2022 - Let MY Journey Begin

This is my story on my breast and lymph node cancer journey. And all I have to say is "!@#$ Cancer"!

February 4, 2022 - Annual Exam

Went in for my annual mammograms appointment (missed last year due to the lovely Covid BS). I received a phone call from Dr. Gyno telling me I needed to go in and have an additional mammogram and ultra-sound of my left breast. It was noting to worry about, I was told. My breasts are dense and they just needed to get a clearer picture of my breast. What my Dr. Gyno did not tell me was the diagnosis from the radiologist which was:

Left breast: 9:00 N4: There is a focal asymmetry perhaps indistinct mass present the 9:00 position 4 cm from the nipple. Additional imaging evaluations recommended. In addition there is a single abnormal appearing left axillary lymphnode.

ASSESSMENT: ACR BI-RADS Category 0 - Need additional imaging evaluation.

So I scheduled a follow-up screening for February 24, 2022. Well February 24th was the day after my birthday, lets just say I was not "feeling" up to going in for my follow-up scan so I rescheduled. The soonest they could get me in was March 21st.

March 21, 2022 - Follow Up Mammo & Ultrasound - Meeting with Radiologist

Well, today's the day...... laying on the table, leaning on my right side (propped up by a wedge) with my left arm above my head for 20 minutes....how !@#$ miserable. Dr. 'Random' informs me that I in-fact do have a mass in my breast at the 10:00 position and a mass in my Level 1 lymph node and a biopsy is needed. I set up my appointment for the biopsy and the earliest appt they could get was March 30th. I was very displeased that I could not get in any earlier.

March 22, 2022 - Frustration and Worry

Had a restless nights sleep to say the least. Woke up worried and super frustrated. I just couldn't understand why I had to wait so long for a biopsy. I messaged my Dr. Primary asking if she could refer me to get a CT or PET scan done, get me in somewhere else to perform the biopsy sooner. Her response was, I needed to wait to complete my biopsy before ordering any scans and that I am fortunate that my biopsy was scheduled on the 30th because usually it takes a month or so to get on the schedule. UUGGGHHHH! Are you kidding me????? So I messaged my Dr. Gyno the same message. Her nurse messaged me back and said she called the facility and asked to put me on the cancellation list. Well, wasn't that nice. Here I sit and wait. Reading articles about Breast Cancer on Google making my self a hot mess.

March 23, 2022 - The Call

Again, another restless night of sleep, lack of appetite, body aching all over (thinking I just know the cancer has spread all over and that's why I hurt everywhere (eye roll). Laying in bed, debating if I should get up or not. Looking at Facebook and Instagram and I get a call. Who calls so damn early in the morning I said.... it was the facility. The said we had a cancellation and if I would be able to come in on Friday, March 25 at 10:00 am for my biopsy. ABSOLUTELY! I was told that the biopsy results usually come back within a couple of days, but due to a short staff in pathology in could take 5 to 7 days. Of course, here I have to sit and wait and read more articles about Breast Cancer.

March 28, 2022 - The Worst Day Ever

All morning I keep checking 'MyHealthChart' to see if any results have been added. Nope. Then early afternoon I remembered it was my dear Friend's daughters birthday that day who had passed away unexpectedly at the beginning of December. I sent my fried a message that I was thinking about her and her hubby and praying extra hard for them that day. She responded "Hugs to you my friend". Hmmmm, I thought to myself. That was a strange response. Later that afternoon I was perusing Facebook and Instagram, again, and noticed all the posts about Niko, my husbands son, who passed away on the very same day, March 28, 2015. Brought tears and lots of memories about Niko.

6:00 pm rolls around and I'm waiting for the over to warm up so I decided to look at 'MyHealthChart' once again for the 900th time that day and low-and-behold my biopsy pathology had come in......WHAT THE LITERAL !@#$. I have cancer?!!!? Tears burst from my eyes. I just couldn't believe it. How was I going to tell my family? I was absolutely devastated.

PATHOLOGIC RESULTS: Invasive carcinoma, grade 2. Ductal carcinoma in situ, grade 1-2.

Site 2: Left axillary lymph node with a Hydro Mark Barrel marker in satisfactory position.

PATHOLOGIC RESULTS: Metastatic well-differentiated carcinoma, consistent with breast primary tumor, involving fragments of lymphnode.

RECOMMEND: The results are concordant with the imaging findings.

1. Bilateral breast MRI

2. Surgical consultation

3. Oncologic consultation

4. The patient may be a candidate for genetic counseling

Now what? My husband called my youngest daughters boyfriend and told him to bring her over to the house as soon as they could get here, without informing her of the news. ( Unfortunately I was unable (and still am unable) to communicate the information with my oldest daughter because she is MIA. Haven't spoken to her in months.) Marisa showed up at the house about and hour later with her boyfriend and we looked at each other, with tears in my eyes, and she started crying as I told her I had cancer. What an awful thing to have to say to someone you love so dearly! We held each other and all I could say was 'It's going to be OK, I'm going to be OK.' After that we partook in several Gin Martinis (Bombay Saffire, up with a twist, no vermouth - so basically a glass of gin).

