The deed is done...

Well...it's officially done! My head is bald and white. My hair started coming out more yesterday, and I was really disgusted by it. So, I called my friend Julie to ask if her husband would come over and shave my head. (He shaves his own head and is an expert with the blade.) He very willingly accepted, so we made a night out of it. We ate dinner, carved pumpkins with the kids, and then headed to the bathroom for the final farewell to the mane. I was glad to have Julie and Brad there for support as well! They are both good encouragers and great friends! Greg started off by taking our scissors and cutting it down. Now that was a sight- it looked like I had gotten attacked by a 3 year old with crayola scissors! Then Greg took his clippers and buzzed it down- like Shanade O'Connor. (Not an attractive look on me!) Brad then took over, "Barber Brad" as I referred to him- and lathered my head up and went to it! It's gone- all of it- and I feel okay. No, it's not something I would ever voluntarily do again, but this comes with the territory of kicking breast cancer's butt! I was nervous about having some strange birth mark or knots on my head, but I didn't thank goodness! However, you can see where my part was- it's the only thing with "color" on my bald head. It's actually kinda funny seeing a little tan stripe running down the top of my head! So how did the kids react? Well, Graham came in the bathroom in the middle of it all and was totally shocked and I could tell it bothered him. I shed a few tears because I didn't want to scare him. During his prayers last night he said, "Lord, please help my mom's hair grow back really fast!" So hopefully he'll get adjusted to it and I do hope God answers Graham's prayer! :) As for Mallory Kate, she was already in the bed last night so I put a pink bandanna on this morning. When she saw me come downstairs she said, "Mommy's pink hat." She's not even 2 years old yet, so of course I can't really explain all of this to her like I can to Graham. All of this will soon be a distant memory! Showering was very different this morning- do I use shampoo or body wash on my head? I went for the shampoo this morning and boy did that feel weird! I never really knew how cold bald people must feel. Even in the shower, I got chilly from my head. I've always heard that you lose most of your body heat through your head, but now I can attest that yes, that is true! I needed to run a few errands this morning, so I put on my wig for the first time. I am definitely not used to that either. I'm not a big fan of it so far...I think I will opt for the Harley Davidson Do-rag look most days, especially around the house! I am not that brave to post a picture of my bald head yet- maybe I can soon. Please help me pray that I will not lose my eyelashes and eyebrows. I know that sounds silly to ask of you to do, but some people do keep theirs- and I hope I do! :) Here are some pics of us carving pumpkins...

Brad, Cooper, and Julie

The dreaded time has come...

Yes- it's here. The day has come when my hair has started to fall out. I noticed my head "hurting", more like tenderness, yesterday. This morning, after my shower, I was drying my hair- with my fingers because it's so short- and I looked at the palms of my hands...and it was confirmed...the chemo was working. You know, I'm not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier post or not, but the reason for hair falling out during some chemos (not all chemotherapy makes people lose their hair- but mine does) is that the chemos "attack" the most rapidly dividing cells in your body. Cancer cells and hair follicle cells are the most rapidly dividing cells...meaning the loss of hair. So, yes, it really stinks to lose my hair, but on the other hand I know that the chemo drugs are doing their thing! Well...I knew this day was coming, I just didn't know when. I had to drop off some paperwork this morning at my surgeon's office and I was talking to the nurse there. She said by the end of the weekend, I probably wouldn't have any hair left. So...it's a good thing I wasn't too terribly crazy about my new short-do (although many people have said they loved it...and I'm not so sure if they were just saying that to make me feel better or if they really did like it! Haha!) You know the funny thing is, I have just gotten used to passing by a mirror and knowing that the image looking back was me and not a man! Funny how these things work out. Anyways, I'll post a closer up picture of my short hair do, although it will soon be gone!

And here are some more pictures to enjoy...our trip to the Pumpkin Patch! We had a blast and Mallory Kate especially loved the "Baby Pumpkins!" (as she called them!) :)

Like it or not...

