Long time.... no update... Till NOW!!

My Booble Followers ~

First, let me apologize for being MIA for the last few weeks. I have lots to update you on, but I'll try to keep it short(ish) and to the point!

I'm back at work ~ and loving it!! It is so nice to be around all my friends again. Everyone has been so wonderful too. I am the luckiest worker ever!!! 

My hair has fallen out...But it lasted a lot loner than I thought it would, so that was good! Time to break out the hats...and THANK GOODNESS it is getting cooler here in Arizona!! Geesh....can you imagine going through this during the 100*+ temps in AZ?!?! Phew...I can't!! 

Today was chemo #2 and so far ~ so great!! Getting tired now (maybe because it is almost 9pm!).  I'm ready to see what the rest of the week has in store for me. I'm actually really hot...I always am after treatment...and for those of you that know me, you know I'm always cold!!!!!!!!! After chemo, I always get the flu-like symptoms...achy lower back, upset stomach, sore joints / muscles...but they told me some secrets at the Oncology center on how to combat that, so I'll going to keep taking the OTC 'goods' they told me about and hope for the best!!

On to the really exciting news...My amazing baby sister is organizing a wonderful benefit in my honor. I can't believe it! She has worked so hard on this benefit and it is going to be amazing...and, I'll be there!! I was given the 'ok' by my Oncologist to travel and bought my ticket already!! Here is the info on the benefit...anyone that is able to make it, please be there...It will be wonderful to see so many happy, familiar, loving faces!!

When: Sunday, November 14th, 2010 from 1 - 4pm

Where: Park Road Bar & Grill * 9 Park Road * Painesville, Ohio 44077

Cost: $10 per person; $15 per couple; $4 for children 10 & under

What: Spaghetti Dinner and amazing Auction of some great goods!!! Including, but not limited to local restaurants, personal training sessions, a one-hour massage and great gift baskets!!!!! 

Tickets can be purchased at the door...so come and have a great day!!! 

I'm signing off for now, but PROMISE I will update my blog again SOON!! 

Love to all and thanks for checking in!!

  ~ heather :o)

A good week!!

I have made it though my first chemo week!! Phew...What a few days that was! I don't remember ever sleeping so much in life before! But it is what I need and I will get as much of it as I can! Finally, the nauseous feeling went away ~ about 3 days after my treatment...but better late than never, right??

I will be starting back to work next week too. A full month off to recuperate has been a blessing, but I am ready to get back into some sort of routine...plus (sadly) my mom is leaving this weekend. She has been with me in Arizona since I found out my diagnosis back in August. I think my dad and sister are starting to miss her and I'm afraid the puppies won't remember her! It has been an absolute blessing having her here with me...she has made my life so easy...helping to make meals, do the laundry, make my bed...the simple things. Her and my car get along famously these days and she bought him a 'kitty condo' yesterday! He loves it! We will all be sad to see her go, but I know the support system that I have in Arizona will help get me through the rough days. 

So what's to come?? Well, work next week...Chemo treatment #2 on November 1st...Erin's benefit that she is putting together in Painesville, Ohio on November 14th (more info to come on this!)...and, of course, the holidays! I'm looking forward to spending the next few moths with the best family and friends a girl could have! I am so lucky to be surrounded by such loving, caring, generous people...it is because of you guys that I know I will make a full recovery! If I haven't said it recently ~ THANK YOU for all you have done for me ~ and continue to do for me.

Have a wonderful weekend!!
Love always!!

  ~ heather :o)

Chemo #1 ~ In the books!

Yesterday, October 11th was Chemotherapy treatment #1. I'm pretty happy to say that I got out {mostly} unscathed! I had to be at Ironwood Cancer & Research Center at 10am so that I could meet with my Oncologist, the delightful Luke Halbur, before my treatment could begin. Everything checked out accordingly ~ my lab work from the week before was great and my MUGA scan (remember, the scan for my heart to make sure the Chemo doesn't cause heart damage) came back with an exceptional clean bill of health ~ Let's keep fingers, toes and eyes crossed that doesn't change...I tend to like my heart & in the condition it is now!!!! 

So off we went, to the Chemo treatment room. Although it was a slightly busy morning, there were two chairs together so that my mom could hang out with me the entire treatment. So...treatment begins...since I had the Medi-port put in last week, it is easy-peasy!!! First, they clean the chest area surrounding the Medi-port, then spray a numbing solution on the skin, then poke the port with a needle and get the IV started that way. I have about 20 minutes of 'pre-meds' to get my going...the beloved anti-nausea meds so I don't get too sick and some fluids to keep my veins open. All of that is done through the port. Then the 'good stuff' ... my two Chemo drugs. The first is what they call a push ~ it is injected by a very large needle into the IV that was started through my Medi-port. It is a pinkish-red drug, and the nurse sits next to me and injects it completely. After that, I have about an hour drip of the other medicine. Then I'm done.