March 29, 2022 - No Call

I woke up this morning anticipating a call from one of my Dr.'s. 9:00, no call. 10:00, no call. 10:30 no call. So I said screw it, I'm calling them. I called the Mammo Nurse and she said she just got off the phone with Dr. Gyno. She asked if I knew the results from pathology and I said yes. She told me the Dr. Gyno had put in a referral for a contrast MRI (scheduled for March 30th at 7:00 pm) and that she also made a referral to Dr. Breast Surgeon and I should be hearing from them within the hour. I had so many questions, confused about what next steps were but she said Dr. Breast Surgeon's office would help guide me down the path. Within 30 minutes I received a call from Dr. Breast Surgeon's office to set up an appointment and to tell me they sent a referral to Dr. Med Oncology with a local cancer center and that they would be contacting me later that day or the next day. Due to a cancellation (again) I was able to set my appointment with Dr. Breast Surgeon for Monday, April 4th.

I waited as patiently as I could for the call from Dr. Med Oncology that afternoon but did not hear from anyone. So, once again, I decided to make the call myself to get scheduled. Thankfully I did because they just had a cancellation for Dr. Med Oncology and I could get in on Friday, April 1st.

April 1, 2022 - Meeting with Dr. Med Oncology

So much anxiety, so many tears, so many questions. Where do you begin?????

What type of cancer do I have? Hormone+, Hormone-, HER2+, Triple Negative?????

Well, that question could not be answered today because the chemical portion on my biopsy has not been received yet. Best case scenario I understood is for the cancer to be Hormone+. So much information and explanations were talked about, too much and too fast to keep notes (unfortunately). This is what I walked away with from my 1st appointment:

1. Stop taking all my supplements and herbs immediately (for surgery purposes)

2. Cancel Genetic test - they would draw blood for it that day

3. KI67 level. This gene is associated with the tumor cell proliferation and growth. Anything below 20% means it's slow growing. My result came back 35%. What does that mean? Hell if I know at this point.

4. Mammaprint vs Oncotype? The lower the score the better. Chemo vs no chemo? My understanding of this test is if the score is "high" there is a derived benefit from doing chemo of 5% and there is equally a 5% derived benefit of doing just hormone therapy. I won't know my results until after surgery is performed and the tumors and sent to pathology. My question if I have the same benefit either way, why in the hell would I do chemo vs hormone therapy and also why didn't they run this test from the biopsy? It is on my long list of questions.

5. If my cancer is hormone+ I will need to do Hormone Therapy to reduce/eliminate my production of estrogen. This entails Endocrine Treatment and injections to shut down my ovaries. Yaayyy me - menopause here I come.

6. Stress - Stress can play a role in cancer. I had an awful amount of stress (most of it unbearable) for the entire year last year. My wedding, 5 deaths of close friends/family and the horrible situation with my oldest daughter (will be discussed in my other blog page 'All of life's other curve balls'). Dr. Med Oncology instructed me to seek out counseling to deal with last year and the journey I'm embarking on now.

Potential treatment plan would be as follows (if it is hormone+ and the mammaprint/Oncotype is high:

Surgery (4-6 weeks recover), chemo (3 months), radiation (4-6 weeks), hormone therapy

I left the appointment still confused, a little disappointed because we still didn't know what I was dealing with cancer wise and didn't leave there with a definite treatment plan put into place.

April 4, 2022 - Dr. Breast Surgeon

What a wonderful person. Dr. Breast Surgeon was very optimistic. Believes it is hormonal (test results not in yet). Felt around and said she could not feel the lump in my breast (good sign, small mass) and she could only feel the one lymph node. She didn't feel that it has spread to others. YAAYYY! Best treatment plan with the information that is currently available would be surgery, 4-6 weeks of daily radiation (excluding Saturday & Sunday). She said so let's get you on the schedule for surgery because we are optimistic that your cancer is hormonal. Fantastic. I told her all my timely appointments had to due with another patient cancelling theirs. I said hopefully someone has cancelled their appointment with you so I can get in right away. We all chuckled. The scheduler came into the room and said would the 12th work for you. I asked if the 12th was the earliest they had, as I thought it was May 12th. She said well the 12th is next week on Tuesday. They just had someone call in and cancel their surgery. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Thank you God for being on my side!

April 7, 2022 - More Scans

Today is the day for CT Scan with Contrast and a Bone Scan to check my body and bones for any other cancer and to establish a "base line" of where I'm at today for future scans. TERRIFIED for the results. Once again worrying about things that are out of my control. What if all the stupid things I did in my earlier years have caused all of this craziness in my body that is happening. I did not want to know what the results were.

