Merry Christmas!

We had a very nice Christmas this year! The kids got a lot of toys and we are still working our way through opening and playing with all the new toys!

Celia was particularly excited for Christmas this year. She totally gets the Santa Claus thing!
Santa came to our neighborhood this year (as he does every year). He comes in a firetruck to the Gazebo at the park. All the young kids in the neighborhood love it! Celia spent time before he came, writing her Christmas list. Half the 8x10 page was hers and the other half was CJs. She brought it with her to visit Santa. Handed the list to him and had him read it all! Then she asked him to keep it, in case he forgot! Too cute! Let's me just say - she did not get everything on her list from Santa this year (that would be impossible, she circled every item in every catalogue - thinking that was "ordering"). She claimed all December - "I ordered "xxxx" from Santa!"

I was nervous she would be disappointed - but she's forgotten that she did not get everything she "ordered".

CJ, on the other hand, can't be bothered with opening presents. He just wants to play with the already opened ones, or play with his sister's. Celia opened most of CJ's gifts. He it thrilled with all of his trucks, trucks and more trucks.....some motorcycles and more trucks!

Here's a picture of them with Santa.................
Here's some pix of the decorating of the Christmas tree (it happened twice - the tree fell over once!)..............................

Very Exciting News!

Christy's Crew received very exciting news yesterday! We have officially teamed up with The Iron Butterfly. They will be our official training center for the Walk in Washington DC in May. They have offered a free membership from now until May for each Christy's Crew member. As well, they are giving us a personal training to work out with as a group once per week and he will put a training plan together for each individual. In addition, Robyn Chase (co-owner of the Iron butterfly) is joining Chrisy's Crew! This is all sooooooo cool!

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. In addition, the Crew, has given me 20 personal training sessions with my own personal trainer at the Iron Butterfly! This was exactly what I wanted for Christmas. Having put my body through all that I have, I knew I was going to need to work extra hard to get my body back into shape! This is exactly what I needed!

I know that my breast cancer has touched so many lives. I hope that this gift from the IronButterfly helps positively touch the lives of all the crew members. I am hoping is brings us to the next phase, next level of our life reconstruction process. So many members joined the crew first because they wanted to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer, but secondly they wanted motivation to get into shape! Here is our golden opportunity!

In addition - the Iron Butterfly would like to video the process as part of a documentary! They will also video tape the walk in DC in May! This is also so great! The documentary, along with my blog, will someday help so many women fighting this same battle and will hopefully help to motivate these women to fight and win the battle!

Thank You Crew and the Iron Butterfly!

Go Crew!

Here is a link to Kristin's post regarding this opportunity Kristins Blog

One more drain out

Bummer - I had hoped to get my last 2 drains out this morning at my appointment with Dr. Frankel. But, I had a feeling that was not going to happen. The left drain is still getting blood in it (as opposed to pinkish, clear fluid) and is still draining about 40cc per day. I tried to do absolutely NOTHING this weekend to make the draining stop so that I could get the drains out this morning. It worked for the right drain. Not for the left. So - I still have one drain in! I now have a sling for my left arm so that I cannot use it. I need to use it as little as possible in order for the bleeding to stop. I go back Friday morning and hopefully I get the last drain out and another fill.

No fill today either - since I still had the blood in the drain.

Dr. Frankel is going to rapid fill me - since she says I cannot have the expander in while doing radiation. she wants the permanent implants in for radiation and says there will be little effect of radiation on the new implants. So - this means we need to fill me quickly so that radiation can start. Good thing she has already filled me twice while in the hospital so I will only need 1 o 2 more fills to be done.

Other bad news - I can't shower since I still have a drain in! I am bummed about this! I was REALLY looking forward to a nice shower. So - it will have to be more sponge baths for a few more days! Thanks nurse, Jamie! Good thing - I don't have enough hair on my head to worry about washing that! If I had hair - this would really be a problem! Gotta love being bald!

