Taxol #7 & #8 - Faith Over Fear
Last time I shared that I was feeling really tired and asked for prayers for strength. I am happy to share that I am back to feeling pretty close to myself again. I wasn't even dreading going in for chemo for rounds 7 & 8. It helps to know that I will feel like myself again in a couple of weeks.
I had my seventh round of Taxol on Friday, October 25. My counts were still looking strong, with the exception of my white blood cell count, but that is to be expected. The wbc was a little below the normal range, but it was strong enough for treatment. It's also been strong enough for me to fight off infection the past couple of weeks. Owen had another cold and a few of my students had stuffy noses and coughs. So far I do not have any cold symptoms. I am hoping to not catch this one.
My shirt for round #7 was "Faith Over Fear", an idea shared with me by Karen, the very kind lady that introduced herself to me at Simons this summer. Karen is a breast cancer survivor. When you have cancer, there is a lot of fear, but life gets a lot easier when you live by faith. I still feel the fear creeping in at times, but I am definitely quicker to remember to look to God when those feelings creep in.
A couple of months ago, someone reached out to me on Facebook. She was a friend of a friend, another young woman diagnosed with breast cancer. Jasmine has been fighting her own cancer for the past couple of months and we have chatted frequently through messenger, but had not had the opportunity to meet. We usually miss each other by one day in Brewer. Anyway, the stars were finally aligned and her treatment day was moved to Friday. She and her husband came to my infusion room when she was done with her appointment. It was so nice to finally meet her.
During my blood draw at Round #7, my doctor ordered my tumor markers to be tested. In June, my Ag 15-3 was 253 and my Ag 27.29 was 354.5. These markers are now in the "normal" range. When I look up what this means, it says that this may be a sign that there are no active cancer cells in my body. Even if there are active cancer cells, I am feeling pretty good about being "normal"!
I had Round #8 on Friday, November 1. My shirt for this treatment was "Faith does not make things easy, it makes them possible." I need to remind myself of this often. Nothing about cancer is "easy". I often get told that I make it look easy. While I appreciate the compliment, another part of me wonders if I hide the hard parts too well. I tend to be a "glass half-full" kind of person, so I choose to focus on the positives, but that doesn't mean that the negatives aren't there.
Halloween night brought a large windstorm to our area. I woke up Friday morning to the wind howling. Shortly after getting up, the power went out. Schools in the area had delays and some even canceled. We had one detour on our way to treatment, adding about 10 minutes to our drive. We were thankful that we only had the one detour. When we arrived in Brewer, there was no power at the Cancer Center. Thankfully they can still do blood draws and chemo with no power. Treatment went according to plan, and so far I am experiencing limited side effects. If all goes well, this week will be my first 5-day work week in a long time.
Day 20: Radiation is not optional. Its job is to mop up any remaining cancer cells scattered around that the surgeon cannot remove.
Day 21: IBC metastatic patterns are similar to other breast cancers. Bone is the most common distant site. Lung, liver, and skin are also very common.
Day 22: Triple negative IBC recurrences, when they occur, are often early events. This is why reconstruction is not recommended for 1-2 years. On the other hand, reaching the five year mark does not mean that a recurrence won't happen.
Day 23: Accurate statistics about IBC are hard to find. This is partially because there is no ICD code for Inflammatory Breast Cancer. This one is shocking to me. A Facebook friend shared that there is an ICD code for pretty much everything, even a person being bitten by a cow.
I also shared this video, starring two women in my online support group:
Day 24: Researchers have not yet identified an IBC gene.
Day 25: Question & Answer session with MD Anderson doctor
Day 28: There is intriguing epidemiological data that exists about exposure to certain viruses leading to inflammatory breast cancer. However, viral etiology is difficult to prove. This is a fact that really piqued my interest. I have had several rare/odd diagnoses and a couple of mystery illnesses in the past. I am curious if one of these illnesses led to this cancer.
Day 30: While IBC is still a significant problem, there is hope. There are some 20 or 30 year survivors. In my support group, there is a lady that has had IBC my entire life.
Day 31: The IBC Network is a volunteer-run charity whose mission is to fund research as quickly as possible. I was very touched that my school organized a pink bracelet fundraiser during the month of October. $200 was raised and when I was asked where I would like the money donated, I asked that it be donated to The IBC Network Foundation. This site was the only place I found hope when I was first diagnosed. Terry Arnold, the founder of the IBC Network, personally responded to my message to tell her about the fundraiser my school did. She said that stories like mine help remind her of why she does what she does.
Thank you to all of you who continue to hold Jason, Owen, and me up in your prayers. We appreciate all of you so much.