April 8, 2022 - Dr. Med Oncology Appointment

Another appointment with Dr. Med Oncology to go over chemical results from the biopsy and the blood work that they did at my first appointment. No new information for me as Dr. Breast Surgeon called about the chemical results (hormone+) and I had read all of my blood work on 'MyHealthChart'. She seemed a little "put off" that I already had all of the information and that I had a lot of questions. Maybe she was having a bad day before she saw me.....??? She said she heard that surgery was scheduled and asked when that was happening and I told her on next week on Tuesday. She seemed to be shocked that I had it scheduled so soon. My husband made a comment to her "Well, you don't know my wife very well then." heehheee. I asked if the next step was for radiation then hormone therapy with her, correct (that's what Dr. Breast Surgeon recommended at our last appointment)? That's when the appointment went to hell. She informed me that it is very possible that I will have to do 3 months of chemo, then radiation, then hormone therapy. "Didn't you remember our conversation that we had last week?" she asked. That pissed me off!!!! She told me I did not need to meet with Radiology Oncology anytime soon and that my next appointment would be with her 4 weeks after surgery. She informed me that the surgeon does what she does best which is surgery and she handles everything this else after that, that's why she is Dr. Med Oncologist. Needless to say I will be meeting with my surgeon and the radiologist before I meet with her again.

April 12, 2022 -SURGERY DAY!!!!

Today is the day to get this shit cut out of me. I'm so excited. Not very nervous or anxious as I thought I'd be. Haven't had anything to eat or drink since last night. My mouth was so parched and dry. Just found out that my cancer is NOT genetic! Amen!!!! We have to arrive at the hospital at 10:00 am, surgery at 1:45 pm. At 10:30 am they put a wire from my tumor marker in my breast into the tumor maker in my armpit. This will allow them to inject the area with dye which will attach to any cancer cells in the path. Dr. Breast Surgeon was once again optimistic it was just one lymph node but they just wanted to make sure there wasn't any lymph's potentially affected. The wire was placed in by 11:00 am and now I have to sit and wait until surgery time. 1:30 pm - here we go. Off to surgery I went. I was done at 3:15 pm and home by 5:00 pm. My thoughtful daughter, Marisa, made me homemade chicken noodle soup and bought me a couple of button up shirts and pjs as I am not supposed to be raising my arm to do anything for a couple of weeks.

Procedures completed:

Lumpectomy on my breast to remove tumor.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy - this is the least invasive procedure to remove lymphs. But it can only be done for 3 or less cancerous lymph nodes removals. Otherwise axillary lymph node removal would be necessary.

After surgery results:

Tumor in breast was removed successfully with enough margin around it.

2 lymph's had cancer, possibly a third. She removed a total of 5, hoping that 4 & 5 are clean.

Tumors have been sent to pathology to make sure enough margin was indeed taken and that lymph 4 & 5 are clean of cancer. If not I will have to go back in for surgery. Pathology will also determine exactly what type of cancer, the aggressiveness of the cancer and the potential reoccurrence of the cancer. I should have results on Friday or Monday for everything but the reoccurrence answer. That will take a couple more weeks to determine. I pray that the reoccurrence score is LOW, otherwise I will be starting with chemo for 3 months.

April 13, 2022 - Recovery

I woke up this morning thinking I needed to get up and do something with my life. That was not a good thought as I tried to get out of bed and it felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat a few times in the chest. I do have to say that the pain isn't as bad as I thought it would be but it defiantly not something I would want to experience again. Ice helps but hurts because my chest, breast and armpit is so tender and swollen. They gave me some drugs but I don't think they work any better the ibprophen, so ipbrophen it is. My mom and dad, and Marisa and her boyfriend came over for dinner. That was nice to keep my mind off the aches, throbs and pain. I was tired when I went to bed.

April 15, 2022 - What's Next?

Wait for pathology results

1. 04/25/2022 - Dr Breast Surgeon Follow Up

2. 04/26/2022 - Dr. Radiology Oncology 1st time appointment

3. 05/13/2022 - Dr. Med Oncology Treatment plan appointment

April 18, 2022 - Results Are In (some)

Dr. Breast Surgeon called on Friday letting me know pathology results are in (not for the Mammaprint yet). They removed all the cancer! AMEN. No more surgery. My breast tumor was 11 mm. Lymph 1 was all cancer, lymph 2 had minimal. Total of 7 mm. 3, 4 & 5 are all clean.

I'm still having some sharp shooting pain (assuming it's the nerves) in my armpit and breast area but they come and go. Numbness is still a huge thing in my armpit. I sprayed on deodorant yesterday and couldn't feel anything. I think I used 1/2 a bottle ;)

On a side note, my eldest daughter emailed me (she doesn't want me to have her phone number) about her taxes on Friday. I told he I did not complete her taxes and oh yeah, I have breast cancer..... she did not respond to me (ridiculous) but she did call her sister from a blocked number asking about it. They talked for maybe 30 seconds. At least she asked? Right? I just don't understand :( (more about this story soon on my 'All of Life's Other Curve Balls' page).

