EXCITING NEWS!!!

I went for my chemotherapy treatment today and I asked the doctor if I could have only one more after today and skip that last one because the neuropathy in my hands is getting worse and I am not getting even one day that I am not so tired. He said that most people are not able to complete all 12 and that since I have had such a great result so far, he would be very comfortable with today being my LAST chemo!! Of course, I said, "sounds good to me"!! Now don't expect me to bounce back to my old self anytime soon as it can take many months and even up to a year to completely recover from the chemo effects, but my taste should improve in 6 weeks and my dry, irritated eyes, nose and mouth, should feel better in 4-6 weeks!! I am one happy camper right now. I will have surgery on July 22nd for a lumpectomy and lymph nodes removal. I the pathology report from the lump (which is only a tiny spot now) comes back that there are still cancer cells around the outside edges, then I will need to go back and have a mastectomy. The surgery is outpatient and it takes 5 days to get the pathology report. I have two entire weeks now with NO medical appointments. And Jared got hired by a company yesterday and starts to work on July 11th. (He has been out of work since the end of February) Yep, life is pretty darn good right now!! Thank you all so much for loving a caring about me. Each of you are important to me! P.S. I'll be back to sweeping walls and pulling weeds in no time!

BENEFITS OF.....

Benefits of being bald: quick showers, save $ on haircuts. Benefits of neuropathy in hands, irritated eyes, extreme fatigue, feeling ill: humility. Hope of more time to share kisses, hugs and laughter with family and friends: PRICELESS and worth it all

DECISIONS & FRUSTRATION

My desk calendar at work has a quote on it today that helped me re-evaluate my frustrations.

I don’t really care if my glass
is half full or half empty -
I’m just happy to have a glass.
- Joe Farrell

I had been trying to decide whether to have a mastectomy or lumpectomy and if mastectomy, one breast or both, reconstruction or not. Well, last week while I was receiving chemo therapy I heard another patient telling the volunteer who works there that she had finished all her treatment 5 months ago and thought everything was fine but had recently had a PET scan which indicated that the cancer was back and she was having the hardest time knowing she had to go through chemo all over again. Her cancer was not breast, but after hearing her story, I decided that I am going to have a mastectomy of just the left breast. Reconstruction or not is something I still need to decide. I feeling really good and peaceful about the decision.
Now for the frustration, you might recall that a few weeks ago I could not receive the chemo therapy because my white blood cell count was too low. I was disappointed because that put me a week behind. WELL, this past Tuesday the count was too low again! But this time the doctor said to come back today and if the count was high enough I could have chemo. Thankfully, it was high enough (barely) and I was able to get my dose of chemical! (Kind of funny to want that) The doctor talked like this might be happening more frequently now. DARN IT! I have five more chemo treatments to go, but if we have to keep spreading them further apart, it could take up to 10 weeks. Guess I get to work on being patient and letting GOD be in control.

IT’S A PINK PARTY!!!!

A couple of weeks ago some friends of mine had a "Pink Party" in my honor. There were about 31 women in attendance and I felt so loved . The evening even came with a rainbow! We all wore pink and the refreshments were pink. Prior to the party I was asked to pick out a quilt pattern that I would like made for me and it was worked on that night. The quilt pieces were taken home by Mary Woods and she will complete it. The quilt has the word "FRIENDS" appliqued across the bottom. I am so excited to receive it and will always think of how blessed I am to have so many friends and family who love and support me, not just through the journey of breast cancer, but through the journey of life.