Jessica's Journey

 MRI DAY Today I had my follow up MRI of my breasts.  I have completed five months of chemotherapy...FIVE MONTHS!  It hasn't been easy but I gave it all to God and pushed through.  I have one more round of chemotherapy set for this week and then I'll be finished with chemo!  My oncologist ordered the MRI so we can see what the chemo has done.  The table was of course uncomfortable but I knew it had to be done so I didn't move a muscle during the procedure.  They gave me some music to listen to this time so that helped.  I should get results in two to three days.  Please continue to keep me in your prayers and let's pray this chemo has done it's job and kicked cancer in the behind!  

  AC TREATMENT #3 I had my third AC treatment on Thursday.  My troponin level is rising so that's currently a concern for my oncologist.  Troponin testing is used to detect heart damage.  Unfortunately, red devil chemo can cause heart toxicity, which is what we are trying to avoid.  They did an ECG on me prior to giving me the infusion just to make sure things looked ok.  They cleared me for my third treatment.  My oncologist wants to run a few more tests such as another echocardiogram on my heart before my fourth AC treatment in order to decide if I'll be given that last treatment or not.  It's a possibility they will skip the last one, but I won't know just yet.  He said he wasn't worried if I had to miss the last one.  At this point we just want to be safe about how my body is handling this tough chemotherapy.  Please say a prayer for good results on all my testing.  

 AC Treatment #2 I had my second AC treatment on Thursday.  The biggest hiccup this time was accessing my port.  The nurses couldn't get it to flush properly.  They tried a second time to access the port.  They ended up putting a clot busting medication into my port and leaving it there for thirty min to see if that was the problem.  It flushed after that, but still not well.  They decided to access my port for a THIRD time.  This time they used a larger needle and it worked perfectly!  The infusion went well.  It was also a keytruda day for me so we were there a little longer. So far I've been handling these rounds of treatment fairly well.  The biggest thing I've dealt with is fatigue and weakness.  Please keep praying for me as I continue on this journey.    

 CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT #12 I got so nervous, anticipating my first AC treatment that I forgot to even post about last week's victory!  I completed my twelfth treatment of twelve!  It was a big day for me.  Everything was great and I also received my keytruda treatment that day as well.  Once again, I want to thank each one of you for all your prayers and support throughout this journey.  

  AC TREATMENT #1 I had my first AC treatment today.  AC stands for Adriamycin/Cyclophosphamide, two different chemo drugs.  The Adriamycin is the one I've been most afraid of.  It's commonly known as red devil chemo....mainly for its color and extremely harsh side effects.  I faced my fear today and everything went very well during the infusion.  Now I wait.  I'll be going every two weeks for this particular chemo treatment, as it takes that long for my body to recover in between.  They also placed a device on the back of my arm that will deliver an injection approximately 27 hours after my chemo.  It will inject a medication that will stimulate my bone marrow to produce more white blood cells.  This is in place so my counts don't get too low.  I'm so happy to have the first one completed.  Only three more to go!

 CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 11 Yesterday was week 11 for my chemo infusion!  Only one more week to go during this phase of chemotherapy.  I was there for about three hours BEFORE they even took me down to get my infusion.  Needless to say, it was a long day.  We waited on labs for quite a while but my counts looked good enough to receive treatment.  Praise God.  I also got to see my oncologist yesterday.  He is pleased with how things are going with me.  A pharmacist also came in to educate me on my next phase of chemotherapy.  (red devil phase)  I will be going straight into that phase as soon as I finish treatment number twelve next week.  Please keep me in your prayers as it will be much harder on my body than the current treatment I'm on.  Thank you all so much for the continued prayers.  God is listening and He is answering!  

 CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 10 I'm getting behind on my entries!  Week 10 went very well, no issues during my infusion.  However, the week at home was much more rough on me than usual.  I had extreme fatigue and weakness.  I have grown to expect the fatigue because it happens every week.  But I had much more this past week.  I don't think I was drinking enough fluids.  I'll definitely be pushing the fluids after treatment 11.  On a positive note, someone sent me an extremely lush blanket this week, which was perfect timing since I was in the bed a lot.  I'm still amazed at the generosity of everyone, even strangers who don't personally know me.  I'm very blessed.  

  CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 9 Today was treatment #9!  Only three more to go with this phase of chemotherapy.  I'll then begin the next phase, consisting of eight more weeks of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.  Today was a smooth day.  I got to see my oncologist today.  He is pleased with how things are going.  He discussed setting up an MRI sometime after this first phase of treatment.  We will be checking to see how well my tumor has responded to the chemotherapy and immunotherapy thus far.  Fingers crossed that it has shrunk, or even disappeared!  Every day of this journey is a mental battle.  No one prepared me for how difficult this would be on my mental state.  It's a constant rollercoaster of emotions...worry, fear, dread, hopelessness, anger, sadness, but also hopefulness, empowerment, strength, resilience, motivation, drive, and determination.  I try every day to focus on the positives.  It's not always easy and I hav...

 CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 8 Well today was treatment number eight for me…Eight of twelve!  I’ll then be moving on to my second phase of chemotherapy.  It will last an additional eight weeks. I was nervous, as usual, today. However, my blood counts were looking really good!   I’ve really been eating and drinking lots of protein as well as eating lots of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Maybe that helped. I was successfully able to receive treatment today.  I love all my nurses at Brown Cancer Center.  They are so supportive and they sit back and wait patiently along with me for my lab work to return.  They are all cheering when it’s good enough to receive treatment.  We’re a team. So now is the fun part, the side effects.  I’ll have many days of fatigue and muscle aches ahead of me.  By Wednesday I’m usually feeling much better…just to turn around on Thursday to start over again. Oh well.  It’s all part of the battle. I never get...

  CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 7     Finally!  It's been a long couple of weeks waiting for this treatment.  I had to miss two Thursdays of my chemo treatment due to my white blood cell count being too low.  They told me I had to just allow my body to build them up.  I tried to get as much rest as possible and eat lots of protein and berries.  I went in there yesterday with my fingers crossed that I would receive good lab results.  With lots of prayer, I did!  I was able to receive my treatment yesterday!  However, my oncologist made a change with my chemo medications; he withheld one of them and will likely withhold it for the remaining five treatments.  Does this scare me?  Yes!  My mind races and wonders if one chemo drug will be enough to fight this aggressive monster inside me.  The thing that keeps me uplifted is knowing that after these last five treatments, I'll be beginning a new set of chemo medications that are m...

  CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 6 Today was my sixth treatment!  This entry will be short and sweet because everything went so good.  My port access didn't give us any trouble and my medications didn't cause any reactions.  It was a good day!  We were there for around five hours.  We're home now and gonna take a nap.  I also received the cutest wig from the Brown Cancer Resource  Center.  It's adorable and I love it!

  CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 5 Today was my fifth week for chemotherapy.  FIFTH!  Moving right along.  The infusions were so smooth today and I'm so very thankful for that.  My port gave the nurse a little trouble again.  They're telling me my port is a little deeper than usual and they are having to get different needles to use with it.  It's still a standard port needle, just a bit longer.  Other than that, things went well.  I was very tired during chemo today, due to the Benadryl.  I dozed off and on.  David said I was snoring at one point.  I was very comfortable.  We are back home and resting now.  My legs are doing something they've never done before.  They feel weak when I try to walk.  I'm going to just ride it out and see how I feel tomorrow.  Afterall, my body has been pumped essentially with poison today.  I hate to use that word because I know it's there to kill the cancer, but it's also killin...

  HEAD SHAVING DAY Today marks a pivotal day for me on my journey.  I made the very difficult decision to shave my hair off.  It was time.  My hair has been falling out by the handfuls.  As a woman, losing your hair is such an emotional thing to have happen.  There are certain things in life that define who we are as women and our hair is definitely one of those things.  I decided to let my husband shave my hair off.  It was just the two of us, as I wasn't ready for it to be a family matter.  It was something very private for me.  Yes, I shed some tears.  Tears for what was happening.  Tears for why it was happening.  Tears of grief.  Tears of pride.  Tears for my husband.  The emotional side of losing my hair during all this is definitely overwhelming.  However, as I said before, I'm ok with it.  It is part of the process.  It is temporary and it will grow back.  I will continue to push ...

