Thanks for the Mammories....

I had the pleasure of getting dirty with my team of 30 wonderful women yesterday at the Dirty Girl Mud Run.   Several months ago, my friend Dawn told me she would like to put a team together for the run in my honor.  I never dreamed that we would have such a large team.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Dirty Girl Mud Run, it is a 5K run and obstacle course with the added feature of MUD! You have crawl through the mud, climb over mud, wade through a muddy creek, slide into a mud pool and more. It goes on all day long with a new wave of women starting every 15 minutes.  Our wave started at 8:00 am which we all whined about beforehand...but in the end, I think we were all glad we were in the first wave.  After the run, you are covered in mud...mud in your hair, mud in your ears, mud in your shoes, and a few other places where you do not want mud to be! However, you do get a cute T-shirt, a necklace and one free beer...which yes, we drank at 10:00 am.    I had such a fu

My wonderful mother who has taught me by example and given me so much!       I woke up extra thankful this morning as my five children surrounded me with hugs and a delicious breakfast in bed. While Mother's Day always makes me feel so thankful for the women in my life, today was different.       I am so thankful to be alive, and that I was given a chance to beat the cancer that tried to invade my life.  When you become a mother with cancer, at first you can't breathe because you realize how much you have to lose. Upon hearing those dreadful words, I was prepared to do whatever I had to do to beat it and not miss a moment of my children's lives.  When I think about the fact that if I hadn't scheduled my mammogram when I did, if I had waited maybe even 6 months, this could have been a very different story.       I am also thankful for  all of the women who are and have been blessings in my life, especially in the last 9 months!  This shouldn't be a day dictat

Breast Tissue Expander What in world are breast tissue expanders and how exactly does that work?  I answer these questions often. As many of you know, I am going through this process right now. Like so many others, I wasn't even aware that this was a possible step in breast reconstruction. I had my bilateral mastectomy on February 14, 2013. After my breast tissue was removed, my plastic surgeon put in tissue expanders. Expanders are implant like devices that are used to expand the breast tissue and muscle to eventually comfortably fit breast implants, creating a more refined breast shape and better symmetry. When the tissue expanders are first positioned on the chest wall, they are partially filled with saline. A few weeks after surgery, the expansion or "fill'er ups" (as I called them) are started.  As you can see in the picture above, the expanders have a fill port that is built into the front. They are filled every week or two until you get to the desired si

Update....  I just finished #9 of 12 Taxol chemo treatments. I still have my hair although it is getting very thin on top.  I just wear hats everyday now because the longest of my hair is curly and still looks good with the hats. Thank goodness I had a ton of hair to begin with.  I still lose a small pile of hair everyday, which has slowed but gone on for five weeks now. It is emotionally draining and stresses me on what to do with it, as I just have to take it day by day.  I have to say in general that my spirits aren’t what they have been. I am trying very hard to stay upbeat, but it has been a struggle the last couple of weeks. I’m exhausted. I’m emotionally worn out.  There are so many things that I just can’t do. And if you know me, you know that I am struggling with that! I really hate feeling so weak. But the good news is...I only have three more Taxol chemo treatments and five more Herceptin treatments. We have moved my implant surgery to July so I can get some time to get