Caitlyn & Isabella

Here are our two baby girls!!!!!

For Better Or Worse

I haven't written in the last couple of days. I still feel pretty good considering but the last few days I kind of feel like I am car sick in the head & have been having killer heartburn but still all in all I am good. But if this is as bad as it gets as far as sideaffects, I'll take it.

Yessie & I hosted a jewelry party last night. It went over very well. We acquired some nice jewelry. Thank you to Jodi for sponsoring our "Premier Jewelry Party". It was a lot of fun. Thank you to all our guests for coming. It was a great "Girls Night Out".

Yesterday I took phenergan and that stuff messed me up. So I didn't take it today. But I think I was a little ambitious about the amount of energy I thought I had. Mom is moving in this weekend so I went to go help her but was too "chemo head" to be of any help. So Caitlyn & I came home and took a nap. Apparently, everyone was calling and I didn't answer the phone so of course Mom comes over in a panic to make sure I am OK.

I am not complaining though because it is much better than pucking my guts out or being nauseous all the time. Which, thank God, I have not had any of. I guess the chemo is kicking in and taking my energy. So now I have to learn to pace myself, which is not the easiest when there is so much I want to get done. I kind of feel like I am "nesting". But can't get it all done. Oh Well. I guess it will be there another day. Maybe God is teaching me a little patience in all this too. I feel bad for not being able to help Mom more but I am glad Yessie and I were able to get a good bit done before I started chemo on Monday.

Dustin & Shane just went to Outdoor World so Yessie & I are here with the kids. Caitlyn & Bella are so cute together. Caitlyn tries to play "little piggies" on Bella's toes saying, "Wee, Wee,Wee." It is adorable. I can't wait to see them growing up together. They are going to be quite the pair.

Shane I have to say has been awesome. Not that I expected anything less but it always amazes me how he comes thru for me. He has gotten the boys up everyday for school so I could sleep in, came home late from watching the boys for us to have the jewelry party and finished cleaning up and getting all 3 kids in bed so that I could go to bed myself. He is the best & I know it. I love you Babe and want you to know publicly that I really, really appreciate all you have been doing and do not take it for granted of how blessed I am to have a husband like you. For Better or Worse, Right? I guess for us this is our "worse" for now. But I know we will make it. Thank you for all your love and support. I couldn't do this without you.

I love you,

Forever & Ever Amen

Rachael

Another Small Victory

Today I woke up feeling really good and refreshed. Shane's mom has been here since Sunday evening and has been helping get the boys up for school. So I have been able to sleep in. She has done all my laundry last week and this week. It has really been nice not to have to worry about that. Thank you so much Chris. Your help is more appreciated than you know and I love you so much. You are a wonderful mother-in-law and I am so glad you are mine. God has truly has blessed our family. We love you!!!

I cleaned out the guest room downstairs getting ready for Mom to move in this weekend. After that I started feeling a little tired so I laid down for about 30min and felt a little more rested. Then Yessie came and picked me up because she wanted to go and check out the new IKEA store. We got a lot of good ideas for her office/guest room including what to paint it. So now I have another paint job. It will look really good when it is done though. We are going to paint it a deep plum color and accent it with white/black. The daybed will act as a couch/guest bed which is black wrought iron. It is going to be gorgeous. I can't wait to get started.

That trip though pretty much wiped me out. So I came home started the boys on homework for Yessie to finish helping them, said good bye to Chris who was leaving & went and took a 2 hour nap. I never do that. But it felt good. Tony brought over from House of Taipei Chinese for dinner tonight. It was so good. Thank you Tony. It was nice getting to spend sometime with you and just chatting.

So all in all it was a good day not a productive as yesterday. But still pretty good. I don't know if it will always be like this but I am glad it is this week because we have so much going on and things we are trying to do. So it is working out well. Maybe I will be one of the few who do not get sick from chemo. It that even possible? With God it can be!! Time will tell.

Thank you to everyone who has been helping out and all the kind words. They are truly an encouragement to me and my family.

Love,

Rachael

The Day After: Victory

Today I have had a really good day considering I spent 6 hours poisoning my body with chemo cocktails yesterday. I have felt no nausea at all. I haven't been tired any more that any mom of 3 would be. I don't know if this is overly unusual or not for the day after but I feel great. I feel really normal.

