Sunday, December 11, 2011

Almost.... One Year!!

On December 16th, which is Friday, it will be one whole year since the day my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I cannot believe it has been a WHOLE year! Although it was a really tough year on us, it still seemed to go by quickly. I remember at the beginning of her diagnosis how scary it was and how I just wanted her to live and be a survivor. A year ago... we didn't know what was going to happen.. what the cancer would do to my Mom and my family... what the treatments would do to my Mom and my family. I had no idea how we were going to get through this. We did, one day at a time. It was the scariest time of my life, I had no idea what the future would bring and that was SCARY! My Mom was and is a fighter, she is strong, positive, and determined. She is my role model! I love her soooo much and I am so thankful that she had such a positive attitude through this journey! I am so proud of her!

I think that a year is a time to celebrate! My Mom doesn't think think we should celebrate.. but in my opinion, it is a huge milestone! She survived! I know she is not "cured" yet (that's the five year mark) but she is here and she is healthy and I think that calls for a celebration! What do you guys think? I am not sure what we will do yet... but we will celebrate!!


I Wear A Pink Ribbon

By Kimberly R. Harris


A silent killer with no face.


A thief within the night.


A constant battle for my life

A bitter evil fight.


The scars remind me of the day


It knocked at my souls door.


It tried to rob me of my strength


It left me on the floor.


To survive, I had to sacrifice

My Breasts and even my hair


It showed no pity as it snatched


These things without a care.


I started to give up my fight


I felt I could take no more


Then God reached down and


Gently picked me up off the floor.


He wiped my face and blew my nose


Just like my mama use to do.


He said don't cry my child


For I have things in store for you.


I did not bring you all this way


to leave you high and dry.


I love you and you are my child


So hold your head up high.


There is nothing that I cannot fix,


No pain I can't erase.


Have faith and know that I am here


There is nothing you can't face!


So then I threw my hands up high


And gave God all his praise!


For my soul has been uplifted


And my SPIRIT has been raised!


I'll fight this fight with cancer


And I know I will be fine.


For God said it and I know its true,


That VICTORY is mine!!


Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thankful

'Tis the season.... to get sick! YUCK! My Mom was sick last Friday with a stomach virus and got sick again last night!! Poor thing! She has a fever and everything else that goes along with a stomach virus. Hopefully she will start feeling better soon!

We had a great holiday week! We all got a break from work and school, it was nice. Since all of our family is in Oklahoma, some of our family friends, the Olson's, invited us to eat with them on Thanksgiving. It was a good time! The Olson's have always been really good friends to us, my family is very thankful for them.

Even though this was a very hard year for my Family and I, there is still SO much to be thankful for.

"Be thankful for your trials. If you are being tested, you are being perfected. Which means you have a divine purpose and reason to rejoice!"

I saw this quote the other day and it made me smile. Even though this was probably the hardest year of my life, I am still thankful for so many things. I am thankful for God. I am thankful for my family and my friends. I am thankful for the advances in medicine and every single one of the doctor's and nurses that took care of my Mom.  I could go on and on...

Even though this year sucked, I have learned so much. I have met so many people, and learned a lot from these people. We are not invincible, we are only human. The other day I made an appointment with my advisor at Utah State since I hadn't met with her for a while, when I walked in her office I immediately noticed all of the pink ribbons. I have been in her office before (not this year), and have never noticed all of the pink ribbons. She has been battling breast cancer for 12 years. She goes to the Huntsman for weekly treatments. This leads me to another quote...

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  -Plato

We never know what trials others are going through, this is why we should be kind to everyone we meet.

I have one more thing to share with you... It is a music video by Martina McBride. I am sure a lot of you have heard the song and maybe seen the video, watch it again. It's a good one.







Sunday, October 30, 2011

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The world lost a wonderful woman, Kandace, on Thursday night but not without putting up a courageous fight with cancer. My Mom says Kandace did not lose the battle she won it, just not how we here on earth would have liked.  Kandace was a very good friend to my Mom during her own fight with cancer. My Mom says Kandace would always offer to watch her class while my Mom went to the cancer support group. During this time Kandace was unknowingly fighting her own battle with cancer. I don’t know Kandace personally but I know she was loved by many and was always kind to my Mom and for that I am grateful. My heart aches for her family, may God bless them and comfort them through this difficult time.

