KICKING CANCERS ASS!

 Yesterday I found out I get to take a chemo break!! My hands got pretty bad so that is why. My oncologist here is going to talk to the dr in Chicago to see if surgery is an option for the lymph node other than that he said that the liver was clear of any active cancer!!!

Tuesday thru Thursday I am hooked up to my pump and my worst side affects from this treatment are my hands swollen, itching and peeling. Wednesday night through Thursday are my worst days. The pain in my hands is so intense I can't help but cry cause it hurts so much. Not much the Dr's can do besides pain management. James came home from work to be with me.♥️ I want this to be over already!!!😥😢😥😢  

 17 years ago I met the man who I love and will spend the rest of my life with, James. He is an inspiration to me and many others. He has always been by my side no matter what, now and forever!  He has created STAMPS4HOPE to help me and others cope with life's obstacles by sending them a card of smiles. To learn more visit www.stamps4hope.com  Thank you to all those who have been there for us when we needed it most!

Happy March!!! Still kickin cancers butt and staying strong. From the most recent ct scan March 1st, the Doctor says a lymph node shrunk in size which is a plus and the spots in the liver are stable. He wants to do a pet scan in 2 months which will show the tissues work on a cellular level. So 4 more treatments then a scan. Been feeling fine besides being tiresome and toes are still numb due to the lingering neuropathy. Hoping for better results next scan. Thanks to my loving and caring husband James, he says he will never quit. My fight is his fight and we will beat this together! I would like to thank Robyn for the care card including the restaurant gift cards. You are amazing and we can't thank you enough for your generosity! My unhook will be Friday and that's usually when I'm more nauseous. Crossing fingers it's not horrible this week. Please continue to pray and keep us in your thoughts as we continue our journey together. 

  So glad we go to spend the weekend with my boogie!! We celebrated her 2nd birthday and had a blast outside playing!  The lovely flowers are from my amazing sister in law and brother. They heard I was having a rough day and decided to brighten it with some roses!! The cancer slayer shirt is from a fellow colon cancer Warrior named Joe. He rallied and got a bunch of people to send amazing cards and drawings it was great. On another note I got thrush for the second time. If your not familiar with what it is... well it is a fungal infection in my mouth that coats the tongue and ends up running down my throat and causing a sore throat. They originally prescribed a mouth rinse that they wanted me to rinse and then swallow. Needless to say I just can't do that so they set me up with an antifungal pill that is for 6 days. I am not sure if I will have to take that everytime I get treatment or if it will stay away this next week. When I get treatment number 21!! Hope everyone had...

 Today I got unhooked!! It all went well. I got sleeping meds for Wednesday night and unfortunately they didn't help at all! But I got great sleep last night so that is good. We are going to be doing scans the end of February and see how that is going!  On a lighter note today is my lil boogies birthday I can't believe she is 2 already. I am just glad I am here to see her growing up. I hope to see her at her 40th birthday!! These are the things that make me sad if I miss out on all the littles in my life. I don't want to go anywhere anytime soon but it is so scary having this stage 4 diagnosis at such a young age! But I have to remember to take one day at a time and to think positive!  Sorry for not updating as regularly as I should I will try to be better at the updates!!

 I am sorry I have not been keeping up on this very well!! The last 2 chemo treatments went well. I usually don't sleep the day of hook up because of the steroids they give me, so that is a hard night and I usually work the next day and that can be pretty tiring! But I am a badass bitch and will get through this no matter what!! I recently had my latest CT scan done on the 22 of December and just talked to the oncologist today and he said everything has gotten smaller and nothing new has popped up so that is great news and I will continue with the treatment we are currently doing. When I go next week I will ask him what the plan of attack is. Are we trying to get me to surgery again or not will be the question I am asking.   Again I apologize to anyone who is regularly on here checking for updates. I have been slacking the last few treatments!  James and I had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas.  He spoiled me rotten and got me everything I asked for and more! H...

 A little late on the update! I am very happy to say that moving the port to the right side has gotten rid of the chest pain I was having. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way! I went in for unhook on Friday and my new anti nausea medicine is working and I did not get sick on Friday! I know the little things in life that make me happy! 

  Today I got to have my port moved from the left side to my right. We are hoping this helps with the chest discomfort I get every treatment. Also we weren't able to get blood return so every treatment I would have to get a blood draw and a poke in my port!  James took me and unfortunately the hospital policy changed this morning on the visitors not being allowed so he was not able to be in the room or the hospital! Was feeling ok when I got home but that changed after a few hours and now it is pretty sore. Here's to hoping I can work tomorrow!! 

 Well yesterday I went in for treatment 15, didn't have the cramping this time!! But still have nausea but they gave me a different anti nausea med to see if that helps better. I have some amazing people in my life as James had to work so Teddy came to take me to treatment and then Kathie came and brought me home!! I was able to eat mac n cheese after I got home but didn't eat anything for dinner because I just wasn't hungry but it's like that the first few days!  Oh and they had candy there, couldn't help myself!! Thank you to all that come here to read the updates!!

 Here we go!! Round 2 treatment number 14! So the Dr wants to get the port moved to the other side which is fine with me. After my port study the next morning I had that same chest pain that happened during treatment last time. So it didn't have anything to do with the chemo. They gave me a different muscle relaxer that helped yesterday so hopefully that will keep helping because I really don't want to have to take the steroids again! Kicking cancers ass!!!

 So the port is working fine besides not giving a blood return. So I will be able to get my treatment on Wednesday.  We were at the hospital for 4 hours! 

The results are in...  Video call this morning at 8am with Dr. Polite. Bad news, 😢 3 new spots on the liver and a small amount on the abdominal wall. Continue with 3 months of chemo treatments of folfiri. No more oxaliplatin which causes cold sensitivity and neuropathy. Folfiri has irinotecan which will interfere with the cancer cells and does not include the side effects of neuropathy and 25% chance of hair loss. Next Wednesday will be the start of the chemo treatment and will be Wednesday thru Friday. First thing will be a Covid-19 test Saturday morning and a port study Monday. Hoping everything goes smoothly and no hiccups. Not shocked for these results so let's continue kicking cancers ass!!!

Today we took our trip to Orland Park for my scan at Chicago Medicine. Much better than the Hyde Park location. As we got out of the car to take our picture I noticed a penny heads up so it is now in my car. I am a firm believer in signs from my loved ones so this is one of those signs. Ofcourse there are no visitors allowed in with me so James went to grab some coffee and took a drive around town. Going to different places felt like a are vacation trip because of the different scenery. Very windy on our way back too! Results will be tomorrow over a video call from the Chicago Oncologist so fingers crossed for good results.

Today the hubby and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! I do not know how time has gone that quickly! I can only hope to have a million more anniversaries with him!! He has been my rock during all of this cancer crap!! He has gone to every appointment with me and is my driver to and from them!  We got to spend our anniversary hiking at Starved Rock! It was a beautiful day and boy did we hike our asses off!  I love you more than you could possibly know James!!!