Everyone that has called to check on me sounds really surprised at how alert, happy & well that I sound. Thank God. It is crazy. I don't know if tomorrow will be different but I am enjoying my health today.

Yessie came over today to help me unpack mom's kitchen belongs here at my house. Mom is moving in with us during this time. But if I continue to feel this good I will have to kick her out. I wonder if she will let me keep her washer and dryer still. LOL Just kidding Mom. Love you.
Anyway we had to rearrange the pantry and other cabinets to make room for all her spices and pantry items. Who would think that one person could have as much as a whole family of 5 plus some. Oh Well that is Mom.

I made dinner tonight also. We had Sausage & Black Bean Soup. It was really good. Especially for a cold night out. Yessie made homemade Banana Pudding. It was delicious. Yum Yum!! Thanks again Yessie for all your help today. I love ya Girl!

I was talking to my cousin Nikki saying that if I feel this good thru chemo this really isn't all that bad. And in the end I get a TRAM(Tummy Tuck) & New Breasts. Can't beat that!!! And if they need more tissue I might get a little lipo to boot. LOL.

I know it will probably not be this easy the whole road. But as I said today I feel awesome and I am enjoying it. I know losing my hair in about 2 weeks will be really hard for me at least. Probably worst then losing my breast. I guess because it is an outward symbol that says "I have Cancer." Right now I can go anywhere and no one would know any better. It will be a long road ahead and I am not so naive to think otherwise but for me today is a very big VICTORY!!!!

I want to say, "Thank You Jesus" I would not have the strength, attitude, or sense of humor to go thru this journey alone. So far I have had no bitter or angry thoughts or attitudes. That might change but hopefully it won't. It wouldn't help anything to get angry at this point. I am glad I am not alone physically or spiritually on this walk and that means more than anything.

I hope that I will and others will use this experience of knowing someone close to them who is facing cancer, make the most of life, enjoy the small things, play and laugh with your kids just because you can, hug & kiss your spouse for no reason at all, & take that weekend trip you keep putting off. The Kids don't need more "things" they need you and trust me it will be the quality time on even those short weekend trips that they will remember all the days of their lives, not what toys you bought. Make sure those around you know how much that they mean to you and how much you love them. Just in case tomorrow never comes.

So this is my hat's off to a great day after chemo even if it doesn't last it is one small victory in my battle.

Good Night,

Rachael Renea

The First Day of Battle: Weapon of Choice: Chemotherapy

Today is my first day of chemo. Shane was gracious enough to let me sleep in and get the boys up himself. Which was good too because Caitlyn was up a lot last night coughing & a high fever. She was in bed with us this morning.

My appointment was at 9:00am so we left around 8:00am because we needed to stop by CVS to pick up all my medications. One of them Emend I had to take this morning when I got here.

However apparently the insurance only allows 1 pill per month. My prescription was for 3 pills. But I needed it today and obviously had no time to fight with the insurance company. So I had to pay for it out of pocket. A whopping $439.00 for 3 pills. All my other ones were only $26.00.

I was furious. Not a good way to start off my "battle day". Here we are trying to deal with this and it is only the beginning and already I am having trouble with insurance not wanting to pay for something.

I called the insurance company on our way here. The man I spoke with said he needed pre-authorization from the doctor that I did indeed need 3 of these pills. Isn't that what the prescription was for? Duh-Huh!!!! Needless to say I was P.O. ed. The doctor's office now has to call in for an pre-authorization and then they will let me get the 3 pills for only $45.00. Jerks. Ripoff insurance companies trying to get by with just the minimum while I am trying to fight cancer. They should be ashamed of how they treat patients when you really need it.

Ok enough of that. We arrived at the doctors office a few minutes early. I really have been OK so far with all of this. I think because I still feel so normal and healthy. But as we sat in the waiting room, other patients started arriving and as I watched most of them come in with their balding heads with toboggans on it really it me that it would be me next time coming in with little or no hair. I couldn't help it and the tears began to fall. Shane held my hand and told me he loved me.