Dr. Yurinec agrees

Dr. Yurinec, my oncologist, agrees with Dr. Caldwell and his recommendation to do radiation as well. For 2 reasons, 1) my original tumor was large and 2) it was in multiple lymph nodes. Even though I have clean margins (would be the third reason to pursue radiation).

Dr. Yurinec thinks that radiation will kill any additional microscopic cells in the local area and Tamoxifen (a pill I will take every day starting next week) will act as an estrogen receptor inhibitor. Basically, this means that Tamoxifen acts like estrogen fitting into any abnormal cells hence blocking estrogen to fit into those cells which is what allows the cancer to grow, and multiply (in my case, given my tumor was estrogen and progesterone positive). So - Tamoxifen also gives me longevity of life.......... not allowing any abnormal cells to grow and replicate and even killing off those cells because they are not fed. Tamoxifen has proven very effective in preventing re-currance of breast cancer in women who are pre-menopausal. There are many drugs out there for women who are post0-menopausal that behave the same way.

Next steps - I still need to get the results from pathology on whether I am Her2 +..........I guess they did the test but did not put it into the pathology report. this is a surprise to me. I had thought that I was out of this woods and that they did the Her2 test with the core biopsy way back in the beginning. But, I guess that the core biopsy does not get enough tissue to do this test, so surgery pathology is the one that determines her2. If I am her2 - it means almost a year of IV drug (not chemo) - every week. It does not affect a person like chemo (won't lose my hair or anything like that) and is an in/out process - approx 1 hour every week. I have met MANY women at Pluta who are Her2. So - it will be disappointing if I am Her2+ because it will be a year of more treatment. but, still much easier than the AC and Taxol chemo I already had! I will get these results some time next week - let's hope I am her2 negative.

On Jan 9 - I have an appointment with the radiation oncologist at Pluta. She will determine whether she thinks radiation will be of any benefit to me. Based on Dr. Caldwell and Dr. Yurinec, I am guessing she will have the same answer - do it for insurance purposes. From there I will know when I start radiation.

On Dec 24 - I have an appt with Dr. Frankel my plastic surgeon - hoping for the drains to come out and another fill of the new boobs.

An article on benefits of radiation

It took me no time to find one quick article published by the American Cancer Society on the benefits of adding radiation therapy as treatment for breast cancer...............

Here is one of many..............ACS article
National Cancer Institute
breastcancer.org

Pathology Results

I saw Dr. Caldwell yesterday and my pathology results are back from the surgery. It's good news......

They had clean margins from the surgery - basically this means that there were no cancer cells found in the breast tissue within a certain percentage of the chest wall. When a person gets clean margins - it means that the docs are confident that they got all the stray cancer cells in the breast out with surgery. This is good news fro me. fundamentally, meaning that I am probably cancer free right now.

My left breast was completely cancer free. My right breast did have some cancer cells in it still (obviously removed during surgery) but what was left was tiny compared to what I had started with. The original 5cm tumor was reduced to a few groups of cells ranging rm 2mm - 7 mm in size. So- as we suspected, chemo killed most of the tumor and what it did not kill - we removed with surgery. This is why there are multiple steps in beating cancer - chemo, surgery, radiation, tamoxifen - all of these combined is what helps secure life longevity.

So - I am thrilled with these results! Hearing this - I thought I would not have to do radiation next. And, I don't have to. Dr. Caldwell does recommend, however, that I do radiation anyway - as an insurance policy. He said that there are "some studies" that show that doing radiation after a mastectomy does increase life longevity. He thinks that since I am still so young - this insurance policy is worth it!

I, have been hoping to hear that this surgery was the end of my journey - so, this is a little disappointing (yet not completely unexpected). I would prefer not to have to do radiation. But, it's hard to argue with giving myself extra insurance that this will NEVER come back! I've come this far, done this well, I might as well suck it up - do the rads and be done, knowing I did everything I could possibly do to fight this!

First next step - I will be seeing Dr. Yurinec today (my oncologist) and will get his opinion on the subject. I will learn more about radiation, how it works, the benefits and cons, etc. I will also research for the "studies" to identify how much it decreases my odds of recurrence. Like every other step - I will research until I feel comfortable enough to make a final decision. More to come on this.................


