Scrabble Time!

Continuing along with the playroom theme, this time it was my chance to add some touches to the playroom walls.  I spent HOURS looking over Pinterest before stumbling onto this Pinners page.

While I loved the art and the idea of scrabble tiles, a few things didn't sit right with me. 

1) I was not a fan of the $500 price tag.  For less than $30 I could buy all the materials needed (stencils, paint, brush, blocks, hardware, Modge Podge, etc.).

2) The word Games just didn't seem to mesh right with the words Play, Laugh, & Dream.

So I put it in my head that this would be my new evening project and my own contribution to Kennedy's new playroom.

Here are the letters as they are drying.  Almost complete!  I bought Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's, and Michael's Craft store out of their stock of 5x5 wooden tiles.

I laid them out on the kitchen floor to get an idea of how it would look on the wall and to make sure I had all the letters I needed.

Tonight, Chris finally hung the finished project onto the wall in the playroom.  I saved myself $470  and didn't settle for something that was quite what I wanted.

Another crafty item came in the mail today.  This too was found on Pinterest.  Such a wonderful addition to the room and the colors coordinate so well.

 Kennedy showing off the rules!

Playroom Art

My husband just finished these for our daughter's new playroom and I decided to share.

His original idea was to paint a mural on her wall, but I suggested that he do portraits instead.

These are all acrylic on canvas.  We think they came out reasonably well considering this is the first time he's painted an actual picture since 8th grade art class 25 years ago.

You can see how he started with Jake and then gradually improved over the next couple of pictures.







These took him about two weeks to complete, but here's what made it all worth it.

Benign, NO CANCER!

After beginning last weekend with some sharp shooting pain in my left breast that persisting all weekend, I decided I needed to call the Cancer Center Monday morning (4/4).  I knew in my head it was probably just nerve endings waking up, but there is always that fear in the back of your head that the cancer is back.  That fear never goes away and as the scar tissue is continuing to form in my breast where the lump once was, the road map of my breast is ever changing.  It's really hard because honestly, I don't even know what normal is for me anymore...  I have to learn normal ALL OVER AGAIN.  ::sigh::  And it seems ever changing as new scar tissue forms.

So, back to the Cancer Center...  Chris stayed home from work until I was able to get through to them on Monday morning.  I was told I needed to call the surgery center because the pain was surgery related.  Thankfully the surgery center was able to fit me into their schedule on Monday and see me the same day.  Chris and I were off to Magee yet again!  Do they offer frequent flier miles?  Maybe they should!  We visited with several nurses and saw Dr. Johnson who agreed it was time to order a mammogram and get the left breast, along with the right checked out.  It had been over a year since I had a "regular" mammogram and it was the best way to rule anything serious out.  They ordered the results to come back STAT so that I wouldn't have to stress out and we would know right away what we were dealing with.  

Thankfully the Breast Center was able to take me right away so Chris and I ventured upstairs to register for my mammogram.  Chris left me for a few minutes while I registered and that is when it all came crashing down.  A flood of emotions.  Raw emotions that I hadn't felt since February 2010.  Suddenly I was all alone again, but this time I knew what could possibly come of all the tests they were about to run.  Tears started roll and anxiety levels were at an all time high for the day.  

After a 20 minute wait, my name was called.  Off for the mammogram, then another 20 minute wait.  Then finally I got called back for my ultrasound.  Thankfully they didn't keep me in suspense for long.  I was told as soon as the door was closed that my mammogram was clean.  As far as they could tell the mammogram results were benign, no cancer!  The only changes they saw were scar tissue.  PRAISE GOD!! 

It is so fabulous knowing, for sure, there is no cancer in either breast!  I knew I was showing no evidence of disease, but after so long you begin to wonder, begin to worry.  It's nice to finally put my mind at ease.  Thanks everyone for you prayers, love, and support!!

Way overdue update!

WOW!  A long time has past since I last updated!!!

