The Block Is Hot!!!!

Hello all! I'm out of my place bunking down at my cousin's. Too much fire and smoke for me....I had to go! Kinda crazy to see all this stuff burn. I pray for all those who've lost their homes and pray that mine be spared. Keeps us in your prayers!

Smooches!!!

It's Gettin' Hot In Here!!!!!

Well just wanted to keep some of you posted. I am sitting here about to start breathing in a paper bag as I watch HELL break loose around me. Yep the fire is about 20 miles from me and I am freaking out!!!!! I am packing up waiting to see which way it is going. So far it doesn't seem to be coming this way....I don't think! The winds are still high so as we all know, fire is unpredictable. There is a really big state park with tons of canyons between me and thee (fire) but just in case, I've packed up some things so I can get the heak outta here!!!! Okay, gotta go track the flames more!

Smooches!

Apologies To All.....But I'm Back!!!

Hey there everyone. Sorry I've been slacking but when I tell you about my normal day I hope you will understand why.

Well as I said before I have started radiation. Actually, I'm halfway done with it! So what is radiation you may ask, how does it make you feel you may ask. Well, radiation is like a really strong x-ray aimed at the place where the tumor was. It is meant to kill any radical cells and make sure all cancer is gone! Side effects are minimal, the rays tend to "burn" the skin somewhat like extreme sunburn. I apply aloe gel and Aquaphor to the site and so far I haven't had any blisters or bad reactions. The site gets a little sore sometimes but all in all it's okay. The bad part is that I go to radiation EVERYDAY! Monday thru Friday so I work all day, drive to radiation which takes about 30 minutes, then my session usually last about 15 mins, then back in rush hour traffic back home. So by the time I get home I'm bushed!

Otherwise I'm doing great. I have found a support group and it's a really good thing. I love it!
So needless to say, things are going well and I will do my best to update this blog at least weekly. If I could access it from work, I would update more often but I can't....IT'S RESTRICTED!!!! Oh well, I will do better I promise!

Thanks again for all your support and prayers!

Smooches

Back to Work!

Well, I have returned to work and have not gotten used to getting up and going ANYWHERE on a regular basis. I've been trying out different times to see which one works. Oh well, wish me luck. Especially because I've gained weight an most of my clothes don't fit! But I will try to keep up with all the changes. Check back in the next few days, I have to tell you about my newest treatment.

Smooches

Algebra Lesson: 2 Negatives=Positive

Well after meeting with both my surgeons, I have received great news. NO MORE CANCER!!! The pathology reports show that the tumor had dissipated (disappeared) and no residual cells remained. No cancer in my ovaries and therefore a positive report of being Cancer free!
I will see my oncologist next week to determine my plan for radiation therapy ( the last and final step). I will go back to work on the 13th, that is if my doctor says it's okay after I see him on Wed. (8th). So all in all.......IT'S ALL GOOD!

Okay, if you have nothing to do, call me! email me! come visit me! I'M BORED!!!!!

Thanks again for everything, all your thoughts & prayers. I can truly feel them covering me everyday!

Smooches

1st Report

I saw my gyno-surgeon on Tuesday because of a small infection in one of my incisions. The doctor said it was superficial and had not gotten deep into the wound so it was ok. He gave me an antibiotic and showed my mom how to pack the wound and wants to see me back in a week. He also gave me the pathology report which said there was no cancer or anything in my ovaries. There was something (a dermoid tumor) which is benign and would may have caused an issue later (much later) but that was all. Good report all in all! He released me to drive again if when I got in the car, I could jerk the wheel hard and slam on the break without it hurting. So, needless to say I'm driving. I'm not taking any narcotic pain meds so it's pretty safe for me to drive. As for work, he wants me to wait, I have to follow-up with him next week so I won't go to work until then. Oh, well! He reminded me that although my incisions were relatively small, I really did have major surgery, so in other words....SIT YO' ASS DOWN SOMEWHERE! He also reminded me that I had 6 weeks off. However, I'm bored at home but the most important issue is that I don't get paid for 6 weeks off this time so I NEED to go back to work. He said since I can sit at my desk or table & I don't do a lot of lifting and such I could go back to work after I see him on Wed. So I look forward to that.

