Quick Update

I'm about to head out the door to get my breast ultrasound and mammogram in a few minutes, so this will be short. I see my oncologist next month for my check up and he wanted me to have these scans done prior to. I also have to have a breast MRI but that has to be scheduled on certain days of your "cycle". All is going well with my health and I am so grateful!! The only snag has been my decision to come off of my Zoloft, which doesn't make for a nice mom or wife! Long story short, I found out by my pharmacist that anti-depressants have been shown to DECREASE the effectiveness of Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is what I have to take for another 4 years in hopes to prevent my cancer from coming back. I made the decision to NOT take the risk and to try to deal with the depression/anxiety on my own (with a whole lotta praying for help). What concerns me is that my oncologist wasn't the one who informed me of this drug interaction! When I found this news out, I immediately called my friend Elizabeth to let her know. She goes to the same oncologist and DID NOT know about this either. How many women out there are taking medication that is possibly putting them at risk of their cancer returning and they don't even know it??!!! So if you're reading this and you know someone who takes Tamoxifen... SPREAD THE WORD!!!

In the Meantime...

Will you please keep my sister Christie in your prayers? She decided to go through with the elective double mastectomy on June 18th. She just got home yesterday and is still in quite a bit of pain. She seems to really appreciate my daily calls to check in on her. I just wish I was there in person, but I will be soon enough. I fly out there (by myself) on July 9th and will be there to help out for a few days. I am really excited to see Christie, Mike, Andrew, and Abby! It's times like these that I really hate living so far away from my family. Hopefully one day we will be closer :)

Back to Boring

Since things with me have basically gotten back to normal,

I don't have much updating to blog about.

No news is good news!!

I did get my stitches out last Monday.

Luke went with me and was a very good boy, as usual :)

Dr. Schuster said he'll just do a complete exam (including an ultrasound)

in December...on my 2 year mark since my diagnosis.

I will post updates as they come along,

but I don't expect it to be very often (at least I hope!).

It feels great to be able to focus on my kids and husband again,

and to not have all of these dr's appts take priority.

Hair Update

One year since I finished chemo...

and the hair continues to grow!

Me and my "baby"

Warning!!! (Post contains photos that may be considered gross to some)

It's a boy!!

(that's what Dr. Schuster said when he pulled out my port!)

The appt. with Dr. Schuster went really well yesterday.

I didn't bleed to death (obviously)...like I had worried about :)

He numbed me up good and then started digging around inside there for a good 15-20 minutes before the port was pulled out. He said my body had formed a good "capsule" around the port...just demonstrating that my immune system is working well. That's the body's way of trying to fight the foreign body that was put inside it.

All in all, it was actually an enjoyable visit. Curt and I both really like Dr. Schuster a lot, so it was fun chit-chatting with him again. He wants me to go back in to see him in a week to get the stitches removed. He also said something about wanting to have everything checked out now that I'm all done w/treatments. I'm not sure what that all entails, but it's comforting to know that he is on top of things.

I also saw my cardiologist, Dr. Hernandez, on Thursday the 4th. He said the echocardiogram was normal. The heart valves appear normal...the heart is pumping w/in normal limits...etc. He wants me to come back in 2 months just to re-check to make sure all is well, and then I won't need to see him again :)

Port Date

I'm scheduled to have my port taken out on June 5th!! I am going to Dr. Schuster's office to have it removed so I am a bit nervous. They knocked me out when they put it in!! Of course, he'll numb me....BUT STILL! I don't really want to be awake for that...

Can I Get a WOOT WOOT?!!

I am one HAPPY girl!

This week, I saw both my plastic surgeon and my oncologist. I am happy to report that the surgeon doesn't need to see me for 5 MONTHS (I am finally all healed!! No more open wounds!). My oncologist said things look good and to follow up with blood work and a check-up in 4 MONTHS! That will also be when I get my next breast MRI. I asked him if I could just skip that last dose of Herceptin and he said it most likely wouldn't make a difference....so I AM DONE! I got my port flushed and will now be able to get my port taken out. I just need to call my general surgeon and get that set up. It feels so good to know that I really am done! It has been 1 year, 5 months, and 11 days since my diagnosis. It was hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel when I was going through surgeries, chemo, radiation, etc....but I knew that I would eventually get there. This is a great place to be and I just hope and pray that I can stay healthy for years to come :)