Radiation 28-34, Remission

It felt like a life time to reach this week, but it’s finally here, and I couldn’t be anymore excited! This week was exhausting and so emotional! The past week I have been doing my booster rounds which focus on the scar area. My armpit and chest are so burnt. I was actually a little worried to do treatment this week because my skin is so raw and irritated.

This morning I went to Burr Ridge to have my MRI, to see if the blood clot is gone, or smaller so I can get my port removed. I still don’t know the results yet, I tried calling this afternoon but they said results may take up to 72 hours. So crossing my fingers I get positive results.

Today was my last cancer treatment ever!! I got to the Proton Center at 1PM for my last radiation, which took about 20 minutes, after I was supposed to meet the nurses for my discharge but instead I took part in the graduation ceremony! Since I have started radiation, every Wednesday, they have graduation for people who complete radiation, I always wanted to do it, I just wasn’t sure if I would have time due to my treatment hour. But the nurses made it work, and it was so worth it! I graduated with 4 others by my side, and hearing there stories made me so emotional. I feel like anyone who has cancer, I just have this instant connection with, you don’t have to really explain to them, they just know  what you’ve been through. The receptionist gave a speech about bravery, and presented us with a coin and diploma! That feeling was the best feeling, I can’t really put into words! They gave us a chance to speak, and of course I was a mess! I’m never good at those! After that I met with the nurse who went over my discharge. I still have to use my lotion everyday for a while. She said my skin will remain burnt for a while. I then met with Dr. Welsh, he said everything was going great. He said this week my skin may get worse, but he said it usually takes a week for proton therapy to get out of my system. He was really happy that I was done= ] I have to meet with him in 4 weeks for a skin follow up.

Besides waiting for the results from the MRI, I still have to get the port removed, which is scheduled August 4th. Then the rest should be follow up appointments (usually every 8 weeks). I will still go in monthly for my injections, and take my pill every day for the next 10 years! My reconstruction probably won’t be until December or January. I am hoping to stay in remission forever. Thank you all for your support!

Radiation 23-28

Today I completed 29 rounds of radiation, I only have 5 more left!! I can’t even believe I’m this far in my treatment process and today I started the Booster rounds which only focus on the scar spot.

I met Dr. Welsh last Wednesday, who was still really happy with my progress. He recommended I start using Aquaphor because my skin is so red. I am officially burnt!! Yesterday was the first time I experienced some “stinging” pain. My neck was on fire all night, and it hurts to swallow. I’m so glad yesterday was my last treatment that targets my neck/arm pit. Today I had my first booster round which just focuses on where the tumor was located. So it won’t be as large of a spot being radiated. I also started getting “freckled” skin which freaked me out, because a patient told me some crazy story, but Dr. Welsh said that was perfectly normal! So that was good news.

The past week one of my nurses told me I would complete treatment on the 13th, but I was told the 12th perviously from my doctor so I was a little upset. (its only a day,but still) So she emailed my doctor to make sure it wasn’t put in the system in error, and he never responded. After waiting a whole week, I finally met with him today and he told me he changed it to 34 treatments instead. His reasoning was, he has gone over my case with multiple doctors and they voted based on my age I would benefit from one more round. I was a little bummed, but I just have to keep thinking they want the best for me. So my last day will be next Wednesday!

My first booster round was today, so I was in a completely different room. The machines looked a lot different from what I’m used to, and was a little noisy but it was a little faster then the other room I was in, so that was nice. I’m hoping the rest of the week I’m in and out!

 

 

 

Radiation 17-22

This past week went by pretty fast! My appointment time was moved to 12:20PM which was awesome. I was able to work 7-11AM, then straight to radiation, and usually get home around 2ish. I asked if my time would remain like this for the rest of my treatments, but she wasn’t sure, she said it all depends on how many children they have in the morning. But I got my appointment card for the next week and it is at noon again, so I am beyond happy!

On Tuesday I had my last CT scan for planning. They take pictures and make a plan for my booster round of treatment which won’t happen until the last week. They told me the booster rounds only focus on the scar area.

Wednesday I had my CT planning review with the specialist. It was pretty neat to see my body on a screen and how they go about planning my treatments. They gave me a little more history about Proton Therapy and showed me what tissues were getting hit. I also met my Radiation Oncologist Dr.Welsh who was really happy with my progress. Dr.Welsh said based on how my skin looks at this point, and how well I’m doing he considers me an above average patient. So that was nice to hear!

This week I am a lot more red, and defiantly more tired. I have been eating healthy/organic for the most part, which has been helping with my energy. An organization that helps me, Angels on Assignment gave me a homemade cream made from a breast cancer survivor who created it when she was going through radiation treatments. For her, she never cracked, or had that horrible burn. I started using it Monday, and I LOVE it. Its all organic and smells really good! I’m hoping it’ll work for me until I’m done! I have 11 treatments left, so I should be done by 07/12/16. I can not wait!!!