So I did it...cut off about 9 inches. I have to say, I did shed a few tears. I sat down in the chair, and my hairdresser asked if I had a style in mind. That's when I bust into tears and told her it really didn't matter what she did because I wouldn't have the "new do" but for a few days. I can't believe I cried over this, especially in front of this sweet little old lady also getting her hair done. The little lady even tried to make me feel better by showing me the "lack of hair" on top of her head. You know, your hair makes you who you are, and it is hard to come to terms of not having any. I feel like I am losing a part of me- my femininity. I have never had really short hair, and ironically, I had been growing my hair out for some time now. So, the longest part of my hair now is 3 inches on top. And it is super short- and in my opinion, very boyish looking. I hate it...matter of fact, I called Greg on the way home from getting it cut and told him I wanted him to shave it off for me. And from what the doctor told me, I will be losing it probably at the beginning of the week. Now, for the not so fun part of all of this...when people lose their hair from chemo it doesn't just gradually thin out. It comes out in clumps and patches! So, Greg will have the "honor" of shaving my head when this happens. All of this is really hard for me- the whole losing your hair thing. So I have tried to think about the positive things about not having hair: less time getting ready, not having to blow dry my hair, saving money on shampoo and conditioner (which Greg always complains about), not having anymore "bad hair days", and getting to wear funky, cute scarves that I've never worn before! See...that makes me feel better already! PS- if anyone knows where to find some funky, cute scarves, please let me know! Here is a picture (after all the tears) of my hairdresser and me...I warned you, not very cute! (And yes, she has purple in her hair!) :)

Hawthorne Inn Breast Cancer Walk...

Mom, me, and Granny- 3 Generations

My very dear Granny lives at an Assisted Living here in Greenville- The Hawthorne Inn. Today The Hawthorne Inn held a Breast Cancer Walk in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. They honored 2 breast cancer survivors, one being a resident and the other is the director of the center. They also showed their support to me battling breast cancer now. Everyone was armed in pink and the breast cancer ribbons- even their dog, Pippy! We all met in front of the building at 1:30 and walked in the beautiful weather around their facility, carrying balloons. When we reached the front of the building, we released the balloons and cheered in support of all who have been and will be effected by this terrible disease! We went inside and enjoyed a cookie cake and pink punch! Thanks for the support Granny and the employees and residents of the Hawthorne Inn! :) PS...Take one last look at my long hair in the pictures...it's getting cut off in the morning!

Employees of The Hawthorne Inn

"I feel good, da-na-na-na-na-na..."

Can you hear me signing..."I feel good!" Yes- back to myself again! I had such a wonderful day today. I kinda forgot how it feels to feel "normal". I have a new appreciation for what I always took for granted- feeling well. I will forever thank God in my daily prayers for feeling well each day- what a blessing that really is! I saw Dr. Go this morning and they drew some labs. He said my white blood counts were good- which is really why I went today. He wanted to make sure they didn't drop too low because my body wouldn't be able to fight off any kind of infection. I will not go back until November 3rd, round #2- yeah! I had a wonderful weekend with my friend, Kristen, from Texas! She was such a blessing to have around and she helped out so much. I miss her already! I will post some pics from our visit together later when she e-mails them to me. :)

Days 6 & 7...

I woke up Saturday morning feeling so much better than the previous 2 days. But let me tell you, the energy I did have quickly faded after a trip out to lunch. My friend, Kristen, is visiting from Dallas and we have had so much fun together catching up- and her help has been tremendous! (Seriously, I can't thank her enough!) I thought we would all go downtown to eat and do some walking around, since our downtown has really grown! But...my body did not agree on that plan. We ate at Brick Street Cafe- which was great- and by the time I walked back to the car, I was exhausted. So, we came home and she went to visit some other friends and I rested a while. We then went to dinner at another friend's house and had such a great time! Until...(you know things always have a way of happening at the wrong time for me) Mallory Kate woke up crying at about 11:00pm. I went in to check on her and she had thrown up in her crib! Ugh!!! Kristen and Greg were such a help in getting her cleaned up and sheets and all changed. She was pretty puny all last night, and woke up this morning still tired. As the day has gone on, she's feeling much better and almost back to her little perky self. I have Lysoled the house down- hoping that no one else will catch this. I feel very tired today- not sleepy tired, but non-energetic tired (if that makes sense!) I hope I'll feel even better by tomorrow. I think I can almost safely say, "Ive made it through round 1!" Yeah- it honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was really thinking I would feel nauseated and sick, but thanks to the expensive meds and prayers- I didn't! I will post some pics of our visit this weekend later. Thanks again for all the prayer (and continue on...God answers them!) :)

Day 5...