Yesterday, I noticed that I felt pretty good during everything...right up to the last 5-10 minutes. All of a sudden, I got really tired and very pale. I didn't come close to passing out or throwing up, but just didn't feel right. So mom got me right home and I laid down on the couch, ate a sandwich and took a nap. 

I was in bed by 7:30 last night...just not feeling right. Mostly flu-like symptoms...achy everywhere, headache, hot / cold constantly...but luckily, I managed to fall asleep ~ and stay asleep until about 12:30am. By then, all meds seem to have worn off and I was not feeling well again. I woke my mom up and asked for another anti-nausea pill ~ then was all of a sudden hungry (good sign!), so mom and I were up at 1am heating up some home-made chicken soup with dumplings that she made for me! It was so yummy and it stayed down! {Knock on wood} I have yet to get sick from Chemo. We'll see if I can continue this trend!

I go in again today for my Neulasta shot which will help increase my White Blood Cell counts and will help my immune system recover more quickly from the Chemo...but for now, I'm off to lay down. I'm getting a little tired and my head is starting to way a small ton!!! 

Thanks for checking in and I will have more updates posted soon! 

Much love to everyone!!

   ~ heather :o)

Chemo set to begin

Well, we all knew this was coming ~ Chemotherapy. I am set to start this upcoming Monday, October 11th, 2010. I have a full 6 months of Chemo...the first round will consist of 4 treatments given once every three weeks. It will be approximately 2 hours per appointment. I will then have to go back on Tuesday so that I can have an injection to increase my White Blood Cell count. Rumor has it that I won't get sick...but will be very, very worn out and sleepy all the time. Yay...just what I need...!! But, the way I look at it is the more sleep I can get, the faster I can / will recover from this!

Today is a busy day...I have to have my MUGA scan, then I have to have pre-Chemo lab work, then I have to go pick up my anti-nausea meds from the pharmacy. This will become my new Thursday or Friday routine...lab work and the pharmacy before Chemo-Mondays. 

This past Tuesday was my Port-Placement surgery. It went well. I'm still a bit sore, but it is definitely getting better every day. Honestly, my neck is killing me! They place the tube into the jugular vain...not very natural!! 

On a side note, the weather in Arizona is finally starting to be tolerable again!! We had a HUGE storm front blow through on Tuesday...hail, wild winds, rain...it was AWESOME!! We actually opened up the windows in the condo yesterday and turned off the AC!! WOW...October 6th and we turned off the AC...!!! I told my mom that she has pretty much missed any sort of Fall Season. It has been so hot since she has been out here and when she goes back to Ohio it will already be cold and rainy and icky there!!

This weekend is the Susan G. Koman 5K in Phoenix. I am lucky enough to have a team in my honor...Walking for Heather. TONS of work people ~ from jobs present and jobs past ~ will be there. I truly am the luckiest person in the world. I can't wait to see everyone on Sunday!! Hopefully I can get some great pictures and will get some posted! 

Off to start my running around for the day! Thanks for checking in and more info to be posted soon! 

Love always, 

  ~ heather :o)

The Road Ahead

My Dearest Family and Friends ~

So, today was the day we met (again) with the Oncologist to find out what is on the road ahead of me ~ and I wanted to fill you in! There is a lot of road to cover, but, like I have said in the past, I run marathons...I got this!

First and foremost is having the Medi-Port put in. What this means is that I am going back to the hospital on Tuesday, October 5th for a Same-Day Surgery to have a port put into my chest. The reason for this is so that the doctors can hook me up and ingest "the goods" (the chemo) right into me.  Then, I need to go in for a MUGA scan...let's see if I can explain this correctly. It is a test to check my heart. Because of the drugs, they could negatively effect my heart and lead to heart damage...but because I am young and healthy, my Oncologist is optimistic that I will be okay. HOWEVER, I will be getting regular scans to check my heart!

So, what's next ~ well, to be honest, something fun! On Sunday, October 10th, 2010 is the Susan G. Koman Race For The Cure Phoenix and there are a lot of people that are going to be partaking in this event, myself included!! I have a lot of support in the Phoenix area that will participating in the event and I'm really looking forward to being down there for it.

