Sunday, March 17

I can't believe it has been almost one year since I first found that lump.  March 30, 2012 was the first of many doctor appointments - the one appointment which James pestered me to make for a week.  I'm glad that he did too.

Since the hysterectomy, I have recovered well.  I've been back at work full time since January 31, two weeks after surgery.  My apologies for not blogging sooner about how the surgery went, but I've been swamped with work and I am trying to keep my big rocks a priority.  The surgery went well and the doctor said that it did in fact look like my ovaries were beginning to work again, and he also commented that it was a good decision to remove my uterus as it was full of fibroids and needed to be removed.  My six week post surgery check up went well.  I haven't experienced any real hot flashes or menopausal symptoms so am very blessed in that regards.  I am officially graduated from Gynecology.

A note from the school greeting me in the entry upon my return.

I began taking the AI the day after surgery and haven't noticed any side effects.  It is a small pill I take daily in the morning for the next five years.  I'll have my next Oncology appointment on April 8.  I don't anticipate anything much at that appointment other than a check up.  From here on out I'll be monitored every 4 months with an Oncology check up.

I have noticed some real set backs with my right arm movement and armpit since I haven't been doing yoga or other exercise.  Everything is very tight, and sort of numb and sore.  I did go to yoga yesterday and will make an effort to go at least once a week.  I'll also get my butt up and moving every morning too.  I have really felt tired, sad and/or depressed lately.  I went to acupuncture on Wednesday which helped tremendously, but I still don't have the stamina I used to.

A little friend greeted me one morning when I was feeling a little blue.  Cheered me right up!

I don't plan on doing reconstruction at this point.  The process involves several surgeries to stretch the skin and place the implants.  Stretching the damaged skin is a painful process, and although the pain doesn't really scare me, I'm not thrilled about the idea of more surgery.  With implants, you also need to do follow up replacement surgeries every ten years.

I have enjoyed time off for Spring Break - it was filled with Jared, Caleb and I volunteering for Citiserve this week while James worked.  We delivered furniture for Love Inc., bagged potatoes for the Food Bank, played with kids at the Boys and Girls Club, chipped ice at the Rescue Mission and helped at Kids' Kitchen.  There are so many needs in Anchorage and it was nice to be a part of helping our community.

The best part of spring break was just being together.  We spent yesterday skiing at Alyeska; it was beautiful and fun!  We are so blessed to live in such a spectacular place and have time together as a family.

Well, tomorrow is the big day - last surgery!  I am so excited, which might seem a bit strange, but it marks the last major hurdle in this breast cancer journey.  I know I'll have follow-up care and medication to take daily, but that is all so manageable.

Since completing radiation two weeks ago, I am amazed at how quickly my skin has healed and I've recovered.  After one week, all blisters had healed up and this past week the redness has really toned down.  You can definitely still see the radiation fields and it is still a little tender - I don't want to wear a bra yet, but it is such a vast improvement over the last two weeks of radiation that I'm thrilled.  James laughed when I said I couldn't wear a bra yet - what do I need to wear one for?  For the prosthetics of course.  Although I really only wear them if the outfit requires some shape and nothing I'm wearing right now really requires that.  It has really been a blessing that I have not been working and have been able to recover completely for this surgery. 

Blood draw?

After prayer and consultation with the gynecologist, the conclusion is to remove my ovaries, uterus and cervix.  The procedure will be laproscopic surgery, three incisions in my abdomen with the organs being removed vaginally.  Any complications would result in a cut in my abdomen and organs removed through the incision.

Had some more blood taken today, and I miss the Oncology nurses!  This nurse has drawn blood twice and both times left me bruised and bloody, and I've got great veins!   I am anxious to see the result tomorrow as my last draw on December 27 had low white cell, red cell and absolute neutrophil counts.  I was surprised - my white count was at 2.2. 

I've continued with hot yoga which has helped tremendously - not only with sweating out all of the chemo drugs, but it has helped the range of motion in my right arm and shoulder.  I can feel the skin, muscles and ligaments stretching in the intense heat.  I love it!  I can't wait to get back to it after surgery.  I did get some great advice from a nurse friend of ours who said to get up and get walking right away - so that's my immediate exercise plan.

Salmon with roulade

We enjoyed a wonderful family dinner this evening - Salmon Roulade.  It is one of my favorite recipes and I want to thank our friends in North Pole who first gave us the recipe.  The boys have a hockey tournament this weekend and will take on some additional responsibilities once again.  I'm hoping to get to make their finals on Monday. 

Please keep our family in your prayers. 

Relieved!  I am so thankful to be finished with radiation.  Thursday, January 4, 2013 was my last treatment.  The daily treatments left me tired, but the last two weeks really took a beating on my skin in spite of the prescription cream, medicated bandages, supplements and other lotions.  I ended up blistered on my right side under my arm which was a most inconvenient location because my arm either rubbed the area continually or I had to hold it out like a scare crow.  I ended up holding it out scare crow style without even thinking about it.  I have a new empathy for burn patients as I found my little burns uncomfortable and painful - I can't imagine what some people must go through. 