I had my seventh round of Taxol on Friday, October 25. My counts were still looking strong, with the exception of my white blood cell count, but that is to be expected. The wbc was a little below the normal range, but it was strong enough for treatment. It's also been strong enough for me to fight off infection the past couple of weeks. Owen had another cold and a few of my students had stuffy noses and coughs. So far I do not have any cold symptoms. I am hoping to not catch this one.
My shirt for round #7 was "Faith Over Fear", an idea shared with me by Karen, the very kind lady that introduced herself to me at Simons this summer. Karen is a breast cancer survivor. When you have cancer, there is a lot of fear, but life gets a lot easier when you live by faith. I still feel the fear creeping in at times, but I am definitely quicker to remember to look to God when those feelings creep in.
A couple of months ago, someone reached out to me on Facebook. She was a friend of a friend, another young woman diagnosed with breast cancer. Jasmine has been fighting her own cancer for the past couple of months and we have chatted frequently through messenger, but had not had the opportunity to meet. We usually miss each other by one day in Brewer. Anyway, the stars were finally aligned and her treatment day was moved to Friday. She and her husband came to my infusion room when she was done with her appointment. It was so nice to finally meet her.
During my blood draw at Round #7, my doctor ordered my tumor markers to be tested. In June, my Ag 15-3 was 253 and my Ag 27.29 was 354.5. These markers are now in the "normal" range. When I look up what this means, it says that this may be a sign that there are no active cancer cells in my body. Even if there are active cancer cells, I am feeling pretty good about being "normal"!
I had Round #8 on Friday, November 1. My shirt for this treatment was "Faith does not make things easy, it makes them possible." I need to remind myself of this often. Nothing about cancer is "easy". I often get told that I make it look easy. While I appreciate the compliment, another part of me wonders if I hide the hard parts too well. I tend to be a "glass half-full" kind of person, so I choose to focus on the positives, but that doesn't mean that the negatives aren't there.
Halloween night brought a large windstorm to our area. I woke up Friday morning to the wind howling. Shortly after getting up, the power went out. Schools in the area had delays and some even canceled. We had one detour on our way to treatment, adding about 10 minutes to our drive. We were thankful that we only had the one detour. When we arrived in Brewer, there was no power at the Cancer Center. Thankfully they can still do blood draws and chemo with no power. Treatment went according to plan, and so far I am experiencing limited side effects. If all goes well, this week will be my first 5-day work week in a long time.
These are the facts that I closed the month out with:
Day 20: Radiation is not optional. Its job is to mop up any remaining cancer cells scattered around that the surgeon cannot remove.
Day 21: IBC metastatic patterns are similar to other breast cancers. Bone is the most common distant site. Lung, liver, and skin are also very common.
Day 22: Triple negative IBC recurrences, when they occur, are often early events. This is why reconstruction is not recommended for 1-2 years. On the other hand, reaching the five year mark does not mean that a recurrence won't happen.
Day 23: Accurate statistics about IBC are hard to find. This is partially because there is no ICD code for Inflammatory Breast Cancer. This one is shocking to me. A Facebook friend shared that there is an ICD code for pretty much everything, even a person being bitten by a cow.
I also shared this video, starring two women in my online support group:
Day 24: Researchers have not yet identified an IBC gene.
Day 25: Question & Answer session with MD Anderson doctor
Day 28: There is intriguing epidemiological data that exists about exposure to certain viruses leading to inflammatory breast cancer. However, viral etiology is difficult to prove. This is a fact that really piqued my interest. I have had several rare/odd diagnoses and a couple of mystery illnesses in the past. I am curious if one of these illnesses led to this cancer.
Day 30: While IBC is still a significant problem, there is hope. There are some 20 or 30 year survivors. In my support group, there is a lady that has had IBC my entire life.
Day 31: The IBC Network is a volunteer-run charity whose mission is to fund research as quickly as possible. I was very touched that my school organized a pink bracelet fundraiser during the month of October. $200 was raised and when I was asked where I would like the money donated, I asked that it be donated to The IBC Network Foundation. This site was the only place I found hope when I was first diagnosed. Terry Arnold, the founder of the IBC Network, personally responded to my message to tell her about the fundraiser my school did. She said that stories like mine help remind her of why she does what she does.
Thank you to all of you who continue to hold Jason, Owen, and me up in your prayers. We appreciate all of you so much.
Can I get a bracelet still? I missed that they were being sold.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the fundraiser is over. Sorry!
DeleteAlways in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for educating us during this chapter of your life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for using your gift to express your heart so clearly to be an encouragement to us. So thankful for our God to turn to.
ReplyDelete