Unexpected kindness

Still feeling good, a bit tired, but that's all. Hooray!

I had a PET scan yesterday. The nurse, Kathy, was unbelievably sweet. I was told to fast yesterday until 6pm. My boss brought in chocolate cake around 10:30am. Nice, right? So, after being tortured all day with that, after my nurse left the appt, I was sleeping and then had the scan. When I was finished, the doctor handed me a piece of chocolate cake from Kathy. It was tied with a red bandage bow. Can you believe the kindness of strangers? She was just doing her job, and every day has people in that fasted for their tests, its not that big of deal to not eat for a few hours. She really made my day, what a thoughtful woman. Thank you! And the cake was DELICIOUS!!

Tomorrow I have an MRI guided biopsy. At least I'll be a little bit out of it. And, I should get the PET scan results tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers for good news.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! :)

1st chemo - so far, so good.

Chemo last Friday was uneventful. I had the Neulasta shot on Saturday, which caught up to me yesterday/last night, but all in all it was just like a bout of the flu (x 10!), but I felt good again this morning. I'm guessing fatigue will set in the next couple of days, so I'm getting lots of rest and trying to eat right and get lots of fluids.

I'm so happy that I have so many wonderful people around me. My visit with my Dad over the weekend was just wonderful, and I'm glad he was able to see that his little girl is going to be just fine getting through the treatments. That was really important to me, to make sure he knows that I'm ok. With so many things going on in life with everyone everyday, its wonderful to know that I am loved. And I have so much love to share as well.

I'll have a MRI guided biopsy on Tuesday April 27th, and then a Pet Scan after that. On my next chemo treatment on May 7, I'll also have the genetic testing done. It will be a relief to get most of the tests out of the way in order to just concentrate on the treatments.

On a completely separate note, I'm going to see Craig Ferguson on Sunday night at Playhouse Square. I'm soooooo excited, he's the funniest, funniest, funniest, I cannot wait!!

Thanks everyone, one day at a time. Gotta get some rest, I have some ass-kicking to do. ;)

Chemo was a breeze

Yep, nothing to it. My Dad being there was great. I think he learned a lot of information to help put his mind at ease. My surgeon had just come out of surgery and wanted to meet my Dad. She met us for a little bit when she was finished. I think she is wonderful and my Dad loves her too.

Thanks for everyone's good lucks and wishes and prayers today!

Dad comes to Cleveland

I'm so happy that my Dad is coming to Cleveland today! I have my port surgery in a couple hours and then a heart scan, by then he should have landed. I put a pot roast in the crock pot, so it should be easy once the day is over. I can't wait to see him!
I'm not sure what I was thinking last week, that awful yellow hair is now brown again. Oh well, it was fun to get a bit crazy with it.

I'm getting scared about starting chemo tomorrow. The port is really gonna freak me out, but I know I'll get over it soon enough. It will be better than getting stuck all the time. I just hope it all goes well, I'm going to try and not be nervous, but am so glad my Dad will be sitting next to me.

Its going to be a busy day.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bailey's spring haircut

Hehe, it is so funny looking! Its amazing how much hair she has (had), and she sort of looked like a big cat, even chubby. But that cat is ALL fur! She looks like a tiny little kitten right now, with long legs and "boots" of fur on her legs with a big poof at the end of her tail. She chases it, its her very own toy attached to her tail! I just can't stop laughing at her, its great! And she likes it too, prancing all over the place! Haha!

On the subject of haircuts, yeah, I will not be coloring my hair yellow again anytime soon! It was an experiment, and I don't have to live with it, so, I know now going forward I will always be a brunette.

And my sister sent me Mamie's electric blue coraline wig, thanks Mamie! I'll be sure to send you and Ewan a picture of Aunt Terri wearing it. :) At least this whole hair subject has gotten my mind off of the reality of my upcoming treatments.

Hope everyone is doing well!

My stupid effing... cancer cont'd (2)

I woke up this morning forgetting that I went to my good friends Meredith and Scott's house last night. Scott has his own salon, and he cut and bleached my hair. It is really blonde and short, a bit strange for me to see, but is only temporary, 21-28 days. I like it! I have to remember to wear eye makeup and earrings, so I don't look like a boy! This is part of the fun part.

Part of the not fun part. Everything I was told regarding my treatment on Tuesday, was incorrect. I will have surgery to place the port, rescheduled to Thursday April 15, and I will have a more toxic chemo using three meds called TAC ((taxotere, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide). Treatments for 6 months, 3 weeks apart, followed by surgery.
Ok, bring it. I'm so happy my Dad will be with me for my first treatment, April 16.