But all I could do was cry my silent tears as I watched those brave souls also fighting for their lives but losing their hair. I don't know why my hair is bothering me so much. I just hope when it happens I have the strength to be strong for my family but mainly my kids. I can't let them see me down. I want this experience to make them stronger in life, not for them to look back on this time in our lives and have bad memories. I want to keep our lives so full of love & laughter. I want for them to remember this time as being a time that we all grew closer as a family, that we took this time to really appreciate and live life to the fullest, but most of all grew closer to God.

Because really, we don't know what will happen or when.

After my crying session, Dr. Limentani came in & told me I was too nice and that I needed to get a kicka** attitude going towards this cancer. Next, they took us back to get started. I do not have a port put in so I had to have an IV put in. They tried in my forearm which my vein was too small. Next they tried in my hand and blew my vein. So then they had another male nurse come and put it in the bend of my elbow. She kept telling me to think about happy things. I began to think of my 3 babies and my husband that I love so much & I know I am fighting and going thru this for them & myself. So that was not good at all. Bad start all the way around.

My nurse's name is Sue. She started me on an anti nausea medicine Aloxi and had me take my $439 pill Emend. LOL. Crazy Huh??!! The first part of my "cocktail" was Carboplatin. Next Taxotere, with this one a side affect is that it can affect your finger nails making them peel, crack and pull away from the nailbeds. Bad for infection. So to prevent this they have you take a nail bath. You put your fingers in ice water to essentially cut off the circulation of blood so the chemo meds don't get to your fingertips. It is so freakin' cold. You can see the attached pictures. Now I am having my Herceptin which treats the HER2 in my body. I really sound like I know what I am talking about. My vocabulary has been largely expanded in the last week.

I feel pretty good. I am starting to feel like I have a big "medicine head" but here they call it "chemo head". LOL But that can kind of give you an idea of what I am feeling. I am tired of sitting here but Ok otherwise. Shane has been great. Staying by my side, getting me lunch, helping me get up & down with all these IV's and cords. This stuff goes straight thru you.

I actually met someone hear that I know. I haven't seen her in 13 years but we used to work at Heilig-Meyers together. That seems like a lifetime ago. She also has breast cancer not as bad as mine thank God but in her left side also. We are going to go to the Look Better, Feel Better class together. I hate she has it also but it is nice to have someone you know to go thru this with you.

What are the chances of meeting someone you know in chemo? Maybe it is not chance. No telling with God.

Well I am going to sign off for now. Thank you for all the emails and posts today. I may not be able to reply to all of them with so many but please know I do read all of them. It means so much that I have so many family & friends praying for me during this time. Don't stop!! Prayer is a mightier & stronger weapon then this chemo running thru my veins right now. With God's Help, We will make it thru this Battle with Victory.

Ok to end on a lighter and funnier note. As I stated this stuff goes right thru you, so I went to the bathroom and by the time I got there I had to go so bad I felt like poor Connor. I went to sit down and about fell in the toilet because some male idiot left the seat up. LOL Quit laughing Nikki, Mom & Charity. I could have hurt myself. Shane said I am experiencing chemo head. He said," Didn't you see that it was up?" Well I did but I had to go so bad that I forgot. Well I am done with chemo session #1 & overall I feel really good. I feel so good that Shane and I are going to check out the new IKEA store.

I am home now and everyone is amazed at how normal I am feeling. But I am sure tomorrow will be another story. I will keep you all posted.

Love ya,
Rachael

The Battle

Today is Sunday. The boys were up early so not much sleeping in. I have one day before I start chemo. I am trying not to think about it all the time. But today is hard.

I was "trying" to fix my hair for church this morning and became so frustrated. I am not used to having what feels like to me hardly any hair. It wouldn't flat iron so I had to go to the curling iron which I burned my forehead. OUCH!!! So I am a little aggravated with my hair. Probably by the time that I get used to doing it, It will start falling out. Go figure. Just my luck. Oh Well.

Caitlyn woke up with a cough this morning so Shane is staying home with her. I think he knew I wanted to and needed to really go to church this morning. I love that man.

I came down stairs and Shane of course said "You look beautiful!" I didn't feel like it. My head still hurt from burning it and by then I felt like I was all haggard. Connor looked so cute today with his little blazer on so we took a few pictures this morning before we left for church.

Church was really good. They sang one of my favorite songs right now, "Healer" I felt like it was just for me. And of course I sobbed thru the whole thing. But it was what I needed.

