, I noticed that I did feel better, but once again, my vision was messed up.  I had a constant blurry feel to my eyes, and I couldn't focus on the tv or read a book.  It felt like one eye was nearsighted and the other was farsighted.  I could still function, but it was annoying.  I figured that the chemo had changed my eyesight, and I was going to have to go to the eye doc and get new contacts.  Yesterday, I only took one anti-nausea pill in the AM, and by the afternoon, I noticed that my vision was getting better.  I then looked up the side effects, and surprise, surprise, one of the "uncommon" side effects is blurred vision!  Again, lucky me! 

I am going to check with the doc to see if I can take something else, or if this is more normal than I think.  I can deal - at home - for a few days every other week, with the vision problems.  As long as I know they are only temporary.

As for how I am feeling, I feel really good today!  I went to work in the AM, hung out with a friend at school for a few hours, and went to my moms for an hour.  I am not feeling nauseous today and I may go on my elliptical again tonight - i was able to go on it yesterday!  Boy, am i glad I am feeling better!

It had to happen sometime

Well its safe to say that the honeymoon is officially over!  I woke up early Saturday morning feeling like complete *#@!.  It was not fun.  I spent the majority of the day at about a 2-3, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the worst.  The nausea was horrible - even with the Zofran.  My productivity consisted of doing 2 loads of laundry and watching Mike wash, wax and vacuum the cars.  Thats all that I did the WHOLE DAY!  I am not looking forward to the Saturday after chemo.

Today I woke up feeling better - which was a very pleasant surprise.  I have been at about a 5 or 6 pretty much all day and was able to go to the grocery (Mike was extremely happy that I was able to), and to Home Depot and Lowe's.  I wouldn't say that Sundays will be the "best" days, but they will be doable. 

I am glad that I got the first weekend after a chemo treatment out of the way.  I now know what it will consist of, and if I have 2 bad days every 2 weeks, i can live with that.  When you look at the big scheme of things, a few bad days here and there is nothing!

1st Neulasta Shot

Went to get my first Neulasta shot this morning.  The goal of the shot is to boost my white blood cells, so i will be less likely to catch a cold, more likely to fight off germs, etc.  I brought my "trusty sidekick" Maddie with me to keep me company.  She was a little apprehensive to go with me, but everyone in the office was so glad that she came.  The receptionist gave her her own "patient" bracelet with her name on it, the nurse let her hear her heart beat and take my blood pressure, the doctor gave her "special" instructions on how to help me - make sure to give me 3 big hugs everyday, and all the nurses in the treatment room were very friendly. 

Because I am going to be giving myself the injections at home the day after treatment, Amy the nurse gave me the option of watching her today or doing it myself.  I figured, what the heck, there's no better time than now to start doing it myself!  With Maddie watching, I manned up, and gave myself the shot in the upper thigh.  Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad.  I made sure to take Advil before I got there, and took more when I got home.  Now its just the waiting game, to see if i get achy or not.

Again, when I got home, there was the 2nd half of my surprises from my friends Jenn, Nehcole and Kristin.  I am now able to go get a mani/pedi with the generous gift card they got me! I can not thank them enough for the thoughtfulness that they have shown me. 

Even though i am not a "church" person, I feel so blessed at the amount of people that care that I am going through this rough time.  The number of people that I have not seen for what seems like ages, that have took the time to reach out and send a kind message or words of encouragement.  It means so much to me to have people that care.  Thank you!

Knock on wood, but i have been feeling pretty good today, even after the shot, lets hope it stays that way. 

Post Chemo - day 1

Well I made it thought day 1 of chemo.  My appointment was at 10:15am and after all was said and done we left around 2:00pm.  A little longer than we expected, but the time went by fairly quickly.  Mike came with me, and we dropped Maddie off at Karen's beforehand so she could hang out. 

The worst part for me was the initial iv going into the port.  Anyone that knows me, knows how deathly afraid of needles I am!  After that was done, I got fluids, anti-nausea meds, then the 2 chemo drugs.  The first one was pushed in quickly (over the course of 5 min) then the 2nd was a drip that lasted about an hour.  We were able to go outside in the courtyard and sit, have a snack, and play UNO.  (I won!)

We have decided to take a few pics every time i am having something done, so we have a scrapbook of sorts.  Here's what we got today....

I was in good spirits the entire time i was there.  As the last pic shows, Mike was having a blast as well!  The recliners are pretty comfy! 

After chemo was done, we stopped at the mall to buy a couple of hats.  My days with hair are officially numbered.  I am planning on shaving it all off sometime towards the end of next week!  Id rather shave it on my terms, and before it starts coming out too rapidly on its own.