April 22, 2022 - Happy Friday

Happy Friday! It's been a looonnnggg week. I was in so much pain and absolutely exhausted. I cried quite a bit, laid around all day, just miserable on Wednesday. Talked on the phone for a while with my mom, which always helps. Thanks mom!!! I broke down and took one Tramidol at 5:00 pm then another one at 9:00 pm. I actually got a decent nights sleep and felt pretty good on Thursday. I'm still having nerve numbness/pain/sensitivity (not sure how to explain it). The swelling is starting to go down and the bruises are going away. I still have some pretty painful lumps throughout my breast and armpit from surgery so choosing an outfit for the day becomes a daunting task sometimes. I confirmed with Dr. Med Oncology that the Mammaprint was ordered and they said it was submitted on April 15th and that I would have the results at my appointment with Dr. Med Oncology on May 13th. We see Dr. Breast Surgeon on Monday and I have a list of questions, particularly what stage of cancer did/do I have. I think I'm going to seek out a nutritionist/naturalist that specializes with cancer patients. I want to make sure I do everything I possibly can to heal faster and eradicate this cancer.

I am looking forward to Saturday though.....mani/pedi day!

April 25, 2022 - Follow-Up with Dr. Breast Surgeon

Had my follow up appointment with Dr. Breast Surgeon today. Everything looks good. Stitches have dissolved in both incisions. The breast incision was done in the perfect location so it will not be noticeable when it's all healed. She said all the pain and lumps are normal and will heal with time. I have Stage 2 Breast Cancer because it spread to my lymph nodes. Again, only one and partial of tow (out of the five taken) had cancer. We did discuss the Mammaprint and chemo situation. Dr. Breast Surgeon explained it to us much better than Dr. Med Oncology the first time we met. Not to say it was explained wrong, but most likely we misunderstood. So basically, if I had three or more lymphs affected by cancer it would be an absolute treatment of chemo, then radiology, then hormone therapy. With Mammaprint it tells you your likely-hood of reoccurrence in a percentage number. If that percentage is higher than 27% my treatment plan would start with chemo. If it is lower than 27% we would evaluate if chemo would add any additional benefit to the other two treatments. I cancelled the doctor appointment with Dr. Radiology as at this time would add no benefit to what is happening between now and my appointment on May 13th. I did reschedule though for a couple days after my May 13th appointment being optimistic that chemo will not be needed!

Because there might be a lull in my breast caner journey blog for a couple of weeks I'm going to start on my other blog "All of Life's Other Curve Balls". I'm telling you, you just can't make this s@$t up!

May 5, 2022 - Did You Know?

I was just reading an article about '5 Hormones to Address for Cancer Prevention' and it listed the following hormones when it comes to reducing chronic inflammation and overall improving your defenses against cancer:

1. Estrogen

2. Progestogen

3. Insulin

4. Cortisol

5. Vitamin D

Vitamin D???? Really???? Who knew....not me. But that makes sense now because Dr. Med Oncologist was concerned about my low levels of Vitamin D and we would work on that after surgery.

The author also stated "But when it does come to breast cancer prevention in particular, I would say that cortisol, insulin, and vitamin D play an equally important role in reducing the risk of recurrence. But they just aren't commonly discussed." This will definitely be added my long list of questions for my appointment on the 13th. I know for sure my cortisol levels were shot from the fiascos of 2021 (stress, fear, anger, etc.) and my level of Vitamin D is also low, could that have been the cause of my cancer? Who knows? I just have a hard time believing the Dr.'s response of "it was just a fluke". Fluke my #@$.

May 11, 2022 - Anxiously Waiting

The countdown continues. Friday....Dr. Oncology....my official treatment plan (hopefully). It's been difficult to wait for a whole month to know what my treatment plan is going to be. I've been thinking about the possibility of having to go down the chemo path first and it just is not resonating in my mind and heart very well. This potential option is like going down the damn rabbit hole again like I did when I found out I had cancer to begin with. Will I opt in for chemo? What's the derived benefit of doing chemo if I'm already having to do radiation and hormone therapy? What chemo "cocktail" will they use? Will that cause a secondary cancer? Question after question. I just keep praying that this is NOT part of this journey for me. I'll let you know on Friday.