October is breast cancer awareness month! I know, October is coming to an end but I think breast cancer awareness month should be every month!! :) My Mom and I have purchased a lot of breast cancer apparel, jewelry, etc this month. Not only are we buying dang cute products but a percentage of all proceeds have been going to Susan G. Komen for the cure. I love wearing breast cancer clothing or jewelry because it always starts a conversation with someone else who has been affected by breast cancer and you would not believe how many people that really is!! Right now 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. EVERYONE is somehow affected by this disease. What have you done to support breast cancer awareness month??? Even talking to other women about how important yearly mammograms are can help!! I make sure to always tell the story that my Mom’s cancer wasn’t detected by the mammogram but it was the ultrasound that detected it! Mammograms are the best tool that we have right now to detect breast cancer but if you are in doubt don’t hesitate to request an ultrasound!!!!

Well…. My Mom went in for her second CA 27-29 blood test a couple of weeks ago. The first time she had the blood test done her number was 12. Her number has now more than doubled to 27! Dr. Ben Jacob called to let my Mom know that her number has doubled but not to worry about this number yet. It can fluctuate for many different reasons. He told her to come back in 4-6 weeks so they can repeat the test. If it has gone any higher we will worry about it then. How can I not worry!!!!! My Mom was not going to tell me this news because she knows I will worry but I am a snoop so I found out on my own. My Mom is sure that it is nothing but it is still scary to know that your cancer marker number has more than doubled within 3 months. My Mom and I went to see her regular Dr. last week and we all decided a bone scan was a good idea. The most common place breast cancer travels to is the bones. She doesn't have any pain, we just want to be safe and clear our heads. She is scheduled for her bone scan this Tuesday. She will go in at 2:30 so they can shoot dye through her body and will then go back at 6:00 for the test. I am praying the scan comes back clear and her cancer marker number is just a fluke and it goes back down! Let’s all pray that this is the case!

My Mom has been doing really well. She still doesn't feel the same as before treatment so she pushes herself too hard sometimes. She is stubborn. She still has nueropathy in her hands and feet, we were hoping it would have gone away by now. Dr. Ali Ben Jacob seems to think that the feeling in her hands and feet may still come back but my Mom has heard from others if it hasn't come back by now it won't come back. BUMMER!!! She keeps saying she can live with nueropathy as long as she stays cancer free.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Goodbye to the C word!


Well... we got the CA 27-29 cancer marker results and the MRI reslults of my Mom’s spine back. The results were normal!  The CA 27-29 is a cancer marker specific to breast cancer. The normal range is between 1 and 38, my Mom’s was a 12. Dr. Ben-Jacob said that this test isn’t always accurate and it only works with 80% of women so my Mom still needs to pay close attention to her body and let him know of any symptoms. I know that it’s good that my Mom’s cancer marker came back normal but they never tested the cancer marker before, when she had cancer. I think they should have tested her for a baseline. I know a woman that had breast cancer with multiple lymph nodes positive and her test came back an 8 before her treatments. She said that the test doesn’t work for her because her marker was always low even with cancer. This is what worries me. I really wish the Dr. would have run this test after her mastectomy and before her treatments so we would have a baseline we could go from. Dr Ben-Jacob called my Mom last week with the results of the MRI and CA 27-29 and said “I now consider you in remission”. I know this is awesome news but I kind of wish they would do a whole body scan. I want to know 100% that there is no cancer in my Mom’s body. They will do the CA 27-29 every 3 months for the first year and after that the Dr. will decide how often it needs to be done. My Mom has also started taking the tomoxifen, she will take this pill for five years. Once my Mom hits the five year mark she will be cured! YAY! She will make the five year mark I know it. Especially with all of your prayers!   