I’m meeting with my chemo oncologist tomorrow, and I’m kind of excited to see her because it’s been so long! The last time I saw her was around April, and this has been the longest i’ve gone without seeing her! I’m hoping for good news since I am HER2-, but we will see. I will update tomorrow about that appointment!

Radiation 11-16

This week I have completed 16/33 treatments!! I can’t even believe how fast time is going. Although the drive is awful, I still love where I’m going, and I’m so thankful for all the amazing nurses and Doctors I have met at the proton center! This week they changed my time to 3:20PM which has worked out perfect because I avoid all the traffic!

This week I caught some bug, so that was pretty rough. I haven’t been able to sleep at all! My doctor was out of town this week, so I met another Doctor who told me I shouldn’t be nauseous from radiation, so he will keep an eye on things this week! I’m hoping I feel better by tomorrow. Other than that, I have been feeling a little more tired, but I’m almost to the half way point! Skin is a little red, and is feeling more tight. I’ve been trying to do more stretches so that has helped! Good news, I’m starting to lose some of the chemo weight! I’m still nowhere close to where I need to be but I’m happy where I am now!

 

Waiting for radiation

Snapchat helps!

ALSOOOO MY HAIR IS GROWING LIKE CRAZY!!! I’ll do a new post on it soon!

Radiation 6-10

A couple weeks ago Dr.Lo told me my her2 status came back negative after surgery and we would hold off on additional chemo. She wanted more opinions, so she sent my slides off to a well known doctor in Southern California. I finally got the call Tuesday that confirmed my her2 status is negative, meaning its now 100% confirmed no more chemo!! The pathologist confirmed herceptin was not necessary. I could not have been happier with the results!

I completed round 10 of 33 radiation treatments. This week I noticed a some redness, and lately I’ve been feeling so tired. I met with my radiation oncologist today who said, going forward it may seem more difficult. I’m a little nervous, but hopefully it’s not too bad. He gave me a note for work recommending I work part time, which is what I wanted until radiation treatments are done! I’ll keep updates on radiation once a week.

Tomorrow June 11th is the benefit at Brian’s! I hope to see everyone! ❤

Radiation Round 1-5

I haven’t updated the blog in a while, mainly because I have been so busy. Before I started radiation I was able to plan a trip to go visit my mom is Virginia. We had a blast. It felt so nice to have a full week off with nothing cancer related going on. We did a lot of hiking trails, site seeing, and camping. Reichen had so much fun with my little brother and all of his friends. He was so sad to leave.

Once we got back from Virginia, I only had a couple days off to relax before radiation. I got the call from The Proton Center about start date/time. I was a little nervous since I can not choose my own time, but i’m making the best of it. For now I go at 4:20PM. I have been leaving the house at 3:00PM and usually don’t get home till 7:00PM because of traffic. So it’s been pretty rough, but I know it is worth it.

My first day of Radiation was on Tuesday, May 24th. I got there at 4:30PM, and immediately was called back, they set me up on a table in my molding that we made the previous week. Once they match the tattoos with the lasers they take an X-Ray to make sure i’m in the correct and exact position. Once the X-ray determines that, they ring a bell, and radiation begins. Within maybe 5 minutes the technicians came back, and said I was done. I was shocked! I didn’t feel anything! It was much easier then I thought.

Each week I will meet with Dr. Welsh, and he will make sure I’m doing okay. Today is my 5th treatment. I noticed I am more tired, and my right arm/chest has been hurting, but no major side effects that I can’t handle for now.

Last thing, tomorrow I go back to work. I have been off the past 6 weeks due to surgery and I’m feeling so overwhelmed. It has been so nice to just spend time with Reichen and Doug and just focus on getting better. I’m trying so hard to make my life normal again, and I want to be full time, but I’ve heard from many nurses and doctor’s that being full time while having radiation isn’t practical. They said around middle of June is when I will really start to feel the side effects. So please wish me luck!! I will keep everyone updated on radiation every week! 6 weeks left!

 

Change of plans for Radiation

I was supposed to have my radiation done at Loyola starting May 23rd-July 8th. The plans have now changed as I was approved for a better type of radiation. Instead of doing the breathing technique, I will now be doing Proton Therapy.

I’m a little nervous because I am going to Northwestern Medicine in Warrensville, IL and I don’t know any of the doctors, nurses, ect.

My appointment was at 1:30PM, and as soon as I walked in all my fears of going to a new place went away. Not only were they welcoming, the inside was so beautiful, and they offered patients and their family members beverages and snacks which I thought was cute! While waiting to be called, I got to watch 5 people graduate from radiation. The patient relation women gave a speech and they celebrated with cake. It was amazing to see the patients smile so much with their families. You can see the happiness in their eyes, I can’t wait for that moment. 

