My Journey

May 2010
On the 4th I received my 3rd treatment my blood work came back excellent in fact my white blood count sky rocketed from 3.1 to 10.2!! I also have not had any more pain in my hips, Praise the Lord! I'm still pretty tired for the most part but no nausea. On the 26th I had my 4th treatment (officially over the hump) my white blood count dropped a bit but still within the normal range at 8.3. My doctor is very happy with my blood profile. We had more visitors the end of May, Paul's brother Monroe & his wife Judy came to stay. Moe had to leave but Judy stayed a few extra days because their daughter, Rhonda was coming with the girls for Memorial Day Weekend. Judy even accompanied me to my 4th treatment at the hospital. It was great to see all the family (Rhonda, Kaitlyn, Sarah, Harley & Marina.) We had a weekend full of food & visiting. I'm still pretty tired, but I am encouraged by everyone's prayers. Looking forward to my 6th and final treatment in July, but not looking forward to possible radiation treatments to follow. Keep praying for miracles!
April 2010
Easter was spent with family and it was a good time. The next week my hair started to loosen and on Thursday the 8th I ended up shaving it off. This was quite emotional. I was fitted for wigs and have purchased quite a few hats & scarves. On Tuesday the 13th I received my 2nd treatment. My niece and her husband come to visit on the 16th, I haven't seen my niece since she stayed with us after my surgery. My blood was taken to test my red & white blood cells' count. On the 13th, red was 4.02 and white was 6.4. On the 23rd, they dropped a bit, red : 3.93, white : 3.1. I had some dark days emotionally, mostly from fatigue and feeling sorry for myself. I have had a lot of pain in my hips & legs that has required pain medication to cope with it.
March 2010
The first part of March went by without too much concern. My physcial therapy was done, so I just continued to walk and exercise. I tried to not focus on my upcoming chemotherapy. I felt pretty good, just a few issues around my scars. Monday, the 22nd came before I knew it and my treatment was actually less traumatic than I thought it would be. I had some blood work done and found that my lab results were good. So far my body is fighting hard. My thoughts then turned to the possibility of losing my hair so I started looking for wigs, caps and scarves. I had a rough time the first week after my treatment, particularly the 5th day.  My blood tests came back and my white blood cells were still very high.
February 2010
I had my weekly appointments at physical therapy to help with movement and fluid drainage. I'm encouraged to exercise so I resumed walking on my treadmill. I'm not as quick as I was before but I'm slowly gaining stamina. I'm learning about my options for chemotherapy and what kind of a diet I'll need to have as well as possible side effects. I met with Dr.Bronstein on the 26th and we set my treatments up to start on Monday, March 22. There will be 6 treatments every 3 weeks. If I'm not tolerating the treatments we may end with 4 treatments instead of 6. Not sure which I'd rather, to be so miserable my doctor says I don't have to endure the last 2 treatments or be tolerating them okay and receive an extra 6 weeks of therapy.
January 2010
I had a meeting with Dr. Collins on the 4th and she explained that with a lumpectomy she would also do a reduction of the other breast but warned that scar tissue could possibly make future mamograms give false positives for lumps. I talked with several ladies who had gone through what I have and I decided a mastectomy may be a better option. Monday, the 18th I went in for my surgery. I received a simple mastectomy of both the right and left breasts with a right breast sentinel lymphnode biopsy. Afterwards it was discovered that 3 lymphnodes of 6 contained tumors. With this new discovery it was decided that I would need chemotherapy treatments to increase my chances that the cancer will not return.
December 2009
A biopsy of the lump was performed on the 2nd, they took 3 core samples and then I waited. On the 11th I was told that I had an infiltrative duct cell carcinoma tumor present in all 3 core biopsies. It was recommended that I set up an appointment with Dr.Raquel Collins to discuss what type of surgery would be best for me to have it removed. On the 29th I had an MRI and it didn't show any tumors in the lymphnodes. I also had an appointment with Dr.Brown and he thought a lumpectomy would be sufficient followed with radiation treatments.
Novemeber 2009
I had a sharp pain in my right breast, similar to what I have experienced before but this time it was more than usual. I felt this hard area and off to the side was a lump the size of a large pea. I knew I had to schedule a mammogram to have it looked at. At the mammogram appointment they decided an ultrasound would be needed also, so I saw Dr.Taylor on the 20th. They saw a mass in my right breast. The ultrasound showed there was nothing in the lymphnodes.