 My Mom was also tested a few weeks ago for BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene. This is the gene that causes breast and ovarian cancer. The geneticist thought it could be a possibility that my Mom had the gene because ovarian and breast cancer seems to run in our family. Like I said earlier my Mom was always worried about ovarian cancer not breast cancer. We had no idea that they were linked on the same gene. If we would have known that my Mom would have been getting mammograms every 6 months instead of every year. Anyways, the genetic test came back negative! Which is a good thing for me, I will still have to be careful but at least we know it’s not genetic. This also means my Mom doesn’t have to hurry up and get her ovaries out anytime soon. My Mom doesn’t want to get her uterus and ovaries out right now, she says she keeps getting everything pulled out of her that makes her a girl and before long she will be a little boy with no hair. She is funny.

My Mom has always wanted to drive the Oregon coast so we have decided to finally go! We are leaving this afternoon and are so excited. My Mom also wants to take us to the redwoods. She went there when she was younger and wants to make sure that Carson and I see how beautiful it is. I will post some pictures when we get home!

Thank you for all of your love and support through this whole journey. Now we have to make sure that this cancer doesn’t come back!! I think we will always worry about it and it will always be in the back of my Mom’s mind. Keep those prayers coming because they work! It’s not over yet, we still have to battle!

Monday, July 18, 2011

She Who is a True Survivor

One day she woke up and her world had changed forever.
She was faced with a reality she never dreamed possible.
It was her worst nightmare, and
Her world was crumbling around her.

Determined not to be a victim to anyone or anything,
She decided to set a new course for her life.
She'd redesign herself, her life, and her environment
To create the life she wanted for her future.

It wasn't easy.
It was an uphill climb from the start.
But the view she now has was worth
Every struggle she faced.
She is finally becoming the women she always wanted to be.
Strong, yet tender. Wise, yet humble,
Open, loving, and forgiving...
Not letting any of the past hold her down.

She never would have dreamed
The devastation she had once faced
Would have been the refiner's fire
That turned her life around.
She is now the epitome of a true survivor.

-Suzy Toronto

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Summer...


Where do I even begin! We have had such a fun summer filled with lots of family! We have loved every minute of it! My Gammy (Mom’s Mom) and Pa G came and stayed with us for a week after my Grandpa Sales and my Mom’s aunts left. My Mom was so happy to see family. She really enjoyed all of their visits. The weekend after my grandparents left we went to Colorado to see some of our cousins. It was a last minute thing, we weren’t planning on going until the day before we left. Our cousins are from Oklahoma but were in Colorado because my cousin Taylor was playing in a softball tournament there, who by the way is an AMAZING pitcher! It was a short trip, we left Thursday night, my Dad drove all night and we got there Friday morning. We watched lots of softball games, went out to eat, went to the mall, and then left Sunday morning. It was so good to see some of my family from Oklahoma that we don’t get to see often. It just makes us miss them all more! I really wish we lived closer! Maybe one day… ;)

My Mom is finished with all of her radiation treatments as of Tuesday, June 30! The radiologist didn’t think her skin could handle much more. Her underarm looks pretty bad. It had been really hurting her the last week of radiation. The Dr. gave her a cream to rub on it every day. I would cake it on for her really thick. She is extremely red from the radiation and her underarm looks like somebody took a really hot iron to it. It is peeling and gets irritated really easily because her skin rubs together. It will get better though!

My Mom and I walked in Relay for Life this last weekend in Smithfield. We had never been involved in this before and it was so much fun! It started at noon on Friday and ended at noon on Saturday. We were on the Budge Clinic team, someone from each team has to be on the track at all times, even in the middle of the night. They had softball games going on in the middle of the night and karaoke. Cancer never sleeps, that's why this relay is all day and all night. It was an awesome experience and so many people participated! My Mom and I bought a lot of raffle tickets (all money went to American Cancer Society) and ended up winning a lot of fun stuff! My Mom got a huge basket filled with TONS of pink stuff! Mugs, garden tools, humming bird feeder, regular bird feeder, wind chime, and so on. I won a fun basket filled with lots of hair products. My Mom also won a free foot zoning session, she has never done it before! They also had a survivor dinner on Friday night that we went to. That was fun because my Mom got to mingle with all of the other survivors. It was a really fun time! I encourage all of you to be a part of Relay for Life!!