Today I actually made it downstairs before 8:00! I was able to help get Mallory Kate dressed- although I did forgo the "dirty diaper" and lovingly asked Greg to change it! (You know, I have the Breast Cancer card in my back pocket and can use it at will! Haha- I'm only kidding!) So how am I feeling today? Well...I do say a little better than yesterday- but I have TERRIBLE jaw pain! I called the nurse about it already, and she said to take some Alieve or Ibuprofen- which I already did. She said that some people feel joint pain in their hips or lower back, but I guess mine ended up in my jaw. As far as energy goes, I do feel a little better in that department. I had to cancel my "short-do" haircut for yesterday, and had it rescheduled for next Thursday. (Hopefully I'll still have some hair for her to cut by then!) I really need to pick up the house today- I am having a friend from Dallas fly in tonight and stay until Tuesday! I am thrilled about her coming- although my house is not all in order at this time! It's unreal what a 6 year old and almost 2 year old can do to a "semi-clean" house in under 5 minutes! If only they could pick it up that quick as well! I am going to try to do a little cleaning this morning- we'll see how far I get with that. Greg told me today that I was not to shower until he gets home for lunch- due to what happened yesterday. I truly thank you all for the meals you have done for my family, all the cards, and prayers! (I am a little behind on the thank you notes, and will catch up soon- I promise!) Love to all!

Day 4...

This is the first time I made it downstairs today- at 11:30. I tried to take a shower this morning, but ended up almost "blacking out"- you know when you start to see stars and all fades? So, I sat in the shower until I could get back up. Boy...chemo is rough stuff! I guess this is a sign that the "poisons" are doing their job! I pretty much have laid in the bed all morning- doing nothing. Although I did talk to a fellow BC patient on the phone who gave me lots of encouragement today! (On a day that I needed it most! :) I think things will get better- hopefully soon! I do not feel nauseated- just kinda achy and very weak. All I feel like eating is a starchy baked potato! Weird, huh? I'm going to call Greg at work and ask him to bring me one for lunch- I love you, honey! Thanks for the prayers!

Day 3...

Well, the Dr. said days 3-7 would be the toughest, and I believe that he is right. I had a horrible time sleeping last night- I laid awake for over 3 hours, due to the steroid I think. Last night's dose was the last of that, thank goodness! I will try to help myself tonight by taking a prescription the Dr. gave me to help with sleep. It was hard to get out of bed this morning, I tried to help get the kids ready for the day, but I don't think I was too much help- sorry Greg! I felt this pressure on my chest- which I called the nurse about- and she said it is probably heartburn from some of the chemo drugs. I took some of Greg's Zantac, and it may of helped a little, but not so much. I managed to get in the shower when Greg came home for lunch- and that did make me feel a little better, too. I have been mainly reading today- I'm not so into the TV at this point. I do have to say that I am pretty impressed with the anti-nausea drugs though. I really don't feel that queasy- although I really don't have much of an appetite either yet. I'm sure this will all pass- hopefully sooner than later! Thanks for the prayers!

Day 2 continued...

I just got back from the doctor. I gained 4 pounds- what's that all about? Dr. Go said that it is common for you to gain anywhere from 2-7 pounds after chemo due to fluid retention. He said I didn't need a diuretic and that it would go away in a few days- great! I also got the Neulasta injection...phew...I think that hurt more than my spinal when having my children! She offered it to me in the back of my arm or in the stomach. I chose the arm today, but next time will be the stomach! She said there is less nerves in the stomach. Anyways, I also talked with Dr. Go about my Oncotype test- the results came in. My score was a "46". This takes into account treatment vs recurrence rate. Basically, the higher the score, the more benefit from chemo. So, he was on the right path- that means I will benefit more in taking the chemo and radiation and Tamoxifen. Based on this test, I have about a 37% recurrence rate of cancer within the next 5 years. Now like I said in an earlier post, I don't have to be a statistic! I will fight this and I have the Big Man upstairs in my corner! :) Anyways- I'm off to go take a nap- I'm feeling a little tired, but otherwise, pretty good. Oh, and all of the side effects I mentioned earlier this morning are completely normal- like I thought! Thanks for the continued prayers! Love to all!