I go to see my breast surgeon today so look for another update later today or tomorrow.

Also if you live in the area, check the news frequently to make sure a woman wasn't found wondering aimlessly through Chino Hills saying, I just need to get away!!!! My mom is still here and my Grandma came in on Tuesday and she has been watching me like a hungry eagle (nope not a hawk) telling me to not lift this, don't do that, if I take a Tylenol she wants to know what hurts! EVERYTHING I JUST HAD SURGERY!!!! But of course I can't say that without a trip to the ER or something so I just don't say anything. And for those of you who read this and will take to her, if you mention it I will deny it and say you must be going nuts!!!!!
Okay that's if for now!

SMOOCHES!!!

Surgery Complete!

Well.......I'M BACK!!!!

I had surgery on Sept. 17th as scheduled. The lumpectomy was done using a guide wire that had to be put in with x-ray because there was pretty much nothing left to the tumor. The a dissection of my lymph node was down with no cancer cells found so that means....I'M OFFICIALLY CANCER FREE!!!!! A SURVIVOR some would say!!!!
The ufferectomy was done laproscopically so all surgeries done with the least invasiveness possible. So that also means I got to go home the next day with some instructions and great pain meds.
I'm still a little sore from surgery but recovering pretty well. I have a couple dr.'s appts. this week so I will update soon.
My mom is here now and has been taking great care of me, especially since I can't drive or lift too much. My grandmother will be here tomorrow so more TLC for me!
More updates later!
Thanks to all of you who have sent cards and get well wishes and of course thanks to ALL for the prayers. God is moving here!

Smooches!!!

The Next Step!!!

So I am ready for the next step, which is surgery.....um ok that's kinda scary! I have only been in the hospital once for dehydration when I was in college. Otherwise no other illness to speak of before this...well not really. I am not really nervous now even though it's exactly 2 weeks from today probably because I am sooo tired. I went back to work and working as hard as I can before I won't be able to work. However, I did get some good news that I won't be out as long as I was initially told, 2 weeks, that's great!!!!



Anywho........Mom will be in Tuesday so the countdown begins. I have been sooo busy I haven't had time to think about any of this which is pretty good since I may freak out if all I had to do was sit and worry. But since I don't.....I won't!



Again Surgery is on the 17th, I have a Pre-Op appt. tomorrow. This will be blood work, EKG, and a bunch of other test to make sure my heart and other organs are okay and it's cool to do surgery. I guess I should be charging my iPod so I will have something to do during all this. I got a good book so I should be fine.



So some may be asking what's after surgery..........well me too! No really it's Radiation therapy . I will have about 4 weeks off after surgery and then 6 weeks of radiation. I will receive radiation everyday (5 days a week, no radiation on the weekends!) for 6weeks. This will be a treat, driving from Chino to Duarte EVERYDAY!!!! It's not that's it's that far away, just that the traffic to get there will be brutal!!!! Well, I'm trying to watch the game so I guess I will go watch the game and get ready for my week.



I'm working a lot but I will try to get on here again sometime this week.

Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers!

Luv Ya'll



Smooches!

The Last Dance

So let's dance, the last dance with chemo!




Yep it's my last round of chemo!!!!!!

Or should I say was!

Okay! Chemo IS OVER!!!!

So I think I'm ready for the next step.

Surgery Scheduled

Well, my last chemo treatment will be in a couple days!!!! Halelujah!!!! So here we go with the next step.....Surgery.
My surgery date is set of Sept. 17th. I will have a lumpectomy and ufferectomy and will be home for a few weeks......phone calls, emails and visits will be welcome to keep me from going NUTS!!!!! I will only be out like 4 weeks ( I hope.....keep your fingers crossed) because I think I will go bonkers if I'm not allowed to do anything longer than 2 weeks plus not being able to go to work is gonna kill me (with bordom & financially....all donations welcome!!! =)
So that's the update for now, I'll be writing again soon and adding a few pics so come back soon now... ya' hear!!!!

