Well, as many of you know or maybe you don't (my apologies!), my last post was written while I was in the hospital. On 4/28 I had a new chemo regimen. On the evening of 4/29, I started throwing up and was told to go to the ER. So off to the ER at 10:30 Thursday evening for the third time since starting chemo. To say we were less than thrilled with our care this time around would be the understatement of the year. We arrived at the ER at 11:15 and weren't even brought back to a room until much later. The nurse who accessed my port wasn't familiar with it and it took her two tries to get it inserted. OUCH! Even after that fiasco, I still didn't have fluids or anti nausea medicine. I told Chris I needed to use the restroom and he proceeded to help me up. I made it into the bathroom and then fainted. I fell into Chris, then hit the floor. He pulled the cord to alert the nurses, but no one came... Chris then ran into the hall to try to attract some attention. It wasn't until he raised a fuss that the nurses came running. I came to and could not get up, my hands were all constricted and my legs were as well. The nurses got me to a wheel chair and then back onto the hospital stretcher. After that, things moved a bit faster... They took us up to a room and admitted me. It was past 2am and I still had not had any fluids or drugs. It wouldn't be until almost 3am before they pumped three bags of saline into me over the course of an hour. Chris went home to relieve my father, who was sleeping on the couch so we didn't need to disturb Kennedy. This hospital stay lasted 6 nights. C. diff was ruled out. I had also had a colonoscopy and received a unit of blood. My potassium and magnesium levels were also really low. I am sure there was more that went on, but... Well, so much more has happened since this stay!!
Moving on... Mother's Day was fabulous! My family and I, as well as 20+ of our closest friends, attended the Susan G. Koman's Race for the Cure this Mother's Day. To say it was cold would be a MAJOR under statement, but the warmth I felt from everyone there made it a little easier to tolerate! Friends of our from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, and other parts of Pennsylvania joined us. It was truly a blessing to have everyone spend their Mother's Day walking with me. Our fundraising team, The Triple B's, raised over $4000. That is just AWESOME!! We may not have placed #1, but they are #1 in my book!! I had planned on doing the 1 mile fun walk, but somehow managed to get on the start line for the 5K walk. YIKES!! But, I FINISHED!!!!! (And so did everyone else in our group!!! I am so proud of my dad and Mrs. Jodon!).
After the walk, we enjoyed a picnic at the Glenwillard Boat Club. My mom did a fantastic job putting it together and I thank everyone who made food, helped set up, tear down, and provided paper products. Again, I felt the love!!! I started feeling slightly ill after eating and having been up since 5:30am. I left my own party to rest up. It had been quite the day! AGAIN, THANKS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED. I love you!!!
Lastly and most importantly, I got a phone call the Friday before the race at 5:15pm. It was Darcy from the Genetics program at Magee. It turns out my genetic testing came back NEGATIVE! Praise God!!! Because of these negative results, Chris & I are opting for breast saving surgery. I do not need to get a double mastectomy. The cancer is just "bad luck" as the doctors say. Kennedy will still need to have screenings early and my sister will also need to start screening as well. Keep them in your prayers!
We met with a surgeon the day after I was discharged from the hospital (5/6) and I am scheduled for surgery on June 8th. After surgery I will have to have 6 weeks of radiation 5X's a week. Then we will need to finish chemo. We are opting to go this route since the chemo has been so toxic to my body. Hopefully these two months off will allow my body to heal and allow a fresh start for the next round of chemo.
Thanks again to everyone! The meals, support, care givers, prayers, words of encouragement, for everything! I am so blessed to have each and everyone of you in my life. We will beat this! One step, one day, one week at a time!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Round 3 - With Changes in Place!
On my birthday, April 28th, we went to the cancer center knowing things were going to be different - YET AGAIN. The past two chemo sessions had landed me in the hospital and were not kind to my stomach. Truth
be told, when we walked into the cancer center on the 28th, not much had changed or been resolved with regards to my stomach and the ongoing diarrhea I was experiencing.
We met with Dr. Priya Rastogi, MD and the nurses this day and it had been decided, prior to our arrival, that we would try a new course of treatment. They were going to give me the usual Herceptin treatment, but forgo the other drugs I had been getting in hopes that a new, different drug would be better tolerated. The new drug is called Abraxane. Supposedly this drug was less harsh and had fewer side effects on your digestive system. But because it was less harsh, I would have to go for chemo weekly now instead of every 3 weeks like the previous regimen.
