I apologize, I feel I left rather abruptly my last posting. I was very tired and had reached my limit of typing for the day. Unfortunately, I am feeling quite run down again today. I am hoping to be closer to full speed by the end of the week. Of course, I always place very high expectations on my own activity levels. This is probably the hardest adjustment for me in all of this. I start my new chemotherapy medications on Monday. I am hopeful that I should be feeling well through them for the most part. My body handled the dose dense Adriamycian/Cytoxan fairly well. From what I recall I only had one episode at the very end of A/C where my body became neutropenic. So I am hoping that my body will do well through the oral chemotherapy medications.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Exhaustion!!
September 25th 2011
I apologize, I feel I left rather abruptly my last posting. I was very tired and had reached my limit of typing for the day. Unfortunately, I am feeling quite run down again today. I am hoping to be closer to full speed by the end of the week. Of course, I always place very high expectations on my own activity levels. This is probably the hardest adjustment for me in all of this. I start my new chemotherapy medications on Monday. I am hopeful that I should be feeling well through them for the most part. My body handled the dose dense Adriamycian/Cytoxan fairly well. From what I recall I only had one episode at the very end of A/C where my body became neutropenic. So I am hoping that my body will do well through the oral chemotherapy medications.
I apologize, I feel I left rather abruptly my last posting. I was very tired and had reached my limit of typing for the day. Unfortunately, I am feeling quite run down again today. I am hoping to be closer to full speed by the end of the week. Of course, I always place very high expectations on my own activity levels. This is probably the hardest adjustment for me in all of this. I start my new chemotherapy medications on Monday. I am hopeful that I should be feeling well through them for the most part. My body handled the dose dense Adriamycian/Cytoxan fairly well. From what I recall I only had one episode at the very end of A/C where my body became neutropenic. So I am hoping that my body will do well through the oral chemotherapy medications.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Diagnosis, what a word!
September 22nd, 2011
Let’s try this again now that I seem to have a bit more usage in my right arm and full functionality of my right fingers! Two days before my daughter’s 8th birthday on August 12th 2010, I received the news that would forever change mine and my family’s lives. At the age of 33, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Oh and not just any old run of the mill breast cancer either, because as you will come to know me, you will find out I don’t do anything half-assed, lol. Turns out I was fortunate to have two different kinds of breast cancer located within the same breast. When I say fortunate, in this case I honestly mean it. I had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) as well as Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) in the same right breast and if it wasn’t for my IDC I may have had to undergo the same run around that I constantly hear about from other women that is so disadvantaging in this disease. A day’s delay in diagnosis is huge in the world of IBC.
My symptoms of IDC (the lump) actually started when I was 32 years old, let me repeat that, 32 YEARS OLD. Recommended age to begin screening for yearly mammograms begins at age 40. I was diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disease when I was 17, so lumpy, bumpy, painful, swollen breasts were not an uncommon occurrence to me. This gave me a false sense of security that it was nothing more than a fibroid, especially since the lump “appeared” right before a menstrual cycle. My little friend made herself known about two months after I had lost my job as an HR Director and for the first time in over 10 years found myself without health insurance. As always, my timing was impeccable, lol.
I should probably shift a gear or so back about here as well in my story telling to add some additional insight and to help me emphasize the most important aspect of all of this as well. If there is one thing I have learned through all of this, you know your body best, please listen carefully to it!! For several months leading up to my job loss I had been having unspecified health issues. Everything ranging from terrible fatigue, upset stomach, headaches, you name it. It was driving me and everyone around me crazy. I was going to the doc when I needed to and I had also gone in to have my hormone, thyroid, and basic blood tests to try and figure out what was going on with me. Nothing, so I chalked it up to stress. Work at the time sucked. Everyone was just waiting for the layoffs to begin knowing that they were coming eventually. I had gone back to school a few months earlier in anticipation of loosing my job. So stress seemed like the likely culprit. I should have listened to my body, something was definitely going on.