Smooches!

Spell Check

Yeah, chemo makes my brain a little fuzzy so I don't focus very well. That being said, forgive the typeos, I forgot to spell check!

#5 is a Killa!!!

WOW! This fifth treatment has really got me down! Well first, they changed my treatment day (not happy about that) so I was in on Monday, but I started getting sick on Sunday. My doctor and nurses said I am having anticipatory nausea. Whatever it is it sucks. It also get a little sick when I see, hear, or think of things that remind me of chemo. So I'm getting a little nauseous just writing this entry!
Well, the tumor is pretty much undetectable without an unltrasound or something! Yippee!!! That's the good news, but my doctor told me that my platelets were low so I am a little anemic. I assume that may be why I haven 't been able to bounce back as fast as I usually do. My aunt brought me some greens today but I need to eat more spinach (raw) red meat, and beets (not happening!!!!) So I will be trying to eat some steak & spinach tomorrow I guess.
I have really been down this time, I've been in bed since Tuesday most of the time. I have been kidnapped a few days by the James' but mostly in bed. Another factor may be the boxes stacked all around, I want to unpack but I really don't have the strength. Today I actually felt like pulling a few things out of boxes but it would last about 20 mins and I would have to hit the couch for about an hour! I also need to hit the grocery store but I have enough to last a few more days (Mama don't worry) but it is getting low!!! I barely have the energy to walk around my kitchen, I know I can't go shopping yet. But it will get done. I hope to go to church tomorrow and I'm sure I will feel better by next week.
This is the final countdown........ONE MORE TO GO!!!!!!!
Doctor's appointments starting next week, I'll keep you informed.

Smooches!

New Place Update

This place is great! Although I haven't felt like doing much, I know that it will be great when my mom and grandma comes. Enough space to keep us from sitting on top of each other! Again, anyone who wants to unpack a box or two you are more than welcome to stop by next week!

My New Place

All I have to say is Greg B. rocks!!!!! I say this because he is the man responsible for my paychecks and my housing arrangements. If you don't know I'm a travel therapist, meaning I move for every assignment to a new place close to the area of my assignment. This is usually a 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment. Well, when my mom was here during the initial part of this journey it was she & I in a 1 bedroom............real close quarters!!!! Well, this time God and Greg made some things happen. I had gotten my initial assignment for an apartment but about a week later Greg sent me an email not to get to attached to that address, the previous renters decided to stay. So he sent me my new address and I was like cool. I called a few days to make arrangements to move in and they informed that I have a 2 bedroom, 1 bath!!!!! YIPPEEE!!!!! Since mom is staying another month like before this is great, she will be able to have her own space. Plus it makes it easier when all of ya'll come out to visit me this year, right!!!! The apartment manager quickly informed me it was only because that's all they had and gave my company a better deal (that was God working) so if you work for SOS this is NOT the norm! But sometimes God has other plans for you!!! My company only furnishes one bedroom but with an air mattress and a few of those storage drawer things it will all work out great!



I want to thank EVERYONE at SOS for all their support and great cards and gifts. I am a truly lucky person in that I love the company I work for. They are a great group of people who really care about their employees. I will recommend them to anyone who is interested.



Any OT, PT or SLP out there looking for a change, holla at your girl, I will hook you up!!! And if you don't know what those letters stand for, no offense but, this obviously wasn't meant for you. :-)



Smooches

Medical Updates

Oops! I forgot to put the medical stuff in the last entry. Well, my oncologist said "I can't find the damn thing" in my last check up. That's great! Since the last time we "spoke" I say my surgeon as well. My surgery will be approximately 2 weeks after my last chemo treatment, in other words the 2nd or 3rd week in September. I will have a mammogram & ultrasounds on the 21st and meet with my surgeon to establish exactly what will happen and the exact date of my surgery. Of course I will keep you posted.





