I'm a Survivor

Today, I received the amazing news that I am cancer free!

In fact, I was cancer free before surgery because I had a what's called a "complete response" to chemotherapy. The chemo killed all the cancer in my breast and lymph node. Not one cell remained! We are just ecstatic. 

My surgeon called it a medical miracle. I called it a giant answer to prayer. This is exactly what I prayed for again and again over the last 5 months. And many, many others prayed for that as well. Thank you prayer warriors. God is faithful.

My surgeon removed 4 lymph nodes. 1 showed evidence of "dead cancer" (i.e. scar tissue) and the other 3 showed no cancer at all. This is another huge answer to prayer because I didn't want to have many lymph nodes removed because that puts you at more risk of lymphadema.

The original breast tumor was just scar tissue. Amazing! I could not be happier. 

So, no more "bump" because we have Elise and no more "lump" because the lump was killed by chemo and then chopped off. I guess I should change my blog name! 

Last Chemo!

Last Wednesday I completed my last round of Taxol chemo which was the last of my eight chemo treatments!

Elise came with me and even wore a pink ribbon in support. 

We're done!

It feels so great to be done with chemo. There's obviously the nagging feeling of "what if I need more chemo after surgery? Or more chemo if the cancer comes back?" But I'm pushing those feelings away and celebrating that I'm done withe chemo and the odds that are I'll be done with it forever!

I have to say, that despite the few days of aches from Taxol I felt amazingly well while on chemo. I had imagined it would be awful, but I did remarkably well with minimal side effects. I attribute that to my great medical team, good nutrition, and most importantly everyone's prayers.

So now I'm done with chemo! On to surgery and then radiation. It's basically half-time in this cancer-butt-kicking game.

2nd to Last Taxol and the 4th of July

On Wednesday I had my second to last Taxol chemo. And this should be (if all goes according to plan), my second to last chemo ever!

On my way to chemo, wearing my Fighting Fancy tank top.

The muscle aches started to set in last night and I will probably stick around for the next 3-4 days. Taxol sucks for me because I like to be active and it really makes me want to sit around and not do anything strenuous. Even walking up our stairs in our three story house can suck at times. Luckily I'm usually back to normal a week afterwards doing walks, hikes, and yoga. Will you please pray that aches don't get to too bad this time because tomorrow is my birthday and I really want to be feeling as good as I can be for it.

Speaking of holidays, yesterday was the 4th of July.

I loved hanging out with this little firecracker... 

But I also felt sad because 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays and I hated being "sick" for it. I'm just sick of being sick. I'm starting to reach the point where I just want my life back and I still have months of dealing with cancer ahead of me even in the best case scenario. Then there's the occasionally-nagging thought that I might only have a few birthdays or 4th Julys left. Sorry if that sounds depressing, but I think any person with cancer would be lying if they said those thoughts didn't cross their mind from time to time.

OK, on to positive thoughts... In just 12 days I'll be DONE with chemo. And I'm one major step closer to beating cancer!

75% done with Chemo!

Today I had my second of four Taxol chemos. This means I'm 75% done with chemo overall! I plan on being completely cured and never having to do chemo again, but obviously I appreciate your prayers for the same.

Here is my Dad, who was chemo buddy today, with Elise before we left. Note my Dad's awesome Race for the Cure shirt. Elise stayed home but wore pink in support of me. :)

I love my support team

The Taxol infusion took a long time but was easy. They give me steroids to take the night before so I didn't sleep much last night which was probably the worst part. After the last Taxol I was really achy in the back and legs for a few days, so I'm anticipating that side effect again. But other than that, my Taxol side effect were not too bad.

Speaking of side effects, check out my hair growth. I have stubble! I was off chemo for 6 weeks to deliver Elise, so my hair started to grow back. But now that I've been back on Taxol for 2 weeks I expect it to start falling out again this weekend. Womp womp. On a positive note, now I know what I'll look like in 13 weeks.

Navy recruit?

I have some more medical updates about next steps in treatment, but I'll save those for a later post and leave you with some adorable pictures of Elise (the real reason you come to this blog!).

Passed out in the carseat

Goofball

In her bunny chair that she loves

Just hanging out with Dad

Chemo #5/Taxol #1 - Complete!

