Chemo or No Chemo...that is the question!

So I know it’s been a while since we have updated the blog but we wanted to make sure we had some more information about her progress and possibility of chemo before adding a new post.  So to bring everyone up to date about Sarah and how she is doing…….Sarah is doing wonderful!  The sleepless nights are getting a little better but healing from this type of surgery takes time.  She got her last two drains out yesterday because Dr. Rhee said no more than 21 days of having those in….so they came out whether it was time or not!  Her drainage was still somewhat high up to yesterday (40cc on the left & 32cc on right drain for a 24-hour period).  Sarah says it feels so much better to have those out…her arm mobility is getting better on the right side but still very limited on the left.  This is due to the fact that the cancer was in the left breast and the lymph node removal (total of 14) was on the left side so naturally the left side will take longer to heal.

There was still concern pertaining to a possible significant blood clot in a vein that runs inside of the armpit and extends down the inside of the bicep of the left arm.  The vein is so tight that when Sarah lifts her arm up you can see it protrude like a rope through the skin….yeah apparently it’s very painful too!  She says it doesn’t hurt to bad when at rest but when they lift the arm to examine the area that is when it hurts like 10 out of 10!  They like to examine it a lot so I’m still waiting for her to punch of these doctors at some point….boom in the face!  HAHA  So after last Friday’s appointment with Dr. Rhee he decided that an ultrasound of the area is necessary just to rule out the concern of a blood clot so he sent us to the ER for imaging and immediate results….he suggested  the Castle Rock hospital since his building is right next to the hospital that it would faster….yeah um let’s just say it wasn’t “faster” (finger quotations in the air)…..a 30 minute post-op appointment turned into 5 hour stay in the ER!!!  What a great experience let me tell you…Sarah was getting pretty pissed off at about hour 4…lol!  I thought it was quite comical at that point since hospital and doctor appointments have become a regular occurrence in our lives….grrrrr!

Well after long waiting and two separate ultrasounds it was determined that there was no blood clot and that the vein was compressing and that mostly likely the vein is just aggravated and pissed off from surgery!  So just wait….take an aspiring a day and use warm compress on the area and it should eventually calm down….you think we would be very calm individuals at this point since everything is a waiting game in this cancer treatment process! 

Sarah did not get any expansion in the expanders on Friday since she is still debating on her current size…Dr. Rhee says she has some thinking to do and needs to know soon!  She says there is discomfort after each expansion so I think she is battling between more gain = more pain…literally!

So onto the chemo talk….we met with the oncologist today to discuss the findings from the OncaType DX testing to determine the likelihood of chemo.  Let me tell you my stomach was definitely very vocal leading up to the oncologist coming into the consultation room…it probably didn’t help that she was running 55 minutes behind schedule.  So nerves definitely got the better of me today.  So the test results came back NUMBER 24….so what does that mean!??!  Good question….here you go….so 1-18 score means that you are low risk of reoccurrence….19-31 intermediate risk of reoccurrence…31+ is high risk of reoccurrence (mind you the score is 0-100).  Her number being 24….again in the middle as all things have been through this entire process (the infamous grey-zone that we have called it)!  So will she benefit greatly from chemo??  Maybe….maybe not!  Can you say FRUSTRATION!?!?!

Everything taken into consideration we have done our best to take these things light-hearted and with faith that God will lead us down the appropriate path.  Remember her motto “Hey Cancer….You messed with the wrong bitch!”  So what does Sarah do to ensure that she kicking cancer’s ass……she take the hard road…the one with more challenges and temporary physical setbacks…the one that will cause her to lose her beautiful hair…the one that will potentially cause her fatigue, nausea, and feeling crappy…she chooses the one that will suppress her immune system and destroy all those cells that multiple quickly to ensure again that cancer will not get the best of her!!!  When faced with the opportunity not to have chemo because it may or may not help…..what does my wife do?!?!….she says screw that…no easy way out and give her the best possible option that gives her long life and cures cancer!

So CHEMO IT IS!!! 

Sarah is continues to amaze me every day….her spirit and fight makes me cry…..tears of joy, happiness, and pride!  I’m at a loss of words for how amazing she is……I can’t even begin to tell all of you how well she has handled all of this over the last month or so!  So when you see her or talk to her please make sure to let her know how great she is and how proud we all are of her…..God bless her!