Then in the sermon Pastor Ross made a statement that kind of hit home for me in my situation.

He said, "There are no victories without any battles!" So I am looking at cancer as my battle and just on the other side of it is VICTORY!! I am looking forward to that part but first we have to go to battle. So tomorrow I begin mine. Chemotherapy. The first big step to fight my disease.

I am so thankful for all the notes that have been posted on my blog. It has been good, cheap, & therapeutic for me. I have heard from friends and family as well as some across the country that I don't even know that are survivors of this horrible disease and are now cheering me on to the finish line of "My Battle" I look forward to seeing and talking to all of you there.

All my love,

Rachael

Find a Cure

This was too cute not to share. May we all try and do our part to be more aware and find a cure for our future generations.

P.S. This is not Caitlyn. Just a cute model.

Thought for the Day

Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance & Laugh like nobody's watching. Sing like nobody's listening.Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

Today after my haircut we had an appointment with the oncologist in Charlotte. He was great. He was really funny and I really am going to enjoy having him for a doctor. He is very knowledgeable about his field, likes to drop names of famous people he knows, and he is a smartypants who likes for everyone to know it. We really like him a lot.

After a very long desortation about cancer treatments and clinical trials he gave us his recommendation for my immediate treatment. He agrees that doing chemo 1st is a very good choice. It went so far as to say, "You will be cured!!" He gave me a very good prognosis. It was the first good news in a while. It felt so good. However, he also wants to start chemo on Monday morning @ 9:00am.

We very quickly began to have everything set up for us to begin treatment on Monday.

1. Lab Work

2. Echo Cardio

3. Chemo Class

This was all done in the span of 2 hours flat.

My Chemotherapy Cocktail will consist of:

1. Taxotere

2. Herceptin

3. Carboplatin

I have chemo every 3 weeks for 18 weeks. Then I will have Herceptin Treatments every week for 52 weeks. Wow that seems like forever. I know in comparison to my life it is like a grain of sand on the beach.

The boys keep looking at me when they think I am not looking. But said they like it and it looks pretty. Chandler said," Is that a wig Mom?" I said no it was my real hair for now. But maybe when I do have to wear a wig it won't be so dramatic for the them to see the change.

Yesterday morning I was getting the kids up for school. Chandler keep asking, " Are you feeling Ok Mom? Are you sick? Are you tired?" Of course, I am tired. It is 6:30am and anyone who knows me at all knows I am NOT a morning person. LOL.

We went downstairs to get breakfast and as I was filling their bowls with cereal Connor came up to me with his silly little grin and gave me an apple on a paperplate. He said, "Here Mom this is breakfast for you." I love that little boy. He is so tenderhearted and loving. Mommy loves you Connor Riley. May you always stay sweet and sensitive as you are now.

My Breast Cancer Quilt

I just wanted to post this small Thank you to my Aunt Janet in Salem, Oregon. When she heard about me having breast cancer she made me and my daughter Caitlyn a quilt with a lot of pink's in it representing "Breast Cancer". She made it in 3 days and mailed it to me in 2 days. I absolutely love it. It is flannel so very soft and warm. Caitlyn loves to snuggle with it while she is drinking her bottle in her "chair".

Here is a picture of the quilt. I will always feel the love that went into making that quilt and will wrap myself up with the love & prayers that were said as she lovingly made this beautiful quilt for Me.

I love you Aunt Janet. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Rachael

My Haircut

Today I went and had my haircut short. Tabatha did a really good job. I still am not sure I like it. It doesn't look like me when I look in the mirror. My neighbor Ashley says it makes me look younger. My mom says, "It's Gorgeous!" Caitlyn patted it and said, "Har" So I think she noticed but still knew it was Mommy. So that made me feel better. I walk by the mirror and have to do a double take. This is literally the shortest my hair has been since I was probably 2 years old. It feels weird just turning my head and not having the weight of all my hair around my shoulders. My head feels lighter too. I reach back to pull it back out of habit and there is really nothing to grab or hold on to.

It was really hard to see all my hair laying there on the floor of the salon. But I know it is better this way so that when chemo starts next week and my hair starts falling out that it won't be so dramatic on top of everything else that I will be feeling. Mom says she will shave my head when I have to. I don't know. I think that would be really hard for her to have to do to her "Baby Girl" but I know she would it that is what I needed done. That is just mom. One of the reasons I love her so much.

