3rd round of chemo plus Zarxio shots wiped me out last week. I could barely get out of bed for several days. People ask me how I find humor and stay positive, and I think “I have to”. The thought of not being there for my kids, shit, I can’t handle...

First Chemo date with my dad. Expected time 3 hours. Taxotere and Cytoxan were on the menu. My IV went in smoothly and the first half hour I got some anti-nausea medicine. Turns out I'm allergic to the Taxotere. It caused a reaction that felt like a...

This guy has been my absolute rock. My husband, Scott, picks me up when I'm down, let's me use him as a punching bag, and is always my number one cheerleader. This was my first walk post second surgery. Made it around the block. Hoping to walk more...

5 surgeries ago I learned I have vasovagal syncope response to IVs getting put in after I fainted. For some it's triggered by the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. Symptoms include paleness, nausea, sweating, a rapid heartbeat, and fainting....

This is what cancer looks like. Coming home nauseous covered in ice packs for relief from major sweatfest/hot flashes after having a breast chopped off. Okay it was a foob, but they removed the implant, 3 cancerous tumors (THREE! not just the TWO I...

I can't do any repetitive movements with my right arm, so I enlisted my daughter to help me cut my hair. Not bad for a 10-year-old. #youtubehacks Luckily, I have a hair brush dryer so I was able to blow dry my hair with one arm after getting...

I had my drains removed on Friday 5/24, 11 days after surgery. Over the holiday weekend I had a seroma that formed after the drain was removed that caused a lot of pain. It felt like I had a golf ball in place of the new cavern of my arm pit that was...

I posted this on Facebook: "First night without my private nurse/gardener/housekeepers/chai latte deliverer, Pat and Tim. Alayna has taken over nursing duties and helped me with my meds and drain. Hope to have pathology results next week." I have received...

My surgeon called today with the initial pathology report. The two tumors in my underarm that they thought were 1.6 and 0.9cm and 1cm apart were actually just one 3.2 cm tumor. They ended up removing 13 lymph nodes that all came back negative for cancer!...

Last Thursday I found another lump. It felt like a BB, smooth and hard, lower than the first lump and more towards my underarm where the 2 cancerous tumors are. I called my doctor to see if I should come in and he said to remind him on Monday and he’d...

Last Thursday I had a Bone Scan and CT Scan. I had a small amount of radioactive tracer injected and several hours later they scanned my entire body. This bone scan is looking for possible cancer in areas where too much or too little of the tracer has...

How did we get back here? About a year ago I noticed a bump on my implant and that my scar tissue was feeling different. My oncologist retired after a heart attack and my care was transferred to a Physician Assistant. At my last two wellness checkups...

I have cancer. Again. :( I've kinda been physically falling apart lately which led to lots of appointments and testing/biopsies. The 2 tumors in my underarm tested positive for cancer, the endometrial biopsy came back normal, so that’s a plus but still...

I can't stress how important it is to check your breasts regularly. Honestly, I rarely did before, but one day I found a lump. In January my doctor's said my tumor was 1cm. One month later when I had my mastectomy it had grown to 1.7cm and there were...

Warning, its getting graphic. Keeping it 100.Constipation is one of the worst side effects of antibiotics and pain meds. Beware, Dulcolax and some other laxatives can have you running to the bathroom every 10 minutes or sharting your pants. Senna and...

I had my two week follow up today with my surgeon. My drainage has decreased to 5-10ml's for the last few days, so the drain is coming out! After two weeks I can finally take a shower!!! My plastic surgeon didn't want to risk infection from any thing...

My friend Julia came up with a great hack to clean my hair while I'm stuck flat on my back. She put down a shower curtain and washed my hair on the floor, rotating towels to soak up the water. She even brought her new baby to keep me entertained. Clean...

It's annoying that most of the products targeted for breast cancer patients are not in my demographic. Sadly, I know too many people in their 30s and 40s dealing with cancer but in all of the pamphlets and marketing materials, everyone is in their 60s...

Blogging sponsored by Cianna (this adjustable laptop holder rocks! Thanks Cianna!!)It's been up and down. Being confined to bed for the first week was really limiting, but necessary to save as much skin as possible and hopefully save the nipple that...

I had my follow up appointment today with my surgeons and the pathology reports are in... We caught it early, it’s stage 1, they removed enough tissue to have clear margins, my lymph nodes came back negative for cancer. I have some complications from...

I'm pretty much sleeping all of the time and getting up to walk to the bathroom every few hours when I get pain meds. My plastic surgeon is concerned about the thinness of my skin, so to try to make the implant as successful as possible, I need to be...

Normally you can only have one relative at a time in the pre-op room, but my Aunt Terry was able to get both my Mom and Dad in. I love my parents, but I guarantee I was the only 41-year-old being serenaded with "Hush Little Baby, Don't Say a Word" while...

The countdown is on. My surgery got bumped up to 11am tomorrow. Today I had to go to Nuclear Medicine and get 3 radioactive injections which I'm pretty sure means I will be developing superhero powers any minute now. Or it's to see which lymph nodes...

The day before my surgery I had to go to Nuclear Medicine to get 3 radioactive injections. I'm a little disappointed I didn't develop any superhero powers. The radioactive injections are typically a blue dye injected near the tumor to locate sentinel...

Tomorrow is my last day of work. My surgery got bumped up to 11am on Thursday, so now I have to go in Wednesday to do the pre-surgery injections (which I have no idea exactly what those are yet). I've been in a mad dash to get all of the necessary paperwork...

Image from mattkimbrow.comThank you so much for your messages, texts, calls and emails. I really appreciate every one. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond or return all calls but I will try to catch up this weekend. Weekdays are pretty much shot,...