February 5, 2018 by Tammy Carmona

Wednesday…Mammogram Day..Feb 6, 2013

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 I hit my five year mark. Five years living with metastatic breast cancer. Being diagnosed at Stage 4 means I’d unknowingly been living with cancer for a while. This was just the day I first heard “you have cancer”. I’ve been blessed the last five years with so many memories. Tonight, in reflection, I’m going back to my first ever blog post. I actually started the blog for my sister who lives in North Dakota. It grew into so much more. You all have become a huge part of my life and I’m grateful. 💕💕💕

Tammy Carmona

Today’s Wednesday. I love Wednesday, it’s my favorite day of the week. My Javiee is off on Wednesday, so it’s always a special day for us. We go out to breakfast on Wednesday, then we go shopping and get what we need for the week ahead. I know it sounds pretty simple, but it’s our time and we enjoy every second of it. Today’s a little different. Breakfast and then a mammogram (I found a lump in my left breast). I’m thankful my Javiee is with me for my appointment. I wasn’t really worried, I thought it would be nothing. The lady doing my mammogram was so nice, but when she saw the image and said wait right here a minute while the doctor looks at this, he may want to do an ultrasound , I knew there was a problem. Ten minutes later another lady is doing an ultrasound…

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July 10, 2016 by Tammy Carmona

Whole Brain Radiation

I have survived 15 rounds of whole brain radiation. Initially the hardest part was driving to Asheville and back everyday for a treatment that lasts less than 10 minutes. I videoed a session for those of you that may one day have to go through this.

Whole Brain Radiation Here’s the link

It was a painless procedure. My mask was latched to the table, everyone left the room and the radiation took a few minutes. There was a smell that came with the radiation. It reminded me of Clorox. The first 13 rounds were fairly easy on me. I was dizzy afterwards and needed a nap. I was surprised because I was expecting worse. It hit me at round 14. My forehead and my ears burnt so bad. After round 15 I couldn’t hear and my ears smelt horrible. I was told to take Mussinex to relieve pressure behind my ears. I did that for a few days and didn’t notice a difference. I ended up putting peroxide in my ears for a few days and my hearing is back! I must tell you my oncologist advised against using peroxide. It worked for me. My eyesight also got bad with the last rounds of radiation. I couldn’t read anything! I’m using readers now and I feel them getting stronger everyday. It’s been two weeks since my last round of radiation and the fatigue is extreme. I’m so tired. I just keep reminding myself that it’s over! I have had a hard month!! The day after my last radiation appointment I had my ovaries removed. I’ll do a post on that soon. I’m scheduled for the gamma knife and a new MRI in August. Until then I’m going to get out and spend some time with my guys. I’ll end with some pictures.

This is my radiation mask.

This is one of the Mets to my scalp. Radiation healed all of them. Let’s hope it’s working as well on the inside!

This is a harsh one, but I share my truth with you guys. My forehead after 15 rounds of WBR.

Now for one that shows me on the mend! It’s a wig!

May 29, 2016 by Tammy Carmona

MRI Results and A New Treatment Plan

What a week! I’m exhausted, mentally and physically. I had an IV steroid treatment last week to reduce the swelling in my head. I was then put on an oral steroid that I am taking two times a day. I’m not a fan of steroids. I hate not feeling like myself. They make me irritable and nauseous. They make my blood glucose out of control. They have relieved my headache, but I have decided I’d rather deal with a headache. I quit taking the steroids yesterday. Today I slept until 1 p.m. and I’m feeling a little better.

I saw my radiology oncologist, Dr. Smather’s, last week. I really love her! We went over the results of my Brain MRI. She is confident that this is something we caught early and can control. There are tiny spots all over the cerebellum (the back of my brain). It’s almost as if someone has taken a Clorox bottle and sprayed it on my brain from behind. Because these spots are scattered our course of treatment will be WBR (whole brain radiation). I have always known I didn’t want to do WBR. However, this is the plan. This is what I will do. My youngest son is 13. I cannot discount any treatment. I will do whatever I have to for the chance to see him graduate high school. So, here’s the plan…

15 days of WBR starting this Thursday. The following Friday I will leave radiation and then go over to the hospital to have my ovaries removed. While all this is happening I will also be adjusting to the new chemo I will be starting this week. When WBR is completed we will do a new MRI and decide if we can do targeted radiation to the tumor behind my eye or if we will gamma knife it. Geez! I believe this is going to be a hard month!! (understatement of the year!)

My doctors are confident, as am I. I have so much left to do and so many more memories to make! I am hopeful that this is just a temporary setback.

Thank you all for your love and support. I will do my best to keep you updated.💕💕