There were three or four days during the 33 treatments when the machine was down and I had to be rescheduled later that day or evening.  I found myself hoping that the machine would stay broken so I wouldn't have to go.  The last day of treatment, the machine was down and I again found myself wishing they'd just tell me I really didn't need that last treatment.  But they squeezed me in on their second machine and I'm glad I completed the treatments.  I even received a graduation ceremony complete with music, a rose, certificate, t-shirt, water bottle and bubbles!

I've been attending hot yoga for the past month and have really enjoyed it.  I think it has helped with detoxification - the first couple of classes I had a chemically kind of stinky sweat.  Aren't you glad you weren't next to me in class?  I'm still going about five days a week up through my surgery next week - in between all of my doctor appointments. 

I met with the Oncologist and Surgeon today.  The Oncologist is pleased with how well I've done through my treatments and will start me on the AI the day after surgery.  My bone scan showed minimal loss in my spine with my hips and shoulders looking good.  I'll start a calcium supplement and he will do a bone scan every two years to monitor bone density.  My echocardiogram also looked great.  I'll get the results from the blood work next Tuesday when I meet with the Gynecologist.  When I met with the Surgeon today, she explained the process for removal of the medi-port; they simply make an incision on the previous incision, cut the two places holding the medi-port in place, pull it out along with the tubing which connects to the vein and then close everything up.   Side effects may include bruising.  She told me I couldn't keep the medi-port, but why would I?  I guess some people have wanted it for a souvenir, ornament...no thanks.

When I meet with the Gynecologist next week I'll have to have made a final decision as to whether or not I'll just have my ovaries removed, or if I'll have ovaries, uterus and cervix removed.  The Oncologist said it was a matter of preference as I don't have any genetic information showing I have a gene which predisposes me to uterine cancer.  I'm on the fence and still have a week to decide.  I've talked to people who have said I should take it all out and others who say keep what I can - each for good reasons.  I'll pray about it.

I'm still receiving acupuncture and massage weekly and will continue with those, and supplements, through the end of January.  I'm looking forward to surgery next week, as it is the last hurdle.  I plan to return to work on January 31.  In the mean time, I'm trying to recover from radiation and get healthy before surgery.  I've had a head cold for the past two weeks.  

Although I had to go to radiation every day over Christmas break, our family really had a nice time together.  The boys had a little bit of hockey; they enjoyed skating and skiing with James (I couldn't manage it with my burns); my mom came to visit; and we had several family movie nights.  We celebrated the end of radiation with a weekend of dates:  a concert, a cooking class and pizza with friends.  In spite of all of the challenges this past year, I feel blessed.  I'm so thankful that God has seen me through this experience with the help of outstanding physicians, nurses, friends and family. Thank you again for your encouragement and support - with much love, Lisa

Date night...A cooking class!

Finally!  Great weather for building a snowman.

Where to start?  I've been thinking about writing for weeks and the time just seems to get away.  I've just completed treatment 19 out of 33 - over halfway finished with radiation!  Other than fatigue and extreme redness/burn, I've been doing well.  You can now see very clearly the fields that they are radiating.  I've been keeping a variety of lotions on the area and have prevented anything too painful at this point.  My only pain this evening is a self-induced twisted ankle.  I rolled it when I missed a step this afternoon and now it is swollen and stiff.  

One of my newest observations is that my eyelashes are growing back, but now my eyebrows are falling out!  I've never been fond of the drawn-on eyebrow look and have never understood why someone would pluck all of their eyebrows just to draw them on.  I have new understanding and empathy...maybe they never had control of losing their eyebrows? 

In the past month I've had an echocardiogram, bone scan and an appointment with the Gynecologist. The Gynecologist told me I would not need a hysterectomy, however after consulting with the Oncologist he called back a few days later to say that yes I would.  I will also have my blood drawn this next week to gather baseline data prior to starting the aromatase inhibitor in January.  I'll go over all of those results with the Oncologist at the beginning of January when I'm about finished with radiation.

I started a detoxification regimen.  I was tired of feeling so crappy, and tired.   In addition to the formula that I blend up and drink each morning, I'm not eating any dairy, gluten, wheat, red meat and a few other things.  It helps that the whole family is now moving in that direction, although not necessarily by choice.  Jared's anemia and allergies to fruit led us to do some follow-up allergy testing.  He has food sensitivities to wheat, gluten, cow milk, coffee and a few other items.  I'm quickly learning a lot about cooking wheat and gluten free.  I've made a few loaves of bread that flopped and purchased a few "yucky" tasting items, but am figuring things out pretty quickly.  Today I made a delicious loaf of bread that served as our dinner - the menu called for french toast with hot cocoa.  I also made some chocolate chip cookies with sea salt that I had a hard time staying out of.  I got a thumbs up from the entire family.  Although trying to switch to gluten and wheat free cooking has been a little bit of a challenge, I think it is contributing to my feeling better.  

