A Declaration

To make myself accountable for this most recent endeavor, I am announcing it to all my friends and family. I plan to start training this week to do the Breast Cancer 3 Day walk in Dallas in November. This is with the caveat that my doctors okay it and I'm not doing radiation. That said, I am going to start walking on the treadmill and with a couple of friends. I've got a schedule that will hopefully help me get stronger and healthier. So, I'll update on that progress as well as everything else. Here's the site if you want to learn more. There are several walks this year around the country. http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer.

The HEART of the Matter

I'm sorry, I know, it's silly. I went to the cardiologist today to discuss this heart issue. I have cardiomyopathy as a result of the Herceptin treatments. I was told it was reversible, but it may not be. It depends on a number of factors. My cardiologist put me on Coreg, a beta-blocker, and Lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor. I'll go back in a couple of weeks to check my blood pressure and then again in 3 months for another echo or MUGA. Dr. Kantis says that I will be on these drugs for the duration of my treatment, but will most likely be on them for life. That's a long time when you are only 35.

The good news is that I should be able to resume treatment once my oncologist says it's okay. It's going to be weird not going to the doctor as often as normal over the next 6 weeks. I have to go in to flush my port before then, but it looks like it will be relatively calm on the medical front for me. This is good I guess. Anna and Sydney start soccer practice in a couple of weeks. Now I'll have the strength to keep up with that. See, there is always something positive to everything.

Today was also report card day. Both girls were High Achievers on their report cards. We are so proud of each of them.

I don't like cancer

This is not a surprise, I just want to reiterate that I hate having cancer. I feel great and want this whole entire ordeal put behind me so my family and I can move on.

I posted earlier that I had a MUGA scan on Monday. I got the results at my oncologist visit today. The results and the visit were not good. The MUGA confirmed that my ejection fraction (EF) was 45%. The echos showed the same thing. What this means is that my heart is being affected by the Herceptin. It isn't pumping enough blood out of my left ventricle. As a result, I am now on a break from treatment for at least the next 6 weeks. I see a cardiologist on Friday. The damage caused is reversible so I'm hoping that with some time and treatment from the cardiologist, I'll be able to resume the Herceptin and finish this thing. Once I do resume, it won't be the same as before. I was going every 3 weeks for 90 minutes. I'll now go every week for 30 minutes. The idea is my heart won't have the huge rollercoaster effect each time I go in.

This wasn't the only bad news. Now, I will have to confirm some of this with my radiation oncologist, but my regular oncologist said that I can't do radiation at the same time as the Herceptin. Since my tumor was on the left side, this is where the radiation will be. It can clip the heart which is already weakened. So, if I do still need radiation, I'll have to wait until I'm done with the Herceptin, which may not be until September or October. I'll have radiation some time after that, then I will have to wait 6 months after that to do reconstruction.

My timeline has changed completely now. I was hoping to be done with all of this by the end of the year. Now it looks like it won't be until year from this summer. Ten months changed to eighteen in a very short visit. And all of this could still change more. I just want to be done.

President Obama

Wow, what a day! It was so nice to be able to watch today's historical events. I was truly in awe of what occurred in D.C. and am excited for the future of our nation. Even if you didn't vote for President Obama, you have to feel the joy and excitement that he brings to politics and our country. There is a confidence that he has that is contagious. You can't help but think that good things are going to happen over the next 4 years. I hope and pray that he has the capability to bring our nation out of the funk we are in.

Hayden had speech therapy at 11 am, right when President Obama was being sworn in. He didn't get much therapy done! Instead of sitting at the table, we sat on the floor in the living room watching history. Two year olds, as many may guess, don't care about history! He was not happy that we changed things around. I was also very pleased that the girls' school allowed the children to watch the events on TV. One of Anna's former teachers, according to her, was invited, but didn't attend. What an honor though!

If you missed the inauguration and speeches, please watch them online. It is worth your time to witness these events.

Pictures

I promised to post some pictures, so here goes. Anna and I went for a short hike today. Sydney was sick with an upset tummy, and Hayden is currently possessed and is fully into TERRIBLE TWOs. Jason tried to work from home. What a day!

Success

I was able to get my Herceptin treatment today and Hayden had physical therapy. The insurance issue is taken care of and we are moving forward.

I won't call this a set back, but more a precaution. Because of the heart issues I've been having as a reaction to the Herceptin, they did cut my dose by 20% today. And instead of another echo, they want me to get a MUGA scan. This is, in simple terms, a scan that can provide moving images of my heart. It allows the doctors to measure the ejection fraction of the left ventricle, which has been lower than normal on the echos. Doctors can visually see what is happening in a very noninvasive manner. I'm all for that. I hate to have to get off this drug, but I also hate to have heart failure. Which is the lesser of 2 evils? Apparently, there are other drugs that I can take instead of the Herceptin, but that's the one I know that really works. I have the MUGA scan on Monday and will hopefully have the results before I see my oncologist next Wednesday. Wish me luck.

The girls are off from school for the next 4 days. Yeah! Sydney is having a sleepover at her friend's house and will go see a movie tomorrow with her. Anna is going to an ice skating party with one of her friends. Now, if I can only find a friend for Hayden, I can be child free for awhile...just kidding! I love spending time with those little munchkins. I'll have to post some pictures again soon. I've slacked off for a few weeks. Maybe this weekend.