Chemo itself lasted only an hour, but we were there most of the day. We left hopeful that this would be our solution. The goal was to re-evaluate things in four weeks and then decide "Where do we go from here?" at that point.
be told, when we walked into the cancer center on the 28th, not much had changed or been resolved with regards to my stomach and the ongoing diarrhea I was experiencing.
We met with Dr. Priya Rastogi, MD and the nurses this day and it had been decided, prior to our arrival, that we would try a new course of treatment. They were going to give me the usual Herceptin treatment, but forgo the other drugs I had been getting in hopes that a new, different drug would be better tolerated. The new drug is called Abraxane. Supposedly this drug was less harsh and had fewer side effects on your digestive system. But because it was less harsh, I would have to go for chemo weekly now instead of every 3 weeks like the previous regimen.
Chemo itself lasted only an hour, but we were there most of the day. We left hopeful that this would be our solution. The goal was to re-evaluate things in four weeks and then decide "Where do we go from here?" at that point.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Chemo Delayed...
I just got off of the phone with my nurse at the cancer center. Because they want me to see an actual doctor on my next visit, my appointment for Monday has been canceled. They rescheduled it for 4/28, my birthday, at 10am. I am hoping that this doesn't delay my treatment and we can go forward with the same regimen we did last time. I think I handled it fairly well compared to the first treatment. My appointment with the genetics program is also being rescheduled. Hoping the wait to see them isn't too long!
Keep me in your prayers that this won't delay treatments or put us back to square one. I am hoping after the meeting with the doctor we can still proceed with the chemo treatment as planned.
Keep me in your prayers that this won't delay treatments or put us back to square one. I am hoping after the meeting with the doctor we can still proceed with the chemo treatment as planned.
Friday, April 16, 2010
There's no place like home...
They sent out two samples to check for C. diff and both came back negative. They pumped me full of so much fluids my hands had started to swell. And thankfully I got some rest and feel MUCH, MUCH better!
I was only stuck with a needle 3 times this go around which is significant improvement over my last visit. The nurses were able to take blood straight from my port and even did it while I was sleeping! I slept right through the 3am blood draws. The other two sticks were to administer a shot in my belly to help prevent blood clots. My left calf has been bothering me for a number of days. It feels like I am going to have a charlie horse at any moment. As a precautionary measure they sent me down for an ultrasound of both legs. NO CLOTS! They also continued to fill me up with Magnesium & Potassium. Both of those levels were quite low.
So, this morning I got the wonderful news that I was being released and headed home! My white counts were on the high end of normal at 10 and holding steady. Wonderful news!
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! I am grateful and blessed to have YOU in my life.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
At Magee.... AGAIN!!
Well today started out quite normal. Chris went to work, I woke up tired, but feeling good. I had these GRAND plans to hit up our local Giant Eagle, get stuff for dinner and come home to take an easy. It didn't take long before all those grand plans were thrown out the window and I was sick - AGAIN!
Poor Kennedy dealt with a very miserable mommy and was just the sweetest baby girl ever. As I was getting sicker as the minutes ticked on, she continued to entertain me with her drum, empty toilet paper rolls, and making calls to California. (No worries, even if she did dial CA, the call wouldn't have gone through since we have no long distance, lol!)
After an hour and a half of suffering I called Chris and asked him to come home. I had already had a call into the oncologists office and was just playing the waiting game. After several chats with the nurse at the oncologists office, I was told to go to Magee's ER and they were informing them we were on our way.
After six hours in the ER, they finally admitted me. My white counts were elevated at 18 (which is probably from the Neulasta shot) and they wanted to monitor me more closely.
It appears that I will be here for at least two nights. They need cultures from me and they have to be taken 24 hours apart from each other. One of the things they are trying to rule out is Clostridium difficile, also know as C. diff. The CT scan they did while I was in the ER looked fairly normal, so they think this recent episodes could possibly be from C. diff or the chemo. My bet it is on the chemo. Even though they decreased the amount of the Taxotere and gave me a Neulasta shot, I think my colon is just super sensitive. Only time and the cultures will provide the answers we need.
Please keep me in your prayers that the are able to pinpoint WHY I keep getting so ill and can maybe offer some more answers to keep me out of the hospital. I swear Magee needs a frequent roomer program. I have to laugh because a friend in my mom's group, Heather, posted this as her Facebook status earlier today, "found a new all-inclusive resort destination, have you heard of it? It's Magee Women's Hospital...better than Sandals, I must say." I can't agree 100% with her, but Magee isn't so bad, but of course I'd much rather be at Sandals!!!
