Attention!!!

I must must must get better at keeping this blog updated!

I wanted to take some time to post about Breast Cancer Awareness. I am feeling pretty passionate about it right now since it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is important that every woman and man takes measures to keep tabs on their health. One never knows when something ugly like Breast Cancer will pop up. Take me for example, no family history and I was diagnosed at 32 years old so you never know!

There are two things that every woman can do to keep an eye on her breast health.

The first is monthly Breast Self Exams.
These seem like a pain in the butt and maybe they are but, doing one can save your life. I encourage you to do one today and repeat monthly, forever!
The American Cancer Society Recommends women over the age of 20 perform these exams monthly. Honestly, I do not think it can hurt to begin younger and get in the habit.

There are two links below with instructions on how to perform one.

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-self-exam

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The Second thing a woman can do to catch breast cancer is mammograms. The American Cancer Society recommends that women with an average risk of breast cancer get a mammogram every year starting at 40 years old.
The word mammogram scares many women who fear it. Why do they fear it? They are afraid of the pain. I have had a few mammograms in my journey and I can tell you that while they are not what I would call fun, they are not horrifically painful either. They are quick and did not hurt me at all! It is a test that can save your life.

MEN, yes you! Yes, your risk of getting breast cancer is much lower than a womans; but there is still a risk. You should do monthly exams as well. Get to know your chest, what it looks like when its normal, feel for any bumps or lumps, feel under your arms as well! Here is a link explaining how to do it!
http://breastcancer.about.com/od/types/tp/male_bse.htm

I know Breast Self Exams and Mammograms will not prevent Brest Cancer but, they can help you catch it early which is a huge part of the battle. Catching it at Stage 0 is a completely different journey from catching it at the later stages. No promises but it could be a difference between chemo and no chemo, a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy etc.

So friends, family, blog readers, I implore you, I beg you, please take care of yourselves. This is one battle I would not wish on my worst enemy. #CatchItAtStage0

Post Radiation Update

Hey All,

I finished up radiation a few weeks ago and I am recovering. It was unexpected but radiation was difficult for me. It has left me exhausted and very burned. For those about to go through radiation, you may not get bad burns like I did; the oncologist said what happened to me only happens in about 10 percent of patients. Lucky me!

I am about totally zapped of energy right now. I will try to post again tomorrow with some pictures from Radiation!

That is all for now,

I Fight Like A Woman

Radiation Oncologists, Medical Oncologists and Surgeons oh my!

So over the past 2 days I have met with every member of my cancer care team, my Radiation Oncologist, my Medical Oncologist and my surgeon. They all basically said the same thing, that they spoke about me at Cancer panel last week, went over every single test I had since my first mammogram. They all seemed kind of disappointment that the chemo did not do more, but said the chemo did do something, it killed some of the cancer which helps!. The amount of positive lymph nodes concerns them and I was told that I have a right to be concerned as well (gee, thanks doc!). Any who, this cancer is still considered "potentially curable" meaning that it may not kill me. As I explained in the previous blog the way it works with breast cancer is they know they cured you when/if you die of something else. So I will never hear, "you are cured". The most I can hope for is a NED (No evidence of disease) classification, which means that there may be cancer hanging out somewhere but they do not see evidence of it.

There is a chance I will die of old age, which makes me happy and that is my goal. To make this happen I have to continue to jump through the Doctors hoops and try to make myself as healthy as possible.

I was presented with another treatment option yesterday, which will be discussed further after my radiation is completed. It is a difficult choice to make, so prayers please!

That is all for now,

I Fight Like A Woman

A Cure

Hello Dear Friends,

Recently I was asked by a friend if I was in remission. The short answer is no. The long answer is a little more difficult for people that do not have cancer to understand. I will never be told that I am cured, I will never be told that I am in remission. The only way the doctors have of knowing if I beat this cancer is when I die of something else. Nice, huh?

