Thanks for the Mammories....

   Fun Fact...As you may have seen on social media yesterday, 12/ 13/ 14 was the last sequential date of the century,  The next one won't be until 01/ 02/ 2103. Not a date most of us plan on seeing, although I suppose some of our children might.    12/ 13/ 14 also happened to be my 44th birthday.  My "birthday week" was full of some wonderful blessings, although it was a rough week as well.    Wednesday was infusion day.  Since my doctor only needs to see me every six weeks right now, I was able to do my treatments in Tipton this time.  My mother-in-law, Charlene, and my sister-in-law, Twilla and my sweet little niece, Annie, came to hang out with me at the hospital.     As you can see, Annie wasn't too excited about her favorite aunt only having one arm available to hold her during the treatment.  Later though, we had some quality bonding time which was truly one of the best gifts of the week.  I am a baby lover. There is something that just gives me such peace

Today I got to spend the day with my mom and my sister-in-law, Kesha, while I did treatment package #5.  We had fun chatting it up while I got my two infusions (Herceptin and Perjeta) and two injections (Lupron and Xgeva). But I have to say the best part of the day was leaving the Taxotere OUT of the the equation!!!  Well and maybe Noodles afterwards ;) So now I will keep doing this every three weeks as we try to keep everything in control. I have to admit, there is a wave of anxiety and fear that follows the flood of joy when your doctor tells you, we have it under control right now.  While it is different, it is almost as overwhelming as the fear and anxiety as the diagnosis.  My life is forever altered with the what-ifs of the my unknown future.  There are often moments consumed with when and what the next battle ahead of me will be. While so very thankful that we got this one under control, I find myself facing yet another "new normal" and looking for some semblance

October has finally come to a close.  It was a long month of many supportive blessings as well as many struggles.  Below, I thought I would share some of the highlights that made this month special for me.   October 5 IU Health invited me to go onto the field for the Colts Breast Cancer Awareness event at Lucas Oil Stadium.  This was so special to me to share this moment with 74 other breast cancer survivors.   October 18 Dan Young had their 3rd annual car wash and raised almost $1,000 for the Women's Fund of the Tipton County Foundation to use for breast cancer awareness in our county! October 21   Last year, I was thrilled when IU Health Tipton Hospital agreed to work with me to create "Turn Pink with Tipton" Breast Health Awareness Event.  I was honored to help plan this event again this year.  Nearly 80 women attended this informative evening with two doctors speaking and many educational booths and free health screenings.    October 30 The Ver

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence, by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."  Eleanor Roosevelt I have stared fear in the face for over nine weeks now. The life-changing words I heard on August 27, forever ringing in my ears, brought me to a new place. I have had some of the lowest and most anxious moments in my life facing the realities of my MBC diagnosis. But, I have also had some of the most amazing and memorable moments shared with family and friends, and look so forward to those to come! This week, I have anxiously stepped into the next phase...which has turned out to be a good phase God has blessed me with.  Monday, I had a CT scan of my chest and neck. Two long days later, as I sat in the exam room, heart pounding, waiting for Dr. Miller to come in, all I could think was..."Please just give me some good news." I am excited to share with all of you that Dr. Mille

Because October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, I wanted to share some information about the disease, some that might help with some common misconceptions about metastatic breast cancer. Although a lot of the information is not all positive things we want to hear, remember that We....me, Ben, my kids, my family and friends are taking this on in the most positive of ways. It is absolutely possible to be realistic and optimistic at the same time.    There are over 150,000 of us in this country living with (not dying of) our disease...as the majority of us are not dying of it at this moment. There is hope! Thanks to the new targeted drugs, we are living longer.  And the longer we live, the more time it gives researchers to find the next new great drug or better yet...the CURE!  I believe in the power of Hope and the power of Prayer  I am so grateful for doctors, researchers, new treatments, the amazing people I’ve met from this journey, my TEAM and for life itself.  Love

Wednesday, my awesome sister-in-law, Brandi took me to spend a long day at the IU Health Simon Cancer Center for treatment package #3.   She kept me entertained and well fed throughout our adventure! As you can see, she was quite impressed with my ability to obtain Class A Hazardous Drugs. Lots of laughter! Thanks for a fun day Brandi!                            I   am feeling pretty good..mostly fatigued.  I  have enjoyed two quiet days at home resting!   Although most of you know, sitting around is not easy for me to do!!  Appreciate everyday...remember to find something beautiful and find something to laugh about each and everyday.

