My favorite pink ribbon product

Pink ribbon overload

Pink ribbons everywhere! October is breast cancer awareness month and it is hard to walk up and down the grocery aisles without seeing them. Unfortunately, I don't get to just think about it in October. My energy level is really starting to be affected by the chemo. I have learned that I have to rest every afternoon or I am not a nice mom. I don't need to sleep but do need to chill for a little while. That is the time when Dawson gets to watch TV and sometimes will ask me when I will rest because he wants his TV time.

We have signed up for the Making Strides walk in Wilmington this weekend. It is also the weekend of the 3-day walk in Philly and it looks like it will be cold and rainy. I will miss the experience of the 3-day but not the freezing tent. I'm not sure I will be able to walk in Wilmington because of my chemo on Thursday, but I can be a cheerleader!

The News Journal had a good article today about my particular kind of cancer. It does a good job of explaining how my cancer progresses.

Gimme the keys!!

To make a long story short, my CT scan from last week showed fluid around my heart so my oncologist wanted me to see a cardiologist, who happens to be his brother. I went to Dr. Grubbs II today for a 2D Echo (ultrasound) and he said that the amount of fluid was not constricting the pumping of my heart. So, I will be monitored and if this becomes worse, it is treatable.

The passing out episode is now blamed on hypotension, which is basically low blood pressure. My BP has always been on the lower end but the chemo has my body reacting slower so I have to increase fluids and salt and slow down when I get up. I think I can handle that.

It was so nice to receive good news without a side of bad news attached. Thank you so much for your prayers and watch out because I am back on the road!

Good news and frustrating news

I spoke with my doctor's office yesterday and the good news is the EEG did not show any signs of seizure activity. But, I still can't drive. My doctor wanted me to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours to make sure my passing out is not a heart issue. The chemo can do a number on it. So, I am sporting a fashionable necklace that looks like a small cell phone. Once we see the results from the monitor, the doctor will determine if my passing out was an isolated incident or something more serious. I know it might seem trivial to be frustrated about no driving, but I feel like cancer has taken so many things from me and here is 1 more. It gets old.

Ugh - not again!

I had my third week of chemo today. I was feeling pretty blah about going. The doctor asked if anything exciting happened this past week and I had to tell him that unfortunately something did. Over the weekend, I got up out of bed to close the window because something was squawking in my ear. I walked over to the window and the next thing I knew I was on the floor. Apparently, I blacked out. When I came to, I was sitting on the floor, holding onto the bed. So, I have an EEG scheduled for tomorrow to see what is happening. The good news is it hasn't happened again. It also means no driving until we figure this out. My parents are visiting until Wednesday so that is very helpful.

So we wait

I spoke with the nurse at my radiation oncologist's office who has communicated with the specialist and he agrees that we should continue to monitor the tumors and said to do another scan in 2 months. I love Christiana Care because he was able to look at the scans and reports through the network and all of this was done by email. One less trip to Christiana!

He is faithful

I got the results of my brain MRI today. Originally, there were 4 tumors and this scan showed that 1 was gone, another was very small (so small they didn't measure it), another was smaller than the previous scan, and the final one was stable. I would have loved to here that they were gone but at least they are moving in the right direction. According to my oncologist, we keep watching them. I plan on speaking with another doctor in my team to see if he concurs or wants to seek a more aggressive approach.

When I have these appointments where I am expecting test results, I usually start worrying about a week before. My mood changes because I have this visit in the back of my mind. But, by the time I was in the exam room today, I was okay. I have learned by now that no matter what the news is, He is faithful to get our family through it.