Cancer Fight

Last Day & Cancer Free

Today I had my LAST treatment! I am officially Cancer FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fierce helped me ring the bell. Everyone gets a kick out of him because he claps his hands every time someone rings the bell. He gets so excited! Before I left, the staff gave me a card and a pin, the radiation technicians awarded me and Fierce certificates of achievement and the nurses and social worker spoiled Fierce with a whole bag of toys which included a super hero bear. One of the nurses bought him a whole pack of cars. Everyone was so sweet and blessed us beyond measure. As I left, I took a deep breath and blinked away a few tears and said a prayer [...]
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Radiation: 20 Down and 10 to Go!

I am 2/3rds done with radiation therapy! Overall, I am doing well. If I am tired, I just take a nap when Fierce goes down, but it really is not that bad. My skin is getting pinker, especially by my clavicle. I had forgotten they were radiating that far up and hadn't been putting any lotion in that area...bummer! The pores of my skin are getting larger and look like small freckles. I am not getting any hair growth in my underarm and the Dr. said it may not come back---hey, less shaving! lol I am on a pill called Tamoxifen which is an anti-estrogen pill. Despite this, my estrogen levels are normal so my Dr. is not too [...]
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Radiation Count: 10 Down, 20 to go!

Let's just start by saying that the nurses are AMAZING! Fierce lights up when he sees them. Cynthia, Anita & Tina spoiled him with tons of attention today. ShauntA bought him a Christmas present and LaMont gave him a Joy Jar filled to the brim with little stuffed animals and such. Besides a bit of pink skin, I don't have any noticeable side effects yet (they set in near the end, I am told). I apply corn starch on my skin during the day and put hydrocortisone cream followed by a lotion they gave me on at night. I am usually up at 7:30 or 8:00 am with Fierce, out the door by 9:30 am in order to make [...]
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Radiation: 1 Down 29 to go!

Today was my first day of radiation and it went great! I was shown the routine and dropped Fierce off with a nurse. Then, they lined me up with the machine so that I am positioned the same way every time I get a treatment. When the machine started, I thought to myself "Oh crap, I forgot to ask what it would feel like! Is this going to burn, sting, etc..." I refocused and honestly, nothing happened. It was over soon enough. The machine as a whole moved around me a few times. One section of the machine had a glass pane and behind it, little teeth like metal pieces kept re-calibrating making different formations -super interesting. I will definitely [...]
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Surgery and planning for Radiation

I was soooo excited for surgery. In and out, a one day deal-this was going to be the easy part of the 3 step process. Ya, about that. I woke up and found out they had to remove 11 lymph nodes because the chemo didn’t take care of all of the cancer in the affected, […]
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Taxol…Only 1 month to go!

I closed the door to our apartment with my hands full, got Fierce in the stroller to go for a walk around the lake and realized I forgot my scarf…ugh. Oh well, skip it. Fighting off a little self consciousness and a smidge of regret I strolled on and it was awesome. I felt the […]
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Halfway Through Taxol

We are settling into St. Louis. We actually live just across the state line in O'Fallon, IL. Apartment living is like camping for now. The mattress is on the floor in our room and Fierce is using his pack 'n play. The really neat part is that the minute you walk out your door all of our neighbors are incredibly friendly. The neighbor right below us has a little boy who is 2 years old so we have been spending a lot of time together. The Gorillas at the zoo caught Fierce's amazement and the play place at the St. Louis Science Museum was Aniah's favorite. There are a LOT of mommy and me things to do around [...]
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Chemo Round 4

This week I wanted to get my focus off of the anticipation of nausea as I received chemotherapy. I asked my friends and family for their prayer requests so I could focus on God and others. I may be a wounded warrior, but I am dedicated to taking back for God more than has been taken from me. Another thing that I am really grateful for is the insurance plan we have through Wes' job at ScientiaMobile. Without it, this could be a financial nightmare. I feel like every aspect of going through this crazy time has been taken care of and I am so incredibly thankful. The aftermath of chemo was the usual unpleasantness. On Wednesday, I went [...]
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Chemo Round 3

Sitting there getting pumped full of life saving chemicals was making me nauseous, which is physically impossible because of the anti-nausea drugs. I realized my brain was warning me "THIS IS WHAT MAKES YOU SICK!" Alright, so the mental battle has begun. I decided to get my mind on something else so I turned on a song my cousin's daughter, Ava, sang acapella for me a while back called "I will trust in you" by Lauren Daigle. Letting go of every single dream I lay each one down at Your feet Every moment of my wandering Never changes what You see I’ve tried to win this war I confess My hands are weary I need Your rest Mighty Warrior, King of the fight No matter what I [...]
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