2 left...

TWO.TREATMENTS.LEFT!!! Yep, that's right, only 2 more to go. I completed chemo #4 last Friday, Valentine's Day. Of course, just like with my 1st treatment, we received 5 inches of snow!! AHHH! I am so tired of the snow!! We have already had like 60+ inches of snow this year and we are only in February!! I think saying that I am so ready for summer is an understatement! Anyway, chemo. Like I said it snowed and of course it began hours before I was to go to chemo which means that no one knows how to drive because they freak out at the first flake. Ryan picked me up with intentions of grabbing Jimmy Johns on our way however, since no one could drive we were 10 minutes late to my appointment so needless to say, no Jimmy Johns. Of course, as always, they were running behind so I didn't go back until 1:30. At 1:30 Ryan and I began our romantic Valentine's Day :) It began with a stylish mask so the nurse could access my port for a blood draw, then starting up the computer to finally finish Breaking Bad and an online order to Jimmy Johns. I know you are all jealous! Nothing says I love you better than chemo, Breaking Bad and Jimmy Johns haha! So, normally my blood work takes an hour to come back so we just sit and wait to begin chemo but this time it was back in 20 min! This meant that we would not be at chemo until 6:30 but it did mean we would be out around 5:00 so we could drive in all of the 5:00 traffic and snow. YIPPEE!! Chemo really went well and quickly really. I still had all of my regular visitors which included Sharlee and a few NPs but this time there was a new NP because my regular NP was out of town because her daughter had a baby. The new NP came in and I have to say, I want my old NP back. I explained to her that even with the Ambien I still wasn't sleeping. I was sleeping more than 2-3 hours but I was really only getting 5 hours max. When I told her this she said, "I'm stumped." Really, stumped? I just want to sleep. She wrote me a script for Ativan hoping it would calm me enough to help me sleep but this is after I tell her that my other NP had said that would be our next step but I'm not sure we gave the Ambien enough time. Oh well. After an uneventful 4 hours we left and headed home. Night one went pretty normal as always but Saturday, ugh, it hit. I was already nauseous. I began taking my Phenergan and actually took a 3 hour nap. The next few days, Sun-Thurs I continued feeling nauseous and taking my Zofran. Like I mentioned before they told me the side effects would get worse each time and they weren't wrong. This treatment really made me say, "CHEMO SUCKS" and dread the next 2. However, I do just have 2 left so that is definitely something to look forward to! Then 2 weeks after chemo is complete I will be walking in the Race for the Cure with my team that Ryan created which I am really excited about then I will begin 6 weeks of radiation at the end of April or beginning of May. Once that is complete, we wait for my next reconstructive surgery which should be at the end of this year or beginning of next year. However, I am already SUPER NERVOUS about it. I talked to Sharlee about it and she did say that she would not sugar coat it and tell me there is nothing to be nervous about because she said this surgery is a BIG surgery. It cannot be done in the Surgery Center so it will be in the hospital and I will have to stay for about 3 days. After that, recovery is going to be rough and I will have to have Physical Therapy. Then, I will have my FINAL surgery. I asked her when I should have my port removed and she said I could anytime after chemo but she suggested that I keep it until my last surgery so that I have easy access for surgery and so I have it in case anything happens and I need fluids or blood drawn or whatever else. So, I am taking her advice and holding on to it. So, as I mentioned in the beginning, I am 67% through chemo!!! My next treatment will me March 7 at 1:00. Hopefully smooth sailing until then :)

Here is the link to my Race for the Cure page! Feel free to check it out, join the team or just donate to the cause!!
http://indy.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/IND_CentralIndianaAffiliate?pg=team&fr_id=3885&team_id=286737

Chemo in front of the snow

Just over halfway there :)

Genetics...

I know that genetics can be a cause of cancer, however, I really didn't think that would be the case in my situation and there is no significant cancer history in my family. So, when I saw that I had an appointment with the Genetic Counselor I really wasn't sure the reason but I thought that it was something that all people diagnosed with cancer had to do. I received the paperwork to fill out for this appointment about 2 weeks after I was diagnosed and it was about 10 pages. I had to fill out my medical info as well as all of my immediate families medical info on both my mom and dad's side. So, what did I do? I waited until the day before the appointment to call my grandmother and Jo Ann to get some medical info on family members. So, anyway, after rescheduling the appointment twice, I finally made it the third time. Third time is a charm I guess :) I arrived with my book of medical info ready for a 90 min appointment wondering what we could possibly talk about for that long. However, it ended up being very pleasant and informative with a really nice Genetic Counselor about my age and it was only 40 minutes. Ok, so I said it was informative and it was but genetics is not really my thing so honestly it was A LOT of information that I really wasn't following but was trying really hard to soak it all in. She talked about my family medical history and then talked about genes and my DNA and then she lost me! Luckily, at the end of the appointment she said that she would be sending me a letter summarizing all of the info so that I could read through it and all I could think was THANK THE LORD because I wasn't sure I could even tell Ryan what went on in the appointment.

When I got home I began to tell Ryan about the appointment but then finally said, " Just wait until I receive my letter from the Counselor in the mail so you can see it on paper." I received my letter and everything seemed so much easier to understand. It first stated that Dr. Nate referred me to this appointment because of my history of breast cancer at such a young age. I know, history seems like it took place so long ago but it is now considered history. Anyway, after that there is a lot of other info but then it talks about the fact that all cancers involve gene changes but not all cancers are inherited or passed from generation to generation in a family. At least 60% of all cancer cases are sporadic meaning they are not passed from parent to child and are due to genetic changes in the cell thought to be caused by environmental factors. She stated in the consult that because of the fact I do not have an extensive or significant family history of complex cancers, it looks like I am probably part of the sporadic group and my cancer was probably caused from something environmental. We also can assume this because of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 blood test that was done in the beginning. BRCA1 & BRCA2 tests mutations in genes and since there weren't any mutations the test was negative. These results also mean that I do not have an associated risk for ovarian cancer. Yay!! Outside of this though, I have the opportunity to take a larger panel of tests called the BRCAPlus that tests 12 other genes which could potentially tell me where my cancer came from if there is a mutation on a certain gene and it could tell me if I am at risk for any other cancers depending on if there are any other mutations that may be found. Now for the confusing part, the possible results ;)

Positive: there is a mutation in one of the genes which means there is an increased risk and possibility of other cancers

Negative: does not completely rule out the possibility of hereditary cancer. It may not detect every causative gene changes. It can also be due to a case of familial cancer which is impossible to be identified through a test. This would put us back where we are now, not really knowing anything different or significant.

Variant: uncertain significance which is a change in a gene that has not yet been classified as benign or disease-causing. This would mean that the significance of the gene changes is unknown.

Doing this test could give me answers or more questions but really if it is negative, then I am just right back where I am now which is fine :) So, I am going to have the blood test and see if I find out where my cancer came from or if I am at risk for any other cancers outside of anything that can be caused environmentally.

Sorry for the dry info but I just wanted to give an update as to what has gone on between chemo #3 & #4 which is Friday. Remember, chemo #4 is Valentine's Day but after that one I will only have 2 left!!!