So what’s next….she still needs to heal more and be in good physical condition to handle the chemo and handle it well!  She needs to healed completely from the surgery and have her immune system ready….the game plan is to start chemo late May or the 1^st week of June.  She will have a mild cocktail of chemo that will be 4 separate session 3 weeks apart ending sometime beginning August….then she will wait an additional 8-10 weeks to allow the body to recoup from chemo to start the second phase of the reconstructive surgery.   We are just taking one thing at a time so right now it’s healing and getting the body ready for chemo…then she will tackle the next phase of treatment!

So there you have it chemo is the next phase of treatment to get her one step closer to “cancer-free”….hopefully we will be able to have that celebration party and first cocktail that is way overdue sometime soon!  Until then please continue to pray and send words of encouragement!  The meal calendar will most likely open back up for the first part of May as I return to work tomorrow and need to see how that adjustment works out.  We will look at the chemo dates and most likely 5-6 days following chemo and open those days as well, I know that many people are still interested in participating in “meal calendar” moving forward so I will keep you informed once we open more days.  The food has been so wonderful and so helpful so thank you so very much to each of you that have participated since my last post…..so thank you to Crystal & Mario Jimenez, Kristin LaValley, Amy Hester, Mike & Emy Ross, Stephanie Brady, Brooke & Nick Kelsey.

Until next time…..Sarah will continue to heal and keep getting better!

Thank you.....Mac!

2 week post-op (quick update)

So the plan for today was to have reduced the drainage enough to get the last two drains out BUT that was not in the cards for today's appointment.....Sarah's drainage on the last two drains is still too high!  FRUSTRATING.....to say the least!  So per the doctors orders "STOP MOVING AROUND AND KEEP YOUR ARMS FROM MOVING"....yeah let's see how well she follows the doctor's orders.  I may have to put her arms in slings to accomplish that directive from Dr. Rhee.  So we will follow-up on Friday and hope that we the drainage has gone down to 20cc in a 24 hour period....fingers-crossed.

Everything else is healing well and the sutures look great.  She has some inflammation on the left arm where the lymph nodes were removed which is to be expected.  Something that we have to continue to monitor.  There is a little concern about a vein in the armpit and slight blockage/blood clot that has formed so 1 aspirin per day with warm compress to loosen that.....the good news is it is not a deep primary vein so this should resolve on its own with home remedy. 

She did get her last expansion done today so that is good news since pressure and pain always seems to follow each time she is expanded so this is the last time she has to go thru that.

She is in good spirits and continuing to do well!  Sleepless nights and upper back pain are still a continued theme so hopefully once the drains are out that she can have a little more mobility for different sleep positions  She said she wanted to go to Park Meadows Mall and visit the massage kiosks for a upper back massage....she cracks me up!  I will certainly do my best to massage those sore muscles. 

So things are still just coming along....the drainage thing appears to be her only hang up at this point.  We meet with the oncologist next Tuesday to discuss the results of the OncaType DX test results which will tell us if Sarah will need Chemotherapy.  I'm still a little confused how this test can help determine if chemo will be beneficial since in my mind chemo killing all possible cancer in the body seems to be a good thing either way but that's why they are doctors and geneticists....they know best!  She has a great team of doctors.   Currently she has a 60% chance of chemo so we are just planning on that route moving forward.  It's amazing how much genetic testing and involvement has been incorporated into her care and decision-making process.  Individualizing her care based upon those test and genetic results is great so she is being treated for her particular cancer and not in a general manner.  So I'm conflicted on the chemo stuff...I think we both just want the best option with or without chemo that will prevent and eliminate the possibility of a metastatic situation.

Sarah did go wig shopping last week and selected a wig that almost matches her currently hair to a "T"...almost identical.  It was a pretty funny experience and Sarah was laughing about it which is a good sign!  Let me tell you some of those wigs are super expensive like $6000 expensive for the premium real hair options......yeah we are going that route....sorry honey!  HAHA....She was able to find one that was fairly reasonable and nowhere near $6000.  We have a deposit on the wig so if chemo is a go then she has the wig she likes.  We know that insurance is not going to help out with any of the expense of the wig....they say we have to use a wig shop in-network which is in another state...yeah that's completely unhelpful! 