On Wednesday I started my latest round of chemo. I'm now getting a new chemo drug, called Taxol, which is different than chemo drugs I got before Elise was born. I'll do three more rounds of Taxol over the next seven weeks.

Here I am at my appointment.  

Fight On!

Yes, I know I just I had a baby, but don't act so shocked that I'm back in chemo already. The whole reason we induced early was so I could get back to chemo faster and fight this cancer so Elise has a Mom for decades to come. I wish my fight ended with Elise being born but we're really just in the 4th inning or so in beating this cancer (see treatment plan).

In case you're wondering, this is what a Taxol infusion looks like:

Drip, drip, drip

Taxol is supposed to be pretty effective for TNBC, so my big prayer is that I have complete response to it and there is no cancer left when I have my surgery in August.

I'm still working on Elise's birth story, so stay tuned for that. 

AC Chemo #4 & Baby Updates

On Wednesday I finished AC chemo #4, which is my last chemo before the baby and should be my last AC chemo ever!

My Dad went with me and wore his "Race for the Cure" shirt to show support. Love it!

Chemo went really well. My blood cell counts were all good (praise!) and my oncologist thinks my tumor has shrunk even more based on feeling it alone. In fact, he said he can't even feel a tumor anymore (amazing!).

So now I get a break from chemo for a little more than six weeks! Then, I'll start Taxol (another chemo drug) 1-2 weeks after giving birth and get that four times over seven weeks. I'm excited for a break, but also anxious to get back on chemo since I know it's doing a good job fighting the cancer.

In baby news...

We had a growth ultrasound on Friday and the baby looked great! She measured right on track (65 percentile for size based on gestational age) and they estimated she's 5lbs 6oz already (so not growth restricted at all!). The perinatologist said she looked "perfect" which was music to our ears and a huge answer to prayers. Keep praying that baby girl grows and is born healthy in a few weeks!

Chemo #3, Baby Update, and Lump Update

On Wednesday I finished Chemo #3! That marks my second-to-last AC chemo and my second-to-last chemo before breaking to have our baby girl.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us yesterday. I have nothing but good news to report from chemo #3. Praise God! My blood counts were all "low-normal" which is still well within the range to get chemo. The side effects from this round seem to be similar to the last one -- just some mild nausea/tummy issues here and there and lots of exhaustion. Just running a few errands is about all I can do without needing a rest/nap. But overall I'm truly blessed that I feel this good while on AC chemo. I credit good doctors, lots of Kangen water, and of course prayer. 

Here we are on the way to Chemo #3.

31.5 Weeks

Today I had my checkup with my OB-GYN. I'll get another growth ultrasound in ~2 weeks, but today she said my belly was measuring right on track and the baby's heartbeat was normal. Yay! I talked to her more about my delivery plan (not inducing unless medically necessary so that my chance of a c-section is lower). She also said I don't need to take a birthing class (because I really cannot stand the idea of being in a room full of happy, naive preggos). She said that I can just read a book or do an online class if I want to, but the nurses and midwives will coach me though the whole delivery no matter what prep I do. My OB seemed really happy and impressed about how "healthy" I looked despite having cancer and doing chemo which was sweet.

Also today I had my checkup with my surgical oncologist. She could not even feel my previously swollen axillary lymph node (I told her I can feel it if I really dig for it but it's rice-sized) and she could feel that my breast lump has decreased in size quite a bit. She even said "this is terrific!" Basically, it's really great news that the chemo is working so well thus far. Keep praying that it continues to work and there will be no evidence of cancer to be found by the time I have my surgery. No matter what happens I will be having surgery on parts or both of my breasts around late August or early September (depends on how fast I can can complete my next rounds of taxol chemo). More decisions to be made on that later.

Half Way Done with AC Chemo

Yesterday was my second round of Adriamyacin & Cytoxan (AC) chemo. That means I'm half-way done with AC. I'll have more chemo after I have the baby, but it's a different kind, Taxol.

My white blood cell counts were good enough to do chemo yesterday, despite the cold I had and am  getting over (praise!). However, my platelet counts were borderline-low. They were still high enough to do chemo, but I just need them to not drop more or I can't do chemo in two weeks. They are likely low due to the chemo (it destroys blood cells that are made in your bones) and/or the pregnancy (pregnancy is known to lower platelets in some cases). In very rare cases it can be caused by metastasis (let's all pray that's not the case).