Today my Mom and I met with Dr. Ben Jacob, her oncologist. She finally had her first blood work drawn to see if the cancer is gone! The cancer marker that they drew today were CA 27-29. These are the markers that they will check every three months for the first year. Unfortunately, the tests don't come back the same day, it takes two days for them to run it. We will know the results by Friday. Dr. Ben-Jacob also put her on tamoxifen today. This is the pill that she will take every day for five years, it binds with the estrogen so her body can't use the estrogen which in her case was feeding the cancer. Tamoxifen does have some side effects. The ones he told her she needed to be aware of were uterine cancer (go figure) and blood clots. He told her to make sure she is getting her pap smears regularly, this would detect uterine cancer and to notice any soreness or redness anywhere that could possibly be blood clots. They would usually show up in the legs or lungs... scary. My Mom has also had some soreness on her spine the past few months, she told the Dr. this today and he wanted to go ahead and do an MRI of her spine so we can clear our minds. We are praying that it will come back clear. My Mom says she doesn't think it could be cancer but then again she said she didn't think she had breast cancer either. Better safe than sorry. We went ahead and had the MRI this afternoon, Ben-Jacob should call us with the results Thursday or Friday. I am praying that the test result for the cancer marker will come back normal and the MRI will be clear! We could use all your prayers as well!

My hand is still in a splint and won't be out for another three weeks! I have been getting used to it. By the time I am out of the splint I just might be left handed! HAHA

My Mom and her Aunts from Oklahoma

Grandpa Sales and Us

Gammy and Mom (notice the red mark on her neck, this is from radiation)

Mom, Gammy, and me

Cousins!

Mom with her Aunt and cousins

Survivors and Caregivers!

My Mom's new friends, they have all battled breast cancer

My Mom's Luminaria bag, everyone at Relay for Life had one that has battled cancer. They lit all the bags up at night and then we walked a lap in silence.

They gave us these shirts for free at the survivors dinner.


Friday, June 24, 2011

Like My Mother Does

Well... I might not be updating the blog as much as I would like to the next few weeks because.... I BROKE MY RIGHT HAND!!! I can type but not for long because I get really frustrated! I broke it playing softball on Monday night. I caught the ball with the wrong hand, the one without the mitt on it. Not smart, I know. My Grandpa Sales and Aunts left and my Gammy (Mom's Mom) and PaG came to visit, they are here now. We are having fun with them.


I want to share with you a song that I absolutely love right now. If you watched American Idol you will know this song. Lauren Alaina sang it on the finale. I cried the first time I listened to it and now I smile while listening to it. There is no better way to describe the way I feel about my Mom and our relationship than this song! It says it all, it's perfect!!! Listen and Enjoy! :)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Surprise

Yesterday my family got a nice surprise! My Grandpa Sales and his two sisters, Aunt Brenda, and Aunt LaNelda came to visit us from Oklahoma! My Mom was very excited! My Grandpa Sales had called my Mom a few nights ago and said he was going to be here on Monday, this was already a surprise for us and we were expecting Grandma Carolyn to come with him. So when they all three showed up it was definitely a surprise, a good one too! Grandma Carolyn, we do miss you and wish you could have come with them! My Mom has been so happy since they have been here. She loves spending time with her Dad and Aunts. I'm glad that they all could come and visit. My Grandpa Sales and Aunt LaNelda have visited us in Utah before but Aunt Brenda has never been to Utah. They are all four out exploring  Logan Canyon right now.

My Dad's knee surgery went well. He came home with crutches but only used them for the first two days. He limps now but gets around fine. He has three little holes in his knee, it looks really good. He goes for his post op tomorrow. I'm guessing they will take out the stitches then.

The Pink Heals was fun. They had a pink fire truck that my Mom and I signed. The pink firemen are from Arizona and drive the pink fire trucks around the United States to bring awareness to women's cancer. Each fire truck they have is named after women in their lives. The pink fire truck that we got pictures with was named Karen. Karen was the first pink fire truck and Karen was the first person to donate money to them so they could buy their first fire truck. She had breast cancer and died shortly after her donation was made. If the pink heals ever go through any of your towns you should definitely go!

