1.26.2023
Hi All,
It’s been a few weeks since we updated the blog – to be honest, it’s been pretty mellow, but there have been some good learnings and great progress!
Our life has really started to feel like normal again, which makes us both more relaxed and happier! I’m able to drive, do laundry, clean the house, do the dishes and most importantly cook meals again! I didn’t drive during treatments and after surgery, for obvious reasons – I was tired, couldn’t move my arms, queasy, etc, etc. Doing stuff around the house was just exhausting for me and after surgery I wasn’t able to lift anything so everything over the past 8 months was done by my wonderful husband. Cooking again has been so nice for the both of us, I have an appetite, love cooking and playing in the kitchen so it feels wonderful to be able to do the things I love again and Chris eats more than just rice or a grilled cheese now. I have worked hard on walking so I’m getting in close to 2 miles a day (I did 4 miles a day and strength training before I was diagnosed), so I’ve been working on getting back to where I was. I’m proud of myself every time I’ve been able to pass my goals…started with 0.5 miles each day for a week, built up to a mile, and so on – increasing my time each week too. It sounds so simple, but the first week I was winded. Even doing 12 squats a day right now puts me out of breath, I have a long way to go, but it feels good to challenge myself again.
I started back at work last week after being off for 2 months – it felt like my first day of school where I got to see all my friends again. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was back. Chemo brain was such a thing during treatments, I could feel myself having a hard time focusing or would get so tired throughout the day; it feels wonderful to be back at it and contributing and using my mind again, it’s like riding a bike!
I can’t even put to words how amazing it is to feel like yourself again. Treatments were really really fucking hard (excuse my French) and I remember people telling me that I wouldn’t feel like myself again until 3 months after treatment was over, which while you are going through it, time goes soooo slowly. It was like clockwork though, I finished treatment September 26…December 17 I went cold turkey on my feeding tube and took control of how I was feeling, started walking, cooking, eating, doing things for ME and not letting the past 8 months control my life anymore. Life is good, I’m alive, cancer free, I appreciate everything and take nothing for granted. Chris and I play games some nights and I cherish those nights; we go on Jeep rides, and I still smile when the fresh air hits my face, I go on walks with family – I look forward to continuing to cherish the simple things in life.
In terms of doctor’s updates. Here is what has been happening:
· I’ve seen the breast surgeon, she’s happy with my progress! I need to work on my arm movement before I go into reconstructive surgery, which is scheduled for March 13. My right arm I can pretty much lift over my head completely, but my left arm only goes up about half way (it feels like a rubber band pulling) so I have exercises that I have to do a few times a day to get my mobility to a better place. The fun thing about it was that Chris would wash my hair because I had a hard time lifting my arms up to do so. We find laughter in it as we spike my hair in funny ways and take pictures of it. I have been able to wash my hair in the sink now, which feels good and rewarding. Going forward, I don’t have to see her for another 6 months but she will be someone I see every 6 months for the next 5 years to monitor everything. This is a relief considering I was seeing a doctor at least once a week for months, I’ll take the separation where I can get it!
· My plastic surgeon is very pleased with how well the hyperbaric chamber worked for my body. I’ll see her again for a preop appointment and then go into surgery, of course with restrictions to movement again. She has told me that this surgery is much easier since my skin has been stretched from the expanders I have in my chest.
· The GI doctor gave me the go ahead to eat pretty much what I want. However, I can’t eat pork (bummer because I’d love a bacon/pepperoni pizza!), steak/tough meats, spicy foods, onions and garlic. I have to still be cautious with acidic foods as well. But, I’m eating constantly and just trying to gain weight since I lost 25+ pounds, a lot of that being muscle too! I get the feeding tube removed on February 7, I cannot explain how excited I am to get this darn thing out – it pulls on my stomach, is a pain to deal with because it dangles so low (I have to be careful I don’t accidentally get it in the toilet when I use the bathroom – haha!) and I have to clean it daily so there is no infection. It’s also very challenging to wear jeans so I wear sweats and leggings every day because the tube rubs on jeans and is uncomfortable when I sit. Plus, the plan is that once this comes out, I can eat everything I want and Chris and I can finally go out to dinner, it’s been since April 2022 that we’ve gone on a date, so we are both anxiously awaiting a night out! Additionally, I can drink wine again! I can only have 1-2 small glasses a week, but I’ll take it and enjoy it because I haven’t had wine since Chris’s birthday (June 4th).
· The oncologist (my guiding light, Dr. Vandermolen) is happy with how I’ve been doing that now I only see him monthly vs weekly! We had a little bit of a scare about a week ago. They draw my blood every time I go and check my white blood count, red blood count, liver and a bunch of other things. My red blood count has been trending down for the past 2 months, on top of that I had a few days where my ankles would start to swell. Dr. Vandermolen checked my iron, he wanted to make sure I wasn’t anemic. All was good there and the nurse called to tell me it was good, but she brought up that my tumor marker and liver enzymes were a bit off. The tumor marker basically measures the cancer cells in your body to see if they grow or not. Mine were a little elevated so they wanted me to draw blood again but reassured me that these numbers can fluctuate regularly and that this was just a double check. We patiently waited 4 days to hear that my tumor marker and liver enzyme had normalized again – phew!! We knew that this was normal, but it still is always going to be in the back of our minds and is scary.
Those are all the updates for now, lots of really great progress made and we are moving in the right direction. Most importantly, as I’ve said before and wrote about as a life lesson, we are HAPPY! Thank you again for everyone’s love and support through all of this, we are so very grateful.
We’ll continue to keep you updated and share along the way. We are going to start working on turning our little blog posts into a book, we want to continue to share our story and find ways to impact and give hope to those going through this, whether it’s the individual or someone they are close to. Will take some time, but we’ve opened up our once very private lives and shared our story.
All the best and lots of love,
Lauren
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