I wasn't sure if I wanted to share all this info, but what the hell......ya'll know all my business anyway!!!





After meeting with the genetic counselor and having all the test, it was confirmed that I am BRCA1 positive. I spoke about this before, but again it's the gene that makes me predisposed to breast & ovarian cancer. There were several options laid out for me but I chose to have the lumpectomy and offarectomy (don't have my medical dictionary here so that may not be the right spelling!!!). In other words, they will that the remaining tissue from around the marker they placed in my breast for precautionary measure and my ovaries will be removed for preventative measures. So I now I have the perfect excuse to be a bitch!!!! LOL oops I forget to keep this thing censored! Oh well, ya'll know me I slip up every now and again.

I will have more info on all this after I meet with all the surgeons and stuff.



As for my next treatment, it was supposed to be on Wednesday, the 6th but I'm pretty pissed right now because they changed my date to Monday the 4th. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but I was supposed to move into my new apartment on that date. I only found out Friday afternoon so now I have to make other arrangements for help moving and even gaining possession of the apartment. I think I should be done with chemo in time but it just makes things really in convenient for me and those who normally help me out. We had a system and now that's all blown to heck! So anyone reading this that's out here with me, give me a call, especially if you have a truck!!!



So that's all I know now.

Smooches

Chemo to Go!!!

Well, I'm not sure how great this idea was but the day after chemo I flew out to Orlando. There was no way I was gonna miss my family reunion. Just for the record, I slept most of the flight but I will say that I will NEVER fly Spirit Air again. THEY SUCK!!!!!! They charge for everything, no wonder the tickets are so cheap, and they want you to clean the plane!!!! I'm not sure but I think you have to pay to pee! Okay, that may have been too much but it was pretty damn bad. Not to mention the drunkards sitting next to me that had to pee 10 times during out flight. But I survived!

It was really good to see my family and know that they are all praying for me! I want to ask that you send special prayers up for my cousin Dalton Short as he is fighting this cancer thing as well. He is a trooper but as with all of us his days are good and bad but it was soo good to see him and his family. I really felt blessed to see them all.

It was also good to see my friend Misty. She was my rock in Orlando those few years I was there and she remains the same! We always pick right up where we left off the time before.

Well, no need for like day to day occurances in my vacation, just know that I got to see some special people in my life. Spent my days doing a whole lot of NOTHING!!!!! It was great. I hung out with my folks so they got to see me come back from chemo to the nearly normal me I always am. I hope that put some minds at ease. And for those who didn't see me enough, the planes still fly this way too! Come on out, I'd love the company!!!!

Well 2 more treatments and I'm done with this chemo stuff!

More later, smooches!

Olympic Dreams Dashed!!!!

Well, I can say that I will NOT be participating in this years Olympic Games! I have tested positive for steroids!!!! I apologize to all my fans for any disappointment I may have caused. In my defense, it is a part of my treatment so please understand!!!

Hahaha! So those of you who don't know me, you have to know that the only competition that I may be eligible for is.............well, that would be NONE!!!!

I was a little upset that I haven't loss any weight but they give you all these drugs and steroids to make you eat, hence the gaining of 5-10 lbs!!!!! I'm pissed, I was looking forward to the weight loss!!!!

Just thoughts!

B

I'm Shrinking!!!!!

Hello everyone!

Well, the 3rd chemo was pretty OK. Just tired as usual. I moved before and after chemo so I was a little more tired than normal but I bounced back after Tuesday!

On Monday, I had another biopsy. It was not the most pleasant experience but there was good news that came from it. The tech and the doctor performing the biopsy had some difficulty finding the tumor!!!! You could see the initial ultrasound pictures on one screen and compared to the new pictures. It was really dramatic! The doctor was like, it shrank like 8-10 times of the initial tumor. Today I met with my surgeon and he said that the tumor is now like 1cm or less! That's a great thing. I will be having surgery like two weeks after my last chemo session which will be Aug. 27th. Yep the day before my birthday, that sucks! But hey ain't that something to celebrate when I can!!!!

