Tumor Marker

When I went for my follow up visit in November, my tumor marker was up. So they changed one of my medications. The doctor took me off of Tamoxifen which slows down estrogen. and placed me on an injection called Zoladex and a pill called Femara. Zoladex is given in the abdomen and the Femara is taken on a daily basis. The Zoladex will stop estrogen completely. These new medications are taking me through some hormonal changes right now that I hope will soon pass. The changes has been pretty mild. I have been experiencing a few hot flashes and occasional crying spells. I went to a funeral of one of our elderly sisters at our church about two weeks ago and it seemed like I was the only one in the building crying. I was just boo hooing. I almost got up and left, but I just took a few deep breaths and sat there through the service. Now that the medications have changed, I will have to go to MDA twice a month. My treatment of Herceptin has to be given separate from the other two medications. The Herceptin is given one week and then I go the following week for the Zometa and Zoladex and I take the pill daily.

Some of you may be wondering what is a tumor marker. Tumor markers are evidence in the bloodstream of the presence of a tumor somewhere in the body. This test is done by testing your blood. So this is done at least once a month when I go in for treatments or at the doctor's request. Stay prayerful that these new meds are working. I will see the doctor in March for a follow up and I know that I will have positive results by then. I didn't let this news get me down. I'm maintaining a positive attitude because we all know who's in control.

Tingling/Spasm Update

Hi everyone! Well I completed testing to find out why I was having tingling. A few weeks ago I saw a neurologist and she scheduled me for a series of testing. The first test I had was an office visit where they checked my reflexes and feelings on my hands, feet and legs. That all turned out fine. The second round of testing was nerve test. They shocked me along my left hand and arm with this lttle taser thing, to test for carpel tunnel syndrome. Well, that test came out fine. The doctor concluded that it seems to be nerve compression in my neck area along with arthritis after looking at CT scans. She just said I need to do some neck strengthening exercises, stretching and some yoga should help. Oh yea I almost forgot to tell ya that she scheduled me for this three hour glucose test that I was surprised with when I went in for treatments. Well, from reading my results online, that all seems to be negative. Since the visit I've had only one episode of tingling and spasms. She said it will get better. So we shall see. Keep on praying!

One Thing I Want To Know

One thing I want to know is...why on earth am I having this tingling, spasm sensation in my left arm?!? It feels so weird. It starts at the tip of my fingers sometimes and sometimes it starts at the elbow and work its way up to my neck and tightens. It so scary. Dr. Ibrahim is trying really hard to figure out what it is. He has had me in for a series of testing. Yesterday I spent most of the day and night at MDA.

This morning I went for results. From looking at the results he still say that my treatments are working and there was nothing new that showed up on the scans and treatments can stay the same. However, when I went in for the initial visit because of the tingling, he scheduled me for a CT scan that same week. From those results he did see a spot that showed up on my neck area. He doesn't know if it's new or if it's something I already had because they don't have a scan to compare it to since they didn't do a CT scan on the neck area in the beginning stages. He wants to rule out cancer related before he refers me to another doctor to diagnose the tingling problem, so he ordered blood work today to see what the tumor markers read. If it's high then they will biopsy the spot, if not they will just keep an eye on it and then refer me to another doctor for the tingling. Hope all this make sense to you all. Love you! Keep praying for me and I will keep you posted.

One Thing I Know

One thing I do know is that when you are in the circle with others with the same health issue, or any health issue, you begin to see things a bit different. Little things that are normally not important becomes more important. You learn more about people and their needs and what's important to them. I'm even learning things about myself while on this journey.

Hello everyone...I know it's been a while, and yes, I have missed you too! October was a very exciting month for me. It was breast cancer awareness month. Friends and family joined me in the Susan G. Komen walk for the cure. Thanks to all of you who supported me with donations and to those of you who hung out with me that morning. It was a lot of fun and it was exciting just being there in the crowd knowing that most of us were there for the same cause. To top it off, we ended the evening with a Pink Party. My goal in planning this party was to celebrate, entertain, and educate. Many came to me and thanked me for the information that was given out that evening. Some have already gotten their mammograms, thermographys, and some have even had their vitamin D levels checked to find out that their's is very low or they have none at all. They are now taking vitamin D supplements. Thanks to all of you who came out to the party. Look forward to seeing you next year!

Tenth Round & Journeying On

Tomorrow will be my tenth round with Herceptin and Zometa plus several weeks with Tamoxifen. Wow, how time flies. These three weeks roll around so fast. That's okay though, because with God, your prayers along with these treatments...good things are happening.