The kids are doing great and supporting their mom as much as possible...this experience has certainly brought our family closer and I think the kids truly value and appreciate mom more....not that they didn't before but this brought reality into check!  Hard lesson to learn at such a young age but a valuable nonetheless!  I very proud of both Isabelle and Michael and the love and compassion that they show toward their mother on daily basis.  They are two amazing kiddos and very strong in their own way....it's not easy to watch a parent go thru a struggle like this at any age let alone at 6 and 9....God bless them!

God is certainly blessing us every day!  Cancer always seems to be the elephant in the room although that elephant is getting smaller and smaller every day.  I don't think the concern it will ever completely go away but I do believe one day that it will be to a point where it just an afterthought and just a small little consideration in our day!  Perhaps something that we will actually appreciate.....to know what she has overcome!  We are grateful that she found the cancer when she did and that everything has been successful up to this point....one day at a time....appreciate and celebrate each accomplishment and milestone!

Thank you as always to everyone for the meals, stopping by to say hello (company is nice), flowers, the wishful thoughts and of course the prayers!  We truly appreciate the positive thoughts and prayers for our family...cancer's hereditary nightmare sometimes overwhelms me and that is where I'm the weakest....the concern for my children and what their future may hold....so I ask all you prayer warriors out there to please continue to pray for Sarah and that she continues to heal well and most importantly that she never has to deal with cancer again her in lifetime.....additionally I ask that you pray for my two beautiful children that that the genes associated with cancer have not been passed on to them and that their future is cancer-free.  I know that God will answer our prayers the way he deems fit and that he will indeed bless my family every day...certainly there is no guarantee how these blessing will come but they will indeed come!

Thank you everyone for continuing to follow the blog and stay interested in Sarah's journey....it means a lot to us!  She is very lucky to have each of you......your love and compassion means so very much.....this helps make the journey that much easier!

Thank you,

Mac

1 week post surgery!

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

I’m happy to say that Sarah is continuing to do well in her healing process since my last post.  The nights have gotten a little better since her mobility has improved, I do not have to accompany her to the restroom or help her sit up which helps me get a little more sleep since I wake her up about every 4 hours throughout the night to take her meds.  This is allowing her to sleep better and get more rest at night.  Her back continues to be a little sore throughout the day, more specifically in the morning but I think that just part of the process and hopefully will continue to subside.  We still try and get out at least one time a day to move around have some sense of normalcy.  On Sunday we did get out and enjoy the nice weather and take the dog and the kids for a small walk around the neighborhood.  She wasn’t setting any land speed records but she was walking fairly well!  We were able to have a somewhat normal Easter for the kiddos but couldn’t attend church which a first in forever! L Each day that passes is one day closer the end of this process and we can put STUPID CANCER behind us!

We did get some wonderful news today from Dr. Moore pertaining to the number of lymph nodes with signs of cancer and the condition of the breast tissue.  Dr. Moore did let us know that there were only 2 lymph nodes that showed signs of having cancer…..praise the Lord and hallelujah!!!  So what does this mean some of you may ask…..well it means that there will be no need for radiation therapy….anything less than 4 is good news!  So she remains as a Stage II due to only those two lymph nodes….this is great news since she will only need chemotherapy!  There is always that possibility (slim very slim) that she will not need chemo but Sarah has made the decision to be as aggressive as possible through the whole process to ensure that this does not come back!  The other good news was that the breast tumor tissue “looked good”…so it appears that the tumor was not like spider webbed all over the breast tissue and isolated to that one section.  The tissue in the right breast was completely clear and no pathology of a malignancy.  Sarah spoke with her oncologist and she diagnosed Sarah as a Stage IIA, tumor size was .6 cm in diameter, margins were negative.  The oncologist will be sending the cancer tissue for OncoType DX testing which will help determine the reoccurrence percentage and the aggressiveness of the cancer.  This will help determine if Chemo is necessary and the regiment of chemo if deemed necessary.  Overall the news from the general surgeon and oncologist was really good and she was happy with the pathology results that she received.  Sarah was so happy that she wanted to do the “Happy Dance” but really couldn’t so I told her to just shake her booty!! J

