August 9, 2018 by Tammy Carmona

Back In The Chemo Chair….An Update

Xeloda has not been good to me. My tumor markers are higher than they have ever been. They are sitting at 1613.9. It’s usually accurate with what’s going on in my body. 70 percent of my bones have been invaded by cancer. We still are not sure if it’s new cancer in my brain or brain necrosis. I will have new scans in another month to reevaluate exactly what it is. If it’s necrosis then we don’t want to go cutting on my brain. Wait and see. For now I’m taking Paclitaxel. I’m doing it once every three weeks. It can also be given once a week for every three weeks to lessen the side effects. My oncologist thinks once every three weeks is a better punch. That’s what I’m doing. It’s day two and I’m exhausted. I feel so weak. It’s actually hard to get out of bed right now. I’m just dealing with it and resting. It will be worth the down time if it works. Some pictures from my first day back in the chemo chair. I’ll go in one day soon for a port. My arm can’t handle this kind of treatment. I did it, but my arm was on fire afterward.

We used my arm beacause I don’t have a port. Port surgery is next.

It was an hour and a half treatment. I slept.

My, Javiee, my rock, hanging out with me in the chemo room.

I love you Guys! 💕 Plan something fun for the weekend! Make some memories and send me a picture! 💕💕 I’ll do a friends adventure post. We may have cancer, but we’re still loving life!

August 9, 2018 by Tammy Carmona

Sharing My Family Vacation!!!!!!!! …………………………………………………………………………………… We just spent a week in North Myrtle Beach as a family. It was the best trip ever!   I was worried if we would even make it there. My arm was in severe pain and I was doing radiation treatments until the morning we left. I was in radiation at 8 am and we were on the road soon after. Thank you mama for driving! My oncologist prescribed me steroids and morphine to keep the pain flare ups away, it worked! Thank you Dr. Smathers! You know I adore you! The afternoon before we left I was going to let T.J. drive me around town ( He got his learners permit!!). My car wouldn’t start. I was devastated because it was after hours and no shop was open. A few years ago we went on a Little Pink Houses of Hope beach trip. I ended up in the hospital with brain mets. We planned a trip to the beach at Bear Island the next year and I ended up in the hospital with treatment induced diabetes. Was it going to be my car this time? I asked God “Why can my family not have a beach trip without something happening.” My Javiee happened to be at Auto Zone when I called to tell him the car wouldn’t start. He met a mechanic that said he would come to my house and look at it. He came out and put a new starter on my car and didn’t even try to overcharge us! Change of perspective……”Thank you God for letting this happen before we left on our trip and for putting that mechanic there”. I knew this trip was blessed! Here are some pictures…… .

That’s my Javiee and I with our grand babies. Then my son, Kori, his wife, Emily, and our grand babies. Then my sweet mom and I. The next one is my oldest son, his wife, me, my mom and my youngest son.

My grandbabies at the beach. My mom and I with T.J. at one of his favorite places. That’s me. Then my daughter in law, Emily, my mom and me again.

That’s my mom and I, My Javiee and I, My youngest, T.J and I, My oldest, Kori, and I. Then Kori and I with my grandbabies.

My grandbabies! I love being a glamma! That’s Jax and I at the pool. Then my favorite! This little lady has sas!

My mom and granddaughter. My daughter in law, Emily. My oldest and youngest boys. My grandbabies at the beach. My mom and I in a shark head. My guys going on a helicopter ride

That’s my Javiee and I on date night in a helicopter. I love this man!

For our last laugh we stopped at Dicks. The food was horrible but it was so much fun to laugh at each other.

