Indianapolis Race for The Cure

The Indianapolis Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (that's a mouthful) annual Race for the Cure is on April 21st. This is the organization that is so near and dear to my heart, as I was involved in Grand Rapids for 6 years!

Logan, Richard and I are planning on walking! They are planning over 35,000 people. WOW! Anyone who feels like making a trip to Indy is welcome to crash at our place and join us for the walk. It should be a truly inspirational event. (if you're crashing with us, please let us know, so we can at least pick up dirty underwear and stuff :)

Also, for those in Grand Rapids we are planning on coming up there for the Race in September, and are working on planning on some sort of party/celebration that Saturday night so keep the last weekend in September open for us!

4 down...2 to go

Well, with four down, I'm getting anxious to finish this crap up! I got sick during treatment again, so maybe that's just the norm for me, get it over with. I just felt yucky all weekend, but I'm definetely ready to be done with this chemo. We just hung out and enjoyed the nice weather this weekend.

Again, my oncologist is very impressed with the results. In fact we were discussing weather or not I will be needing radiation, and he feels pretty confident that we'll have a 100% response from the chemo and won't need radiation, so that's very encouraging.

We have also been researching reconstruction options. I have tested positive for the BRAC2 gene mutation, so I have decided to have a bi-lateral mastectomy when this is all done. The gene mutation increases my risk of a recurrence, so no breast tissue, no breast cancer. Knowledge is power I guess, and as long as I can do something about it the better.

Through some amazing young breast cancer survivors, I've learned of the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans. They perform some procedures that aren't done here in Indianapolis, and are quite the procedure with some amazing results. The procedure involves re-building my breasts with tissue from my stomach. So I'd have a fab new set of boobs and a flat stomach, there has to be some perks to all of this cancer!

I don't need to be in a hurry for the reconstruction, but emotionally I'm not sure how I'll do without boobs, so for now the research continues, and we've got some big decisions to make as to weather or not we want to proceed with reconstruction right away, or wait until we can save up the giant deductible. Decisions...decisions...

drip....drip....drip....

You never realize how much you appreciate nose hair, until you don't have any. I aquired a sinus infection and without any hair there really is nothing holding all of that snot in, so it's drip, drip, drip for me. Or walk around with kleenex stuffed in my nose, very attractive.

But I'm on some antibiotics, some nasal spray, and claritin, so hopefully it clears this crap up soon. Otherwise I'm attaching a bucket to my chin! :)

HALFWAY DONE!!

Just got back from my third treatment. I'm feeling good, now. But I actually got sick in the middle of treatment today, and felt much better afterwards. I've had a cold for awhile and all that snot makes my stomach upset, so I'm sure that was the issue on top of the drugs. So the nurse said I could take sudafed or benadryl to help dry it up the weekends of my treatments, to save the upset stomach.

I also met with the doc again today, and he did an exam. He said if he had not known there was ever anything there, he would not have been able to find anything. WOOHOO!!! That's so good to hear, this crap is still doing it's job.

So we'll just hang out this weekend, and see what I feel up for. I'm actually craving an Arby's roast beef right now, weird. So maybe I can convince Richard to stop on the way home.

My mommy and grammy are coming to visit next week, and I'm so very excited to see both of them. I'm kind of bummed that grampy decided to stay home, but I understand his reasons. We'll just make a special trip up after chemo to see him. We'll probably head to downtown Indy, show grandma the sights. I think pedicures are in the works as well, so that will be fun. Who knows what other kind of trouble we'll get into, hee hee.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! I hope those of you in the U.P. have dug out from the big storm, I heard it wasn't so nice.

a HUGE thank you

This is long overdue!

I have received such an overwhelming amount of support, cards, gifts, well wishes etc, that I can't even begin to say thank you. And writing thank you's to all of you would be quite the undertaking, so saying thank you here is the best way I know how.

Your kind words, and encouragement mean the world to me, I feel like I have my own personal cheering section through all of this and truly wouldn't know what to do without all of you. I truly feel blessed and loved each and everyday.

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for EVERYTHING!!

Here I Am

So I guess it takes my grammy calling to yell at me before I post an update (sorry gram!).

I had another treatment last Friday and I did have a rough weekend. Just felt quesy all weekend, not really wanting to eat much. But I didn't have the achiness that I had last time around, so at least I was able to move around and do stuff.

My appointment with the oncologist went great however. He said he was surprised at just how much shrinkage there was after one treatment, so it makes up for feeling like crap all weekend. And even this week, I notice the change since last week, after two treatments. So I guess we're on the right track. So it makes the sickies seem not so bad.

We were snowed in the past few days, Indiana snow storms are a bit worse than Michigan storms. It seems they don't have the capabilites to clear snow and people don't know how to drive, ugh! And in the middle of the storm, our water service broke, so we've been without enough water pressure to run the dishwasher or do a load of laundry. So hopefully today that will get fixed.

Well I guess I've officially celebrated my baldness. We had to update the addresses on our driver's licenses the other day. In Michigan they put that nice little sticker on your current license, not so in Indiana. We had to get new pictures taken, and I didn't have a scarf with me. So there I stood in my bald glory at the DMV. Amazingly the picture turned out better than the last one with hair, take that stupid cancer! :)

To B(ald), Or Not to B(ald)

You would think something as simple as shaving your head wouldn't be so emotionally distressing. It's getting very thin, and yet I'm still hanging on. Apparently I'm more attached to this thin, fine, mousey brown mop than I thought.

When this all started I was geeked to shave it, and now that the time is here, I'm finding it difficult to do. But now the mess of hair everywhere is really starting to get to me.

I wore a scarf today to cover my bald spots, and when I came home and took it off a lot of hair came with it.

Sorry guys, but I don't know how you do it LOL

"to baldness and beyond"