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Metastatic Breast Cancer – The Good and the Bad
Ah, breast cancer. Just when you think you have it beat, it sneaks back up on you in the form of metastatic breast cancer or MBC. It’s the surprise that no one wants, and it rarely actually involved the breast, like the name would imply. Instead it refers to a recurrence of the initial diagnosis that has spread to other parts of the body. For me, my initial triple positive breast cancer has spread to my brain, liver, and bones. While brain and liver mets are no picnic, bone cancer is a constant struggle. Constant infusions and treatments to support the body’s natural bone building process, while at the same…
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Cancer Scan Anxiety – Do I Really Want to Know?
Cancer scans are a standard part of the cancer journey. Tests done to determine the cancers location and whether or not it has spread to other areas of the body. Prior to my first cancer diagnosis, I had never been in an MRI or PET scan machine, and somewhere along the way I had developed a somewhat irrational fear of the MRI machine. Maybe it’s the loud noises the machine makes, or the fact that your body is slid into a tube. I’ve never been one to identify as claustrophobic, but just the mear thought of these machines made me want to run screaming in the other direction. I know…
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Surviving Stage 4 Cancer – A Battle For My Life
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. With the close of 2019, and arrival of 2020, life finally started to fall into place. Lingering side effects from medications were starting to fade, allowing me to finally focus on things other than cancer. Until life had other ideas and a routine checkup left me in a battling for my life and the steps necessary for surviving stage 4 cancer. Bye Bye Ovaries: After completing the last of my breast cancer treatments in 2017, I was still on two medications, the Zoladex shot which was designed to keep me in a chemically induced menopause and…
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The Face Makeup Debate – Instagram Chic VS Natural Beauty
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. As I work my way through my backlog of magazines, having successfully made it to September 2017, I came across the “She’s Like A Rainbow” article in Elle magazine, discussing the ever constant face makeup debate. The article discussed both sides of the makeup debate, exploring the reasoning behind why some choose to go all out with their makeup repertoire, while others choose to let their natural beauty shine through. After reading this article, I am reminded of the time when I dealt with the ever dreadful chemo rash. This rash manifested itself with a few…
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My Journey with Nerlynx (Neratinib)
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. My Breast Cancer journey has not been an easy one. Six rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, 5 weeks of radiation, finishing out one year with Herceptin, a Her2 targeted medication, and then reconstruction surgery. To say that my body was a little worse for wear would be an understatement. When I finished my Herceptin treatments in September 2017, I was happy to have finally reached the end of all my treatments, so I could finally focus on getting back to normal life. Whatever my new normal would be. My Breast Cancer Type: As if being…
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The Zoladex Shot – How I Detest You So
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. Once every 28 days I have to make a visit to my Oncologist for my “stab in the gut”, as I jokingly refer to it, otherwise known as my monthly Zoladex shot. While this injection is a necessary task needed to keep me in chemically induced menopause, it is next to impossible to find a nurse in the office that actually likes giving this shot. You see, the Zoladex shot is an extended release capsule that is injected near the belly button, hence my references to being stabbed in the gut, because that is pretty much…
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Healing After Cancer – It Will Take Longer Than You May Think
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. There are multiple stages to your cancer journey. The diagnosis, treatment, and the longest stage by far is healing after cancer. During the treatment phase, your primary focus becomes beating this horrible disease. You are aware of the potential side effects, but you do your best to block them out, so you can make it through and ring that bell as a survivor. What you do not realize is the effect that a year’s worth of treatment can have on your body. As I woke up this morning, I am sore in places that I never…
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Life After Cancer Treatment – Embracing Your New “Normal”
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. Life after Cancer is anything but easy. Treatments have taken a serious toll on your body, both mentally and physically, with side effects that linger long after treatment has ended. I was diagnosed in September of 2016, and while my treatments and two surgeries seemed to go by in a blur, they were not without anger, frustration, and sadness as every day was a constant struggle to adjust to what my new “normal” would be. There would be days where I barely had enough energy to get out of bed, others where I was in so…
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You Are A Breast Cancer Survivor
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. In every cancer battle, there are three simple words that every patient longs to hear, “You’re a Breast Cancer Survivor“. Cancer patients go through a wide range of treatments, like chemo, radiation, surgery and hormonal therapies. While these treatments are designed to kill the cancer while also preventing recurrence, it should come as no surprise that being told you’re a survivor is cause for celebration, as it means you survived the battles others did not. Cancer is a Four-Letter Word: Long before my personal Breast Cancer battle, my father’s diagnosis of metastatic Pancreatic Cancer in 2015…
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Life As A Breast Cancer Survivor – Adjusting To My New “Normal”
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. See my Affiliate Disclosure to learn more. When I started my Breast Cancer journey, I did it with the ultimate goal of hearing three simple words, you’re a Breast Cancer Survivor. While surviving this disease is a feat in and of itself, no one can truly tell you how difficult the journey will be to identifying and adjusting to what will be your “new normal.” I Was In Denial: Although all the signs pointed to cancer, I was adamant until the very end that everyone had to be wrong, and it could not be possible that the lump in my breast could be…