Once i got home, I started feeling nauseous. i took one of my prescriptions to stop it, and it worked for about 4 hours, so i just took another.  Hopefully, i can keep the feeling away by taking the pills.  I have to go back for a quick visit tomorrow to get a Neulasta shot to boost by white blood cell count.  Hopefully I will be able to give it to myself the next 3 visits.

When we got home, I noticed there was a box on the porch with flowers inside.  I was very excited that i had a present waiting for me!  They were from my friends Jenn, Nehcole and Kristin.  Although we dont see each other as much as we should, it was such a wonderful thought and it really made my day!  Thanks you guys!

Last weekend when we were at the Cape,  Mikes parents, Maureen and Paul, surprised me with a beautiful pink Hydrangea.  It is so pretty! (hopefully it stays the color it is).  Thank you so much!

Until next time......

Round 1

Here we go.... Port is doing it's job. I'm all hooked up and starting the anti nausea meds. Next is the chemo drugs a little later. I'm writing from my phone and it's not the easiest to do. I will update later when I get home.

From the beginning...

Let me start from the beginning... I went to get a yearly check-up in November 2010.  Everything seemed great and nothing out of the ordinary was noticed during my breast exam.  Then one day in February, I noticed a lump on my right breast.  Not thinking anything, I kept watch of it for a few months.  When it didn't change or go away, i figured it was time to call my primary care doctor.

I went to see him during April vacation week.  He too felt the lump and sent me off to have a mammogram and ultrasound.  My insurance company gave one hell of a fight, saying that i was "too young" to have them cover these procedures.  After going back and forth with the ins. co. they finally said OK and i had a date scheduled.  After having both done, the results showed that yes there was some sort of "solid" lump.  I was then sent to a surgeon to to get a better idea of what it may be.

This takes us to May 9th.  The surgeon suggested we do a core needle biopsy. This would take a small sample of tissue and look to see what type of cells the lump was made of.  It would be done under local anesthesia (which i freaked out most of the time!).  Looking back i probably shouldn't have been as nervous, but what would you do if you were in my position?  The results came back a few days later that the sample contained "atypical" cells.  The surgeon said that it didn't mean anything, but he wanted to get a bigger tissue sample since the cells weren't "normal".  He scheduled a surgical biopsy for June 9th.

The day of the biopsy i was a wreck.  This was before i knew that it was OK to ask for anxiety pills! Eventually i was given meds to make me calm and then to sleep.  The next thing i knew was that I was in recovery.  The recovery for the biopsy was actually easier for me than the core needle.

June 14th is a day i will always remember.  This is the day the surgeon called to tell me that the biopsy came back as being infiltrating ductal carcinoma.  In other words it was breast cancer.  First I cried, then i cried some more, then i cried some more.  It took a while, but then i started thinking, this really sucks, but its happening, and i have to to what i can to get rid of it and to get better.  I am 29 and this is what gets thrown at me? Come on!  Im glad that I found it, and it is not too far along.  I am stage 1B, E+ P+. (hormone receptor positive).  As a doc in Boston put it, if breast cancer was an ice cream flavor, your type would be vanilla!  Thats a good thing i guess!

Let me fast forward through the weeks between June14th and now.  These weeks seem like a blur of doctors visits and appointments at the hospital.  I have had a MRI, CT scan on my head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis, echocardiogram, as well as getting my blood drawn twice.  (Every test result came back great!) I have gone to my oncologist twice, had a 2nd opinion in Boston (which lasted 5 hours) and had a powerport put in my chest.  I could not have done any of these things without the help of my amazing "husband" Mike, my good friend Kim, and my mom.

I am going to be getting my treatments with Commonwealth Oncology in Worcester.  My treatment plan is chemo once every 14 days for 16 weeks.  (4 cycles of Adriamyacin and Cytoxin, then 4 cycles of Taxol).  Hopefully that shrinks the tumor.  Then surgery to remove what is left, and last 6 weeks of radiation.  Then after thats done 5 years on Tamoxifen. 

My first cycle of chemo is this Thursday (July 28th).  Hopefully it goes as well as can be expected.  I will update when i get any news worth sharing!

First post...

So who would have thought I would ever need to have a blog?  I usually would not "tell the world" anything, I am more of a keep it to myself kind of person.  Well thats about to change.  I am 29 and have breast cancer.  Ya, it sucks, but it is what it is, and now i have to deal with it! 

I have had a TON of people respond on facebook asking "what is going on?", "what is your treatment plan?", etc. It is amazing how many people care when there is a problem.  After thinking it through, i figured it would be best to start a blog that people can follow, that way I am not answering the same question 587 times!

Just a heads up, I will probably have lots of typos, as I am not writing to win any awards.  I am writing to keep family and friends informed.