May 13, 2022 - Treatment Plan Appointment with Dr. Oncology

Today is the day! Chemo or no chemo. Praying for no chemo. Welp, that didn't go with the journey plan I had hoped for. Results for the Mammaprint came in at -0.004% below the "high" percentage (high needing chemo). So this % is the highest in the grey area. Also, my tumor was a Luminal B which indicates a clinically aggressive cancer. Thus, chemotherapy is highly recommended. Radiation only treats the area of where the cancer was found and does not target any other potential cancer cells in the body. Without chemo I have an 80% chance of not having a recurrence of the cancer. If I do chemo I have a 95% (which they consider to be cured) chance of not having a recurrence. So, that's a no brainer. I'm doing chemo. So here is my treatment plan:

• 4 rounds of chemo (Docetaxel & Cyclophosphamide (TC)) every three weeks. My first treatment is May 27th.

• After chemo I wait approximately 3-4 weeks then I will begin radiation 5 days a week for 4 to 6 weeks.

• I will end my treatment plan with 5 years of hormone therapy

I will be using the Paxman Scalp Cooling system, which should reduce my potential hair loss by 50% or more and claims to reproduce hair quicker and healthier (hopefully it works). My chemo sessions will be a minimum of 4 hours. 30 minutes for the Scalp Cooling system to get cold, 15 minutes for Dr. Oncology visit, blood draw and IV insertion (I will not be having a port since I'm only 4 visits), apprx 2 hours for chemo and them 90 minutes more of keeping my scalp cold after chemo. In addition to Scalp Cooling I will be wearing cold gloves and cold socks during the Docetaxel portion to help prevent short and long term neuropathy. Amazon has almost been a daily delivery this week getting everything I need for chemo.

May 16, 2022 - Chemo Class

Yes, you read that right. Chemo Class. Everyone has to go through it if you're going to be treated with chemo. It covered a lot of information regarding do's and don'ts and side effects and what to do. Here are some of the highlights:

• Fever of 100.4 degrees or higher - Have to go to the ER (infection)

• Lightheaded/extreme fatigue - Have to go to the the ER (low white blood cells)

• Bleeding won't stop or extreme bruising - Have to go to the ER (potential platelet issue)

• No chemo buddy visitors while I'm there

There are so many potential side effects with this chemo cocktail (mostly the Docetaxel) that freak me out so I try not to focus on that. I am not willing to accept any of them into my journey! :) So here's to next Friday!

May 27, 2022 - Chemo #1 Down and the Week following

Well, I'm 10 days post Chemo #1 and feeling pretty good. Here's how the days panned out right after chemo:

May 27: Had to be at cancer center at 8:15. Met with Dr. Oncology Nurse and went through all our questions. Drew blood to make sure all my blood levels were good. Started actual chemo around 9:30. I have to do 30 minute cool down with the cold cap prior to chemo starting. They started Docetaxel first (the more aggressive chemo drug). During this treatment I wore my cold socks and cold gloves, along with the cold cap of course, to help prevent neuropathy in the hands and feet. I would have to say the cold gloves were far worse than the cold cap or socks. This infusion last 1 hour. Then they started the Cyclophosphamide infusion that also lasted about an hour. Cold gloves and socks are not needed during this infusion. I did bring my Kindle (thanks to Marisa) thinking I'd be able to read a book, but that is not the case when your brain is frozen. So I listed to the pod cast "Sounds Like a Cult" and watched a couple of episodes of "The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel" on Netflix. After the 2nd round of chemo I had to leave the cold cap on another 90 minutes. They put on my belly an infusion box full of Neulasta to go off 27 hours after chemo. 2:30 pm, yaaay. I'm done. The cold cap actually froze to my hair. It took an additional 5ish minutes to get it off. I had no side effects during or after chemo, thank you God! I went home ate mac-n-cheese and a hot dog. Tried to take a nap, that was a no go. Went to bed at 7:30 pm and go nauseous around 10 pm so I took an ant-nausea pill and put on my wrist sea bands. Went back to sleep and woke up feeling good.

May 28: I feel good but am foggy headed/light headed with a dull headache. I was active all day planting spinach, herbs and flowers in my garden. I have a pretty good appetite but my taste is a little off. I have had no more nausea since the night before which is a blessing. I believe that my sea bands and this drink I found named "Enterade" is the key to that. Enterade was developed by NASA for the astronauts and their GI problems going to Mars. You should check it out if you are prone to gut issues. at 4:15 the Neulasta injection/infusion started going. It takes 45-minutes to complete inject. They say the most common side effects are "flu like symptoms". Neulasta is a drug that targets your bone marrow to aggressively re-generate whit blood cells. Felt good for the rest of the evening. No side affects yet, hopefully I won't have any.

May 29: Woke up OK. Little achy in the bones. Did my normal stuff throughout the day. As the day progressed I became more and more achy, still having the dull headache. Went to bed early.

May 30: Woke up more achy than yesterday. Taking ibuprofen and Tylenol to help with the aches. As the day progressed my abdomen and back started cramping and spasming. My legs, neck, jaw, teeth, pretty much everything hurts! Uggghhhh!