My Mom has been doing well. Her skin has gotten sunburned and blistered a little where they radiate her. She met with the Doctor yesterday and she said that her skin can probably only tolerate about 12 more treatments. This means she will be finished with radiation around the first of July! That is really soon! After radiation is all over she will then do the blood work to make sure that the Cancer is all gone! I have started to worry about this more because it's getting closer. I am sure I will be a nervous wreck when they do the blood work because it doesn't come back for two days! Let's all pray that all of the cancer is gone AND it will never ever come back! My Mom has handled the past seven months so well, I am so proud of her! She became part of a club that she didn't ask to be a part of. She really has such a positive attitude, she knows that she can't change her situation so she might as well make the best of it and she has done just that! I love her more than the whole wide world and hope to one day be half the woman that she is!

Pink Fire Truck

My Mom and I in front of the Fire truck


My Mom signing the pink truck


Thursday, June 9, 2011

Quick Update

I am sitting at my Mom's work waiting on her to finish her class so we can go to the Pink Heals, I thought I could do a quick update. The Pink Heals is a bunch of pink firemen that travel around the United States to bring cancer awareness to women. They have a big pink fire truck and everything! That's all I really know about them right now, I will be able to tell you more later.

My Dad is getting knee surgery today because he has two tears in his meniscus. It should be a pretty easy surgery. Since my Mom and I are going to the Pink Heals Carson is in charge of getting my Dad to the hospital and driving him home afterwards. I will let you know how that goes. :)

We all had a GREAT weekend!!! Carson's soccer team took gold in the Special Olympics in Cedar City, he was really excited about this. My Mom and Dad had fun getting away for the weekend and enjoyed watching Carson's team play soccer and I had a blast in Las Vegas! I got to go to a Goo Goo Dolls concert and was front and center and I also got to experience the Chippendale's, also front row!!! I haven't had such a fun weekend in a long time! None of us wanted the weekend to end, it went by way too fast!

Last night we had dinner with the mammogram tech who diagnosed my Mom's cancer. Her name is Loy and she is also a long time friend of my Mom. Remember, the cancer did not show on the mammogram. Loy just thought she felt a heaviness, so she talked the radiologist into ordering the ultrasound. My Mom is very thankful for Loy. Breast cancer survivors were given a free dinner last night at Texas Roadhouse along with the pink firemen. We had a good time.

My Mom seems to be feeling better everyday. This past weekend her eyelashes and eye brows fell out a long with a couple more finger nails. We thought she had held onto her eye lashes and eye brows but for some reason they couldn't hold on any longer. She is on her third week of radiation and has been tolerating it very well so far. Her lymphedema has flared up a little more because of the radiation and that seems to bother her. The radiation has also made her chest (scars) tighter. Her nueropathy has not gone away yet, I hope it will soon. Her legs and feet swell some and ache. She also has a hard time sleeping, she has always had a hard time sleeping but now it is even harder for her to sleep at night. But overall she really is doing better!!! Her hair is taking it's sweet time growing back, it's coming along just not very fast!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Relay for Life

My Mom has started feeling a little better! She says she can actually enjoy food again because she can taste it. Her bone pain has also gotten better. Her neuropathy still hasn’t started to diminish yet. This still bugs her the most. Her fingernails are still misshaped and colored, a couple of them have fallen off within the past week. My Mom didn’t have radiation yesterday because of the holiday so today was her first day of radiation this week. She will also miss Friday because we are going to Cedar City to watch Carson play soccer in the Special Olympics. She hasn’t had too bad of side effects from the radiation yet. She feels more tired but so far nothing she can’t handle. She still has about six more weeks of radiation! My Mom has also started wearing wigs! She says she finally feels good enough she can wear them all day. She had a hard time wearing a wig all day when she didn’t feel good, a wig was just too much.

We have a fun weekend ahead of us! My Mom and Dad are going to Cedar City on Thursday to watch Carson play in the Special Olympics. My friend Shayla and I are going to follow my parents to Cedar City on Thursday and spend the night with them and then on Friday Shayla and I are going the rest of the way to Las Vegas! I feel like this is going to be a much needed vacation for us all. It will be nice to get away for a little while and try to relax. This also might be a little difficult for me because I haven’t wanted to leave my Mom’s side lately. I am a Momma’s girl for sure!!

