Hello All - Long time no Blog
Hope everyone had a great holiday and will have a Happy New Year!!! Been so busy with work and the kids and the holidays over the past two months. Medically there wasn't too much going on until the last few weeks. The shot they gave me a couple months ago is finally working to put me into menapause and the hot flashes have started. They're not too bad yet so I hope it doesn't get much worse. I've also been having terrible headaches which I thought at first was just the change in weather but it's everyday now for about a month and I'm really pretty fed up. If not the weather then I'm thinking hormone levels but my doctor wanted to be sure and ordered another brain MRI which showed everything good in the brain but the small spot of cancer the the base of my skull is increasing slightly. Still waiting to talk to the doctor and find out what he wants to do next.
I'm supposed to start a new hormone pill to stop and kill the cancer and I just met with another doctor and scheduled to have my ovaries removed January 12th which should also help stop the cancer from growing. Until my Oncologist tells me otherwise I'm still planning and try the pill and surgery for another month or two and not go back on chemo right away but obviously I have to do what he recommends. I just went back to work 4 days a week and the additional money coming in would really be nice. :(
On the positive side, we just got back from Disney World in Florida - our first real family vacation. Due to the cancer we qualified for a trip thru the Memories of Love Foundation where they generously provided tickets to Disney, Universal Studios and Sea World and a 5 night stay at a hotel in Orlando. There is no way we could have taken this trip without this assistance, we are so thankful!!! It was a little chilly but Wonderful!
Love to All!!!!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Week 54
Hello to All!
Not much new going on - work, kids, etc. Feeling good, healing well. Had an appointment with one of my surgeons today and he said everything is looking really good. So far no side affects from the shot they gave me a couple weeks ago and my next appointments are the 16th and 18th. I will start new medication that week and see what my tumor markers have done over the last month. Will probably have scans again toward the middle of December to see if the new meds are working.
Can't believe it's November already and they're forcasting snow - yuck!! Kids are doing good
Hope everyone is doing great!!
Love to all
Lynn
Not much new going on - work, kids, etc. Feeling good, healing well. Had an appointment with one of my surgeons today and he said everything is looking really good. So far no side affects from the shot they gave me a couple weeks ago and my next appointments are the 16th and 18th. I will start new medication that week and see what my tumor markers have done over the last month. Will probably have scans again toward the middle of December to see if the new meds are working.
Can't believe it's November already and they're forcasting snow - yuck!! Kids are doing good
Hope everyone is doing great!!
Love to all
Lynn
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Week 51
Hello All,
I want to say "THANK YOU" so much to everyone who was able to attend the fundraiser last weekend or sent cards or said extra prayers, etc. I honestly cannot express how thankful I am, a HUGE stress is lifted knowing if things take a turn we'll be ok for a couple of months if I am unable to work at all. :)
I went back to work last week for a few hours a day and am still pretty sore and tired but feeling better everyday. The bone scan came back clear which was great but my tumor markers continued to go up and were higher than before I began chemo (they're up to 201, they were 157 before chemo started) so my doctor had me to another CT scan which shows two spots in the liver have increased about 1 cm.
Although I'm pretty sure he wanted me to go right back on chemo he agreed to try a different hormone treatment to see if it might work before making me go back on. He gave me a shot to turn off my ovaries and I will start a new medication in 30 days. So if this works that would be fantastic, if it doesn't work at least I should be able to stay off chemo until around December. :(
Hope everyone is doing well!!! Love to all!!!!
Lynn
I want to say "THANK YOU" so much to everyone who was able to attend the fundraiser last weekend or sent cards or said extra prayers, etc. I honestly cannot express how thankful I am, a HUGE stress is lifted knowing if things take a turn we'll be ok for a couple of months if I am unable to work at all. :)
I went back to work last week for a few hours a day and am still pretty sore and tired but feeling better everyday. The bone scan came back clear which was great but my tumor markers continued to go up and were higher than before I began chemo (they're up to 201, they were 157 before chemo started) so my doctor had me to another CT scan which shows two spots in the liver have increased about 1 cm.
Although I'm pretty sure he wanted me to go right back on chemo he agreed to try a different hormone treatment to see if it might work before making me go back on. He gave me a shot to turn off my ovaries and I will start a new medication in 30 days. So if this works that would be fantastic, if it doesn't work at least I should be able to stay off chemo until around December. :(
Hope everyone is doing well!!! Love to all!!!!