After that, comes Chemo ~ starting on Monday, October 11th, 2010. Chemo will encompass 6 full months of treatment. The first 3 months will include 4 total treatments given once every three weeks. It will be approximately 2 hours of treatment per visit. The following day after treatment, I will go back to the office so that I can receive an injection to increase my White Blood Cell count. That will be an easy in-and-out appointment. After the first three months, I will start going in to the Cancer Center once a week for the next twelve weeks for another set of drugs.THEN...I start 6-7 weeks of Radiations which will every day of the week. So, in a nutshell, I will be at the Cancer Center for the next 7ish months of my life!! Luckily it is close to home and I like my Oncologist!!!

So, with all that said, I am a bit overwhelmed, but handling it as best I can. I knew Chemo would be involved, I thought Radiation would be involved...now I just have confirmation of what exactly is expected of me and I'm ready to start my treatment so I can be on my way to recovery! 

I hope I have covered everything that I wanted to for this entry...but if not rest assured I will be back to update you again!

Thanks again for checking in with the blog and me! I'm hanging in there and staying positive! I will get through this with a smile on my face!!! Hope to see you all soon!!!

Love always,

   ~ heather :o)

Post-Surgery Update

Hello My Booble Followers!!

Thank you for checking back in with my blog! I am very, very happy to report that I have been home from the hospital since last Friday evening. I was in the hospital starting Thursday morning for surgery and recovery, stayed Thursday night and almost all day on Friday, but was home by around 8pm. It was SO nice to come home and sleep in my own place. I crashed on the couch ~ I have a very comfy couch!! And it allowed me to sleep on my side ~ which was so much better than the hospital were I had to sleep on my back (so uncomfortable!). Pillows were used to prop me up on one side and off I went to sleep! I woke up around 7am to go to the bathroom ~ and for anyone that has had to stay the night, or any time at all in a hospital, you know how difficult that can be! My ability to just stand up, walk to my bathroom and go was a great feeling! I wasn't attached to anything!!!!! 

Since I have been home, I have started to catch up on sleep ~ but notice that I can sleep almost at the drop of a hat during the day, but it takes me a while to fall asleep at night! I really hope this isn't going to be a new trend for me! My mom has been taking the best care of me and so has the rest of my family and friends.  My wonderful Aunt Cathi and cousin AnMarie have been here a few days since I have been home...(1) to check on me (2) to help my mom with stuff and (3) to get my mom out of the condo for a little while! Speaking of getting out, I have now taken two walking trips to my mailbox and a car ride to the post office! It was nice to get out for a little while, but it is still so hot here in Phoenix that no one wants to stay out too long!

My roomie/eoomie, Alyssa, has been a dream. Some of you were in contact with here when I was in the hospital. She became my personal Medial Communication Specialist when I was unable to text, talk for Facebook! Not only that, but she along with my friend Lizzie have planned and executed the Meals-on-Wheels for Heather program! The wonderful group of people I have become the best of friends with from Team In Training along with co-workers have signed up to cook and/or order dinner so that my mom and I don't have to worry about it. It was been wonderful and I am forever indebted to each of these people for for their generosity and kindness they are showing to me and my family! 

What else ~ oh, I have a follow up appointment this Friday with my Surgeon and next Tuesday with my Oncologist, so I'm guess I will know more then and can update from there! Thank you to everyone who has checked in on me during all of this. I really appreciate it! I will leave you with this ~ I'm feeling pretty good. Sore, but not in a lot of pain. I'm sleeping pretty well (albeit maybe at the wrong hours, but sleep is sleep, right!!), and I'm in good spirits! I know there is still a long road a head of me, but I'm willing and able to make the journey ~ hopefully with really cute shoes on! 

Love to all of you! Check back in a few days for additional updates! 

Hugs and Smiles!! 

  ~ heather :o)

Surgery is set

I'm going to keep this short and sweet ~ I am exhausted!!! 

I'm going in for surgery this coming on Thursday, September 16th, 2010. I will be at Banner Desert in Mesa, Arizona. I should only have to be in the hospital overnight on Thursday and released to come home on Friday ~ but we will see how I'm doing on Friday. 

I am very optimistic but, as to be expected, I'm very nervous and emotional.  I will update everyone as soon as I am feeling well enough to do so, but my wonderful roommate, Alyssa, will be posting updates on my Facebook page, so check back in regularly for updates!

Thank you so much ~ ALL OF YOU ~ for your love, support, encouragement and friendship through all of this. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I will be blogging again just as soon as I can, so stay tuned!!

Love always!!

  ~ heather :o)