May 31: They were not kidding when they said "FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS"!!! I can't remember the last time I had such horrible "flu like symptoms" but today took the cake. I woke up miserable. Everything hurts and is on fire. Stomach is swollen and sore. Took a hot bath, followed by a cool shower. No help. Did not accomplish much today. Used my heating pad when I went to bed. Helped a little bit but not a great deal. Consumed many ibuprofens and Tylenol today.

June 1: I felt better when I woke up. Still having stomach and back swelling, cramps, spasms. I was a little more active today than yesterday. Went to bed the same as I woke up. Cramping and spasms. Lying down now hurts. It's gonna be a long night.

June 2: Doctor appointment with Dr. Oncology at 8:15 am. This was scheduled the day of chemo. They call it the Chemo Triage appointment. They want to see how I was doing, run blood work to make sure everything is progressing the way the anticipate and answer any questions. And, everything looks good. My bone marrow has been producing better than most which is encouraging. I did ask if the chemo treatments are "cumulative" in nature (meaning with each chemo treatment will the side effects worsen). She did say that it is cumulative, but I should only see an extra day or so of the side effects but I will progressively get more and more tired. I then explained my abdominal/back problems and she prescribed me Dicyclomine to stop the pain. I took one around 10:30 and I could feel such a difference. I took another when I went to bed. What a miracle, the pain is gone!

June 3 - June 6: Everything has been going good. I started taking a low dosage THC edible at night to help with any aches/pains and to sleep. I have to say I've always had problems sleeping until I started the edible. Just saying :) I do feel a little worn down. I have moved my bedtime from 10:30 to 9:00. I'm trying to stay physically active and eating healthy small meals through out the day. My weight is stable and have not had hair loss as of today. So all in all I'm doing well under the circumstances. Next chemo treatment is on June 17th, then July 8th and my final one is July 29th. After that I have about a month of recovery then I will start daily radiation, 5 days a week for 4 to 6 weeks. After radiation I'll have a few weeks of recovery then they will start hormone therapy that will last for 5+ years. I'll do whatever I need to do to be here and present for my children and family for the long haul.

June 17, 2022 - Chemo #2 Complete

HALF WAY DONE!!!Sorry for the delayed post on chemo #2. Lots going on with what we know as "life".

They did say that this chemo is cumulative so except a few more sick days than the time before and be prepared to become more tired. For me I was not sick longer than the first time, but I was more sick for the same amount of time. The aches and pains were worse and had an extra day of mild nausea. So by Thursday I was pretty good, just like the first chemo. I do have to say I am more drained and tired (which sucks for a busy body like me), but it is manageable. I also have to say I'm not as patient/empathetic as I was before chemo. I now what they mean by "chemo brain". I definitely feel more foggy and a little forgetful than usual.

Tuesday before chemo my hair started shedding. Thankfully not in chunks. It seems to like to shed on the left side more and on the top. It was initially devastating (especially since I'm using the chemo cooling cap), now it's just frustrating to find hair everywhere. If you haven't seen me in a while, not sure you'd notice it much if it's combed properly and there was no wind outside to uncover my scalp, but I notice it every day. Been wearing bandanas and hats every day to prevent a sunburned head.

My next chemo is this Friday (7/8). I'm a little nervous about how cold my head will be from the cold cap since I have thinned out quite a bit. I'll let you know how it goes.

July 8, 2022 - Chemo #3 Complete - One more to go

I went into chemo this time with some sinus/allergy issues but it was not of concern to Oncology. Wasn't feeling so swell during chemo, unlike the previous ones. They only had me take 1 steroid pill the night before and 1 the morning of chemo. I looked a little swollen in the face and pale in color when I got home. My appetite wasn't the best and I was super tired, achy, nauseous when I got home.

Saturday morning I felt pretty good, did three loads of laundry and around 2:00 pm I felt like complete !@#$. I had the worst bone/body aches and chills that I think that I have ever had. I went outside and sat in my chair on the deck freezing with a sweater on with it being 100% outside. I sat there for at least a couple of hours just shivering. Didn't eat much and went to bed early, but it was impossible to sleep.

Sunday I woke up with a fever of 99.9°, checked it again and I was 100.2° (have to call Oncology and go to hospital if it is 100.4° or higher). It got up to 101° before I got out of bed so I called the Oncology after-hours line. What a stupid call. The receptionist didn't ask for my name, didn't ask when I had my chemo treatment, she just asked if it was something serious enough for her to reach the after hours Dr. or if I could wait to make an appointment for tomorrow during normal business hours. I said, I don't know.... I was told to call if I have a fever of over 100.4°. So I told her I would get up and move around, try to eat something and see if my fever would go down (as I had a fever of over 102° during this conversation). I got up, sat on the couch, tried to eat, tried to get fluids in me and kept checking my temp. It fluctuated through-out the day but never dropped below 99.9°. I went to bed around 9 pm, took 4 ibprophens, and cramping medicine for my gut (due to the Neulesta injection), dozed off and was promptly awakened by horrible chills and aches again. Took my temp and it was at 102.4°. I called the after-hours number again and they put me through to the on-call Doctor. She told me to go to the ER and asked why I didn't go in earlier that day. Didn't have it in me at the time to tell her it was because of their staff that answered the phone earlier that day. So off to ER we go at 10:30ish pm.

