Komen Race For the Cure

Be sure to go by page on the Susan G Komen Race For the Cure siteHMGteam
If you are close by and would like to join me in the race, I would LOVE it!! I can use all the support I can manage to get!

NED=No Evidence of Disease

YES!!! WOO HOO!! Thank you dear Lord! I know, I have already posted the results of the recent scans, but since I got to talk to my oncologists about them today, it kinda feels more, I don't know, "real". Is that the word I'm looking for? It's the only one I can think of right now, so it will have to do. He was really happy when he came into the exam room today and asked if I knew the good news (the test results). I simply said all I knew was that he had signed off on them and they looked good. He proceeded to tell me that yes, they did look good, that there was a tiny cyst in my sinuses, he also referred to it as a polyp. He assured me that it was not cancer related!! That's what showed up on the MRI. Then the PET scan was clear as well, NED, No Evidence of Disease! None what-so-ever! Again, thank you God for healing my body, and thank all of you that have sent up prayers on my behalf! So asked a very reasonable question, "was the chemo now considered a preventative measure instead of more of treatment?", and I got the answer I was hoping for, "yes"! That's fine with me, I mean, I'm not gonna try to talk him into letting me quit, I've come to far! Sure, 8 more treatments, 8 more weeks, sounds like a long time, but it sounds better than in the beginning when I was facing 5months of treatment! I figure it's a tiny feat to go through to be able to get on with the rest of my life, don't you think? And, just like in the beginning, that's exactly what I plan to do, with, of course, the guidance of God, get on with the rest of my life! Have I told you about my appetite since starting the Taxol? I feel like I can eat anything, eat anytime, and I often find myself using the phrase "appetite of an elephant"! That's the joys of steroids I suppose! So far, I can't be happier with the side effects of the Taxol, or lack thereof I could say! Now, I have to keep in mind that I've been told, several times, that it won't happen all at once, but rather progressively get worse, so the worst part will be at the end of treatment, which should be sometime towards the end of October. But as of right now, the night after having my 4th treatment, I feel pretty decent. I am a little weak in the legs, but nothing that's keeping me from regular activity. I was extremely tired when we came home this evening and laid down from about 6pm-9pm, I slept, but not exactly a good restful sleep. Tomorrow I expect that my cheeks will be bright red most of the day and I will feel like I have my face too close to a fire, another piece to the happy steroid puzzle! I'm hoping that the weakness in my leg muscles will be a lot better, if not all together gone, by tomorrow. I know I will probably be tired tomorrow, and feel the need to nap, let's just hope that my youngest will have sympathy for mommy and agree to watch cartoons in mommy's bed, lol! Oh, and guess what?!?! My hair is making a comeback, painfully slow in my opinion, but coming back, none the less! It feels like peach fuzz right now, and for a while you had to look really close to even see that there was anything there, but I have noticed the past few days that there is, indeed, enough to be noticed! Of course, I still look like I have more of the bald than with hair, but I can actually SEE it! I'm guessing my family is getting really tired of me asking can they see my hair growing back, or having them feel the fuzz, lol, but I just can't help it, I'm obsessed. Autumn told me the other day that yes it was growing back and continued to inform me that it was curly and blonde, lol! Although it is long enough for me to be able to get a little bit between the tips of my fingers, I don't hardly think that it is curly yet, hehe. And as far as it being blonde, well I think it's just so sparse that it hasn't be able to present it's true color yet, does that make any sense? Clear as mud, right?! Ah, to be 6 yrs old! On another note, I know that there are lots of people reading my blog, from the visitor count, but who are you? Sure, I have people telling me all the time "hey, I check your blog everyday to see how you're doing", but I would really like to see some comments. There are a handful that I get comments from on a somewhat regular basis, so for just once, can you post a comment, just to say hi? It doesn't matter to me if we know each other. If you are someone that doesn't know me outside the cyberworld, I would like for you to just tell me where you learned of my blog from. It's getting late, and I have been writing this post during the commercials of a show on TLC called "Crazy, Sexy Cancer". I watched it at 9pm, but it has come on again at 12 and I still have it on. So, make me smile, I wanna check in ever so often tomorrow, in between naps, lol, and see a new comment, by both people I know and don't know. Would it make it easier if I said I'm challenging you to leave me a comment? Lol, I think I can fall asleep now, good nite!

OUCH!! update on sore arm....

