Scan Update

Well, as of yesterday, I’m back in chemo. I got scanned on 10/24 and got results yesterday. My organs are great, which is a huge relief. However, some of the spots in my lumbar/sacrum area have grown a little. So my oncologist wants to be aggressive so the spots don’t grow more or spread to any of my organs.  Yesterday, I started on Abraxane, which is in the Taxol family (the chemo that I was on forever and ever LOL) and Xgeva to strengthen my bones. The Abraxane is a thirty minute intravenous treatment that goes in through my port every three weeks. The Xgeva will be given through a shot in my arm once a month.  The doctor has also ordered a Neulasta shot once a month to keep my white blood cell count up. I’ve never had bad counts, but he doesn’t want me to start having them now.

To be totally honest, I’m disappointed. I’m so thankful for healthy organs and the news could have been so much worse. But I’m just now at the point to where I’m comfortable without my wig and my eyelashes have been coming in so nicely. The nurses in the infusion room told me that my hair may just thin a little bit, but I’m not getting my hopes up about that. I lost my hair with the first round of chemo drugs, and stayed hairless during the Taxol treatments. So I wouldn’t be surprised if I lost it all again. There are benefits to losing my hair though: no shaving under my arms, no shaving my legs, and no Nairing my face – yes you get lots of facial hair when you go through menopause haha! I’d rather be bald and have my tumors shrinking than to be full of cancer with long beautiful hair. There is more to life than a head full of hair and long lashes. :o)

So I’m going to keep working, keep exercising, and keep pushing. That has worked for me for the past three years, so I’m not stopping now! My medical leave for the hip replacement ends tomorrow so the routine at my job will be great therapy. I have a lot to be thankful for at my job. The benefits have paid for all of these crazy chemo drugs and I make good money. If I didn’t have a job with great benefits, I would really struggle paying for my treatment. The last thing I want is to be a financial burden to my husband. I know he would be glad to help me but holding on to a little of my independence is important. I also work on a great team with a fabulous boss. My co-workers are also my friends and they have been so understanding about me working from home on chemo days. My boss is super flexible and kind about my appointments and work load. A lot of people can’t say that. I remember sitting in treatment one day last year, and a patient was on her cell phone fighting with her insurance company about coverage.  I’m so blessed!

Hip Update

I had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon today, and I got a great report! In fact, he released me. I don’t have to go back until next August. I’ll be on a cane for awhile since I’m building all new muscles. I’m going to do something I rarely do on Facebook or in the blog: post a picture! I thought it was really cool to see the “before” and “after” versions of my hip. The image on the left is the new hip. The image on the right shows the old rod and the screw that moved through my weak hip ball. I'm really not sure how long I walked around with the old hardware out of place, but it was very uncomfortable. I'm so thankful for modern medicine and miracle surgeries! I feel sooo much better now! Although I already wrote this in another post, I have to write it again - the bone fragments removed during surgery had NO cancer. It's a miracle!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I’m a little embarrassed to write this, but I promised myself I would always be honest in my blogs, even when it makes me look bad.

Before I was diagnosed with BC, I used to roll my eyes a little when it came to breast cancer awareness, particularly breast cancer awareness month. It just seemed to me like most of the advocates were the ones that had teeny tiny tumors and they caught it so early that they didn’t even need chemo. So why were they being so damn dramatic about it and acting like they knew everything about cancer? Well, now I get it. Finding BC early is so important. If I had been more aware of my body and been doing self exams, maybe I would have caught mine before the tumor grew to six centimeters. And while I’m being honest, I knew that I should have been doing self exams. My OB/GYN preached self exams from my very first visit to him in my mid-twenties. I just laughed it off. I also donated to BC charities and read literature about BC. So I knew that anyone could get it and age didn’t matter. Somehow though, I still felt immune. I went through a short hypochondriac phase in my early twenties because I had a thyroid cancer scare. I have underactive thyroid disease and it turns out that I had some lumps on my thyroid gland. The doc increased my synthroid dose and the lumps shrank. A needle biopsy also proved that they were benign. However, after that scare, for about two years, I got every ache and pain checked.  I even went through a period when I thought I had lupus. Then one day, a specialist laughed at me and I was mortified. I promised myself that I would never be a crazy hypochondriac again. I still went for my yearly checkups so I could get synthroid refills and saw my OB/GYN once a year.  I took pride in never complaining about health stuff, and bragged about being healthy. I was determined not to revert back to being a crazy hypochondriac. Unfortunately, that was my downfall when it came to finding my breast lump. I only waited a few weeks, but as aggressive as my tumor turned out to be, I should have run to my doctor – literally. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose.

Since it’s October, everyone will see billboards, commercials, internet articles, Facebook posts, etc regarding breast cancer awareness. I’m sure many people will think, “damn, enough already!” But please take my word for it – be aware of your body. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to look at yourself in the mirror and examine yourself. I used to say, “well I’ll start doing that when I’m 40…” But breast cancer does not discriminate. It can strike anyone, any age, men and women. I have no family history of breast cancer and I was never sick a day in my life (unless you count chicken pox and the occasional cold/flu). I didn’t meet any of the criteria or “warning signs.”  If you find a lump, RUN to your doctor. I don’t want anyone to go through what I’ve been through over the past three years.