I love you all💕 Thank you for your love and support! Summers almost over! Get out and make some memories! 💕💕

June 16, 2018 by Tammy Carmona

Rising Tumor Markers

I have lived with metastatic breast cancer for five years. Throughout this time my CA 27.2 marker has been an accurate indication of what’s going on inside my body. It’s steadily been on the rise. This month it jumped another 170 units. My hope is that cancer is dying and not growing while I’m on Xeloda. I have a new brain MRI and a chest and abdomen CT scheduled in two weeks. If the tumor in my brain is bigger my only option seems to be surgery. I’ve decided to have the surgery if necessary. But first, I’m going to the beach for a week and I’m going to see Lynyrd Skynyrd the first weekend in September! I’m going to enjoy summer, make some memories and not stress the outcome of my scans. If I have to deal with it I’ll do it in mid September.

Here are my recent tumor markers. They seem to be rising since I started Xeloda.

CA 27.2

1311.8 units/mL
Date:
Jun 11, 2018

1141.6 units/mL
Date:
May 11, 2018

1084.6 units/mL
Date:
Mar 16, 201

1037.9 units/mL
Date:
Feb 16, 2018

1057.4 units/mL
Date:
Jan 26, 2018

968.0 units/mL
Date:
Jan 04, 2018 n

263.3 units/mL
Date:
Nov 24, 2017

268.7 units/mL
Date:
Oct 26, 2017

216.2 units/mL
Date:
Aug 11, 2017

232.8 units/mL
Date:
Jul 27, 2017

199.3 units/mL
Date:
Jun 28, 2017

160.1 units/mL
Date:
Jun 01, 2017

Despite all this cancer chaos, I’m still alive, so I’m still smiling. My Javiee and I celebrated another anniversary on June 5th. Here’s a picture….We went to The Conundrum escape room in Asheville. If you haven’t been to an escape room, you should definitely go! We didn’t escape but we had a blast! Here’s our picture…..My precious granddaughter, Evie, had her first birthday! You know a picture is coming!

Thank you all for your love and prayers! I’m sending love to each and everyone of you! It’s summer! Get out and make some memories!💕💕

April 27, 2018 by Tammy Carmona

Brain MRI Update

I was concerned about this MRI because it was to determine if I would be having brain surgery in May. One 3mm lesion is gone. Others have decreased in size. The one that was most concerning has grown a little. My board of doctors met and decided we should do scans again in two months to see if it changes. The hope is that it’s brain necrosis and not a tumor. I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon next week. I think it’s good to be prepared for anything. I feel better knowing I have a plan if something doesn’t go my way.

I’m happy with these results. I’m excited that summer is on the horizon! Time to make some memories!

I have to share a few memories from the past month!

My precious grandson turned 3! I’m so blessed to be here to get to know him!

He saw Spider-Man at the circus and asked him to come to his birthday party. 😍. Spider-Man came and was awesome ( Thanks Chris)!!!!

I kept Little Miss Evie for the first time. This is a big deal, she’s a Mama’s girl!

CA5FF73D-CA8C-4881-8A35-E6123621E17D

Jax and I usually paint rocks. Last week we made our own teepee. He loved it.

Next week Miss Evie will have her first birthday party. Here’s to more memories, get out and make some!💕💕

All my love to you guys! Thank you for the love and prayers! 💕

April 13, 2013 by Tammy Carmona

Wednesday…Mammogram Day..Feb 6, 2013

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 on my breast. She says give me a minute, let me get the doctor, he will want to look at this. I immediately broke down and started crying. In walks the doctor. He looked at the image on the screen and said we need to do a biopsy. Still crying, I asked him for the truth, is it cancer? He said yes. I was then told to get dressed and wait in the female only waiting room for the nurse who would give me my appointment for the biopsy. I got dressed and made it to the waiting room. Then it hit me. I was crying uncontrollably. I didn’t even realize how loud my crys were until I saw my Javiee run around the corner. I told him the news and we hugged and we cried. Then he says maybe it’s not cancer. I couldn’t let him have false hopes because I knew it from the first “wait right here while the doctor looks at this”. These nurses knew what they were looking at, that’s why they got the doctor to look. It was cancer! We walked out with an appointment for a biopsy and an unconfirmed diagnoses of cancer. It was devastating! We stood in the parking lot hugging and crying. How could this be happening to us???