Also - yesterday was an outstanding day for me. I feel like I have my normal energy level back, need only Advil for pain, my movement is much better and Dr. Caldwell took 2 of 4 drains out yesterday (woo hoo!). So - I think - day 8 after surgery, I am finally pulling out of the surgery funk and feeling much more myself! That is also a huge relief for me! It was a long week after surgery.

1 week ago

Exactly 1 week ago I went in for my ass kickin' mastectomy!
It was intended to put the final nail in the coffin of my cancer! I hope it did (I don't have final pathology reports back, yet). What I did find is that this surgery not only kicked my cancer's ass - it kicked my ass!

I guess, since Chemo went so smoothly for me, I figured surgery would be a piece of cake - I knew it would be painful - but I thought a week out, I would be feeling no more pain. hmmmmmmmm what was I thinking? I was wrong. No, don't get me wrong - the pain is manageable with a vicadin. The other day I started getting nauseous from the vicadin, so now I am taking some of my leftover anti-nausea meds from chemo with a vicadin. That seems to be working.

Mostly, my pec muscles are very stiff and tight and I am not allowed to lift or raise my arms over my head. Getting in and out of bed is tough. And sitting around is boring. Not to mention frustrating, because, so much can be done around the house - especially with the kids!

My Mom just left yesterday. Having her here was a huge help to Jamie and I. She was able to take care of the kids while Jamie took care of me, or I napped, or Jamie did his chocolate business. Today is our first day in the house without a 3rd adult, and CJ already broke a large Christmas snow globe on the carpet (it's 7:30am)! I swear, the child gets in trouble even when trying not to!

Tomorrow I see Dr. Caldwell. I am really hoping he takes 2 drains out! The drainage has slowed down considerably in all 4 drains. But 2 are not draining at all, 1 is almost done draining and the last one still has about 25cc each day and night.

Friday I see Dr. Yurinec - hopefully get the pathology reports back then!

Also - today I get to leave the house! Yeah!
Celia has her school Holiday sing-along this afternoon. She is very excited that we are coming! We also have Santa Claus arriving at our neighborhood park tonight for a photo fest! And a chance for the kids to sit on his lap.

Tomorrow - I have my Dr. Caldwell appt. and then I will head up to Webster for a Christy's Crew fundraiser at the Webster Barnes and Noble. We are wrapping books, etc for the shoppers for donations to Christy's Crew. Please come up to Barnes' and Noble in Webster to give a donation tomorrow! I will only be there for an hour or so - and trust me, you don't want me to wrap any present for you! I am the worst wrapper ever! But, my crew members will take good care of the customers!

Sunday - Day 4 after surgery

Things are going fine. I am up early this morning because I am tired of laying in on my back in my bed. I can't roll over to either side because rolling hurts. So, I sleep on my back.

The pain is not bad as long as I keep up with my pain melds. I am going to try to switch to one vicadin every 4 hours instead of 2 every four hours. I did that this morning and have little to no pain right now.

I slept a lot yesterday so that should help my healing process and I am sleeping well at night.

We are emptying the drainage tubes twice a day. A couple are already draining very little but there are 2 others that are draining more. Not a ton, nothing to be concerned about, just draining more than the others. It would be nice to get these tubes out of me - they are definitely the biggest hassle right now. Hopefully, early this week I will get one on each side removed. But, I am under strict instructions by Dr. Frankel to leave one tube on each side in until I see her on Christmas Eve morning - this means - another 7 days of these! Yuck! She wants to make sure all fluid is out when I get back to her so she can fill me again.

That's all for now...............

Christy

Home

I am home today. I got home around 1pm. It feels good to be home - mainly because I am tired of being stuck by people with attempts to draw my blood to check my red cell counts.

My red cell counts are still low - even after the additional 2 bags of blood they gave me. They are 27 - under 30 is considered anemic. When I was halfway through chemotherapy, my counts dropped to 28 and I felt fine. But I am definitely tired now. I am sure this is due to a combo of things - pain killers, low red cell counts, and just having had major surgery!

