April 20, 2011

Wednesday 4/20/11

After a night of very little sleep - it is clear that I am sick.  I started the morning by calling my doctor to report my symptoms and ask for medication.  I am coughing like crazy and can barely keep my eyes open I feel so tired.  Today is a sick day!!

My doctor called in Cipro - I have never taken Cipro before so I had no idea what to expect.  Matt told me it would turn things around fairly quickly and it totally helped.   I felt immediate relief from my cough - but still feel sick which is to be expected.  

Post Cipro (things are looking better)

This afternoon Matt and I met with my surgeon and the treatment plan changed a little.  I am still swirling from all the information we learned today but this is the planned course of treatment:

1. Mastectomy for my left side (late May early June)
2. 6 weeks of Radiation for my left side (due to the fact that my lymph nodes under my left arm had cancer prior to starting chemo). 
3. 6 months after Radiation Mastectomy for my right side with reconstruction for both sides. 

This means that I am not expected to have reconstruction until 2012.  This was very different then what I went in expecting - but my surgeon is awesome and he worked hard to explain the risk and benefits of this course of treatment.  There are lots of details we didn’t get into because we are eating this elephant one bite at a time.  I will meet with the plastic surgeon sometime within the next week and get the first mastectomy scheduled fairly soon.  I will say this - it is pretty sobering to have this discussion with the surgeon because we are talking about recurrence and survival rates.  

I have a lot of research to do in the days / weeks to come on Radiation.   

Exploring in the Doctor's Office

Locks Shmocks (they mean nothing to me)

FYI - Only Bandaids in here

I am exhausted 

Tuesday 4/19/11

Today my throat actually hurts and my voice started sounding a little funny.  I went to bed early and hoped for the best.  Matt obviously loves me and went out for dinner for me - but I wasn’t really in the mood for eating by the time he returned ... sorry Matt.   :(

Monday 4/18/11

My throat felt a little scratchy but nothing to be alarmed about ... yet.  

Sunday 4/17/11

So it seems like my body reacts the same way to treatment and now I know a lot more about what to expect.  Outside of some new symptoms such as acid reflux - everything else is pretty much the same and tolerable.  

Sunday morning I was feeling surprisingly good!!!  With plenty of rest under my belt from Saturday Matt and I decided to go for a motorcycle ride.  I haven’t been on the Xerox since all of this began in December - we have had a few things done to the bike and Matt said it was riding like a totally different bike.  We have been off coffee for several months now and use it now as an occasional treat.  This morning we rode to Dunkin’ Donuts.  While Dunkin’ is everywhere back east - that is not the case in Houston.  We had been driving around this week and saw the shinny new big building and stored it in our memory banks.  

We got up, got dressed in all our gear and rode out to Dunkin’ for some breakfast and coffee.  It was a great morning to ride - very little traffic and the Xerox was loving the crisp air.  Matt was totally right - the bike rode totally different, it was very smooth and compliant and treated me very well for the short ride out.  As I mentioned before the bike is pretty aggressive so Matt rode it back to town and I rode the Monster (which let me say was super fun!).

Me at Dunkin'

On our way back we cut through down town and saw pink everywhere we went, we quickly realized that this weekend was the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Houston.  This year they had nearly 1,000 participants and raised more then $1.8 Million.  The walkers walked 26.2 miles on Saturday and 13.1 miles on Sunday.  We quickly assessed that we wanted to stop to cheer on the walkers - we pulled into a parking lot on  Allen Parkway and encountered “Team Booblicious” - they had a total of 9 walkers -- and were pretty enthusiastic about the event.  Matt explained that I am currently in treatment for breast cancer and had chemo on Thursday - asked if we could take a picture - which you see below.  

I think sometimes people don’t believe that I am in treatment because I have some pretty strong / promising moments.  It’s safe to say that everyone has their own notion about what “sick” looks like.  I think that is one of the biggest lessons I have had through all of this - when you are at your worst it is important to keep doing the things that make you feel better or make you happy.  I still get a lot of looks when I go for a run at the park or when I go out to eat - because of the pre-conceived notion that being in bed will make things better, when in reality living your life actually makes you feel better.  This is different for everyone, keep doing what you do: whether it is cheering your favorite team on, riding your motorcycle, going for a run at the park or hiking at your favorite park.  It is absolutely true that we never know what we are training for ... push yourself to do more!!

Me with Team Booblicious

We drove around a cheered on more walkers but the walk was far from over so I decided it was time to go home for nap.  We did get a chance to get back out on the bikes and visit Nick, Jaunda and Sophie.  

The day ended with a visit from Caroline and Lance - they brought over Lasagna and we forced them to eat some with us - this lasagna was so good!!!  Thank you Caroline and Lance - you have been very sweet - stopping by with food for us :)

Today was a GREAT day - I felt great - but clearly understand that every good moment is a gift.  

Saturday 4/16/11

Matt and I went into the weekend expecting to have a fun Sunday (chemo permitting).  Saturday was a very low key day.  A morning of rest for me and motorcycle riding for Matt - we have the Xerox back and he is logging some miles before his next track day.  Afternoon of errand running was very relaxed with a visit to one of my favorite stores (REI).

Friday 4/15/11

Today I returned to Kelsey for my Neulasta Shot - but today was very special!!  I think I have mentioned before that the care I have received from Kelsey has been spectacular, well to celebrate my almost completed chemo I have made the Oncology Nursing Staff scarves with my new label that reads:

Hand Crocheted by:  

Nancy Jordan

AKA:  SuperMonkey

Today was the day I chose to deliver the scarves - below is a picture of me with the Oncology Nursing Staff (with pharmacist) and their new scarves.  These nurses have been very patient with all my chemo questions and have been very kind to Matt and I during the course of treatment.  Thank you for the exceptional care you have provided!!

Me with Kelsey Crew!!

Odd note:  Always keep your eyes open!!  Matt and I were driving later that afternoon and saw the following on a corner -- yes that is a baby doll.  

Homeless BabyDoll

Thursday 4/14/11

Today I received my 5th of 6 chemo treatments, it feels pretty cool to be this close to the end of full on chemo.  While I will still have to continue on Herceptin for one year - it is not the full chemo cocktail that I have been getting and eventually my hair should come back :)  I have heard that it can come back curly -- which is pretty frightening for me since my hair is already pretty curly.  Should be interesting to see what happens. 

All Hooked Up

Yahoo for Pie!!

Oh geez - Chemo is rough
Even SuperMonkeys Get Tired

On a funny and inappropriate note:

Matt and I watch a cartoon on FX called “Archer” - it is a totally inappropriate cartoon with adult content about a spy.  When Matt and I returned from our recent trips to Boston and Denver we had a couple of episodes of Archer on the DVR.   Episodes aired on 3/17 entitled “Stage 2” and 3/24 entitled “Placebo Effect” - during these episodes Archer (who is a man) is diagnosed with Breast Cancer and subsequently undergoes treatment.  Being a breast cancer patient I found the episodes totally hysterical.  I recommend you add this show to your DVR and strongly consider looking up the episodes on www.hulu.com

Stay tuned for more SuperMonkey Adventures,

Nancy

Aka:  SuperMonkey

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”

- Newt Gingrich