Lynn
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Week 49
Hi,
Surgery went "ok" a few complications but I'm feeling better everyday. I was supposed to go home by Friday but due to a reaction to one of the medications that caused my hands and arms to swell so bad I couldn't bend them, then my blood count continued to drop instead of increase so I had to have a transfusion. I slept from Wednesday night until Saturday afternoon when I finally started feeling better, was able to eat and get ready to go home. :)
I stayed at my mom's until last night and had lots of peace and quiet but I missed everyone and am so happy to be home. Having a hard time with my inability to do very much but hopefully if I can get myself to rest I will recover more quickly and get back to some sense of normal. Very, very hard for me not to run around in 20 different directions - I honestly don't know what to do with myself. I can't sleep now that the hospital meds are out of my system, I feel like I'm on steroids again. Aghhhh. Tonight will be better.
Have doctor's appts all day tomorrow and will be getting this lovely drain out of my back - yuck! Keep the prayers coming for the quick recovery from this so I can move on again. My tumor markers are back up and I had another bone scan almost two weeks ago but still haven't heard back from that doctor so I don't know if that's good or bad. I dread him telling me I have to back on chemo. :(
Girls are doing great in school according to the progress reports, Nicholas on the other hand is having a hard time again. We'll continue to do everything we can the help him focus on school and not all this other "stuff".
Hope everyone is doing great, love to all!!!
Surgery went "ok" a few complications but I'm feeling better everyday. I was supposed to go home by Friday but due to a reaction to one of the medications that caused my hands and arms to swell so bad I couldn't bend them, then my blood count continued to drop instead of increase so I had to have a transfusion. I slept from Wednesday night until Saturday afternoon when I finally started feeling better, was able to eat and get ready to go home. :)
I stayed at my mom's until last night and had lots of peace and quiet but I missed everyone and am so happy to be home. Having a hard time with my inability to do very much but hopefully if I can get myself to rest I will recover more quickly and get back to some sense of normal. Very, very hard for me not to run around in 20 different directions - I honestly don't know what to do with myself. I can't sleep now that the hospital meds are out of my system, I feel like I'm on steroids again. Aghhhh. Tonight will be better.
Have doctor's appts all day tomorrow and will be getting this lovely drain out of my back - yuck! Keep the prayers coming for the quick recovery from this so I can move on again. My tumor markers are back up and I had another bone scan almost two weeks ago but still haven't heard back from that doctor so I don't know if that's good or bad. I dread him telling me I have to back on chemo. :(
Girls are doing great in school according to the progress reports, Nicholas on the other hand is having a hard time again. We'll continue to do everything we can the help him focus on school and not all this other "stuff".
Hope everyone is doing great, love to all!!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Week 46
Hello All,
Surgery has been scheduled for September 22nd and I am expecting to be in the hospital about two days so I should be out by Friday the 24th. Hopefully, I will feel good enough to go to the fundraiser Kim is having in Wood Dale on October 10th. :)
Had pre-op testing today and an xray of my hip that's been bothering me lately. Good news is my hip looked fine, bad news - my tumor markers came back high - they're at 144 - they were at 157 before I started chemo so this is not what I wanted to hear. I have to go for another bone scan because now my doctor is concerned that even tho the hip looks ok on xray there may be new cancer growing. If not there, it's somewhere. :( I hope he'll just switch my pills before making me go back on chemo but I doubt it.
In any case, I'm going to try and enjoy my last couple of weeks of freedom while I'm still in one piece.
Kids are doing good, Nicholas has been doing great in football.
Hope everyone is doing good! Love to all!
Lynn
Surgery has been scheduled for September 22nd and I am expecting to be in the hospital about two days so I should be out by Friday the 24th. Hopefully, I will feel good enough to go to the fundraiser Kim is having in Wood Dale on October 10th. :)
Had pre-op testing today and an xray of my hip that's been bothering me lately. Good news is my hip looked fine, bad news - my tumor markers came back high - they're at 144 - they were at 157 before I started chemo so this is not what I wanted to hear. I have to go for another bone scan because now my doctor is concerned that even tho the hip looks ok on xray there may be new cancer growing. If not there, it's somewhere. :( I hope he'll just switch my pills before making me go back on chemo but I doubt it.
In any case, I'm going to try and enjoy my last couple of weeks of freedom while I'm still in one piece.
Kids are doing good, Nicholas has been doing great in football.
Hope everyone is doing good! Love to all!
Lynn
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Week 43/44?