The best news from yesterday is that my oncologist says that my arm-pit lymph node has shrunk a lot (I thought it had) and my breast lump has shrunk some. He says that means my cancer is responding to the chemo -- even after just one round. Hurray!!! Keep praying that my lymph node and lump continue to shrink. I'm praying for what they call, "a pathological complete response" which means after chemo there are no cancer cells left which can definitely happen in some (but not all) cases.

The second round of AC was as easy as the first. Lots of reading magazines and talking with my Mom while the medicine dripped in. 

The bump does chemo.

Then after chemo my Mom and I went to True Food Kitchen for lunch. It's a seasonal, natural, healthy restaurant with lots of vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan options. So good.

Kale-Aid and veggie lettuce wraps.

My chemo side effects were a little worse this time, I'm more tired and a bit more nauseated (I took a couple of Zofran and that helped). But overall I feel OK. I actually connected with a few more "pregnant with breast cancer" ladies and all them have had rather mild side effects from AC chemo. Somehow pregnant ladies do better on it. There's one bonus!

Oh, and as of two days ago my hair is starting to fall out, strand by strand, especially when I wash or brush it. I think I'm going to get it buzzed early next week so I don't walk around shedding like an animal all day. I have three cute wigs that I'm excited to wear, so I'm not too worried about it. And hair always grows back.

Chemo #1 - Complete

Today I had my very first chemotherapy session.

I'm happy to report that it was super easy. The nurse was so nice and helpful. The IV was painless. I had my own private room for the treatment where my mom and I read magazines (it was a like a spa). And I was done in two hours. Afterwards, my mom and I got lunch at True Food Kitchen. Yum!

Thank you to everyone who was praying for us today -- I feel like I'm starting my journey to beat this cancer on the right foot. There is a long journey ahead, but I'm really optimistic about my prognosis. I have to believe that hope and faith is coming from God and your prayers.

The nurse says 1-4 days after chemo I will feel more side effects from it (nausea, exhaustion, etc.) but I'm working on minimizing those with some good (safe) drugs, lots of Kangen water, and a healthy diet. So hopefully I will feel OK tomorrow and beyond.

I can feel our baby girl kicking around my belly right now (she's so cute!), so I think she's doing fine as well. Like I said before, the chemo drugs should not impact her at all. I'm having a few painless braxton-hicks contractions here and there, which of course freak me out, but I know they are nothing to worry about (normal for 27 weeks).

Oh also, today my oncologist explained his updated treatment plan to me with regards to the drugs. If everything goes according to plan this is what I'll do:

• Today they gave me the chemo drugs Adriamycin and Cytoxan (A/C) and they will give those drugs to me 3 more times over the next 8 weeks.
• Then I'll take a break in May/June to deliver the baby
• Then I'll a few more rounds of the chemo drug Taxol in June/July. Taxol has not been proven safe in pregnancy so he did not want to risk giving it to me before delivery. 

Keep praying that the chemo works it's magic and clears out all the cancer and keep praying that baby girl stays put in her temporary home until I finish the chemo.  Love to you all!

What's the Plan?

The treatment plan that is.

My doctors and I decided that I will do chemotherapy first.

This is due to a variety of reasons:
1) The cancer has already spread to a lymph node so we know it's spreading quick and the spread must be stopped now.
2) This is the most aggressive (i.e. likely to spread) and it responds well to chemo usually. 
3) I cannot be doing chemo around the baby's delivery (due to white blood cell counts and risk of infection) and I cannot have chemo around when I do breast surgery (same reasons), so there is a unique window to do chemo now.
4) There are some types of chemo that are generally considered safe during pregnancy and surgery with anesthesia has it's risks.

I will start chemo on Wednesday (3/13) and will go every other week for 10 weeks (5 rounds). As long as my body tolerates that much chemo. Pray that it does.

Then I will take a break to delivery our baby girl.

After delivery I may or may not do more chemo. That will depend on my oncologist's recommendation at that point and how well the chemo has fought my cancer.

At some point after I'm done with chemo (maybe in July?) I'll have surgery to remove the lump and a few lymph nodes. TBD if I'll have a lumpectomy or mastectomy.

Then after that I'll do a few weeks of targeted radiation to make 100% sure all of the cancer is gone.

Then, if everything works, I will be cancer free by Fall 2013.

That's the plan right now. Let's do this.