Day 2...

I would have slept great last night, but I kept waking up thinking about when to take which pills! I'm not much of a medicine person, and I think I want to make sure I take everything when I'm supposed to! So, when I got up this morning I went downstairs- and noticed my legs were a little shaky. I had to have something on my stomach- so I ate a delicious piece of banana bread that someone from my school had baked! (I didn't have that nasty "dirty penny" taste this morning so I actually enjoyed it!) Then I laid all the meds out on the counter, and took 1 steroid pill, 1 anti-nausea pill, 1 Claritin, and 1 IB Profrin. The last 2 pills are to help with the side effects from the Neulasta shot I'm getting this morning at 11:00. I have to take another steroid tonight too- to make sure I don't have allergic reactions. The site on my arm where I had the IV yesterday is bruised and a little swollen today. My cheeks are very pink this morning, and I also feel a little pressure on my heart. I'll talk to the nurse about these side effects this morning. (I think it's all normal though.)

On another note, I did go see Graham in his performance at PTA last night. They were adorable, although Greg and I had Mallory Kate to contend with! I guess the terrible 2's are approaching us quickly! I took a few shots, not the best ones, but he is the second boy in blue from the left.

Graham looking intently for his parents!

One down, five to go...

Well, I made it- round 1 checked off the calendar! We arrived at 9am and left a little after 2pm. It really wasn't that bad. I decided to get a "private room" rather than to sit in the open infusion room. I had a TV and my mother-in-law's laptop w/ Internet connection! Yeah! That passed the time for sure. (I even looked on e-bay for some cute scarves or "do rags" as they call them!) The nurse did about 30 minutes of teaching me the ins and outs on the 3 chemo drugs- and all the side effects! Wow! There was a tons of possible side effects- of course, since these drugs are poisonous! My nurse, Cassie- who I adore, started me off with some heavy anti-nausea meds called Emend, followed by Benedryl (in case of an allergic reaction). She then had to push the bright red Adrimyican through the IV, and watch that it didn't leak from the vein causing serious damage. You know I had to laugh when she walked in to give me this one. Cassie had on full body armor and gloves to protect herself! It was quite a sight I must say- and to know something that dangerous is going into my body. Well, I hope it does a great job of killing those bad cancer cells! Then she gave me the Taxotere- which she watched for a little bit for allergic reactions, and the last one was the Cytoxin. During all of these meds, they kept saline going in as well. This will be the same plan for each of my chemo visits. Greg was there with me today and that helped. Right now I still feel pretty good- although I have a terrible "dirty penny" taste in my mouth- and no I've never tasted one, but that's what I imagine it would taste like! I go back in the morning for the Neulasta injection- which can be painful the days following. Thanks so much for the prayers! I wasn't the bit nervous today- I had Perfect Peace! I pray this continues through it all! And with the support of family and friends like you, I'm sure it will! Oh, and I picked up my wig today and got Greg's approval! :) Graham has a PTA performance tonight that I hope I feel well enough to go! I'm going to take a quick nap so I can be there!

Here are some pics I took when we were out in the yard playing at the end of last week. As you can see, Graham loves to climb trees! (And he scares the heck out of me doing it!) But boys will be boys! And for Mallory Kate, well...she's ALL girl! We also took Graham and his buddy to Fall for Greenville- they had a blast! Enjoy!

Grahm loves to climb!

Mallory Kate loves her babies!

Graham and Conner at Fall for Greenville

Ready, Set, CHEMO...