My chest area is definitely sore - especially after moving around. As well, my left hand is very sore where my IV needle was.

Right now - I am just focusing on resting and drinking a lot of water. It is hard for the kids and dogs to understand that they cannot jump on me - but we are working through this.

I also have to empty my drains (I have 2 drains on each side). These are designed to pull extra blood and bodily fluid from the operation site to alleviate any swelling, internal bleeding etc. They are not painful to have in, but are awkward as they drain into 4 tangerine size bulbs that just are pinned to my clothes. I will have these until Christmas Eve, per my plastic surgeon.

Lastly - my plastic surgeon - Dr. Frankel, was able to put more saline into my expander's yesterday. So, I am already about a B cup. She did this to add pressure inside to alleviate some of the excessive bleeding I was experiencing. It seems to have helped, because I am now draining normal amounts of fluid. And this also means that I am more then halfway done with the expansion process! Too cool!

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes!

Christy

Day after surgery

Turns out morphine makes me sick. We figured out in the middle of the night that it was the morphine making me puke versus the anesthesia so now I am off the morphine and am just on vicadin for pain. As long as I stay on the pain meds, I don't feel very much pain. I am not walking anymore right now, am on bed rest again due to the fact that my red cell counts are down to 24 which means that I am extremely anemic. I have lost a lot of blood out of my drain, so now I am having a transfusion to rectify that. I have learned how to pee in a bed pan ... well mostly in the pan. Hope to be up walking soon after receiving 2 bags of blood. Keep the well wishes coming.

It's all Good

Hey, It's Jamie. Here is a quick update before I pass out for the night. Christy is doing great. She did experience some nausea, but once the anesthesia wore off that seems to have gone away. The Nurses eventually had her up walking, and they were surprised, how well she did. Who here is not Surprised ??? We all know Christy is Supergirl/Bionic Woman all in one.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers and keeping up with our blog.

Peace

J

Kicked Cancers Ass

Christy is out of Surgery. Everything went very well. She is currently in recovery and is very groggy. The procedure began at about 8:15 am with the surgeon taking about two hours to remove breasts and the reconstruction portion ending about 1pm. She opened her eyes and was happy to see the sun shining. Many more sunny days to come. She is at Highland Hospital, and could be home as early as tommorrow, probably Friday though. As I said back in July, this was just a glitch along the way, a little blip on the radar. Christy amazes me everyday, along with many countless others. My wife is a kick ass cancer survivor, and Celia, CJ and I love her with all our hearts.

J

First surgery of the day

I have to be at the hospital at 6am tomorrow for the first surgery of the day!
I will probably be in surgery around 8am and out by Noon. Jamie will post (if he can get wi fi at the hospital) when I am out of surgery.

Send your thoughts and prayers our way for a successful surgery!

I have a special shirt to wear tomorrow. A friend of mine, Shari McGrain, sent a Brother Wease shirt along to me. It was given to her as she was getting ready for her mastectomy. It is a survivor shirt and says Kick Cancer's Ass. She is the third survivor to wear it. I will be the fourth! And will pass it along to another survivor during her battle.

Here's to a great day tomorrow!

Christy

Ummmmm Chocolate......

For those of you wondering, I am still making Chocolate for the Holiday Season. I'll have the usual specialties, such as Milk Chocolate Almond Bark and Pretzels. Check out my web site for more info.

You'll also find my Mom's, Mary Palmiere's Handmade Lion Suede Ponchos for sale. She has them for sale while they last.

Niagara Falls Trip

This post is late, but here are some pix of our Niagara Falls Trip with my bro, Keith.
This was really a fun little day trip. It was cold there - REALLY cold! But - there were no lines, very few tourists and the town of Niagara Falls, Canada had all their Christmas lights up. It is a trip I recommend anyone take in the winter.

Keith had never seen the falls and of course, it was the first time Celia and CJ had seen the falls! We went into the tunnels (well worth the $15 per person), but in the winter the Maid of the Mist boat ride isn't running - bummer.

