Sunday, February 28, 2010

Made it through the first year...

Yes, I guess you could say that February will always be a month of anniversaries for me. Not only is it my birthday month, but it was on February 23rd, 2009 when the surgeon came in to tell me that my needle biopsy result showed cancer. It's that moment in your life, that everything changes. I must say that all in all, I am doing just great. This past year is one I would like to forget, but at the same time, I have grown in ways that make me who I am today and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

This past Friday (Feb. 26th) I had my mammogram. I'd like to say that the whole process was uneventful, but, it wasn't. The technician actually brought me back for 3 additional times to get "some better pictures" and just to be sure. UGHHH!!! And this time, she was focusing on my "other" breast (left side) because there is some "asymmetrical tissue" they want to monitor. Actually, when I was first diagnosed last year, the radiologist spent quite a bit of time doing an ultrasound on both breasts and she was pretty concerned about both sides. I guess when the lump in my right breast was found to be cancerous, they just didn't pay as much attention to the left side. Well, they made up for it last Friday. My poor chest wall hurt on Saturday from being pulled, mashed, pressed and tugged every which way. They also did an ultrasound on my left side...and after all was done, they told me that they'd see me in 6 months and they'll do a mammogram on both sides then. This is good news, but at the same time, I cannot begin to tell you how mentally drained I was afterwards. I guess a lot of women go through similar situations, and even though I am so grateful that nothing was really found, the psychological ramifications was totally draining. Once you've been through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, you feel like "I'm all done with this, let's get on with life"...well, Dave summed it up best...Cautious optimism...it really does sum up how a cancer patient (Survivor) should approach future scans. You are cautiously optimistic that everything is going to be o.k., but at the same time, you are aware that something else could be awaiting for you to deal with, just hopefully not.

I honestly wasn't ready for that psychological drain and it took about 2 days for me to come out of my funk. I'm good though and ready to get on with life! Our family is actually going to take a celebratory trip to Disney soon and we are all looking forward to it. We just need to get away, have some fun and enjoy being a family. We're thankful we are able to take a trip like this and intend on relaxing and just have a good time. We had to cancel a Disney cruise that had been planned in October of 2009 when Dave was in the hospital getting his chemo. Last year we did manage to go to Hilton Head, but that was during one of my "good weeks" in the midst of my chemo. So, we're doing down to Florida for some nice warm weather, to celebrate being "done" with cancer and to enjoy our time as a family.

When we get back we'll hit the ground running to get ready for Relay for Life, so plan on hearing from me then!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Hard to believe it's been a year...

I really feel like I need to make a post and I am glad I've had this blog to get my thoughts down on. Yes, I cannot believe that on February 12th, it marks a year from when I had my mammogram where they found the mass on my right breast. I cannot begin to say how thankful I am that everything went as smoothly as it has for both Dave and myself. We are eternally grateful that we dodged major bullets and are getting "back to normal", as normal can be. Dave has a CT scan next week and I have a mammogram on the 26th of this month...I think we'll just look at the scans as "routine maintenance" and be grateful that our doctors are taking good care of us.

I've wondered why it is that both Dave and I had to deal with cancer like we have...and for right now, I can tell you that quite a few people have been brought into our lives that are dealing with cancer now. Dave's blog: http://dnovak-liposarcoma.blogspot.com/ has had many hits from other cancer patients that are "googling" Myxoid Liposarcoma. His blog is really good and because his diagnosis is so rare, when someone gets that, they probably turn to the internet to find out as much information as they can. He's also gotten involved with the support group down at Emory for Sarcoma patients: Southeastern Sarcoma Foundation. It's a great group of people and I think it's so important to plug in with others who have gone through the same thing. Dave takes it upon himself to personally respond to those that email him via his blog and I know he's helped out quite a few people thus far.

We're also coming up on the time of the year for Relay for Life! It was our first time going last year and both Dave and I truly were moved by the event and what the American Cancer Society is doing to raise money for research and awareness. Our church (Grace Fellowship Church) didn't have a team there last year, so I've asked to head up the team this year and am excited for this whole event. I'm putting a link in case anyone out there would like to make a donation on our behalf...it truly is a good cause! Here's the link for our church's team: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY10SA?pg=team&fr_id=24397&team_id=610840

Here's the link to my personal page: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=10919375&pg=personal&fr_id=24397

Last year, the Relay for Life in our county alone raise $2.5 million dollars!! Awesome!! We actually live about 2 miles from the fairgrounds where the event takes place and it's a great family event to attend...so, mark your calendars now and come on out if you're in the Atlanta area! May 7th, 6:30 PM...and it goes ALL NIGHT LONG! I think I may have to scoot home though, I'm not much of a camper anymore! http://www.relayforlife.org

I feel like I could go on and on about what's been happening, but I don't want to ramble. I'm just happy to know that we're being used to help others that are dealing with cancer now and have time to focus on our family and get back to "normal".