My Mom and I have signed up for Relay for Life on July 8th in Smithfield. We are excited for this. If any of you want to join our team and you will be in town July 8th you are welcome to! We are on the Budge OB/GYN team, this is where my Mom works part time. If you can’t join and still want to help out you can donate money to our team or to my Mom’s name, who is a participant. All of the donations go to the American Cancer Society in helping to create a world with less cancer! Just click on the link below and you can join our team or donate. Thank you!

http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11GW?fr_id=30492&pg=entry

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Radiation....

Radiation started yesterday. Today was my Mom’s second day of radiation. She will do radiation Monday through Friday for about seven weeks, this means she should be finished about mid July. She will go to radiation every day on her way home from work at 3:30 it only lasts about 15 minutes a day. She said the only thing that bothered her was that she could kind of smell burning while she was laying there. When she got home she said that her sternum felt like it had been burned under the skin. On the right side of her chest where they took out all the muscle all she has left is skin and then bone. Before they radiated that spot they put a cold rag on her chest because they didn’t want the radiation to go too deep. Today they told her to come in early because they have decided to increase her margins so they need to mark her up again. They are now radiating the lymph nodes up her neck and some lymph nodes around her back. My Mom asked them why they decided to radiate more but the Radiologist Doctor doesn’t travel down here from Ogden until Monday. She was told she will meet with the doctor again on Monday. This worries me that they have now decided to radiate more of the lymph nodes. I don’t know if the doctor saw something different yesterday or what‘s going on. They won’t tell us until the Doctor meets with us. This scares me. They also told her not to take any of her vitamins until radiation is over and to put aloe vera on her skin after each radiation treatment. She will now have to put the aloe all the way up her neck and back. My fingers are crossed that the radiation will all go well!

She still has really bad neuropathy and gets sharp pains down her legs occasionally. My Mom explains her neuropathy like when your feet fall asleep and they get tingly before they wake up. This is how her feet and hands feel. She still can’t hold a pen very well unless she takes her nuerontin. If she doesn’t take the nuerontin she goes crazy because she can’t pick anything up or feel her feet well enough to walk. She trips over a lot of things and has tripped a few times going down the couple of stairs we have going into the living room. She doesn’t get hurt though! We kind of laugh after it happens. Then after we laugh she gets frustrated. I think that people think that once you are finished with chemo all the side effects go away and you are ok now. That isn’t the case. Usually the worst part of the chemo is after you are finished because then you have all eight treatments in your body. I think my Mom gets frustrated too because sometimes people think she is fine now and can do what she could do before her treatments. She is starting to feel better though, this is  a good thing. She will probably start feeling fatigued before too long. The Dr. told us about a week after her first radiation treatment is when she will start feeling the fatigue. They also told her today that since they are doing more radiation she will have more side effects, more fatigue and burn. :(

Some of our family friends, Joy and Pat, came to visit us for the weekend. My Mom really enjoyed there visit, she didn’t want them to leave! All of our family lives in Oklahoma and we haven’t had any visitors since my Mom’s diagnosis. We all had a good weekend and enjoyed the company!

Overall my Mom is doing well! She is getting better and things are starting to feel a little bit more normal again. Her hair is still prickly, it’s trying to grow back in. My Mom is excited for this, every day she asks if it looks longer. She has gotten really good at wearing the scarves over her head, she is really creative with them. She also has the cutest hats! She got the cutest Marilyn Monroe wig at the cancer center the other day. They had a make-up class and got lots of free make-up and two wigs. She looks dang cute in them! I keep telling her she needs to wear the Marilyn Monroe one. She can totally pull of any wig she wants to!

Once again thank you for all of the prayers! Yes, they are working, keep them coming!



P.S. Feel free to comment. I never know if anyone reads this so if you comment it keeps me motivated.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

One Day at a Time

Today was a bit of a rough day for my Mom. When my Mom has a rough day we all have a rough day. She is still having some bone pain in her legs and hips as well as neuropathy in her hands and feet. She said her body feels like it has started chemo all over again, it could be the chemo trying to come out of her body. She was really discouraged today because she feels like at this point she will never feel better again or be able to use her hands or walk normal because of her feet. It’s hard to see my Mom sad and discouraged, especially when I know she is such a strong person, it takes a lot for her to feel down. I know it will get better, it will just take time.