Here we go...Chemo starts on Monday! I met with Dr. Go yesterday (which I absolutely LOVE)! If anyone ever needs an oncologist, I highly recommend him. When I told him that I am going to make one ugly bald lady, he told me I could never be ugly, even with a bald head! Boy, he knows how to win the ladies over, doesn't he? Haha!) He is incredibly knowledgeable, and puts things in terms that I can actually understand- and he seems to genuinely care for me, too! So yesterday's appointment was basically a question/ answer appointment and I had some labs drawn, too. He went over my PET scan- which was good- and I actually got to see the computer images of it. It was so cool! It was in 3D and he could manipulate my body around- just like on TV shows I've seen before. I could see all the "hot spots"- which were my brain- that means it's working properly (of course!) and around the surgery site, which was normal he said. He also said my echo was great- no problems there. Dr. Go went over the plan for the road ahead- 6 cycles of chemo, one every 3 weeks; then radiation for 37 straight days (minus weekends); and then Tamoxifen for 5+ years (a pill). The chemo medicines I am taking are known as "TAC"(forgive me for the spelling here)- Taxotere, Adriamyican, and Cytoxin. He went over the side effects- not so fun! Of course they include nausea/ vomiting, allergic reactions, low blood pressure, tingles in hands and feet, fluid retention, irritable bladder, burns to the skin (if the Adriamyican leaks from the vein- Great!). He prescribed some heavy duty anti-nausea meds called Emend- which I might add is $106 per pill! Yikes! (Thank God for insurance- I just had to pay $25 for 2 pills.) He also prescribed other nausea meds like Phenagren and some others I haven't heard of. He said I can basically get whatever I want as far as meds go- but I hate taking medicine! We'll see how my body adjusts to all of this and I might decide I need to stock my medicine cabinet up with all kinds of goodies! He also is putting me on a steroid the day before chemo and the day after to prevent allergic reactions. The day after chemo, I go back into the office to get an injection of Neulasta- this injection helps your body produce more white blood cells by expanding your bone marrow. I'm not looking forward to this b/c from what I've read and heard, this makes your bones feel extremely achy, like the flu, but worse! So what to expect? Well, on Monday I start at 9:00. The nurse will do some teaching for about 30 min then I'm off to the infusion room. (It's kinda scary, honestly. It's a huge room with lots of recliners and people are just sitting there with IV's getting their treatments. When I went, I didn't see anyone under the age of 70- no offense, but I am in the minority big time! But hopefully, I'll have a companion keep me company on my treatment days.) They told me to expect to be there anywhere from 4-6 hours! (PS- there is no wi-fi connection! Bummer, they need to get that installed b/c I need to find something to pass the time! There's only so much time I can look out of a window and admire the garden and birds.) Then on Tuesday, I'll go back for the Neulasta injection. Dr. Go said the worst feeling days would be days 3-7. Then I'll slowly feel better as each day passes. I'll go back 1 week after chemo to check my blood count. They say days 7-10, your blood count levels drop extremely low. This is where we have to be careful about germs. So, if you want to visit me, great- I'd love you to, but no offense- don't come if you're sick! Dr. Go said make hand washing a must around the house at all times. That's what is ahead of us right now. Down the road after chemo and radiation, we will discuss mastectomy and hysterectomy options, if needed based on the genetic testing- which is in November. That's about it! I am ready to get going and get this over. What's really bothering me now is the fact that loosing my hair is inevitable with the chemo I'm on! Dr. Go said it happens about 12-17 days after the first round of chemo! YIKES! This scares me and I don't have enough guts to go ahead and shave my head! I scheduled an appointment with my wonderful hairdresser to give me a short-do next Thursday. I don't want to go short, but I figured it would be easier on me emotionally to find clumps of short hair on my pillow than long clumps of hair! So, Greg, get the vacuum ready! I'm going today to order my wig and see if I can find some decent scarves. If anyone has some cute, trendy scarves, I'd love to borrow them for a while! :) (I'm not much of a hat person though.) I'm also going to check on some support groups today. I think it would be nice to talk to others having gone through the same kinds of things as me. I know I say this a lot, but I really do thank each of you for your prayers and awesome support! You all mean so much to me and my family. We love you all! :) And a little reminder- I know that God is in control and I see this every day! I feel peace about all of this and I know He will take good care of me! God is good- ALL the time, regardless if this looks bad to us. He has the PERFECT PLAN!

Good news...

