Hi Friends and Family!
I hope summer has been treating everyone well. I know myself and many of my AZ peeps are OVER it. My tolerance sizzled up in the heat somewhere around August 1st and I’m counting down the days until I can get outside and resume morning walks with my sister again.
It’s been a busy July and August! As most of you know, I did my 10 radiation treatments in July and I remember sleeping a lot! Also in July, my sister and brother-in-law visited from Illinois. They rented a house nearby and we had so much fun hanging out with them and my nieces and nephew. It was sad to see them go home but thankful we got to spend a lot of time together. I don’t even know what has happened in August but as stated in my first paragraph, I won’t be sad to see it go!
Tonight I’m going to see my niece Madison’s opening night of Winne the Pooh where she is starring as Eeyore. She is quite the singer and performer and has sparked a love for theater in me! I had never really been to any plays before seeing her perform back in January and now I am trying to see as many plays as I can.
Mike and I have been busy with projects around the house. Rather, he’s been busy doing and I’ve been busy planning! Our vision is taking shape as time and money allow!
September is going to be quite busy as well. My mother and father-in-law are coming from Illinois. We are excited for them to see our new home and spend time together! Mike will be going to Boise, we will celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary, and my step-daughter Jaime is also coming in from Illinois for a visit! I’m beyond excited for all of it and also back to paragraph one...summer will pass more quickly!
Cancer Land hasn't been so bad. Being busy has been good for me and luckily not too many bad days. If anything, my tears of late have been because I’ve gained weight...so yes, even with a terminal illness, I still cry when I can’t find anything to wear because nothing fits!! I have to remind myself that not all that long ago, I was withering away to nothing and couldn’t keep food down. So, better to be a little chunky and feeling healthier, right? The funny thing is that I’ve been forced into menopause and am restricted from doing any exercise other than walking and I still refuse to buy bigger clothes. I’m hoping it’s gonna fall off me in the middle of the night and I’ll wake up fitting into my jeans. :)
In all seriousness, the medicine is doing exactly what it’s supposed to and I’m so lucky to be feeling as great as I do. I’ve been through worse and unfortunately, someday it’s going to be even worse than that. Where I am now can change on a dime, so while I have a few side effects of this medicine I don’t like, I’m alive and thriving...my pant size is growing but my cancer is not.
I go back to the doctor on Sept 13th for my normal treatments. I’m also hoping to find out if I have the mutation to take the new FDA approved drug, Piqray. So again I ask for thoughts, prayers, good vibes...I need my tumor to have a that mutation. I never thought I’d be hoping so hard for a gene mutation in my life, but I am! If ever my Ibrance stops working, this is what the doctor would start treating me with. This is another oral drug which I obviously prefer over IV chemo. Sometime soon as well, I’m due for another PET scan to see how my cancer is behaving. I feel like it’s going to be good news again. If anything, I hope to at least be stable and not showing any progression. My tumor markers have been going down so I feel pretty good about this next one.
I am feeling great but I do have a concern for my veins holding up with treatment. I have one arm that can be used and they are sticking me 3-4 times per visit and I walk away with bruises that last weeks from blown veins. I currently receive a bone strengthener that is given via IV. I just found out that there is an injection which studies say works better anyway. I messaged my doctor a short while ago asking if there is anyway he would be comfortable switching me to the injection and obviously checking how that works with my insurance. Lord knows there is some sort of crazy approval process because it probably costs a million dollars! Let’s hope, pray, send good vibes for that too while we’re at it, if ya’ don’t mind?
Speaking of insurance, I got the news yesterday that we have met our out of pocket deductible! I could have cried. We can catch up on the ones we are paying off now and for the rest of 2019 I shouldn’t have to be scared of going to my mailbox. Wahoo!!
In closing, I would like to ask you guys what you would like to read about if anything? Maybe even a Q & A? I would be willing to take any questions you want to send my way. Whether it be how I get through days knowing my time could be very short...staring down the proverbial “bus” and saying “not today mother f*cker!” What to say to someone with cancer, how you can help someone you know with cancer, what songs I want played at my funeral. (just kidding) It doesn’t have to be about cancer...ask about my family or dog.
I am writing this blog to bring awareness to so many things they just don’t tell you. I truly had no idea the chances of recurrence after early stage breast cancer. I also thought that if I had a recurrence it would be in my breast. I spent months going from doctor to doctor trying to figure out the reason for my pain because nobody told me what the signs might be of metastasis. I have learned from this side what to say and not say to a cancer patient. I have taken a crash course in the last 9 months on all these things and more. I’m by no means an expert, but I’m getting pretty good at this shit show. The median survival is 3 years for this disease and I’m damned determined to talk, share, and try to educate as much as I can so type your questions in the comments of FB or feel free to text me and I’ll put out another blog with just the questions and my answers soon. Don’t be shy...GO!!
PS..if you don’t want to ask a question or don’t have one, give me a thumbs up to let you know you read this! Thanks and much love!
PSS...sorry so long...I write like I talk!
