Physical Therapy - More Good News

I started physical therapy for my leg last week. My first visit was pretty much just questions and answers, and some simple exercises to determine my current strength. The physical therapist said that I was stronger than she anticipated, which made me feel really good! My second visit was all exercise and I was able to do all them! I'm really hopeful that I will be out of my wheelchair in a few weeks. I also have exercises to do at home so I can continue building my leg muscles. Yesterday, I took some baby steps with the help of a walker. Yay!! Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be blogging about walking either with a cane or on my own. That's what I'm praying for.

Good News

Last week, I had an X-Ray on my leg (the cancer is in my left femur at the joint). I've not been able to walk without a lot of pain, so I'm in a wheelchair. Well, yesterday at my dr appt/chemo treatment, I learned that my leg is not any worse and I will start physical therapy next week. Hopefully I'll be up walking and out of my wheelchair really soon! Yay!

I've taken my good health for granted for so long, it's amazing how many "little" things I miss. Here is small list of some of those little things:

*Steps - Thankfully my house is all on one level. There are two steps going into the garage and my husband and brother-in-law built me a ramp. God bless them!

*Anything not on the bottom shelf in the kitchen if pretty much off limits. Thank God my husband is a good cook and very picky housekeeper. He's done pretty much everything around the house since my surgery.

*Sleeping on either side is impossible. My mastectomy was on the right side, and my bad leg is on the left, grr. So I have to sleep on my back.

*Turning corners - I have to laugh as I write this because I'm already very ungraceful. Watching me try to turn a tight corner and bumping into the walls is pretty funny.

*Going to the bathroom - I won't get too graphic on this one, but having a raised toilet seat has helped A LOT!

I've promised God that if he heals my leg, I will praise Him for every step I take. I will never take good health or the ability to walk for granted ever again! :o)

Cancer is STILL Not a Death Sentence

No matter what happens, I'm not giving up and I'm not going to stop fighting. On New Year's Eve my oncologist called me to come to his office. I knew the news had to be bad or he would have told me over the phone, right? Well, it was bad. Not only did I learn that my chemo wasn't working, I was also told that the cancer had spread to my liver. Scary stuff. My husband was with me and we just looked at each other, stunned. Other than my left leg not working well (I'm getting around in a wheelchair right now) I feel great. I was sure that the treatments were working.

However, my oncologist is still optimistic and immediately planned for a new combo of chemo drugs. I started them the following Monday (1/4). My next chemo treatment is tomorrow. Thankfully, breast cancer gets lots of attention and funding, so there are many treatment options available. Please keep me in your prayers. I believe in the power of prayer and God is the supreme physician. My oncologist is also a very positive and aggressive doctor. I'm thankful that he is committed to making me better. Please pray for him as well. Hopefully the combination of prayer and meds will make me cancer free. I hope that a year from now, I will be healthy and I can tell my story to others struggling with this awful disease.

Thanks for reading. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Cancer is NOT a Death Sentence

Sorry it's been so long. I've received a lot of news over the past month, and I've been digesting it all.

Since I was a kid, I've always assumed that getting a cancer diagnosis meant you would die. Well, my attitude has really changed.

All of my scans came back. The good news is that my organs are healthy and cancer free. The bad news is that the cancer has spread to some areas in my bones. So the pain in my leg is not arthritis or a pulled muscle after all. My doctors are very optimistic; my young age and good health are two huge advantages. My oncologist also has me on aggressive therapy (chemo and radiation). I feel really good about it. I've already had several radiation treatments, and one chemotherapy cycle. So far, everything is going very smoothly. I'm not walking very well, but the radiation should alleviate the pain and pressure in my leg soon. Other than the leg pain, I don't feel sick at all.

My faith in God and support from family and friends are really helping me through this. I've asked God to heal me so I can help other people struggling with cancer. I truly believe that God hears works miracles, so please pray for me.

Thanks for reading, and I promise to write posts more often. :o)

Updates

Today I had two appointments.

One was with the surgeon that did the mastectomy. He removed the surgical drain and I was sooooo happy. It felt like getting out of jail. :o)

The second appointment was with the oncologist. The news wasn't wonderful, but it wasn't devastating either. He told me the tumor was a grade 3 (most aggressive), and that out of the 13 lymph nodes they removed, only two had cancer. In the coming weeks, I'm going to have a PET scan of the entire body and a bone scan, just to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else.

I'm very hopeful, although I've had a sore hip for a few months. I can't help but feel really paranoid about it, but I need to be logical. My dad has terrible arthritis and he hurts in the exact spot where I hurt sometimes. I'm exactly like my dad, even down to same crooked front tooth, haha. So I never thought I would pray for arthritis, but I am now!

I will also be starting chemo in a few weeks. I'm a little antsy about that, but the doc wants to be safe and help ensure that it won't come back.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers. I'm doing a lot of praying too. I'll post more as I get updates.

Post Surgery

I can't type much because I'm too sore. I had the mastectomy on Monday 10/26. I stayed overnight in the hospital because the anesthesia made me sick. Other than that, things went very smoothly. I can't lift my right arm very high and I can't sleep on my side, but other than that, I feel pretty good. I go to the oncologist on Tuesday 11/3 to find out how bad the cancer is/was and whether or not I'll need chemo. More coming soon when I can type more...

The Beginning

I've never blogged before, so bear with me. I started this online journal so I can document my experiences over the next few months.

In August, I found a lump in my right breast. It was completely by accident and I brushed it off. A few weeks passed and I thought about it again. This time, I decided that since I hadn't had my annual OB/GYN visit, I would go ahead and schedule it. So, on September 11, I had my appointment and jokingly mentioned the lump to my doctor. He recommended a mammogram, just to be safe.

On October 6, I had a baseline mammogram. The next day, they called me to say they needed to take a closer look. So, on October 9, I went to the hospital to have another mammogram and an ultrasound. Well, the radiologist didn't like what he saw, so he recommended a biopsy and an appointment with a surgeon.

On October 15, I had an ultrasound-guided needle biopsy.

On October 19, I had my appointment with the surgeon and got the bad news. I wasn't really upset, just shocked. All I really remember are the keywords: malignancy, tumor, mastectomy, lymph nodes...

On October 26, I am checking into the hospital for a mastectomy. Due to the size of the tumor (it's 5.8 centimeters) the surgeon has recommended removing the whole right breast and all of the lymph nodes.

Today, I'm still in shock mode. I'm sure I'll experience a whole range of emotions over the next few weeks, but right now, I'm pretty calm.

This is all I know right now. I'll post again soon.