We had another follow up with her cosmetic surgeon Dr. Rhee today and things are continuing to progress nicely.  The drainage from the remaining drains is still too much at this time to get them removed.  We could tell that Dr. Rhee was really hoping that the drainage would be at an appropriate level so Sarah could get them out today.  They said that Sarah is most likely moving her arms above 90 degrees to often causing the Alloderm Membrane to continue to stretch causing that fluid buildup so no more reaching for Sarah for the next 2 days.  Once the drainage is at a reasonable level then they can pull them out and we can be done with that.  They did fill the expanders today which can be somewhat painful afterwards (more pressure than anything as Sarah puts it) the goal is to get to a size that Sarah is happy with and comfortable having from this point forward.  Sounds like she has some decisions to make about the size she desires to be.  We have another appointment on Friday and the hope is to have the drainage down and remove the last two drains.

Sarah did get her “HEY CANCER……You picked the wrong Bitch!” bumper sticker so that will be going on the car soon….that’s pretty cool! 

Just a couple things I have recently learned since Sarah’s diagnosis and watching my wife go thru this battle:

·         Courage and bravery come in many forms…..I see both in Sarah every day!

·         I’m continually amazed by her spirit and perseverance to get through this and fight every day.

·         Not to worry about the little things and to appreciate every minute of every day (cliché I know but very true)…something that I used to always remember after my father passed away when I was 19….something I have recently regained!

·         At the end of the day…….Family, Friends, and Good Health are probably the most important things in life…..everything  else is an add-on to appreciate.

·         You can be pushed to your breaking point and then go beyond it because you have no other choice but to persevere!

·         There will be good days and bad days…..really really appreciate and value the good days!!

·         Sarah is truly a badass (my words not hers)….Her strength is so amazing and she is so much stronger than me!
 

This last month has been difficult and challenging but each day is a blessing and I appreciate my family and all of our friends!  Without all of you we wouldn’t be as strong as we are…THANK YOU!

I do want to continue to thank everyone that has supported us throughout this whole ordeal.  If you still want to help you can always donate toward Sarah’s medical fund at http://www.gofundme.com/nlv6tk since we are still short of our initial goal and the bills are beginning to roll in……every dollar counts and helps out!  The meal calendar is full for April and we will revisit the needs for May if Chemo is necessary.  Thank you to Nate & Christin Bogg, Junior & Kristin Fischer, Nick & Brooke Kelsey, Aunt Debbie, and Jack & Kasey Kuskie for participating in meal calendar and the meals thus far.   Everything has been so delicious and made our evenings a little easier to get thru.  I always want to send a special thanks to our mothers, Barbara and Theresa along with Sarah’s sister Brittany for your help, love and support….you guys have been amazing!

As always I keep you posted as we move along……things are looking up!  Please continue to pray for us, specifically Sarah and her healing along with the kiddos and that they never have to face this again with their mother or themselves….genetics and cancer is scary and can be unpredictable!  We will take all the prayers we can get!

Thank you and we appreciate you all!

Mac

2 steps forward 1 step back...but now back on track!

So things were going so well and Sarah was progressing nicely as of Tuesday evening, things seemed to take a turn early Wednesday morning.  Sarah was complaining of a mild headache and slight nausea, most likely the side effects of the anesthesia working its way out of her system.  Wednesday evening/Thursday morning was not very fun!  Very little sleep and trying to get her to drink her water and eat just something seemed to be a huge struggle.  Needless to say by early Thursday morning she was not doing well at all and I was very concerned at that point.  Something was not right for sure since she was doing SO WELL just 12 hours earlier.  I made a call to the doctor and they recommended that we go back the SkyRidge ER and get some IV fluids back in her system since she was most likely dehydrated.

So back to SkyRidge we went and Sarah was definitely dealing with a huge migraine at this point.  What I thought would be a quick 2-3 hour visit for fluids turned out to be about a 6 hour stay in the ER.  I was completely exhausted and pushed to my limits at this point.  It was hard to see my wife struggling so much and dealing with the nausea and a severe headache. We made the executive decision to have her start taking some oral anti-nausea medicine and switch to Dilaudid since the Percocet just seemed to be more harm than good (itching and possible cause of the headache).  We made our way home with our new medicine regiment to help stop the nausea, itching, and headaches.  Let me tell you what a God send that was to make that change.  By 3am Sarah was alert and ready to eat (a little pudding and jell-o…fine with me as long as it was something).  I was practically forcing water in her every 30 minutes since I didn’t want the dehydration issues to pop back up.  By the morning she was eating cereal with Isabelle and doing so much better, a complete 180 from just 12 hours prior and having to be in the ER.  She was up and moving and back to her old form from when she left the hospital on Tuesday, SUPERWOMAN was back in action!  I prayed and prayed all night long that God would help her feel better…..prayers were answered!  Praise the Lord!