Okay, that's it for now.
Thanks of course for all the love and prayers.

I'll Holla!!!

3rd Times the Charm!!!

I know, this is very close to the 2nd chemo entry, but what else is there to do during chemo?
So I saw my doctor today and he was very happy that he could hardly feel any tumor, and believe me he was very thorough in his exam. He said that I was flying through pretty good!
So here we go again. I have taken great efforts to get everything packed up before today. I think I did a pretty good job except for the clothes I wore yesterday and the sheets, towels and shower curtain. I have great help to finish this and pack my car!
As for arrangements for the next few days, I will be staying with the Harvey’s, these are great folks. I don’t know who adopted who first but these are another aunt & uncle to add to my list out here! She insisted that I stay with them the next few days and I will go to my cousin’s this weekend. So maybe the mother-like figure will help me get on my feet a little better!
I am currently hooked up to my last infusion so I can bust outta this joint in about 30 mins. Now that the move is about done, school is out and I only work when I feel like it, I will be blogging a LOT more! So check me out a little more frequently. I promise to respond to all comments in a timely fashion and everything. However, give me a couple days because I don’t have a wireless connection until I get to my cousin’s house!
Thanks again for all your prayers and I would like to ask you all to add my coworker who is going through a recurrence of ovarian cancer. She is a strong lady who was a great inspiration to me! So say a special prayer for Charlotte Defeo. Of course keep up the prayers for me and keep sending those positive vibes!
Being the fliest bald chick you know!!!!
Smooches!

Bella vs The Volcano

Well this was my first chemo without my Mama! So I go it alone! I went to my appointments, got my blood work done, saw the doctor. This was not my usual doctor because they were all at some conference. While doing my exam she had to ask me where the tumor was and when I tried to show her, I could hardly find it. So guess what, THE CHEMO IS WORKING!!!!!
As for afterwards, my friend Cynthia stayed with me but all I did was sleep mostly, all she had to do was warm up food from Mimi’s and make me noodles. That’s it! But it was nice to know someone was there. The next day was a little harder, no one there to cook and make me eat. When Mama was here she would cook and fix me sandwiches and noodles as soon as I would stir so I was always eating something with helped with the nausea. This time no one was there to force jello and great sandwiches on me so I was a little more nauseous this time. But I had a little help from good friends who got me some “other” methods of anti-nausea products and it helped! My nurse also gave me info for a clinic in LA for medical cannabis which is great for nausea and helping with sleep. Sleep has been an issue but I try to stay busy so I will be really tired when it’s bed time!
I can’t go on with this without mentioning my Angel. My Pastor, Dwight Peace, called frequently, but on
Saturday after chemo he shows up on my doorstep with food in hand. He came in to a mess, my kitchen was trashed from me throwing things together but too tired to clean it all up. So he rolled up his sleeves, fixed my plate, washed dishes, and put things back in order. It was like I was dreaming! I would arouse a little and he would be hard at work! The food was good but the service was better! He sent me dinner the next day and it was all delicious! The Peace family calls to check on my frequently until they get the answering machine and know that I’m okay! My South Hills Presbyterian Church Family Rocks!!!
It took me a little longer to bounce back this time but I think it was because I wasn’t eating as much. Mama’s have a way of making you feel better too! I went back to work on Monday but I was sooo tired, but my friends at work made it easy, plus they sent a sub to help out with some things that weren’t done while I was out so I helped!
Well I didn’t say this in the beginning, but thank you for all the support, prayers and words of encouragement.
For those who responded to my blogs, I appreciate the kind words. I didn’t reply to them because by the time I figured out I had replies too much time had passed but I will reply now that school is out!
Take care, women check the boobs, men check the ba…(oops my pastor reads this), keep praying and sending me those inspirational vibes.
Me!