Well Hello!!  

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.  Mine has been a busy one so far.  Since I last blogged, many things have happened.  I took an intentional break so as not to bore you with daily occurrences as I'm sure you all are busy with your own lives :)

Thanks to these ladies for everything

The ride put together by my co-worker was a success and fun was had by all, maybe a little too much ;)  Thank you to everyone that contributed in your presence, your donations, and your friendship.  Bob and I truly appreciate all the support we have gotten from everyone.

So where to begin......when I last reported I had three chemo sessions left.  I'm happy to report I'M DONE!!!!  4 Red Devils (AC), three Carboplatins, and twelve Taxols.  Finished.  Chemo sucked, but it worked.  I can't thank my main nurse Julie, and my scheduler Mary at Moorland Froedert enough for their support through it all.  Really to everyone involved at Froedert, they have been so supportive and fantastic.

                                           

                                                  Mary

Julie

                                   
This is a comparison of the first MRI and the newest.  If you look close in the second picture you can see that the skin is less thick, the node is gone, and the mass has shrunk.  Yeah!

My oncologist and surgeon are very happy with the outcome.  I will not get my hopes up too much yet.  Once pathology comes back from surgery clean, then I will get excited.  I will shout from the rooftop if it's clean!

June 24th I had an appointment with a oncology gynocologist.  It was decided that since no reconstruction will be done during surgery (ie no long surgery time) they would remove my ovaries and fallopian tubes.  These are removed because A)  I don't need them anymore; and B) it helps to prevent estrogen from fueling my Cancer and hence a reoccurence.   Can you say Hello instant menopause.........😈🔥👊

June 28th a meeting with the oncology surgeon.  A very different meeting than the first time.  She took plenty of time to explain what she would be doing and prepare me for what I will look like.   She even sat and socialized a bit after.  Phew.  Much better than "get your affairs in order".  She was very pleased with the MRI results, enough to say they will also be taking my port out during surgery.  Hallelujah!  Didn't expect that for awhile, but she says "I don't need it anymore"!!!  Surgery time should be about 4 hours total, with a luxury stay in the hospital (Froedert) for anywhere between 2 to 4 days.  Joy :/

Now that chemo is done I've had a chance to have a little fun and enjoyed Summerfest by seeing two concerts.  Chris Stapleton with Alabama Shakes, excellent both, and Tesla/REO Speedwagon/Def Leppard.  Great show!!  Guess who was my favorite ;)

Me and the boys 😉

After that it was the annual Kuspa Christmas Mountain Dells trip.  So happy to be able to participate in this.  If chemo had stayed on track, I most likely would have had surgery and been homebound.  Instead we all had a great time.

Had a visitor by the pool. Wonder who?

Lola spent the time at Doggie Dorms.  Needless to say, she's glad to be home.





So two weeks after the last chemo and I can say it sucked, really, really sucked.  But its over and it worked.  Its parting shots to me?.......I lost my voice (going on three weeks now) and shingles.  Ugh.  My lost voice is frustrating since nobody can hear me.  So I just sit, mostly quiet....probably a relief to a few 😆  Shingles are terribly painful.  Thought it may have been a reaction to the sun, no such luck.  Had to take a prescription for 10 days, but it didn't stop the pain.  That just takes time.  For those that have never seen shingles before, this is what it looks like.  They also typically are on one side of the body or other, not both.  Mine started in the middle and spread right.

I also have mild neuropathy in my left foot, this is a tingling and numbness.  At times there is enough of an issue that the leg goes up, and I'm forced to sit down.  I'm told this can go away after awhile, fingers crossed.  And last parting shot, my armpit is numb on the cancer side, and gets mild shooting pains on my underarm.  It will be real numb after surgery, so at least I will be use to it.  I am unsure why this happened, or if it will go away.  Time will tell.  Gotta love the side effects.

On July 7 just before vacation, I had a CT scan to compare some liver spots in a before and after chemo.  Thankfully on July 11 the results showed everything is the same and nothing new popped up.  What a relief.  I have to admit, this occupied my mind for several days, especially since my voice was gone.  I worried there may have been a spread to the throat or lungs.  Guess that will be a common thing from now on.

Scheduling has been coordinated with the two surgeons and as long as my pretesting comes out well, I'm scheduled to say goodbye to the girls on August 4th.  Two more appointments on July 19th for a physical and a meeting to show how to take care of the post surgery breast area and drains.  Sounds like fun huh?


Once we are all edjumacated on how to take care of me post surgery we are off to Florida one more time.  This time we are taking my sister and her family who have never been to our place.  I'm super excited and happy to have a chance to visit my pelican friends and enjoy Florida one more time before the Fall and dreaded Winter.

 The Bye Bye Boobie party is scheduled for July 30, no location yet.  Then off they come, sassy things.


Enjoy the Summer people.  Before you know it, it's back to school and bye, bye Summer.

Next up on the blog, probably post surgery.....unless I get a bug up my butt and want to bitch about something.  ;)   .........Or something interesting or significant happens.........

And before I forget.,...I HAVE HAIR!!!!  White with sprinkles of dark, but hair!

......still no eyebrows to speak of...........