I will post a picture later. Shane still has not seen it. So I will see him in about an hour to meet for our appointment at the oncologist office. I find out for sure when I start chemo and all the in's & outs of the treatment.

Love to all.
Rachael Renea.

PS. Aunt Janet mom says I look more like you with my new doo!!

Telling the Boys

Tonight we told the boys about my breast cancer. Chandler my oldest (8 )had already been asking questions about why I was going to the doctor so much last night on the way home from church. I told him I wouldn't be able to go to his space camp at school because I had Dr.'s appts. I told him that Mommy and Daddy would sit down and talk to him and Connor this weekend about it. We drove the rest of the way home and getting out of the truck he asked,"Is it good or bad news Mom?" What do you say to that? I told him it was kind of bad but that Mommy was going to be fine. I tucked him in and he was crying that night. So I told him, "Mommy has some growths in her body that are making me sick. The doctors are going to have to give me some medicines to get rid of the growths/lumps, but the medicines are so strong that they are going to make Mommy sick and really tired. So I am going to need your help more. OK?" Shane was working in Charleston so Chandler came in to sleep with me that night.

Now tonight we sat down and told them both. I let them feel the top half of the mass. We explained that the medicine will make my hair, eyebrows, & lashes fall out. They asked questions like:

1. Will you have to stay in the hospital for a long time?

2. Does it hurt?

3. Connor had one more but then said he forgot.

4. How many lumps?

We went back downstairs and then Chandler called me and said Connor was crying. Then Chandler started crying again. I went into Connor and Shane to Chandler. I asked Connor, "What is wrong buddy?" He said, "I don't want you to go to the hospital." I told him when I had the surgery it would only be for one night. He was OK with that. I told him I was going to be like Chandler's four wheeler and Daddy's truck from their wrecks, "A Cyclops" He thought that was pretty funny.

Tomorrow I go to get my hair cut short. The first time in my life that my hair will be above my shoulders. I know it is going to be hard but it will be easier this way not having so much to loose when the chemo kicks in. I let the boys & Shane help me pick a new hairdo. They liked doing that.

So for now they are good and understand as much as a 6 & 8 year old can. I know it will be different actually seeing me with no hair and such. But hopefully they will still feel that I am "Mommy" & love them so much. I hope to keep them as informed as we can and apart of the decisions that we have to make as they can so that they can feel like a part of it all to and not be confused or scared about what is happening. That is my prayer.

Mommy loves her boys, Chandler Ryan & Connor Riley

Rachael's Breast Cancer Journey

The evening of January 6th I felt a lump and a mass in my left breast. I cried and prayed that it wasn't cancer. I called and made an appointment with my doctor the next morning. My appointment was scheduled for the following Monday. So I prayed and waited the rest of the week hoping for the best.



I went for my appointment on that Monday January 12th, 2009. I met with the doctor and she said it was a cyst and suggested I take Evening Prim Rose. She was so confident that it was a cyst that even if it wasn't completely gone in 30 days she didn't need to see me. So I called Shane and gave him the "good news". I took the Prim Rose for a week and there was no change in the lumps. I called the Doctor's Office back and asked them to schedule an ultrasound to verify that it was indeed a cyst. I couldn't get in until February 2,2009. It seemed like it was forever. The waiting was torture.




Finally the day arrived and Shane & I headed to the Presbyterian Breast Center downtown Charlotte. I really wasn't too worried. I figured I was just going in to verify it was a cyst and give me some peace of mind. I went back and they had me do an ultrasound and Mammogram. It really wasn't painful. Not at all what I expected. Next the radiologist came in to check the ultrasound himself. He looked quietly at the scans as he monitored the ultrasound pictures of my left breast. He turned the machine off and said he did not see any cysts. I knew something was there and now I knew it wasn't a cyst. He said, "You need to have an immediate biopsy." The tears began to fall and I asked him to go get my husband. All I could think about was by three beautiful children and how they might not have a Mommy to grow up with, about how long I had waited for my adorable baby girl, Caitlyn Rose, and how I did not want to leave my wonderful husband a widower. I know it was the worst but that is what I thought.