I am off to try to sleep for the night. Keep the prayers coming. And again thanks to all those friends, family, and even those who don't know me so well for praying for me. God hears you!
Poor Kennedy dealt with a very miserable mommy and was just the sweetest baby girl ever. As I was getting sicker as the minutes ticked on, she continued to entertain me with her drum, empty toilet paper rolls, and making calls to California. (No worries, even if she did dial CA, the call wouldn't have gone through since we have no long distance, lol!)
After an hour and a half of suffering I called Chris and asked him to come home. I had already had a call into the oncologists office and was just playing the waiting game. After several chats with the nurse at the oncologists office, I was told to go to Magee's ER and they were informing them we were on our way.
After six hours in the ER, they finally admitted me. My white counts were elevated at 18 (which is probably from the Neulasta shot) and they wanted to monitor me more closely.
It appears that I will be here for at least two nights. They need cultures from me and they have to be taken 24 hours apart from each other. One of the things they are trying to rule out is Clostridium difficile, also know as C. diff. The CT scan they did while I was in the ER looked fairly normal, so they think this recent episodes could possibly be from C. diff or the chemo. My bet it is on the chemo. Even though they decreased the amount of the Taxotere and gave me a Neulasta shot, I think my colon is just super sensitive. Only time and the cultures will provide the answers we need.
Please keep me in your prayers that the are able to pinpoint WHY I keep getting so ill and can maybe offer some more answers to keep me out of the hospital. I swear Magee needs a frequent roomer program. I have to laugh because a friend in my mom's group, Heather, posted this as her Facebook status earlier today, "found a new all-inclusive resort destination, have you heard of it? It's Magee Women's Hospital...better than Sandals, I must say." I can't agree 100% with her, but Magee isn't so bad, but of course I'd much rather be at Sandals!!!
I am off to try to sleep for the night. Keep the prayers coming. And again thanks to all those friends, family, and even those who don't know me so well for praying for me. God hears you!
Monday, April 12, 2010
10 years and still going STRONG!
Well yesterday I woke up feeling fantastic, but it didn't take long before the fatigue and exhaustion set in. The nurses warned that the Neulasta shot would make my bones/joints hurt - and they weren't lying!!
Despite not feeling 100%, we made our way to 11am mass at St. Margaret Mary Parish. Kennedy has been very active during the service, so we had a grand plan to put her in her stroller. It worked fairly well for us and she was pretty good. Unfortunately the other children in the cry room made it almost impossible for us to hear the homily. For next week, we are going to try to get there early and sit out in the main seating area. Here is hoping Kennedy will be just as good next week as she was this week.
After church we went out to enjoy a nice lunch as a family to our local Eat 'N Park. All I can say is WOW!!! They remodeled the inside and it looks completely different. Much, much nicer now! Chris and I were shocked at how much different it looked compared to our first meeting there 10 1/2 years ago.
For those of you who do not know, Chris and I met through an online dating service in November 1999. We actually shared our first meeting at this Eat 'N Park and it brought back A LOT of good memories. I am still amazed he put up with the me of 1999 long enough for us to get married and have a child together. I used to be a smoker and now that I no longer smoke, I can't believe her put up with me and my smoking habit that long. I guarantee, if I hadn't quit when I did, we would not still be together. He must have saw something special to keep me around that long! I quit smoking about a month after we started dating - mainly because my father asked me from his hospital bed to never smoke another cigarette again. I cried the entire way home from the hospital that day. I knew I was disappointing him and that alone upset me. How could I ignore what he asked of me, especially seeing him struggle with health issues that I am sure smoking played some part of a hand in. I made the decision that week and quit cold turkey. It wasn't easy, but looking back it was one of the best things I ever did for myself.
So here we are 10+ years later.... Happily married, proud parents, and thankful for many blessings in our life. I am still amazed that this past November, 10 years ago, I met my husband for the first time at an Eat 'N Park.
Here is a photo from the past - gosh we look so oung here!!
Despite not feeling 100%, we made our way to 11am mass at St. Margaret Mary Parish. Kennedy has been very active during the service, so we had a grand plan to put her in her stroller. It worked fairly well for us and she was pretty good. Unfortunately the other children in the cry room made it almost impossible for us to hear the homily. For next week, we are going to try to get there early and sit out in the main seating area. Here is hoping Kennedy will be just as good next week as she was this week.