I kind of look forward to my appointment days. I usually get a really good nap in on the way, because you all know me, with a zillion and one things on my plate, I rarely get in a nap. So when the opportunity is there, I take it. I'm learning to get more rest though. I've been doing a lot of reading and rest seems to be a big part of healing. So If you call me in the middle of the day and I don't answer right away, leave me a message, because I'm sleeping. The other day I actually turned off my phone and took a nap. It took a lot for me to actually do that and be okay with it, but it really felt good.

Oh, and Lets not forget the ride home and the stop offs to Whole Foods for my organic fix. That's a fun an exciting adventure in itself. My friend Karen, who is also dealing with BC mentioned the other day on her blog how that when you're in Whole Foods how it makes you feel healthier. I couldn't agree with her more. You do feel healthier because you're in this organic and all natural atmosphere from food on down to the people. I've even had a couple of prayer sessions while in there too. And I love to go there and get the teriyaki sweet potatoes...they are so good.

I'm sleepy right now and I think I'm going to go nap before the kids get in. Oh wait, I need to cook dinner first.
Keep on praying and again...thanks to my family and friends for your support and being there for me and my family. I am so blessed to have you!

Surprised In A Loving Way

Today was a busy day for me. I was asked to make cupcakes and nachos for a back to school gathering in the neighborhood. Those of you who know me, know that cooking is my passion. So I also whipped up a tray of turkey wraps to go along with the menu.

It turned out that this back to school gathering was actually a benefit for me. I had no clue!
Thanks to my Ponderosa PTO friends and neighbors who made this possible. It's 11:57 p.m. and I still haven't counted my donations...It's almost like I want to freeze the moment. I am so grateful for the donations given tonight, but I am even more grateful for the love that this special group of friends has for me. Thanks to all of you who made this possible. I am still on an emotional high and I think it's going to last a while.

Somebody is praying for me!

Hello all...I was just online viewing the results from my chest x-ray and ultrasound taken on last week. Well...the positives outweighed the negatives. Some of the masses and nodes have decreased in size since March which means the therapy is working along with your prayers. Only a couple of the nodes showed a slight increase in size. As for the chest x-rays...all still looks good... lungs, heart etc.,. I have more test scheduled for August and that will be the next time I see the doctor with more positive results. God is good! Keep on praying family and friends.

No Traffic Jams

My husband and I had a pleasant ride to the medical center this morning. No traffic jams or nothing...thank goodness for holidays! I had an appointment for an ultrasound at 8:00 a.m. and I was out of there by 9:40...another reason to be thankful for holidays. As soon as I signed in and sat down, they called my name. I didn't even get a chance to warm my seat good. I brought books, my journal and magazines to read while I wait, but didn't get a chance to get a glance at them. The doctor only scheduled a view of the right breast and the lymph nodes. They will compare it to the one they did in March. I tried to get results out of the radiologist at the time she was probing, but she was too busy telling me about her vacation to Disney World. Once I get them, I will let you know.

Update

It's been almost 4 months since my diagnosis. I have had numerous test, a change in my eating habits, I've lost a few pounds and I have had genetic and nutritional counseling. Last week I had a follow up visit with the doctor. He really didn't have too much news to make me say "yippee." He said he should have more results in a couple of months when more test are done. It usually takes about 6 to 7 months before you can see the progress the treatment is making. My genetic test did come back negative. I kind of figured it would though. The nutritional counseling was very good and informational. I had a chance to let them know about all the supplements I have included in my treatment plan.

As for me...I feel great! I'm in good spirits and I'm remaining positive through it all. Along this journey, I have the best support system ever! My kids keep me smiling and laughing. I love my family...they have truly been there for me and they are taking good care of me. I never ever have to worry about a ride to my appointments...Kenny & Sham are always ready and willing. Thank yall & I love you much! Until next time...

