I Can Survive Cancer

In the summer of 2018, I was offered my dream job, working as a Title 1 teacher.  When I received my Stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer diagnosis in April, one of the hardest things for me was taking a leave of absence from my job.  I love my job.  I love the students and families that I work with.  I love my co-workers.  Knowing that I had to leave my dream position behind was HARD, but I knew I had to do it.  My school administrators, co-workers, students, and families were amazingly supportive.  They hosted a car wash benefit for my family and me that still makes me cry when I think about how much love I felt during those early days of my diagnosis.

This week I returned to my dream job, starting year 14 of teaching!  I will be working four days per week, five days the weeks that I don't have treatment as long as I am feeling well.  My school continues to support me and help me work through this difficult diagnosis.  Later this winter I will most likely need to take a leave of absence for surgery and radiation, but I am going to focus on what I can do now, and that is WORK!  I had days where I thought I may never be able to return to my job.  I am so thankful for the healing that is taking place so that I can get back to doing what I love.



Owen also started school.  He is going to school with me Monday-Thursday and is in preschool.  He is adjusting to the new schedule well, though he is very tired at the end of the day.  It is really nice to have the extra time with him in the car each day.  On the way to school he makes up stories about dinosaurs.  On the way home, he tells me a little about his day and then he usually falls asleep.

If you are in a time of stormy seas in your life, keep your eyes focused on a small goal.  Once you achieve that goal, focus on the next small goal. Those small goals lead to the bigger picture goal.  Remember, two months ago my goal was to walk to the end of my driveway to the mail box.

My insurance has finally approved my MRI.  I will go on Monday, September 9 for this and should get the results at my appointment on Friday, September 13 when I go for my third treatment of Taxol.  Onward I go... not much new to report as far as my health goes and for that I am thankful.  


Comments

  1. PatSeptember 7, 2019 at 11:26 AM

    Such good news, such a wonderful, inspiring post (as is usual from you). xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. johnnfawnSeptember 7, 2019 at 6:39 PM

    I'm so happy you are able to work again and take Owen to school with you! It's totally a miracle after all you have been through this year. Praying daily for your health and strength. Sending you our love!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. LoriSeptember 8, 2019 at 5:06 AM

    Go, Rosanna!!!!! You are full of light and you are shining!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Judy UhlmanSeptember 12, 2019 at 4:59 AM

    Always love your updates and photos.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Round 2

Image
May 28... Round 2, here I come!  I was feeling much better going into this round and was hopeful that was a sign that the chemo did its job for Round 1.  I was pleasantly surprised during vitals to find that I had not lost any more weight (yay for stability!) and my pulse was down from over 100 beats per minute to 84!  I was getting tired of everyone asking if I was okay since my pulse was so high... No, I wasn't okay.  Why would they ask that?! My appointment with Dr. Sinclair before chemo was very encouraging and brought me a lot of hope. She was very impressed with my reaction to the first dose of chemo.  With inflammatory breast cancer, you develop a rash, swelling, and hardness in the breast.  The rash is receding, the swelling has gone down, and the breast is not as hard as it was two weeks ago.  I also have a lot less bone pain and I feel like my lymph nodes are not as swollen.  The fevers have also disappeared.  I have had so many symptoms go away or lessen.  It kind of m
Read more

Life is tough but so am I...

Image
My hair started to fall out in large clumps after my second chemo treatment.  I had so much hair and it was so thick.   It was so painful to watch it all happen.  I cried with every clump that fell and it just was not healthy to do so anymore.  After crying a lot Saturday evening and into the morning on Sunday, I asked Jason to call his mom to bring her clippers over and shave it off. She cried with me, prayed with me, and shaved it all off without saying a word.  Surprisingly, once the decision had been made, there were very few tears.  Yes, I miss it.  But I'm determined that I'll get better and have long, thick hair once again.  So the next time you see me, I'll be wearing a beanie or head scarf. As hard as that was... I have been reminded several times this week of something really important.  I look healthy again.  I've had several people comment that they wouldn't know I was sick just by looking at me (except for that pesky beanie I wear...). This means that
Read more

Round #6... Sunny Skies Ahead!

Image
I had my final round of red sunshine today. 🌞  My oncologist was on vacation so I saw a different oncologist.  He was very amazed by how well I am doing and said I could be a poster child for the toughest chemo treatment there is.  I'm feeling very blessed that I have responded to and tolerated this treatment so well.  I also met with palliative care.  Apparently I was referred back in May when I was in a lot of pain and the referral got lost in the system.  They insisted I meet with them, but the doctor quickly realized there was no need to meet because I am not in any pain and I am experiencing very few side effects.  My 60 minute appointment turned into a 15 minute visit. Forever thankful for my beautiful sister. In the next few weeks I will have a PET scan and MRI to look at how much progress has been made. I'm excited for these results.  We are still waiting to hear what the next treatment will be.  The tumor tissue is still being analyzed.  Hopefully we will
Read more