First of all, before I begin, let me apologize for the length of my posts! Greg says i write too much, but I had to explain to him that this is therapy for me and it's hard to get all of this into one little paragraph. (He's not much of a reader anyways, and if it's not in Sports Illustrated, he doesn't read it!) So...on to my good news...I needed this so much! Dr. Gococo's nurse called me yesterday to tell me that my PET Scan came back clear from other cancer! What an answer to prayer! They saw some activity around the surgery site, but that was expected due to the surgery- not that there is more cancer there. When the nurse called me, I was driving on the road, and I think I almost ran a red light because I was so excited and not paying attention to the road (ooops)! I'm sure that has never happened to you, right?
Anyways, Greenwood Genetics called me this morning to set up my genetics testing appointment for November 18th. I asked to be on the cancellation list to see if I could get in earlier if possible. The genetics testing is to see if I am a carrier of the BRCA1 & BRCA2 gene- the breast cancer gene. Forgive me if I already wrote this in an earlier post, but if I am a carrier, then I have a 70% chance of getting BC again and a 40% chance of getting ovarian cancer. So, knowing if I carry that gene, that will help me make decisions about having a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy. And not to mention, knowing this for Mallory Kate's future. Let's pray that I am not a carrier of those genes!
Also, I am waiting the results of another test that I haven't talked about. It's called the oncotype test. This test is run from my biopsy from surgery and will yield results of how effective chemotherapy is for my cancer. Dr. Go already said that he probably wouldn't change his course of recommended treatment based on these results, but it is still good information. You get a "score" from 1-100. They look at your tumor cells and assess the risk of recurrence you have and assign it a number. The higher the risk of recurrence, the greater the benefit from chemo. A score of 0-11 means little benefit from chemo; 12-30 means medium benefit from chemo; and above 30 means definite benefit from chemo. So, I'm really not sure if you "want" a high number or low number- I guess it is what it is! But Dr. Go said that since I had lymph node involvement, and that it's a stage III aggressive cancer, chemo followed by radiation, followed by Tamoxifen is the best plan of treatment for me. So, I meet with Dr. Go again on Thursday and we'll go from there. At this point, I still think (and hope) chemo will start on Monday, Oct. 13th. I decided I would rather get chemo treatments on a Monday, to give myself the week to recover- while the kids are at school/ daycare. Then hopefully, I'll be feeling better by the weekend and can spend time with my family!
I've had the question, "How are you really feeling?" Well, after surgery, I have to admit, I was very discouraged about the lymph node involvement, and then to find out last week it was moved to a "Stage IIIa" was a downer for me. I got on the Internet and read horrible things about survival rates with my stage. But I prayed and have been prayed for by tons of people! And I think that is why I feel so much better this week! I am not going to let BC take me down without a fight- and I will do whatever it takes for a victory! The road ahead is bumpy, and I need the prayer to roll me smoothly over it! I'm in God's hands and He has the perfect plan. (Although I'm not so sure God has pictured me bald, ...I don't think it's going to be a pretty sight! Haha)
Side note...Someone (who I don't even know) mailed me the most precious package with a handmade beanie hat and a "Faith" bag to take to all my appointments. I pulled all of my hair up in the beanie hat and turned to Greg. He laughed and said, "Don't do that yet!" So, I know I will look funny, but it is temporary...Thank God for that! Well, off to cleaning the house!

Much needed R&R...

Graham LOVES the beach! (But don't we all???)

Diva, diva, diva...