Things Changed

It was a Wednesday morning, Shamarion and I just finished packaging up some hammered shape cookies that was to be delivered by noon that day. After making the delivery that afternoon, I called the doctor to see if he had received results of the biopsy. He said "no, let me make a phone call and check it out and I'll call you right back." He did. He called back in about 10 minutes. His response was, "Mrs. Bailey, It's not good." I said what you do you mean? He was rambling on about something and all I heard was carcinoma. I had heard that word before and knew it meant cancer. He was a bit antsy and seemed more nervous than I did. I remember asking him questions he couldn't answer. He then referred me to someone that could answer my questions. He made the appointment himself for that afternoon at 2:00 and Shamarion and I were there right on time. This doctor looked at my reports and was in awe. He said "ma'am, I'm not going to cut any corners with you, at your age I recommend a double mastectomy." I'm still in shock about all this, so I'm sitting, looking out the window, kind of listening, not really because I knew Shamarion was already zeroing in and listening at every little thing, not missing a beat. Well we decided to leave there and get a second opinion. As we were on our way out, the front desk nursed asked, what do I plan to do? At that moment all I could do was cry. This was for real, but in the back of my mind I'm still saying to myself that they made a mistake. I didn't know what to say. I think I said something like, I'll call you or something. I don't even remember. I just wanted to leave. We got in the car and drove home. Shamarion was saying how we were going to call and make an appointment somewhere else. I was like fine...let's do it! We went home, she left, the kids came home, she came back. When she came back she had 3 books. A journal, A book for entertainment reading and a book on juicing. Now I thought she had gone home and there she was out shopping. She made the call to to set up the appointment for the second opinion and they called us back within an hour. The next day we made an appointment with an oncologist. The doctor had given me copies of my biopsy report.

I brought them home and placed them on a stack of papers, not even worrying about what's on it. A few days later I decided to pick up the papers and look at them. I was secretly hoping that the report would have the wrong name on it. Boy was I wrong. There my name was...as big as day. And that's when things changed.

A Trip To The Doctor

The pain lasted about a week. It was a Sunday night when it became so intense, that I had to sleep sitting up. The next morning I went to the doctor. He asked me all kinds of questions. One what really got me was that..."do you think someone hugged you too tight?" Because it seems like the pain may be in your rib cage. "No, I answered. He said, "maybe you pulled a muscle." The only thing I could think of was that I had been bringing in firewood pretty often, piling it all in the left arm and maybe that's why I was hurting. Maybe I had pulled a muscle doing that. Well, the doctor scheduled me for an x-ray and a mammogram. I was okay with the xray, but the mammo...NOT! I Always heard "horrow" (country girl slaang) stories about how they hurt and how uncomfortable they are. I was not excited about that. But needless to say I made the appointment anyway. Well, I get in the very same day for the xray. The doctor called the next morning and the xray turned out fine. He didn't see anything that was causing me any pain. Now this pain I was having...remember I said it was so intense on Sunday...well before I could leave the doctors office, I could barely feel the pain. It was very mild.

My mammo was scheduled a couple of days later. For you all that know me well, know that I don't have time to sit anywhere too long. It was bugging me that I had to take some time out to do this. You know I always have a zillion and one things on my plate. So when I made the appointment, the nurse said it would be no longer than a couple of hours. Great! I thought I would at least be gone by 11:00 because my appointment was at 9:00. I thought I will be in and out in know time. I was so nervous that day, not because of what they may find because I was just so sure they were not gonna find anything and I was just wasting my time being there. I was just nervous about the mammo itself. I was so terrified of them smashing my boobs too hard. Well, while I was in the waiting room for them to examine the pics they took during the mammo, I received a txt...it read "well, I'm in the lobby just in case you pass out!" I laughed with tears in my eyes. It was my angel, my sister Shamarion. She knew I was going that day even though I tried so hard not to tell her. I really didn't want her to know, number one because I knew she had so many other things she could have been doing, besides being there holding my hand and number two I didn't want her all in my business :o). But little does she know, I was so glad she came to be with me that day.

Well, what I thought was going to be a 2 hour visit turned into a three and half hour visit. The nurse came into the waiting room and told me she need to take pics all over again. Then I had to sit and wait again. After a while the nurse came back in and said they wanted to redo the ultrasound because they want to make sure of something. So off to the ultrasound room I went once again. Shamarion is still there waiting patiently on me to finish. The ultrasound was complete and it was confirmed that they found a mass in my right breast. Well, I'm thinking okay it's probably nothing. The nurse came in and said, that I needed to schedule a biopsy. The following Thursday I was in for my biopsy and yes, Shamarion was right there until I finished. That was a little nerve racking, but I got through that. We finish up there, I leave ice packed down and a sheet of instructions. Still thinking...nothings there. I go home and tell the kids because they are so anxiously waiting to here what's happening from the first doctors visit. So I explain to them what went on and that I'm waiting on the results from the biopsy. Still, I'm thinking nothing's there.