Finally!

I've been dealing with this Cobra mess for the last 2 weeks. It has been a terrible ordeal, but I think I've finally succeeded. The issues ranged from being put on the wrong plan, including Jason instead of dropping him, not getting papers to us in time to try to correct mistakes, charging us the wrong amount, etc. I've been calling everyday since Friday to get things corrected. I had to postpone treatment from Friday to tomorrow and if this wasn't corrected so I can be pre-approved for treatment, then it wasn't going to happen.

I saw that my check cleared our account, so I called and had to walk yet one more person through the problems. He told me he would manually push things through, but that we wouldn't show under the insurance plan until tomorrow, at the exact time that my appointment was scheduled. He called me back this afternoon and it was done! I confirmed it with the insurance company and we were there! Yeah!!

So, I'm all set for treatment tomorrow. I'm getting Herceptin again right after Hayden's physical therapy. I've never been so happy to go to a doctor!

Asking for a favor

Jason sent me an email today regarding the daughter of one of his company's investment bankers. She's applying for a travel internship to help encourage college students to travel abroad as part of their education. I'd like to help her if at all possible. Melissa had to make a video as part of the application because her travels will be aired. Here's the link for the application: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=LZpH6t4W9t0. She's currently a sophomore at LSU.

She needs to get as many hits as possible. I would have loved to do something like this when I was her age and I hope my kids get this kind of opportunity when they are older. Many of you reading this, especially my family, had the opportunity to interact with exchange students over the years. Most experiences are positive, yet we all know of a few that haven't been. If the good programs were publicized more, participation may increase. I wish her luck. Thanks for taking the time to help her out.

Going (almost) solo

Today was the first almost completely normal post-surgery day. It was very nearly like being me again. Jason's dad went home on Saturday morning and Jason went to work today. Hayden did play with my mom a couple of times, but other than that, it was just me and the kids in all our glory.

We started with the dentist, followed by school, cleaning floors, dishes, 6 loads of laundry, stripping kids beds, lunch, nap, shopping, homework, homemade veggie soup with dumplings, baths/showers and bed. Yeah! I'm happy and tired. It feels good to get back to my life a little.

I'm still dealing with Cobra issues, but I'm hopeful they will be cleared up this week. The only question is will it be in time to get my Herceptin on Thursday. Hayden needs to get new AFOs (ankle foot orthotics), but we have to wait until this mess is taken care of.

Let's hope tomorrow is just as successful as today.

Cobra, Radiation and Babies

Today was a busy day. I was at school doing light manual labor this morning. Don't worry, I didn't overdo it. It was nice to be back there and feel a little like me again. Then I was on the phone all day trying to take care of Cobra issues. There were so many issues to deal with. I really hate Cobra but if everything works out it will be worth it. The coverage is so much better than what we will have with Jason's new company. I think I talked to 5 or 6 different people today to get things resolved. While most of them have, I had to move my next Herceptin treatment from tomorrow to later next week. Because of the type of drug it is, it has to be pre-approved to be covered. It is not an inexpensive drug, so I wait.

One of my doctors suggested that I ask that my case be reviewed by the radiation review board. My general surgeon is on the board and my radiation oncologist heads it. My surgeon originally told me he couldn't get my case on the docket for this week, but I'd be on it next week. Well, he called this afternoon and told me it was the last case they discussed today. Yippee! Then he told me that due to the nature of my cancer and the fact that I have responded so well to treatment, there isn't really a clear cut answer to whether I can avoid radiation. So, I'll have another one on one discussion with my radiation oncologist to discuss what to do next. Having already talked to her, I know that I'll probably need to do it. As she put it to me, I should use every tool I have to fight this disease. My cancer has a higher recurrence rate than some other breast cancers, so I need to do everything I can to make sure it doesn't come back. No need to twist my arm.

Lastly, I want to congratulate our dear friends, Lance, Heather and Rowan, on their new addition. Baby AJ arrived yesterday morning and is so cute! Finally, Rowan has her baby brother. And now, Hayden won't be the only boy when we get together. We hope to meet him this spring. Congratulations, guys!

Off to a good start...

Five days into the New Year and I'm so happy! Hayden has been getting ready for potty training for some time now. Well, today he really wanted to sit on the potty. Off came the diaper, down dropped the pants and then he sat. He sat well over 5 minutes, then I heard something. It was raining outside so I had to strain to hear...but he did it! He actually peed in the potty. Anna came in and we both just clapped and told him what a good boy he was. He was so proud of himself. We got his pants back up, dumped everything in the big potty, flushed, then washed hands. He was so happy. Then he did it again about an hour later. He spent the rest of the afternoon in a pull up so we had easy access. What a great way to start the year.

Tomorrow the girls go back to school. I think the anxieties that Sydney had the 2 weeks following my surgery are nearly gone. She spent many days with the school counselor, but I think those will be fewer now that she knows that I'm okay. Anna also is doing great. She had her first sleepover since May. That's a huge step for her. I'm really proud of all my kids. I loved having them home during winter break, but I can't wait for school tomorrow! Pray for all the teachers!