 Bye Bye, Hair Well, the time has come.  My hair just keeps falling out every time I touch it.  I'm leaving little trails of my hair all over the place.  Am I sad?  Of course.  However, this is temporary.  Losing my hair is minor when it comes to fighting for my life.  When a person is faced with losing something so precious as life itself, it changes your mindset.  My eyes have been opened.  I cherish every minute of every day, and I find myself really taking in whatever is happening all around me.  Life is so short and so precious, and it can change in a minute.  I never expected to find myself in this place in my life.  But here I am.  Fighting to live.  Fighting this scary thing called cancer.  They say you don't know how strong you are until strong is all you have.  That is so true.  I've been thrown into this situation, and I must be strong to push through it.  I intend to give it everyt...

  CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 4 I had my fourth chemotherapy infusion on Thursday.  I was really anxious about it because it was also my immunotherapy day.  I receive Keytruda every three weeks for my immunotherapy and I always get nervous wondering how my body will respond to treatment each time.  I prayed to God to give all my worries to Him and to feel calm.  He answered!  I had a great infusion and felt very calm and relaxed the whole time.  The only hiccup this time was accessing my port.  They had to access it twice due to the first time not being in there correctly.  I'm thankful to have another week crossed off my journey!  Another punch thrown!  Side effects have been minimal so far this time and I hope it continues to stay that way.  

 CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK 3 Well today was my third infusion!  One more punch I got to throw at this cancer.  We arrived at 10:30 for my appointment.  We were there for over five hours.  It was a long day.  Everything seemed to go well though.  However, I did have the same reaction today as last week when they started to infuse the Taxol.  I got really hot and my heart rate was climbing.  They stopped the medication drip until my symptoms subsided.  They decided to do a slower drip with the Taxol.  Instead of the infusion taking one hour, they increased it to two hours.  That seemed to work just fine.  My symptoms were gone and I tolerated it well.  The Carbo infusion took about thirty minutes with no problems.  We were very glad to get home today.  Thank you to those who read my blog and stay updated.  I appreciate all your prayers, your support, and your love!  

 RESULTS DAY! Whew, has it been a long, excruciating weekend waiting for test results from my full body bone scan and CT.  I'm so happy to share the great news with everyone that my scans (according to the results in my chart) look clear of any metastatic disease!  My CT impression stated:  no findings to suggest metastatic disease in the chest, abdomen, or pelvis.  My bone scan stated:  Whole-body bone scan is negative for skeletal metastases.  This means my cancer is still contained to my left breast.  Praise the Lord!  God is so good!  I'm so grateful for this news today.  

  BONE SCAN DAY Today I had my bone scan and CT scan.  I had to be there for my appointment at Jewish around 10:30.  They got me right back and started my IV to inject the radioactive tracer into me.  I had to wait 3 hours for the tracer to absorb into my bones before they could take my images.  Both scans went very well and I was on my way home.  It was a good day.  The worst part is now the waiting.  Waiting for results of the scans.  Everyone keep me in your prayers and pray for clear results on my scans.  

  CHEMOTHERAPY WEEK #2 Today was the second week of my Carbo/Taxol chemotherapy treatment.  In general, everything went as expected.  I was anxious, as always.  The team at Brown Cancer Center is wonderful.  They all helped ease my mind before we began.  First they got labs from me and we had to wait for those to clear.  They gave me pre-meds through my port, which consists of an anti-nausea medication, a steroid, Benadryl, and Pepcid.  I didn't have to have any Keytruda today, as I get that infusion every 3 weeks.  I had a minor hiccup when they started infusing the first chemotherapy drug.  They told me in the beginning to tell them if anything felt strange or different once we began.  I started feeling very hot in my head and neck and my heart rate began to climb.  I got my nurse and immediately she, along with three other nurses, came to my side.  They stopped the medication and took my vitals.  They watched me fo...

CHEMOTHERAPY DAY 1 Today was my first day of chemo.  I've been so anxious about this appointment because I didn't know how my body would react to it.  Luckily they gave lots of pre-medications.  I was given a very strong anti-nausea medication through my port, as well as a steroid and a strong dose of Benadryl.  The Benadryl caused me to feel very sleepy.  This actually helped with my anxiety.  Today begins a 12 week treatment with two different chemo drugs, along with Keytruda.  I'll be on Keytruda every 3 weeks for the next year for my immunotherapy.  I will be coming for treatment oncer per week for the first 12 weeks.  After the 12 weeks, I will have an additional 8 weeks of chemotherapy.  The second half of my chemo treatment contains the Red Devil, also known as Doxorubicin.  I will likely begin losing my hair within the next few weeks of my current treatment.  I'm ok with that.  I'll do anything in order to beat thi...