The doctor brought Shane back and he asked if we could have a minute. Shane pulled me into his arms and I just sobbed. I couldn't believe it was happening to me, to us. Shane began to pray. We didn't really know what to say at that moment, but that God would give us the peace and understanding to help us with whatever was to come.
They told us we could eat lunch and come back for the biopsy. When we returned they introduced me to two oncologist when I came back from lunch. That made me a little worried more than I already was. I went back and the nurse prepped me for the biopsy. I asked her, "You see this all the time. Do my lumps/masses look bad? I need to prepare myself on way or another." She said, "They are pretty serious looking, but we will know for sure by Thrusday."

The radiologist came in and did the biopsy. They give you local anethesia then put a mini screwdriver looking device to make a path for the biopsy needle gun. Next, the insert the gun and you feel a little stick and they pull out a skin tissue sample.



The radiologist said just for disclosure that my whole family would probably hate him on Thursday when they called to give the results to me. I asked, "Does that me you think that it will be bad news?" He said, "It doesn't look good." They gave me the name of three breast surgeons as I left and said they would call me on Thursday February 5th.



Shane & I went home. He had already started calling family and friends about the biopsy. I cleaned my face up before I got home so the boys would not recognize anything out of the ordinary. The next day I was scheduled to fly out to Oregon to help my cousin Nikki. She is 7 months pregnant with little Ryker Enders. They just finished building a new home and she was so tired. So I love to do the whole unpacking, organizing, and decorating thing & decided the week before to go help her. Now I had to decide to go or not. Shane told me to go that if I stayed here I would only think constantly about what "it" might be. He is right. He knows me so well. He said, "I want to be with you when you get the news. If it is good I will rejoice with you and if not I will cry with you and be here for you." He is the best. I decided to go. I couldn't let "it" take over my life and make changes already.



The next morning, I cried as I left Shane knowing the next time I saw him we would know for sure and that he wouldn't be there with me when I found out. Two days later Thursday Morning they called and told me that I have Breast Cancer. Wow. I never thought it would be me. But here I am. My cousin Nikki cried and prayed with me. I called Shane and told him and he in turn proceeded to call everyone else. Nikki called all the family in Oregon/Idaho to let them know. My little cousin Andrew asked, "What's wrong Rachy?" I told him I was sick and that we needed to pray. With the simple faith of a child he said, "Jesus will heal you Rachy cause he took my cough away when I prayed." Oh that I can hold on to that child like faith. I love you Andrew. More than all the Stars in the Sky!



Family & Friends began to call giving me well wishes, thoughts and prayers that I was going to be just fine. That God would heal me. I know God can, but I just had the feeling after my Monday appointment that God's will was for me to go thru this for a reason. The only thing I tried to pray was God help me to have the strenghth to go thru this and make it for my kids and husband. My cousin, Jenn said she was praying for my healing also and said she felt like the Holy Spirit spoke and said, "This is bigger than just Rachael being sick." I feel that it is. And that God will use this to help someone else. How many times have we all prayed or sung the song, "If you can use anything Lord, you can use me." Or "Whatever it takes, God" Well I guess I didn't realize what that would really mean. But here I am and I am willing. I don't like it but I know God will help all of us thru this valley.

No one really knows  but about 3 months ago we found a lump under Connor's chin. I took him to the doctor and the ugly "C" word showed it's head. We had blood work done, waited & prayed. That night I told Shane, " I wish it was me not him. I would go thru this for him." I didn't want to see my child go thru something like Cancer. His tests came back negative and it has since gone away. But what if God heard the cry of a mother for her child and this was his answer. I lovingly and willingly will go thru all of this for my little boy, so that he doesn't have to.



I came home the following Wednesday on Feruary 11th. It was so easy to pretend it wasn't happening to me, that I wasn't really sick at all. Nikki and I had gone out shopping one day for some misc. decorations and I totally forgot about it. Then I walked up to the counter at Bed Bath & Beyond and there on the counter was a box of TicTac's with the famous Pink Ribbon. And I thought, Wow that is me. But going home I had to face the reality of it all. And it was pretty scary. I was so glad to be going home to Shane. I think it was good me being gone though. It gave everyone a chance to deal with all of the emotions and getting this horrible news in their own way before they had to see me. The same for me. I could come home get in survival mode and fight this cancer.