Arrived at ER just before 11 pm. WHAT A !@#$%^& SHIT SHOW!!!!! It started by they couldn't find me as a patient at the hospital, even though I have numerous CT scans, bone scans, MRIs, surgery, chemo treatments and the list goes on. They had know idea about the cancer center at the hospital that I'm being treated at. The ER rooms were all booked because the hospital didn't have enough nurses working upstairs to send over nigh patients to. So we sat in the waiting room FOR HOURS! Now, mind you, chemo patients with a fever are supposed to be top priority at the ER. I asked when I checked in how long before I would see someone, the response was I don't know. We're full and there are 3 other people ahead of you (broken foot, hurt elbow, and drugged out were the 3). We sat there for over and hour, not did they only see the 3 before me, but they called back 3 others that checked in after me. I went up to the front desk and asked what the !@#$ was going on and his response was, well we treat triage patients first. My response, what the !@#$ do you think I am???? A cancer patient that had chemo on Friday with a fever above what they want to see? About 10 minutes later they called me back into a side room (where the ER staff works) to get treated. Now they have labeled me as a potential SEPSIS patient. Sepsis, really? Was told by the nurse that we treat cancer patients with high priority as so many things can go wrong so quick. My response.... so that's why I have been sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours? No response back. They drew 9 viles of blood and was going to hook me up to IV fluids while we waited for results (that only take 30-minutes to get), but I refused because I didn't want to be there any longer than I need. Got a chest x-ray (20 minutes for those results we were told). Back to the waiting room we go. 20 minutes go by, 30 minutes go by, 45 minutes go by, an hour goes by. So here I am at the front desk AGAIN asking for my results. Oh, he said, we have most of them but need to run another blood test because they lost a vile in the lab. WHAT?!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Didn't you know that 30-minutes ago I asked, Yes he said but he was busy. So another vile of blood is drawn, and I was told it would be a rush job, we'll have results in 10 max 15 minutes. Another 30 minutes later and I was back at the front desk. AND?????? I asked. We have all the results, but you need to talk with the Dr. I just about freaked out on him, thankfully the Dr. walked out to talk to me.

Results of ER: Had some unexplained virus going on. My white blood cells were double of those of a normal/non-chemo person. I did not have the flu, covid or sepsis. They put me on antibiotics and home I went. Got home around 4am.

The remainder of the past couple of weeks have been better than it started. Definitely more tired, feeling sluggish, not a great appetite, defiantly not motivated. Lost a little bit more hair, but I can still rock a baseball cap :)

I have an appointment with Dr. Surgeon (follow-up) and Dr. Radiology (consultation) tomorrow, 7/26. Hopefully I'll know the thoughts about how much/long radiation will be. And my LAST CHEMO is on Friday the 29th.

July 29, 2022 - FINAL Chemo #4 Complete

Sorry for the super delayed post on my journey, but here it is. Thank goodness I'm not a professional blogger because I'd be fired ;)

What a day!!!! Last chemo!!! So excited!!! But what a journey it has been since.

Chemo went fine on Friday but ended up with COVID on Monday. I'm sure I have had COVID once before but this one just sucked. Horrible cough and chills and a fever that lasted for days. I was put on Paxlovid (covid drug) which was awful. As soon as I started taking it I felt worse by the minute. I took it for 2-days and then stopped. I literally felt that if I kept taking it it would have killed me. My POV - DON'T TAKE THE DRUG! I tested positive for covid for 7 days. My cough got worse and worse so they put my on Augmentin, which at the end of the day didn't help either. Musinex helped at night but other than that, nothing made it better but time. I still have coughing spells here and there but I don't know if it's from covid or chemo.... no-one will ever know.

August 29, 2022 - Radiation Treatments

I started radiation treatments on August 24th. I have to do 33 total treatments. They are 5 days a week. My last treatment will be on October 11th (unless I miss one for some reason). So far, so good. They are radiating my left neck, breast, collar bone and sternum. The treatment takes about 7 minutes. Potential side effects are lymphedema, "sun burned" skin and extreme fatigue. Hopefully I don't get any!

After radiation I will begin hormone therapy, which I have been doing a lot of research on. I have a big decision to make in regards to taking more drugs or having surgery (Dr. Oncology is all for the drugs, of course). Seeing I had my uterus removed in my twenties, I'm heavily leaning towards having my ovaries removed to eliminate the hormones they produce versus taking a once a month shot for about a year of Lupron. I would rather deal with natural/surgical menopause, than drug induced menopause and the extra side effects that will cause. I'm open for thoughts/comments on this decision. I do know I will be taking a daily oral hormone drug that will also shut-down all other parts of my body that produces hormones for five years.