Rest and relaxation...yes! The beach is the place for that indeed! The last month has been a whirlwind and there's no better place, in my opinion, than to refresh at the beach. We had planned on coming down on Thursday, but that day seemed way too rushed with 3 doctor's appointments starting at 8:45. My first appointment was to see Dr. Rippon about the fluid under my arm and breast. I thought she was going to have to drain it- yuck, but she said it looked good and that my body would absorb the excess fluid in a few days- and that was normal. Yeah...one less needle stick! I went straight to St. Francis Hospital for my echo cardiogram after seeing Dr. Rippon. That appointment was fine- as far as I know (you know they can't really tell you anything about the results). They were just looking at my heart to make sure I can handle one of the meds in my chemo treatment. Then I headed across the street to my third and last appointment of the day. This was the PET scan and lasted FOREVER! I got there at 11:15 and left after 2:00! (I had to fast for this so by the time I left, I was starving!) I went by myself because no one is allowed back with me with the radiation. They started an IV and pushed a radioactive tracer through it. Then I had to drink about 32oz of this nasty drink- basically water with a bleach taste. I sat in that room for almost 1 1/2 hours or more- in the dark with nothing to do! No TV, music, NOTHING! They say that you need to be still so that your muscles aren't active. Thank God for texting- because I chatted with a teacher friend of mine for a few minutes until she had to get back to her class! After that, I had the scan, which wasn't bad at all, that took about 30 minutes. So, like I said earlier in a post, I have learned a lot through this road I'm traveling. So how does this test work? It's pretty cool...the drink and the IV med contain a high level of sugar. The cells in your body metabolize that- cancer cells will metabolize the sugar at a much higher rate than the good cells. So after the cancer cells metabolize the sugar, the radioactive tracer is left behind and will be viewed as a hot spot on the PET scan. So, hopefully they won't see any hot spots, but we'll find out on Monday or Tuesday. Phew...what a day. Needless to say, I was exhausted and could not bear the thought of traveling with 2 kids (and my husband- which is really like a 3rd kid) to the beach in the car for 4 hours. That's why we left Friday morning instead! When I get home tomorrow, I'll post some pics from the beach. We're having a blast and the weather is PERFECT! We played on the beach all afternoon and will head out there again after lunch today. :)

Mema, Papa, and Mallory Kate walking at Broadway at the Beach.

How precious is this?

Update...

Okay...so let me think where I need to continue from the last post. Oh, yes...the drain is out! Yeah! I went to the surgeon on Tuesday to get that uncomfortable, nasty thing out. Dr. Rippon went over what all was found during surgery- most of which I already knew from her report to Greg. When I first saw Dr. Rippon after my mammogram and ultrasound, she staged me as Stage I based on the tumor size (figured from the ultrasound). Unfortunately, after the path report from surgery, I am now a Stage IIIa. (I was very disappointed to hear that, but I have to keep in mind that being a Stage III will just mean more aggressive treatment- which is what I want to be cancer-free!) My tumor actually measured 2.1 cm and I had 5 of the 9 lymph nodes test positive for cancer. Something new I learned yesterday, since she had to do the lymph node dissection and remove 9 of my nodes, they will not be growing back. Big deal, huh? Not really...Little did I know that for the rest of my life, I can not get shots, blood drawn, IV's, or other needle sticks, blood pressure taken, or for that matter- anything that would cause fluid retention. Since the nodes are gone, my body can't correctly take the fluid out of those areas on or around my arm. (Even to fly, I must wear a compression sleeve!) So those of you that know me well know that if there's a chance something can happen, it will happen to me. That's just my luck! With that being said, I was told yesterday to watch out for extra fluid pooling up around my incision sites and around my arm. If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip this next little tid-bit and check out the pics below. Read on if you dare...(haha) I was walking up the stairs last night and I heard a sound like a bunch of water on an empty stomach- the sound of fluid sloshing around. But, it was not coming from my stomach; it was coming from under my arm and around my breast- yuck! So, I tried to call the doctor, but there was no answering service for some reason! (My luck!) So first thing this morning, I called the nurse and she saw me- Yes, I have some fluid retention in that area. She said there is no infection- thank God- and she said my body would eventually absorb it. But, since she knew it was bothersome to me, I am going in the morning to see Dr. Rippon, again, and she will needle aspirate the area...gross! And after that, I will go for the eckocardiogram and right after that, I get the PET scan. I will not know results from the PET until Monday or Tuesday- this will show if there are other "hot spots" in my body. Let's keep those prayers going for no other areas to show up! But I have great news...after those 3 appointments tomorrow, my family is going to the beach for a much-needed long weekend! Yeah! And for laughs, check out the pics from the wig trip. If there's any fun in loosing your hair, it has to be the trip to the wig store! The lady was very helpful and we made light of the situation. :)

Tamara, Tracy, me, and Liz

A striking blonde?

Liz had to have some fun, too!