Keith was very impressed with the falls (who isn't really?).

Everythings a go for surgery

Updates from this week's round of doctors: Jackie Rayburn- just stop reading now! (note to others: my sister is VERY freaked out by my surgery - she is a bit of a hypochondriac)

It's been a busy doctor visit week - I have so many doctors! And still one more to see - my plastic surgeon on Tuesday.

Everything is a go for surgery.
My white cell counts are high enough to have surgery. This was tested at Pluta. Dr. Yurinec said they are low for a normal person not having received chemo - but high enough to have been treated with chemo and high enough for surgery. And that was the count 1 week before surgery. The reason the surgeon waits 4-6 weeks after the last chemo treatment to do surgery is to ensure the white cell counts are high enough to fight off infection if I get one.

The nurse practitioner at Pluta cannot even tell the difference from one breast to the next as far as my lump goes. No kidding - I don't know if anything is even there anymore. She even asked me if I could feel it? I said no.

I have my next appointment with Dr. Yurinec on Dec 21 once the pathology reports come back from surgery. The pathology reports will help determine if I need to have radiation after surgery. This would happened if they find cancer cells that are too close to the chest wall (where it become difficult to guarantee that they got all cancer cells removed during surgery). So, radiation will kill the rest of those cells if there are any. I am hoping for no radiation, but if they recommend it, I will do it! We will also discuss when I go on Tamoxofin (the chemo pill that estrogen positive breast cancer patients take for 5 years).

I also saw the nurse practitioner, Vicki Nugent, at my surgeons office this week. She, too, was so impressed with how well the chemo worked for me! She could not feel any lump or any difference in either breast. She said - that is a real testament that the chemo killed my cancer. She also said that not everyone gets that kind of response from the chemo. And that the reason that there is not 100% cure of breast Cancer with chemo is that chemo does not work for everyone. It obviously worked for me! I am so glad - and it does work for 90% of the people with breast cancer (thank God!).

I have a follow-up with them on January 5.

I will call Highland on Tuesday to find out my surgery time on Wednesday. The surgery will take about 4 hours. I will be in the hospital for approx 2-3 days depending on how I am feeling. I don't know the total recovery time (time out of work). The plastic surgeon will be the one caring for me post-surgery so she will give my my post-surgery instructions.

That's all the surgery update that I have.

Holiday Greetings

Click here for a very special message from our family to yours

Grandpa and Grandma Elf too

Surgery Prep

I am in my rounds of doctors visits prepping for surgery.
Yesterday was my pre-screening at Highland Hospital - blood work, forms, private vs. semi-private room (I chose private and will pay $40 per night for that - I think that's worth it!), and an EKG at my request. Normally, they don't require an EKG for women under 50 or men under 40 before surgery. I asked for it since, chemo can put strain on your heart - so I wanted to make sure it was OK. It is. My heart is fine (just cannot be too cautious - a little hypochondriac possibly).

Today is my visit to Dr. Yurinec, my oncologist at Pluta. Just more blood work and a check-up. I can't wait to see Gaile - it's been 3 weeks! Feels weird not to have seen her. I will even drive through a foot of snow to get to Pluta this morning. Kid you not - we are in a winter snow warning until midnight tonight. With probably 8 inches on the ground now and it's still snowing.

Tomorrow, I see Dr. Caldwell, my general surgeon - again to go over the surgery etc.........

In addition - we are really busy prepping for surgery, preparing for Christmas, shoveling snow (hee hee) and at work I have been in workshops for 2 weeks getting ready to install a new supply chain planning system. So, life has been hectic lately!

I look forward to having my surgery and getting it done - but being at home for 4-6 weeks has me a little nervous. What will I do? I think CJ will drive me nuts (he is still a complete wild maniac!). At least we have the Christmas holiday to occupy us. And hopefully, the snow stays - that keeps everyone entertained!

Oh yah - I do have more hair growth. Still sparse, and very white! But more growth!