A lot has happened to say the least.  Chemo was extended and I had my last one on November 8, 2011 and radiation started in December.  I went Monday-Friday for a total of 38 treatments.  I thought I was never going to be done, but now it seems like it happened so long ago!  I really miss my daily visits with Jennifer, Willie, Kelly, Loretta, and the rest of the staff at the radiation center, but I am so glad I don't have to go on the table anymore!!  Not to mention the daily application of lotions and constant uncomfortable feeling from radiation burns.

When chemo wrapped up we switched my Herceptin treatments to every three weeks.  Around the same time I started noticing that I was having horrid headaches.  Nothing would take them away.  It got to the point where we took a break from Herceptin to see if it was the culprit, but low and behold the headaches continued...  Very discouraging.  Especially when you are looking for something to place the blame on and ever so ready to be done with treatments.  It was at that time I started doing math in my head, counting back to when the headaches started, when I had received my last Lupron shot, when chemo ended, and started taking everything else into consideration.  HORMONES!!  That had to be it!!!  Every three weeks I'd get a headache, therefore it was so easy to place blame a drug that you get every three weeks.  Months later I think we are finally getting control of the these headaches, but I still get them.  We have restarted on Herceptin and are two treatments into our final six.  I should be completely done with treatments on June 13th.  I am so looking forward to that!


Things at home have been wonderful!  Kennedy turned two in November and is getting so big!  I can't believe how time is flying.  Here is her most recent picture from her Spring photo shoot!  


More to come soon!!!  So stay tuned!  The Race for the Cure is right around the corner and The Triple B's are gearing up to race again.  Our team is already off to a phenomenal fundraising start thanks to my fabulous mom and her coworkers at Morrow Motors.  They held 50/50 raffles and graciously helped my mom start our team out with a nice sized donation!!  THANK YOU!!!

August Update!

On August 16th we met with my oncologist, Dr. Rachel Jenkowitz, for what we thought would be a routine post chemo appointment.  We had just finished 3 weeks of chemo and were preparing for radiation to start on August 23rd.  Little did we know what was in store for us....

Our doctor was shocked at how well I had handled the prior 3 weeks of chemo.  I managed the side effects of the chemo fairly well and was shocked I still had my hair!  What came next neither Chris or I were prepared for.  It honestly took all the wind out of our sails and changed the direction of our treatment.  She suggested that if we wanted to continue to aggressively attack the cancer, what "might" remain, if anything at all, then we needed to seriously consider an additional 6 chemo treatments.

I knew the answer, without hesitation...  I want to see my daughter grow up, go to Kindergarten, have more children, grow old with the love of my life.  I want to do EVERYTHING I can to ensure I am here 5, 10, 25, 50 years from now.  One look at my husband and I knew he was on the same page, but it didn't mean he liked that decision. 

Before we knew if, I was getting labs, canceling the radiology oncology appointment scheduled for the next day, and preparing to restart another six chemo treatments.  Only this one didn't go so smoothly...  I had a reaction once they started the Herceptin and became short of breath.  Every time I took a breath in, I coughed and breathing was difficult.  I notified a nurse, who stopped the treatment and I was sent for a chest x-ray and an EKG.  Hours later, both came back normal and we resumed treatment...  This time with Benadryl and Decadron added into the mix.  The doctors believe I was having an allergic reaction to the medication - one that I had had already had 9 times in the past.  A drug which I am scheduled to continue taking until at least March 2011.  Eight hours after we arrived for what we thought was just a routine Herceptin treatment we left, having received the first of six doses of chemo.

The doctors plan to give me 6 additional doses of chemo, the first one I received on 8/16 and I will finish on 9/27.  I'll receive three treatments and then have one week off (Labor day Monday).  Radiation has been pushed back until November and I hope to be completely done with all treatment, aside from Herceptin, by Christmas.

So far the first two treatments of the six I am going to receive have gone well.  The first week was rather rough.  I was VERY run down and honestly bummed out.  The wind was taken out of our sails and the light at the end of the tunnel had been pushed back.  Chris and I were both really worried about a repeat of what we had experienced the first go around with chemo.  My energy levels were really low.  The second treatment went much, much more smoothly.  I was full of energy and amazed at how good I was feeling.  I can only hope tomorrow's treatment goes just as well as round two.

