Welcome

So who would have guessed this? That my first blog would be about breast cancer? Surely not me! This was certainly not part of my life plan for my late 30's, but it's here now so I've been forced to dig in. The response to my health news was AMAZING! The tidal wave of support I received from family, friends, neighbors and former strangers has made all the difference in being able to take on this challege. As many of you said in your emails, cards and phone calls, this news is shocking to hear....but there are positives to the cards I’ve been dealt. They found my cancer early enough to cure me, and I will not only survive this but I will come out stronger for having endured it. While this whole experience has been surreal, you cannot image the amazing life moments I’ve experienced in the last few weeks, as I am seeing life quite a bit differently than I did before hearing the word cancer. I titled this blog right after hearing I had breast cancer, a cancer I thought was much simpler than I now know. So while my initial silver linings have changed quite a bit over the last few weeks, they are still there and are in some ways even better now, and I hope to share them with you along my journey! GAME ON!

Me & Bri

Me & Bri
Me & Bri

Favorite Quotes:

A Woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Shared by Beth Taylor- Thank you Mrs Taylor- I love it!

Friday, July 8, 2011

No Mo CheMo

IT'S OVER!!!! YEAH!  It's 9 days post chemo and I am feeling great today!  Round 6 came and went with the normal fatigue and side effects. I would say I actually recovered more quickly from this round than any other. I think part of it was mental as I had to giddeee up to see Bono on Tuesday night.  We had an awesome time at the concert and found a lonely new friend from Canada who insisted on buying our drinks all night- how funny is that!  On Wednesday we met with my plastic surgeon, Dr Kim.  To say the appointment went well isn't doing it justice as Dr Kim and I really hit it off. He said he liked my energy vibe and that I had a phenomenal life force, so who wouldn't love him after all of that!  After discussing my options for reconstruction, we decided to wait on doing any reconstruction until after radiation.  I will meet with him two months after radiation ends to discuss timing and next steps, and the fun stuff like what 'size' I am eyeing and other aspects of my plastic surgery. When all is said and done I will have a 'perkier chest' (his words not mine) and I will have the tattoo I have always wanted! ha ha ha ha ha... Heck, I may even opt for the shamrock over the normal one they use :o)

My mastectomy is also scheduled. Seems odd, but actually setting that date was really hard for me. I didn't want to schedule it as if subconsciously I thought that would make it not happen. I know that sounds weird but the thought of them taking off my chest is creeping me out right now. I have a month to wrap my head around it as the big day is August 8th. I am told I'll need a few weeks to recover so I am planning a lot of downtime in August and a full month off from work to recover. This will allow me to get my energy back and get my kids off to the start of a new school year as well.

We head to our little piece of heaven in Michigan tomorrow..... I plan to sleep under a beach umbrella for about half the week. We are all really looking forward to getting away and spending some much needed family time together now that chemo is behind us.

I am so psyched that it's July and I get a break from all the medical business for a while.  I have only three appointments the entire month and I am looking forward to a little normalcy for a while.  I hope the summer is going well for everyone....Game On!