Hello All,
Been a very busy couple of weeks again. Kids are back in school, lots of supply shopping and running around. Shauna started Jr. High - please all say some extra prayers for that too. :)
The biopsy from Aug. 16th didn't go very well, the new area of concern tested postive for cancer so at this point I will need to do a mastectomy instead of lumpectomy which will involve reconstructive surgery and a much longer recovery time then my first option would have given. At this point my Oncologist isn't planning to put me back on chemo yet but wants to remove and reconstuct first. I will be out of work for at least two to three weeks from what they tell me. I met with the plastic surgeon today and he will now coordinate with my other surgeon and the surgery will likely be in the next 3 weeks or so. I'll know more in the next day or two.
I want to thank everyone for their continued prayers and support and to my friend Marcie from cancer group who has put together a fund raiser on Sept. 18th in Dixon, IL and just completed a bake sale for me to help with some of my financial fun. Also to Kim who is working on another fund raiser which will be closer to the Chicagoland area for our friends and family out that way. There just are not words to express how grateful I am to all!!
Enjoy this beautiful week - love to all!!
Lynn
Been a very busy couple of weeks again. Kids are back in school, lots of supply shopping and running around. Shauna started Jr. High - please all say some extra prayers for that too. :)
The biopsy from Aug. 16th didn't go very well, the new area of concern tested postive for cancer so at this point I will need to do a mastectomy instead of lumpectomy which will involve reconstructive surgery and a much longer recovery time then my first option would have given. At this point my Oncologist isn't planning to put me back on chemo yet but wants to remove and reconstuct first. I will be out of work for at least two to three weeks from what they tell me. I met with the plastic surgeon today and he will now coordinate with my other surgeon and the surgery will likely be in the next 3 weeks or so. I'll know more in the next day or two.
I want to thank everyone for their continued prayers and support and to my friend Marcie from cancer group who has put together a fund raiser on Sept. 18th in Dixon, IL and just completed a bake sale for me to help with some of my financial fun. Also to Kim who is working on another fund raiser which will be closer to the Chicagoland area for our friends and family out that way. There just are not words to express how grateful I am to all!!
Enjoy this beautiful week - love to all!!
Lynn
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Week 40
Sorry, it's been so long - hope everyone is having a great summer.
Had another fun few weeks, tooth pulled, jaw locked shut - apparently I grind and clentch my teeth something that can become significantly worse with trauma to the area (infected tooth) and stress. Fun, fun, fun - I couldn't eat anything but yogurt, applesauce and oatmeal for about two weeks - ugghh. I am feeling MUCH better now, just on one type of medicine with no real side affects at the moment, knock on wood, but latest MRI showed 2 new areas of concern in the same breast so now I have to have an MRI guided biopsy to find out if these are new cancer growing or not. :( They are very small which is why the MRI is needed to help pinpoint the spots for the biopsy and they are not near my original tumor which is no longer showing up??? Surgeon says this is very unusual which is why I am holding out just a little bit of hope it's not more cancer.
The biopsy is scheduled for August 16th and based on those finding I will know if I will have the planned lumpectomy or have to do a full mastectomy and who knows - more chemo, radiation??
School starts in 2 weeks - I can't believe it! The kids are ready to go back but I know that won't last long. We didn't get a chance to get away at all this summer with all the dr. appts., work, etc. but hopefully we'll sneak away soon before my surgery.
Hope everyone is doing great! Love to all!!
Lynn
Had another fun few weeks, tooth pulled, jaw locked shut - apparently I grind and clentch my teeth something that can become significantly worse with trauma to the area (infected tooth) and stress. Fun, fun, fun - I couldn't eat anything but yogurt, applesauce and oatmeal for about two weeks - ugghh. I am feeling MUCH better now, just on one type of medicine with no real side affects at the moment, knock on wood, but latest MRI showed 2 new areas of concern in the same breast so now I have to have an MRI guided biopsy to find out if these are new cancer growing or not. :( They are very small which is why the MRI is needed to help pinpoint the spots for the biopsy and they are not near my original tumor which is no longer showing up??? Surgeon says this is very unusual which is why I am holding out just a little bit of hope it's not more cancer.
The biopsy is scheduled for August 16th and based on those finding I will know if I will have the planned lumpectomy or have to do a full mastectomy and who knows - more chemo, radiation??
School starts in 2 weeks - I can't believe it! The kids are ready to go back but I know that won't last long. We didn't get a chance to get away at all this summer with all the dr. appts., work, etc. but hopefully we'll sneak away soon before my surgery.
Hope everyone is doing great! Love to all!!
Lynn
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