My Journey with Triple Positive Breast Cancer

  Did you expect better at an 8 am appointment?!?  It was hard enough getting a photo with Ken's eyes open! 😁 Monday morning dawned bright and early at 8:19ish, (sunrise) by which time we were already waiting for the radiation oncologist, I having changed into the most stylish of gowns and been weighed. (I swear the tie-strings are just sewn on randomly; meanwhile, somewhere, someone is laughing manically as I try to figure out how not to flash anyone!) With my last chemo infusion scheduled for Monday afternoon, (I might be crying at that thought...😭) it is time to move on to the next and hopefully last stage of treatment.  Since the size of my largest tumor was 2.3cm, (And that's all that matters, they don't measure them all and add them together...thankfully. Otherwise, mine would be over 5 cm, with all 7 tumors accounted for... 😬) they opted to operate first in an attempt to get out as many cancerous cells as possible, then blast any laggards or sneaky mercenaries u...

  Not exactly reaching my step goals on days 3-5...(I believe this was Day 4, traditionally my worst day, counting the chemo infusion day as Day 1.) I'm no athlete, but I do usually average more than 5 times better than this total. (I commonly average between 3,500 and 6,000 steps per day.) However, I did have one day where I slept more than your average newborn! This is the reality of the first week of chemo after you've "gone a few rounds." I can't express how excited I am to be done with the worst of the chemo infusions (Docetaxel and Carboplatin) on December 5th, if all goes as planned. I still have another 11 Herceptin infusions (given every 3 weeks) but this is a targeted therapy, not chemo. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Oh, man. 😖 If you have ever suffered from anxiety, I have a new respect for you. I mean, you could probably run an Ironman on sheer willpower alone! I had no idea that Docetaxel can mess...

  On my Jonah-ist of days this past week, a dear friend offered to make us supper. It was a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds...and a balm for my bedraggled soul. Dessert was the most incredible cheesecake that vanished at a rather alarming speed. 😋 It was a good reminder:   God is good, even when life isn't! Jonah needs to leave. Seriously. I think an expedition to the South Pole might appeal to him...maybe? He's been hanging around way too much this past round. Oh, who is Jonah? Well, Wikipedia describes him thus: Jonah, son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Bible, from Gath-Hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC. Jonah is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, which details his reluctance in delivering God's judgment on the city of Nineveh, and then his subsequent, albeit begrudged, return to the divine mission after he is swallowed by a large sea creature. Yeah, he's that guy; the one that was swallowed by a fish, was stuck in its b...

  My MAR; the only reason I'm able to keep track of my medications.  (Thank you to my daughter who created my first version.) "You have cancer." Oh, 💩. (Insert bad word *here*) This is the one time in your life I won't make you contribute to a swear jar, suck on a lemon, or wash your mouth out with soap, because...cancer sucks. (Although, in retrospect, I didn't actually use a bad word, and I still don't swear so...🤷‍♀️) As someone halfway-ish through the battle, I'm here to tell you that while this might be the most challenging fight of your life, there is still joy to be found in this season. Don't allow cancer to steal any more than it already has; this is a time to fight with everything you and your team have. Oh, you say you don't have a team? Yes, you do. You may have seen the slogan "No one fights alone." It's true. Cancer sucks, but the "cancer family" is awesome. (Anyone who isn't gets turfed pretty quickly; d...