This last Tuesday the 10th we had an “exiting” appointment with Dr. Ben Jacobs, the oncologist. He will not do a cancer marker test until after she has finished all of her radiation. My Mom will start taking the tomoxifen after radiation as well, this is the pill she will have to take everyday for five years. After radiation we will meet with Ben Jacobs again and he will go into more detail about the pill and the cancer marker tests.

Yesterday we went to the McKay Dee hospital in Ogden, they took CT scans of my Moms chest and tattooed her for radiation. My Dad and I couldn’t go back with her so we walked around the hospital. I have never been in such a nice hospital. They had  a fountain and a big pond outside with tables and benches. The cafeteria was huge and had every kind of food you can imagine. After exploring the hospital we went back to wait for my Mom. It took them about an hour and a half to do everything. I am not sure what all they did because I didn’t go back with my Mom. I did see her chest right after and it was marked up with red pen. The dots that they tattooed are so tiny you have to look for them. They look like tiny freckles. Radiation will start on May 23rd. She will go Monday through Friday for five to seven weeks. Hopefully the chemo side effects will subside a little before she starts the radiation. I am really hoping the radiation will be a piece of cake for her compared to the chemo.

I was thinking today how hard the year 2011 has been for my Mom and family so far. Who would have ever thought that any of this would be happening, life can change in a second, the only thing constant in our life is change. Its been about five months since my Mom was diagnosed but it feels like a lifetime ago. All I want is for my Mom to be cured and start feeling better. I know it will happen, one day at a time.

“A hero is just an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”   -Christopher Reeve

My Mom is easily my HERO.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Race for the Cure

What a GREAT weekend my Mom and I had! We walked in the 5K Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure! Neither of us have ever walked in this race before but have decided we will do it every year now. It was AMAZING!

My Mom and I stayed the night in Salt Lake on Friday night. We registered for the race Friday afternoon and walked around to the different booths that were there for the race. We got a lot of fun free stuff, and a lot of PINK! The race was held at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake, which is a big outdoor mall. After registering and walking around the booths we walked around the mall and shopped for a little while and then went to dinner at Applebee’s. We then went to the chocolate factory for desert, they have the best caramel apples, so we shared one! We then went back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest before the race the next morning.

We woke up Saturday morning about 6:15. We ate the continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the mall for the race. The sponsors had set up more booths and were handing out more free stuff, backpacks, key chains, hats, pins, etc. We then headed toward the starting line for the race. Salt Lake was a happening place on Saturday morning, there were over 17,000 people that had registered for the race! During the race I kept looking behind us and in front of us and was amazed at how many people there were everywhere!

After the race all of the survivors met at a place they called the pink café. It was a tent they had set up to pamper all of the survivors. Once again they were giving out more free stuff for the survivors. They had food, mini massages, flowers, and so much more. I left my Mom at the pink café because the “pampering” was only for survivors and they were getting ready for the survivor parade. The survivor parade happened after everyone was finished with the race. They put all of the survivors into different categories, my Mom was in the newly diagnosed category because she has not yet been cancer free for a year. They then had the 1 to 5 year survivors and so on. There were so many women walking in the survivor parade, it was awesome! All of the survivors then stood on the stairs and they let white doves go and then played the song “I Run for Life” by Melissa Etheridge. The energy that I felt at this time was amazing. There are so many people there that are fighting and have fought for their life. Every single one of the women that I met had such a bright and positive outlook on life and are such an inspiration to everyone! Everyone needs to be a part of this race one day!

 I didn’t want the weekend to end because I loved spending time with my Mom and being away from everything back home. It was a nice little getaway and I’m so sad it’s already over but I can’t wait to do this again next year!

Getting ready!