So I managed to remember to call the dr's office this morning. Guess the pain in my arm reminded me, lol. It's been sore since one day last week, at first I thought it was because I had slept on it wrong, but that would have went away, and it didn't. As a matter of fact, it was getting worse and seemed to be spreading. It's hurting on the underside of my elbow, up to my armpit, and had started to hurt in my shoulder blade. He had me come on in to the office so he could take a look. I was glad that it wasn't the start of lyphedema, instead it's probably a nerve getting the feeling back in it! He explained that there is a nerve in the arm in the area I pointed out as in pain, and that when he does the node dissection that sometimes they take they nerve out but if they don't it will become numb after being "messed" with when the nodes are scraped. The pain that I'm feeling now is the nerve getting it's feeling back. I thought it was pretty interesting myself! Anyway, I was told to take ibuprofen a couple times a day for a week or two and if the pain doesn't get better or go away then he will get me started on physical therapy. He offered to go ahead and get me started now, but I opted to wait. I'm just so happy that it's nothing serious!!! He told me I was just looking for an excuse to come see them their at the office, lol. He just don't know how true that could have been, but I was seriously worried about the pain this time, lol! The girls in the office have created a team to walk in the Komen race, and I'll be posting more about that soon, I want some people join me!! Doug is replacing the window and he may need some help, so I'm outa here!!

Three down.....

and only 9 more to go!! I have 3 Taxol treatments under my belt! This past weeks treatment was fine, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I didn't nap while I got my lovely benadryl, my thigh muscles kept tightening up and it was impossible to fall asleep. I've come to the conclusion that if I fall asleep while getting my infusion then the benadryl doesn't bother me too bad, as far as being drowsy the next few days, but if I do NOT get a nap while getting it then I feel completely worn out to a frazzle for several days afterwards. I'll use that as the excuse for not posting in a while, lol!! I think I told you that my MRI results were fine. Well, my onc nurse told me that my PET scans were clear and that the dr had signed off on it! YAY!!!! I will actually get to see the dr this week, so he'll go over it with me in more detail, I'm sure. Not that there is anything to explain about "clear" but I hope he'll tell me something. Looks like I'm gonna have to call the surgeon's office in the morning. I have been having a really bad pain in my left arm, not good since that is the arm that is at high risk for developing lyphedema. I'm really hoping that's not the deal, but it needs to be checked, for peace of mind if nothing else. It feels like a great big bruise on the underside of my arm down to my elbow, very tender, and it even hurts to put on my deo, but there is no sign of a bruise, no discoloring. I was hoping it would go away, thinking I had slept on it wrong or something, but it has been bothering me since around last Wednesday or so. It's actually even started hurting back towards my shoulder blade. But anyway, I'll call in the morning and see what the dr thinks. Oh, I meant to write about this last week, but it slipped my mind, I had a surprise visit! My aunt Barbara dropped by!! It was so great to see her, and even to SMELL her, lol! I know that sounds extremely weird, but let me explain. You know how a smell can bring up a memory or make you think of a specific time? Well, her smell took me back to my childhood! She wears the same perfume now as she did then, if I'm not mistaken, it's Calvin Klein's Obsession. And since I got several hugs, I was able to smell it on myself the rest of the evening, it was wonderful!! On Friday night, I was able to get a good friend to come scrapbook. It was me, her, and Kim, we had a blast!! I always do when I'm around her, she's a hoot!! I guess I'm gonna close this one up, I'm just not feeling real chatty.

So let's play a game of "catch-up"!