I tried hot yoga this week; I went to an hour class at Anchorage Yoga and really liked it.  It was another suggestion by the naturopathic doctor - a way to detox, as chemotherapy drugs will stay in fat cells as long as a year.  I'm trying my best to flush and sweat them out!

My favorite things to do while being at home - spending time with the family and cooking.  I appreciate  all of the prayers, emails, notes and phone calls.   

Cow bells, cow bells - no more cow bells!  At an Aces game.

I was originally scheduled for 30 radiation treatments, but found out yesterday that I'd have 33 treatments with my last treatment on January 4.  What is a couple more treatments you ask?  A downer.  I was really hoping to be finished on December 28.  I plan on asking the radiology oncologist what difference those 3 extra treatments will make when I see her next week.  What does the research show?  That's what it is all about.  And if I opt not to do the extra three treatments and I have a recurrence, then I'll always wonder - what if I'd done those last three treatments?   Okay, I'm over it now; I'll be finished with radiation on January 4, 2013.

Yesterday during my radiation appointment, the technicians had me lay on the table, lined up my tattoos and then took multiple x-rays of the areas they planned on radiating.  They also drew lines showing the perimeter of the areas they were treating.  The doctor came in to look at the area and made a minor adjustment which meant that today when I went in, they had to redraw the area on my chest, take a couple of x-rays and have her check the area a second time.  With her confirmation,  they gave me my first treatment.  The machine is quite interesting in that it is located in a room with a metal door about two feet thick and as it rotates around the patient a "window" or collimator adjusts the radiation beam to a flexible shape.  The machine is quiet.  It moves into position and then for 7-15 seconds radiates an area.  It did this seven times radiating basically my right chest wall, lower part of my neck, right armpit, and right side/back.  I immediately followed the treatment with lotion which I'm supposed to do three times a day, but not three hours prior to my treatment.  I've got lanolin, an aloe plant, BioOil, lotion...a little bit of everything to combat the possible damage to my skin.  I'm not to swim, use a hot tub or be in the sun.  The swimming and sun won't be a problem, but I'm bummed I can't use the hot tub.

After radiation today, we met with my oncologist.  My blood work looked fine and he was impressed with the amount of hair I was growing and its length.  I guess I'm at the top of the list of cancer patients for hair growth, really.  He then talked to James and I about the next two months.  First, I'll have an electrocardiogram which will be compared with the one I had last February to make sure my heart has not suffered any damage.  I'll need to have a bone density scan in the next couple of weeks.  I'll also meet with the gynecologist by mid December to discuss the hysterectomy.  The oncologist will want the hysterectomy completed immediately following radiation, so that means I'll need to have surgery the first or second week of January.  Following that surgery, I'll begin taking an aromatase inhibiter which prevents estrogen from being produced.  Aromatase inhibiters can increase the risk of bone loss and fractures, thus the previously mentioned bone scan.  When an AI is taken for 5 - 10 years, it  reduces the risk of relapse by half.

Today was a bit overwhelming with all of the information and appointments, but now that I've processed it and prayed about it, I'm planning next week's menu.  Caleb had taken on the menu board and planned this week's meals.  We're pretty much on track and in addition to what is on the menu, I made some delicious rosemary pretzels with rosemary cheese dip.  I've also tried to make sure I stick with daily exercise, as I put on five pounds pretty quickly (and have since taken it back off).  In addition to great family time, exercise and cooking therapy, I've been working on Apple iBooks for each year of Jared and Caleb's life.  After several days, I have two years worth of pictures, artwork and schoolwork scanned in for Jared and one book completed.  Jared is 13 and Caleb is 10...hmmm - I've got a lot left to do!

My first chemotherapy treatment was on May 30 and November 8 was my last.  James calculated that I've had approximately 2.25 gallons of chemicals run through my body over the past six months.  Even so, my blood work looked good this week and has held stable for the past several weeks. 

The absolutely amazing group of nurses who delivered my weekly chemo.  I won't miss chemo, but I'll miss them!

My last chemo nap.  Yea!

This past week I met with the radiology oncologist on Monday and again on Wednesday.   The soonest that she would consider letting me start radiation was a week after my last chemo due to the individual intensity of each treatment.  With that being said, my first radiation will be on Wednesday, November 14 and my last radiation on Friday December 28.  I’ll have Saturdays and Sundays off in addition to Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.  