After church we went out to enjoy a nice lunch as a family to our local Eat 'N Park. All I can say is WOW!!! They remodeled the inside and it looks completely different. Much, much nicer now! Chris and I were shocked at how much different it looked compared to our first meeting there 10 1/2 years ago.
So here we are 10+ years later.... Happily married, proud parents, and thankful for many blessings in our life. I am still amazed that this past November, 10 years ago, I met my husband for the first time at an Eat 'N Park.
Here is a photo from the past - gosh we look so oung here!!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Round 2, Beautiful New Niece, & Easter!!
Monday, April 5th, I had my second chemo treatment. On day 3, I am feeling pretty good!! I am so truly blessed and thankful we were able to stay the course and not have to resort to a plan B treatment option. So with Monday's round of chemo we now have two treatments under our belt and four left to go!!! YEAH!!!
My doctor, Dr. Rachel Jankowitz is still out on maternity leave, so last Thursday we met with another doctor in the practice, Dr. Shannon Puhalla. It was decided that we would stay the course with the current the dosage of Herceptin, then Benedryl, then Taxotere, and finally Carboplatin. The only change was decreasing the Taxotere by 25% and adding in a shot the day after chemo called Neulasta. The hope is that by reducing the the Taxotere and adding the Neulasta shot, my body won't have as bad of a reaction to the chemo and the goal is to keep me out of the hospital. So far so good!! I am a little run down, but nothing like I was with my last treatment. Keep the prayers coming that I continue to feel okay and stay out of the hospital this go around!
Well enough about cancer-smancer... A lot of has happened since April 1st! First and foremost my sister, Lori, and my brother-in-law, Brian, welcomed another BEAUTIFUL baby girl into their family. Brenna Rae made her arrival at 3:05am, weighing in at a healthy 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and 20 inches long. Mom & baby are both healthy and home enjoying their time getting to know one another. Big sisters Morgan & Kayli are thrilled to have Brenna home.
After meeting my newest niece on April 1st, I made a trip out to get my hair buzzed off! It was a bitter sweet day. I miss my hair, but honestly, as it was falling out, I am glad I did it when I did. My hair was falling out rapidly and I couldn't wash it without pulling clumps out. I made showering quite a challenge!!
I was also joined by Keith Leonard who opted to buzz his hair off with me. I was glad to have a friend do this with me and it truly means a lot to me that he would do this (although he didn't have as much hair to lose in the process!!). Thanks Keith!!! You look great!! Just don't forget the sunscreen!
And lastly, I can't forget about my father who also shaved his head without my knowing. It was such a touching gesture and although he too didn't have much hair to buzz off, it means a lot to me that he shaved his head too. (Now if we can only shed the beard and mustache! Hunting season is over dad!! Although you might freak Kennedy out if you shave it all off.) I love you so much dad!!! You sure do know how to make a daughter feel special and I am honored to call you my father.
This past weekend, I was also blessed to have the opportunity to spend Easter with my family. My aunt Marilou, Uncle Gary, my mother, father, grandfather, and cousins helped to make a FABULOUS meal. We were lucky enough to have a BEAUTIFUL day and for that I am truly blessed. I hope you too had a fabulous Easter with family.
My doctor, Dr. Rachel Jankowitz is still out on maternity leave, so last Thursday we met with another doctor in the practice, Dr. Shannon Puhalla. It was decided that we would stay the course with the current the dosage of Herceptin, then Benedryl, then Taxotere, and finally Carboplatin. The only change was decreasing the Taxotere by 25% and adding in a shot the day after chemo called Neulasta. The hope is that by reducing the the Taxotere and adding the Neulasta shot, my body won't have as bad of a reaction to the chemo and the goal is to keep me out of the hospital. So far so good!! I am a little run down, but nothing like I was with my last treatment. Keep the prayers coming that I continue to feel okay and stay out of the hospital this go around!
After meeting my newest niece on April 1st, I made a trip out to get my hair buzzed off! It was a bitter sweet day. I miss my hair, but honestly, as it was falling out, I am glad I did it when I did. My hair was falling out rapidly and I couldn't wash it without pulling clumps out. I made showering quite a challenge!!
HE HAS RISEN!!
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