I met Dr. Welsh, who will be my radiation Doctor. He was very nice and explained everything I needed to know about Proton therapy vs regular radiation. Proton therapy spares more tissues on the inside including my heart and lung. With me being so young he highly recommends Proton therapy because it has a better outcome for years to come. He still says that I will be having around 6.5 weeks of radiation and I will meet with him every Wednesday! The only thing that sucks is I don’t get to choose the time of day to come, which will probably be hard with my work schedule. Not sure when I will find that out but praying that it will be convenient. 

At 4PM I had my ct scan,molding,and radiation tattoos! The team put me in a position with my arms up, and did the molding first. It was so warm, and felt really good. Then I did the CT scan in the same position. Once I was done, I was marked with perminant ink 6 different times. Not gonna lie,it hurt a little bit. When I was finished it was 5:00PM so it has been a long day and I got stuck in traffic.

Last thing, as bad as some days I had, I am so thankful for each day. Cancer has really shown me so much in life. Life means so much more to me now than ever. Some days have been pretty bad, but I know there are so many people out there that have it worse. Seeing children’s hand prints on these walls, breaks my heart and made me appreciate the life I have gotten to live so far. 

Radiation

Going in todays appointment I was hoping for better news. After having a mastectomy, I thought I possibly wouldn’t need as much radiation. I met with Dr. Thomas, a radiation oncologist. She explained to me, even though I had the mastectomy, I would still need 6.5 weeks of radiation which would be Monday-Friday at Loyola in Maywood. Dr. Thomas explained since my tumor was so big, the radiation would need to be done on my chest and all lymph nodes surrounding my arm pit. She explained we need to do a breathing  technique that helps spare my lung. It’s pretty scary the side effects of radiation. Even though radiation helps destroy cancer cells, it also can harm my body in so many different ways. I told Dr.Thomas how far I live from the hospital, and if there was any way I can try to go somewhere local. She ended up calling a few places near me, but they did not offer the radiation that I needed, so that really sucks. Usually Doug takes me to all my appointments, but he won’t be able to for radiation since he is starting a new job in June.

Dr. Thomas scheduled me for a molding and markings on May 11th. She said the appointment might last an hour, and I will be tattooed markings in 3 different spots.The tattoo marking is a guide to help the technician line up the radiation treatment fields the same way each time I receive treatment. Dr.Thomas wants me to start Radiation on May 23rd and said I will be finished on July 8th. Its only 33 days of my life, as much as it sucks, I will take any treatment they recommend for my cancer to go away! Dr. Thomas said on Monday, after my last drain is removed, I need to start my physical therapy exercises on my right arm, so my body will be able to tolerate the positions needed for the molding! I will do my next update on Monday!

 

 

Follow Up with Surgeon

Today I had my follow up appointment with Dr.Vaince (my breast surgeon) at the Burr Ridge location. It has been 6 days since my double mastectomy. For the most part, when I take my pain meds, I feel pretty great. I still empty out my drains 3 times a day, and record how much fluid is coming out.

I could not sleep last night, maybe because I was so anxious for today. My appointment was at 9:30AM. I always love going to the Burr Ridge location because it’s such a nice area, and I LOVE my nurse MaryAnn, and my surgeon Dr.Vaince. They both make me feel like I’m more than just a patient. When I got there, my nurse MaryAnn greeted me with a hug, and told me how great I looked. When I changed into my gown, MaryAnn unwrapped my bandage. This was the first time seeing what the breast area looked like. It was very overwhelming. Although, it looked better than I imagined, I was so sick to my stomach, I almost passed out. My Doctor brought me orange juice, life saver gummies, and an ice pack. I had to lie down for a little bit. Once I was able to take it all in, I got dressed and was able  to sit down to talk.

Dr. Vaince explained what took place during my surgery. She explained to me that the tumor, measuring 6 centimeters was removed, along with 9 lymph nodes. She explained 5 out of the 9 lymph nodes were cancerous. She said we will do additional testings to make sure all cancer was removed. She seemed very happy with how surgery went. Also, she said  I am healing very well, and she is surprised with how much I am able to do by myself.

On Friday, I will have to go to Loyola in Maywood, and meet with the radiation team, where I will then find out how much radiation I will have to do. Also, I will see Dr. Vaince again, and she may remove my drains depending on how the recordings go. I have to have under 30CC for 3 consecutive days before drains can be taken out. I also will meet with a physical therapist for my arm. My right arm has signs of lymphoma. I will keep everyone posted on Friday’s appointment.

“I love the person I’ve become, because I Fought to become Her”