On top of everything else, I went and saw my orthopedic Dr. for my right elbow of all things. It has been bothering since I had surgery and the pain and swelling kept getting worse. Well, I have sever tendonitis (tennis elbow) from God on knows what. So I have to wear a hand brace to help stop the muscle in my forearm from moving. I was told no gripping with my right hand, no typing (oops...don't tell him about this blog entry :) ) and no mouse. I have to say it has been difficult to drink and eat with my left hand and to fold sheets and towels. I guess it's time to hire a "cabana boy", heee, heee.

January 2, 2023 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So much has gone on since my last post in August. Sorry for the late update.

I finished radiation October 15, 2022 and everything went good except for the last 5 days of treatment (the BOOST). I literally thought my nipple was going to fall off :) I massaged my breast and armpit and shoulder twice a day, every day (and still do). The radiologist complemented me for my diligence of breaking up the scar tissue. I'm still a little swollen and sore and my shoulder/neck still get "caught" up and are tight. Massage therapy definitely helps.

I had a CT scan on the 24th of October to check the two nodules they saw on my lungs (prior to radiation treatment). The two original nodules had not changed but I had clusters of what appeared to be infectious tissue on the left lung. I asked my Radiologist on my 30-day follow up appointment what he thought and he assured me that what they were seeing is scar tissue from radiation and told me it will clear up in time. I have been nebulizing with 5 ml of Silver and a drop of Eucalyptus once a week to help clear my lungs. I have another CT scan scheduled for January 24th to recheck. Praying everything is cleared up.

I made the decision to have an oophorectomy (removal of my ovaries) to reduce my estrogen production. I had a partial hysterotomy over 20 years ago so it was an easy-peasy surgery except for the gas they use to blow up your belly. THAT WAS MISSERABLE! The gas stayed around for about 2 1/2 days and then everything was fine. The most frustrating thing about the procedure I could not lift my than 10-lbs for four weeks nor workout. My biggest concern for this surgery was nose diving into menopause and gaining a substantial amount of weight. Needless to say, chemo put me through menopause and I have had symptoms after surgery and I have lost over 12 pounds...almost back to my high school weight (JK JK JK).

Another big decision I made through my journey is not going on Aromatase Inhibitors (complete shut-down of all estrogen production). I was not willing to put my body through one of the most toxic drugs that exists! In addition, estrogen (even a little amount) is good for a woman's body. I have read about and talked to more and more women that have gone on hormone suppression therapy for 5 plus years and after they stopped taking the drug they had a recurrence of breast cancer that had spread to other parts of their body (especially to the bones). NO WAY HOSAY! Not for me.

I am now on a healing journey. I have done a ton of research, joined a couple of groups (www.breastcancerconqueror.com and www.hormonesbalance.com) and talked to a lot of fellow warriors, medical professions and nutritionists to help me make my decision. I'm not going to be stupid about my decision on the same token. I will have my planned scans and imaging every 6 months, blood draws quarterly and my scheduled Dr. appointments to ensure that my healing journey is effective. If you or a loved one is battling cancer (any type) or have battled cancer I would highly encourage them to visit the above mentioned websites. It has been very eye opening in many of ways.

I have done much reflect on WHY me. WHY did I get breast cancer. It was not genetic (most are not). There is no history of cancer in my family (except my dad's freaky cancer). My genetic/DNA testing came back with nothing. Even my blood work and my CEA & CA27-29 (tumor marker blood tests) came back as all within normal limits when I was first diagnosed. So again, WHY??? Well, I have narrowed it done to a couple of factors:

1) Emotional turmoil for years

2) Gut health - problem for most of my adult life

There are other factors but those two things are the crux of most cancers and it rings true to me. I have a whole protocol that I have put together for my healing journey which include an estrogen dominance meal plan, taking about 20+ vitamins, minerals and supplements daily, taking Bitters before and after every meal, going to therapy every other week, getting massages, acupuncture and chiropractic care and much more.

CURRENT STATUS: I had my first mammogram last week since being diagnosed with this dis-ease and I am clear!!! My CEA and CA 27-29 are in normal limits and my blood work looks good. AMEN!

I am throwing around the idea of getting my Natural Health Coach degree so I can help others on their journey along with becoming a master at essential oils. I'll keep you posted on that but in the meantime I will be creating an office website that has the information, products, story and guidance that I have and still am using. Lots of trials and errors but I think I have found some good stuff

I am look forward to this new year, this new journey and living life abundantly.

Thanks again for all the notes, message, prayers and love!

By the shear Grace of God (Him knowing I am not a patient person) HE opened the doors for me to see all of these doctors so quickly! AMEN!!!