And, no, it doesn't include french fries! LOL! So to start the week off, I go for a MRI Monday. It really wasn't a big deal, I'm just glad I am not claustrophobic! That was a small space for sure! Nothing much went on Tuesday. Then Wednesday was chemo day. Got me another dose of that liquid benadryl, man I'm liking that stuff, hehe! And just think, I will be getting it every time for the rest of the treatments! I can now say only 10 more to go! I didn't see a dr that day, but the onc nurse did tell me that my MRI results looked good. The only thing that showed up was a small cyst in my sinus area, but that it was nothing serious. I will be sure to ask the dr next time what he thinks about it, and he should have the results of the other test too. Kim took me Wed, so when I got done, we did a tad of shopping. We hit Hobby Lobby and I found the deal of the century! Ok, so maybe not the century, but it was a great deal, none the less! If you're a scrapper, you'll get this, if not, then it will be nothing to you probably, lol. So HL just started carrying the Autumn Leaves clear stamps not too long ago, well I am too cheap to pay full price for them, especially knowing that they go on sale half off quite often. Well, anyway, I seen they had a new set that I had been wanting and picked it up, glanced at the price and it was just marked $4.99?!?! I knew that had to be wrong, and sure enough, it was! I looked at the others and they were $14.99! So I grabbed a pack, and Kim grabbed the other two packs that were marked wrong. We couldn't have gotten them cheaper if we HAD waited for them to be on sale! Ok, so I'm sure there are plenty of you reading that says I did the wrong thing. I should have told them of their mistake. BUT, I didn't! Do I feel bad about it? NO! Will God punish me for doing this? Maybe, but remember, I already have cancer, can't get much worse! So, maybe I shouldn't have wrote that, but I'm not deleting it. ANYWAYS.... We left there then went for some more bargain shopping, at Big Lots! Love that store, you can never tell what kind of junk you will find! Oh, the thrill of the hunt!! Another good find for the scrapper in me, Sharpie paint markers, with the white in it, and it wasn't the oil based ones either!! I have looked everywhere for these, the office supply stores, WM, Target, and everywhere else I go that carries office or school supplies! So I was happy to find them at BL! Oh, and they were just $3 for a pack of 5!! Then it's off to Cheddars for some dinner and I had a strawberry tea, it was yummy!! I will tell you this, I was very tired when I got home, lol! But it was fun! Did have a side effect of the chemo creap in on me though, my thigh muscles felt like I had ran 10miles! They were so sore and achy! It went away by the time I got up Thursday morning. Had to be at the hospital for the PET scan at 10am, no problem. Got there and they took me to the little room, made me drink the icky vanilla white stuff, injected the radiation in my veins and let me wait about an hour. I was prepared this time with a book and my mp3. The scan itself didn't seem like it took as long this time, but maybe it's just because I knew what to expect. After that was all over, we met with Kim and had lunch at my favorite place, Johnny Corrino's! Probably didn't spell it right, but I know what I'm talking about! Nothing much more on Thursday, except a minor accident at home. Fixed supper for the kiddos, and was getting their drinks, had just made a full pitcher of kool aid, set it on the side of the sink and went to reach for some cups and must have hit the pitcher cause it fell off the sink directly on top of my foot! OUCH!!! It was one of the older tupperware pitchers, so it has some sharper edges, and it cut my foot in two places and the whole top of it bruised instantly! It's really sore today, especially when I put on shoes! OK, Grayson is so ready for me to finish this up! He has been trying to get up in my lap for the past 10min, so I will go ahead and wrap this one up.

A busy week ahead!

Well, first off, I'll let you all know that the first round of Taxol went just fine. I get a little dose of benadryl through iv to start off with, evidently lots of people are highly allergic to this, so I had a great nap!! No other side effects yet. I was told that I may have some muscle & joint aches and some numbing in my fingers and toes, but it would just progressively happen, not happen all at once. I did ask when I get more scans done, and to my surprise, he said we could do that! So they got it all set up for me. I will have a MRI tomorrow (monday) and then a PET scan on Thursday. This is really bittersweet, on one hand I'll have peace of mind knowing the results, but then again I'm really nervous that they might actually find something. So please keep me in your prayers that God will grant me with some courage and I'll be able to keep my sanity until I get the results! And then Wednesday I will have my 2nd dose of Taxol and I will be able to say "just 10 more!!". Yesterday was a good day. Kim had all the kids for the wknd, letting them swim before school starts, tomorrow! And then I had a visitor, Tonya came up to spend a couple hours with me. It was great! She brought the kids each a little something, and they were so excited when they got home and dug into those bags! She brought me some yummy smelling goodies from Bath and Body Works and "Chicken Soup for the Breast Cancer Survivor's Soul", can't wait to start on it! Anyway, we just sat on the couch and chatted away, just like we did 15yrs ago, it was GREAT! Tonya, I love you dearly and still cherish our friendship with every beat of my heart!! Thank you for being there for me during this whole ordeal! Moving on, tomorrow is the first day of 1st grade for Autumn and Ethan! Well, kinda, they go for a short orientation and then they can come home. We went to meet the teachers Thursday evening. I can't believe how fast summer has flown by! I may not get to volunteer as much as I want to for the first couple of months, but I'm really hoping that I will be able to when I get these last treatments over with! It will be a little tougher this year since they are in separate classes, but I will work it out. Ok, well, I'm gonna get off of here for now, I have to get use to getting up early too, lol!

Had a fun evening!

Yesterday evening I headed out to meet up with a wonderful friend of mine! I met Janice at CTF, a scrapping wknd that I have been attending since 2001. We were paired up as "Get to know you" buddies and hit it off from the start! She has two boys that she calls her "virtual twins" (two boys that she adopted at the same time and are just a month or two apart in age) that are the same age as my twins. She lived in Knoxville at the time we met, but has since moved back to her home state of Florida. We still talk almost everyday via the internet, and we get the spend that scrappy time together when CTF rolls around every year. But she had to fly in to TN for business a few days ago and we made it a point to get together for dinner. We also managed to hit Hobby Lobby too!! Thanks, Janice for the gift card! After that we had a great supper at Sagebrush, yummy!! I do really feel bad, I think I probably talked a tad too much, she probably felt like she couldn't get a word in edgewise! And I'm usually the quiet one, lol! I took my camera along with me, but of course, I forgot it! Well, don't have anymore time to post, I'm gonna mow the yard! Yes, I enjoy doing it, so as long as I have the energy to do so, I will do it! Til next time...