October.  What do you think of when you hear the word October?  Football, soccer, volleyball, pumpkins, harvest, costumes, candy, chili, bonfires, leaves, ghosts, skeletons, haunted houses, black, yellow , brown , orange , gold ... These are the things that I generally thought of when I heard the word October..until two years ago. October and everything in it turned pink . Not kidding, even some of the pumpkins turned pink !  Suddenly there was pink  support for breast cancer everywhere I looked.  The thing is, I think it was always there before...I just never really paid that much attention to it, nor did I think much about what it meant.  So as you are surrounded by pink ribbons this month, don't lose sight of who and what those ribbons stand for. The importance of awareness, learning your risk, and learning the benefits of early detection...but also all of the women and men who are being diagnosed with it, those who are living with it, and those who it has taken from u

First, I have to say again, it has been absolutely amazing and inspiring to know that I have so much support and and so many prayers from so many people.  Please know how much my family and I appreciate your support!   I know everyone has a lot of questions.  I had, and still have, a lot of questions. Some of the questions have solid answers, and unfortunately, some of the questions have to remain unanswered because there is no cure, and no one knows for sure. So today, let's go with some of the information that we do know.                     What is Metastatic Breast Cancer? Metastatic Breast Cancer is also known as Stage IV or Advanced Breast Cancer. Metastases occurs when cancer spreads beyond the breast and lymph nodes to other areas.. most commonly the bones, lungs, liver or brain.  Mine decided to spread to my upper sternum. What is HER2+ breast cancer? HER2+ is a protein...aka human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.  A healthy cell has a normal quantity of H

I had my second round of treatments on Wednesday.   I had three infusions...Taxotere Herceptin, and Perjeta.  (Someday soon, I will write a post explaining more about those three drugs.)  I was blessed to have spent the day with two amazing friends, Becky and Merilee.  They did a great job at keeping me laughing and happy all day...including having our own little pizza party.   So far, I feel fortunate that the treatments are mostly just causing aching and fatigue...and no nausea!  The chemo has stolen most of my hair now so now you just never know what hair I may be wearing. I was able to go to Jake's Soccer Senior Night the next day.  What a blessing to be able to so proudly walk out onto the field with Jake.  What a wonderful young man he has grown up to be.  Goodness high school goes so fast! The Boys High School Soccer Team Which leads me to " Team Lori ." Thanks to a hashtag that my son David started, and two wonderful frie

December 13, 2070  " Good Morning America" Taping  Prius Williams Broadcaster for GMA End of commercial break Prius: The fun continues today on Good Morning America, as we have Lori Tragesser here celebrating her 100th birthday.  Now what makes Lori's 100th birthday special?  Well, Lori was in the first group of incredible women to be cured of HER2+ Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer.  She is here today to tell us little about that journey, and give us some advice on how we should live our lives. Prius: looks to Lori    Lori it is great to have your here. Lori: looking a little nervous but smiling from ear to ear with her curly dark brown hair because she refuses to be gray.   It is great to be here Prius.  Prius? Interesting name. Honey, did your parents name you after their car? Prius: looking confused No I don't think so. Lori: Anyways, I always told my kids to look out, I was going to live to be 100! Prius: That is great!  So your cancer diagnosis w

To the hundreds of friends and students who wore pink on Wednesday...if I could only put into words what this meant to me.  During my 3 1/2 hours of infusions...my phone continued to whistle all day with so many prayers and messages.  Hope I didn't miss any pictures..there were so many!  God Bless You All!!   #beatcancer #teamlori

Chapter 2...hmm, I never planned on a Chapter 2.  Actually, I wasn't certain I would ever add another post to this blog.  While the memories had many silver linings, there was enough painfulness that I preferred to forget.   But I have returned and so the story goes...  I had this annoying neck pain that would not allow me to sleep on my side. That is my happy way to sleep, so as you can imagine, I was not sleeping well.  Pain coming down the sides of my neck into my collarbones.  I tried everything I could think of...one pillow, two pillows, new pillows, heat, neck massage, but nothing helped.  So when I called my oncologist to get her opinion on what I should do, I was surprised to hear her say a bone scan.  Well one scan led to another until it was determined I needed a bone biopsy of a lytic lesion on my manubrium, which is the top portion of the sternum.  I am sad to report that they determined it to be breast cancer, the same type as I had before...Estrogen and HER2 rece