Friday the 13th, what a date, I had an MRI done. I cried knowing this was the beginning of a long road ahead of us. I had an appointment with the surgeon, Dr Turk, on Monday the 16th. We went and he set out a treatment plan. Shane created a Hope List to keep everyone updated. Listed Below:



We’ve had a lot of calls asking for updates so I figured I would put together an email on what we know & have found out so far.

I made a distribution list called the “Hope List” of family and friends wanted to keep you all up to date. Hopefully this catches no none by surprise but if it did I apologize. I don’t mean this email to be impersonal or have it come across as clinical but merely a way to keep everyone up to speed.

We met with a surgeon today who went over all the test results & MRI results. He has formulated his opinion & advised us. Tomorrow we have a meeting with what they call the “2nd Opinion Board”. It’s a panel of 3 surgeons, oncologists & others who review all the data, the main surgeon’s opinion & either affirms it or makes another recommendation.

This is what we know right now.

1. The cancer is a high grade, aggressively invasive ductal carcinoma
2. It is isolated to the left side & is not present in the right.
3. Lymph nodes all appear normal at this time. Final determination on this will not be until during the surgery. For them to appear normal right now is extremely good news.
4. CAT & Bone Scans will be ordered & taken this week to ensure that the cancer is indeed localized & not spread to any other areas.
5. Should (4) be negative then the surgery will be scheduled consisting of a right mastectomy.
6. It has been decided that a bilateral surgery not be done at this time to aid in the short term healing & to help better cope with the after treatment.
7. Surgery should be scheduled tomorrow night or Wednesday & the operation should occur within the next two weeks.
8. They stated that recovery time is dependent on the individual but should be between 2.5-4 weeks.
9. At this point the treatment after will consist of approx 4 months of chemotherapy. The frequency during this time is approx every 2-3 weeks.
10. Radiation will not be necessary unless (4) is positive

Of course all this is only what we know at this point. Things could change after the “2nd opinion” clinic meeting tomorrow but so far this is the way things are tracking. We are positive that things are as good as they can be at this point in the journey so all the prayers are working.

Thank you for all the support, well wishes & prayers. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts & prayers.

Sincerely,

Shane Higginbotham



The next day we spent 4 hours with Oncologist, Surgeons, Radiation Oncologist, Nutrition, Genetics, & Social Workers getting an overall second opinion and finding out more about the type of cancer that I have.



I now know that I am ER & PR + Which means that the Estrogen and Progestrone are positive. I am also HER2 + which is good and bad. Bad because it is a serious cancer but good because they have a new drug called Herceptain that treats it very well.



We also decided after our meeting that it would be better to do the Chemotherapy first. For a few reasons:
1. They will be able to physically tell that the chemo is working on the tumors (3).
2. It will give them a baseline to work off of and if it totally shrinks the tumors then my prognosis percentage goes way up.
3. This will also prolong me having to have the one breast removed.

So we have decided that this is the best route to go and discussed it with our surgeon and he agrees. Dr. Turk wants to start chemo treatment immediately. I have to have a CAT Scan & a Bone Scan so that they can verify that the cancer has not spread. So I will probably start chemo next week. I meet with our oncologist tomorrow on Friday @ 1:30pm. Then I will have a chemo teaching class for more information the first of next week then chemo.

So I am sitting here at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte. I went this morning and had the injection and IV put in for the bone scan and CAT Scan. They injected me with the radioactive material for the bone scan. Now I have to wait 3 hours. So I am sitting in CAT area drinking this powdered Tang tasting mess. The first one isn't so bad but you have to drink about 5 cups of it in 1 hour. YUCK!!!
I am done with the CAT Scan and was finally able to eat. The tracer they injected into my IV for the CAT scan made me a little nauseous on the table. So I got a snack of peanut butter pretzels, almonds & a Sprite. Now waiting for the bone scan that will be in 1 1/2 hours.
That Tang mess is not setting well on my stomach at all. Oh Well only 10 more minutes till the bone scan.
I had the bone scan and everything looks good as far as they can tell. I will have the results tomorrow at Dr. Lementani Office @ 1:30pm.
Well I am going to sign out for the day.
Love to all,
Rachael