Wednesday’s appointment was a long one with me laid out on the CT scan table for over 30 minutes, hands above my head holding a bar, legs straight and rubber-banded together, top off.  They marked the areas on my right chest wall with metal markers along my scar and points where the drains were located.  They also made bulls-eye marks with sharpie markers and in the center of those marks they gave me a freckle tattoo with one in the middle of my chest, one above my belly button, and one on each side of my chest near where the drains were located. They took two scans and photographs, which will be used when mapping and planning my treatment.  Tuesday, they’ll have me laid out again taking x-rays to confirm the exact location of the radiation. 

Although Thursday was my last chemo treatment, I’ll be back for blood work and an oncology visit on Wednesday.  I’ve met with the naturopath doctor and he has changed my supplements slightly; I’ve had those okayed with the radiology oncologist.  I’ve also picked up some pure lanolin and have an aloe plant on hand to help with any fried skin from radiation.  I’ll continue with acupuncture and massage throughout radiation and will taper it down once I’ve completed my treatment. 

 Philippians 4:6 NIV

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

A friend sent me this verse this week and I found it so appropriate.  Throughout diagnosis, surgery, and chemotherapy, I have really been at peace knowing that God will see me through this experience - but it has really been thanks to all of the prayers on my behalf that I have truly done so amazingly well.  When I was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 10, I had no idea what to expect, but I wouldn't change a thing.  Not that I would want anyone to ever have to go through any type of illness, but it certainly has been a positive change for me and my family, and maybe even my friends.  And I know I'm far from finished, with radiation starting on Wednesday, detox from chemo in January, a hysterectomy soon after and years of medication.  But with my last dose of chemo behind me, I feel blessed.

One of my projects this week:  pickled veggies!

Caleb's hockey team from last year went to Fairbanks to play - the kids taped their sticks in pink and wrote Huffman on the blade to support Caleb.  Awesome kids!!

Having some fun with friends for Halloween.  Jared is wearing black and Caleb is wearing green.

God has certainly showed me who's in control.  And it is not me!  Not that I really ever thought that I was, but I am strong-willed (not stubborn) and it has taken awhile for it to sink in that I need to take some time off from work.  The past two weeks have really solidified that decision with stresses hitting our family from all different angles.

My cancer treatments are going well - the oncologist said today that he has never encountered anyone doing as well as I have been doing throughout chemo.  My blood work both last week and this week have held steady - thanks to three shots in the rear from James each week.  My liver numbers are elevated, however not so much to change the chemo treatment and the oncologist said that he really doesn't want to do that.  Besides the fatigue, the only new side effects I've noticed are a tremendous amount of spider veins on my legs, which the doctor said is probably due the Paclitaxel - it is hard on the veins, and fuzzy hair on my face.  Did I mention that before?  Sometimes I substitute words and forget things easily.  Another little side effect that I don't attribute to age.

The treatment plan at this point is to finish the final three rounds of chemo over the next three weeks.  The oncologist thought that I could jump right in and start radiation immediately following chemo.  I have an appointment to meet with the radiologist on 11/9, a day after my last chemo.  That should last six and a half weeks and then I'll meet with the oncologist again to discuss follow up treatment which may include Tamoxifen for five years with Lupron shots every three months for two years.  We'll talk with him more about that after radiation.

Not being at school, I don't have as many great kid stories to share, but I do have one that deeply touched me.  Alba and Jessica Brice's son goes to Sand Lake.  Zak insisted that his mom get some pink hockey tape so that he could tape his stick for a game that night.  When his mom did not come home with the right color of pink, she had to call his dad to get pink tape.  Not only did he tape his stick pink, but he wrote Lisa on the blade.  My hope was that he would play well and he did - even though he was playing Caleb's team.  What an inspiration Zak is to all of us.

School Picture

One final update...I emailed the Las Vegas Wranglers hockey team after the ceremonial puck drop.  This was the general manager/coach's reply.  It was a pleasant surprise.

Lisa

 

First off let start by saying I have you in my thoughts as you battle..I remember you dropping the puck and you cant believe how disappointed I am in Adams behavior.

 

Being a Principal I can only imagine the thrill of hearing one of your students doing well and the disappointment in hearing one of your students not doing the right thing. That being said my players are a reflection of me,  I cant begin to tell you how deflated I felt reading that this morning.

 

I can ensure you Adam will be dealt with this morning as I m a huge believer in protecting the culture in our room and our community. I apologigize for Adam making the wrong choice. He is a I kid who is always on the edge and is a constant example of me trying to have patience, again its no excuse and I will deal with Adam 's behavior.

 

Lisa , please don't hesitate to fire me a line if there is anything I can do, even though you are Alaska Aces fans, I would love to see the boys donning a Wrangler hat next time we are up there...well maybe for there protection not a good idea.

 

My thoughts are with you and your family...

Ryan

I am so appreciative and thankful for all of the prayers and support.  James and I could not manage without it, and these mere words can't really express how much it has meant to us.