Wow....

We participated in Indy's Race for the Cure yesterday. And all I can say is wow! They had over 40,000 registered people. It was truly amazing. It made me look at the event a bit different now being a cancer survivor. I realized that ALL of those 40,000 people were there because they were survivors themselves or had been touched by someone with breast cancer. It really makes you realize the magnitude of this disease.

I have to admit, I had a hard time putting that pink shirt on at first. That wasn't something I had ever planned on doing, I always wanted to be the one supporting the pink shirts. But once we got back in the crowd of people and you saw the thousands of other pink shirts worn by women of all ages and races, it was almost empowering. We were all connected by that simple pink shirt.

But it was also so very heartwarming to know that they were all there to support the cause. I had total strangers pat me on the back as we were walking saying "good job", "congratulations". It was an amazing feeling. Other survivors were saying congratulations to each other. There really are no words to described how it makes you feel.

The weather was perfect, and we had 6 of our friends walk with us, which was so awesome to have their support as well.

It was an awesome day!

One more to go....

Well, only one more treatment to go! I am so ready to be done with this chapter. I got sick again during treatment, even after them giving me additional meds to prevent it. Oh well, I guess that's just the routine of the day now. And again felt better after the incident. I was feeling so good that we had lunch at Max & Erma's afterwards. Which tasted fabulous!

The weekend, I just felt incredibly tired. More so than previous treatments, so I think things are catching up with me.

I did however rebound quicker this time, and my Neulasata booster shot didn't knock me down as much as usual. I was feeling pretty darn good by Tuesday afternoon.

I met with my surgeon the day before my treatment, and started on the next phase of things.

She would like me to go for another MRI after my last chemo. And then is working on scheduling my surgery for the first week in June, maybe the 6th. But I haven't gotten confirmation on that yet.

I will be doing six weeks of radiation after my surgery because of the inflammatory breast cancer, just another step in completely killing the beast.

The original plan was to do my left side mastectomy now, go through radiation and then in a year or so after all is healed, go back and do the right side and then immediate reconstruction. Well I got to thinking about this over the weekend, and have decided to do both sides now. Because I'm so large anyways, with leaving one, I'm ALWAYS going to have to wear a form so they match, and I'm worried that I'll always look lopsided. I can't get away with throwing on a big sweatshirt, and going without. And if I do decide to have "boobs" for a day, if they are both gone, I can go with a much smaller set. I'm sure my back will thank me.

Plus, when I get the go ahead after surgery, I'm really going to start on the weight loss. A cancer diagnosis makes you realize you should be healthier, and who wants to work out with a real boob and a plastic boob. UGH!

Also, if we are able to have more children, I would like to wait on the reconstruction until after pregnancy, since I'm worried about the affect of pregnancy on the stomach, since that's wear my new boobs would come from. Then after maybe I'd have more belly fat to use.

So, we'll do the bi-lateral mastectomy now. I've started to gather websites and information with pictures to help prepare both myself and Richard for the "new" me. But I think in the end, I won't regret the decision.

Please join me in the fight against breast cancer!

I apologize to those of you that already received this email.

Dear Friends and Family,

The Komen Foundation has always been very near and dear to my heart, but this year is extra special.

After my diagnosis with breast cancer in December, I now realize how important these dollars, and the Race for the Cure Events are. Most of the money stays here locally and is used to support local programs that I have made use of, as well as medical research which help keep my doctors up on the latest treatments and medicine available.

So on April 21st, I will be wearing my pink shirt and celebrating my survivorship along with thousands of other women.

Please pledge your support, so other woman can choose what color shirt they wear.Your support means the world to me!

Please visit my pledge page and make your tax-deductible donation.
http://race.komenindy.org/site/TR?px=1290186&pg=personal&fr_id=1030&et=9Xvumzj8gU3lvvihsIh-lQ..&s_tafId=7372