Let’s try this again now that I seem to have a bit more usage in my right arm and full functionality of my right fingers! Two days before my daughter’s 8th birthday on August 12th 2010, I received the news that would forever change mine and my family’s lives. At the age of 33, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Oh and not just any old run of the mill breast cancer either, because as you will come to know me, you will find out I don’t do anything half-assed, lol. Turns out I was fortunate to have two different kinds of breast cancer located within the same breast. When I say fortunate, in this case I honestly mean it. I had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) as well as Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) in the same right breast and if it wasn’t for my IDC I may have had to undergo the same run around that I constantly hear about from other women that is so disadvantaging in this disease. A day’s delay in diagnosis is huge in the world of IBC.
My symptoms of IDC (the lump) actually started when I was 32 years old, let me repeat that, 32 YEARS OLD. Recommended age to begin screening for yearly mammograms begins at age 40. I was diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disease when I was 17, so lumpy, bumpy, painful, swollen breasts were not an uncommon occurrence to me. This gave me a false sense of security that it was nothing more than a fibroid, especially since the lump “appeared” right before a menstrual cycle. My little friend made herself known about two months after I had lost my job as an HR Director and for the first time in over 10 years found myself without health insurance. As always, my timing was impeccable, lol.
I should probably shift a gear or so back about here as well in my story telling to add some additional insight and to help me emphasize the most important aspect of all of this as well. If there is one thing I have learned through all of this, you know your body best, please listen carefully to it!! For several months leading up to my job loss I had been having unspecified health issues. Everything ranging from terrible fatigue, upset stomach, headaches, you name it. It was driving me and everyone around me crazy. I was going to the doc when I needed to and I had also gone in to have my hormone, thyroid, and basic blood tests to try and figure out what was going on with me. Nothing, so I chalked it up to stress. Work at the time sucked. Everyone was just waiting for the layoffs to begin knowing that they were coming eventually. I had gone back to school a few months earlier in anticipation of loosing my job. So stress seemed like the likely culprit. I should have listened to my body, something was definitely going on.
Really, more cancer!!
September 14th 2011
WOW. So much has happened over the course of the last three months I have so much to say I’m not sure where to begin, lol. I guess I could just start at the very beginning of all of this. I really, really, really had no intention of creating yet another personal journey or blog about cancer. There are so many personal stories that highlight triumphs and tragedies that are probably more profound than mine that in many ways it makes me feel silly to be finally doing this. So, please bear with me in this little writing adventure. Additionally, please note that I am using Speech to text software at the moment because of right sided paralysis. So if something’s off I apologize because of the software it takes some time to tweak. You would think that using software like this would make it easier but right now it really isn’t. I find that I have to fight with it to just say exactly what I say. To be honest, it would probably be faster for me to type one handed left side chicken peck, lol!
As much as I hate to say it considering I just began this I already need a break. This little paragraph has taken me about 45 minutes to TYPE, lol. Obviously, this should improve as time goes along but for now it will be a slow and steady pace. To be continued soon.
WOW. So much has happened over the course of the last three months I have so much to say I’m not sure where to begin, lol. I guess I could just start at the very beginning of all of this. I really, really, really had no intention of creating yet another personal journey or blog about cancer. There are so many personal stories that highlight triumphs and tragedies that are probably more profound than mine that in many ways it makes me feel silly to be finally doing this. So, please bear with me in this little writing adventure. Additionally, please note that I am using Speech to text software at the moment because of right sided paralysis. So if something’s off I apologize because of the software it takes some time to tweak. You would think that using software like this would make it easier but right now it really isn’t. I find that I have to fight with it to just say exactly what I say. To be honest, it would probably be faster for me to type one handed left side chicken peck, lol!
As much as I hate to say it considering I just began this I already need a break. This little paragraph has taken me about 45 minutes to TYPE, lol. Obviously, this should improve as time goes along but for now it will be a slow and steady pace. To be continued soon.
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