Tomorrow I receive treatment three out of our LAST SIX.  Pray things go as smoothly as round two!

Onto other things...  I had a fantastic weekend with my sister and her family.  Kennedy and I joined my sister's family at the Hookstown Fair.  My niece, Kayli, competes each year on her pony, Sharon, and I have enjoyed watching her doing what she loves!  We had a fabulous day!  I hope you enjoy this candid photo my sister, Lori, captured at the fair! 

And as always....  Thank you for your continued prayers!  Only four more chemo treatments, then radiation, Herceptin until March, and then we are DONE!  D-O-N-E!  Here is hoping 2011 will be a much better year for my family.

Cleveland Bound!

It's been a while since I blogged, but not much has been happening!  My surgery went well and I am feeling wonderful!  I start chemo again on Tuesday and will go once a week for three weeks.

We leave in the morning to spend some time with a dear friend of our's, Jason.  He is also our daughter's Godfather and such an AMAZING guy!  (Who by the way IS SINGLE and would be an awesome catch!)  We are looking forward to spending time with him this weekend in Cleveland.  He's a great friend that he agreed to let me twist his arm in order to surprise my husband with concert tickets to see Dream Theater/Iron Maiden as a surprise gift for Father's Day.  That way Chris won't have to go see the concert alone!  I can't wait to spend a long weekend with my family and Jason.

One of a kind!

I apologize for such the long lapse in my blogging.  Life has been crazy!!

I had my lumpectomy on 6/8/2010 and two lymph nodes removed.  The nodes came back negative and the entire tumor was removed with clear margins.  PRAISE GOD!!

With each passing day, I am getting stronger and feeling better...  Thankfully my mother-in-law has come to town to help us.  It would have been very difficult without her here.

Today we met with my oncologist to discuss the pathology report and where do we got from here....  Well, we learned A LOT today!  To say I am a unique case is an understatement.

When I was first diagnosed with cancer, my HER2 results came back equivocal.  They sent the biopsied samples out for further analysis and those came back HER2+.  My basic understanding of what HER2 indicates the aggressiveness of the cancer.  If yours comes back positive, you have an additional medication you can add to your arsenal of drugs to help treat and fight the disease.  Since the coding on mine had come back positive, Herceptin was started.

Herceptin is a wonderful drug, however it can cause problems with your hearts ability to function.  During treatment, they have been monitoring me using a MUGA Scan.  You heart function can decrease up to 15% and still be within normal levels.  We found out today that my heart function has dropped 14.8%.  Also, the pathology report from my surgery and that of my biopsies showed different findings.  The surgery pathology report shows me now being HER2-.  With this being the case, my doctor did not give me Herceptin today.  I go back on July 20th for another MUGA Scan to see where I am percentage wise.  Being that I am not a definitive HER2+ anymore, Chris & I have been discussing cutting this drug out, especially after seeing its effects on my heart.  Our oncologist, Dr. Jenkowitz, is going to run this by her team of colleagues to get opinions on the matter.  Typically once they get a positive, they always treat it as a positive since Herceptin induced congestive heart failure is reversible with drugs.

On July 20th, after my MUGA scan, I start chemo again.  (And most likely loose all the fuzz I've worked hard at growing).  The game plan is to do three weeks of Abraxane to finish out the six I was supposed to have initially gotten.  I only had three chemo treatments and then surgery.  There is no guarantee that some microscopic cancerous cell is out there floating around, waiting to find a nice spot to call home and multiply.  So our thoughts, and the thought of our doctor, is that if I am up to it - we finish what we started.  Excellent point and well noted... 

Keeps us in your prayers as we go forward.  I hope that my body will be fully healed by July 20th and we fly through three weeks of chemo with no problems, issues, or hospitalizations!  I am happy to be finally able to say I am dancing with NED!!!  (For those not familiar with the chemo language this means that as of right now, I am showing No Evidence of Disease = NED.)