Start Line




Survivor Parade

My Mom and a friend she met

So many people


So many SURVIVORS
 I Run for Life

It's been years since they told her about it
The darkness her body possessed
And the scars are still there in the mirror
Every day that she gets herself dressed
Though the pain is miles and miles behind her
And the fear is now a docile beast,
If you ask her why she is still running,
She'll tell you it makes her complete

I run for hope, I run to feel
I run for the truth for all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run life

It's a blur since they told me about it
How the darkness had taken its toll
And they cut into my skin
And they cut into my body
But they will never get a piece of my soul

And now I'm still learning a lesson
To awake when I hear the call
And if you ask me why I am still running
I'll tell you I run for her soul

I run for hope, I run to feel
I run for the truth for all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run life

And someday if they tell you about it
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her, remember me
We will be running as we have before
Running for answers, running for more

I run for hope, I run to feel
I run for the truth, for all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me my friend

I run for hope, I run to feel
I run for the truth, for all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your daughter, your wife
For you and me my friend
I run for life

I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run for life

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Pictures!

I have posted some picutes from the last few months, since my Mom's diagnoses in December. We had a trip planned to Maui before my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and the Dr's told us to go! We enjoyed it and are already talking about going back.
Maui -January

Maui

Hawaii has the best shaved ice ever!!

Last day in Maui

Mom and Dad

We are Family!   January

Everyone who shaved their heads with my Mom!  - February

Shaved heads  -February

We went to Las Vegas in March for the WAC tournament.

My Mom enjoying some sun on her bald head. Don't worry, she didn't stay out long!  -April

Maui has some of the craziest trees!

My Beautiful Mom!   -February

Our hotel in Maui

Maui

My Fun Mom!   -January

Monday, May 2, 2011

Radiation is a Go!

Today Heaven got a true angel. One of my friends, KC Nordick, passed away this morning after a long, hard battle with colon cancer. He was an inspiration to everyone that knew him. He was definitely dealt a hard hand in this life and was still so positive through it all. I first met KC about four years ago, my first year of college. He was in my sociology class at Utah State and worked at the bowling alley, where I had started hanging out a lot at that year. When I first met him, he had not yet been diagnosed with cancer and was an amazing bowler. These past few months I have gotten to know KC a little better, I saw him a lot at the cancer center getting treatments the same time that my Mom was getting hers. My Mom got to know KC as well, this is been a hard day for us all. Even after he was told that his cancer was terminal, he still held his head high. He had learned to accept his fate and was ok with it. I know today that he has gone to a better place and is no longer in pain. I am truly blessed that I got to know you, rest in peace, KC!

We met with the Radiologist today at the cancer center. We will start the radiation later this month. We went over some of the pro’s and con’s of radiation therapy and the pro’s out weighed the con’s. This will most likely insure us that the cancer will not come back in the same area behind where the breast was. One of the con’s is that the radiation can cause cancer. (Chemotherapy also can cause cancer, isn’t this ironic?) This is a really low probability, 1 in 1,000 is what the Radiologist told us.  My Mom wants to make sure that she is doing everything possible so that this cancer will not return.

We will go down to McKay Dee hospital in Ogden next Friday the 13th. My Mom and I are both superstitious, we decided that we will turn this into a lucky day. She will be doing all of the radiation treatments here in Logan but they have to get a baseline CT scan before they start the radiation. When we go to McKay Dee they will take x-rays, examine my Mom’s chest and decide exactly where and how deep they will do the radiation. They will then tattoo my mom with little black dots, this will be their guide when they do the radiation. She will do radiation for at least five weeks, Monday through Friday. We are not sure yet the exact day that radiation will start but we are guessing sometime around the 20th of May.

We are also going to try and meet with an infectious disease specialist at McKay Dee so that we can get my Mom’s bone infection under control. We are going to leave her port in so that they can give her some kind of IV antibiotics to try and get rid of the infection. Bone infections may never go away but my fingers are crossed that we will get rid of the bone infection in her maxillary jaw bone.

My Mom is feeling pretty good today, she is a real trooper!!! She has worked full time through this whole process and has only missed one day of work! Can you believe it?! She has whiskers on her head, she is really excited about this. We are all curious about how her hair will grow back. Everybody says it will grow back curly and red! That would be pretty dang cool. I guess time will tell us.

Thanks again for all of the thoughts and prayers, you guys are awesome!