Early Stage Favorite Blog Posts



Getting a Mammogram...Probably Saved My life

My Journey Beyond Shock

The Cancer Card...If You've Got It, Play It

Blessings in Disguise

How Do We Tell Our Children I Have Cancer?

Keep Calm and Hurdle On

The Thought of Losing My Hair

Breast Expanders...What-are-They-and-How Do They Work?

Preparing for a Mastectomy...Care Package Ideas








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Bravery in the Moments of Brokenness

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What is Bravery? Dictionary.com says that bravery is an admirable quality of being able to confront frightening things. I think everyone has the capacity to be brave. You are really only confined by the walls that you put up around yourself. Those who may not feel like they are brave, probably have amazing bravery within that maybe they just haven't had to face yet. 
I have many people say to me, I don't know how you do it.  You are tougher and braver than I am, or could ever be.  Well that is just silly...I really don't think I am tougher or braver than you or anyone else.  I just have to be. 

As you know, this year has been rough.  I had a new breast cancer tumor removed in April.  In July, I started having new pain in my sternum which led to changing my treatment plan.  I was unable to get in the clinical trial I wanted. Meanwhile, two new cancer spots on my ribs began to grow. So I started Xeloda, a chemo in pill form along with Herceptin treatments.

I thought a lot abo…
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Cancer is Mysterious

Well, you know you have had too many surgeries when you recognize the hospital staff, and a few of them even recognize you.  Yesterday was long day, but I am happy to report that the surgery went well.  Ben and I left for the hospital around 8:30 am. We were quickly checked in, but my surgery started more than an hour past the scheduled time.  My parents and our hilarious nurse kept us well entertained.  The surgery itself wasn't too long, but we did not end up getting home until after 5:00 pm. 
     When my breast surgeon came in to see me beforehand, she was surprised to find that my tumor felt smaller.  After surgery, she confirmed that it was definitely smaller than it was 10 days ago.  We won't have any real answers from Pathology until Friday. 
     This tumor is a bit of a mystery at the moment.  It grew rather quickly. The biopsy showed that the tumor was invasive ductal carcinoma with Estrogen+ receptors, but HER2- receptors.  This is where the mystery starts because…
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Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride

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Today was Treatment #15, and I thought I would write about what is going on to catch everyone up. It has been 10 months since my Metastatic Breast Cancer diagnosis.  I haven't had any new scans since March where the last scans showed that everything was stable. (We like stable!)  I currently do not have any future scans scheduled as I do not have any severe bone pain at this time. 
     I guess that I couldn't imagine a day that I would get used to going in for infusions and shots every three weeks, but today I realized that it is slowly happening.  I will continue to have the Perjeta and Herceptin infusions every 3 weeks Xgeva (bone strengthening) shots every 6 weeks and Lupron (reduces Estrogen levels) every 3 months. Today, I got all four. 

     On June 14, we had the Women's Fund Afternoon Tea.  I am the Foundation staff person for the Women's Fund, and this is the largest event I work on all year.  We served over 200 women and girls tea and hors d'oeuvre…
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