At first this news was hard to take but, it is the reality of things. The Drs. will never know if I have cancer cells hiding out someplace in my body waiting for their chance to multiply. I do not know my chances of developing metastatic breast cancer (stage IV), but the chance is always there. My surgeon told me today that he doubts that he got all the cancer, he said there is probably some lymph node with some cancer left in it, that cannot be helped. The Good news of it all is that the Chemo did kick some butt, it decreased the amount of live cancer in my body, the surgery took out most of the rest of it, hopefully the radiation will take care of whatever is left. And in addition to that I am on hormone therapy for at least 5 years. And as you already know I am on Herceptin for a year.

I am slowly coming to peace with the fact that I am going to spend the rest of my life with Breast Cancer looming somewheres in the background. I just hope it is a long life, after all, I have to grow old with my husband :-). In addition to that I have many other things that I wish to do in my life.

For all those that are dealing with this horrid fucking disease; know that you are a survivor from day one of your diagnosis. Know that there are 5, 10, 15, 20 plus year survivors. You will hang in there! And one day there will even be a cure. There is a breast cancer vaccine in clinical trials, I will blog about it once I have more information.

That is all for now,
-I Fight like a woman!

Thank You

Hello All,

I just wanted to give a few shout outs on this blog for people who have been amazing throughout this journey so far.

First my husband, Thank you for standing by me. I could not get through any of this if it were not for you. You are the reason I fight so hard. I look forward to many many many more years with you. I love you more than words can express.

My family. My mom has been my chauffeur and a shoulder to try on throughout this. You are amazing and I love you so much.

To my mother in law; who missed Christmas with most of the family and her grandchildren to be with me as I started chemo. This woman raised the most amazing man in the world, so you know she has to be amazing herself. When I think of the term Aishes Chayil, this is the woman that pops into my mind.

Aunts, Uncles Cousins, Thank you all for your well wishes, headcoverings and flowers. I love you all.

To  my best buddy Liz, who has been an incredible source of strength to me during all of this. She knows how to make me laugh and listens to me when I cry. Thank you Liz!

To my Army, thank you all for being there for me through the terrible times and the good times. Thank you for the gifts and especially for the support. You are true friends.

To Young Pink Sisters, my support group. I love you all. We are all battling this horrible thing and at the same time manage to be there for one another. As long as I have ya'll in my life I know I am never alone.

To Charon: my breast cancer mentor, as I like to call you. Thank you for being there for me throughout all of this. Thank you for the gifts, the prayers, the words of encouragement and checking on me. (((hug)))

To my work friends:
THANK YOU! For covering for me when I am out dealing with this bastard Cancer. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I am sooo lucky to work for the company I do. Everyone from HR, to the President, CEO, Department heads, managers, supervisors, team leads and co workers are all amazing. You  each have amazing gifts and strengths and every day I look forward to going to work or at times back to work  it is because of you!

To my non work friends. You are all crazy, wonderful and beautiful! I am blessed to have you in my life.

To my Cancer Team (nurses, drs. phlebotomists etc) Thank you for actually caring about me. Seeing more than just a name with a diagnosis. Thank you for consoling me when I get terrified of treatment. For holding my hand as I go through this nightmare. Thank you for never missing a stick when you draw my blood or access my port. Thank you for working so hard to save my life. I will always be grateful to you all.

To  my dear blog readers, Thank you! Just knowing that you are coming to my blog and reading my rants helps me more than you can know. I hope some how, some way this blog has helped you.

That Is All For Now,

I Fight Like A Woman

update.

Just a quick update, I had my mastectomy on June 12th. I am still recovering and hope to post a longer blog soon.

Amazons and Mastectomies

My Mastectomy is going to happen in less than 48 hours. I am getting very nervous, but I have found strength. Oddly enough I found it in the oddest of place; the legend of the Amazon warriors. The legend states that there was a group of women warriors who were so fierce that they cut off their right breasts so they would be better archers. Historians believe that this myth was started to make their advisories even more fearful of them. So long story short the Amazon warriors were bad asses. Well I am doing it for real. I am a fierce warrior cutting off my breast, not to be a better archer (although that would be a plus), but to defeat my foe, Breast Cancer. I hope this scares the Breast Cancer off so it never returns. However if chemo and a mastectomy are not enough of a deterrent, radiation should be.

I will not quit fighting this war, I have too much to live for. I will grow old with my husband.

That is all for now,

I Fight Like A Woman.