My Dad called last night and he bowled a 300 (perfect) game! Its his 10th sanctioned, he's awesome! Not bad for a 67 year old!

I'm looking forward to seeing some friends on Friday night. I'm going to whoop it up a little bit, and then get serious and kick this cancer's ass! Polka Happy Hour at Happy Dog and then the Magpies are playing at Brother's... ANGEL!! :)

I do want to say how blessed I feel by my family and friends. Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement and positive energy.

Love and Peace,
Terri

My stupid effing... cancer, cont'd

I scheduled Bailey’s summer cut, a bit early this year, but I’m getting my new do tomorrow, so she’ll get hers on Saturday. (So my Dad can see his “grand-cat’s” haircut!) I’m going short and blonde, it should be fun! I’m hoping to donate my hair to locks of love, it needs to be 10” in length, and I’m guessing it will be accepted as my hair is the longest its been in years.

The MRI results from Friday: large node positive for cancer. The chemo treatment has changed slightly, for the better. I will not have a port placed, I’ll have 4 treatments of TC (docetaxel + cyclophosphamide.). There is a lot of information available, I find reading very helpful. After chemotherapy, I’ll have a mastectomy and axilla dissection. I’m guessing that will not be very comfortable, but, will take it if it saves my life.

Another positive note, I was recently newly employed! I lost my job in October 2009, (along with a lot of other people!) and I started my new job on March 16, 2010. The company itself is very unique and the people are absolutely unbelievable. After starting a brand new job, and then eight days into it, you tell your boss you’ve just been diagnosed with cancer, there’s a lot of unsure, unsettling feelings, along with guilt and gratefulness and graciousness, its all very concentrated and you don’t know how to feel, and how to react or behave. To my and my family’s amazement (along with my dear friends), my new company has assured me that they will be with me through my treatment and surgery. I want 60 Minutes to do a story on them, how in these tough economic times, a small company has truly made me part of their family by helping me to get well, as I am still gainfully employed. I really cannot express my gratitude to all the wonderful people I work with, who only started working with me less than a month ago. Jeff Lachina and Lachina Publishing, thanks really doesn’t say enough.

I’ve been reading a lot, and there’s a lot of waiting too. But, I feel comfortable where I am, and its going to test me, and people in my life too, so I need everyone to only harbor positive thoughts. That’s the ticket, I hear. I’ll take one, thanks!

Sending love and rainbows (pooped by cartoons).
Sorry, remember the humor!
Terri

My stupid effing... cancer

April 1, 2010

I don't want to post status updates, but would like to be able to update my family and friends on my situation and treatment.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 25, 2010. My sister Angela came to Cleveland to accompany me to my appointment on March 30 with my breast surgeon, Dr. Vaidya (pr. Whydea). Dr. Vaidya is absolutely wonderful. She explained that it is grade 3, invasive ductal carcinoma. The tumor is 4 cm and too large for a lumpectomy at this time. The hope is, to start chemotherapy to shrink it, in order to have a lumpectomy after 6 months of chemotherapy. At the start of treatment, if it has not responded to the chemo after the first 2 treatments, a mastectomy will be performed. I will have genetic testing done to determine if I test positive for a gene mutation, in that case, I will have a double mastectomy right away. On March 30th after my consultation with my surgeon, she performed a fine needle aspiration on my lymph nodes. The results came back inconclusive, therefore I am having outpatient surgery tomorrow to have a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy. I will have general anesthesia (thank goodness, because I am the biggest baby and really really hate medical procedures of any kind. how I am able to donate blood every 56 days is a mystery to me.) Anyway, a blue dye will be used, I heard I will be peeing blue afterwards! Ha!

So, I'll have another outpatient surgery on April 12 to place the port. My Dad is coming to Cleveland on April 15 to come with me to my first chemotherapy treatment on April 16. It will be a five hour treatment, I'm looking forward to visiting and telling jokes and poking my Dad, "wake up!" during our five hours together. I'm very happy he is able to come and be with me. Its kind of scary, but at the same time, I'm simply going to listen to my wonderful doctors and have a positive attitude and know that millions of women are going through this. I'm in the absolutely best place I can be, being seen at the Cleveland Clinic, and I have every confidence this is just a bump in the road.

In the meantime, before I lose my hair, I'm going to make the most of it by getting some crazy, cool haircuts before I lose it. My cat always gets her "summer haircut", so this year I am joining her! I really need to keep the humor, that's going to help me get through the tough times. I know its going to be hard and I may not feel good some days, but guess what? They know what it is, how to treat it and they do this every day. So there.

Love to all of you and I'll keep you updated.
Terri