We went to her cosmetic surgeon today at 11:30 and checked on the healing.  Still progressing nicely and she is doing great!  So much so that we got 2 of the drains out today.  That is huge relief because let me tell you how much fun those are to drain and do every 3-4 hours….yeah it SUCKS! LOL….pulling that out of Sarah was a little surreal to watch!  But she was a tough cookie and did it without any anesthetic and powered through it.  She wasn’t ready to see her boobs in the current appearance but let me tell you what….she is absolutely beautiful and her boobs look great after major surgery.  There is nothing at all that she has be ashamed of and these scars one day will be almost completely non-visible and small reminder of the journey she has gone thru….the battle that she won! Her spirit and resilience is truly amazing to see….she amazes me more and more every day!  She has so much fight in her…..gotta love it!  It’s truly contagious….

We were able to leave the doctor’s office and go get a bite to eat at The Pancake House….eggs and pancakes!  Overall things are back on track and she is doing great!  Next appointment will be on Tuesday and she will be able to shower that morning….she is looking forward to that day for sure!  We are still waiting to hear back about the pathology from the lymph nodes….her oncologist is out of town so it appears that we will wait until early next week.

I was able to go workout for an hour….Thank you Britany….and I even took the kids to the pool to get out of the house!  Things are getting back to the normal routine faster than I had anticipated other than the small setback yesterday…..my wife is a champ!

Thank you to everyone who has sent flowers…..it beautiful to see them all over the house….see what we see all over the house!

Home sweet home!

We are home and doing well! Sarah is all situated and upstairs in bed resting...exactly where she should be.  I just need to adjust to this routine and then everything should be smooth sailing! We have a follow up appointment with the cosmetic surgeon on Friday....I will update the blog after that appointment! Time to take a little break from the blog and just focus on things here at home.  Thank you everyone who has been following the blog to stay informed about Sarah's progress.  This blog has been very helpful to get the word out to everyone. Meal train starts tomorrow so thank you in advance to everyone helping out with meals....that will be so very helpful! I will keep everyone posted after Friday's appointment....Until then wish me luck! 😄.

Mac

Time to go home

Sarah is doing so well that we get to go home very soon! Last night was a little difficult, she was finally able to get the pain under control and be steady at a 4/10. The nausea finally subsided and she was able to get up and move just a little bit. The night was definitely sleepless since the nursing staff had to come in frequently to check vitals, give mess and help Sarah use the restroom! So combined we got about 49 minutes of sleep....lol!  The nursing staff here at SkyRidge have been absolutely wonderful and very helpful!

Dr. Rhee came in this morning around 6:30 and checked the margins of the sutures and the healing is going well!!!  He was really impressed with her progress and how well she is doing.  He did comment that her healing and quick recovery is really impressive. Apparently Sarah is superwoman!! Her general surgeon Dr. Moore came in about 9:30 and she also commented on how well things are healing and how great she looks!  So both surgeons have the same opinion of her recovery currently and how well things are progressing which means things are on the right track.

We should be getting the results of the pathology from the lymph nodes by Friday so hopefully it's only isolated to just that 1....positive thoughts and prayers unite! Send them our way!!

We plan on going home around 2pm, she just got up and had a quick walk around the floor and finished her lunch....Sarah is so amazing and strong! I will attach a picture of her up and around on FB in her pink robe since my phone won't allow it Google Blogger...

Overall things are going great....ready to go home and allow the kids to be around her and Tank to see his mom....that crazy dog! It will be good for her healing and help for a speedy recovery....something tells me there is no slowing Sarah down! She's determined to get on with her life and not let any of this hold her back! She is something to ADMIRE, she's defienitly my hero!

Hey cancer.....You messed with the wrong bitch!